Sunday 10 February 2013

RCCG Open Heavens Devotional Sunday 10 February 2013 WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR JOY? By Pastor E. A. Adeboye


RCCG Open Heavens Devotional Sunday 10 February 2013 
WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR JOY? 
By Pastor E. A. Adeboye

Memorise: "These things have I spoken to you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full"

Read:  John 15:9-11

Bible in one year: Daniel 7-9

Key point:The day you were saved, you received a measure of joy. Gut whether it will increase or decrease is solely your responsibility.

Look at the events that transpired in the empire of Ahasuerus in Esther 1 :1 01 5 still  leaves us with one or two lessons today. We read that when the king was very happy, he ordered his queen to be brought before the people. The first lesson here is that we must handle extreme joy with utmost care. Why? This is because when you are most happy or merry, you can erroneously take a step you will live to regret. Many of us know that when angry, one can make wrong decisions; but it does not stop there; even extreme happiness (not joy) can be very dangerous too. Happiness has to do with excitement in response to favourable physical events and conditions while joy has to do with the elated state of the inner man irrespective of physical conditions or situations. Satan’s promises are at best to increase your happiness howbeit temporarily, but God is the One who gives joy. And because happiness is induced by physical occurrences, people respond to it in different ways. What causes some to be happy, makes some sad while others might be indifferent. In life, the goal of most people is to be happy. Even when they talk of joy, they mean happiness because they lack understanding of the true meaning of the word. joy is eternal but happiness ¡s very temporary. When something good happens to an individual - say the fellow gets married after years of being single, or gets a job after being unemployed for so long, the fellow will be happy. But not long after, the happy feelings will disappear. Just as physical events give us happiness, physical events equally take happiness away from us. Joy on the other hand is given by God and is fed or sustained with spiritual things. For instance, if you win a soul to the Lord, it will increase your joy. Every time you obey God’s command, a measure of joy is deposited inside of you. Every time you refuse to compromise, your joy increases.
“These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.” John 15:11
In other words, it is your duty to retain, increase and eventually have your cup of joy full. Every act of disobedience diminishes your joy. Remember; the joy of the Lord is your strength. You cannot be stronger than the amount of joy that you have. Many Christians are weak today because the keep depleting their reservoir of jov by sinful indulgence. What are you doing to retain or increase your joy?

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