Choose Joy – Lesson 1

CHOOSE JOY

BECAUSE HAPPINESS ISN’T ENOUGH

Lesson 1

JESUS, MAN OF JOY

Joy is the settled assurance that God is in control of all the details of my life; the quiet confidence that ultimately everything is going to be all right; and the determined choice to praise God in all things.

“He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.” Isaiah 53:3

• In his , Jesus was a man of .

• But in his , Jesus was a man of .

“The Son of Man came, enjoying life.” Luke 7:34 (PH)

“Who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame…” Hebrews 12:2b (NKJV)

Jesus proves to us he is a man of Joy:

1. Through his .

“He wasn’t some handsome king. Nothing about the way he looked made him attractive to us.” Isaiah 53:2 (CEV)

2. Through his .

“You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.” Matthew 23:24

“No one lights a lamp and hides it under a bowl or puts it under a bed.” Luke 8:16 (GW)

“And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.” Matthew 7:3, 5 (NLT)

3. Through his ACTIONS.

“Jesus answered, “Dear woman, why come to me? My time has not yet come.” John 2:4 (NCV)

“Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” Matthew 14:31

“Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” Matthew 14:16

Jesus

– as someone who knew joy and sorrow

– gives you permission to seek a life of joy as well.