Fruits of the Spirit - Joy

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:35

Welcome, everybody. Welcome. When listening to The Bread of Life with JJ, another episode today where we're going to be talking about and discussing. It's called The Fruits of the Spirit. And that fruit that we're going to be discussing today is joy. Joy. We're going to get into all types of meanings of that from the Greek and Hebrew and the definition thereof. And some sermons I paraphrase and things put together just for your temple satisfaction. A small morsel, if you would, that may will that may satisfy you as I make and speak these words that I feel the Lord has given to me for you. He's prepared that for me, for you. Definitely. Know this that the living water he only can provide. I'm just a vessel. I'm kind of like that tub or that pot that just gets put into the water and then poured out. He inside me, he fills me. And that's my job for you. And his daily bread, his bread of life and living bread is his word and his body and communion, which we'll be doing today. But that is something that he provides. That you will never hunger, and that you will never thirst because of those two things that I told you. So we need to get ready and get into that. But before we do, we're going to pray. And then we'll go from there to our communion. So those listening, please bow your head if you can. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you. Thank you for these moments and time that we have together. I praise you and I thank you. Thank you for this moment. I pray that people that are listening, that their ears are open and their heart is receptive, their mind is clean and clear, Lord, that they hear from you. And I pray that you speak through me as your vessel to speak truth and love and the meaning of joy. And what that means into my life as well. And it's for your glory and your holy name, which is Jesus, Yeshua, I pray. Amen. Amen. If you know those that are listening, the thing I like to do as well is get into the get into the word of the day. After the word of the day, then I want you to, we're going to focus on our communion, and I want you to remember what the word of the day, what it means, where you can see joy in that, knowing that God is our comfort. Understand this, that no mistake can diminish God's love. He meets every failure and comfort and grace. So it's going to be in the second letter in the second book of Corinthians, Corinth, church, that Paul went to speak to. And that's 2 Corinthians 1 through 3 through 4. This word says, consider how God's tender care was demonstrated through Jesus' life. The Gospels repeatedly mentioned that the Lord was moved by compassion when he saw pain and need. Jesus not only healed people suffering from illnesses, but also offered something greater, new life, through the forgiveness of sins, even to his enemies. Jesus left the door open for repentance. The Lord also had compassion on those who struggled because of their mistakes. Notice how Peter's betrayal of Christ was met with forgiveness and restoration. That's in John 21, 15 through 17, and Thomas's doubts were answered by Jesus himself in John 20, 27. That was in the upper room. Today, God's compassion is still available and personal. He knows when we hurt and offers comfort through his spirit, who dwells within us. When our afflictions remain, he strengthens us to endure them. What's more, our mistakes in no way diminish his love for us. No situation places us beyond God's reach. His comfort meets us in every circumstance we face. Every circumstance we face. Whether illness, financial strain, or family crisis. And once we've experienced this divine consolation, we're to become bearers of comfort to others. Since people everywhere are in a desperate need of his compassion. And that's a powerful way to spread the good news of Christ. To be bearers of comfort to others. In a way, honestly, that brings joy. That brings joy to life when you can do things that way. Feel satisfied that you're helping someone else. Gotta be more of that. So that's good to our communion, those listening, and then we're gonna get into the word and discussion. Where I'm gonna be reading from is 1 Corinthians 11. That's gonna be verses 23 through 29. So the Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, he took bread. And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. So let us take the bread, whether it's a cracker, a bread, a piece of bread, and just again imagine that you are in the midst of this Last Supper, and Jesus stands up or sits down, whatever, and he says, Hey, listen, this is gonna be my body soon to come on Calvary. I'm gonna go through some things. It's gonna be broken, beaten, uh, beyond recognition. And I want you to know something though. When you take this bread and you're together, those that believe, you do this in remembrance of me. Know that I'm with you and that I love you. Know that I know what you're going through, the lack of joy that you seem to be having in your life. Count it all joy. I've overcome the world. That's what the Lord said. He's given us new life, his bread. I just take that now. So, in the same way, after supper, he took the cup. And the cup that he had, he was saying, This is a cup and the new covenant in my blood, the blood that was spilled for you, right? Do this whenever you drink it in remembrance of me. For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. We proclaim his death until he comes, but I know that he is risen again. His power remains and always will. But his blood that was spilled was so precious. Let's take that. And say thank you in remembrance of him. It goes on to say through this chapter, verse 27, so then, whoever eats the bread of this or drinks the cup of the Lord, and in in an unworthy manner, will be guilty of sinning against the body in the blood of the Lord. Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink the cup. Everyone ought to examine themselves. Don't bring judgment upon yourself. Discern. We are judged in the same way by the Lord. And if we are being disciplined, so that we will not be finally condemned with the world. Verse 32 says. We are not perfect. The Lord always tells us to have continuous joy. He's with us. Why, why, why, why stress? Why stress? He's with us. But we do stress. We do stress. We do. I know I was today. I literally, throughout this whole weekend, been kind of at this stressful uh situation, you know, I deal with. Sometimes it's myself. I honestly can say. And sometimes, you know, it's just my circumstances that I let the best get, you know, I let it get the best of me. And I'm just being personal here, those listening, you know. Um my life, I wish it were a perfect unicorn and rainbow travel. There's no such thing. And I and I'm glad that I don't have that in a sense. I don't feel that way when I'm going through it, though. But I need to find joy, right? Because joy, the Lord said it's not happiness. Happiness is happy stance. It's what's happening around. I'll be happy at that moment. No, joy is deep inside, as I explain it as we'll go further into the word. But joy is like, man, like no matter what's around me, I'm not shaken and I'm happy. I'm gonna be good. I'm gonna have a deeper happiness inside that doesn't break me and make me feel down and out. Sometimes it's me making the wrong choices, the wrong thinking, because the Lord does say, hey, you know, renew your mind. Renew your mind. Yeah, think thoughts of purity that are good, good report, virtuous, loving, peaceful thoughts, like good thoughts. Like think that way. Not your circumstances, can't be moved by your circumstances. Because this walk, everyone that's listening, this walk is a walk of faith. Faith, as I've said before in my other podcast, is a substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. So I hope, right, for things. I don't see it, but man, I hope for peace. I hope for a deep joy. I hope for tons and lots of provision, money, right? And what for? Oh, yeah, I want to do a lot of good things. That's gonna bring me joy. Taking care of my family, traveling, and helping other people. Oh, by far, that's gonna bring me joy. But it has to be deeper than that too. Even if that doesn't happen, how is my attitude and my behavior and my character? And I've failed miserably recently. I've failed miserably recently. Like, and I'll get into that later. But let's get into the meaning what joy is and the joy of the spirit, what that's about. So, joy, as I read this to you, is defined as a feeling of great pleasure, jubilation, and ecstasy. Being in a good mood is really great, and most languages have lots of words to describe the experience, like happy, cheerful, joyful, and so on. The same goes for the languages of the Bible. In ancient biblical Hebrew, there is a variety of words. Those words were like simcha, song, or girl. In the Greek New Testament, each word has its own unique nuance. But they are basically referred to the feeling of joy and happiness. Now, what makes these biblical joy words interesting is noticing the kinds of things that they bring happiness and also seeing how joy is a key theme that runs through the whole story of the Bible. Let's start with sources. Of joy on the page in the Bible, God says the world is very good. So naturally, people find joy in beautiful and good things of life, like growing flocks and an abundant harvest on the hills. The poet of Psalm 104 says, a good bottle of wine is God's gift to bring joy to people's hearts. People find joy at a wedding or in their children. That's even a Hebrew proverb that compares the joy that perfume brings to your nose. You know, like with a good joy or a good friend who brings that goodness to your heart. However, human history isn't just a joy fest at all. The biblical story shows how we live in a world that has been corrupted by our own selfishness. It's marked by death and loss. And this is where the biblical faith offers a unique perspective. And then your unique perspective is joy. It's an attitude God's people adopt, not because of happy circumstances, like I said, happy stands, but because of their hope in God's love and promise. So when the Israelites were suffering from slavery in Egypt, God raised up Moses to lead them into freedom. And the first thing that the Israelites did was sing for joy. Even though they were in the middle of the desert, they were vulnerable. The promised land was still so far away, but they rejoiced anyway. But later biblical poets look back on the story and they remembered how the Lord caused the people to leave with joy in the chosen ones and with shouts of joy, this joy in the wilderness. This was a defining moment, a way of saying that the joy of God's people is not determined by their struggles, but by their future destiny. This theme appears later in Israel's story. When Israel suffered under the oppression of foreign empires, the prophet Isaiah looked for a day when God would raise up a new deliverer like Moses. That's when those redeemed by the Lord will return to Zion with glad shouts, with eternal joy crowning their heads, happiness and joy will overtake them. And while the Israelites wait, choose joy, their future, their future redemption. This is why it's significant that when Jesus of Nazareth was born, it was announced as good news that brings great joy. We're told that Jesus himself rejoiced and gave thanks to God, his Father, when he began to announce the kingdom of God. He even taught his followers the same joy in the wilderness, saying, When people reject you or persecute you for following me, you rejoice and be very glad because your reward is great. Your reward is great. Your reward is great in heaven. After his death and resurrection, Jesus commissioned his followers to go out and announce the good news that he is risen and he's a risen king of the world. And as he did so, the early Christian communities were known for being full of joy even when they were persecuted. When the Apostle Paul was sitting in a dirty Roman prison, he could say that his chosen joy, that he's choosing that path, even if he gets executed. He called this the joy of faith or the joy in the Lord. He believed it was a gift of God's Spirit, a sign that Jesus' presence is with you, inspiring hope in the midst of hardship. And when you believe that Jesus' love just overcome death himself, joy becomes reasonable in the darkness of circumstances. Now, this doesn't mean that you ignore or suppress your sorrow. That's not a healthy or necessary. Paul often expresses grief about missing loved ones or losing friends or his own freedom. He called it being full of sorrow and yet rejoicing as he acknowledged his. And he also made a choice to trust Jesus that his loss wouldn't be the final word. This is very different from the tried advice to turn that from around frown upside down. Christian joy is a profound decision of faith and hope in the power of Jesus' own life and love. And that's what biblical joy is about. That's pretty much in a nutshell. But I'm going to ask you a few questions, though, as we get into this. When you're going through difficulties and disappointments and trying times in your life, how do you respond? What's the difference in your conduct, in your temperament, even in your facial expressions, when you're going through a hard time? So when things are just they suit you fine, what's the difference? Do you do you let the hard times get you down? Do you find yourself being less friendly? Do you find yourself having a hard time making decisions? What would upset you now? You say that you've trusted Jesus Christ as your personal savior. Your name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life, and you're a happy person, but when things are not going your way, you suffer real disappointments or hurt or physical pain. Something like that happens. How do you respond? Does it wipe you out? Absolutely wipe you out? Does it does your disposition change to the point that people say, Well, what happened to you? I thought he was a Christian, man. What about all this and that? Are you the same person when things are going right or when things are going wrong? When you find yourself disappointed and you want to hang it up, walk away. Whatever happened to your faith? Whatever happened to your relationship with Christ. That relationship doesn't change. Maybe the way you express it changes a little bit. But that's because maybe you've never distinguished between happiness and joy. And we'll get into that difference. But as I'm asking you these questions and I'm speaking to you in this manner, understand this. I speak this to myself. And those are the same questions I asked myself. Because I'm gonna tell you something, I've failed miserably. Failed miserably. Yeah, I could be better. I could talk to my my beautiful wife better. I can be more patient with my children. I can not raise my voice as much if I want to get something going or a decision made or something in the house that they need to listen to. I can find a better way. I don't always have to go marine, which I go half because my kids are kids. I love them. I don't want to go full marine on them. Um I'm not gonna do that because God would definitely strike me down, probably. I don't know, but I'm not gonna test it. I know I need to be better because I feel horrible. Conviction sets in heavily in my heart when I act out of line and out of character because I am frustrated and stressed. When I need to just abide in the Lord and just release that and say, hey, I'm okay. You got this. I trust in you. Crazy process that we go through. And I I do believe that it's a crucible, it's a it's a training for me. And it's okay because it's making me better. But let me ask you again about happiness and joy. What's the difference? Let's elaborate on that. Let's elaborate on this. When Paul wrote the book of the Philippians, only four chapters, it's interesting what you'll find in these four chapters over and over again. In fact, one out of every seven verses, Paul speaks about joy. He speaks of joyfulness, that there he is in prison, knowing that probably he's going to face death, sometimes maybe chained to a Roman soldier, dirty place, and his response. Writing this epistle, being in prison, talking about joy, being a Christian that most Christians do not know about. Because when we think, usually think about difficulty times and hard times, sort of sad, down, we we say that God and things, and things will get better. But in the joy of the Lord, that's where it's at. In Philippians 4, it says, Therefore, my beloved, my brothers and sisters, to whom I love and long for. My joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way. I plead you that you be of the same mind, O the Lord. Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say again, rejoice. Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer, petition, and thanksgiving with Thanksgiving, present your request to God and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right and pure, lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is an excellence or praiseworthy, think about such things. Whatever you have learned, or received, or heard from me, or seen in me, put into practice, and God's peace will be with you. I will also add that his joy will be evident in your life once you do these things I just mentioned. So, those listening, please, if you're reading your Bibles, but I want you to take your Bibles and find John chapter 15. And while you're finding it, let me say something to you. I know that those are listening, I'm grateful for. I know I don't know a lot about you. I don't know everything about you. But even uh a wonderful lady that may be listening, I want there's one thing I know that every mother's child listening today. I know you want that joy in your life. And you can't deny that. I know every mother's child listening wants that and needs that. I don't care who you are. You want joy in your life. And I want to talk to you today about how to have a fullness of joy. A fullness of joy. This little story I want you to hear, which is not a story, it's kind of like a real thing because that happens to me all the time. But I'm gonna shed this light with this. I'm gonna use describe this woman, and I can say it's myself. So a woman lost her car keys. And I know we've done that. She lost her car keys, she went through the house, she went here and there, opened every drawer. Finally, finally, she looked in her purse, and there were her keys. I want you to know why this question I have. Do you know why she didn't find it at first? Why didn't she find those keys at first? She was looking in the wrong place. At first, she was looking in the wrong place. And that's part of the reason why most people don't have joy. Many of them, they're looking for joy in the wrong place. Joy is not a nicety in the Christian life, it's an absolute necessity. Joy is something you ought to have in your life. If you're right with God, continuous joy, conspicuous joy, contagious joy, unspeakable joy, full of glory, and a Christian without joy. It's a if a Christian doesn't have joy, it's a contradiction in terms. It's kind of like speaking about having a heavenly devil as a Christian, right? No, you can't have that. As a Christian, we're not joy, but I can tell you beyond the shadow of a doubt of any prevention. There are many at listening right now. Just like me at times, I've lost my joy. But I can't, right? I have to maintain the winning loss to Jesus Christ. The joy of our Lord, though. The joy of our Lord. I know King David, he was talking about that. He was saying in Psalm 51, restore to me the joy of my salvation. He lost his salvation, but the joy, he didn't lose that, right? He lost the joy of his salvation. Lost his job. He says, Restore to me the joy of my salvation. Uphold me with thy free spirit. And then I'll teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will be converted to you. Being a joyful Christian, man, if we're not having joy in our life as a joyful Christian, we're not as effective as winning souls. We're not. You got, you know, like we walk around with a Bible in one hand and a tombstone in the other. We got to have joy in our life. It's essential, especially as a Christian. The burdens that we deal with, the strength that we need, the joy, the strength of the Lord will be my joy, the heartaches and trials of life, difficulties, obstacles. How are we going to overcome them? How truly am I going to overcome these things that I deal with? Especially things that I was mentioning earlier. Well, you know how? The joy of the Lord is a way that we can overcome them. Joy is the lubricant of life, and joy of the Lord will take the weariness, it will remove burdens from the heart. That's fullness. John 15, 11. You read that, it talks about that. The setting is that, and we read that Jesus at the time, he's dealing with Gethsemane. He's praying in the garden. But he's dealing with Gethsemane at a bloody Calvary. He knows that something's going to happen to him. But he said, This, these things I have spoken unto you, that you might have joy, that joy may remain in you, that your joy might be full. Fullness of joy. He said that it might be in you. With joy, with the oil of gladness above his fellows, a word gladness. Another word for joy is translated in the book of Jude of it as exceeding joy. What it literally means is joy that meets and dances. Can you imagine Jesus leaping and dancing like that kind of joy that he has? It's abounding joy. It's not half-hearted joy. Not maybe so joy, but joy that's abounding, supernatural. And now, I don't, I really don't know if you know the concept of Jesus Christ, those that are listening. But I want you to see Jesus. He's like he's a joyful Jesus if you've ever seen him. Some pictures you probably don't, and we shouldn't even have pictures because really no one knows what he looks like. But let me tell you something. He's not like some religious recluse man with ice water for blood. Jesus had life, abounding joy. You know, one of the ways that you know that uh in the Bible, in the book of Luke, the children love Jesus, right? If you're uh, by the way, if you're a Karen or a kin, I want you to know that little children don't like you. And if that's the case, you've got problems. Because little children, they love Jesus, right? And I and I've been seeing that recently when like joy that's been trying to take like out of me, right? And try to place judgment or anger inside of me because I've been seeing certain people that are called to these days, Karen's or kins. I really don't know what their names are, right? But their attitude and actions of taking people's joy, being joy killers, ma'am. Like if people are enjoying themselves and having a good time, there's no need for you, and they're not hurting anyone, they're not gonna hurt anything in the environment, then what are you doing over there to say something to them? Or even children that are trying to sell something on the streets that just having a good time being kids, and you're stopping them and being mean. That's not okay. You really gotta check your heart. Little children love Jesus, they wanted to come and crowd around him and sit in his lap. And just like these Karen's, these old disciples said, the kids need to go away. And Jesus said, Nope, let them come to me. I find joy in them. And they find joy in me. Jesus had a life of abounding joy. That's what it means to have that in his life, like the way he was. We have to follow that. He has to remain, after remaining him, and him in me, like his ways. We've got to have joy in rainy days, like times of tragedy, bad times, night times, good times. We're to rejoice in the Lord always. Now I know you may be saying, JJ, the reason you're saying that you're not going through these problems, or not going through this right now, that I really don't understand any much heartache, or I don't really know, or the fears that I'm dealing with, or you're dealing with, or the sickness or trouble, or how you've been treated, or don't know that you're facing marriage issues or financial issues. Well, I'm just I'm I'm letting you, I'm quoting words of Jesus to you. I want you to know, like, when he was in Gethsemane, he was facing darkness and bloody Calvary, meaning he knew that he was going to be taken, whipped, bleat, beaten, and crucified. And he even said, Father, man, if this cup, please let it pass away from that. Please just remove it. I do not want to do this. And then he said, Man, you know, the Lord came to him and he said, No. He must do this. And he said, Yeah, let that will be done. Straight up. I'm gonna deal with this, and I'm gonna have joy about it. I'm gonna have joy about it. Jesus in the Bible, he speaks about himself being the vine. It's like tree of life, and he's a vine. It comes out of that, right? Out of this beautiful tree. And he speaks of us as branches. And he tells us that the branch is to abide in the vine. And what Jesus is saying is that when the branch abides in the vine, like it's it's it's not a religious word. It means like it's just together, it's it's in del like it's in in vellet, like it's inside, it's you can't move it. It comes together, it's in one and dwells. So therefore, having abounding joy, lasting abounding joy, abundant joy, means to abide. Means to abide. And how do I abide? When you read John chapter 15 and 4, it talks about this. I'm gonna give you some words. It means one, surrender. You must surrender. Okay, like understand. You have to hear this word. This is Jesus says he's the branches. Like you're the branches, he's the vine. You abide in me, and I bring, and you must bring more forth much fruit. And without me, you can do nothing. The branch exists for one reason. The vine. The vine. It makes full surrender to the vine. That's their Christian life. We have to understand that we have to abide in him. There was a story too of this man, like he was talking about a Christian man, and he thought he was really saved and like he was abiding in the Lord. And he's praying to the Lord and said, Lord, you know, I want to give you everything. All the keys. Just imagine this, pretend. Like you said, Lord, I got keys. I'm gonna give you all the keys to my life and to my heart. I'll give you all the ones except that one. That one I'm gonna keep for myself a little bit. I gotta deal with that. And Satan would definitely put it in you to make you sure that you do not give away that key. Because he knew that when you open up the cupboard and you open it up, and the Lord saw it, inside of it was vileness and wickedness and sin that he's never seen. That's something that we have desires in our heart that we fail to deal with and surrender, which I know I do. And I and as you listen, please pray for me as I pray for you. Because I've I need to surrender more things in my life. Having the lack of joy and fighting with my beautiful spouse tells me that there are some keys I have not surrendered to the Lord to open up the cupboard of my heart, to clean out those things that are dirty and need to be dusted off and placed back in the shelf after, maybe even rinsed thoroughly. Make it white as snow. And I don't realize I have that issue. I go about my my business day by day, and then my thinking takes a different turn. And then my friendliness that I should have with people I become unfriendly. The Christian attitude. Do you care for people enough? Or are you about yourself? And I've been that way. I've been about myself at times. Not okay. What I know if we truly believe that we know that we're gonna go to a place that is going to be something we can never imagine above our imagination, the eyes not seen, the ears not heard, the things that the Lord has for his children. I couldn't even, I can't even imagine. If we have something that's waiting for us, we have a mediator that has died for us so that we can get to that point and that place forever, then why do I, why do I why do I allow this to happen? What is the thing that I'm holding on to? Is it control? Is it fear? Is it things that you just want to feel comfort in because you own this and you can control it? But in reality, you cannot control it. I don't care if it's addictions, I don't care if it's uh immorality and sexual morality, whatever that looks like, oh my goodness gracious, you think you can control it, you cannot. The devil could win in sin because that's what he's about. That's what he's about. The father of lies, man, he created that. So you can't beat that or beat him or his system. And the only way that you're gonna get through that and out of that and conquered and victorious is through Jesus Christ and surrender. That's the word I can give you today. You must surrender whatever you're holding on to. I have to be like, Lord, I have a problem with my sin. I have a problem, like I have I have to really be honest and real and say, Lord, like I need your help. I can't do this alone, I can't do this without you. And I have to surrender my will, my thoughts, my my motive, my intentions, everything that that pertains to self, and I have to die to self. And I have to say, Lord, you take over. I give it to you. And because I do that, man, I know everything's gonna be all right. Your word says not be anxious for nothing. Everything is gonna work out according to your will and plan. I'm gonna stay focused on you and all the goodness that you have brought in my life and all the joy that I have from that, all the fruits of my life that you have made, and all the little temporary distractions and bills and whatnot that try to pile up and you know, marriage understanding of each other, misunderstandings, I meant to say, like things that we have miscommunication in and that we don't take the time to recognize. Like there's so many things in this life, and the list can go on and on. If I just know, like, Lord, do take it over and give me joy, and I thank you for it, because you've blessed me with a beautiful wife and family. I have these things that you've given me, everything's gonna work out just fine. Give me what I need to get through these moments right now, period. But that will be done. Give me, and I have to repent, man. Hey, I've been selfish, I've had the wrong thinking, I've harbored wrong thoughts and feelings in my heart about people or circumstances or situations. Uh even my own children and wife, right? I've had, I need to just get away, you know, or you know, you guys just go and I'll and I'll be good for a few days. Like that's never true because I I'd miss them the first day that we're gone. I love my kids and family, they're wonderful. And so I have to find joy in them because they they just love our time and attention. One day they'll be old and it'll be different. So let me enjoy them now. Let me find joy in them now. The fruits of the spirit, joy, joy, love, selflessness, hospitality, kindness. If you can go through the list and think about it, joy is there through almost everything, and when you love, that joy will come out because of your love, your expression of love. Understand that. And I'm getting to understand the relationship that I'm building with the Lord and how he sees me, and it's really amazing. The things that he lets me go through, the things that he grows me in, and then blessing me, understanding me, loving me, showing me who I am to him. And we need more of that. And the way you get more of that is surrender. Hard as it is, because it's hard for me too. And surrendering to me is like this, saying no. Just say no. If you know something that's gonna be, man, um maybe the Lord might not like this. Maybe I shouldn't do that. It's hard. Gotta fight it, man. Cause I I it's a daily grind, man. That's what I mean. It's it's a battle. But I have to be intentional. And I have to say every day, hey, when I get up, thank you, Lord. And I gotta be intentional with my my life. And putting on the armor of God and praying and saying his word, find joy. So I do understand, those listening, joy, man, these are the different fruits that we're going through. And and and we need to understand what these fruits mean. And I'm glad I can talk a little bit about it, speak a little bit about that on things, and hopefully get a perspective and understanding. But find that true joy, no matter your circumstances or situations. Know that things are temporary. Praise the Lord through the storms, confuse the devil, get him upset. Find ways to battle in the righteous way, in the godly way. Because that's what this is. And those that are of God, you are a warrior. Whether you are a woman or man, it does not matter. You are a warrior for the Lord. You are in his army, his kingdom. We must do battle. We have to work on that, letting circumstances steal the joy that the Lord has presented to us because of what he went through and how he lived. We must emulate that. Again, I don't know what we're all facing, but Jesus Christ is facing some serious stuff. Like, I'm gonna feel some pain, unimaginable pain for some ungrateful people. And I'm gonna find some joy in it. So we're gonna break some bread, drink some wine, and we're gonna be like, it's all good. Because I'm gonna see you on the other side. And that's heart, that's courage. That's courage. And in having someone betray him, too, and give him a kiss on his cheek. Rabbi, I love you. Oh. You betray the son of man with a kiss. You know? Crazy. And he still found joy. So anyone hurting, anyone going through what they are in life, I understand you. But hey, reach out. If you're embarrassed, reach out. I understand that too. But God knows. So it's not like you're hiding anything. So if you need to reach out, please email us at Bread of Life with JJ at gmail.com. The bread of life with JJ at gmail.com. Now, before I go to, I want you to know that the things that I paraphrase from, or even the daily devotions I get, man, it's like I told you the great, late great, like Dr. Adrian Rogers or um Dr. Charles Stanley, um Dr. Livingston, who's still alive today, a few others, Bible project. There's so many things that I read and try to immerse myself to get to understand the Lord more, understand his meaning of what biblical terms, but also what it means to live this Christian life in a more intimate way. Intimacy is imperative to the Lord. And does this mean that we need the Lord or prayer? Heavenly Father, I just pray for those listening and those that need you, Lord, to pray for their soul and their salvation. If they need anything of joy, Lord, show them what you've done for them and what you've planned to do for them. Open their heart and their eyes. I pray they embrace you. I pray they know who you are in truth. And the love that you have for them. For them and their families. I pray that in Jesus' name. Amen. Until next time. The next fruit that we'll touch we'll be going through. Oh, it's gonna be great. Stay tuned. God bless you. Jesus loves you.