People need joy, great joy; and joy is scarce on planet Earth today. Turmoil, distress of nations, dangers are throughout the world. America has felt secure for many years, but now that security is gone for those who have not put their whole trust in God. For those who trust Him completely, however, security is not gone; it’s just as great as ever because of the protection and power in the blood of the Lamb, in the name of Jesus, in the powers of Heaven.

Psalm 27:6, And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy. Not looking down, lift your head above your enemies, enemies of the Cross round about you. Sacrifice to have the joy of Heaven; pay the price in fastings, prayers and living in the Word of God. Sing His praises with great joy.

The Psalmist said, Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over (Psalm 23:5). At times you may wish the Lord would move your enemies to the ends of the earth—or anywhere away from you. It hurts your enemies to see you dining at a big table spread with all the blessings of God. They said you’re not living right, not doing right, that you’re just a big nothing; but the Lord is showing them who has His favor—you. The Lord loves to do that.

Joy Unspeakable

Jesus said in John 14:27, Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. You’re not going to feel Heaven’s love without feeling Heaven’s peace; they go together, combine in a beautiful way.

Joy: One writer tells that Jesus whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory (I Peter 1:8). That’s the kind of joy the Lord wants you to have. Many are seeking joy, but they don’t know how to find it. They don’t know lasting joy, don’t recognize true joy. Joy is one of the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law (Galatians 5:22,23).

Why think that in order to be a Christian you must expect more sadness than joy in your life? Not so! No matter how much you’re persecuted, you can have joy. The Early Church Christians proved they could have joy, and the true children of God will prove it now in this last hour of the Church dispensation. The Early Church had great sorrows on the outside, but the joy of Heaven was theirs. Joy came day after day to them.

Look for wonderful, joyful days. One of the great prophets said, The joy of the LORD is your strength (Nehemiah 8:10). The Lord has promised us joy, and this promise is for every child of God.

Joy without Price

Do you think you can’t be happy? The Bible states in Romans 14:17, For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. This joy pours through the Holy Spirit when He comes to live and dwell on the inside of us, the third person in the Trinity of the Godhead. Joyfully He serves us, lifts us out of our feelings and into the faith realm, into greater joy daily. Give Him a great welcome in the blood-faith realm. The joyful shall live by faith.

If this kind of joy could be bought with money, people would pay millions or billions for it; but everlasting joy is purchased without money and without price the Bible tells us. Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness (Isaiah 55:1,2).

Jesus paid the price so that Heaven’s joy would be ours. No need to wait until you die; Heaven’s joy is being sent down daily, armfuls of joy on purpose from Heaven.

Expect Joy

Some of you don’t expect joy when you wake up; the first thing you look for is another day of trouble. You went to bed with troubles, wrestled with them all night, and maybe had ever so many nightmares. You feel washed-out the next day because you didn’t go to bed in the arms of the Lord, in the blood of Jesus like you should have. You’re not ready for the new day. Shame on you for trying to face a day when you are not God-ready, Jesus-ready, Holy Spirit-ready. But how refreshing it is to be ready for every day! Get ready for tomorrow no matter what happened to you today. If you’re still alive, still breathing, that’s a lot to be thankful for, a lot to praise God for. Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart (Psalm 32:11).

A happy person praises the Lord much, praises Him with a joyful voice that the Lord loves to hear. God wants His children to be happy; He listens to you when you use the joy He sent down. But how sad Heaven must feel when it looks upon you and sees that you’re not enjoying the benefits Jesus brought, that you let all kinds of little things get you down. Through Heaven’s joy, rise above all the conflicts around you. Heaven’s joy will give you strength that you can’t find on Earth, and it comes through divine blood. Behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart (Isaiah 65:14).

Great Faith Brings Great Joy

Joy: Are you going to use it or not? It’s yours here for you to use. Are you going to open your eyes each morning to sorrows, distress, and hardships, thinking your life will be a battle the rest of the journey? It’s pitiful to see you so depressed on your way to Heaven. You don’t believe in drinking, but sinners will think you need something to perk you up when they see you so down and out, so unhappy. Children of God are to drink at the fountain that never runs dry; they don’t need alcohol. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation (Isaiah 12:3). Use the great faith God gives you, for with great faith comes great joy.

It’s the lack of faith that causes people to be depressed; they’re living by their feelings. When you live by your feelings, you’re not going to be happy most of the time—your feelings will see to that. Feelings have such a loud voice that you can’t hear the voice of faith above them; it takes the voice of faith to tell you what the Lord has for you, what’s on the table, what the blessings of the day are.

Take the Divine Joy Cure

Did you listen to the blessings of the day through the greatness of God when you started out this morning? Did you take time to pray? In my home I was used to Mom, Dad, and my two older sisters starting the day in prayer. All their days began with their looking to God in prayer; it brought joy into our home that we wouldn’t have had otherwise. We had joy that many of our neighbors didn’t have. It isn’t enough just to be a Christian; one must be a happy Christian.

Preacher, you don’t know what you’re talking about. You don’t know my sorrows, the heartaches I have. I may not know the sorrows, but I know you need to use the cure of divine joy. Divine joy is the cure for loneliness, sadness, weakness; divine joy will help you to do the work of God in perfection. Psalm:16:11, In thy presence is fulness of joy.

Joy helps you sing. You may not stay in tune, your voice may sound no better than a squeaky hinge, but if it sounds good to you and it sounds good to Heaven, what do you care? Go ahead and enjoy singing.

Don’t look around to see if you’re going to be happy, know that the Lord has promised you happiness and joy. The joy of Heaven belongs to you, and the Holy Spirit will produce that joy on the inside of your soul if you will allow Him to do it; you’ll be bubbling with joy. He will joy over thee with singing (Zephaniah 3:17).

A Family with Joy

When God saved me, my days became happy days, wonderful days. I hadn’t known about the joy in the Lord, hadn’t known what it was like to really experience His joy on the inside. Oh, I’d experience joy a lot of times on the outside through Mama, Papa and my two oldest sisters. I thought I knew about people being happy. Mama would be singing in the kitchen fixing dinner for her family, enjoying the Lord’s blessings. That makes a happy kitchen, happy biscuits, happy chickens in the pot, and a happy dinner table. Nine of us would gather around that big family table and have a wonderful time; I didn’t realize then that a lot of that joy came from Heaven. Heaven’s joy was in the Angley family. I recognize it now as I look back. I had joy that a lot of our friends didn’t have, joy all around me.

I grew up a happy person; happiness helps keep a person healthy. It blessed us children, helped us make better grades in school. We’d go to school with happy minds, peaceful minds, carrying the anointing of the Lord with us because Mama saw to that. She wasn’t about to let us children go to school without praying heaven down on us first. She wanted us to make good grades, to enjoy ourselves. It makes a difference when Mama is there to serve peace and joy.

I Ordered Joy Every Day

How much real joy do you have today? Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost (Romans 15:13). Why act as though there is no God of hope; why feel hopeless? I didn’t feel hopeless; the Lord gave me Heaven’s hope, Heaven’s faith and Heaven’s joy when I got saved. Giving my life to God, I took on a brand-new life, a brand-new way. I no longer needed the things of the world that once made me happy. My former pleasures seemed empty, worthless, things I had thought I had to have to be happy. That wasn’t what I needed; I needed Heaven’s joy. When the Lord saved me I had plenty of joy because I ordered it up every day. I’d spend much time with the Lord; I loved being with Him. Thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart (Jeremiah 15:16).

Do you want the Lord to dodge you? I don’t want Him to avoid me; and I don’t want Him to be glad when I go to sleep. No, I want Heaven to rejoice when I’m awake. I’m singing, praising God, and enjoying His blessings.

Find Joy in Your Duties

You can have a good “camp meetin’” in your own home every day. I know you have duties in the home. Those same old dishes—you’ve washed them a thousand times and more, and there they are dirty again. Well, make them say, Hallelujah! Every time you wash a dish, make it praise the Lord. Get into those pots and pans and really make a joyful noise. If someone comes in and asks what in the world you are doing, tell them you’re having camp meetin’, making every dish, every pot and pan praise the Lord. Full of joy, everywhere you look you see Heaven’s joy. Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation (Habakkuk 3:18).

Joy is what makes a real home, the kind of home the Lord planned in the beginning for His man and His woman. That’s the reason the Lord came down in the cool of each day to walk and be with Adam and Eve; He loves people to be happy, and He made them to be happy. Then they failed God, and that happiness was lost. Jesus went to Calvary because the devil had robbed man of all his joy. Man had no eternal joy, no eternal life, until Jesus died so that we could have this great joy.

Let the Joy of Heaven Flow!

Are you happy in the Lord? Do you have that Jesus smile? Do you really have that Jesus joy bubbling in your soul? Don’t sit there and frown; the Lord doesn’t like frowns. From the time I was born I wanted to be happy; I searched for happiness. When I came out of bed I would be wide-awake, all quietness in the house was gone. Full of life and ready to start the day, I wasn’t seen sitting around with the I-can’t-help-its.

Some of you don’t know how to be happy. You set the alarm clock to go off five minutes ahead of time and when it rings, you reset it to ring again in another ten minutes. You’re not joyful in the Lord; you’re not about to be. Throw that snooze control away; replace it with an alarm that will ring one time, and then joyfully get up. Why lie there and die? That’s what the devil wants you to do; he loves for you to wake up “dead.” He certainly doesn’t want you to wake up with a praise saying, “Lord, I sure am glad I’m awake! I’m praising you! This is going to be a good day! Lord, what do you want me to do? I’m ready to touch every life you want me to touch, ready to give people the Jesus touch. I’m just bubbling with you, Jesus, bubbling with the love that you’ve given me, and I’m going to spread that love; it’s going to multiply today. I feel the Spirit moving and the joy of Heaven flowing like mighty rivers.” But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee (Psalm 5:11).

Make a Joyful Noise unto the Lord

Preacher, I’m not fit to face the world until I get a cup of coffee. Lots of people instead of praising God are depending on a cup of coffee to wake them up. It’s no wonder the world is in terrible shape, no wonder that God’s people can’t win more souls than they’re winning! There they are in their car on the way to work, stopped at a light trying to drink coffee. They look so dull and gloomy holding that coffee cup that one hopes they are awake enough to get to work safely. But they think that’s life.

What some people call life is not real living at all. Jesus brought the new and living, the happy, joyful way. Why not make that your way, too? Why not get happy? The Lord said, Clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph (Psalm 47:1). Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands (Psalm 66:1). Some people who are depressed cry, Fanaticism! but pay them no mind. Learn to laugh at your enemies.

Many are enemies to the joys of the Lord; they don’t feel like being happy. Whoever said one had to feel like being happy to get happy? The Lord flows joy to you right from the throne of Heaven. Being gloomy and glum is enough to wreck your whole system. What kind of testimony do you present to the sinner? What would make them want the salvation you have? Great joy is a gift that comes with your salvation, but you must use it, not store it in a closet somewhere out of sight. I expect God’s people to find great joy.

With Joy, Sing God’s Praises

In the church where I was saved, the saints of God had great joy as they sang the praises of God. The choir would light up when they sang. After God saved me I was eager to join the choir. Happy through and through, I stood up in that choir to sing, thrilled to death about it. With joy bubbling in my soul, I was feasting on Heaven. Do you think that choir was a burden to me? Never! Perhaps I hadn’t gotten much sleep after the big Saturday evening youth service. Many times we’d be helping people pray through to the Holy Ghost way into the night and I’d get home in a morning hour on Sunday. Then I’d be so happy that sometimes I found it hard to fall asleep. When you’re that happy it seems like a waste of time to be sleeping anyway. I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord (Psalm 27:6).

But some of you are so depressed that you’re glad to pass out, glad to be asleep; and I’m sure the angels are glad for you to be asleep, especially the one who looks after you. Your angel may hope everybody tiptoes around so they don’t wake you up.

Do You Prefer Sadness over Joy?

Are you happy or unhappy? Do you believe in Heaven? Are you really going there? One more step, Child of God, and you could be in glory. Wouldn’t you be a pathetic sight stepping into glory frowning with not a speck of joy bubbling in your soul? Do you think the Lord might keep you shut outside a week or three until you get happy?

Preacher, you’re about to kill me, and I don’t want to be disturbed. I don’t feel like going to church anyway, and I’m going to have bruises and sore places all over me for the next week every time I think about the things you’ve said to me. Dear one, I’m trying to help you. This can bless you, make you happy, so get moving. I’m throwing happy stones at you, throwing the promises of God right out to you and telling you how you can be happy.

You don’t have to have a nickel; you don’t have to have any money in your pocket to be happy. This is the kind of happiness that money can’t buy, praise God! It comes from beyond the skies above us, way up there, and the Lord just keeps it coming—but you’ve got to use it. Stop running from what Heaven has for you. Stop trying to get away to enjoy your sad feelings.

I don’t feel like praying; I don’t feel like going to church; I don’t feel like fasting. Who said you had to feel like doing those things? God said do it, and that’s enough for me. I don’t go by my feelings. The Lord can wake me any hour of the night and up I come, wide-awake. Maybe I haven’t been asleep more than an hour; it doesn’t make any difference. The Lord hath need of me and joyfully I work for Him. I do my work with joy; I preach with joy. I have such laughter and joy preaching. Preaching is not a burden to me, no—and that’s amazing for a boy who didn’t want to be a preacher before he was saved, who wanted to be so many other things. I could have named a thousand things I wanted to be without saying a preacher, and now I’d rather be a preacher than do anything else in the world. I love to preach the Gospel; I want to tell the world about this.

Troubled? Still There’s Joy

But preacher, you’re persecuted! Persecution is good for us; it makes us go deeper in the Lord, makes us realize the greatness of Jesus more and more. Unless you learn Him through His sufferings, you will not really know Jesus. Paul said he learned Jesus through his sufferings, learned how to be just like Him through the same kind of suffering. I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death (Philippians 3:8-10). You learn the sufferings of Jesus when you learn the love of God, the power of God, the salvation of God, the power of Calvary.

Let nothing get you down. It doesn’t matter, doesn’t make any difference what comes our way. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed (II Corinthians 4:8,9). The joy of the Lord is what I’m talking about. You’re troubled on every side yet you’re happy. You never think about committing suicide; that’s so far away from your mind it seems stupid for anyone to do it. We’re amazed that people do the things they do, make fun of God’s power; but we’re not perplexed, not in despair; we have nothing to be in despair about. The Lord walks with us; He is our great help. Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he is our help and our shield (Psalm 33:20).

In Joy and Love the Lord Walks with Us

The Lord is our high tower, our refuge. The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence (II Samuel 22:3). The Lord is with us, and we need not fear what man or devils will try to do to us.

We’re persecuted, but we’re not forsaken; the Lord walks with us. The Lord Himself comes down to walk with His children in joy and love. He’s a God of love, a God of joy, a God of peace. See Jesus rather than seeing those sad people around you. Instead of all those frowns, see Jesus in all His love and greatness and let the Gospel sing on the inside. How could you help but be happy!

Oh, preacher, you don’t know. I don’t want to know, so please don’t tell me. I don’t have time to write it down, and I’d try to forget about it before you got out of sight anyway. I just know people can be happy, but I’ve insulted some Christians when I told them they ought to get rid of all of that despair, depression and oppression, that the Lord didn’t will that to them and He wants them to be happy. They weren’t looking for sound advice; they wanted me to sympathize with them.

Jesus didn’t come to be our sympathizer; He came to be our substitute. To substitute means to take the place of. Jesus took our place of sadness and sorrow. He was a man of sorrow, but He won; He had great joy. He came to take on all our burdens. Full of the Holy Ghost, He defeated those devils of depression and oppression for us; they don’t belong to us anymore.

Joy Cometh in the Morning

Persecuted, but not forsaken, cast down, but not destroyed, we rise up knowing that joy cometh in the morning. Go to sleep in the confidence that joy cometh in the morning. For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning (Psalm 30:5). Be glad when the alarm clock goes off because it means joy.

No matter what kind of day you’ve had, if you’ve done the will of God you should call it a good day. I try to make every day a good day for the Lord, and He takes care of my days. I don’t go forth seeking to make a good day for myself; I work to make a good day for the Lord. Some people are so busy trying to make themselves a good day that they miss the whole day of joy from the Lord. When I come to the close of a day, I want to know if I’ve made a good day, a happy day for the Lord. If I’ve made a good day for the Lord, I call that a perfect day. You don’t have to wait until you get to Heaven to hear the Lord say, “Well done!” He’ll say it again and again during the day if you’re making Him a good day. There is much joy when you make the Lord a good day. If you make the Lord a happy day, you’ll have a happy day.

The Lord’s promises are true, so instead of trying to wrap up in all the covers when the alarm goes off, wrap up in the blanket of His love and say, “Joy cometh in the morning! This is a brand-new day.” Just think, that old day has to pass away with its sorrows, heartaches and despair. Instead of thinking it’s the final day of your life, look forward to a fresh day, a fresh start, and be happy. Why look back to that which makes you unhappy, to people who make you unhappy? The Lord told you to mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace (Psalm 37:37).

Looking at the upright keeps you happy, gives you great joy. What gives the Lord great joy? Looking at what the Cross has done for obedient people.

Cling to the Source of Divine Joy

It’s time to get happy, time to decide you’re going to be a shining light to the world as you show people Jesus. If you are depressed, you can talk about Jesus until your lungs collapse and not convince the sinner of the reality of Him. But if you have the joy of Heaven, the sinners who can be changed through the blood of Jesus will be changed. People are looking for joy, and when they see that happiness in your life, they want to know where it comes from. They’re all ears to listen. They may not accept it immediately, but they can’t get away from it.

People can’t get away from Heaven’s joy, and that’s what we must serve. Many of you haven’t yet served it. Why don’t you start now?

The Lord let me know He wanted me to preach on His joy. I am an example of His joy; I have it. Some people can’t have joy unless they are around others, but I can be alone with the Lord and be happy, contented, so pleased to be in His holy presence.

Learn the Joy of Salvation

Sinner, come to Jesus. You’re miserable, aren’t you? I know what that’s like; I was there at one time myself, lost and undone without God. When I put my head on the pillow at night, I knew if I didn’t wake up in this life, I wouldn’t be in Heaven, but in eternal damnation. That’s an awful way to live. But now when I place my head on the pillow and close my eyes, I know if I awake in another world, it will be the Jesus world because I have Jesus.

Sinner, say this prayer: Oh, God, I’m so sorry I sinned against you, but I have come home, and I’m going to serve you, Lord, the rest of my life. I believe in the blood of Jesus. I believe He died for me, and I will live for Him. I believe the blood of Jesus washes away all my sins. Come into my heart, Jesus! Come on in, Jesus!

If you meant that prayer, now you can say, Hallelujah! Jesus is mine. Through faith in His blood my sins are all gone! Isn’t that wonderful!

With Joyful Psalms, Praise God for His Healing Touch

You who are sick and afflicted, the Lord has ordained me to take you before His throne of grace for miracles and healings. I put your diseases under the blood just like your sins were put under the blood; that which we put under the blood and leave there is destroyed. You who are bound with that awful disease called AIDS, it’s a frightening thing if you don’t have Jesus; there’s no cure for AIDS through medical science. You can’t look to man for the cure, but the Lord has given me the cure; and untold thousands have been delivered. The mail comes in here from all directions sent by people writing to say, “I have been healed of AIDS, or I’ve been healed of HIV; my companion has been healed; my children have been healed. We have been back to the doctors and they can’t find anything wrong now. We have been healed!” Isn’t that wonderful! That’s the power of God.

Lord, here they are. I bring those with AIDS and the AIDS virus. I bring those with cancer, diabetes, heart trouble, lung trouble, TB and leprosy, and all other diseases as well. I bring the cripples and those who are paralyzed: Give them life, Jesus. Give them life again in their bodies, in their organs—you are life. Heal! in the blood name of Jesus. Heal! in the all-powerful blood name. Amen and amen.

Watch yourself and your loved ones get well, and give the Lord all the praise; He is the healer. Write and let me know what happened to you. And get that doctor’s report; it’s wonderful to know that you are completely delivered by the hand of God. Faith in God heals the sick; the Bible declares it and it works.