Sermon Tone Analysis

A Life of Joy

“A Life of Joy”

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Do you want to live a life of joy?

Of course you do! I’ve never met a person who said, I want to be sad, negative, pessimistic, a perpetual killjoy.

No!

We want to live with the joy of the Lord in our hearts and lives.

I’m not talking about some pep rally, past the spirit stick joy; no I’m talking about real joy because of your relationship with Jesus.

The only way to have real joy, deep joy, lasting joy is to stay close to the Lord Jesus.

-“In your presence is fullness of joy”.

If you’re saved, and you don’t have joy, it simply means you’re away from God; because in his presence is fullness of joy.

Paul wrote to the Philippian believers from a jail cell; -“Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice”.

The apostle Peter wrote to a group of persecuted, scattered Christians, -“Rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory”.

We all want to live with the joy of the Lord.

The joy of the Lord is so important in your Christian life.

Joy is not optional; joy is mandatory, it is a must in my life and your life.

· Joy makes you an easier person to live with.

Joy affects your marriage, family and home.

Your husband or wife will enjoy being around you more when you have the joy of Jesus in your life.

Your parents will be easier to get along with when you have the joy of Jesus on your face.

A Christian marriage and a home should be a place of joy.

· Joy makes you a better worker.

If you have an attitude of joy you will face your job with a more positive attitude; and therefore be more productive.

Not to mention how much easier you will be to get along with.

· Joy makes you a better church member.

The greatest and most attractive quality of a Christian and a church is joy.

Our lives and church services should be filled with the joy and enthusiasm of Jesus.

Reaching people with the gospel, getting them to come to church and Bible fellowship, to teach them and disciple them is done with the joy of the Lord, or it is not done at all.

When people walk through these doors of this church, they need to be met with a smile, a warm handshake, and the joy of the Lord.

We don’t come to church to mourn a dead corpse; we come to worship and praise the living Lord Jesus!

Oh how we need the joy of the Holy Spirit when we come in this place to worship!

, says the early church was praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.

There’s something contagious about a Christian, and church full of the joy of the Lord.

Now I know what some of you are thinking, you’re thinking I’ve had the worst year in my life, and you’re telling me I should have joy in my heart.

The joy the Bible talks about, is joy beyond your circumstances or situation.

There is a great difference between happiness and joy.

Happiness is based on what happens to you; happiness may be self-centered.

Everything is going good for me, I’m happy.

Joy comes from being in a right relationship with God through Jesus Christ; joy is always God centered.

This 70 ministers that Jesus sent out in the first part of ; return filled with joy.

Joy is the dominant theme in this passage;

V:17-“the 70 returned with joy…

V:20-“don’t continue rejoicing that spirits are subject to you…

V:20-“ rejoice because your name is written in heaven”.

V:21-“ Jesus rejoiced in spirit…

Everybody is rejoicing in these verses!

Why?

In these verses were given four reasons we can live a life of joy.

Reason #1:

1.

You Have Victory in Christ.

V:17-19.

Get the picture in your mind, these 70 return with joy.

Luke doesn’t tell us how long they were gone, where they went.

He just tells us they returned with joy; enthusiastic about what they had seen the Lord do.

You can sense their excitement, as they say to Jesus, V:17-“even the demons were subject unto us through your name” When Jesus sent them out, he warned them by saying, I’m sending you as lambs in the middle wolves, you will face opposition, and rejection.

But their mission had been a great success, and victory!

They had healed the sick, preached the gospel, and they had cast out demons.

God had given them the power to set tormented souls free from demon possession.

They were so excited: V:17-“They returned with joy…Saying the demons are subject unto us in your name.

They recognized it was Jesus authority and power; not theirs that cast out the demons.

They were rejoicing at what God had done; not at what they had done.

Their joy was in the victory they had through the Lord Jesus Christ!

They were filled with joy because of the power and victory, they had in the powerful name of Jesus!

Satan-crushing power does not reside in us, but in Jesus!

The Lord Jesus alone has power over the devil and his demons.

Jesus has given us His Power and authority over Satan and sin!

And there is Joy when we exercise the victory we have in Jesus!

When we depend upon ourselves; we will be defeated, but when we depend on the power of the Lord Jesus we will experience the victory over Satan!

This is the victory that overcomes the world even our faith!

Jesus shares in there joy.

V:18-19-Read.

Jesus had given them power over Satan and his demons.

Jesus said he saw Satan falling from heaven like lightning.

When did Jesus see Satan falling from heaven, and how did that apply to these men?

Commentators offer various interpretations of what the Lord meant by that saying.

Some suggest it refers to Satan’s original fall from heaven.

Some say it refers to the cross where Jesus would crush Satan’s head.

Others say it refers to the future when Satan will be cast into the lake of fire.

John MacArthur, suggest that Jesus was watching as Satan’s kingdom was being destroyed one rescue soul at a time through the witness of the 70 evangelist.

Jesus is continually watching Satan’s kingdom be torn apart, as souls are saved, rescued from a life of sin, snatched from the fires of hell, and added to the kingdom of God.

Don’t think for one moment that Satan’s kingdom is going to endure, because it is not!

It’s the kingdom of God that’s eternal!

As we preach the gospel, and win souls, the kingdom of Satan is being torn apart, one person at a time!

V:19-“Behold, Check this out…I give unto you Power….and

power over all the enemy… Jesus has given us power…

The word power is the word authority:

The authority of Jesus Christ!

Jesus gives us authority over Satan, because he has defeated Satan at the cross and through his resurrection.

If we are living in defeat, shame, guilt today; it is not because the power of Jesus is not available to give us victory.

It is because we are not appropriating the power of the Holy Spirit in our everyday lives!

After talking about the battle of the flesh, and the spirit in , the apostle Paul talks about how we can have victory through the indwelling Holy Spirit of God in .

-“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death”.

-“But if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you”.

-“We are more than conquerors through him that loved us”.

What a great joy to know; I don’t have to live a defeated Christian life; I can live in victory through the indwelling Holy Spirit of God!

My flesh, this world, and Satan himself is no match for God who dwells in me by his spirit!

Jesus tells his disciples he’s given them power over every enemy, over Satan and his demons; over the flesh and the world.

And through the power of the Holy Spirit nothing, nothing can hurt you!

Some people get caught off guard by what Jesus told the disciples about having power over serpents and scorpions.

Jesus is using figurative language, that through him we have authority, power over Satan and his demons; and nothing can defeat us.

We don’t need to fear Satan, or people who might try to poison the message of Jesus.