BIBLE REFERENCE:
“These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.” John 15:11
ENCOURAGING WORD:
In this world in which we live, there are times in our lives when it is hard to find joy and happiness. The main reason is this; because most people don’t know where to look. Its not on a dollar bill, its not found in a beautiful home, nor is it even a very luxurious car. You won't find pure happiness in anything that can fade away into the dust of the earth. The Bible is very clear that you won’t find joy and happiness in this world as we read in the following Bible verse.
1 John 2:15-17; “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”
When I first started reading the Bible quite a few years ago, I was confused by these couple of verses that I just read. I couldn’t imagine why the God who created the world would say such a thing. But as I started to understabd the Bible with more clatity, I realized what the word :World really referred to. When we hear the word “World,” it is not referring to the earth on which we stand. The earth that we occupy is in and of it self beautiful. The word “World” taken in the right context in which it is written is in reference to the people that occupy the earth. When you see all the evil that is being portrayed as good, we can see why God tells us not to love the world and all that is in it. When we read the Bible it is very important that we understand it in the context of which is written. There are so many verses in the Bible that tell us about joy and Happiness. I’ll share a few and try to bring light to what they are actually saying.
Romans 15:10-13; And again he says: “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people!” And again:
“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles! Cheer Him, all you peoples!” And again, Isaiah says:
“There shall be a root of Jesse;And He who shall rise to reign over the Gentiles, In Him the Gentiles shall hope.” Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
In ther beginning, God had created us to live in a perfect environment right from the start, but when Adam and Eve were deceived by Satan, all that changed. We read in Genesis 3:16-19; “To the woman He (God) said: “I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you.” Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.”
This is what God told Adam and Eve after they fell from grace. If Adam and Eve had not sinned, there would have been no such thing as evil in our world. We would all have lived in complete joy and happiness in the most beautiful environment imaginable. But as we can clearly see in today’s world, we are not living in a world of joy and happiness for the most part.
Here are a couple of verses that let us know how we can find happiness in this world.
1 John 1:1-4; “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life, the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us, that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.”
There are many that believe that they found joy and peace in this world, but most likely, if you could see what really goes on in their hearts, you will see that very few, if any of these people have a relationship with Jesus and the joy that they are enjoying will be limited to this earth. They have no peace in what lies ahead for them because they aren't aware of what happens after this life. How many celebrities have we heard of that committed suicide. They had all the wealth that anyone could imagine, but something obviously was missing or they wouldn't have taken their own lives. They go through life trying to enjoy all they can, but the day will come when all that comes to an end and all the joy and fun that they had in this world will come to a screeching halt. Money cannot bring us happiness, and in most cases, it has done just the opposite. Ask a rich person, how much is enough, the answer is (just a little bit more), they are never truly happy. We all have a destination with death, and unless we repent and give our lives to Jesus, we will perish into everlasting torment and suffering beyond anything that we could ever imagine. In other words, those that are rich and feel they have need of nothing, they had their heaven on earth. When they pass, it’s over for those that have not given their lives over to Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, this is what the majority of the world has chosen. I say this because of the following verse which I quote a lot.
Matthew 7:13-14; “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
I don’t believe to many people take this verse seriously. When the flood came and destroyed the world, only eight people were saved. That is a few. When God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah only four people survived, that is even fewer. Now, I’m not saying that only eight people will be saved in our world, but when you take the world population and figure only abouit 156,000.000 people will be saved out of a population of over 2,600,000 000 people, that is few. 2,600,000,000 is approximately how many Christians live in this world. That equates to about 6 percent of the Christian body that truly takes the Bible seriously according to statistics. This doesn’t even take into consideration all those that are not Christian. If you figure 156,000,000 people will be saved out of a population of over 6,000,000,000 that means 3-4% will find the way. That is a few.
Every time we attend a funeral, regardless of what the denomination is, they always say "He or She is in a better place." Not according to what the Bible say. 94% of all those that are deceased will not enter heaven. I don’t believe that they are in a better place. Side note: All those that have died outside of Gods will are in hades waiting their final hjudgement that will take place at the "White Throne Judgment". If you are still alive, you still have a choice of where you want to spend eternity. Remember, when God says a few, He means a few. That is why I do not find pleasure in attending a funeral, unless I have a good feeling that they lived and Godly life. I still go most of the time to support those that have lost a loved one. I’ve actually attended a funeral where I felt the presence of Satan. Not a very pleasant experience.
Many of those that are going to perish into everlasting torment and suffering could have been very nice people, but know this, being good does not save you. If we could be good enough to enter heaven on our own merits, Why would Jesus Christ have suffered the most painful death imaginable, if we could get there on our own. All these people that will suffer for all eternity, are those that made the choice to reject Jesus Christ. They chose that destination for themselves. God did not send them to hell, it was their choice.
I feel that I needed to share why there is so much evil that is in our world, so we can understand what is behind all this evil and how it started. Okay, now let’s get into the good news. The good news is this, there is hope for everybody to find joy and happiness when you know where to look. We, who have given our lives over to Jesus Christ and have become born-again into the Holy Spirit, will never perish, because through Jesus Christ we will have everlasting life in the most unbelievable environment. Sadly, here are a few verses that are never taught in the denominational churches of today.
John 3:1-15; “Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.’
The verses 1-15 are very seldom, if ever taught in the denominational churches, and if they are, they take these verses way out of context to mean something entirely different that what they truly mean.
For those that do not understand what Jesus meant when He said the Son of Man be lifted up, I’ll share with you why He said that. When Jesus said the Son of Man must be lifted up “just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness,” He was referring to these few verses;
Numbers 21:4-7; “Then they journeyed from Mount Hor by the Way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the soul of the people became very discouraged on the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread.” So the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died.” Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord that He take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.
In that passage, the Israelites were wandering through the desert and “grew impatient on the way” In verse four they became frustrated at their circumstances and complained against God and Moses. As a judgment for their rebellion and lack of faith, the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the Israelites, and many people died. During this ordeal, the God’s people repented of their rebellion and pleaded with Moses to ask God to take the snakes away. Moses prayed for the people, and the Lord responded to him, saying, “Make a snake, and put it on a pole. Anyone who is bitten can look at it and live”
Numbers 21:8-9; “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.”
Moses obeyed the Lord’s instruction and mounted a bronze snake on a pole. Many of the Israelites then looked upon it and were saved from the snakebite as a result. This story is symbolic of when Jesus Christ would be lifted up on the cross. Those that look up to Christ will be saved just as those that looked up the bronze serpent. See, the serpent is representative of sin, and Bronze is portrayed as a symbol of divine judgment and punishment in the Bible. We are all snake bit in this world from the beginning of birth, the only way to be saved from death, is by looking up to the Lord.
Now, the next few verses which include John 3:16 may be quoted on an occasion in the denominational churches, but to those that read these verses in these so-called Christian churches really have no idea what they are saying. It just words to them, if they knew what they were saying, there would be a difference in the way that they live. Let me share a verse that explain what I am saying.
Matthew 6:7; “And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.”
This is exactly what they are doing, they are just quoting words without understanding what they are reading. Actually this is the case with most of what they teach. All their prayers are vane repetition all the way from the “Lords Prayer” to every other prayer they say.
John 3:16-21; “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”
When it says, “that whoever believes in Him”, this goes much deeper than just saying you believe. Remember, Satan believes in Jesus, and he isn’t saved. Believing is definitely the first step, but it doesn’t end there. I'm not sugggesting that goods works save you, so that is not what what I am referring too.
Here is what we read in Romans 10:9; “Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
It is heart condition that saves you, not whats in your mind. Jesus judges the heart, not the mind. There are people that will know the Bible inside and out that won’t be saved. Let me give you an example of what I am saying. I’ve mentioned this before, but we need to make sure that we understand what I am saying. So many people will miss heaven by 18 inches. That is the approximate distance from our brain to our heart. They have a lot of knowledge about the scriptures of the Bible, but it hasn't reached their heart and they don’t live accordingly. I’ve seen pastors that know the Bible very well, but then when you see them on the streets, they don’t live the same way as they teach. There is verse in the Bible that makes me think of these pastors.
Matthew 7:22-23; “Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
This is speaking to those that think good works and knowledge will get them to heaven, which by the way, is what all the mainline denominations teach. There will be a lot of surprised people when they stand before Jesus Christ at the “White Throne Judgement”. It is then that they will know that they have been deceived by the pastors and priest that they trusted all these years.
Now, we as born-again believers, need to understand a few things. Our joy and happiness will not be found in this world. We will be put through trials, and we will suffer afflictions for our faith in Jesus Christ just as He said we would. Listen to these two verses.
John 16:32-33; “Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
Jesus is promising us that it won’t be smooth sailing all the time, but He will be with us all the way. And then we hear what James say in the following verse.
James 1:2-8; “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”
Our joy and happiness is in salvation, knowing that the day we pass from here to heaven, or we get raptured, we will be forever with Jesus Christ. Our joy and happiness comes from verses like the following.
Romans 8:18-23; “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.
Remember, This is not our home, we are just passing through.
James 4:14; “whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.”
We should not fear death, because we know where our eternal home is. The last breath that we take here on earth will be followed up by the next breath in heaven with Jesus Christ. We will not see death. We, as the Christian body need to stay focused on the eternal and not the here and now. As the true body of Christ, we are here for one reason, and that is to bring as many people as we can to the saving grace of Jesus Christ.
Now, let me share this uplifting promise for our Lord, John 10:10; “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
God does want us to have an abundant life here on earth. The problem is this, when God blesses people with abundant blessings they usually use these blessing to glorify themselves. That may be the reason why God holds some of us back, because He knows that we will not use it to glorify God. We may often ask, Why is it that rich people don’t give to the poor, and those of us that would help, do not get rich. It might be because God knows us better than we know ourselves. Maybe we would fall, and He won’t let that happen to His children. Would you give your child something if you knew it would bring disaster or some other unfortunate situation? See, God knows exactly what we would do. In all cases where we feel that we are being held back from certain blessings, know this, it is working out for our good as the following Bible verse states. Romans 8:28; “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”
Here is where we should find joy and happiness in our lives, Even when things aren’t going so well, lean on this verse and mediate on it, Jesus is in control, and He will not allow anything into your life that will harm you. God loves His children more than we could imagine. We may not understand a lot of things this side of heaven, but when we get to heaven, we will say “I get it”, everything will be crystal clear. We may be able to look back at things that happened to us back on earth that we didn’t understand at the time, but we will see where God always had our best interest in mind.
Here are a couple more verses to meditate on;
Philippians 2:2; “make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.
John 16:22; “Therefore you too have grief now; but I (Jesus) will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.”
If we can stay focused on Gods promises and don’t let the world distract us, we will find the joy and happiness that God has intend for us to have.
This next verse always intrigues me, Luke 15:10; “In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Every time a new person gives their life to Jesus, the Angels in heaven cheer. Let’s continue to bring more and more people to Jesus Christ and let’s keep heaven joyfully cheering. They know the joy that is coming to all who repent of their sins and give their lives to Jesus Christ.
Let me end with this; When we abide in Jesus Christ, it is absolutely expected that joy flow into us. That doesn't mean that everything will be perfect and that troubles will not come, but that even in the midst of hardships, God's presence can bring us fullness of joy.
The Bible speaks endlessly about the abundance of joy that comes with God's Spirit. The pure essence of God's presence just overflows with joy and scripture even tells us that a natural fruit of the Holy Spirit is joy. If you are seeking joy today, find it in Jesus Christ, because His very presence gives an outflow of joy that knows no boundaries.
If you're dismayed, depressed, struggling to find hope and vibrance, never forget to run to God and seek His joy that is promised like the rising of the sun. Here are a couple verses that assure us that we can and will find joy in Jesus Christ.
Psalm 16:11; "You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore."
Luke 1:14-15; "And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb."
Joy is a gift God gives our hearts that circumstances can’t steal. It flows from within, not from what happens. For those who believe in Jesus Christ, joy comes from what He has already done and is a fruit of the Holy Spirit.
The Benediction: Now, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”
“The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.”
Amen!
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