Peter spoke about Joy.
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Intro
Last time temple of God.
Yeah I know - andy and lou from little Britain
Leads me to joy.
Attitude can mean we miss joy.
Julian Adams fears too many Christians have been baptised in lemon juice.
UK girls becoming more miserable - study - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-37223063.
Somebody was trying to find out the Eskimo for Joy. The word is ""Plonkiput". It means, wag the tail furiously."
FF Bruce Peace if Joy resting. Joy is peace dancing.
Adrian Holloway Jesus did not die that we might have a new type of misery!
The Spirit of the Lord brings radical freedom to our lives. Freedom from legalism, guilt, shame, condemnation, self-hatred and self-rejection. Freedom from the power of sin, selfishness, manipulation and control. Freedom from the fear of death and fear of what others think of us. Freedom from comparing ourselves with others. Nicky Gumbell
Why should we be joyful?
John Piper Christian hedonism
C S Lewis It is a Christian duty for everyone to be as joyful as they can be
Depression sufferers, it should not define you. You are in Christ.
1Pet 1:8-9 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Rom 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit
What have we got to be joyful about?
If you are in Christ….
You were chosen before the world began
God sent his son to die for you
You are saved and will go to heaven
You will be seated with Christ!
That's surely something to have joy in.
If heaven and glory are so wonderful, why do we not spend more time and energy focussing on them? Are we reasonable in this? What is the matter? Are we so full of joy that we need no more? or is there nothing in heaven for our joyous thoughts? There is! So stir up your heart to consider your calling on a regular basis. The saints everlasting rest, 1650 Richard Baxter
How can we develop a joyful spirit?
The Spirit
Fruit of the Spirit. So be filled, and go on being filled.
Opposite, no joy does not mean you don't have the Holy Spirit in you, but means you could have more.
Choosing to be
Power positive thinking NV Peale
You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Isaiah 26:3
Fyodor Dostoevsky Man is fond of counting his troubles, but he does not count his joys. If he counted them up as he ought to, he would see that every lot has enough happiness provided for it.
Like love is cartoons, joy is....
Being Real
In Psalms they express their frustrations with life, but that does not mean they don't express joy too.
With the help of others
Others can help, Paul - make my joy complete
Creation - Piper
May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works, who looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and they smoke! I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being. May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord. (Psalm 104:31–34)
God rejoices in the works of creation because they point us beyond themselves to God himself.
God means for us to be stunned and awed by his work of creation. But not for its own sake. He means for us to look at his creation and say: If the mere work of his fingers (just his fingers! Psalm 8:3) is so full of wisdom and power and grandeur and majesty and beauty, what must this God be like in himself!
These are but the backside of his glory, as it were, darkly seen through a glass. What will it be to see the Creator himself! Not his works! A billion galaxies will not satisfy the human soul. God and God alone is the soul’s end.
So we can get joy out of the stuff around us, but because
