Prayer and Bible Band

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Background Reading:  

Psalm 33:17; Jeremiah 33:9; Luke 6:23; John 10:10; Acts 20:24; Philippians 3:7, James 1:1-4;

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Devotional Reading:

​1 Samuel 4:5-11

 

​Central Verse

"My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers' temptation."  James 1:2, KJV  

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"Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy."    James 1:2, NLT

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Key Terms

Word — A sound or combination of sounds that has meaning and is spoken by a human being: a written or printed letter or letters standing for a spoken word.

Wrath—Violent anger: punishment for sin or crime.

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Introduction

While studying the importance of joy, the believers must remember that the enemy of their soul is not happy when their joy is full. When they find themselves falling into temptations but can yet rejoice in the God of their salvation. So, prepare yourself, for the enemy that comes to steal kill and to destroy. The joy killers are always lurking around trying to bring defeat into the believer's heart. The believer's hope and confidence must always be in Jesus Christ his Lord and Savior. When the enemy or the joy killers come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord Jesus will lift up a standard against the enemy (Isaiah 59:19).

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Discussion

The song says, "This joy I have the world didn't give it to me, the world didn't give it and the world can't take it away." But the believers are not ignorant concerning the deceitfulness of the devil. He knows that there are several joy killers around, seeking whoever they can deceive. Some of the joy killers include unresolved conflict, comparison, complaining, pride and anxiety. All five of these can be deadly to the joy that is in the believer's lives.

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The word of the Lord tells the believer's not to let the sun go down on their wrath, (Be angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down on your wrath) Ephesians 4:26. Do not allow unresolved conflicts to fester in your spirit. God's word lets believers know that if they do not deal with unresolved issues, they will allow anger to turn them into "mockers" and fools. The believers must ask their father for help so they can be healed by letting go of the an­ger and the issues and become transformed into peacemakers. Embrace the wisdom of God and receive the promises of peace within themselves as well as peace with others.

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Pride cannot go with a believer to the next level of his commitment to God for pride is a joy killer. Pride cannot promote a believer because it will impede his growth. The believer must allow God to lead him into paths of righteousness and through the storms of life, and pride won't allow that. God is with the believer through every season of his life for He never leaves nor forsakes His children. He will be with them as they go through. But they must never focus on the waves nor the fire. They must maintain a focus on God and His mighty wonder working power. A haughty spirit goes before a fall.

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The next joy killer is Comparison or envy. Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th Pres­ident of the United States of America, said, "Comparison is the thief of joy". It is important to remember that each believer has been given different gifts and each believer is expected to give God his absolute best. His best may not be like someone else's best, but when he gives his best, that's all he can do. God gives each believer the grace that he needs, not what some­one else needs. In 2 Corinthians 10:12 Paul gives a clear understanding when he says, "For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by them­selves, and comparing among themselves, are not wise." Paul was one of the Apostles who dealt with envy and comparison. He refused to allow any of the words or actions of the other disciples affect his effectiveness nor his work in the ministry stop him. God wants each believer to have joy in his walk with Him in implementing their assignment.

Pride is a powerful joy killer. It is so bad that God says He hates a proud look. John said all that is in the world is the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. So, pride is a powerful weapon that Satan uses to kill the believer's joy. The believer can choose to be humble, or he can choose to be prideful. He can choose to let the spirit of heaviness weigh him down or he can choose to let God lift every burden. He can choose to worship God or choose to worship the weights and the bondages of his past.

 

A haughty spirit goes before a fall and blocks the joy bells that want to ring in the believer's soul. Thank God believers don't have to allow the joy killers to kill their confidence in God but can redirect their focus on God and not on the weight of this world. The believer must remember that this is Jesus's world, and He has already died for its sins, so they don't have to.

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The next joy killer is complaining. The children of Israel were so blessed by God in so many ways, but they complained to Moses about some of every­thing. God blesses His children and supplies every need, but some believ­ers allow the spirit of murmuring and complaining to come from them every day. How can a person have joy when all he does is complain every day? He has no time to praise and rejoice because he is so busy complaining. Paul advised the believer to do everything without complaining. He told them to stop grumbling and disputing that they may be blameless and innocent chil­dren of God. God has called the believers to a higher calling which includes counting all things as joy, not complaining.

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​Conclusion

The next joy killer in this lesson is Anxiety. This is a big joy killer because anxiety creeps into the heart of a believer and into the mind where the peace of God should always be. The word tells the believer not to be anxious about anything, but with prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let their request be made known to God. And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6-7).

 

Believers, you must not allow yourself to become ignorant concern­ing the devices of Satan. He's out to get you, He will steal everything that is good about you and leave you as a fallen Saint of God. Satan knows if you have joy, you can laugh, and laughter does good like medicine. So, don't let the devil ride, if you let him ride, he'll want to drive. Do not let him kill your joy, hold on to your joy.

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​Questions

1. Why does the enemy want to steal your joy?

2. What are some of the joy killers?

3. How can the believer prevent the steal?

4. Why are joy killer's dangerous to the body of Christ?

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​Essential Thought

"Where there's joy there is laughter, and laughter is like medicine; and where there is medicine there is healing of body, mind, and spirit."