The Joy of Believing. Wayne Brooke. The Scriptural Path to True Joy

Transcription

1 The Joy of Believing By Wayne Brooke The Scriptural Path to True Joy All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scriptures marked KJV are from the King James Version. Circuit Rider Ministry Wayne Brooke 150 Sunken Forest Dr. Forsyth, Mo Copyright 2001 Wayne Brooke Second Printing 2003!1

2 Introduction Chapter 1. Chapter 2. Chapter 3. Chapter 4. Chapter 5. Chapter 6. Chapter 7. Chapter 8. Joy of Believing. For His Pleasure. Joy of the Lord. Faith of Christ. Joy of Seeking. Joy and Rejoicing. Rejoice in Trials. Rejoice and be Glad. Conclusion.!2

3 INTRODUCTION The greatest joy that man has ever experienced is ours today through faith in Jesus Christ. The apostle Peter said that it is so great that it is inexpressible and full of glory. In other words it is so great that it goes clear off the charts. In my fifty plus years of walking with the Lord and thirty plus years of ministry, I have experienced such joy; not just in the good times but also in times when it seemed I wouldn t be able to survive the attacks of the enemy. The greatest experiences of this joy would come when I put my faith in Jesus. Believing in Jesus seemed to open the heavens and this great joy would flood my heart. In this book I write some of the great things that have happened and the joy that I have experienced, but it isn t just the big things. The small every day things that you believe in God for bring just as much joy. For me this joy has been my strength that kept me going when everything else in me was screaming to quit. I was blessed by this joy long before I saw the Scripture in Romans 15:13 which says: 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. I will take you through as much Scripture as I can to help you find this joy but knowledge alone won t produce the joy. Only as we believe God through His word, and walk in the obedience that pleases Him will we experience this great joy. Joy is what we experience when we participate in the activity of God. God enjoys revealing Himself to us and working with us to!3

4 accomplish His will. God has an eternal plan and when we align with that plan it brings God great joy. When God shares that joy with us we can t help but rejoice. We respond to God s joy by rejoicing. I call it the reciprocal response. When this joy comes into our hearts it is like Jesus saying to us; well done good and faithful servant. This joy is something that should be constant in our lives, yet there are those Christians who lose their joy a few weeks after they are born again and never regain it. Others don t even know they are supposed to have it so they never miss it. Those who fall into sin lose their joy and can t regain it until they repent as King David did. There are so many ways we can experience this joy. A good example of this is when we repent and ask Jesus to come into our hearts. There is joy in heaven over the sinner that repents. One of the ways I experience great joy is when I am praying for others. Another thing that brings joy is in being a blessing to others. When God uses us to bless others they get the blessing but we get the joy. It may be something as simple as making a phone call or baking something special and taking it to a neighbor. My wife Jessie finds great joy in sending cards to people as the Lord directs. Another source of joy for me has been the revelation of God s word. I will be reading along when all the sudden a verse will just come alive and minister to my need or the need of others. His word becomes a joy and rejoicing to me.!4

5 It has been a wonderful thing to hear all the ways people have experienced this joy. Even in the worst of hardships and persecutions people have been blessed with joy unspeakable and full of glory. Joy isn't affected by our circumstances but rather by our relationship and walk with the Lord. Those who have been imprisoned and tortured for the Gospel talk of such great joy that sustained and gave them strength. It almost makes me wish I had been there instead of them. The joy of the Lord was indeed their strength. In order to properly understand how joy fits into our lives we need to look at two other things which we experience. These are happiness and pleasure. The simplest way to think of it is that joy is experienced in the spirit, happiness is experienced in the soul, and pleasure is experienced in the body. Another way to look at it is that joy is our interaction with God, happiness our interaction with people, pets, etc, and pleasure is our interaction with our environment. God has planned for us to experience all three, and they are promised to us in Scripture. If we chose to love and live for pleasure, we sacrifice the joy and happiness that would have been ours if we would have lived for His pleasure. I like to fish, so I take my boat out on the lake and find a beautiful place where there are many fish. While I am sitting there taking it all in, two beautiful eagles fly over my boat. That is a real pleasure! If I take someone with me and they see the beauty, watch the eagles and catch fish, that makes me happy. Many times when I take people!5

6 with me, the Lord will use me to minister to them: That brings me joy. When I go to a restaurant I enjoy watching people. When there is a large group, I try and pick out who will pay the bill. I can usually do it because they will be the happiest person at the table. The most miserable person at the table is the one who is afraid they are going to have to pay. If we walk with the Lord, He will cause us to lie down in green pastures and He will lead us beside the still waters. When we allow Him to be Lord of our lives, we find real happiness. Happy is the people whose God is the Lord. When we experience the joy of the Lord, it causes us to rejoice which is our response to the joy we feel. To encourage people to rejoice before they experience God's joy never seems to work, but when they do experience it, you can't stop them from rejoicing. Joy is also included in the way we identify the kingdom of God. For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. (Rom. 14:17). If I am looking for a church where I can worship the Lord the most important things I will be looking for are righteousness, peace, and joy. Do people have a good relationship with each other? Is there peace or is the place filled with confrontation and conflict? Is there a real sense of joy and rejoicing among the people? Does God enjoy going to church there?!6

7 Another area we will be covering will be gladness. It is often included in the same text as joy or rejoicing. Joy is what we feel on the inside and rejoicing is the outburst we give in response. Gladness is what others can see as far as the lasting effect of the joy we have experienced. I like to refer to it as the residual part of the joy. I pray that as a result of reading this book, you will spend the rest of your life experiencing the joy of the Lord, and that you will find the source of great strength.!7

8 JOY OF BELIEVING "Now 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." (Rom. 15:13). Joy is a gift that God has prepared for those who believe in Him. There is joy and peace for those who believe in Him and walk in the way that pleases Him. God gives each one of us a measure of faith when we are born. Every human being on earth has this faith, but not everyone uses it to believe. God has provided for every one of us His Word which is our source of faith, but not every one who reads the Word really believes it. When we choose to believe, that pleases God and brings great joy to Him. When we promise something to our children and they believe us, that brings great joy to our hearts because they trust us and believe what we say. How much more the Father is pleased when we believe Him. God has planned great things for us but the only way we can receive them is to believe. We must believe God is who He says He is, and will do what He says He will do. The more God reveals Himself to us the more we believe. The more we believe the more He reveals Himself. God really enjoys working with us this way. The more we believe, the greater the joy of the the Lord. When we believe in Him to the extent that we put our whole trust in Him, He is able to lead us by His Word and His Spirit. This brings Him great joy.!8

9 Joy is as much God's nature as love and peace and He shares that joy with us by the Holy Spirit. As we believe, He is able to change us into His image and impart to us His character: "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Cor. 3:18). "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law." (Gal. 5:22-23). Believing brings us into the realm of the Spirit where we can experience the activity of God and participate in His work. Faith isn't dreaming up things for God to do, but rather finding out what He is doing and believing that he will accomplish it. Start with simple faith and go on from there. I have witnessed great miracles and watched God do many wonderful things, but it all starts with simple faith. Believe what you can believe. Can you believe that God is love and that He loves you? That is a start. Can you believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the living God? Why would our believing bring God joy? God is invisible so we can't see Him, yet He wants us to believe that He is: 'Whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory." (1Pe. 1:8)!9

10 I like to tell people that being a Christian is real simple: All we have to do is follow an invisible God, down an impossible path, to an unseen destination. We don't know anything about God except what He tells about Himself. God gives us a measure of faith and then wants us to act on that faith. Believing is the action that we take in response to what God is telling us He is going to do. While pastoring a church in northern Missouri the Lord impressed on me two messages for the upcoming Sunday. During the Sunday morning service I was told my whole congregation would be going to another church for Vacation Bible commencement. The two rural churches had gone together to provide this for the children. My wife and our two boys were also going. Normally we would have all gone, but I felt led to stay because I felt the Lord wanted me to preach that evening sermon. My heart sank as my whole church got in their cars and drove off. The roads were dirt so I could see their dust for about two miles going south. As I stood there alone, I looked to the north and saw a trail of dust. There were several cars and they all stopped at the church. One man got out and asked if we were having services. I assured him that we were and invited them in. They were all total strangers to me. By the time they got in the church, all the seats were full. I picked up my guitar and began to lead the song service after which I started to preach the sermon that the Lord had laid on my heart. About half way through the sermon an elderly man in!10

11 the back began to breath heavy, grab his chest, and then slump over. I stopped and went back to see what I could do for him. One of the ladies that came with them checked him and couldn't detect any breath or pulse. I felt led to pray for him, which I did. In a few seconds he revived and asked what had happened. The joy of the Lord filled the place and we all started rejoicing. My heart was full of gladness because I had believed and obeyed. I could just imagine God smiling on the whole thing. I'm sure He had it planned that way all along. I can always tell when I have truly believed for something because after it happens, I can hardly believe that it happened. The natural man can't believe it, even after it happens, so how do we expect to believe it before it happens? This is why we have the word "wonderful". I am always full of wonder as to how these things happen. When we believe, they happen, and when we don't believe they don't happen, but we can't tell how they happen. Our first experience with believing, and the resulting joy, is usually when we are born again. We read in Acts16:30b-31 of the Philippian jailer: "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" So they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household." When the Philippian jailer believed on Jesus as His savior he experienced joy from heaven and began to rejoice:!11

12 "Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household." (Acts 16:34). He was rejoicing because of the joy that had flooded his heart. He was in contact with the activity of God which is salvation: "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." (Luke 19:10). "I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance." (Luke 15:7). "Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." (Luke 15:10). There is so much joy in the heart of God when someone is born again that it fills heaven and all that dwell there. Notice that it doesn't say that the angels rejoice but that there is joy in the presence of the angels. God is the one filled with joy and it is flowing out to the angels. I was nine years old when I believed and was born again. I can still remember the moment as if it was just yesterday. There was so much joy that it filled the whole church. The next day as I looked around things looked so different. I had never seen the sky so blue and the trees so green. The chickens were so white! But what I remember most was the joy I felt in my heart. Now fifty three years later the joy is still there.!12

13 We may not always be happy, and we don't always find pleasure, but the joy remains forever. This is because it is the eternal joy of the Lord. It doesn't depend on our outer circumstances like happiness and pleasure, but on the approval of God and of His work in our lives. We can see in the life of King David that joy was evident in his salvation, because that is what he noticed was missing when he sinned and displeased the Lord. "Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit." (Psa. 51:12). "Make me hear joy and gladness, That the bones You have broken may rejoice." (Psa. 51:8). When David sinned by committing adultery and murder he lost the joy that had been such a part of his life. When the joy goes, the rejoicing stops, and when the joy returns, the rejoicing returns: "I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels." (Isa. 61:10). "Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation." (Isa. 12:3). "Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation." (Hab. 3:18).!13

14 When we participate with God to seek and to save the lost by preaching the Gospel, we too experience the joy, as well as those being saved. "Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy." (Psa. 126:5). Prayer is another way we can participate in the activity of God. Many times when I pray it is as though I am just saying my prayers, until the Holy Spirit takes over: Then it seems as though I know the will of God, and pray accordingly. I love to pray right from the Scriptures as the Spirit quickens them to me. What a joy it is to be with God in the place of prayer: "Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on My altar; For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations." (Isa. 56:7). When I was twelve years old, I had an experience that really taught me to believe, and showed me the joy of believing. My favorite place to pray was in our chicken house. It was my chore to feed the chickens, so when I finished, I would climb up on the roost and through a hole into the attic. That was the Holy Place. One day as I was praying the Spirit spoke to my heart and said; Ask anything you want. Well, I had lost a baseball and a cast metal car and hadn't been able to find either one of them. First, I prayed that I would be able to find my baseball. After I prayed the Holy Spirit said, "If you really believe, begin to praise the Lord for the answer." I did that, and then climbed down the roost and went!14

15 outside. I felt led to go in a certain direction so I obeyed. I walked quite a distance and stopped. When I looked down there was my baseball in the weeds. I began to rejoice and headed back for the Holy Place in the chicken house. I prayed that I would be able to find my missing car. I praised and thanked the Lord. Then back down the roost I went I was led in a different direction this time, and then stopped. I looked down, and there was my car. What joy filled my heart as I could sense the Lord saying "Wayne believed Me, Wayne believed Me!" There is joy and peace in believing. After Paul had led the people to Christ he felt the need to bring them into this joy in an even greater way. "And being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith." (Phi. 1:25). When Adam was in the garden before he sinned he had close fellowship with God. After sin came in, that fellowship was broken and God could no longer walk with man as He had in the past. The good news is that God had a plan to restore that fellowship. We are God's special creation and He loves us very much. The problem is that His glory is so great that if He revealed Himself fully we would all die. He remains invisible and reveals Himself to us as He can, without destroying us. What He asks of us is to believe in what He reveals of Himself. The word revelation means to uncover. As God uncovers Himself we see and believe. As we believe, God is able once again to fellowship with us, and this brings Him great joy.!15

16 FOR HIS PLEASURE In order for us to experience the joy of the Lord, we must realize that it is just that: His Joy! God works according to His own pleasure. When we come into contact with the activity of God, we experience His joy. Isn't it a wonderful thing that He wants to share this joy with us? "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will." (Eph. 1:3-5). "Having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself." (Eph. 1:9). God simply said, "I checked with myself and decided, this is the way I will do it," and did it that way. He didn't check with me, or you, or any one else. I have heard people say: "It doesn't matter what you believe as long as you believe something." The truth is, you have to believe what God believes if you want to walk in the fullness of joy. We were created for His pleasure so we need to surrender to His will, and let Him do what He wants in our lives:!16

17 "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created." (Rev. 4:11, KJV.). God created us as the objects of His love. Love has to have an object. You can't just say "I love" because love is self sacrificial giving. God is love, therefore He must have someone to love. Even though He created us as the objects of His love, He also gave us the opportunity to not love Him in return. Our love for Him wouldn't have any meaning to Him unless we had the opportunity to not love. That's why there is so much joy in the heart of God when we choose to believe, love and obey Him. We are here for His pleasure. God also wants to work in us to accomplish His will and purpose. When we allow God to use us for His good pleasure, this brings Him great joy: "For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure." (Phi. 2:13). "Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant. Make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen." (Heb. 13:20-21). God has had a plan from before the foundation of the world: I call it plan A. I don't believe he has a plan B. I believe He!17

18 is still doing exactly what He planned to do from the beginning. It is with great joy that He carries out that plan. When we become a part of the plan we experience the joy. He really does want to include us. "For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, you are God's building." (1Cor. 3:9). "But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you. "Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." (Luke 12:31-32). God planned on Jesus coming prior to the foundation of the world, before man ever existed or sinned. What a joy in the heart of God when the fullness of time came, and the plan was put in motion. Those who came in contact with this activity experienced great joy. "But the angel said to him, 'Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb." (Luke 1:13-15). Sometimes people get to experience the joy of the Lord even though it isn't a deliberate choice of their part. The shepherds were just in the area tending their sheep when the angel appeared to them. Anytime we are in close proximity to the!18

19 activity of God we can experience the joy. I call it a close encounter of the best kind: "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." (Luke 2:10). The wise men were drawn from the east to experience this joy, and to take part in the rejoicing. "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. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy." (Mat. 2:9-10). One part of this story that I enjoy very much is when John the Baptist came in contact with Jesus while they were both still in the womb. Mary went up to visit with Elisabeth and when they met, John, who was in Elisabeth's womb, began to leap for joy: "For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy." (Luke 1:44). Another part of the plan of God is when He takes us home to be with Him. This, as with all the activity of God, will be a time of great joy and rejoicing. "Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Heb. 12:2).!19

20 What was this great joy that was set before Him, that enabled Him to endure the torture of the cross and the shame that went with it? I believe the answer is found in the book of Jude: "Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior, Who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen." (Jude 1:24-25). I can just see Jesus as He approaches the Father with all the great host of the people He has redeemed and says, "Father, may I present unto you these people I purchased with My blood. Redeemed ones, I present to you the Father?" Can you imagine the joy that will be in the Father's heart when Jesus presents us to Him? Can you imagine the joy Jesus will experience as He presents us to the Father? Dare I mention the joy we will feel on that day? Oh what a day! Oh what rejoicing! I do believe that He will present us faultless before the presence of His Glory with exceeding joy. This is what Jesus was looking forward to when He was dying on the cross. This is what gave Him the power to endure. There is simply no comparison between the suffering and the glory. I will write more about this in a later chapter, but for now I wanted you to see how this part of the plan of God was the source of great joy.!20

21 Those who have labored with the Lord will also experience this great joy. As we see those we have led to the Lord standing with us in His presence, there will be great joy and rejoicing: 'For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? For you are our glory and joy.' (1 Thess. 2:19-20). This joy is what gives us the ability to go on no matter how hard the circumstances or what we have to endure and no matter how long it takes. We can make it because there is a joy that is set before us. "For you had compassion on me in my chains, and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven." (Heb. 10:34). When Jesus was crucified on the cross, there was great sorrow, but the plan of God wasn't finished. It was just beginning for all who would believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. After the two Marys' discovered the empty tomb, their sorrow turned to joy: "So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word." (Mat. 28:8). Jesus told the disciples it would happen this way: "Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy." (John 16:20).!21

22 "Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you." (John 16:22). Jesus appeared many times to His disciples after His resurrection. Each time it brought them joy and gladness: "When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord." (John 20:20). The next part of God's plan was the Ascension of Jesus. There were those on hand to witness this event and once again there was great joy and rejoicing: "Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven. And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy." (Luke 24:51-52). "You have heard Me say to you, 'I am going away and coming back to you.' If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, 'I am going to the Father,' for My Father is greater than I." (John 14:28). Jesus lived His whole life here on earth to please the Father and to do His will: "Then Jesus said to them, 'When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him." (John 8:28-29).!22

23 The Father confirmed this with an audible voice from heaven: "And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." (Mat. 3:17). If we are going to know the greatest joy possible we must learn to live for His pleasure and not our own. We must allow God to work in us both to will and to do for His good pleasure: "For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy." (Col. 1:9-11) "Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God." (1Thess. 4:1). The word abound here refers to going onward and upward. You bound down the stairs, but you are to abound upward in Jesus. We abound by being overcomers. You can't overcome until you come to something you must come over. It is like climbing stairs. Every obstacle becomes an opportunity to go upward and forward. We overcome by faith in Jesus:!23

24 "For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" (1John 5:4-5) Our believing and overcoming brings God both pleasure and joy. There is joy and peace in believing. Now I would like to simplify this even more by tying several of these things together. The longer I walk with the Lord, and the more I know of Him, the simpler all things become. First we see that it only by faith that we can please God: "By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, "and was not found, because God had taken him"; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." (Heb. 11:5-6) The beginning of our faith is to believe that He is. As soon as we truly believe then the joy begins, because there is joy and peace in believing. We must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. I mentioned before that we don't know anything about God, except what He has told us about Himself. He introduced Himself to Moses as "I AM"! I AM; YOU ARE; and HE IS; are all the same statement depending on who is saying it. When God is speaking He says; "I!24

25 AM"! When we speak to God we say; "YOU ARE"! And when we speak to each other we say; "HE IS"! Jesus asked the disciples: "Who do you say that I am?" Peter's reply was "YOU ARE the Christ the Son of the living God." Then Jesus told him that flesh and blood hadn't revealed that to him but the Father. So our believing is based on what God has said about Himself. When we believe what God has said about Himself, that brings Him great joy. He shares that joy with us and we are joyful; or full of joy. Our believing is what pleases God. "And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight." (1John 3:22). The disciples asked Jesus; "What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?" "Jesus answered and said to them, 'This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent." (John 6:29). How do we please God? By believing. How do we do the works of God? By believing. How do we find joy? By believing In the parable of the talents Jesus reveals even more: " H i s lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord." (Mat. 25:23).!25

26 In Neh. 8:10b: We read: "The joy of the Lord is your strength." Now let's put it all together: 1. First God tells us about Himself. 2. Next we believe. 3. By believing we faithfully do the work. 4. By faithfulness we enter into the joy of the Lord. 5. The joy of the Lord becomes our strength. 6. Now we have the strength to do more work. 7. Yes! There is joy and peace in believing.!26

27 JOY OF THE LORD To know God is to know joy. To believe in God and His word is to experience fullness of joy. To walk with God is to have joy unspeakable and full of glory. When we realize that it is God's joy we are experiencing and that He is the only source of true joy, then we begin in earnest to seek Him and His word. God so wants to share His joy with us. "The LORD your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing." (Zeph. 3:17). I can always tell when the Lord is in our midst because of the great joy that fills the people present. Because we have chosen to seek His face and to believe in His word, He rejoices over us with joy. It is almost more than I can comprehend, that God would joy over me with singing. There is nothing I enjoy more than the presence of the Lord. "You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is f u l l n e s s o f j o y ; A t Yo u r r i g h t h a n d are p l e a s u r e s forevermore." (Psa. 16:11). This joy isn't something God gives us separate from Himself, but rather from the sharing of Himself. In His presence is fullness of joy. Wherever God is revealing Himself, that is where I want to be. Whatever God is doing, that is what I want to be!27

28 doing. When we walk on the path of life that God has provided for us, we begin to experience His joy. It is the work that God is doing in our lives that He enjoys. All that God does is because of His love. When we love Him, or love one another, we bring God great joy. "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full." (John 15:10-11). The joy of the Lord Jesus was to love His Father, and to share His Father's love with others. If we do the same, our joy will be full. Jesus really wants us to have fullness of joy, and made every preparation for it through prayer before He returned to the Father: "But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves." (John 17:13). All the joy that Jesus experienced here on the earth He wants to share with us. As we allow Jesus to live in us we continue to have His joy fulfilled in us. Joy is a part of the very nature and character of God and is revealed in His countenance. Where God is there will be joy: "You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of joy in Your presence." (Acts 2:28). Some people see the "ways of life" and, "in your presence" as two different things that must be pursued separately, but God!28

29 intended for them to be one and the same. When we learn to walk in His ways we find that we are also walking in His presence. The joy of the Lord is to participate in every facet of our lives. Jesus, in the parable of the talents, puts it all together and shows us that pleasing God results in joy the Joy of the Lord. "His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord." (Mat. 25:23). God rewards us for our faithful obedience with His joy. Some of the best verses showing that the joy we experience comes from the Lord are found in the book of Nehemiah: "Then he said to them, 'Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our LORD. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength." (Neh. 8:10). "Also that day they offered great sacrifices, and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and the children also rejoiced, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard afar off." (Neh. 12:43). What a wonderful thing it is that God shares His joy with us and causes us to rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.!29

30 FAITH OF CHRIST It is through believing that we come into the fullness of joy. Our believing comes from our faith and our faith comes from God: "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Rom. 10:17). "For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith." (Rom. 12:3). All God is asking of us is to believe what He is telling us about Himself. None of us have enough faith to believe in God. All He is and all He has promised to do is far beyond our reach, so He made it real simple. Instead of asking us to have faith in our faith, He asks us to have faith in His faith and His faithfulness. Paul explains how it works: "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." (Gal. 2:20, KJV).!30

31 This makes it real simple: All we have to do is place our faith in what God has done through Jesus Christ and the faith of Jesus Christ will take it from there. This is what we call grace: "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God," (Eph. 2:8). Notice that it doesn t say: For by grace are you saved, but; For by grace are you saved through faith. You have to invest the faith that God gave you and then grace takes over. If you have one percent faith and you invest that in Jesus Christ, then He will add the ninety nine percent which makes the one hundred percent you need to be saved. After you are born again you now have saving faith that you can invest in Jesus Christ. Jesus will take that and add all the faith that is needed to produce all the faith you need to do all that God has called you to do: "For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith." (Rom. 1:17). Many times I have heard people say, I just don t know if I have enough faith. Thanks to the grace of God we re not required to have one hundred percent faith on our part to receive from God. God is pleased with any faith and trust on your part, and because of the faith of Christ, He will make up all that is lacking. God increases us and takes us from faith to faith. You always have the choice of taking that faith and using it for your own profit or you can invest it back into Jesus Christ. It is much like financial investments. If you put your money in them and leave!31

32 it there it will increase. You can take your money out and use it for your own pleasure, just as you can use faith for your own gain, but if you continue to reinvest your faith in Christ it will increase. To understand it better think of it this way: Jesus has perfect faith in the Father and the Father is always faithful to the Son. Do you believe this? If you do, then you have all the faith you need to accomplish all the will of God. The entire 17th chapter of John is the record of Jesus prayer for us. I believe that it was a prayer of faith and that my life in Christ is the direct result of that prayer: "The life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." (Gal. 2:20b, KJV). To understand the faith of Jesus Christ, we must establish the fact that God can have faith in God. Jesus is God and He has faith in His Father, who is also God. Everything Jesus did He did by faith. To understand the faith of God let's go back to the first record of faith in action. "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear." (Heb. 11:3, KJV). We understand that it was through faith that God created the world by his word. Here s how it worked: The Father-Spoke-and the Spirit moved. Gen. 1:1,2,6,9. The Father-Son-and Holy Spirit. The Father-Word-and Holy Spirit. Jesus is the Word:!32

33 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made." (John 1:1-3, KJV). The Father is still Speaking and the Spirit is still moving today. "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. (John 15:7). "Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves. Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son." (John 14:11-13). Some years ago when I was director of the Truth for Youth house, the young people would come each night for Bible study and ministry. One day I was impressed to minister on the faith of Abraham. That evening after I finished teaching, some of the young people led a blind man to the front who was Jewish. I didn t know he was coming when I prepared the Bible study, so I knew God was up to something. I prayed for him and then dismissed everyone to go into the the dining room for refreshments. After a few minutes I could hear the man shouting: I can see! I can see! It didn t happen because I placed my faith in healing, but because I placed my faith in the Healer. I placed my faith in the faith of Jesus!33

34 Christ, and just as He promised in John 14:12; it worked. What joy and rejoicing filled the house. Invest your faith in Jesus Christ and let the faith of Christ work through you. Believe in Jesus and find the joy of believing. We see a good example of this in Mark the ninth chapter. A father brought his son to Jesus to be delivered from epilepsy. He petitioned Jesus; If you can do anything, have compassion on us, and help us Jesus replied: "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes." Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" (Mark 9:23-24). How wonderful to know that all things are possible to him that believes. Basically what the man is saying is, I have faith in what you just said. Now make up what I lack, (Help my unbelief). The unbelief referred to here is simply a lack of faith. The man invested what faith he had gained from Jesus words; in the faith of Jesus, and received a miracle. He invested his one percent and Jesus added the ninety nine. There is joy in believing! Peter and John had a similar experience as they went to the temple: "Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple; who, seeing Peter and John about to go into!34

35 the temple, asked for alms. And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, "Look at us." So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. Then Peter said, "Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk." And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them--walking, leaping, and praising God." (Acts 3:1-8). When asked how this happened Peter answered this way: "And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all." (Acts 3:16) Faith in His name produced the faith that is by Him. Faith in Jesus activates the faith of Jesus. That s GRACE. Everything that we have, in Christ, has been provided for us by the faith of Jesus Christ, and all we are asked to believe in Him: "And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith." (Phil. 3:9, KJV). "But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all!35

36 have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." (Rom. 3:21-24, KJV). "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified." (Gal. 2:16, KJV). Both our righteousness and our justification are by the faith of Jesus Christ, and all we are asked to do is invest our faith in Jesus. Faith in Jesus activates the faith of Jesus. Even as I type on my computer I can really appreciate justification. I set my word processor program on justify, and no matter how long my sentences are, it makes them all come out even. The same is true with faith. No matter how much faith I have, Jesus makes it all come out even in the end. Again we ask the question: How do we work the works of God? "Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent." (John 6:29). The work of God is accomplished through our believing; that is investing our faith in the work the Father has already accomplished through His Son. Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, "Write: `Blessed are the dead!36

37 who die in the Lord from now on.'" "Yes," says the Spirit, "that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them." (Rev. 14:12-13).!37

38 JOY OF SEEKING What a joy it is for God to reveal Himself to us so that we can know Him and believe. We don t know anything about God except what He tells us about Himself; then, we are only asked to believe what He reveals. Our faith is based on who He says He is, and what He has promised to do. As we saw earlier, the statements: I Am, You Are and He is are all the same statements, only the people making the statements are different. God says to us; I Am! We say to Him; You Are, and we say to each other He Is! Exodus 3:14 And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And He said, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, `I AM has sent me to you. When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?" So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." (Mat. 16:13-16). "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." (Heb. 11:6). We must believe that He Is, if we are going to please Him.!38

39 In John 11 we read how Jesus brought Martha to an ever increasing knowledge of Himself. Martha s brother Lazarus had died and Jesus returned to Bethany to raise him from the dead. Martha comes out to meet Him. "Then Martha said to Jesus, 'Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. (John 11:21). Her original faith in Jesus was that of the past: If you would have been here... Many people today only know Jesus as someone who has done things in the past. Her faith increases to a now faith: But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You. (John 11:22). Next her faith increases to a future faith: Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." (John 11:23-24). There are many believers who share this future kind of faith with Martha. These are all good kinds of faith but Jesus will show her and us that there is a better faith. "Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?' She said to Him, 'Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world." (John 11:25-27).!39

40 Jesus asks her to move to an even higher realm of faith. Do you believe I Am the Resurrection and the Life? Her reply is the same as Peter s. You are the Christ, the Son of God. This type of faith will bring great joy to the Father and great rejoicing on our part. Jesus moves us from: I believe you do resurrections to: You are the Resurrection. Our faith is based on who He says He Is, and our worship will be: You Are. This is the joy of believing! The word confession means to say the same thing; in this case it is to say the same thing about God as He says about Himself: "When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, 'I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless." (Gen. 17:1). God spoke to His people: "And said, 'If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you." (Exo. 15:26). Jesus's time on earth was a constant revelation of who He was: "I am the bread of life." (John 6:48).!40