Today the LORD is leading us into another exciting package; an understanding of who He is. So, this morning we are looking at: The Lord of Joy: The Strengthener for the Year.  One of the things we quickly want to note according to Scriptures is to start by looking at 1 Chronicles 16:26-27, that is where we will start our observation from. It says: “For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the Lord made the heavens.²⁷ Honor and majesty are before Him; Strength and gladness are in His place.”

 

Another translation puts it as strength and joy. So, another synonym for joy is gladness are in His place. In the place of God are strength and gladness, strength and joy. It says: all the gods of the people are idols. Any god you can think about, they are idols. And God firmly said; “He is against idolatry.” You cannot serve any God before Him. It said further: but the Lord made the heavens. Now why is this particular verse important to us? We want to know where joy is located. Where is the location of joy? And what is joy? Going back to that text, it says; But the LORD made the heavens, honor and majesty are before Him, in the heavens, strength and joy are in His place.

 

I want us to see Psalm 16:11. The Bible says: “You will show me the path of life; In Your presence, in His place is fullness of joy.” Strength and Joy are in the place where God is. When you have something in full, is there any part elsewhere? Meaning that the entirety of joy is in the presence of God. Joy cannot be located anywhere else. Joy is located in the place called the presence of God. In the presence of God, it's not just joy, the fullness of joy and at His right hand are pleasures forevermore. So, the location of joy is not confusing it is in the presence of God, in the place of God. Joy is not of the earth, joy is of the heavens, where God is. Joy is not physical or carnal or natural, joy is spiritual. The Bible says God is Spirit, so everything around God, everything about God is spiritual.

 

So, if joy is in the presence of God, in the place of God, it means joy is spiritual. Joy is not carnal, natural, visible, Joy is invisible, spiritual and it's in the presence of God. And the Bible records that the fullness of joy is located in the presence of God. So, joy cannot be derived or gained anywhere else than the presence of God. In Luke 15:7, it's important we clarify this so that when we go into details of what Joy is, and how joy affects us and will affect us this year, we will understand what the LORD is saying to us. The Bible says: “I say to you that likewise, there would be more joy in heaven…” I want us to understand what Jesus is saying here, He said there is already joy in heaven, but He said there would be more joy; meaning joy is not missing in heaven. Joy is always available in heaven, in fact heaven is the residence of Joy. But He said there would be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 just persons who need no repentance.

 

Jesus said there will be more joy, He was attesting to the fact that there is joy in heaven. Joy is of the heavenlies. So, joy is an activity of the Spirit. Also, in Luke 1:43-44, it is good we build this background. It says: “For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.” Was the baby visible at that time? No! There was something that took place in the Spirit of that baby. So, joy is a spiritual activity. It said the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Not with happiness. The baby in my womb was not happy, leaped for Joy because joy is an activity of the Spirit.

 

Luke 2:10-11. “Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. ¹¹ For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Christ is the spiritual identity of Jesus. And when Jesus was to be introduced by the angel, concerning Him, the angel said: we bring you good tidings of great joy. So, joy is a spiritual activity. Another way I want to define joy impressed in my heart is that joy is expressed from the Spirit and it reflects on the soul. Joy is expressed from the Spirit. Now let us understand what this means; when you are happy something happens to you that is communicated to your soul. Remember that the seat of emotion is in your soul. So, something happened that was communicated to your soul and reflects on your body. That's happiness.

 

So, when you are happy that you just got an alert of 50 thousand, there is something that enters your ears, the ears of your body that enters into the seat of your emotion in your soul that communicates to it that something important has happened. So, your soul reflects the emotion of happiness and you smile, then you laugh, then you might jump up. That is what happens between your soul and your body. That's happiness. Happiness does not stem from your spirit. Happiness is a communication to your soul about a happening that create an emotion from your soul, saying this is something that you should be excited about. Then you release the emotion of happiness. So, you smile. When you are sad it's the same way it's communicated. Something unpleasant has happened. It is communicated to your soul, then the emotion comes out to your soul and to your body and you reflect sadness. That's how it happens. But Joy is an expression from the Spirit.

 

Mary helped us to understand it. She said my soul magnifies the LORD, why? Because my spirit has come to an acknowledgement of the spiritual reality. My Spirit Praise His name. So, because my spirit praises His name, my soul magnifies Him. So, joy is expressed from the Spirit and it is reflected on the soul. So, it's your soul that brings out the activity of joy. And your soul will always communicate with your body. But joy starts from your spirit. It's spiritual. So, joy is expressed from the Spirit, it's a spiritual activity, acknowledgement from the Spirit and it reflects on the soul. We are going to look at two important things so that we will understand that Joy is a spiritual emotion if we can put it that way. In Galatians 5:22-23, the Bible says: but the fruit of the Spirit is love, oy, peace, kindness, gentleness, and it keeps listing them. They are produced by the Spirit, so joy is spiritual. You can never understand Joy if your Spirit is not connected. You don't sit down and you are analyzing when it comes to Joy. In happiness you can ask yourself, why am I happy? But joy is spiritual in nature. And that's why it takes your Spirit to be connected for you to understand and be able to decipher joy. And we will go into that.

 

Let's look at four critical ways that we can express joy. Psalm 63:6-7, so that we understand the spiritual nature of it. Psalm 63:6-7. How do we express Joy? “When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches.” Who was David talking about here? God! Joy is a spiritual activity; it doesn't work in the flesh. It says; “When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches. ⁷ Because You have been my help, therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.” Did we see that? Let's read verse 8: “My soul follows close behind You; Your right hand upholds me.” But where did it start from? My spirit. After my spirit has connected with you, my soul will follow. You express joy by connecting to the Spirit. You express joy when you remember God on your bed, even as you are walking.

 

I was listening to Joyce Mayer some days back and she was talking about the fact that many people have bad days, that once the devil want to spoil or wreck the activity that you have planned with God for the day, it starts you with a bad day you just don't know why, you are not just happy. And that not being happy can spoil the entire day for you. And she was saying that you know what? For you to step out of that, you need to come to the place where you communicate in the Spirit. Go for a work and look around and see the magnificence of God. It brings to your remembrance who God is and once you can connect spiritually, your soul will follow. You not feeling good and having a bad day, did not start from your soul it started from your spirit.

 

So, your soul was in control. To make sure your soul is no longer in control, you superimpose your spirit on your soul. David said “I remember, meaning I connect my spirit to the realities of God and my soul follows.” So, the reason many believers are losing joy is because we are too soulish. The seat of your emotion is driving and determining what you do. Mary said my soul will magnify. It "will" because my spirit will praise His name. David said I remember the LORD on my bed I meditate on the LORD in my night watches because He has been my help, I focus on the realities of God, my soul follows.

 

It says my soul follows closely behind you. It follows behind the spirit. So that is how we must operate to live a life of Joy as a believer, to perpetually operate on that dimension, you must be spiritual. It takes your spirituality to connect you with joy. Jesus said in the world you will have tribulations; did He say there won't be bad days? No! He said in this world you will have tribulations, challenging times will come but be of good cheer, I have overcome. Focus on the reality of God and you won't have a bad day. So, to express joy you must be spiritual. Your spirituality must be the dominating factor in your life. Who are you? You are spirit, you have a soul and you live in the body. So, focus on the core of who you are, you are spirit. To express Joy, you focus on your core because the core of you is what expresses joy not your soul. Your soul will follow.

 

1 Chronicles 16:32-34. “Let the sea roar, and all its fullness; Let the field rejoice, and all that is in it.³³ Then the trees of the woods shall rejoice before the Lord, For He is coming to judge the earth.³⁴ Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.” You know why we read from 32? By the time we read from verse 30, we understand what this is about. It says; “Tremble before Him, all the earth. The world also is firmly established, it shall not be moved.³¹ Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; And let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.” It says when they do this then, Let the sea roar, and all its fullness; Let the field rejoice, and all that is in it. Then! I love the connection between verse 32 and verse 33, it says when these things happen, then the trees of the wood shall rejoice before the Lord. Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. When you rejoice things around you will change. You don't express Joy because everything around you is fantastic, no! You express joy because everything around you must conform to the word of the LORD.

 

It says; tremble before Him, all the earth. The world also is firmly established. There is an order of things, there is joy in heaven. Because when we pray, let your kingdom come, let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. You are saying everything about the heavens, the kingdom of God which consist of the culture, structure, processes and the fullness of the kingdom let it come including the Joy of heaven. Let it come on earth, let it become an experience for us. The Bible says that the word of God is settled in heaven, so in heaven it is settled, on earth it is enforced. The same way joy is in heaven in the fullness of it, when you ask that the joy of the Lord comes, it comes to set order.

 

The joy of the LORD is already in heaven when it comes down on the earth, how do you express that Joy? Because you are an ambassador of the kingdom. You are representing God here, when you express Joy it set things in order. When you express joy as the head of your family, then your family will rejoice. Then the works of your hands will rejoice. So, it's an order, it's a procession. So, joy is like a flow, it flows from heaven to the earth, it flows into your life and it flows to your surroundings. It affects everything around you. The focus here is how do you express joy?

 

Number one: YOU EXPRESS JOY BY SINGING BEFORE THE LORD

 

Sing before the LORD. If you don't feel like praying, begin with worship songs, before you know it, you are praying in tongues and really entering into the presence of God. That's why the protocol to entering into the presence of God is: enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise, that's how you express joy. You don't come frowning. There is a protocol to approach the king. No matter how bad your day has been, you come with Joy. Because entering His gates with thanksgiving means that you are joyfully doing it. You are not coarse into doing it, you enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise. You are expressing joy by singing. And what you do by singing those songs you are meditating on the goodness of God. You are meditating on who God is. "Bless the Lord O my soul" The song is connecting to your spirit not your soul. Your soul does not understand it yet until you receive it. It's your spirit that communicates it to your soul. You were frowning when you started, suddenly there is a message that your spirit receives and it connects it to your soul and say my soul magnify the Lord because my spirit is already praising Him. So, it follows, you sing as you are singing you are expressing joy.

 

Number two: SEEK THE WORD OF GOD

 

When you see the word of God, you are expressing joy. See the word of God as it is. Matthew 2:9-10. “When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star.” Who was the star being referred to here? Jesus the word. When they heard the king, the departed, the three wise men and behold. “When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.” When you see the word, you will express joy. Not the letter that kills but the spirit that gives life. It says and the Spirit entered into me as he spoke to me. When you see the word, you will express joy by the word, it says when they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. When you see the word, you express joy. If you are feeling like your joy is being drained go to the word of God. Read it meditate on it, confess it. That place we read in Psalm 63, David said: I remember the LORD on my bed, I meditate, what was he meditating on? The word of God. When you meditate on the word of God you are meditating on God and you express joy. You can't be connected to the word of God and you will be sapped of Joy, no you express joy. David said I rejoice at your word as one that has found a great spoil, expressing joy. When you see the word, you express joy.

 

Number three: SHOUT WITH THE VOICE OF TRIUMPH

 

Psalm 47:1. “Oh, clap your hands, all you people! Shout to God with the voice of triumph! ² For the Lord Most High is awesome; He is a great King over all the earth.” And he continued to talk about the goodness of God. Verse 5. “God has gone up with a shout, The Lord with the sound of a trumpet.⁶ Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises!⁷ For God is the King of all the earth; Sing praises with understanding.” To express joy, shout! Shout with a voice of triumph. When people are on the battle field, when they want to intimidate the other side, they shout. They are not shouting defeated, but with a voice of triumph. To express joy, you shout. When you shout for joy, it connects to your spirit. There is something about it. A shout of hallelujah! Connects you in the spirit. You express joy like that, and the devil will know he has no place. In spite and despite what is happening, you express joy by shouting.

 

Number four: LET JOY BE A POSTURE FOR YOU

 

Ecclesiastes 9:7. “Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart; For God has already accepted your works. “Let joy be a posture, express joy in your daily activities, as you are eating, as you are drinking, express joy. Let it be a posture. As you are doing your chores in the house, don't allow the weight, be spiritual. Don't allow the weight of what is happening in the TV to affect your joy. We are in this world but not of this world, our expression must be spiritual. So, let joy be your posture. Philippians 4:4-8. “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say, rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. ⁶ Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; ⁷ and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Rejoice, let it be a daily posture of all your activities, that's how to express joy. Rejoice always, not for a season, not for a time. Let it be the posture of your spirit all the time rejoice always, and I say again rejoice. As a child of God what will joy do for you?

 

WHY IS GOD EMPHASIZING JOY IN THIS SEASON FOR US?

 

Number one: Romans 15:13. “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.” God is able to fill you with joy. Joy is spiritual and it is given by God. The Bible says “every good and perfect gift comes from God the Father of light.” So, joy is the perfect emotion and expression. Happiness is for a season. Happiness is for a time; joy is for a lifetime. That's why it's in heaven. Happiness is not in heaven, it's joy. What is located in heaven is what is perfect. What we have on the earth is type and shadows, they are temporary. So, joy will give you a permanent expression. That's why it says the LORD will fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope. When you are filled with joy you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:22 also reinforcing this. That when the Spirit of God finds expression in you, joy is a result of it. You have joy.

 

Number two of what joy will do for you. Joy helps you to make spiritual account. How do you know God is working in you? James 1:2-4. “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, ³ knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. ⁴ But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” Did we see that? That we may be perfect, complete lacking nothing. Joy helps you to make spiritual account. So, when spiritual deposit enters your life, you don't know it in the flesh, you know it by joy. You don't just know why you are so excited in your spirit, when the seed and deposit of God entered Mary, she didn't know what had entered into her, but there was a joy she could not control. When Mary went to visit Elizabeth and she said “as I hear the salutation of the mother of my Lord the baby in my womb leaped for joy.”

 

There was a spiritual deposit. How do you know that God is working in your life this year? By joy! Joy connects you to your spiritual reality. It helps you make spiritual account. When God does something in you, before the transition happens, between the visible and the invisible, the first place it settles is in your spirit where joy is activated. So, joy helps you to make spiritual account. The first one we mentioned is that joy is spiritual given by God, and He allows you to abound in hope, number two it helps you to make spiritual account of your spiritual deposit.

 

Number three, joy helps you to draw your inheritances, joy helps you to make spiritual withdrawals. Isaiah 12:3. The Bible says “Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.” With joy, not with happiness. You are able to draw; you are able to make spiritual withdrawals with joy. So, for you to be able to step into the realities of the things that God has deposited into your life, and withdraw it; joy helps you to understand the spiritual deposit, acknowledge it, and it helps you to make spiritual account and it also helps you to make withdrawals. You are able to draw your inheritances with joy. We can also look through Isaiah 9:3, Proverbs 10:28, Nehemiah 8:10. The joy of the LORD is your strength. So, you are able to draw strength, riches, power, wisdom with joy. You withdraw spiritual deposit with joy.

 

Number four; joy communicates for you your victory in the Spirit. We can write down Isaiah 35:10. “And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing, With everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” We can also write down John 15:10-12. Jesus was also talking about joy and victory. Another thing we should note is that joy is an expression of the kingdom life. This is what joy is able to do for you. The LORD is able to supply your strength by reason of Joy. Romans 14:17. “for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. ¹⁸ For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men.”

 

What the joy of the LORD will do for you is that it will bring you to a point where you abound in hope, in the Holy Spirit, and helps you to make spiritual account. These are the things that are necessary for us this year and these things make for our strength. This is how God will strengthen you. It would be a lie to say that there won't be challenges this year, there would be, there are times it will look as if you are not spiritual, it will look as if God is silent, it looks as if God is not there, but when you express joy in the way that we have listed looking into the word of God, making sure that we are meditating on God; we will surely overcome. It's not every time you will hear God say to you that these are the things, I want to do for you, but there are times that it's just a spiritual emotion, you just can't explain it, there is joy in your spirit.

 

God is working, and we must settle it in our heart. joy is the principal way of God strengthening us in this kingdom. The Bible says the joy of the LORD, He is the owner of joy, joy is in His presence, He has fullness of joy in His presence. Joy is always of the LORD because it is spiritual. The joy of the LORD is your strength. I want you to say it to yourself; “the joy of the Lord is my strength.” Continue to say it until it continues to sit into your spirit. Continue to say it, pray it into your spirit that this year, I make deposit in the Spirit, I receive deposit in the Spirit by joy, I make withdrawals by joy, I am able to draw from the well of salvation because the joy of the LORD is my strength.

 

It is a good time to pray!

Thanks for the gift of your time, I am Lara Gboyega Adedeji!

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