Welcome back to ignite, I want to talk to you about joy. I mean, real joy that’s that you can manufacture and quite frankly, you can’t lose no, no matter what happens. There’s a difference between happiness and joy. Of course. Today, you and I will both be happy about a number of things, and unhappy about others. It was a great meal was a bad deal. I I made the sale I didn’t make the sale. Somebody was rude to me or they’re happy to me. I mean, happiness fleet is fleeting goes over. But, but but joy, says woody no matter what I mean, Joy Dyer says with you, if you’re dying, joy, joy will stay with you. If you’re losing your business, joy will say whether you if your daughter dies on your your joy will stay with you. I can tell you. I’ve been through that and a whole lot more. And so I testify to the fact that you don’t want to lose your joy, okay? For me this, this message is not academic care. And I lost our adult daughter, okay, I know what I’m talking about. We never lost her joy. My business, I had a joint venture partner who tried to do me in. And I found out that the next morning, they’re going to throw me out of my business. You may have heard this story before. I’ve mentioned it several times, but but it bears repeating for this point, because I never lost my joy. I heard the night before that they’re going to throw me out of my business. And the next morning at the board meeting, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. Because there was three board members, I had three they had three and then there was an independent board member and they always took over that independent board member, and then they can control the company. They want to get me out of my business. So I mean, I was 65 years old, okay. It’s too late to start over my entire life. I’d sell a car wax that’s that’s my life. Right knows that. How could I start over at age 65? I hadn’t prepared for retirement at that point. I had no I still haven’t retired, okay. So my reputation was gone. My testimony was gone. That’s very mudguard the Christian were what happened to his God, what happened to him? It was the end of my life. I you can begin to understand what I was facing at that moment. It was it was overwhelming. And there’s nothing I could do to stop it. Nothing. But I had joy. And it was an interesting process because the subtitle of our book that’s called Ignite your life. The subtitle was defeat fear with effortless faith. And for me that was ever as I had faith. And so that night, I prayed a very short prayer. And I said to God, I asked you for nothing. Literally, I asked you for nothing. I’m good. Because of two things. One, you know, I live for your purpose. Every day I move everybody every day. Kosis Yeah, I live for you. There’s no question. I’m not against a not across, you know, on a borderline guy. I am way an overachiever. I live for your purpose. And I know your God. And I know you honor your promise to make everything good. Good night God. And I went to sleep. I crawled in bed. I slept all night. I went to sleep immediately. I had, I had no problems. I woke up fresh with joy. And I went to my attorney’s office. I’m excited. I don’t know just wondering how is good God going to solve this, this? This? There’s going to be a with a whopper, you know. And you have to read the book to get it all the details. But God saw that problem in about eight minutes. Boom, just destroyed my joint venture partner. They were yelling at me. They were cussing me out and I was praying out loud. I gotta tell you, when you live for God’s purpose, life is fun. It’s just fun. The Sea of a night is not an evangelism ministry. I was thinking about that. This morning. You know, at Ignite. We talk about sharing faith, all that but we’re not an evangelism ministry. We’re a personal joy ministry. Because the sum total is when you share your faith, you had joy. It just happens. You can’t escape it and you can’t lose it. When you’re sharing your faith. It just happens. Automatically. It’s overwhelming. You have this joy and even even To the point of death I’ve had I’ve had people die on me who had so much joy not that they wanted I would they’re so excited about seeing Jesus and that joy they’re dying lead other people to Christ. It’s amazing particularly when you’re in that dark spot that’s when your testimony is the greatest stuff to say poor me I don’t know why I got this and all you know breeze pray for me. I mean, that’s good and pray. That’s I mean, I believe in the power of prayer. But your hope is not in the prayer your friends or even your hopes, not even in your for your hope is in God. And he’ll use that making everything work together for good for good in God’s eyes is getting more people into heaven in some way. He’s usually the pain you’re going to to get more people in heaven. Wow. It’s, it’s, it’s, it’s fulfilling the Great Commission, think about it, you have the opportunity to fulfill the Great Commission you you have the opportunity to fulfill God’s purpose Romans 820. When you live for His purpose, His purpose is seek and save the loss. You you, you live for the opportunity to know that he is for sure answering your prayers and direction your steps. I mean, what can be better? That gives you joy? Who has a why you have joy that you’re always so happy? How can you not have joy when you understand the truth of God’s Word and how he’s protecting us directly ourselves? And answer answering our prayers. And he’s rear here wear this all the time through the worst of times. And these are the worst of times. But the worse it gets, the closer we are to seeing Jesus. And right now almost everybody is panicky. God has their attention, but only 1% of us are telling them about him. That’s that’s our problem, right? Bottom line, why does he want you to share your faith I say this over and over. I love this scripture, Isaiah 4310 I point you as my witness so that you you you will know that I am God. That’s what he says. And nerves he didn’t say that you will know more. It’s almost like this is how you will know that I am God. Because when you’re sharing your faith, having no preparation, you have no idea what that situation is. And God gives you the words to say the Holy Spirit Luke to alter the horse or give you the word to say and you feel him speaking through you giving you words to say you see the life change in front of you that is joy. There’s nothing that will give you joy like that. I gotta tell you, when I learned this and I experienced it was after all that I found this wonderful verse one of the greatest verses in the Bible in John 1511 He said when you bear fruit when you bear more Christians are there in your way disciple, and Myra, Joy remain with you and your joy, or meaningful. There’s a study I just read a medical study. I’ve read lots of stuff trying to gather information, what’s going on and that secular study but it was talking about old age and dementia something that I haven’t all added interest in these days. And I don’t have all that I don’t have any I just had my annual doctor’s report yesterday and they went through I mean boy did they go through it she said I can’t believe your health you have everything go into your you’re in the lowest risk category for anything, y’all your numbers are great. Thank you very much. He’s whatever you do and keep doing it. This vendor report said that was talking about old age and symptoms and particularly dementia. Okay. And and it’s said this incredible report on how they always presumed that dementia was always triggered to old age. And that things build up and they actually use the term plaque for lack of a better term and all sudden that you’re not connected, you get the point. And they said in the last three years, I’ve come across some Fantasea research that says the preponderance of people that have whatever that is black, whatever, don’t have dementia. And most of the people that have dementia don’t have any of that. And that propelled them compelled them to start looking for other reasons. What did the ones that didn’t have dementia have in common? You know what they found out? This is great. When you have a sense of purpose in your life, it changes everything and extend your life and it decreases greatly your opportunity to have dementia is awesome. To have purpose in your life. Do you know he’s calling us to live for His purpose there is no greater purpose. God’s called us to live for His purpose to seek and save the loss And when we have that we have the problem even for a medical a secular medical, recognizing that’s when you’re going to have joy. If you don’t have joy, folks, I gotta tell you, this bottom line, it’s time for you to get off the bench and into the game and start having the time of your life for the rest of your life. See you next time.
