Joy Killers

WRONG UNDERSTANDING: The kingdom of God is not in eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men.” Romans 14:17-18.  Some of us in the church would have been filled with the Holy Spirit and manifested the fruit of joy a long while ago but we have not because of our habits. If you are saved but still behaving as the world does, you cannot bear this fruit. If you retain the habit of listening to ungodly and worldly music with the belief that it will make you happy, the joy of the Lord cannot be found in you. If you are married and still keeping other men on the side thinking they will make you happy, sneaking out once a while and drinking or taking some other substance trying to make yourself happy, you will be frustrated! If you are unmarried and you are reading this book be wise enough not to be involved in any illicit affairs, keep yourself holy so as not to rob yourself of the joy you ought to have.

Well, I will drop a mail in your box hoping you will read it. Anybody can get happy and loose it but only Holy Spirit-filled-saved-children of God can get happy and keep it because it springs from the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Do not seek temporary happiness but seek the joy of the LORD because then you will know real happiness.

WONDERING AWAY FROM THE FATHERS PRESENCE: “A certain man had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that fall to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in the land and he began to be in want. Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything” [Luke 15:11-16]

He departed from a place where he had full supply and wandered to the land of uncertainty. There is a wandering spirit in the Church. Like the prodigal son, the sons of God keep looking to other places thinking they will find happiness. The real joy is in the father’s presence and those who seek to dwell in His presence every day will find it. The bible says that, “In His presence there is fullness of joy; at His right hand are pleasures forevermore” [Ps. 16: 11]. It is only those who abide in his presence that are filled with joy.

To dwell in God’s presence is to praise him all the time. David said, “I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth” [Ps. 34:1]. Praise offered to God attracts His anointing and when the anointing falls, it fills us with joy. This anointing will not depart as long as we keep praising Him.

To dwell in God’s presence is to keep our mind stayed on him [Is. 26: 3]. When our mind is stayed on the LORD He will take us through trials and tribulations and bring us out whole. “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!” [Is. 6:1-3]. Whereas the whole nation was morning the man of God saw Heaven, the choir and even God seated in His glory. He saw hope for Israel rather than despair. When you stay in God’s presence, you will see differently from others. Your perception will be different. So long as you stay in His presence you will be a winner. You will overcome despair; You will defeat depression; You will overcome dejection; You will overcome rejection; You will defeat oppression.

“He will give beauty for Ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness” [Isaiah 61:3].  You will overcome heaviness; You will rise up from under sadness; You will be delivered from hopelessness; You will receive fullness for emptiness. The prodigal son found himself eating food meant for the swine instead of the delicacies in his father’s house and this must have been very embarrassing. Do not eat that which is reserved for the swine and become embarrassed and depressed when you can gladly dwell in your father’s presence and eat the kingly portion. When God meets our needs, it gives us confidence and makes us joyful. When we rely on the world to meet our needs, we lose confidence in our father and we end up as sad Christians. Let us all come to the father’s house and know that real joy is in there.

This is an excerpt from a book I co-authored with Pastor Justus. The book is titled “HELP!”? Obtain your copy today at  amazon.com  or call 718-5580129. This book speaks to every issue in the family lets you know how to maintain a good relationship God’s way and also impress upon your heart that the best is an illusion unless God is in it.  Thank you.

To contact me please call 718-6588981. Don’t forget to tune in to WTHE (AM) 1520 Radio station every Thursday @ 10am to hear the WORD both in Yoruba and English languages. For TV broadcast, tune to Brooklyn cable 56 on Sunday at 7:30pm or QPTV 34 on Wednesday at 6pm & QPTV 34 on Thursday at 5pm. Pastor Abraham Obadare is a minister at Christ Apostolic Church WOSEM, New York City.