The Location of Joy in our Lives and how to cultivate it

Messages for November 2017: Our Month of Unspeakable Joy

Message for Sunday 12^th November, 2017

Theme: Understanding the Joy of the Lord

Topic: The Location of Joy in our Lives and how to cultivate it

Introduction: Last week we began to look at the foundation of unspeakable joy and we have so far established that joy unlike happiness is a spiritual substance that has its root in the spirit realm. We saw that it is also a fruit of the recreated human spirit and therefore has to be cultivated.

Today, we shall be looking at the residence of joy in our lives and seeing how to cultivate it and nurture it to perfection such that it can grow to becoming such a huge grace of God within us that we can walk freely in. this status in the eternal life package is what we refer to as abundant grace. When we are engraced abundantly in any area of life, we can impart the same to others who are weaker than us in that area. So where can this grace be found in our lives?

Joy is a fruit of the recreated human spirit: Just like natural fruits are a bye product of cultivated plants, so are the fruit of the new creation man. They are a bye product of a cultivated spiritual man. When we are born again, we are born babies into the kingdom of God with a potential to bear the fruit of the spirit which includes joy. Like any other thing done in God’s kingdom answers to faith so does joy. We cannot rejoice in the Lord without faith. This is why joy is found where faith is found. It is found in the heart. The word translated heart in the bible is used interchangeably to mean the spirit or the soul or both. So sometimes, the spirit which is the real man is said to accommodate the soul. At other times the soul which makes up the mind, will and emotions is said to release joy. Both are correct to the extent that the spirit is the source of joy while the soul is the expresser of joy. So both have a role to play. See Ps.13:5; 16:9 and Ps.28:7.

Unspeakable joy is found in the heart of the believer in Christ: Joy like faith is located in the heart. The bible tells us that with the heart man believes unto righteousness – Rm.10:10 and also Jesus said the faith that would work is one believed with the heart – Mk.11:23. In the same vein, joy which is also a fruit of the recreated human spirit is located in the heart of a new creation man. For this reason, it does not depend on the mundane to be nurtured and fulfilled. It is unlike happiness which depends on external circumstances to be triggered and sustained. A good example of the location of joy is found in the description of Hannah’s prayer in 1Sam.2:1. Hannah said here that her heart rejoices in the Lord. So it was with her heart she rejoiced. Also, in 1Chron.16:10, we read: “… let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord.” See also, Prv.23:15; Isa.66:14; Jn.16:22 and Acts 2:26.

How to cultivate the Joy of the Lord: Since the joy of the Lord is a fruit of the recreate human spirit which is deposited in us in seed form at the new birth as part of our redemption package, it must be nurtured so that it can grow and become a plant in us so as to multiply. The process of nurturing is what we call cultivation. This is why we must cultivate it. To cultivate the fruit of the spirit therefore, we can observe the following principles:

1.     Spiritual growth: Just like babies have to be fed milk to grow, everyone who gets saved must desire the milk of the word to grow. The growth process leads to maturity that brings the believer to a place where fruit bearing leaves the realm of being merely a potential to becoming a reality in our lives. See 1Pet.2:2; Gal.4:1;  

2.     Walk in the spirit: To walk in the spirit is to make choices based on the revelation of the Holy Spirit from the word of God. When we do this, we are making godly choices and these choices honor God and draws us closer to God who in turn draws nearer to us. The result is that we bear much fruit to the glory of God because we would not fulfill the desires of the flesh which have a tendency of drawing us back in the race of destiny. See Gal.5:16-17; Jas.4:7-8; 1Cor.2:12-14 and Deu.30:19.

3.     Sit at the master’s feet and hear Him: A graphic picture of this truth is painted to us by two sisters in the word of God in Lk.10:38-42 when one of them was too busy serving to listen to the word of God while the other sat at the Lord’s feet hearing him and receiving instruction. In that account, the Lord said of both of them – Martha and Mary that Martha who complained of her sister’s decision to sit at the Master’s feet to learn was told that the sister’s choice to sit and learn was a better one. He said that which she was learning cannot be taken from her. Meanwhile her activities in serving can be taken from her and what would she have to fall back on if that is done? This incident teaches us that while it is good to serve in the house of God we must not neglect the time we should sit at the master’s feet and learn. What we gain therefrom is priceless. The persecutors of John the Apostle shut him up in a lone island thinking to isolate him and break his will when they could not kill him. This brought him closer to God and he was able to receive the revelation from God now part of the cannon of scriptures. Apostle Paul was incarcerated for so long that two third of what we now have as the New Testament came out of the letters he wrote to the Churches was instrumental in planting. There is value in separating time to be alone with the Lord! Anytime we hear from the Lord, joy is released into our hearts and we become joyful. The more we hear Him, the more joyful we become and when this is consistent enough, being joyful becomes a habit with us to the point where depression would be completely eliminated from our lives. At this point one could be said to be growing in the grace of God which encapsulates the total package of the fruit of the spirit which includes joy. See Gal.5:22; 2Pet.3:18 and Philippians 4:4.

4.     Keep the right company: It is often said that a person is known by the company they keep. This is so true that we are enjoined by Apostle Paul not to be deceived that evil communication corrupts good manners. To be wise we must keep wise company. All a person needs to be destroyed is to keep the wrong company. See 1Cor.15:33; Prov.13:20. When you keep company with people who are joyful and investing in cultivating the joy of the Lord, you will be joyful and enjoy heavenly energy all the time because joy is the energy of heaven. See Ps.1:1-3 and the graphic picture painted by the relationship between Amnon David’s first son and his cousin Jonadab described as a subtle man through whose counsel he lost his place in destiny and had his life cut short. He counseled Amnon to seek pleasure through rape and he took his counsel and lost his life untimely to the vengeance of his brother Absalom. This story was one very sorrowful one in the bible proving that evil communication corrupts good manners indeed. 2Sam.13:1-35. In this case we see how wrong company can create sorrow instead of joy.   

5.     Pray in the spirit always: when we pray in the spirit often, several good things happen that reflects positively on a joyful life for us. First, we edify ourselves, second, we edify God third, we build up our most holy faith and we pray the perfect will of God by the help of the Holy Spirit. The result of this is that we increase the level of unspeakable joy we can walk in which is a great help for the race we are called to run because this habit promotes spirituality. See Jude 1:20; Rm.8:26; 1Cor.14:2, 4, 14, and 28.

6.     Win the lost to Christ: When you win the lost to Christ, it brings joy and satisfaction to the Lord and as He rejoices, He will also cause you to rejoice. If you make a habit of bringing joy to the Lord in this way, you will be increasing in joy to the point of overflow. See Jn.15:1-5, 8 and 18;  Lk.15:7 & 10 and Lk.10:1, 17,

7.     Choose to be joyful: Whether or not you are joyful is choice determined. Joy is a fruit of the spirit and therefore comes from the spirit and is not based on physical circumstances to happen. Just like any destiny action you take requires the involvement of your choice, so does rejoicing. You can choose to rejoice and you can choose not to. If you choose to, you will reap the rewards but if you choose not to, you would also have to bear the consequences and believe me, they are not good. In several places in scripture, we see the Psalmist either choosing to rejoice or commanding his soul to do so. See Deu.30:19; Ps.103:1; 9:2; 63:7 Hab.3:18.

8.     Attend Church services especially to praise the Lord: when you attend Church services, you bring yourself into God’s presence and in the presence of the Lord, there is fullness of joy and His right hand brings us pleasures forever. So abiding in God’s presence is maintaining an environment where joy can be cultivated to the overflow. See Ps.16:11; Acts 2:46; Ps.133 and Heb.10:25.

9.     Sing to the Lord: Apostle Paul gave this candid counsel to the Church in his letter to the Church at Ephesus in Eph.5:17-20. The reason for this is that singing to the Lord is very strategic in the use of our mighty weapons in the conflict of life. Joy is the energy of the spirit and anyone with it will have enough energy to prevail in the conflicts of life. God resides in our praises. As we sing to Him, we authorize him to take over all our battles and when God takes over our joy will know no boundaries and victory will be guaranteed. See Ps.22:3; 2Chron.20:21-25 and Ps.149.

As we come to the conclusion of today’s message, let us not forget that while we are talking about the joy of the Lord today, these principles are timeless and all beneficial. These same principles can be used to cultivate all aspects of the fruit of the spirit at the same time, but since we are not looking at that today, I will not be able to talk about all the scriptures for each of the manifestations of the fruit of the spirit.

Meanwhile someone is reading this today who is yet to make a decision for the Lord. This is your opportunity to make the most of your life as access to real joy is by the new birth experience. If you want to take advantage of this privilege today, you can do so right away by saying the following prayer out loud in faith and you will be born again:

Heavenly Father,

Have mercy on me a sinner. Today, I believe that Jesus died for me and you raised Him from the dead for my Justification. I therefore declare that Jesus Christ is my Saviour and Lord and from today, I renounce the fatherhood of Satan and embrace Jesus Christ as my Saviour and Lord. Thank you for this father in Jesus’ name! Amen.

Congratulations! For more information and resources that would help you grow in this new life, please visit our website at www.kingdomheirsministries.org and our blogs at www.flourishinggirl.blogspot.com and follow us on twitter at alero_nanna and on face book on www.facebook.com/flourishinggirl www.facebook.com/khmii2015; www.facebook.com/thewellbeingcenter. Or www.facebook.com/kingdomjointheirsfamily email:  jointheirsfamily@gmail.com.