The test of Christian character should be that a man is a joy-bearing agent to the world.
Henry Ward Beecher
Man’s holiness is now his greatest happiness, and in heaven man’s greatest happiness will be his perfect holiness.
A Puritan Golden Treasury, compiled by I.D.E. Thomas, by permission of Banner of Truth, Carlisle, PA. 2000, p. 25.
What the Bible Says About Joy:
1. Jesus’ aim in all He taught was the joy of His people (Jn. 15:11).
2. Joy is what God fills us with when we trust in Christ (Rom. 15:13).
3. The kingdom of God is joy (Rom. 14:17).
4. Joy is the fruit of God’s Spirit within us (Gal. 5:22).
5. Joy is the aim of everything the apostles did and wrote (2 Cor. 1:24).
6. Becoming a Christian is finding a joy that makes you willing to forsake everything (Mat. 13:44).
7. Joy is nourished and sustained by the word of God in the Bible (Psm. 19:8).
8. Joy will overtake all sorrow for those who trust Christ (Psm. 126:5; 30:5)
9. God Himself is our joy (Psm. 43:4; 16:11).
10. Joy in God outstrips all earthly joy (Psm. 4:7)
11. If your joy is in God, no one can take your joy from you (Jn. 16:22).
12. God calls all nations and peoples to join in the joy He offers to all who believe. No racism. No ethnocentrism (Psm. 67:4; Psm. 66:1).
13. The whole Christian message from beginning to end is good news of great joy (Lk. 2:10; Isa. 51:11).
14. When we meet Christ at His second coming we will enter into his indestructible joy (Mt. 25:23).
Quest: Joy! Found: Christ! Sermon: April 20, 2003, Used by Permission, www.DesiringGod.org.
When the heart is full of joy, it always allows its joy to escape. It is like the fountain in the marketplace; whenever it is full it runs away in streams, and so soon as it ceases to overflow, you may be quite sure that it has ceased to be full. The only full heart is the overflowing heart.
The Sympathy of the Two Worlds, Sermon, Luke 15:10.
We can’t say that our joy depends on our emotion, but don’t buy for a minute that Christian joy is devoid of emotion!
Strength in the River, 2016, Kress Biblical Resources, p. 34. Used by Permission.
