Description:
Our purpose in this study is to identify the difference between a heart dedicated to God and one dedicated to self. Based on the Word of God, we all start out as sinful. As David said in Psalm 51:5, “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.”
Message from Marsh: “May your personal walk with the Lord lead you to be transformed, renewed, and blessed.”
Marsh
Founder/President
Thank you for coming to: mensgroup.org
Men and Matters of the Heart
LESSON 3 – The Joyful Heart
Expressed in Your Face and Outlook
(www.mensgroup.org – “Original Study”)
Lesson Focus: We will discuss how you can have a more joyful life.
“Blessing on you as you delve deeper into your heart. Good things happen when you walk into its rooms and clean out the cobwebs and dirt.” – C. Marsh Bull
Starting Prayer: Holy Spirit, we know that joy comes from you and that joy can be present in every situation of life. Help us to draw on the Spirit’s strength to have that joy with us throughout the ups and downs of life.
Opening Questions:
1. What do you think is the difference between happiness and joy?
2. On a scale of 1-5, with 1 being very limited and 5 being almost always, how would you rate the amount of joy you have regularly and why?
Scripture Passage:
I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With Him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. (Psalm 16:7-8)
Phrase Explanation:
There is a lot to be said for joyfulness. Synonyms for joyful would include glad, rejoicing, happy, and cheerful. It can change attitudes and actions daily. But what are the steps to get a more regular joyful heart?
Step one is recognizing that it is not circumstances that result in a joyful heart but the careful reflection on WHO is guiding and abiding within us. The psalmist said:
The Lord…counsels me…is always right beside me…I will not be shaken. (Psalm 16:7-8)
He is not guiding from afar and does not forsake, but is closer than a brother to us.
The psalmist continues:
Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices. My body also will rest secure. (Proverbs 16:9)
When the heart is glad, the body echoes that gladness by enabling us to rest in all situations, past, present, and future.
Further, the joyful heart authenticates the rightness of the commandments of the Lord. Being obedient to them places us within God’s boundaries and that helps us to deal with the sorrow and sadness from sin. We can trust Him with all our being when we hide His words in our hearts. Examine the Psalmist statements on this in Psalm 19:8; 28:7; 119:11.
This is what we have said is important in step one, and when we make it into an equation, it looks like this:
GUIDANCE + PRESENCE + SAFETY + TRUST = A JOYFUL HEART
That moves us to step two: the outward expression of this joyful heart. Solomon identified it as the result, “a happy heart makes the face cheerful” and “the cheerful heart has a continual feast” (Proverbs 15:13, 15b). A happy face is the outward expression of a joyful heart and with it a positive rather than negative outlook on everything we face during our time on earth.
In all his wisdom, Solomon found that “a cheerful heart is good medicine” (Proverbs 17:22), or better said, “works a good healing.” The joyful heart has an influence on the healing of our life. This is a joyfulness that when happening in proper measure, on proper subjects, at proper times becomes a “legitimate pleasure.”
So, let’s add this to our previous equation:
GUIDANCE + PRESENCE + SAFETY + TRUST = A JOYFUL HEART, A HAPPY FACE, AND A POSITIVE OUTLOOK!
An assurance that the Lord guides and is right beside us leads to having a joyful heart that expresses itself through a happy face and a positive outlook. Now, do the math for yourself, what is this all adding up to for your heart?
Discussion Questions:
1. What’s one of the key ingredients to having a joyful heart?
2. What do you feel is the value of a joyful heart in the process of healing?
3. When have you experienced legitimate pleasure and how did you get there?
Application:
1. In your own words, what does a joyful heart mean to you?
2. If you don’t have a joyful heart, what are you missing on the left side of the equation?
3. What would be three steps you can take today to obtain a joyful heart?
Closing Prayer: Holy Spirit, we ask your help in being obedient to Your promptings and convictions, we want to trust you in whatever circumstance you allow us to undergo and have an inward joyful heart that reflects you on our face.
Suggested Additional Resources:
Polar opposite verses of the joyful heart:
Proverbs 14:10; Psalm 6:3; Psalm 73:21, Psalm 38:8; 55:4; Lamentations 5:15
“Legitimate pleasure” comes from Charles Bridges, An Exposition of Proverbs, pg. 279.
Continue to Lesson 4 – The Wise Heart – The result of Humility and a Desire to Mature
Or use these links to navigate to various parts of this study:
Intro | Lesson 1 | Lesson 2 | Lesson 3 | Lesson 4 | Lesson 5 | Lesson 6
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