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Study Notes

The study notes in this section are Matthew’s personal outlines and therefore they have not been edited.  As a result, you will find some grammatical errors.

Joy Is Strength

I.      Proverbs 15:13-Sadness is a tool the enemy uses to break and weaken your spirit

A.    Sadness and sorrow hurts your spirit; it beats your spirit down until it’s wounded and incapable of functioning the way it was designed to function

1.      Through sadness and sorrow the enemy endeavors to weaken your spirit

a.    Sorrow-Grieve, displease, vex; To feel pain of mind as a result of losing something good, frustrated expectations of good, to be sad

b.    Heart-Mind, will, emotions (Soul)

c.     Broken-Stricken (worn), wounded (hurt by violence), smitten

2.      Those who yield to sorrow are damaging their own spirits

a.    Sadness and sorrow is like spiritual poison that weakens the spirit

3.      Proverbs 15:13

a.    ESV-A glad heart makes a cheerful face, but by sorrow of heart the spirit is crushed

b.    CEB-A joyful heart brightens one’s face, but a troubled heart breaks the spirit

c.     ERV-If you’re happy your face shows it.  If you’re sad your spirit feels defeated.

d.    MSG-A cheerful heart brings a smile to your face; a sad heart makes it hard to get through the day

e.    WYC-A joyful heart makes glad the face; but the spirit is cast down in the mourning of the soul

B.     Proverbs 18:14-The enemy wants to infect you with sadness to break your spirit because if your spirit is wounded, broken, and weak all hope for you us gone  

1.      Versions

a.    MSG-A healthy spirit conquers adversity, but what can you do when the spirit is crushed

b.    NIRV-A man’s cheerful heart gives him strength when he is sick-U can’t keep going if you have a broken spirit

c.     WYC-Who can endure with a broken spirit

d.    HSCB-Who can survive a broken spirit

e.    NCV-No one can live with a broken spirit

2.      To walk in victory you need your spirit strong to cast down thoughts and resist the enemy and stay in faith (to support the weakness of the flesh)

a.    When you’re spirit is weak the flesh will go wild-Ezekiel 16:30

C.    Deuteronomy 28:47-48-Yielding to sorrow literally puts you in the hands of the enemy

1.      GW-You didn’t serve the Lord your God w/ a joyful & happy heart when u had so much so u will serve ur enemies

2.      Because YOU-This is something they chose; You have to choose joy

a.    Joy and sorrow alike are decisions we make

b.    Because they didn’t chose joy, they put themselves into the hands of the enemy

3.      You yield to sadness and sorrow and you’re going to get worked by the enemy

a.    Sadness and sorrow brought lack, bondage and destruction

D.    If sadness weakens and breaks the spirit, joy would have to build it up; Joy is a spiritual vitamin that when chosen daily will build your spirit up & keep it strong

1.      Proverbs 15:13, Nehemiah 8:10-Joy is a tool used by God to strengthen your spirit

a.    Every time you choose joy you just helped your spirit

2.      Proverbs 24:10-You’re level of strength is directly correlated to your level of joy; If your joy level is high, your strength level is high, you won’t fail in the day of adversity

a.    NLT-If you fail under pressure, your strength is too small

b.    HCSB-If you do nothing in a difficult time your strength is limited

c.     NCV-If you give up when trouble comes, it shows that you are weak

d.    NIV1984-If you falter in times of trouble how small is your strength

e.    MSG-If you fall to pieces in crisis, there wasn’t much to you in the first place

f.      James 4:7, 1 Peter 5:9-You have to resist to win and to resist you have to be strong

E.     Proverbs 17:22-So many times if people would just chose joy, it’d be the answer, the cure, the remedy; it would restore their situation to a good state

1.      Versions

a.    MSG-A cheerful disposition is good for your health; gloom and doom leave you bone-tired

b.    GW-A joyful heart is good medicine but depression drains one’s strength

c.     NCV-A happy heart is like good medicine, but a broken spirit drains your strength

d.    WYC-A joyful soul makes a good life

2.      One of the most unspiritual (carnal) things you can do is walk around with a frown on your face

3.      If you stay sad because it stays bad, it stays bad because you stay sad

II.     The Word of God is the origin and source from which joy comes

A.    God gave us His word to give us joy (Jesus said that to give joy, John wrote that to give joy)

1.      John 15:11-They key to having Jesus’ joy work actively in you and have your joy overflowing is the Word of God

a.    If you don’t hear what Jesus says you have avenue by which to cultivate joy

2.      1 John 1:4-If you don’t spend time with what’s been written in the Word of God your joy tank will be lacking

a.    You fill your joy tank up by spending time in God’s word

3.      Jeremiah 15:16-It is important that we search the Word and find scriptures to fit our situation and then meditate those scriptures to cultivate joy; Your words were found

a.    ERV-Your words came to me, and I ate them up. They made me very happy.

b.    GW-Your words were found and I devoured them. Your words are my joy and my heart’s delight

c.     He found the word and then spent time with the Word He found

1)       Finding the scriptures is not enough, you have to eat them; You have to get them on the inside of you by meditating them

2)       Joy comes from the word of God that you get into your heart not the word you know in your head

3)       Joy is not always going to come the first time you hear it, see it, or say it, but if you will stay persistent in the word joy will come

4.      Sadness, sorrow, discouragement, depression is simply the result of a poor spiritual diet; the remedy for sadness is the word of God

B.     Satan targets the Word of God in your life because it is the origin of joy

1.      Mark 4:15-Satan comes to get the Word from you, he comes to take your word-time from you and distract you 

2.      If Satan can steal the Word from you he can get your joy; If he can get your joy, then he can break your spirit and keep it weak; If you’re weak you can’t resist and if you can’t resist, you will not win

C.    Joy is an out flowing expression of faith in God

1.      Psalm 5:11-Those who aren’t rejoicing aren’t trusting

a.    Those who have no joy have no faith

1)       Sadness and sorrow is simply evidence that you don’t believe

b.    Trust-Bold, secure, feel safe, careless (these all go hand in hand with joy)

1)       If you’re in sorrow you’re not bold, secure, careless, you don’t feel safe

2)       ASV-But let all those who take refuge in thee rejoice, let them ever shout for joy b/c you defend them:

3)       LEB-But let all who take shelter in u rejoice.  Let them ever sing for joy b/c u spread protection over them.

2.      Romans 10:17-Faith comes by hearing the Word

a.    The more Word I hear, the more I trust, the more I trust the more joy that flows out

b.    Faith provokes joy, it stirs it up

D.    Joy will come to anybody who will commit to spend time with God in His Word

1.      Psalm 40:16-Many people have no joy simply because they aren’t seeking God

a.    To seek Him and stay depressed violates spiritual law

1)       If you’re sad or sorrowful you couldn’t be that way if you were seeking Him

b.    The less you require and desire God, the less you joy you have

1)       Seek-Require, desire

c.     NCV-Let those who follow you be happy and glad

d.    NIRV-Let all those who look to you be happy and glad

2.      Psalm 16:8-11-If you’re sorrowful you haven’t been with God

a.    NIRV-You always fill me with joy when I am with you

b.    MSG-Day and night I'll stick with God; I've got a good thing going and I'm not letting go. 9-10 I'm happy from the inside out, and from the outside in, I'm firmly formed. You canceled my ticket to hell— that's not my destination! 11 Now you've got my feet on the life path, all radiant from the shining of your face. Ever since you took my hand, I'm on the right way

c.     8-God didn’t set Himself before Him rather he set God before him

d.    9-That’s why my heart is glad

e.    11-Many people are sad, sorrowful, and Heavy because they’ve been spending time with wrong fellow