SPIRITUAL JOY

our position in life is not the source for spiritual joy, for if our position in life changes for the worse, then our reason for happiness is removed. Not so with spiritual joy, once you have it you can never lose it. For our joy is based on the gift of eternal life, and God’s gifts are irrevocable.

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Romans 11:29 “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”

In the day of Pentecost Peter began to preach to the multitudes who had gathered around the disciples after a tornado, a rushing mighty wind, had settled over and filled the house where they were praying. Peter told the crowd that they were witnessing that which the prophet Joel had prophesied about as being the mission statement of the newly born church of our Lord Jesus Christ; and this is what Peter told them:

Acts 2:22-25 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know—Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; whom God raised up, having loosed (destroy or abolished) the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.”

Peter gets right to the point and tells the multitudes that the Jesus that they’ve  crucified and killed, is the very One whom God had appointed to destroy the pains of death itself, for Peter tells them that it is impossible for death to keep hold of the Author and Sustainer of Life.

Then the very next Scripture that he quotes to them is from Psalm 16, our opening text; Peter tells them that when David wrote Psalm 16 he was not speaking about himself, but about Israel’s future Messiah, and plainly tells them that the fulfillment of David’s prophecy has been accomplished by the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth from the dead.

Acts 2:27 “For You will not leave my soul in Hades, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.”

Psalm 16:10 “For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.”

The point that Peter is trying to make to them is that death has been conquered by Jesus going to the cross, and that the path or way for eternal life had been made known to man, and that is the very reason why we have joy.

Acts 2:28 “You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of joy in Your presence.”

Psalm 118:14-15 “The Lord is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation. The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents of the righteous; the right hand of the Lord (Jesus) does valiantly.”

Psalm 118 is the center chapter of the Bible; it is preceded by the shortest chapter in the Bible and it is followed by the longest chapter in the Bible, I guess that we can call it the long and the short of it. The center verses of chapter 118 and of the Bible itself, speaks of how the Lord has become our salvation and how that is our reason for rejoicing.

Although I called it Spiritual Joy it is very much physically present within all true believers. The reason why I called it spiritual is because this joy is independent of whatever our physical situation might be. I also stated the this joy is a gift from God and that His gifts are irrevocable.

Let me enumerate a few reasons as to why we should all be rejoicing in this joy that emanates from our born again spirit and permeates every fiber of our souls.

Psalm 118:1 “Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.”

He is good! We know that, for He saved us from all our sins, but let us remember also that His mercy towards us is everlasting.

In the letter to the Hebrews we are told that by two immutable things God established His covenant with us: Number one is that the God who cannot lie swore on an oath, number two, that He would not change His mind.

This is very important, for from our human perspective we make commitments that are based on our present circumstances, and when those circumstances change, we sometimes find it reasonable to change our minds about our original commitment.

We are tempted within our human nature to believe that God changes His mind about our salvation when the circumstances warrant it, but that way of thinking is not within God’s nature, and He wanted us to know that.

Hebrews 6:18 “That by two immutable (unchangeable) things, in which it is impossible for God to lie…”

Hebrews 7:21 “But He (Jesus) became a priest with an oath when God said to Him: ‘The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind: You are a priest forever.’” NIV

So that our salvation is not dependent on our present or future situations, but rather in the immutability of the oath of the God who does not lie and who swore that He would not change His mind about our salvation that was entrusted to the Priesthood of Jesus.

Now that is the headspring of the living waters of the well of salvation and the reason for our unshakable joy.

Psalm 118:5-6 “I called on the Lord in distress; the Lord answered me and set me in a broad place. The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”

So, what happens if in our daily walk we fall, falter, or fail? They that call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved, delivered into a broad place! What if I come under demonic attack? The Lord is on my side and will always be on my side. He promised and said that He would not change His mind, so therefore we have no fear, there is nothing that man can do to us in regards to our salvation. Now there is another reason for joy.

Psalm 118:7 “The Lord is for me among those who help me; Therefore I shall see my desire on those who hate me.”

The Lord is our vindication and our source of joy, for we know that while in this world we will have tribulations that are brought about by our enemies. But God is our present help in time of need and we know that He can be fully trusted.

Psalm 118:17 “I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord.”

What greater joy can a person have than being able to say with such great confidence, I am not going to die, I am going to live, and I will testify about God’s faithfulness.

And here is the main reason why we can rejoice!

Psalm 118:18 “The Lord has chastened me severely, but He has not given me over to death.”

It is true that the Lord is our Father and as such He will chasten us, for we are not illegitimate children, BUT HE WILL NEVER DISOWN US!

It is no wonder that there is so much praise and joy as the Psalm comes to a close:

Psalm 118:28-29 “You are my God, and I will praise You; You are my God, I will exalt You. Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.”

How can we not love a God that loves us so much? How can we not rejoice when we have a merciful God like Him for our Father?

At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore!