Then our mouth was
filled with laughter And our tongue with joyful shouting; Then they said among
the nations, "The LORD has done great things for them." The LORD has
done great things for us; We are glad.
Psalm 126:2-3
One of the greatest and
most attractive qualities both a church and a Christian can have is joy. How sad it is to see a believer in Christ
living under a cloud of gloom and doom instead of hope and peace because of who
God is. The trying circumstances of our
world today become the telling circumstances of how big your God is and how
great your faith is in that God.
Christianity is to be nothing less than a festival of joy. Jesus spoke
of feasts and parties…celebrations of life!
The
words “joy” and “joyful” are used 250 times in the Bible. The word “rejoice” is used 200 times in the Bible.
Over 450 times we are told to be joyful
and rejoice.
Real joy is a gift from Jesus.
The Greek word for 'joy' is chara,
derived from the word charis, which is the Greek word for 'grace.' This is important to note, for it tells us
categorically that chara is produced by charis of God. This means 'joy' isn't a human-based
happiness that comes and goes...Rather, true 'joy' is divine in origin...it is
a Spirit-given expression that flourishes best in hard times. Do you know why Jesus said all that he said,
and why Jesus taught all that he taught? He said in John 15:11, "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may
remain in you, and that your joy may be full." You see, when you get Jesus you get joy, joy
inexpressible and full of glory. You
see, when you get Jesus you get joy, joy inexpressible and full of glory. If you get around God at all, you're going to
be full of joy, because "In His presence
is fullness of joy."
Our Joy Together in
Fellowship
In my standard marriage ceremony
there is a statement I make that well applies here… “When two share a sorrow the sorrow is halved and when two share a joy,
the joy is doubled.” This principle
is multiplied in the fellowship of the church.
As we share our burdens, there are many who gather around us to support,
encourage and uplift. When we celebrate
our victories, there is the multiplication of joy as we retell the story
Only those who have been born again
by the spirit of God and stand redeemed can relate to one another in the joy of
our salvation. We are saved!
In worship WE celebrate the greatness of OUR
God with the FAMILY of God! It is a fellowship of joy that dances before
Him and claps their hands in joyful praise!
It is all about fellowship and all about JOY
Every celebration of God’s blessing
is a testimony of who God is and a reminder of His past, present and promised
provision. CELEBRATE! You can tell
quickly whether or not you find joy in the fellowship…just miss a few weeks of
contact. The number one thing I hear
from those who cannot attend is the pain of not being TOGETHER.
My heart, as yours, is immediately
lifted when we enter the doors of the church and see our brothers and sisters
in Christ! We are at once not alone!
Scripture to Claim:
Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting. He, who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed, Shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him. Psalm 126: 5-6
Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting. He, who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed, Shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him. Psalm 126: 5-6
