DAILY BIBLE VERSES AND PRAYER THOUGHTS:

MONDAY - VERSES: Consider the fact that a form of the word rejoice is used in 273 verses. Deuteronomy 12:7,12,18; Psalm 9:14; Genesis 30:13 PRAYER THOUGHT: Thank God for the times in your life that you have rejoiced and had blessings that brought happiness.

TUESDAY - VERSES: Think about a form of the word joy being in 185 verses. Job 5:17; James 5:11; 1 Peter 3:14; 4:14 PRAYER THOUGHT: Thank God for the difficulties that you have made it through and ask him to help you rejoice in the strength gained from those trying times.

WEDNESDAY - VERSES: God uses the word blessed in 287 verses. Proverbs 10:22; 28:20; Ephesians 1:3; Psalm 103:1-2 PRAYER THOUGHT: Praise God for all of the things in your life that you should be rejoicing for and ask Him to help you rejoice in those things.

THURSDAY - VERSES: Other forms of the word bless are used in 187 more verses. John 13:17; Psalm 115:12-13; Acts 3:25-26 PRAYER THOUGHT: Ask God to forgive you for the times in your life when you have wallowed in self-pity instead of rejoicing in Him.

FRIDAY - VERSES: A form of happy is found in 25 verses Ecclesiastes 9:9; 1 Kings 1:39-40; Luke 15:7,10 PRAYER THOUGHT: Ask God to help you find someone else to rejoice with in their blessings or to share your blessings with to bring joy to their life.

SATURDAY - VERSES: Proverbs 29:18; Isaiah 51:11; Zephaniah 3:17 PRAYER THOUGHT: Ask God to help you better understand joy and the reasons you have to rejoice and ask Him to help you maintain a joyful attitude and countenance throughout your life.

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There is not one blade of grass, there is no color in this world that is not intended to make us rejoice. - John Calvin

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ASSIGNMENTS

1. Daily read over this material and read or sing the song.

2. Place the scripture where you will see it each day.

3. Think of times when you have expressed great joy in your life.

4. Write down the things you have to rejoice about in your life.

5. Plan to tell the class how you have shown joy in your life, or tell how you have failed to express joy when you should have.

SPIRITUAL HEALTH REGIMEN - WEEK 22

REJOICE - 12-16-12 to 12-22-12

SCRIPTURE - (Phil 4:4) Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!

COMMENT - Christians should be the most joyful people in the world and we should show that joy in our daily lives.

SONG – LET EVERY HEART REJOICE AND SING

1. Let ev'ry heart rejoice and sing, Let choral anthems rise;

Ye aged men, and children, bring To God your sacrifice;

2. He bids the sun to rise and set; In heaven his power is known;

And earth, subdued to him, shall yet Bow low before his throne;

REFRAIN: For he is good, the Lord is good, And kind are all his ways; With songs and honors sounding loud, The Lord Jehovah praise;

While the rocks and the rills, While the vales and the hills A glorious anthem raise; Let each prolong the grateful song, And the God of our fathers praise, And the God of our fathers praise.

THOUGHTS

It is said that as Benjamin Franklin concluded a stirring speech on the guarantees of the Constitution, a heckler shouted, "Aw, them words don't mean nothin' at all. Where's all the happiness you say it guarantees us?" Franklin smiled and replied, "My friend, the Constitution only guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness; you have to catch it yourself."

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Some people think its difficult to be a Christian and to laugh, but I think its the other way around. God writes a lot of comedy, it's just that he has so many bad actors. -- Garrison Keillor, at Goshen College, quoted in Reflections, Christianity Today.

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The Lord desired that His people take Him seriously but that they not take themselves too seriously. He wants them to wipe off their grim looks, put smiles on their faces, and let laughter flow from their lips. In light of this counsel, many of us would do well to ponder these comments from the pen of Helmut Thielicke:

Should we not see that lines of laughter about the eyes are just as much marks of faith as are the line of care and seriousness? Is it only earnestness that is baptized? Is laughter pagan? We have already allowed too much that is good to be lost to the church and cast many pearls before swine. A church is in a bad way when it banishes laughter from the sanctuary and leaves it to the cabaret, the nightclub and the toastmasters.

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Christians, it is your duty not only to be good, but to shine; and, of all the lights which you kindle on the face, joy will reach farthest out to sea, where troubled mariners are seeking the shore. Even in your deepest grieves, rejoice in God. As waves phosphoresce, let joys flash from the swing of the sorrows of your souls. -- Beecher

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C.H. Spurgeon in his book Lectures to my Students has some wise, if caustic, advice.

"Sepulchral tones may fit a man to be an undertaker, but Lazarus is not called out of his grave by hollow moans." "I know brethren who from head to foot, in garb, tone, manner, necktie and boots are so utterly parsonic that no particle of manhood is visible.... Some men appear to have a white cravat twisted round their souls, their manhood is throttled with that starched rag."

"An individual who has no geniality about him had better be an undertaker, and bury the dead, for he will never succeed in influencing the living." "I commend cheerfulness to all who would win souls; not levity and frothiness, but a genial, happy spirit. There are more flies caught with honey than with vinegar, and there will be more souls led to heaven by a man who wears heaven in his face than by one who bears death in his looks."

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A Princeton Seminary professor discovered that the spirit of optimism really does make a difference. He made a study of great preachers across the past centuries. He noted their tremendous varieties of personalities and gifts. Then he asked the question, "What do these outstanding pulpiteers all have in common besides their faith?" After several years of searching he found the answer. It was their cheerfulness. In most cases, they were happy men.

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Even after Constantine had made Christianity the religion of the Roman Empire, there came to the throne another Emperor called Julian, who wished to put the clock back and to bring back the old gods. His complaint, as Ibsen puts it, was:

"Have you looked at these Christians closely? Hollow-eyed, pale- cheeked, flat-breasted all; they brood their lives away, unspurred by ambition: the sun shines for them, but they do not see it: the earth offers them its fullness, but they desire it not; all their desire is to renounce and to suffer that they may come to die."

As Julian saw it, Christianity took the vividness out of life.

Oliver Wendell Holmes once said, "I might have entered the ministry if certain clergymen I knew had not looked and acted so much like undertakers." Robert Louis Stevenson once entered in his diary, as if he were recording an extraordinary phenomenon, "I have been to Church today, and am not depressed."

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There is a little song we sang at Vacation Bible School: J - O - Y, J - O - Y this is what it means: Jesus first, yourself last, and others in between.

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REJOICE IN THE __________

INTRODUCTION

L. S. - REJOICE IN . . .

I. ________ - ROMANS 12:12

II. SORROW, TRIALS & SUFFERING - ACTS ____:41

III. ________________ - LUKE 10:20 & 15:1-10

IV. THE ________ OF OTHERS - ROMANS 12:15

V. THE __________ - PHILIPPIANS 3:1,3

VI. THE ________________ OF OTHERS - 1 CORINTHIANS 13:6

VII. THE ______________ OF THE RIGHTEOUS - JOHN 14:28 & 16:20-22

CONCLUSION

REJOICE IN THE LORD

SCRIPTURE - (Phil 4:4-7) Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! {5} Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. {6} Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; {7} and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

INTRODUCTION

A. (1 Th 5:16) Rejoice always,

B. (Phil 4:4) Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!

C. WHERE IS JOY AND HAPPINESS FOUND?

Not in unbelief -- Voltaire was an infidel of the most pronounced type. He wrote: "I wish I had never been born."

Not in pleasure -- Lord Byron lived a life of pleasure, if anyone did. He wrote: "The worm, the canker, and the grief are mine alone."

Not in money -- Jay Gould, the American millionaire, had plenty of that. When dying he said: "I suppose I am the most miserable man on earth."

Not in position and fame -- Lord Beaconsfield enjoyed more than his share of both. He wrote:

"Youth is a mistake; manhood, a struggle; old age, a regret."

Not in military glory -- Alexander the Great conquered the known world in his day. Having done so, he wept, because, he said, "There are no more worlds to conquer."

Where, then, is happiness found? The answer is simple: In Christ alone. He said, "I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man can taketh from you."

I. REJOICE IN HOPE

A. (Rom 12:12) rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer;

B. (Heb 3:6) but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.

C. (Rom 5:2) through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

II. REJOICE IN SORROW, TRIALS & SUFFERING

A. (1 Pet 4:12-13) Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; {13} but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.

B. (Acts 5:41) So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.

C. (Luke 6:23) Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.

D. (1 Pet 4:13) but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.

III. REJOICE IN SALVATION

A. OUR OWN

1. (Luke 10:20) "Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven."

2. (Acts 16:34) Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.

B. OTHERS

1. (Luke 15:1-10) Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. {2} And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, "This Man receives sinners and eats with them." {3} So He spoke this parable to them, saying: {4} "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? {5} "And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. {6} "And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!' {7} "I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.

2. (2 Cor 7:9) Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing.

3. (Phil 2:16-18) holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain. {17} Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. {18} For the same reason you also be glad and rejoice with me.

4. (John 4:36) "And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.

IV. REJOICE IN THE JOY OF OTHERS

A. (Rom 12:15) Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.

B. (1 Cor 12:26) And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.

V. REJOICE IN THE LORD

A. (Phil 3:1,3) Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe…{3} For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh,

B. (1 Pet 1:8) whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,

C. (Luke 1:47-48) And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. {48} For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.

D. (Rom 5:11) And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

VI. REJOICE IN THE OBEDIENCE OF OTHERS TO THE TRUTH

A. (1 Cor 13:6) does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;

B. (2 John 4) I rejoiced greatly that I have found some of your children walking in truth, as we received commandment from the Father.

C. (3 John 3) For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you, just as you walk in the truth.

VII. REJOICE IN THE DEATH OF THE RIGHTEOUS

A. (John 14:28) "You have heard Me say to you, 'I am going away and coming back to you.' If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, 'I am going to the Father,' for My Father is greater than I.

B. (John 16:20-22) "Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy. {21} "A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. {22} "Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.

CONCLUSION

A. HOW WELL ARE YOU FULFILLING THE COMMAND TO REJOICE IN THE LORD?

B. REJOICE IN YOUR OWN WORK - (Gal 6:3-5) For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. {4} But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. {5} For each one shall bear his own load.

Philippians 4:4

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!

Philippians 4:4

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!

Philippians 4:4

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!

Philippians 4:4

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!

Philippians 4:4

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!

Philippians 4:4

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!

Philippians 4:4

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!

Philippians 4:4

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!

Philippians 4:4

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!

Philippians 4:4

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!

Philippians 4:4

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!

Philippians 4:4

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!

Philippians 4:4

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!