Good morning! God is good!, all the time! what is Joy?

What is the true definition of

happiness? . The bible tell us that God wants us to be happy, do you believe that God
wants us to be joyful?1 Thessalonians 5:16 says “Always be Joyful” therefore God
really wants us to be happy, Blaise Pascal a famous mathematician once said “All
men seek happiness. This is without exception. This is the motive of every action,
of every man, even of those who hang themselves.” so every human being’s desire
is to be happy, to be joyful. Do you know that one of the strongest motivation that
could make an individual do something is joy and pain. Therefore Joy or Being happy
is very essential to each and everyone of us. But the greatest question is this “How
can someone be truly be happy? How can we attain pure joy?” many of us
Christians do not equate joy with the Lord, the good news is God wants us to be
happy, God enabled us to be happy. These brings me back to my memory as a child,
you know as a child or children in general they have the simplest joy in the world
toys, food, affections, you give these things to a child you can feel that they
experience pure joy. Most people equate joy or happiness with material things like
I’d be happy if I had a car, or I’d be happy if I had a million dollars or a mansion to
live in. Some would say all the great things in the world is the key to happiness. But
the fact is that money would not make you happy, cause if it can how come many
millionaire commit suicide? Fame would not make you happy, famous actors end
their life at the peak of their careers. Love also is not the only source of happiness
everywhere you look you see broken relationships, marriage. So how can someone
be truly happy? The good news is in Philippians 4:4 “ Rejoice in the Lord always;
again I will say rejoice. the writer of Philippians was in prison while writing this, so
how can someone be in prison tell others to be happy always, John 15:11 “these
things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be
made in full” God wants us to be happy. Jesus wants us to be happy. Joy has always
been one of the greatest gift that God has given mankind.Galatians 5:22-23 22 ”But
the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law
against these things” in medicine we always talk about laughter is the best
medicine. Well in fact this is from the bible, Proverbs 17:22 says “A cheerful heart is
good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength.”
The word Joy in the bible is written so many times come to think of it the bible is one
of the happiest book you can read, also the word blessed was also written so many
times, well in fact before the word blessed the meaning was joy being joyful.
Therefore you can roughly translate the verse " blessed are those who take refuge in
the Lord to " Joyful are thoe to take refuge in the Lord" this is one proof that our
Lord Jesus Christ wants us to be joyful, he wants us to be happy. What are the things
that kill our joys in life?
1. People some people rob you of your joy, they tend to bring you down.
2. Life situations sometimes it seems like life is against you, like you have all the
problems in the world that prevents you to become joyful
3. Selfishness, grumbling, wrong thinking these are some of the reasons why people
are not happy
So what is the secret to attain pure joy?
When i was informed that i would be preaching this Sunday and the topic was the
Advent of i began to recollect the events in my life in where i felt true and pure Joy
maybe most of you will think is that when i saw both of our names in the list of
passer on the PLE exam well you are not wrong that indeed was one of the happiest
moments in my life well that was because i felt the reward after all the years of
struggle in med school but the moment when i was in the examination room
answering the most difficult exam of my life i felt pure joy, you know why? Because i
have this joy in the Lord that no matter what the outcome of this exam i know i have
the Lord and he wants me to be joyful, so while i was struggling to answer every item
in the exam i already felt pure joy in my heart.
Many of us Christians do not equate God with Joy, when the tides are rough or when
life is hard on us that is the time that we seek God the most, we come to him when
we have nothing, when we think we cannot handle all our problems, when we do
not have the answers to our questions thats when we call upon the Lord, but how
about in times of happiness? In victory? Do we seek the Lord? Do we thank God?
Most of the times we forget, it's like this when we are weak we need the Lord but in
our victory we don't need Him anymore. But he was the reason why we succeeded
he is the reason, that we can have pure Joy.
" Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness,"
Galatians 5:22, Joy is one of the gifts of the Lord. All God wants is for us to be happy
but the question remains how can we attain true Joy?

"IS TO LIVE A CHRIST CENTERED LIFE"

1. Christ is Lord he is control
2. Concern for others
3. To see circumstances as opportunities in God's perspective

Christ is Lord, we must believe that God is God and he is in control the Lord God
is the only one who can give us pure Joy. Resting our faith to him, offering our lives,
allowing him to take control of our lives this are the ways we can have Joy. Imagine if
we were to wake up each morning not to worry about anything oh what joy It is,
having to lay your problems in the Lord knowing that God will never abandon you
Joshua 1:9 Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the
Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Deuteronomy 31:6,8 Be strong and
bold; have no fear or dread of them, because it is the Lord your God who goes
before you. He will be with you; he will not fail you or forsake you what an amazing
promise!so in time of struggles in moments that our character is tested be secured
that God is God and never will God abandon you.in Romans 8:31-35
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He
not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God's
elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and
furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes
intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation,
or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Concern for others, God designed people to be social beings remember the
saying no one is an island? Imagine to have to experience joy and no one to share it
with? What a lonely life that is one of the reasons why people end their lives they
don’t feel Joy, they feel abandoned and alone. Do you know that Japan has one of
the greatest population of old individuals? What the meaning of this? It means that
most of the young people no longer believe in marriage or relationships for them it’s
a burden to think of others but God made us to be with one another 1 John 4:19
says we love each other because he loved us first and 1 John 4:8 says But anyone
who does not love does not know God, for God is love” what an amazing thing to
care for each other, leave all the past grudges behind, stop burning bridges let us
learn to forgive one another and care for each other Ephesians 4:32 says “Instead be
kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through
Christ has forgiven you”,
See circumstances as opportunities in God’s perspective do you believe that God
has his own way in answering our prayers? Our desires? Have you ever come to a
realization that when you thought that circumstances in your life was against you
but at the end of the day God made it possible for us to experience the greater
good?. I’ll share my personal experience in this matter. Before I enrolled in med
school I was hoping to start a career as a lawyer so, during my law school days I was
let’s just say tested spiritually so to cut the story short I was not able to succeed as a
lawyer 6 years after when I was faced with the most difficult examination of my life
low and behold God revealed the reason why he only allowed me to stay just 2 years
in law school, I was able to answer and aced one of the exams which helped me a lot
to passed the PLE. God is amazing! Jeremiah 29:11 “ For I know the plans I have for
you, declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give
you hope and a future” AMEN! One of my favorite verses of all time and my board
exam verse was Isaiah 41:10 “ Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed
for I am your God, I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my
righteous right hand.”
as we approach the end of this year we can only look back about the year 2020
and what it taught us. 2020 was an extra ordinary year, it brought us challenges that
we haven’t faced over the past decade, the pandemic, storms, typhoons series of
unfortunate events. And with all this how can someone find JOY a midst all the trials
that came. The bible has promised us in James 1:2-3;” Consider it pure joy, my
brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you
know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance” here the apostle James
reminded us to be joyful even if there are trial, even if the world is in chaos for he
reminded us that these produces perseverance.
To live a Christ Centered Life is the key to live a life with pure Joy. How? To let
God take control of your life, to have a genuine concern for others and lastly is to see
circumstances in God’s perspective. And in order to live a Christ centered life you
must have this personal relationship with Christ you must let him enter your life as
your personal Lord and Saviour. So if you still don’t have the personal relationship
with Christ and you want to have that with Christ I will pray for you. Let us pray
Father God in Heaven is it so wonderful to have you Lord as a Joyful God a God that
wants us to be happy, Father I want to experience pure joy with you Lord, I pray that
you come into my heart and I accept you as my personal Lord and Saviour take
control of my life and let me experience pure joy in your presence AMEN!.