Joy

• Romans 14:13-19 – Absence of joy can be a tool of the devil. If you don’t fill your life with joy, the devil will help you fill it with something else.

• Romans 15:8-13

• II Corinthians 7:13 – Joy is contagious!

• Galatians 5:16-26 – Joy is one of the fruits of the spirit. It is a great motivator.

• Philippians 1:1-5 – We must pray with joy!

• Philippians 1:21-26 – Paul had “joy in the faith.” We should have joy in our salvation and in the spiritual companionship we have with our brethren.

• Philippians 2:1-11 – Today we can “complete” Paul’s joy by being of the same mind in obeying God.

• Colossians 1:9-14 – Joy can be a power in that it encourages us to act with zeal in serving God.

• Hebrews 12:1-2 – Jesus’ joy was salvation for His creation.

Don’t ever forget to thank God for the great blessing of your hands.

Bad uses of hands in the Bible

• Mark 14:16; Matthew 26:67 – crucifying Jesus

• Acts 23:2; Luke 21:12 – persecution of Christians

• II Timothy 3:12; I Peter 4:16 – Christians will suffer persecution.

Good uses of hands

• James 4:8; Acts 15:9 – The only way to get clean hands is by faith.

• Galatians 5:6; I Corinthians 10:31

• I Timothy 2:8 – This is not talking about posture during prayer – it is talking about being pure before God.

• Acts 20:34

• Ephesians 4:28

• Leviticus 7:30

• Acts 8:18

• Mark 10:16 – Jesus blessed people with His hands. He gave us an example of how to use our hands – in service to God.

• Philippians 2:4-5 – We should use our hands to provide for the needs of others.

• I Corinthians 6:19-20

Romans 6:13; I Corinthians 10:31

Let us use our hands and whole body to serve God.

Isaiah 29:13

Here are some things we typically do …

• We do what we were going to do anyway.

  • Jeremiah 42:1-6, 19-22; 43:1-4 – The people would not believe Jeremiah!

  • Matthew 12:36

• We talk about how good the preaching is … but we still don’t obey.

  • Ezekiel 33:30-33

  • James 1:22, 26-27

  • James 2:19-20, 24, 26

• We sincerely intend to change … but something gets in the way.

  • Acts 2:41

So how do we get going?

• Fear

  • Hebrews 10:26-31

• Love

  • Luke 7:37-48

  • Love should be what motivates us!

  • Joel 2:12-13

Proverbs 8:22-36; 5:3-19; 6:23-35; 7:1-27

Proverbs 8:22-31 – Wisdom is an original quality, preceding the earth itself and exercised by God when He created the earth.

Sexual purity

• Proverbs 5:3-6 – The adulteress sounds good, but she brings death

• Proverbs 5:7-14

• Proverbs 5:15-19 – The marriage relationship is blessed by God, but He created it to be enjoyed only within marriage. Stick to your mate!

• Proverbs 6:23-35

• Proverbs 7:1-27 – Both people made a series of mistakes that led them into sin. Don’t be like either of these people!

What is joy?

What does it mean to have joy?

• “Joy is a more a state of mind than a state of elation.”

• “Joy is a perspective that you filter everything through.”

John 15:1-11 – What can we learn about joy? Joy comes from bearing fruit for God.

Luke 15:5-10 – The angels in heaven rejoice when more souls are headed their way. The angels in heaven are concerned about us!

John 16:19-22 – Just as the disciples had great joy when Jesus was resurrected, we should have great joy when we see Jesus by faith.

Acts 12:6-14

Romans 14:13-19 – The absence of joy can be a tool of the devil.