Righteousness Brings Joy
For the kingdom of God is not meat
and drink; but righteousness, and
Peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit…
The Apostle Paul
Joy is sometimes confused with happiness. Joy
is a fruit of the Spirit. As we live in the Spirit,
joy comes forth. We may not be happy about a situation,
but we can still rise up in joy to carry us through
the circumstance and even overcome unhappiness.
The Spirit of joy gives us the ability to have
a good attitude about something even though things
are not going our way. God is sovereign, He's
all powerful and in control!
GOD'S PRESENCE IS OUR JOY
There is joy in God's presence. As we stay in
the pres-ence of God, joy flows. The Psalmist
David sang, "Thou wilt shew me the path
of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at
thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore"
(16:11). When we come up against trials, remember:
we sit at God's right hand with Christ. As we
trust Him to work through the trial and deliver
us, joy comes. God does His greatest work during
times of trial, but accord-ing to His timing.
So sit back, relax in His presence, and let God
do His work in restoring your heart.
Satan will try to steal our joy, but he has been
kicked out of heaven, where we sit as saints in
Christ. We are to sing, "Arise, O LORD,
into thy rest; and the ark of our strength [Jesus].
Let thy priests be clothed with righteous-ness;
and let thy saints shout for joy" (Psalm
132:8,9, emphasis added). In the name of Jesus,
we sit in God's presence, clothed in righteousness
and shouting for joy. The devil can't touch that!
We have "…on the breastplate of righteousness.
And our feet shod with the preparation of the
gospel of peace" (Ephesians 6:14b,15).
Jesus brought us into God's presence. "The
Son reflects God's own glory, and everything about
him represents God exactly. He sustains the universe
by the mighty power of his command. After he died
to cleanse us from the stain of sin, he sat down
in the place of honor at the right hand of the
majestic God of heaven" (Hebrews 1:3
NLT).
To live in the kingdom of God is to live in righteousness,
peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. "For
the kingdom of God is not a matter of what we
eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness
[righteousness] and peace and joy in the Holy
Spirit" (Romans 14:17 NLT, emphasis added).
The blood of Jesus Christ has made us righteous
and brought peace (Colossians 1:20). As a result,
we are brought into the presence of the Lord God
where joy flows. The blood of Jesus brings us
near to God (Ephesians 2:13), and we enter into
His throne room by a new and living way beyond
the veil (Hebrews 10:19, 20). The countenance
of His joy is now upon our face as we reflect
the presence of our Father. Surely, we behold
Him and are changing from glory to glory (2 Corinthians
3:18).
Our spirit is joined to the Lord in one Spirit
(1 Corin-thians 6:17). As His temple on earth,
He is joined to us as well, having made our spirit
righteous in Christ. We will forever have His
presence in our spirits, but the battle now lies
in the soul. His presence affects our mind, will
and emotions. As the goodness of God becomes greater,
our hearts turn to His presence, filled with the
Spirit. As a result, joy flows throughout our
lives.
GOD'S JOY IS OUR STRENGTH
The joy of the Lord is our strength. When we
are weak, He is strong. If we try to live through
our own strength, we suffer spiritual weakness,
but when we trust in His ability working through
us, we have great spiritual strength. It is God
Who causes us to triumph in Christ Jesus. He is
the One Who gives us the power to come out of
our madness, and He is the One Who empowers us
to rise up out of our weaknesses.
We must recognize the weakness of the flesh.
Paul had what he called a "thorn in the flesh."
It's likened to the children of Israel's thorn
in the side (Judges 2:3). They both had enemies,
a "messenger from Satan" always attacking
them. Paul had gotten to his wit's end, asking
the Lord three times to take it away, but God
replied, "…My grace is sufficient
for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.
Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my
infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest
upon me" (2 Corinthians 12:9). In trials,
God assures us that His ability is sufficient
in times of weakness.
There is power in the blood of Jesus. It is our
responsi-bility to daily "…overcome
him [the devil] by the blood of the Lamb, and
by the word of our testimony; and they loved not
their lives unto the death. Therefore rejoice,
ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them"
(Revelation 12:11,12a, emphasis added). Jesus
defeated the devil, but we are to enforce this
defeat in our minds. Satan is a defeated foe,
and as we remind ourselves daily of the blood
that defeated him, our hearts should rejoice.
We are to constantly rejoice in the blood of the
Lamb.
The children of Israel were defeated and forced
into the Babylonian captivity because they trusted
in their flesh. In captivity, Ezra and Nehemiah
yearned to return to Jerusalem [City of Peace]
and to rebuild the temple, so the presence of
the Lord could return. They knew their strength
was found only in His presence. Nehemiah said,
"…for the joy of the Lord is your
strength" (8:10c). He knew the joy of
the Lord and the rewards found by living in it.
While building the temple, Zerrubbabel had come
to the end of his strength. The angel of the Lord
woke him up and gave him a vision of seven lamps
hooked to two olive trees by seven pipes. He asked,
"What are these, my Lord?" The Lord
answered, saying, "…Not by might
nor by power [flesh], but by my spirit, saith
the LORD of hosts. Who art thou, O great mountain
[trials]: before Zerrubbabel thou shalt become
a plain [leveled]: and he shall bring forth the
headstone [completion] thereof with shouting,
crying, Grace, grace unto it" (Zechariah
4:5-7, emphasis added). Today, we are connected
to the seven candlesticks in heaven (Revelation
4:5; 5:6). We have God's ability to overcome all
mountains that come up in our lives. We are complete
in Christ (Colossians 2:10), and can shout with
joy, "Grace, Grace!"
GOD'S STRENGTH IS OUR VICTORY
In Scripture there are several examples of spiritual
warfare, but one truth always comes out: in the
flesh we always lose; but in God's presence, we
always win. Joshua (Numbers 13 & 14), Gideon
(Judges 6 & 7), David (1 Samuel 17), Jehoshaphat
(2 Chronicles 20), all these men had one thing
in common: they were men of faith, doing that
which was right in the sight of the Lord, triumphing
in battles through God's strength and, as a result,
rejoicing.
We have the choice in battle to fight in our
own strength or in the strength of the Lord God.
Joshua measured the giants against God's strength.
Gideon believed God and let the glory of the Lord
shine in his life to be victorious in battle.
David believed in his heart he could conquer Goliath
with his sling, because he boldly proclaimed to
Goliath: "…Thou comest to me with
a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield:
but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of
hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou
hast defied. This day will the LORD deliver thee
into mine hand: and I will smite thee, and take
thine head from thee… for the battle is the
LORD'S, and he will give you into our hands"
(1 Samuel 17:45,46a,47b). Jehosha-phat sought
the Lord, obeyed and praised Him and the Spirit
of the Lord spoke, "…And he said,
Harken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem,
and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD
unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason
of this great multitude; for the battle is not
your's, but God's" (2 Chronicles 20:15).
Instead of trusting in their strength, they chose
to trust in God's strength.
We are armed for battle, "By the word
of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of
righteousness on the right hand and on the left"
(2 Corinthians 6:7). The Scriptures tell us that
we have the armor of light. The enemy is blinded
by the brightness of God's glory in our attack.
We are broken vessels, not trusting in ourselves,
but in God, Who fights our battles by the sword
of His Spirit.
Jesus says, "These things have I spoken
unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and
that your joy might be full" (John 15:11).
Everything Jesus spoke prepared us for battle.
He gave us the Holy Spirit, so that we could be
empowered to have joy through victory in the battles
of life. Jesus prayed to His Father, saying, "…these
things I speak in the world, that they might have
my joy fulfilled in themselves" (John
17:13). This is the joy of Jesus that lives in
us daily to produce victory. Jesus says, "…ask,
and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full"
(John 16:24). Jesus brings joyful living!
As we live in God's strength, righteousness and
peace, we are promised future joy. Paul says,
"Rejoice in the Lord, always… The
Lord is at hand… Be careful for nothing;
but in everything by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving, let your requests be made known
unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth
all understanding, shall keep your hearts and
minds through Christ Jesus" (Philippians
4:4-7). This is the secret to staying in the presence
of the Lord: rejoicing, praying, thanksgiving
and keeping our hearts and minds through Christ
Jesus. Paul says, "For what is our hope,
or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye
in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his
coming?" (1 Thessalonians 2:19). There
is a joyful reward awaiting for those who overcome
in the Lord!
WHO IS GOD?
God is All-Powerful. God's power is unlimited.
He can do anything that is consistent with His
nature, character and purpose. "Impossible"
is not a word in God's vocabulary. God creates
and sustains all things; yet He never grows tired.
"…the Creator of the ends of the
earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? There is
no searching of his understanding. He giveth power
to the faint; and to them that have no might he
increaseth strength" (Isaiah 40:28b,29).
God is our "Jehovah-Raah." This name,
translated "The-LORD-Our-Shepherd,"
was used in prophecy to describe God, who will
feed His flock, gather the lambs in His arms and
gently lead those with young. Jesus is our Shepherd,
who takes us into His arms and always leads us
in triumph (2 Corinthians 2:14).
As we live in the presence of Almighty God, we
can sing with David, "The LORD is my light
and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD
is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be
afraid?" (Psalm 27:1). We are mighty
in battle because our God is Mighty. He has given
us His ability, making us able to do what we cannot
do in our own ability.
The prophet Jeremiah said, "Thy words
were found and I did eat them; and thy word was
unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for
I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts"
(15:16). As we digest God's Word, we begin to
view things as God views them. This is the secret
to walking in faith righteousness. God's mighty
power flows through us as we "…deny
[ourself], and take up his cross daily, and follow
[Jesus]" (Luke 9:23, emphasis added).
As we deny ourselves in these last days, we are
to live, "Looking unto Jesus the author
and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that
was set before him endured the cross, despising
the shame, and is set down at the right hand of
the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:2). Heaven
is rejoicing as we come into God's presence. Jesus
could see the joy in heaven over the saving of
one lost sinner. "I say unto you, that
likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner
that repenteth…" (Luke 15:7). Truly,
His righteousness brings joy, not only in us,
but in heaven where we sit with Him.
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