OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL THURSDAY 23RD APRIL 2020–JOY LIKE A RIVER.

MEMORISE:

A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken. Proverb 15:13

READ: Psalm 51:10-13

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.

12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.

13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

MESSAGE

Joy is a powerful fruit of the Holy Spirit. It is the privilege of every Christian to walk in the light, to have all round peace, and experience joy that flows like a river. There is a difference between happiness and joy; happiness is usually triggered by happenings around a person. A negative turn in circumstances could spoil or ruin happiness. However, joy flows right on through times of trouble, unhindered through dark and difficult periods of life and even in times of persecution or opposition. Nothing hinders the flow of joy because it is not dependent on any earthly condition, but on a spiritual conviction. Joy is an exclusive privilege of the children of God; He gives Hie people perpetual joy as a reward of obedience to His word. Jeremiah 15:16 says:
“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.”

Joy is divine and is rooted in the word of God. Christians should search for joy through the word and not in the World. This joy propels people to preach to sinners, help the poor, visit the widow and the fatherless, and spread the good news of the kingdom. Therefore, the kind of joy that is not beneficial to others and does nothing to promote the gospel of Jesus Christ is not worth it, and cannot be from God.

There are however, diverse kinds of Joy: there is joy of one’s own salvation, the joy of the salvation of other, and the joy of seeing young converts walking in the truth. The joy that comes from salvation of others surpasses the joy of our own salvation. The blessed privilege of being used of God to win souls to Christ, and to see people being delivered from sin, sickness, poverty, and bondage, is the highest honor anyone can receive. I pray that the joy of the Lord will overflow in you and become a source of joy to the whole world, in the Mighty Name of Jesus.

PRAYER POINT:

Father, please let joy like a river flow through me to the world, in the Mighty Name of Jesus.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalm 43-45, 49, 84-85 & 87.

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

HYMN 3: BE GLAD IN THE LORD AND REJOICE.

1. Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice,
All ye that are upright in heart;
And ye that have made Him your choice,
Bid sadness and sorrow depart.
o Refrain:
Rejoice, rejoice,
Be glad in the Lord and rejoice;
Rejoice, rejoice,
Be glad in the Lord and rejoice.

2. Be joyful, for He is the Lord
On earth and in Heaven supreme;
He fashions and rules by His word—
The “Mighty” and “Strong” to redeem.

3. What though in the conflict for right
Your enemies almost prevail?
God’s armies, just hid from your sight,
Are more than the foes which assail.

4. Though darkness surround you by day,
Your sky by the night be o’ercast,
Let nothing your spirit dismay,
But trust till the danger is past.

5. Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice,
His praises proclaiming in song;
Let gratefulness give all a voice,
The loud hallelujahs prolong!

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