Getting My Joy Back!
“There is not a maverick molecule in the universe outside the sovereignty of God.”
- R.C. Sproul
Why is JOY So Important?
1. Joy is a WEAPON
2. Joy is a WITNESS
3. Joy is an EVIDENCE
4. Joy gives you RESILIENCE
Nehemiah 8:10 NIV
THE JOY OF THE LORD IS YOUR STRENGTH!
Moves to Make for Getting Our Joy Back
1. Move from HAPPINESS to JOY
HAPPINESS depends on what happens, but JOY comes from Jesus.
John 3:16 NIV
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
Psalm 27:10 NLT
Even if my father and mother abandon me, the Lord will hold me close.
Psalm 30:5 NKJV
Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.
1 Corinthians 15:54-55 NIV
Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?
Moves to Make for Getting Our Joy Back
1. Move from HAPPINESS to JOY
2. Move from VISITING to ABIDING
Psalm 16:11 ESV
You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Psalm 103 NIV
Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits— who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed. He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel: The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children— with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts. The Lord has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all. Praise the Lord, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word. Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will. Praise the Lord, all his works everywhere in his dominion. Praise the Lord, my soul.
Moves to Make for Getting Our Joy Back
1. Move from HAPPINESS to JOY
2. Move from VISITING to ABIDING
3. Move from GAINING to GIVING
1 Timothy 6:9-10 NIV
Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
1 Peter 1:8-9 NIV
Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious JOY, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Maybe you made a decision to follow Jesus today, or maybe you’re curious what life with Him is all about. Wherever you are on your journey, we invite you to share with us so we can help you discover your next step.
