Awesome topic of Joy, What is Joy.

 

How would you define Joy.

Bibilical Joy which is in the New Testament mentioned 150 times.
What is it I think it's an internal state of Happiness an external eternal state of satisfaction.
I almost descrie it as a full a fullness feel a feeling of fullness it's not an external thing which could be descrived as happiness like I'm happy because I'm. now eating ice-cream or playing a game whatever which is not,
but Joy is an internal, an eternal quality from God.
God actually God want't to fill us with this thing called Joy another word is rejoicing and those words are in the Old Testament thery're in the New Testament it's a majoy majoy concept in fact it's one of the fruit of the holy spirit in galat 5 it talks about love, joy, peace, patience so love is always number one.
You've got to love people right? I love God, love people theh second one is Joy and so it really is a fruit of theh holy spirit it's a fruit of having God living in inside our lives.
So therefore it's very special thing for believers, believers in Jesus that we all should expect Joy.
I think there was a C.S Lewis one of his books was called surprised by Joy. I think the concept of coming to Christ is that there is Joy there is more joy there is. 
How do you descibe it? I don't know but it's certainly better than sadness let me tell you.
Before I became a believer, I didn't have much joy I had happiness at times but I didn't have this internal state where I was satisfied and happy, I was unhappy I was depressed I was self-seeking I was all about me and it wasn't very nice and when I found Jesus I found this new quality called Joy, Joy of the Lord, Joy of Jesus.
So I don't know would you give any other explanation of what do you think is Joy.

I found in John 15, 16, 17.
one scripture in each of thouse where Jesus says that my joy will be full in you, three times Joyfull.
Joyfull I guess get that word from, but pull it apart it's even more intersting in English full of joy, full of joy, full of joy three times.
So certainly is an expectation from Jesus our Lord that we do have a full of Joy experience and that really does change our lives doesn't it?
It changes the way we see, the way we think, the way we hope we talked about Hope a few weeks ago the way we hope the way we love and the way we Joy.

<What is missunderstanding of Joy>

a little while just a few minutes ago I talked about this word happiness and the word joy and I mean they might be the same on many occasions but if we pull them a part I think the concept of happiness is an external it's a response to external stimulus of external experience or external realities so if I'm having a good day and it's sunny then I could be happy but it's raining and I haven't got any money I can be sad it's an external it's a response to external simuli which we all have I don't think that's abnormal.

BUT JOY IS INTERNAL STATE OF BEING that no matter what happnes I'm going to keep my Joy or I should be able to keep my joy. Happiness is a great thing I want to have happiness for you and me and my family and for our church. I want to happeniess I want the blessing of God, BUT it does change with the day-to-day and year-to-year and that's dangerous to build a house a house upon happiness alone.
Again let me say it's a good thing, but joy is something we definitely can build our house upon in every year in every circumstance and I think that's a great hope for us.

No matter we're going through we can maintain a sense of full satisfaction.
It takes time we've got to think about it work it through but I think if we have a misconception which is your qustion and that is today I don't eel happy therefore I don't have a joy -- I think that is the misconception that we link them so tightly together that I say I'm not very joyful today what we really mean is I'm not felling happy today which even as a Christian we can say that of course we can it's a bad day just a really awful rotten bad day we can say I'm not feeling happy today but if we disengage those two words I can say I'm not feeling happy but I'm maintain my joy so the misconception is that we should always feel this elation from external stimuli that doesn't happen to anybody on the planet from the richest to the poorest. 

Continual absolute happiness is almost it's just out of our reach. Therefore we're not talking about that, we're not talking about a stability in our circumstances forever it doesn't happen Oh it does actually it's called heaven right?
in haven there's complete hapiness, here on earth there's not continual happniess.
I think it's really important that we pull these tow part because when we talk about Joy some people turn off and say we'll I've had a hard life or you don't what I've been through or many things that are true statements like we feel compassion and care for thoes people might be some of you listening, we feel compassion that you don't have happness but we do still want to maintain that you can have a sense of Joy in the middle of whatever we're going to talkd about that later.
But the two things are different and I think we need to talk about that really that we can have continual joy in Jesus Christ.