Supernatural Joy of Jesus is Yours for the Taking!

Joy is the Normal State

By Dudley Hall 

www.sclm.org 

But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. John 17:13 (ESV)

Several times in this last discourse Jesus mentions the joy that is offered to the disciples who live in this precious relationship with the Father. He has already told them that he is going to the Father for the purpose of making a place for them in the Father that is like his place. They will have access and authority. They will be his representatives on earth when he ascends. So while he is still on earth, he tells them of heavenly truths that will elevate them above the mundane and sometimes painful circumstances of their journey.

He repeatedly reminds them that it is his joy they will be getting. It was nothing less than the joy that he experienced as the beloved Son of God. He was joyful because he was always conscious of the Father's pleasure. He was sure that the Father's word was stronger than all the ideas put forth by mere men. He was confident that the Father's will would be done on time and that even traitors like Judas could not stop the plan. For him to offer a level of joy below his would be to deny the whole reality that he was describing for them.

They were not getting a portion of his inheritance. They were joint-heirs. They were not getting a preferred pass to God's presence. They were getting the access of a son. They would get his joy or no joy at all.

Would that we could believe his word. We dare not settle for "improvement" when son-ship is available. We cannot settle for better circumstances and more stuff. We have been given the same privileges the Son enjoyed. We will need them. We are taking his role as earthly representatives of a heavenly kingdom and the world will not be any kinder to us than to him.

What is your joy quotient? His joy is yours. You'll have to believe his word to experience it.

Trained on earth, made for heaven!

The Tug of Heaven 

Greg Laurie

www.harvest.org

"We are here for only a moment, visitors and strangers in the land as our ancestors were before us. Our days on earth are like a passing shadow, gone so soon without a trace."

— 1 Chronicles 29:15

Ever since childhood, I have always been a fan of Disney, even more so when Walt Disney was the creative genius behind the entire Disney empire. Like many of my generation, I was raised watching The Mickey Mouse Club and The Wonderful World of Disney. And I remember when Walt Disney unrolled a set of architectural plans across his desk and said to his television audience, "I want to tell you about something we are building now called Disneyland."

It was like the Promised Land to me. I could hardly wait to get there. And sure enough, every year I insisted that my mom take me to Disneyland for my birthday. I remember making a vow as we approached the park with the Matterhorn in view, that I would go to Disneyland every single day when I became an adult. (I haven't done that.) I was drawn to Disneyland because it held so much promise.

Disney was a dreamer who, deep inside, longed for something. He imagined a better world. You might even say that he was trying to create a heaven on earth. And Disney was that way for the same reason you are the way you are: you have been prewired to want something more in life. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says that we have been born with eternity in our hearts. That is unique to humankind, to men and women uniquely made in the image of God.

We are on a quest because we long for something more. As Christians, we realize that our citizenship is in heaven and that our life on earth quickly passes. And as we know more about what is in our future, we begin to see this world for what it is. We know there is a heaven, because we can feel its tug.

Think Heaven 

Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.

— Colossians 3:2

When I lose my cell phone, I will get another phone and dial my number in an attempt to find it, hoping it is not on mute. Then when I hear it ringing somewhere, I will go on a search to find it. It is a single-minded, active, and diligent investigation. That is what the apostle Paul was speaking of when he wrote, "Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth" (Colossians 3:2). That is how we should be looking at heaven.

Another way to translate this verse is, "Think heaven." In the original language, the verb is in the present tense, which could be translated, "Keep seeking heaven." So to put it all together, the apostle Paul was saying, "Constantly keep seeking and thinking about heaven."

So how can we be thinking about heaven? What is our point of reference? The problem is that we have a caricatured version of heaven in mind. We are not going to sit around on fluffy, white clouds, spending eternity in boredom. The Bible has a lot to specifically say about heaven.

That is why, when people write books about their alleged experiences of dying and going to heaven and returning to earth, it takes me to the pages of Scripture. It is not true if it contradicts Scripture. I know that I need a better source, a more authoritative source on heaven. I turn to Scripture so that I can know how to think when I think about heaven.

Even though our feet must be on earth, our minds should be in heaven. Yet many of us will go through a day, even a week, without a single thought of heaven. As Warren Wiersbe said, "For the Christian, heaven isn't a simply a destination; it's a motivation."