Joy by Pastor Lawrence Oyor: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

Joy Must Be Our Response to God's Word

John 15:11 — "These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full."

Every time we receive the word of God, the reason for receiving is joy. If there is no joy, there is no strength. If there is no strength, there is no obedience. Even when the word comes as correction, receive it with joy. Wise people are not angry when corrected.

Luke 1:44 — John the Baptist, while still in the womb, heard the voice of the carrier of God's word. All of a sudden his mother became elevated. The baby leaped with joy — and it led to the baptism of the mother. Joy is how we yoke. You will not know power at some level until you know joy at some level.

Psalm 119:162 — "I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great treasure."

Great treasure is finding something and realising all prayers on a particular matter have ended forever. If you find great treasure, for those first minutes you will misbehave. You won't send anybody. You'll be giving high fives in the market. That is how David was high, dancing before the Lord — because that is how he esteemed the word. This is why the word of God is not producing in many lives: we are not excited. Give your Bible study special treatment. Switch off the phone. When God wants to talk and you are frowning, sleeping, scrolling — you are under attack.

1 Thessalonians 1:6 — They received the word in much affliction, with joy in the Holy Spirit.

Joy Is a Choice

Just like love is a choice. Just like peace is a choice. It is a fruit — and you consciously bear it. Joy does not happen to you. You happen to joy.

Habakkuk 3:17-18 — "Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; though the labour of the olive shall fail and the fields shall yield no meat; though the flock shall be cut off from the fold and there shall be no herd in the stalls — yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation."

The fig tree not blossoming can mean: no relationship showing up, no child, no financial breakthrough, no visa, no career progress. Whatever it is — yet I will rejoice. The I will means your will is involved. Just as Paul said, "I will pray in the spirit, I will pray in my understanding also" — tongues do not happen to you; you happen to tongues. Joy works the same way.

Joy is therefore a sacrifice.

Joy Is a Weapon of Mass Destruction

Joshua 6:3-5 — The instructions from the Captain of the host of heaven ended with a shout. March around the city. This you shall do six days. On the seventh day, compass the city seven times — and shout. That shout was not careless. It was a shout from conviction. Joshua said: "Shout — for the Lord has given you the city."

You are shouting a shout of faith. With joy you can damage Satan's kingdom. Demons thrive in atmospheres of gloom, sorrow, and depression. A consistent sign of demonic oppression is persistent sadness.

• Demons amplify simple things and energize journeys. A small matter becomes a 30-minute journey of "what if" — and by the end you have arrived at an answer that has no foundation, and you are now depressed.
• Sorrow dries up the bones — Proverbs 17:22. It weakens the immune system. Harvard University research confirms what the Bible has always said: a patient who is cheerful has a significantly faster recovery process.
• 15 minutes of negative thinking releases toxins into the body. This is science catching up with the wisest man who ever lived.

No package arrives at a person who is sorrowful. Never.

Joy Is an Expression of Faith

Joy is a sign of hope. Hebrews 12:2 — For the joy that was set before Him, Jesus endured the cross, despising the shame. He could go through affliction and remain joyful because He was hopeful. If you are crying, it means you believe it will end like this — that this is how it will be. But if you know with certainty that there is no way it will end like this for you, then you calm down.

He was looking at you. You are the joy that was set before Him.

Stop expecting love from people who do not have it to give. They need compassion from you. They cannot give what they never received. Look at David — sent to the backside of the desert to mind sheep, rejected by his own brothers. He did not stop his future. He still became king of all Israel, and the same brothers came and bowed.

Isaiah 12:3 — "Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation."

The gifts are in the well. The healings are in the well. The breakthroughs are in the well. When you know how to joy, you draw from the well. There is deliverance when there is joy. There is healing when there is joy. There is restoration when there is joy.