Enjoy God
I. Do we enjoy God?
Jonathan Edwards wrote: “The enjoyment of God is the only
happiness with which our soulds can be satisfied. To go to heaven,
fully to enjoy God is infinitely better than the most pleasant
accomodations here. Fathers and Mothers, husbands, wives, children,
or the company of earthly friends are but shadows; Gos is the
substance. These are but scattered beams, but God is the sun. These
are but streams, but God is the ocean.”
II. What do we mean by enjoy?
A. Enjoy means to take pleasure in, find satisfaction with, feel or perceive pleasure with possession of . . . God
B. Enjoy origin in old French word meaning to rejoice, take delight. This word is in 2 parts: en = make and joir = joy. The idea is something or someone makes joy for us.
C. An incredible way to view God…that HE makes us joyful…thus we enjoy God.
III. So why do people not enjoy God?
A. They don’t know the Lord – Sons of Eli (1 Sam 2: 12) did not enjoy God
B. They don’t prepare their heart to seek God – Solomon’s son, Rehoboam (2 Chr 12: 14)
C. They worship the creation rather than creator (Rom 1: 20), exchanging truth for lies
D. They worship God as world worships their gods (Deut 12: 4, 31)
E. They are religious about where and how to worship – woman at the well (John 4: 20, 22)
F. Going through the motions, lost awe of God – (Matt 15: 7-8) and learning fear of God from commandments of man. God finds this disgusting; says that He hates it – (Amos 5: 21-27)
IV. How to enjoy God?
A. Worship Father in Spirit and in Truth (John 4: 23-24) knowing that the Father is looking for us
B. Joy from God
1. Fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22)
2. Jesus’ joy to make our joy complete (John 15: 11)
3. God gives Joy to those good in His sight (Eccl 2: 26)
C. God my exceeding Joy (Psalms 43: 4)
1. El Simchah Giyli [joyful joy]
2. God of our exceeding joy
D. Greek alliomenoi – exceeding joy – idea that something gives us so much joy that we cannot contain it, we have to express it, we overflow with joy. The idea of jumping in celebration
1. 1 Peter 1: 6 – greatly Rejoice
2. 1 Peter 1: 8 – Joy inexpressible
3. 1 Peter 4: 13 – glad with exceeding Joy
E. Rejoice or Delight or enjoy God: Phil 4: 4
F. When you realize who is God to you, knowing who God is, that God’s presence is with you – does it not give you Joy…enough that you have to express it? REJOICE; EXCEEDING GREAT JOY!
V. Enjoying God is a choice and should not be dictated by circumstance (Hab 3: 17-18)
Oh that you would look for occassion to simply enjoy God