Genuine Joy

Genuine Joy

15 John 11

“These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full”

In a world that is shadowed with despair, disappointment, in a world that has grief all around; this world stands in need of some genuine joy. Genuine Joy, every human heart hungers for joy, but human kind constantly seeks happiness, everybody wants to be happy. If you listen to people they will tell you that all I want is to be happy. If that’s with you or without you, I just want to be happy. If it in a one-bedroom efficiency, I just want to be happy, if I only have just one suit and one pair of good shoes I just want to be happy.

What if I tell you that on God’s agenda, happiness is not at the top of the list. What if I tell you that God is more concerned about you having Joy that he is about you being happy. You see some of us don’t know the difference or know that there is a difference between Happiness and Joy. Well today we’re going to clear that right up.

Happiness is derived from the root word Hap which means to chance. Happiness deals with external circumstance, what’s going on around you, what is happening therefore happy or happiness is predicated on the happenings. And as we know things around us are sometimes favorable for us and sometimes not so favorable. Therefore the pursuit of happiness will have you on a constant emotional roller coaster, out of control. You have no idea what the next turn will bring but you do know what ever it is, it will change your world because you are is pursuit of happiness.

And if you are in pursuit of happiness, if you are not careful you will think that money will make you happy. See, we need to pay close attention this morning because many times we have put a dollar sign on happiness and you have to understand that although money is good, having mo-money (2) does not guarantee happiness. Now let me tell you why; I want you to turn your bible to Genesis Chapter 1:26.

“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our own likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the air and over the cattle and over all the earth.”

Now you have to understand that God did not create you, He did not design you and I for things to ultimately satisfy us. God said let us have dominion over all the earth, that means everything. I want to tell you this morning, Make Money but don let money make you, don’t let things you have dominion over to define you. Amen. Things are all right. Praise God for things but things were never designed to bring about Joy, happiness or satisfaction. The reason for that is that there is always another level of things. I don’t care what you have, someone somewhere got something better than you have.

That new car that you just pulled off the lot and you stopped at the red light and you looking at it, you all outside polishing it, and somebody pulls right next to you with something better and all of a sudden, if you happiness is predicated in that car, then you have lost your happiness, because somebody got a better uhh huh, and somebody got a better house than you, somebody got mo-money than you. And you have to understand something about money, money is good money is fine, as a matter of fact, according to the word of God, money is amoral it is neither good nor bad so I misspoke it is neither good nor bad the Bible does not say that money is the root of all evil, but 1 Timothy 6:10 says that “For the love of money is the root of all evil.” Money is all right it is how we obtain it, which comes into question. And what we do to get it and how many people we have to step on to get it.

You would be surprised to find out how many people some people step on just to get a three dollar raise. You be surprised how many folk people step on and lie on and get with the boss and talk about and talk down so that the boss will look favorable to them instead of the next person. Oh no you need to learn a biblical principle that promotion comes from God. Promotion does not come from you kiniving and back biting.

You get there by hook and crook and then guess what you won’t have any security, because you know that God did not put you there. And the same thing you did to that person to get there, somebody plotting on you. You got to understand what goes around… We also have to understand that money is alright, but there is something’s that money cant buy.