But someone might say “I am naturally negative and my first response is glass half empty (salt water).” No worries, the Holy Spirit is the ultimate desalination system, we just have to surrender to Him our thoughts and words. If we can dig wells of the Holy Spirit in our lives then we are not concerned about the dam of circumstance because there will be a flow of rivers of living water and life, joy, gladness. It’s because their well is not the Holy Spirit and so what bubbles up is all those things they have allowed to be the dominant flow in their lives, negativity and doubt, always seeing the problems, cultivating fear, ungratefulness and selfishness. I felt God say to me that some people dig wells of negativity and doubt, always seeing the problems, cultivating fear, ungratefulness and selfishness then wonder why the dam of happiness is empty, then they bubble over with negativity and are like a wet blanket in life. So, this scripture teaches us that you can’t have one thing (salt water) in the spring / well and expect something different (fresh water) to flow out. 11 Can both fresh water and saltwater flow from the same spring? 12 My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. Here is the other thing the Bible says about a spring that I felt God reminded me of: James 3:9-12 9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. That is why joy which comes from the Holy Spirit, is not like happiness and externally driven but internally driven from God’s Spirit which acts like a spring that constantly flows and bubbles over in our lives! Our joy cannot be robbed because:Ĭan take it – it flows direct from God’s Holy Spirit and overflows into my life. So, we understand that joy is a fruit / result of the Spirit in our lives and here the Bible gives us a description of what it is like in our lives. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.’ 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive. Happiness is dependent on the externals, things that are temporary and so it too will only ever be temporary, but joy is deep, it doesn’t run out, it is like a well or a spring! John 7:37-39 (NIV) 37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Sadly, we even see it in marriages, the person we stood at an altar with, looked into their eyes and said I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you is now boring, the marriage is on the rocks and sadly, perhaps even over. That pay rise made me happy – but we all know, before long we are wanting a bigger one. The new car brought me happiness – but how long before I am chasing the new one. Think about the many times something that once made you so happy, now, not only does not make us happy anymore, sometimes we hate it. But, as soon as life isn’t going to plan, just like a dam, happiness begins to drain – through leaking, evaporation or being used up.
#Joyspring singer full
The dam is full while ever it keeps getting topped up with things that make me feel good such as a new car, new girlfriend, holidays or a pay rise, in other words, when something good has happened to me. There are joy robbers – my personal favourite was the “Don’t Club”.Knowing why we are in God – our purpose.Knowing who we are in God – our identity.Joy comes not from external factors but internal ones.Joy is a fruit of the spirit – in fact the second fruit, preceded only by love.Joy needs to be initiated / activated by choice and decision.Bruce did a great job of explaining that last week when he taught us that: It shouldn’t surprise us that the whole world is chasing happiness, because there is a hardwiring within humankind to need, require, desire and search for joy, it’s just been confused with happiness! Happiness is the hook, the promise for almost the entire marketing industry across almost every industry. As we dig into God’s word, let me tell you that the picture of God is clear and Christianity that is missing the joy life component, is a long way out of order.
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