You have a Laugh inside you Pastor Eddie Turner Sunday, September 25, 2016 Rom. 14:17-18(NLT) - For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 If you serve Christ with this attitude, you will please God, and others will approve of you, too. - faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against - We live in a high stress, frustrating environment. As Christians it s easy to allow that frustration, anger and stress to invade our lives. When you allow the stress and frustration of life to get on you, it will rob you of a divine source of help and strength-your joy! - We have a reservoir, a stockpile, a reserve and an overflowing supply of joy inside of us! On your worse day-you have a laugh inside of you! - John 15:9-11(NLT) - I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. 10 When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father s commandments and remain in his love. 11 I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! - John 15:9-11(AMP) - I have loved you just as the Father has loved me; remain in my love [and do not doubt my love for you]. 10 If you keep my commandments and obey my teaching, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept My Father s commandments and remain in His love. 11 I have told you these things so that my joy and delight may be in you, and that your joy may be made full and complete and overflowing. -- John 17:13(NLT) - Now I am coming to you. I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled
with my joy. -- What is this joy Jesus is referring to? -- Everyone wants to be happy- the continual quest for happiness causes us to spend a lot of money, go a lot of places and do a lot of things. -- Happiness is a wonderful emotion and fun state of being but Christ s followers have something deeper, richer and better than happiness-we have joy! - Happiness can never be maintained continually - If your goal in life is only to be happy-you will wear yourself out and spend all of your resources trying to stay in a state that is impossible to remain in. Ecc. 3:1-4(NLT) - For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. 2 A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. 3 A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up. 4 A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance. The Bible references joy over 300 times but happy is only mentioned 30 times in the Bible. Hap means chance and is the root of several words happen, happening, haphazard (dependent on mere chance), hapless, happenstance (a chance circumstance) and happy. - Happiness is a glad feeling that depends on something good happening. Happiness is totally dependent on circumstances. Joy comes from the Greek word chara which means exceedingly glad, to delight in. Wherein happiness is dependent upon favorable external conditionsjoy is internal and its foundation is in the life of God that never changes.
--- Joy is an inner appreciation and a sense of satisfaction due to a spiritual reality that we are in Christ and Christ is in us. Joy can be expressed in outward actions such as laughter, dancing, shouting, singing -but also in contentment, general gratitude, optimism and a sense of freedom. Joy is the celebration in the heart of the believer for what God has done. Joy is not dependent upon a feeling-joy is dependent upon knowing. 1). Joy is a fruit of the Spirit and it is resident in you. faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against 1 Cor. 6:19(NLT) - Don t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself John 14:16-17(NLT) - And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. 17 He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn t looking for him and doesn t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. Ezekiel 36:27(NLT) - And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations When the Spirit of God came to dwell inside of you as a believerall the attributes of the Holy Spirit came to dwell inside of you as well. --------------
faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against 1). Joy is a fruit of the Spirit and it is resident in you. 2). Fruit has to grow and mature before you enjoy the benefits of it: How do we grow the fruit of joy in our lives? 1). Remain in a Joy growing environment: Psalm 16:11(NKJV) - You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Acts 2:12-18(NLT) - They stood there amazed and perplexed. What can this mean? they asked each other. 13 But others in the crowd ridiculed them, saying, They re just drunk, that s all! 14 Then Peter stepped forward with the eleven other apostles and shouted to the crowd, Listen carefully, all of you, fellow Jews and residents of Jerusalem! Make no mistake about this. 15 These people are not drunk, as some of you are assuming. Nine o clock in the morning is much too early for that. 16 No, what you see was predicted long ago by the prophet Joel: 17 In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. 18 In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on my servants men and women alike and they will prophesy. 1). Remain in a Joy growing environment: 2). Read and Rehearse the Word of God:
Jeremiah 15:16(NLT) - When I discovered your words, I devoured them. They are my joy and my heart s delight, for I bear your name, O Lord God of Heaven s Armies.