Finding Lasting Joy Through Worship and Purpose

### Quotes for Outreach

1. "But do you know that even in life in the middle. You can really have joy and happiness in the Lord. But what are those things that may take it. We know that divorce could take it. Disease. Death can steal it. Even death can really rob it and deplete it from us. Jesus. John chapter 10 verse 10 said it like this. Satan our adversary. You know you have an adversary. He's always attacking us. It says that our adversary. The devil comes by. The thief. And he wants to steal, kill and to destroy. He will steal your joy from you. He'll kill things in your life. So that he can get that joy from you. And that happiness out of your life. But I'm glad that verse. That verse of scripture. That's not all it says there in verse 10. That's just the first part of verse 10. Because it also says this. Jesus said. But I have come to give you life. And give it to you more abundantly. Amen. Aren't you glad about that." [39:08] (55 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


2. "You see, your joy is proportionate to abiding in the word. As much as you stay in the word of God, that'll be the proportion of the joy, the level of joy that you will have in your life. He said in John 17 and 13, listen to this. He says, I'm coming to you now. But I say these things. While I'm still in the world so that you may have the full measure of my joy within them. He wants you to have a full measure of his joy. The joy should be overflowing in our life and spilling out on a hurting world, a broken world, a confused world. Our joy should be pouring out on them. Amen." [55:21] (40 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


3. "Happiness is external, but joy is internal. Happiness depends on what happens to you. You're not always going to be happy. Don't let that bother you and cause you to lose your faith. Well, I'm just not happy. You just went through a breakup. Okay? You're not going to be happy. All right? Kids are acting crazy. You're not going to be happy about that. I can't find anybody to go out on a date with. You're not going to be happy. You're going to stay home and watch a movie, a sad movie, and eat popcorn. And you're going to cry. You're going to live. You're going to make it. All right? All right? Everybody with me? Death is going to come." [01:01:35] (34 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


4. "Worship creates a joyful atmosphere. In Nehemiah chapter 8, we find again another similar situation that Jeremiah was speaking about. But here it's in Nehemiah. And they've rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem. They're bringing the people. But they found the Word of God. Again, the Word was. The Word was missing. And they finally found the Word of God. And as they were cleaning out the rubble and over there somewhere in the corner of the temple, they had found the Word of God had been just thrown away. And somebody brought the Word of God out and they began to read it. And they built a platform for this special occasion. And they started reading the Word of God. And as they were reading the Word of God, the people began to weep. They were very sorrowful. But Nehemiah says this. He said, It's not a time to be overwhelmed with grief. This feast is not for weeping but for rejoicing." [01:03:16] (56 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


5. "Let me tell you, while they're shooting each other, while they're cursing each other, while they're stabbing each other in the back, we're equipping, we're encouraging. We love one another. We shout the praises of God in this house so can let that make you bitter and make you mad and disturb your peace. But I'm telling you, I'm not going to let the enemy disturb my peace and take my joy. I have it in Jesus. I have it in Jesus Christ. He's coming back. Oh, I think I hear the sound of the trumpet about to sound, and the Lord is going to return again. He's going to rapture the church. We're going up, not down, not here, up, up, up, we're going, hallelujah." [01:12:43] (40 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


### Quotes for Members

1. "How do we maintain or keep the joy? Well first of all. Number one. We need to restore the joy. Of salvation. There needs to be a restoration. Of joy in our lives. Because a lot of believers. Are not joyful. They're joyless. They really don't have the joy. And again. I'm pretty certain that I'm speaking to people. In this service today. You are a believer. But if you were to be transparent. Like this person. And you were to say hey. But I don't have the joy. Of what it really is to have. As a believer. What's going on? Why don't I have that joy? Well first of all. It could be that you've lost the joy. Of your salvation. And you need it restored." [45:11] (45 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


2. "You see, we know from the New Testament teaching. That we can grieve the Holy Spirit. And we can quench the Holy Spirit. And once we grieve him and quench him. Then that joy will leave us. As believers. We do occasionally sin. And what we must do is not be flippant toward that. We must be repentant toward it. We must call it for what it is. Because we have an advocate with the Father when we sin. And he is faithful and just to forgive us. But we must confess it. And once we confess it. Then he'll cleanse it. Amen. And the sin will be removed. And the joy of our salvation will come back. And that's how you get a restoration of joy in your life. Is when you call sin, sin. And you seek it. And you seek it out with an old-fashioned repentance and pray. And he'll forgive that sin. And cleanse it. And the fruit of the Spirit is joy. And that joy will come back in our life. Amen. Seek the Lord. And go after him." [49:02] (56 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


3. "The choice is this. The choice. We make a choice to rejoice. You have to choose that you're going to rejoice. You've got to choose. You've got to choose if you're going to have the attitude of gratitude today. Seek to be holy as God is holy. And there find true inner joy. I'm going to ask you. Are you a joyful Christian or are you a grumpy Christian? Who wants to be around a grumpy believer today? If you're a grumpy Christian, you know, always just down and out. Don't wear any ROL attire, please. Don't advertise for River of Life. Don't do that. Don't do To be a Christian, we should be joyful Christians. And I again realize that things happen in this world that upset us and takes our happiness." [50:26] (51 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


4. "For the joy that was set before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame. Do you catch that? For the joy that was set before him, he endured the cross. He had joy, but yet he had to endure the cross. He has this joy that is in his heart, but he knows he's got to do something that's not going to be fun. He knows he's got to do something that's not going to be exciting. But there is a joy that he had that he's going to endure the cross. It's not being crucified that's going to bring the joy. It's three days later in the resurrection when he defeats death, hell, and the grave. And he triumphs over sin for us. That's the joy that he had. And that's why he endured the cross and despised the shame. He said, I could hold back. I don't want to do this out of the flesh. But I know what I must do for my purpose was that I came to seek and to save the lost. And the only way to do it is to lay down my life for them so they can have life and have it more abundantly. I'll do this with joy because I see it on the other side. I see a cross that I'll come off of." [52:13] (65 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


5. "Paul writes from a prison, a dungeon in Philippians 4 and 4 and says rejoice in the Lord. And then he wants to exclaim, he wants to put more to it. And he says this, and again I say rejoice in the Lord. Here's a man sitting in a dark dungeon, a prison. He's been beaten. He's been abused. He's been lied about. But he's not going to let that take his joy. He is self-medicating. You know what I'm talking about? He's medicating from the word of God. He's medicating from the joy and the power of the Holy Ghost that was at work in his life. And now I'm going to tell you, I came up in old church. I don't know about you. But we used to sing a song like this. The world didn't give it to me. And the world can't take it away. I'm telling you, this joy that I have is coming from the Lord Jesus Christ. We need joy back in the church again. Amen." [01:00:34] (52 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)