As a child of God we have the privilege of being filled with joy. This is an exciting aspect of our inheritance (see the relationship between "joy" and "inheritance" in Psalm 106:5; Isa. 58:14). The Bible states that Christians receive a deposit or down payment of their inheritance (Eph. 1:13-14; 2Cor. 5:5) before we receive our full inheritance in heaven (1Peter 1:4).

1. What is the deposit or down payment that we have received based on Ephesians 1:13-14 and 2Corinthians 5:5?

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2. Based on Galatians 5:22, what are some of the evidences that a person has received the down payment of their inheritance?

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3. How could you describe of define "joy"

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4. What did Jesus promise in John 15:11?

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5. What was the result of the man who discovered something as recorded in Matthew 13:44, and why did he do it? What does this indicate about how we should feel about what the Lord has done for us? (Note Mat. 28:8)

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(Luke 6:23 NIV)

Living in the knowledge of who we are and who God is, causes us to have joy. Someone has said that if we truly believed that nothing is too hard or impossible for God, then we would realise that nothing is too difficult for us either. When we combine patience with joy (Gal. 5:22) we don’t always demand that God act straight away on our behalf, but we have the assurance that He will act on our behalf when the time is right.

6. Why could we consider the joy mentioned in James 1:2 as "advanced" joy?

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7. Even though times get tough, when we combine patience with joy, we are able to endure anything. What example of this do we have in Hebrews 12:2?

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8. If we simply lived Matthew 6:34 more, what affect would it have on our joy levels?

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Some people always have a negative, gloomy outlook. You can spot these people a mile off. They worry a lot. They speak negatively. They put themselves down. They don’t laugh much. They take trivial things so seriously. Perhaps you know people like this?

9. What could you do to help a person like this experience more joy in their life?

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10. Living a life of joy as our ‘default’ setting actually affect us physically. Note how-

Prov. 17:22

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Prov. 15:30

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Nehemiah 8:10

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11. If you have been battling with worry or negativity, what can you do to have more joy in your life?

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