Study Notes

I.      Yielding to sorrow puts the force of death to work in your life; choosing joy over sorrow puts the force of life to work-2 Corinthians 7:9-10

A.    When you look at the opposite of the thing you’re looking at, you’ll gain a greater understanding of the thing you’re looking at

1.      If we’ll look at what life is, we’ll better understand what death is

B.     Life and death are spiritual forces

1.      John 1:1-5, 1 John 1:5-In this life/light there is no darkness at all and darkness can’t overpower this life/light 

a.    Zoe is the light, the life-force that crowds out all evil

b.    When light/life/zoe shows up it expels darkness; darkness can’t exist in its presence

c.     Life is the force that darkness has no answer for; evil cannot overcome it-Mark 5

d.    It’s the healing power of God that removes all sickness…etc

e.    James 1:17-Everything they good flows from and is created by this life force

2.      Death/Darkness is a spiritual force that can’t overtake or overpower the force of life

a.    Death is that force of darkness that produces all bad

C.    If the sorrow of the world works death, then the joy of the Lord works life

1.      Joy will put God who is life to work; sorrow will put Satan who is death to work

2.      Proverbs 17:22-A merry heart works like a medicine, because it’s puts that life force to work; a broken spirit dries the bones because it puts that death force to work

3.      Psalm 8:2-Praise stills the avenger because joy puts that life force to work and when and where this life force is working, darkness and death cannot be

a.    Light stills darkness; in the presence of light darkness can do nothing

D.    We have to begin to cultivate joy in our daily lives

1.      We don’t yield to “being in a bad mood,” because sorrow you yield to works death

a.    When we talk about joy we’re talking a release of spiritual forces; it’s more than just a laugh and a giggle (even though it will manifest in those ways)

2.      Stop practicing sorrow and stop talking sorrow

II.     One of the worst things you can do, particularly in times of attack is yield to sorrow because it puts the death force to work; one of the best things that you can do, particularly in times of attack is choose joy because it puts the life force to work

A.    Acts 12:1-10-Feeding on sorrow isn’t to work that life force you need so what’s the point

1.      Peter is sleeping b/c it’s vain to feed on sorrow-Psalm 127:2

B.     Acts 16:23-25-***If you yield to sorrow it will keep you from you suddenly***

1.      Surely they feel sorrowful, but yielding to it will only work death

2.      At midnight-The darkest hour; That shows me that if you choose joy over sorrow that God can turn your darkest hour into your greatest victory

3.      Their joy is working life and that life force won’t let you die or be defeated

4.      Choosing joy over sorrow puts a demand on the power of God show up in your life

C.    We cannot allow the circumstances to lead us into sorrow where death works-Jn16:22

1.      Habakkuk 3:17-He had a revelation that to get God on the scene and to get the life force of God working, he must not yield to sorrow

2.      When things aren’t changing and maybe your hurting, you’d better watch it

a.    John16:33-Don’t allow the tribulation to take your joy

D.    This dismay, this discouragement, this heaviness, this sorrow that people yield to works death and will cause defeat to manifest in their lives

1.      Numbers 14:1-Their sorrow works death and keeps them from God’s best

2.      1 Samuel 17:11-A person who yields to sorrow is no threat to the kingdom of darkness

3.      Joshua 1:9-Yielding to sorrow will shut God out of your life

III.   Sorrow is never to be yielded to or practiced; it’s to always be resisted

A.    Jesus is our example and when sorrow/heaviness tried to come on Him, he resisted it

1.      Matthew 26:37-44-He didn’t yield to this sorrow; He prayed in faith resisting it

2.      Luke 22:43-44-Why did he pray more earnestly? He knows if this sorrow attaches itself to Him he’s finished; he knew the importance of not letting the enemy steal his joy

B.     Heb 12:2-This is the biggest battle Jesus faced and holding onto his joy is at the center of it; Joy is a key issue in every spiritual battle; you have to win where joy is concerned

1.      Rather than focusing on what he was going through, he focused on the end result and as he did it stirred up his joy; He’s making an on purpose effort to stay in joy

a.    CEB-Ignoring the shame, for the sake of the joy that was laid out in front of him

b.    NIRV-He suffered there because of the joy he was looking forward to

c.     MSG-Study how he did it.  Because he never lost sight of where he was headed – that exhilarating finish in and with God – he could put with anything along the way

2.      He sees your face and he sees my face and sees the Father face with a big smile being pleased; he sees mankind redeemed, he sees Satan defeated in hell and the more he thinks about it the more stirred his joy gets

3.      You get carnally minded, you’re going to be sorrowful and it works death-Rom 8:5

C.    Some people think if they cry long enough God will feel sorry for them and do it (They’re favorite verse is Jesus wept) – Jesus would rather laugh with you over your victory than cry with you over your defeat

1.      Psalm 126:5-The people who don’t let sorrow and tears stop them from sowing the Word and sowing faith and sowing obedience will reap what they sow in joy

a.    Sow in tears, not sow tears; reap in joy, not reap joy

b.    It’s not the tears that bring reaping, it’s the sowing that brings reaping

c.     You’re going to have joy because you reaped what you sowed

2.      Malachi 2:13,17-You’ve cried a lot, but you still haven’t been obedient

a.    Crying isn’t going to change anything; yielding to sorrow never fixed a problem

b.    Are you preaching against crying? I’m preaching against yielding to sorrow

D.    When you feel sorrowful, begin pulling on comforting ministry of the Holy Spirit  

1.      Ecclesiastes 4:1-So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter

2.      2 Corinthians 1:2-4, John 14:16-I have a comforter and he comforts me

3.      Jeremiah 31:15-16-Stop crying everything is going to be alright

IV.   Isaiah 12:3-Joy is the bucket that drop down into the wells of salvation and pull up the water that you need

A.    When you got born again you got a salvation inheritance package

1.      2 Peter 1:4, Ephesians 1:3, Revelation 5:12-It’s everything that pertains to life

B.     You’re going to draw water from the wells of victory with your joy

1.      You can’t pull from that inheritance while you yield to sorrow

2.      Without joy you don’t have a bucket and it’s all there available for you, but you can’t get it, until you get a bucket

3.      This is joy working life