INEXPRESSIBLE AND GLORIOUS JOY
24th Dec 2014
1 Peter 1:8 “.....filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.”
Luke 2:10 “Good news of great joy.”
Job 38:7 “While the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy.”
Isaiah 51:11 “The ransomed of the Lord will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them and sorrow and sighing will flee away.”
I wonder if you will experience this kind of joy as we celebrate the birth of Jesus? It’s possible, it’s available but it has to be entered into and experienced. Choice is involved also anticipation and expectancy.
The world was promised great joy because a Saviour was born, someone who can change everything, deal with failure, sin, judgement, evil and give hope. This kind of joy was experienced in heaven when the earth was created; it will be again when we enter Zion, the Heavenly Jerusalem, where there will be so more sighing, no tears and where we will be reunited with the Godhead and those who have died in Christ.
Joy given by the Holy Spirit will give us strength and resources to live life in a supernatural dimension. “God plunged his people into a sea of joy.” as they celebrated the rebuilding of the temple in Ezra’s day. (Ezra 6:22 The Message)
One night we experienced supernatural joy during our church prayer meeting. A normally quite sober older man began to laugh with great belly laughs, while desperately trying to regain his dignity. The whole company was filled with joy and laughter, well being and thankfulness. Prayer and laughter were mixed together in a joyous outburst - not very respectable!
A young man who had recently come to faith in Jesus was in the meeting. He was amazed, “What are you lot on? I used to pay good money to try and get this high. I’ve never experience joy like this!”
Ask God to plunge you into a sea of joy, and let those you celebrate with catch it too!
by Joyce Sibthorpe
