Growing in the Lord "How-To: Have the Joy of the Lord"

The Great Commission
Part 9 – Growing in the Lord
HOW-TO: Have the Joy of the Lord
Pastor Bruce A. Shields
House of Faith – www.PS127.org | www.TruthDigest.org


ANNOUNCEMENTS

6:00PM Evening Service at the church –
“Seminary Students will be preaching”

November 9th – Grace Steadman
November 16th – Lori Ulman
November 23rd – Lynnette Higgins
November 30th – Deacon Kurt Ulman
December 7th – Walker Spriggs




WHERE WE ARE AT

† Spending Time with the Lord in Prayer
† Spending Time with the Lord Reading the Word
† Spending Time with the Lord in Fellowship
† Spending Time with the Lord, One on One

† Growing in the Lord : OVERCOMING The Carnal Mind
† Growing in the Lord : OVERCOMING Satan
† Growing in the Lord : OVERCOMING Worldliness
† Growing in the Lord : OVERCOMING Pride
† Growing in the Lord : OVERCOMING Your Mouth

† Growing in the Lord : HOW-TO Be Christ Centered
† Growing in the Lord : HOW-TO Praise the Lord
† Growing in the Lord : HOW-TO Have the Joy of the Lord






INTRODUCTION

Joy of the Lord…

JOY of the LORD, not OUR joy!

To have the Joy of the Lord means to KNOW that the Lord is pleased with you, to a point where HE has joy IN YOU.

This is the Joy of the Lord.

We, always thinking of ourselves and our pleasures, think that Joy of the Lord is for US to be happy.


John 15:11-12
9 "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.


As the Father loved me (Jesus), Now (you) remain in my love.

IF you obey my commands, you remain in my love.

I told you this so MY JOY (you obeying commands and staying IN His love) MY JOY may be IN you.

Joy of the Lord is that you Obey His Commands…and thus remain in His love.

AND…that your joy may be complete.

What is OUR JOY??

Our joy is complete in KNOWING that we are obeying Christ’s commands, and in doing so He has joy in us!! And we remain in His love!


Having the Joy of the Lord has to do with pleasing the Lord, not us being happy all the time.

This scripture shows us that OUR joy should be in the fact that the Lord has Joy in us!
Matthew 25:21 – parable of the talents
21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.


He was called a faithful servant.

Faithful over the little he was entrusted with.

And because of his obedience, he could share in the Joy of the Lord.

It is obvious, that it is faithfulness here that is being rewarded.

God has NOT called us to be successful, but rather to be faithful.

Faithful means to trust in Him and His Word…obedience to His Commands.

How to have the Joy of the Lord?

When we obey Christ’s commands, He says that we remain in His Love.

This means, if we disobey His commands, we leave His love.

Is obedience important to the Lord?

ABSOLUTELY…

The great commission tells us this!

“Make Disciples (Christ Followers) of all the nations (all nationalities), baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and teach them to OBEY ALL THAT I HAVE COMMANDED YOU.”

And if you do this, the Lord promises in the next sentence, “And I will be with you always, until the end of the age.”

Our mission, the Great commission, the command from the Lord Himself on what we are to do while we are here on earth is this!

Get people saved, get them baptized, not in the baptism of John, but Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and TEACH THEM TO OBEY ALL THAT CHRIST HAS COMMANDED YOU!


When we obey Christ’s commands, we remain in His love.

While we are in His love, He tells us that His joy in our obedience should be our Joy.

We should be happy we are living pleasing lives for the Lord!

While we are obedient and remaining in the Lord’s Love, we can rejoice and take joy in some wonderful promises!!


Luke 10:20
…rejoice because your names are written in Heaven!


Psalm 45:7
7 You love righteousness and hate wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions
by anointing you with the oil of joy.


Why do you have joy? Because you lived obediently (righteousness) and hate wickedness (sin in the world) therefore God anoints you with oil (symbolizes the Holy Spirit) with joy.


1 Thessalonians 1:6
6 You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.

When we obey, we remain in Christ’s love.

When we have Christ’s love, the Holy Spirit dwells within us.

When we obey it brings the Lord joy, and when we bring the Lord joy through our obedience, we in turn have joy from the Spirit of God which dwells within us.