14 I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. 15 Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil; 17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men. Romans 14:14-18 NKJV
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When it comes to sharing what Jesus did for you and everyone around you, is joy something that comes to mind? When you think about Jesus willingly going to the cross, “joy” is not something we connect with what was accomplished on Calvary.
When Christians share the “Good News”, joy is not often conveyed or even mentioned as a part of the story, or an attribute of God.
The Church has congregated for ages around an ancient creed that declares, “Man’s chief end is to praise God and to enjoy Him forever.” However, because of the way we have frequently misunderstood God and His ways of interacting with us, it can be difficult to accept that God’s people enjoy Him, or that God could enjoy Himself and others.
As Paul outlines the Kingdom of God in Romans 14:17, joy is unapologetically listed as one of three major qualities. If a man who walked with Jesus and led and shaped the first-century Church while in prison says joy is one-third of the Kingdom, we should probably spend more time aligning with this dimension of the Kingdom.
We have a right to reclaim something that has been lost or stolen. The Holy Spirit is calling us to a new level of joy, both individually and collectively.
Jesus paid the ultimate price to restore us to the Father and establish a Kingdom of joy that we would exhibit as He did. The Father and Heaven are full of joy, therefore bringing that joy to the world is part of what we do and who we are as the Church.
A call to reclaim and practice unmatched delight—walking in a tangible reality of the joy found only in the Kingdom and in the Father Himself—has never been greater for the Church.
Every challenge has an answer and a provision from God. Heaven has the last say. Believers in Jesus are created to live in a reality that is opposed to much of culture. That is, modeling a counter-culture that speaks, responds, and acts with heavenly perspective and heavenly provision, in a world that cannot relate.
To model something otherworldly, a countercultural reality that comes from our Father’s Kingdom, the King’s kingdom, is a privilege and an inheritance. When Jesus taught his disciples to pray “on earth as it is in heaven,” He revealed much. One is to modify this domain—our reality—to mirror as far as possible God’s world and reality.
In response to having access to this Kingdom reality known as joy, what do we do? What if the Church’s current level of joy is simply a fraction of what is actually accessible to us? What if we’ve reduced joy to a fleeting emotion that comes and goes with positive life events?
This will be one of the most significant and revolutionary changes we will ever make, and one of the greatest weapons the Church will ever bear.
It will lift spirits, disarm and destroy religious spirits, and ultimately fortify us for our big and seemingly impossible feats. We often miss out on crucial biblical principles regarding joy because we have stopped believing that joy is what God wants for us, or because some biblical truths have become clichés for us instead of being daily heavenly realities.
Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, rejoice Philippians 4:4 KJV).
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV
Rejoicing in the Lord may sound quirky or out of date to us. We wouldn’t necessarily utilize this word to keep culturally relevant! Maybe you learned Philippians 4:4 from a childhood fridge magnet or a children’s song. But God’s heart is wrapped up in just one short line. The word rejoice comes from an old French term that means “to return to joy.”
The prefix re signifies return, as in return, discover, capture, and refresh. The ending “joice” is the origin of the word joy. Rereading this verse, “Return to joy in the Lord continually, and again I repeat return to joy,” gives it new meaning and life.
The fact that it is also a command shows how important joy is to God. It is presented as an imperative mandate, and like all commands in Scripture, it has the potential to be fulfilled when we obey. GOD will never ask us to accomplish something that we cannot do.
God’s call to obedience comes with the guarantee of blessing. Maybe, like me, you now see this Scripture in a new light. Every time you read the word rejoice, I want to invite you to practice reading Scripture through this lens and returning to the joy that is always present in the Father.
Joy is an Individual. Joy is a default of God, a reality of Heaven, and reflected in creation, as we will see. Beginning with the most magnificent garden, a paradise given to man to cultivate and enjoy, the story of creation culminates with the most lavish, joyful, cosmic party.
If you’re not sure about having fun, you should prepare since Heaven will be an unparalleled celebration. Imagine a garden paradise and a wonderful feast. These are the visuals, the “language” God chose to share with us—Eden and Heaven. He reminds us that we were formed for joy and beauty, and that He likes to relate to us in that way.
Jesus’ finished work on the cross and resurrection connected us back to the unbroken closeness of the Garden and secured our future place at the Feast of the Ages. The price of restoration was the cross, and His joy was us. The bridegroom was reclaiming her. The joy of reconnecting all God’s sons and daughters to their position in the Father drove Him. The Bible says He will wipe away our tears and there will be no more death, grief, crying, or pain.
Heavenly joy is genuine. Heaven is happy. Have we let the implications really sink in? We are not, however, simply called to postpone the delight of Heaven till a later time. Access is a major theme in the New Testament. The fact that we now have access to God in a way we didn’t before the cross is a powerful truth and reality for us as God’s children. We can communicate with Him through the Holy Spirit who resides inside us. As we’ll see, this is a crucial reality in embracing and walking in joy.
We exist in the liminal space between worlds. If the Father didn’t intend to answer, Jesus wouldn’t have instructed us to pray for the Kingdom to come. He would not have revealed that the Holy Spirit dwells inside us if He did not intend for us to nurture and release it in this world.
It is our job to interact with God’s delight in our lives and the world around us. God is calling us to rediscover joy in the midst of adversity. The Father meant for us to have delight inside that would actually paint everything we touched with His joy.
By design, we are carriers and dispensers of Joy. To be clear, I do not believe God must make us “happy,” but He has promised us joy. For our purposes, it’s crucial to distinguish between the two. Happiness is an emotion triggered by or dependent on external circumstances being met; it can come and go, depending on our expectations. Conversely, we are often dissatisfied because something we want did not materialize as planned.
But true joy comes from aligning and cooperating with God’s intention for our lives—loving what He loves and becoming more like Him. The Christian’s joy comes from God, is eternal, and is not based on mood or outcome.
Resurrection joy fuels our walk as His representative in this world. “The joy of the Lord is your strength,” we say, but we are invited to live it.
There is power in the name of Jesus. The phrase “pray in the name of Jesus” is often used by Christians, and it refers to the practice of praying to God and asking for His help, guidance, or protection.
Two things about the death of Christ. The first was that since one person died for and in place of everyone else, everyone had died. What is this death at the end? Either the death they deserved because of their sin.
It’s odd how we often acknowledge that we take on too much, and try to accomplish things in our own strength, and need to rely more on Jesus. And yet we continue to do the same thing over and over.
The conscience is a divinely given moral compass that can be swayed by many factors, such as our background, experiences, and thoughts. What is important is the truth that one has to inform their conscience.
Life is rough for most people today. Just when we have hope of a life returning to normal, we are seeing things none of us have ever seen in our lifetime.
To grasp the magnitude of our deliverance, we must first comprehend where we came from. We are not exempt from the repercussions of our actions because we are descendants of Adam.
