The Holy Spirit and Joy
Continued
By Pastor Darryl Manning
Now let
us learn more about joy and the Holy Spirit. In Psalm
16:11 we see the scripture that tells us the greatest joy
is in the presence of God.
Ps. 16: 11You will show me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your
right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Let us
look at Jesus’ teaching in John 14.
John 14: 19“A little while longer and the
world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I
live, you will live also. 20At that day you
will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in
you. 21He who has My commandments and keeps
them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will
be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest
Myself to him.”
John 14: 23Jesus answered and said to him,
“If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father
will love him, and We will come to him and make Our
home with him.
Jesus taught his disciples about the
Holy Spirit. He told them he would soon go away and the
world would not see him any more. But, he told the
disciples they would continue to see him, inferring this
would be by the Holy Spirit. He said he would manifest
himself to those who kept his commandments and his words.
Again, it is inferred that this would be by the Holy
Spirit. Finally, in verse twenty-three, Jesus said that
he and the Father would come and make their home in the
person who kept his word.
If
Jesus and the Father take up their home in a person you
know that person will be full of joy.
“In thy presence is fullness of joy.” Ps. 16:11
When we
talk about being obedient to God and keeping Jesus’ words,
we often think about obeying the Ten Commandments and
living by the Sermon on the Mount. Though these are
important, I believe we are talking about something that
is far more personal between ourselves and God.
Second
Corinthians 3:6 says
“the letter kills but the Spirit gives life.”
Obedience out of obligation has no life in it. It is like
a wife who obeys her husband and cares for his needs out
of obligation and not out of love. The needs may be met
but there is no joy in the one fulfilling them or in the
one receiving them.
The
obedience Jesus is speaking about is one that is born out
of a loving relationship. It is one that looks for
opportunities to bring pleasure to God. It goes far beyond
fulfilling obligations to fulfilling wishes and desires.
In the
Old Testament we find David on the run from King Saul.
Three of his men overhear David wishing for a drink from a
well in Bethlehem, where he grew up. During the night,
they break through an enemy stronghold to get David the
drink he wished for. (2 Sam. 23:15-16)
This is
an example of the kind of obedience Jesus is looking for.
These men were not commanded to get the water. They chose
to get the water to please their commander whom they
loved.
To have
this kind of relationship with Jesus requires that we be
sensitive to the desires of God. In the area of worship,
this becomes most critical. The scripture gives various
ways we are to worship God. Shouting, being still, being
quiet, dancing, lifting hands, bowing, etc. are all
appropriate for worship. How are we to know what is
appropriate? It is obvious we cannot do all these at the
same time. So, the Holy Spirit must prompt us as to the
desire of our Lord’s heart.
I know
there may be times when the Holy Spirit may make a person
do things. In the Bible, King Saul and others were made to
prophesy (1 Samuel 19:20ff). However, this is not the
normal mode of operation by the Holy Spirit. The normal
way is for the Holy Spirit to suggest ways of pleasing the
Lord.
A few
years ago, I was worshipping in the congregation and felt
the Holy Spirit suggesting that the Lord wanted me to bow
before him. Strangely enough, bowing was most difficult
for me. I had learned to lift my hands high when prompted
by the Lord. I had learned to dance before the Lord. But,
for some reason, bowing was difficult. Finally, I moved to
the floor and got on my hands and knees. As has happened
so many other times when obedient in worship, God’s
presence just enveloped me and we had wonderful communion
together.
Friend,
are you sensitive to the desires of the Lord? Do you know
the Holy Spirit’s prompting? Have you learned that
obedience to the prompting of the Holy Spirit brings the
presence of God and fullness of joy?
There
is another statement in Psalms 16:11.
“At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
In
Psalm 16, we see the writer prophetically speaking of
Jesus during his descent into death and the place of the
dead. He looks forward to his resurrection in verse ten
and then he looks to his ascension in verse eleven. He
sees himself full of joy in the Father’s presence. Then he
sees himself at the Father’s right hand where he says,
“there are pleasures evermore.”
The
mother of James and John wanted her boys to sit at Jesus
right hand in his kingdom. (Matt. 20) Jesus said this seat
belonged to “…those for whom it is prepared by My
Father.”
The
right hand position to any king is one of power, position,
and privilege. It is a position that is conferred by the
king. We know that Jesus has been exalted to the right
hand of God. (Acts 2:33). However, the wording of Matthew
20:23 is in the plural when it speaks of “those” who may
occupy this position.
In
Revelation 3:21 we find another statement of Jesus that
indicates he will grant seats on his throne to those who
overcome.
21To
him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My
throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on
His throne.
Could
it be that those who enjoy staying in the Lord’s presence
may be elevated to a position of power, position, and
privilege?
It
certainly happened for Joshua in the Old Testament. We
read in Exodus 33:11, that Joshua loved the presence of
the Lord and would stay in the tabernacle. Later, Joshua
was raised up to a position of power and authority to take
Moses’ place and lead the people of God into the Promised
Land.
Friend,
if you reside in the presence of God, you will have
fullness of joy and be given a position of authority in
God’s kingdom. The treasures of the King will be yours
because of your love and obedience to him.
Finally, let us look at the Apostles and the others who
received the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost.
Acts 1:4And being assembled together with
them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but
to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said,
“you have heard from Me; 5for John truly
baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the
Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
Most
Bible scholars believe there may have been five hundred
present to see Jesus ascend to heaven after making the
above statement. (See 1 Corinthians 15:6) In Acts 1:15,
St. Luke records there were only about one hundred-twenty
who were present for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
Let me
ask you this question: Who received the filling of the
Holy Spirit in Acts 2? Was it the five hundred who heard
Jesus command them to stay in Jerusalem or was it the one
hundred-twenty who obeyed the command? Of course it was
those who obeyed Jesus who were filled with the Holy
Spirit.
Folks
you can pray, sing, testify, witness, give your money, and
many other good things but if you are not obedient to the
words and wishes of God, you will not receive the Holy
Spirit.
If you
want to be full of joy you must be full of the Holy
Spirit. If you want to be full of the Holy Spirit, you
must be obedient to God.
