MEMORISE:
And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you. John 16:22
READ: John 16:20-24
20 Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.
21 A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.
22 And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.
23 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.
24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
MESSAGE
It is one thing to have joy, and it is another thing to have unlimited joy. Walking in unlimited joy is the will of Jesus Christ for all His disciples, which is why he said to us in John 16:24:
“Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full”.
Nothing gives unlimited joy as when a request is granted, particularly request for things that matters most to the person. The question then is, why do our prayers sometimes go unanswered? As revealed in Isaiah 59:1-2, one answer to this question is sin. In that scripture, the Lord said:
“Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:
But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear”.
This brings us to another question: why should a child of God struggle with sin, since we know it hinders prayers from being answered? The answer to this question lies in the fact that many children of God do not hate iniquity, even though they love righteousness. One way or another, they assist and encourage iniquity. Another reason why our prayers go unanswered is revealed in James 4:3:
“Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts”.
Based on these scriptures, you may also want to ask, how can I avoid praying amiss? In answer to this, 1 John 5:14 says:
“And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us”.
We must pray according to God’s will in order to receive the answer to our request or petitions. Nothing gives me joy as praying for sinners to be saved and seeing them confess to the saving grace of God. my moments of joy are those moments when those afflicted by the power of darkness are delivered after we have prayed for them at our meetings. The disciples shared in this unlimited joy when they returned from the missionary strip their Master sent them on. The Bible says they came back rejoicing, not because they were given gifts, clothes, houses or cars, but because they ministered deliverance to the oppressed and their prayers were answered (Luke 10:17). However, in Luke 10:20, our Lord recommended what should be the greatest source of unlimited joy to us saying:
“Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven”.
Do you have unlimited joy?
PRAYER POINT:
Father, please let me begin to experience unlimited joy from today, in Jesus’ Name.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalm 105-106
Mark 1:1-20
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 15: NEARER MY GOD TO THEE.
Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!
E’en though it be a cross that raiseth me,
Still all my song shall be, nearer, my God, to Thee. Nearer to Thee!
Though like the wanderer, the sun gone down,
Darkness comes over me, my rest a stone;
Yet in my dreams I’d be nearer, my God, to Thee. Nearer to Thee!
There let me see the sight, an open Heaven;
All that Thou sendest me, in mercy given;
Angels to beckon me nearer, my God, to Thee. Nearer to Thee!
Then, with my waking thoughts bright with Thy praise,
Out of my stony griefs Bethel I’ll raise;
So by my woes to be nearer, my God, to Thee. Nearer to Thee!
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