YOU SAY YOU ARE NOT MARRIED.
THANK GOD YOU HAVE NOT MISMARRIED.

WE MUST BEWARE OF COMPARING OURSELVES WITH OTHERS, DEPRESSION MOST OFTEN COMES BY COMPARISON.

IF THE DEVIL CANNOT STEAL YOUR JOY, HE CANNOT FRUSTRATE GOD’S PLAN FOR YOUR LIFE

GOD DEMANDS THAT WE MAINTAIN OUR JOY, AS FAR AS GOD IS CONCERNED JOY IS NOT SITUATION DEPENDENT.

JOY IS MEANT TO BE THE PERMANENT STATE OF EVERY CHILD OF GOD.

• Pastor David Oyedepo Jnr at CHoP

Shall we lift up our hands to heaven and give glory to God. He is the doer of these wonders. Celebrate Him, He is worthy of all glory, all adoration, He is worthy of all praise. Give Him thanks.

Father this morning we have come with the voice of gratitude and praise, You have done all things and You have done it well and for it we give You praise. Lord this morning our eyes are upon you, visit each one of us again. By your word let each of our lives be transformed. We give you praise and glory.

All through this week, we have been looking at this exhortation line captioned – ENGAGING THE POWER OF JOY AND REJOICING. In Philippians 4:4, we are commanded by scriptures “Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice”. Joy according to scripture is a commandment. God demands that we maintain our joy. As far as God is concerned, joy is not situation dependent. Joy is meant to be a consistent state of the spirit of man. We are told in Galatians 5:22 that one of the fruits of the regenerated spirit is joy. We are also told in Psalm 51 that one of the effects and manifestations of salvation is joy. For every one that is a child of God, joy is a spiritual indicator. Where joy is absent, it is a pointer to something out of place in the spirit.

Joy according to God’s Word is a commandment, Joy according to God’s Word is a pointer to our salvation. Joy according to God’s Word is a depletion of the regeneration of our spirit. That means there is no situation where joylessness is acceptable. Church Gist. There is no day that is permitted to be a joyless day, there is no moment that is permitted to be a joyless moment. As far as God is concerned, joy is expected to be the permanent state of every child of God. The question that you and I must begin to ask is ‘why?’ Because we discover every commandment of God is for our benefit. 1 John 5:3

Why is Joy demanded? Why is joy commanded?

1. God’s presence is our eternal guarantee for victory in every battle of life. The presence of God demands joy.

If you are not going to be a victim of defeat, then you must refuse to be a victim of depression. Until you are depressed, you cannot be oppressed. The word of God tells us in Psalms 16:11 – ” in the presence of God, there is fullness of joy”. Until joy is present, His manifestation is absent. God’s presence demands joy.

Numbers 23:21
When God is there, the gauge is joy just like when fuel is in your tank, the gauge is what tells us how much fuel is there. When joy is in the life of a man, it is the gauge of the Presence of God. When joy is low, God’s presence will go. We have a responsibility to ensure that if we are going to sustain God’s presence, joy must be there. It is God’s presence that guarantees victory in the battles of life.

Psalm 24:7-9

If you are going to get the King of glory moving on your behalf, you must meet the requirement of joy. Joy is a requirement for God and God is the secret of man’s victory.

Romans 8:31
No man can successfully resist a man who is backed by God. (Psalms 27:1-3). You can’t be defeated when God is your backend. You and I must ensure that our joy is sustained so that our victory is maintained. If you are going to remain victorious, then you must remain joyful. Joy is the secret to victory.

2. Joy and rejoicing secures a life of fulfillment.

Psalms 16:11

In the journey of purpose from discovery to fulfillment, joy is required. For the discovery of purpose, joy is required and also for the fulfillment of purpose joy is required.

Joel 1:11-12

When joy dries off, the purpose dies off. According to Scripture, every believer is likened to a tree and the purpose of a believer is likened to a fruit. That verse says the fruits perishes and dries up because joy has withered from the hearts of men. If you allow your joy dry up, your purpose will end up going out. If you are going to fulfill purpose in life then maintain your joy.

The devil cannot stop you when your joy is sustained. (Hebrews 12:2). The Bible says when Jesus was going through it all, one thing He never lost was joy. When your joy is in place, the plans of the devil will be frustrated. The joyful cannot be successfully suppressed. No matter what is happening, never lose your joy. If he cannot steal your joy, he cannot frustrate God’s plan for your life. I have good news for you: the plan of God for your life shall be fulfilled. Don’t let anything steal your joy.

We must beware of comparing ourselves with others, so that you do not get depressed. 2 Corinthians 10:12, depression for many is the product of comparison. “Look at me” “see my mates already married” “Look at me, the MD of that company is my mate and I am looking for a job. I went for an interview and my mate was on the panel and He was asking me questions as if he didn’t know me before”. You are running your race, maintain your track. It is not wisdom to compare yourself with another man. Somebody came to me some years ago and said ” Pastor look at me I am not married, I don’t know why” and I looked at her and said she should thank God, she asked why and I said you have not mis-married. There are those we are trying to manage their mis-marriage. Don’t compare yourself with any man, everyone is running their race.

If two people are running a race, one of them is running 100 metres and the other 5 kilometres. Before the one running 5 kilometres has really started, the one running 100 metres is already receiving his medal. The one running 5 kilometres still has a long way to go. The one who runs 100 metres will receive gold medal, the one who runs 5 kilometres will receive gold medal. When they talk about them in history, they will call them gold medal runners. Run your race. Your medal is in your race, not another man’s race. When you hear the testimony of others celebrate it, your own is coming.