AWAKE, ARISE, AND TRIUMPH
Friday – March 10, 2023, Adar 17, 5783
FRIDAY NUGGETS
FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT – MORE JOY
Greetings dear and precious saints of God and those who are not yet saints. Become a saint today if you are not, simply repeat the following verse putting it in the first person and in your own hearing.
Romans 10:9 (KJV)
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Simply say out loud: I declare Jesus as Lord of my life and I believe that God has raised Him from the dead, I receive salvation, I am saved. Welcome to the Light, the Kingdom of God!
As I move forward, please take a moment and share this teaching as widely as possible by every means available to you. Thank you so much for sharing. Now, let’s move to our primary text for the study of the fruits of the spirit. I will be moving forward with the fruit of joy. Please continue to read out loud.
Galatians 5:22-23 (KJV)
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
The word translated from Greek to English as joy is chara from the Greek root word chairō meaning cheerfulness, calm delight, to be cheerful, calmly happy or well-off according to Strong’s Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary. As you know from experience joy is catching just as sadness and sorrow (antonym of joy) are catching. There is a strength that comes in all areas of life with the maintenance and the expression of joy. This will require the exercise of our will in knowledge and the putting under of our emotions. In joy we are able to build others up. As we listen to what Jesus has to say about joy, recall what brings the manifestation of God into our lives.
John 15:10-14 (KJV)
10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.
11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
Here we can clearly see that none of the fruit stand alone. There is an intimate mixing in this passage of love (agapē/agapaō) and joy. It would seem that joy is not possible, at least not Godly joy, supernatural joy, absent love (obeying the Word) and a selfless lifestyle. What did Jesus say was the most important thing to bring and maintain joy in our lives? Keeping the commandments, not just the so called big ten, all of them, especially the love (agapē/agapaō) commandment. This brings us to, I hope, a very familiar passage of Scripture.
Nehemiah 8:10 (KJV)
10 Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength.
This verse is speaking of the joy of the Lord not our joy. So as not to cause confusion, this is Old Testament and they did not have the capacity for supernatural joy which is contained in our spirit man for they were not born again. However, the principle remains intact. The context of the Nehemiah passage is that God’s people had gotten off track. They were gathered in Jerusalem and Word was preached and they were made to understand. They were grieved when they heard the Word of the Lord. This brought repentance which is always pleasing to the Lord even bring Him joy. This releases the Power of God, the manifestation of God, into our lives. The sin is past, the sin is forgotten, rejoice, be filled with joy, and know that the Lord has joy concerning you and this put each of us in a place for Him to flow in our lives. A joyless Christian is a Christian out of sync with the Lord and the Lord is grieved. Get right with God, yes, repentance is required, bring joy back into your own life and to the life of others. This brings joy to your Heavenly Father releasing Him to do all the good things He wants to do in your life. The lack of the manifestation of God in our lives is never on the God end. Guess whose end it is on? Ours!
Lord willing, I will pick up with more fruit of the spirit next Friday.
By: Dr. David R. Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
2 Chronicles 20:20 b (KJV)
20 … Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.
Receive the blessing in Jesus’ name!
Numbers 6:24-26 (MSG)
24 GOD bless you and keep you,
25 GOD smile on you and gift you,
26 GOD look you full in the face and make you prosper.
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