We have been dealing with the topic FULLNESS OF JOY. And I want to believe that a lot of men of God have been on this exalted altar to talk about the topic. I trust God to help me speak His mind to us as well tonight. Let me take the navigation by telling us about the Supernatural.
THE SUPERNATURAL is the estate that we the believers dwell. It’s a realm that is beyond the natural. We are interacting with the natural environment every day, but the reality in the natural environment shouldn’t becloud our identity in the spirit realm.
The book of the supernatural says when you are sick, you should say you are strong. That same book says we should always confess what is written, not what is happening. That book says when you are speaking in unknown tongues, you are speaking mysteries.
To the natural man, when you are sick and saying you are strong, you are talking lies. To them, they keep saying this Nigeria can never be good because what is happening is obvious. If you are saying there is lifting up in their hearing, you are just joking.
And when you are speaking in tongues beside a natural man, you are only speaking nonsense because they can never be deified. Among so many Supernatural realities we have as believers, JOY is one. And that is what we are dealing with in these 10 prophetic days.
To really understand what joy is, we need to look at the breakdown of a man. Genesis 2:7 – God formed man out of the dust of the ground (Body), breathed into his nostrils the breath of life (Spirit), and he became a living soul (Soul).
Man is tripartite in nature: Body, Soul, and Spirit. When man is excited due to the interaction of his body with the physical environment, we call it PLEASURE. When a man is interacting with his soul and something makes his soul excited, we call it HAPPINESS.
But when we talk about the 3rd layer of man which is the spirit, what comes out of the Spirit of a man is JOY. Joy is an assurance that is released from the spirit of man when interacted with the word of God.
The litmus test that you are joyful is not when you necessarily gain admission that you have been longing for. The real test of joy in a believer is when things are not going as expected. You are indeed joyful when you are waiting for your admission and you are not slipping into worry but keep dancing and giving glory to God.
Joy is not when you have money and can take a bike to school and you are feeling good. That one is pleasure. Joy is being expressed when you are not having transport fare, trekking and chanting, going for a lecture. People may now be asking you what is your reason instead of being sorrowful, and you are telling them it is from a reality from within.
There is a father. He is known as The farmer in his community. At harvest, he always harvests a lot from his farm. That fateful year, people are expecting that he is going to have a great output as well like before. They started paying in advance for this man. Their expectations were cut short. People started asking for their money. He couldn’t refund it. They were even planning to jail him. But do you know what this man did? He wasn’t moved at all. Instead of crying, he started singing. Habakkuk 3:16-18 – “Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.”
This is the song of the man in the last verse. I WILL REJOICE. What’s that situation you are passing through? Common REJOICE!!! When you rejoice, you are confusing the devil. Joy is the environment for the miraculous. What is that miracle you are expecting from God? Stop crying! Rejoice. Tag 5 participants on this group and type REJOICE!
Let me tell us some facts about JOY:
#1. JOY IS A FRUIT YIELDED BY THE SPIRIT – Galatians 5:22. We are only having 1 fruit of the Spirit not 9. And that fruit is Love, expressed in the form of joy.
That’s why an unbeliever can never get joy. When an unbeliever finds himself in trouble, he slips into depression. When a believer is passing through trials, joy is his bailout.
#2. IT IS A COMMAND – One of the commandments in the Bible is the commandment to be joyful. The secret of David that made God love him was joy. This man would pray 3 times and praise 7 times in a day, full of thanksgiving.
In the New Testament, the greatest apart from Jesus is Paul. He told us his secret – 1 Thessalonians 5:16 – Rejoice evermore. It was his lifestyle. He now gives it as a command to the Philippians and to us too – Philippians 4:4 – Rejoice in the Lord always; and again, I say, Rejoice. You have no option than to always rejoice in the Lord. If you are not rejoicing, you are reducing.
#3. IT IS A DRAWER – Isaiah 12:3 – Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. Joy is a drawer. Your heart/spirit is the rope. Wells of salvation are all the spiritual blessings given to us by God (Ephesians 1:3). Without a drawer, to fetch water from a well will be difficult. The same with joy. You can’t get whatever you want from God with a sorrowful countenance. In fact, it is a taboo to appear before Him pitiful.
David, who knew the protocol of His presence, told us this secret – Psalms 100:1-2 – “Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness; come before his presence with singing.” Appearing before Him with a joyful noise is the cheat code for accessing the all of God.
I sighted an example the other time that you are trekking and singing. That song you are singing from your heart is what will actually provoke your blessings from God. That’s why you must be joyful because it is a