Joyful Always 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Philippians 4:4-7 Psalms 97:11-12 Habakkuk 3:17-19 Psalms 119:162-163 Matthew 5:11-12 Romans 12:12 Psalms 105:1-4 Nehemiah 8:10 Psalms 4:5-8 12.29.17

JOYFUL ALWAYS

BREAD

¹⁶ Be joyful always; ¹⁷ pray continually; ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.   1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV)

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:4-7 (NIV)

¹¹ Light is shed upon the righteous and joy on the upright in heart. ¹² Rejoice in the LORD, you who are righteous, and praise his holy name.   Psalm 97:11-12 (NIV)

¹⁷ Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, ¹⁸ yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. ¹⁹ The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.  For the director of music. On my stringed instruments.   Habakkuk 3:17-19 (NIV)

¹⁶² I rejoice in your promise like one who finds great spoil. ¹⁶³ I hate and abhor falsehood but I love your law.   Psalm 119:162-163 (NIV)

¹¹ “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”   Matthew 5:11-12 (NIV)

¹² Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.   Romans 12:12 (NIV)

¹ Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. ² Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. ³ Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice. ⁴ Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.   Psalm 105:1-4 (NIV)

“Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”  Nehemiah 8:10 (NIV)

⁵ Offer right sacrifices and trust in the LORD. ⁶ Many are asking, “Who can show us any good?” Let the light of your face shine upon us, O LORD. ⁷ You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound. ⁸ I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.  Psalm 4:5-8 (NIV)

BUTTER

“Joy is the most infallible sign of the presence of God.”   Leon Bloy

“What impression do you want to leave with others if the only thing they have to go on is your countenance, attitude or expression?  Sadly, for some of us the message would be ‘unhappy home,’ ‘mad at the world,’ or ‘depressed and downtrodden.’  As believers in Christ, we must not live there. Rather, our lives should reflect whose we are.  The Scriptures teach us in Psalm 68:3, ‘...may the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful.’  If you're a child of the King, then take on an attitude of royalty.  Reveal God's presence in your life.  Hold your head high, greet others with genuine hospitality and be careful to show loving-kindness to all people.  By doing these things, you will become a bold witness for Christ without ever having to open your mouth.”   Renee Nail

“Other men see only a hopeless end, but the Christian rejoices in an endless hope.”   Gilbert Brenken

“We must rejoice in God, but still with a holy trembling.”   Matthew Henry

“In a command to ‘be joyful,’ self-discipline isn’t the goal.  It isn’t an effective response or even a realistic one.  We can’t change our hearts simply by telling them to change.  We can, however, realize that our attitudes are off-kilter and ask Him to supernaturally change them.  He holds hearts in His hand; He can certainly sway them with His thoughts and fill them with His Spirit.  If we are going to be people who are always joyful, this is how it has to be.  We can’t follow this instruction in the midst of trying circumstances unless we have a radical change of perspective and supernatural help.  Biblical commands to rejoice – especially in suffering, persecution, and the intense trials of life – can only be fulfilled when we depend on Him.”   Chris Tiegreen   

“Life is a celebration; delight in it. For us to enjoy life and to see it as a celebration, there are three things that we must do: rejoice (Ecclesiastes 11:7, 9), remove (11:10), and remember (12:1). Rejoice in each day. Anticipate every new day as a wrapped gift from the hand of God, and look forward to waking up and unwrapping that wonderful gift. Start your day with gratitude. Remove bitterness, false beliefs, bad habits, and unwholesome relationships from your life now before they endanger your future. Remember the constant presence of God. Wherever you go, He is with you, and He is watching over you. Remember to obey His Word and to seek His righteousness and His Kingdom first -- for that is the secret to your success. Remember to place Him first in every decision you make.”    Michael Youssef

“The children of God are ruled in their inmost powers by love - the love of Christ constraineth them; they rejoice that divine love is set upon them, they feel it shed abroad in their hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto them, and then by force of gratitude they love the Saviour with a pure heart, fervently.  My dear reader, do you love Him?”  Charles H. Spurgeon 

“Every attribute of God should become a fresh ray in the sunlight of our gladness.  That He is wise should make us glad, knowing as we do our own foolishness.  That He is mighty should cause us to rejoice who tremble at our weakness.  That He is everlasting, should always be a theme of joy when we know that we wither as the grass.  That He is un-changing, should perpetually yield us a song, since we change every hour.  That He is full of grace, that He is overflowing with it, and that this grace in covenant He has given to us; that it is ours to cleanse us, ours to keep us, ours to sanctify us, ours to perfect us, ours to bring us to glory – all this should tend to make us glad in Him.  This gladness in God is as a deep river; we have only as yet touched its brink, we know a little of its clear sweet, heavenly streams, but onward the depth is greater, and the current more impetuous in its joy.”   Charles H. Spurgeon
   

“It is our duty and privilege to rejoice in God, and to rejoice in him always; at all times, in all conditions.  There is enough in God to furnish us with matter for joy in the worst circumstances on earth.”    Matthew Henry    

    

“The root of joy is gratefulness … It is not joy that makes us grateful; it is gratitude that makes us joyful.”   David Steindl-Rast

“Those who are ‘beloved of the Lord’ must be the most happy and joyful people to be found anywhere upon the face of the earth.”   Charles H. Spurgeon

“Circumstances do not have the power to steal your joy.  Joy is the by-product of experiencing God’s sovereign grace even in the midst of seemingly impossible circumstances.”   Anonymous

“The surest mark of a Christian is not faith, or even love, but joy.”    Samuel Shoemaker

HEART SAVOR

• ·         Believers are to be joyful always.
• ·         Our reaction to circumstances reveal what is in our hearts.
• ·         Our joy in the Lord is a great witness.