Bible Study Three Questions Concerning The Joy Of The Lord.

[Chopper]

Nehemiah 8:10b "For the joy of the LORD is your strength."

Question # 1 What is the joy of the Lord?

Question #2 How does a believer in Jesus obtain the joy?

Question # 3 How does the joy of the Lord become our strength?

 

[dianegcook]

Nehemiah 8:10b "For the joy of the LORD is your strength."

Question # 1 What is the joy of the Lord?

Question #2 How does a believer in Jesus obtain the joy?

Question # 3 How does the joy of the Lord become our strength?

Hmm, thought provoking Chopper
At this moment, all I can think of is John 15:
9-11
As the Father hath loved Me, so have I loved you, continue ye in My love.
If ye keep my commandments ye shall abide in my love, Even as I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love.
These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.

With love.....

 

[ezrider]

Nehemiah 8:10b "For the joy of the LORD is your strength."

Question # 1 What is the joy of the Lord?

Question #2 How does a believer in Jesus obtain the joy?

Question # 3 How does the joy of the Lord become our strength?

#1 The gift of the Holy Spirit

#2 By trusting in the promise of Christ to send us the Holy Spirit in His name.

#3 By taking hold of the Faith and the gift of the Spirit by exercising that Faith in our daily walk.



Chopper, this kind of leads into another question I have been thinking upon recently, but I will leave it to you to decide if it fits in with your OP.

In the parable of the 5 wise virgins and the 5 foolish virgins, what was the difference between the two? Considering that they were to light their lamps with oil, what was it that the wise virgins found that the foolish did not?

.

 

[Malachi]

Question # 1 What is the joy of the Lord?

Gladness in Christ and His salvation. Mary said "My spirit hath REJOICED IN GOD MY SAVIOUR" (Lk 1:47). That is why the Gospel is literally "Good (Glad) Tidings of Great Joy" (Lk 2:10).

Question #2 How does a believer in Jesus obtain the joy?

Focus on Christ and His salvation, and it becomes one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:22)

Question # 3 How does the joy of the Lord become our strength?

When we are in great distress, we focus on Christ and His salvation, and we can still be joyful within the spirit. God is our Refuge and Strength (Ps 46;1).

 

[Malachi]

In the parable of the 5 wise virgins and the 5 foolish virgins, what was the difference between the two? Considering that they were to light their lamps with oil, what was it that the wise virgins found that the foolish did not?

The only difference was that (1) the foolish slept when they should have been awake and (2) the foolish lacked the necessary oil for their lamps. Since they were shut out of the Bridegroom's presence, it would appear that they lacked the Holy Spirit, since oil is symbolic of the Spirit. The only way this might fit with the OP is that without the Holy Spirit, there was no real joy, therefore no reason to stay alert and awake at a crucial time.

 

[Chopper]

Thank you so very much for your reply....This tells me that the "joy" comes from Jesus, not something I have to muster in myself.

 

[Chopper]

#1 The gift of the Holy Spirit

#2 By trusting in the promise of Christ to send us the Holy Spirit in His name.

#3 By taking hold of the Faith and the gift of the Spirit by exercising that Faith in our daily walk.



Chopper, this kind of leads into another question I have been thinking upon recently, but I will leave it to you to decide if it fits in with your OP.

In the parable of the 5 wise virgins and the 5 foolish virgins, what was the difference between the two? Considering that they were to light their lamps with oil, what was it that the wise virgins found that the foolish did not?

.

Go ahead. I think your reply about the virgins and the Holy Spirit fits just fine.

 

[ezrider]

Matthew 25:1-13
Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage:and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

 

[Blake]

Great question... it prompted me to dive into a concordance.

Joy in this verse is chedvah, "rejoicing" -- and strength is ma'owz -- a "defense" or "fortified place."

We can take that verse to literally mean that rejoicing or taking delight in Jehovah is a strong refuge and defense. Simply being joyful in Christ is a strong tower unto us. It's a beautiful thought that by simply delighting in Him He shields us and brings us into His protection, as though young children on their father's lap, they know no fear at all.

2 Corinthians 6:10 speaks of being sorrowful, yet always rejoicing. Being poor, yet making others rich. Having nothing, yet possessing all things. It seems relevant to post.

 

[ezrider]

Thank you Chopper, As I am bringing my thread on the resurrection to its conclusion, the coming of the Holy Spirit has become a focus. So in this parable I am primarily focused on the oil, and what we do with that oil. I agree with Malachi when he said the oil is representative of the Holy Spirit, and hopefully you shall see how this fits in with the progressive nature of three questions you asked in your OP.

The ten virgins all thought they had oil to burn in their lamps, and they all slept and slumbered. But at midnight a cry went forth, and they all rose to go forth to meet the bridegroom. The oil was needed so that their way might be lit in the darkest of hours. Now the foolish took no oil with them, but that does not mean there was no oil in there lamp to begin with; and likewise the wise virgins feared that they might not have enough oil for themselves.

For each of the virgins, the oil that filled their lamps before they departed was mined from the scriptures and the word of God. And the oil that was mined was the Promise of the Holy Spirit. Now when they each arose to go forth they lit their lamps, and they did burn for a while as they went forth and trimmed them.

Now the foolish virgins took no oil with them, meaning they did not know the Spirit of the Lord within them. Soon their lamps went out and they were left alone in the dark, sent off to buy from those who sell. And like the oil barrens and profiteers, the power from the light of the Son has been suppressed that they might sell unto you their oil. And like those who pillage for profit by fracking for oil, or those who would squeeze every drop of oil they can from the tar sands at the expense of the common wealth, the foolish virgins return again to the Bible or to those who sell books about the Bible, trying to squeeze every last drop of oil that remains from the dried ink on the pages of a book. The foolish virgins never understood that for all the oil they might mine, and for all the oil that they might purchase, there is never enough oil to sustain the lamp, for it soon burns dim before it need more oil.

Now the wise virgins started off with the same oil in their lamps as did the foolish, but the wise virgins took some oil with them, and they carried that oil in their container of Faith. Now after they has arose and went forth, they lit their lamps and trimmed them, and when their lamps began to dim and the darkness overtake them they did not turn back, but they called upon their Faith and it sustained them for a while and their lamp remained lit. But the wise virgins were called wise for a reason, for they perceived that the oil of their faith was no different than the oil they first began with; the oil mined from the scriptures. And as the oil of their faith weakened to the point that there lamps were barely lit, they drew on their last bit of faith and called upon the Lord to lighten their way in the darkness. And when they saw that the Lord did send forth His Spirit to lighten their way, and that the darkness was not as frightful as they thought, they learned to trust in the Lord and to trust in His Spirit.

Now trusting in the Spirit of the Lord to lighten the way before them, the wise virgins found that if they took their eyes off the path for a moment to gaze at the world around them they would quickly loose sight of that light, and they would once again stumble around in the darkness until they call upon the Lord once again. Soon the Lord reminds them that they should carry a little extra oil with them, and so He gives to them the gift of His Faith. Now back on their way with their lamps lit and trim, when the wise virgins find the darkness deepening around them, they soon discover that once they call upon that Faith to refuel their lamp, that they are soon able to trim their lamp to meet the magnitude of darkness before them. And as the darkness grows around them, their lamps begin to burn brighter, and soon they discover that once they have called upon that gift of Faith, that the Spirit of the Lord sustains them and that His oil does not diminish.

Our light begins to shine brighter and our Faith begins to grow when we can learn to express the Word of God within us rather than just the word of God as it found in the ink on the pages of a book.

The time has come that you should take off the training wheels from your bicycle, so that you might once again experience the joy found as you learn and discover the grace, balance and freedom to ride that bike on your own. And the more you ride it, the stronger you become.

 

[brother Paul]

Jesus is the first step to the Joy of the Lord, I agree....now hear this passage

In His presence is fullness of Joy...so how to we get "in" His presence

First be found in Christ...and lo I am with you until the end of the age....

Second by gathering in His presence....where two or three are gathered together there I am

Third though "communion" (partaking of the Lord's Supper worthily discerning His body in the breaking of the bread....He in us and we in Him

Perhaps fourth during our personal prayer and worship

And so on...

In His love

Paul

 

[Chopper]

Thank you Chopper, As I am bringing my thread on the resurrection to its conclusion, the coming of the Holy Spirit has become a focus. So in this parable I am primarily focused on the oil, and what we do with that oil. I agree with Malachi when he said the oil is representative of the Holy Spirit, and hopefully you shall see how this fits in with the progressive nature of three questions you asked in your OP.

The ten virgins all thought they had oil to burn in their lamps, and they all slept and slumbered. But at midnight a cry went forth, and they all rose to go forth to meet the bridegroom. The oil was needed so that their way might be lit in the darkest of hours. Now the foolish took no oil with them, but that does not mean there was no oil in there lamp to begin with; and likewise the wise virgins feared that they might not have enough oil for themselves.

For each of the virgins, the oil that filled their lamps before they departed was mined from the scriptures and the word of God. And the oil that was mined was the Promise of the Holy Spirit. Now when they each arose to go forth they lit their lamps, and they did burn for a while as they went forth and trimmed them.

Now the foolish virgins took no oil with them, meaning they did not know the Spirit of the Lord within them. Soon their lamps went out and they were left alone in the dark, sent off to buy from those who sell. And like the oil barrens and profiteers, the power from the light of the Son has been suppressed that they might sell unto you their oil. And like those who pillage for profit by fracking for oil, or those who would squeeze every drop of oil they can from the tar sands at the expense of the common wealth, the foolish virgins return again to the Bible or to those who sell books about the Bible, trying to squeeze every last drop of oil that remains from the dried ink on the pages of a book. The foolish virgins never understood that for all the oil they might mine, and for all the oil that they might purchase, there is never enough oil to sustain the lamp, for it soon burns dim before it need more oil.

Now the wise virgins started off with the same oil in their lamps as did the foolish, but the wise virgins took some oil with them, and they carried that oil in their container of Faith. Now after they has arose and went forth, they lit their lamps and trimmed them, and when their lamps began to dim and the darkness overtake them they did not turn back, but they called upon their Faith and it sustained them for a while and their lamp remained lit. But the wise virgins were called wise for a reason, for they perceived that the oil of their faith was no different than the oil they first began with; the oil mined from the scriptures. And as the oil of their faith weakened to the point that there lamps were barely lit, they drew on their last bit of faith and called upon the Lord to lighten their way in the darkness. And when they saw that the Lord did send forth His Spirit to lighten their way, and that the darkness was not as frightful as they thought, they learned to trust in the Lord and to trust in His Spirit.

Now trusting in the Spirit of the Lord to lighten the way before them, the wise virgins found that if they took their eyes off the path for a moment to gaze at the world around them they would quickly loose sight of that light, and they would once again stumble around in the darkness until they call upon the Lord once again. Soon the Lord reminds them that they should carry a little extra oil with them, and so He gives to them the gift of His Faith. Now back on their way with their lamps lit and trim, when the wise virgins find the darkness deepening around them, they soon discover that once they call upon that Faith to refuel their lamp, that they are soon able to trim their lamp to meet the magnitude of darkness before them. And as the darkness grows around them, their lamps begin to burn brighter, and soon they discover that once they have called upon that gift of Faith, that the Spirit of the Lord sustains them and that His oil does not diminish.

Our light begins to shine brighter and our Faith begins to grow when we can learn to express the Word of God within us rather than just the word of God as it found in the ink on the pages of a book.

The time has come that you should take off the training wheels from your bicycle, so that you might once again experience the joy found as you learn and discover the grace, balance and freedom to ride that bike on your own. And the more you ride it, the stronger you become.

Very very wise and thoughtful presentation of that parable my good friend. Thank you for giving us that nugget of truth. Oh LORD, come for Your Bride. We wait for your invitation to the marriage celebration. Amen!

 

[Jethro Bodine]

We can take that verse to literally mean that rejoicing or taking delight in Jehovah is a strong refuge and defense. Simply being joyful in Christ is a strong tower unto us.

Yes, and a joy that we cultivate in the fellowship of the saints through Bible studies, sharing our lives, praying for one another, and praise and worship. To me a truly successful church is one that does this--sends you away full of the joy of the Lord, strong and able to live for him. Which I guess is the answer to question #2.

 

[ezrider]

Very very wise and thoughtful presentation of that parable my good friend. Thank you for giving us that nugget of truth. Oh LORD, come for Your Bride. We wait for your invitation to the marriage celebration. Amen!

Chopper, the invitation has already been sent, and you have been invited. The cry has gone forth and it is time that we raise up and light our lamps, for then we shall know what manner of oil we posses. We should not tarry too long, or we may find the door shut when we get there.