To Be Happy in Jesus    In a previous teaching in this series we read about the wonderful word "revival", an outpouring of God's heavenly Power into Satan's kingdom here on earth, and how we can prepare ourselves to be part thereof.  This writing develops the idea a little further and takes a peep at God's omniscient purpose and how we each shall fit in and partake therewith for God the Father's glory.    Perhaps you should prayerfully read the previous two teachings1 in this series again to put you in the right frame of mind so to speak, as this will assist you in partaking of the goodies to follow.  From these two studies we understand that once we have truly repented, and have made ourselves available for our Lord to use us as He sees fit; we become reborn through God's grace and start to grow spiritually, becoming willing servants and soldiers of our King.  Signs and wonders follow. Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.  (1 John 3:4-10) Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.  (1 John 3:16)   Now we come to the crucial question: are we, you and I, prepared to go any further along this road?  I might say "Lord, you know that I am old and doddery, my memory is atrocious, my body is in constant pain, please let my rest in peace."  You might say "Lord, you know that I leave for work before six in the morning and only arrive back home after six at night, dead tired. Please let me rest in peace."  Or "Lord, you have seen I am poor and needy and weak through lack of food, please let me rest."  Or "Lord, you know I have an incurable disease. . . . . . . .."    Yeah, Yeah.   So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.  (John 13:12-17)   Trust and obey,  for there is no other way,  to be happy in Jesus,  but to trust and obey.    And all other things, both worldly and spiritual, shall be added unto you, for God knows what you need and is always happy to supply you some:  Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.  (Matthew 5:3-12) But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.  (Matthew 6:6-8) Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.  (Matthew 6:16-21) No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?  (Matthew 6:24-25) Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.  (Luke 6:38) And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you. Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.  (Luke 12:29-32)  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.  (Luke 12:34)   Trust and Obey.   Be Happy in Christ Jesus.   Have Joy in the Holy Spirit.   Ever wondered why this seeming doom and gloom is called the Gospel (the good news)?    Because we all look upon it with temporary, worldly eyes!    This is perhaps going to sound decidedly strange and can only be understood when we each take time out to realise that our life on this present earth is very temporary and so are its rewards.  We are happy and joyful when we worship God in our day to day living and in our daily quiet time in His presence.  However, if we are serious about being a soldier for Christ we shall receive worldly and spiritual buffetings which we, with God's help, must patiently overcome.  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. 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. 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. 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. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father. At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God. I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father. His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb. Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God. Jesus answered them, Do ye now believe? Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.  (John 16:20-33) Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries: Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you: Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.  (1 Peter 4:1-5) Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.  (1 Peter 4:12-13)   Brothers and sisters, read this aloud repeatedly until it sits high in your conscious mind.  To be happy in doing our King's wishes makes us exceedingly powerful in the spiritual world.    Satan and his demons will flee from us if we withstand him.  Miracles will occur, healings will take place, because we are trusted with a little of the Power that comes from the real world, the world of light.    We are happy in doing our Father's will because we love Him. We LOVE Him.  We each have replaced the love of I with love to God who made us.    God made each of us for a purpose, He gave each of us a spiritual destiny, we were each assigned a certain duty.  An example from the Old Covenant: And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah: And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, To devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, And in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship. And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan: and in the hearts of all that are wise hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee;  (Exodus 31:1-6)   One from the New Covenant: I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.  (Ephesians 4:1-6)   You may say "this fellow is crazy; who can do all these things in this way?"  You are right, we cannot - - - - - however, all things are possible under the shadow of God's protection through the Power of the indwelling Holy Spirit.    We shall only receive the indwelling Holy Spirit and the new Life if willing to give up our own worldly independence; to Him who made us, and we can only do this if we believe that God is who He says He is!    If God is truly our Lord, in our hearts, we shall be happy and willing to be His servants!  God looks after His own!   When tribulations come from the god of this world and things become difficult we shall each have to remember that the battle is not ours and that our King is going to win all the battles until the war is over. We will consciously do this, on a minute to minute basis if necessary. As a Satanic occurrence comes our way, we have to withstand it, and the next one and the next.  It's called temptation, the pleasant temptation to sin that comes so naturally, or the more frightening one of not knowing if we can endure to the end.    Like studying God's word, and praying, you get better at doing God's will the more you practice.    When we are feeling down, and not much like winners, we must keep the following as a banner before us:    The Kingdom of heaven will overcome the evil of this world with good!    Our Father who is in heaven. May Your name be hallowed by us all. May Your Kingdom come, May Your will be done in earth by us, as it is done in heaven by Your heavenly host.   And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life. These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.  (1 John 2:25-29)   Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.  (1 John 3:1-3)   He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. (1 John 4:8-11)    Take some time, think about this; Is Jesus happy with me?   What I do for the Lord, is it done for brownie points, or out of love that is in my heart?    My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.  (1 John 3:18)   1 To be Reborn and Grow, and, Repentance.