Discovering the Power of Joy by Allister Smiley

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Discovering the Power of Joy
Experience Sustainable Joy
All Rights Reserved.
Copyright © 2019 Allister Smiley
v2.0

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This book is dedicated to Michelle Thompson, a dear and precious
lady from our church. It is also dedicated to everyone that is looking
for permanent joy. Psalm 119:74 says, “May all who fear you find a

cause for joy, for I have put my hope in your word!”



Tabl o Conten

Acknowledgements .............................................................................. i
The Endorsements.............................................................................. iv
Foreword ...........................................................................................viii
Introduction.........................................................................................xi
1. Words, Words, Words ................................................................... 1
2. My First Encounter with True Joy.................................................. 6
3. Joy Comes in the Morning........................................................... 10
4. The Joy of the Lord is your Strength............................................ 16
5. Joy has Withered Away, but God Restores.................................. 21
6. Make Sure to Put on Your Joy...................................................... 26
7. Learn To Make a Joyful Noise ...................................................... 31
8. The Seven Sources of Divine Blessings… ..................................... 37
9. Practical Implications of Joy ........................................................ 44
10. Joy is Set Before You.................................................................... 51

Forewor

In an attempt to discover the true meaning of joy you must become
open. On the surface it seems like joy is a synonym for happiness–that
it’s synonymous with a feeling of bliss. But it comes with a feeling of
comfort, freedom, and a fullness that is irreplaceable. Joy goes beyond
mere feelings of disappointment and trouble; it shines through even in
the darkest hour. That is why it’s so important to discover the keys to
real joy and find fulfilment.

It is hard to tell day from night in this basement; it is where Pastor
spends most of his time writing. It is a mystery when it began but it has
not stopped since childhood. Pastor Allister Smiley is a man who uses
knowledge as a weapon and the Word of God as medicine to heal the
soul. He types intently as the constant overflow of ideas spill onto the
page. Decades of thought combined with over half a century of experi-
ence culminate in the contents of this book.

The walls of the office are lined with so many books it is overwhelm-
ing. These books in his office lay down an excellent foundation for the
accumulation of knowledge and his quest to serve and live joyfully.

Pastor Smiley writing a book about joy is no mistake; within minutes

viii

of any interaction with him joy is one of the first adjectives that come
to mind. Next to joy, we have passion–something I personally have
been able to witness every day. Passion is contagious and impossible
to ignore. Reading this book will infect you with such passion and joy
that you will not be able to escape.

The book about joy is an excellently written piece of work. The keys
are clearly laid out and expounded on in a straightforward way. Part
of the greatness of this book is its uncanny simplicity, coupled with
the attention to detail. A must have for anyone making joy and hap-
piness a priority in their life, this book will take you on a journey of
self-awareness and improvement.

I recommend this book to anyone trying to increase their joy. This is
for anyone trying to be his or her best self. Pastor Allister Smiley has
put forth compelling evidence in his case for joy. He further believes
that the joy of the Lord can have a very positive influence in our lives.
As you are reading this book, apply the principles that will give you joy.
If you are struggling to find joy and peace in your heart, this book can
help you discover those keys.

Adriel Smiley (Son)
Ryerson University
School of Journalism

ix

THE BOOK ABOUT JOY
“The joy of the LORD is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10

Inoductio

The Christian joy is not conditioned by any natural possession, but in
the fact that our life is hidden in Christ and in God. Jesus says, “the
joy that he gives, no person or circumstance can take away” (John
16:20-22). Christians have the power and privilege to be joyful be-
cause we live in Christ (Phil. 4:4). Christians are commanded to rejoice
in all things because their state of joy is independent of natural cir-
cumstances; rather it is found in Jesus Christ (Luke.10: 20; John 14:28;
15:11; James 1:2; 1Peter 1:6).

The primary reason Christians can rejoice even in times of suffering
and hardship is because God’s Spirit lives in us (2Cor.7: 4; 2Cor 13:9;
Romans 5:3-5). God’s Spirit gives comfort to the believer in times of
sorrow (Acts 9:31; St. John 16:7-8). In the Scripture, joy is not seen
as a private emotion that is based on external conditions. It is an en-
thusiastic response that is filled with several kinds of emotion such
as: laughter, praise, shouts, happiness and rejoicing. Sometimes this
joy is expressed in worship regardless of how a person feels. The wise
man tells his reader in the book of Proverbs 5:18 to rejoice in the wife
of his youth, without any reference to what she may be like. Jesus also
told his disciples to rejoice even when they are persecuted, reviled or
slandered (Matthew 5:11-12).

xi

The Apostle Paul commanded the church in Philippi to have continu-
ous rejoicing (Philippians 4:4). James wants Christians to consider it a
joy when they fall into different kinds of testing, because this testing
produces endurance (James 1:2). In Galatians, Paul tells us that one
fruit of the Spirit is “joy.” A fruit from a tree gives us the fingerprint of
the essential qualities of that tree. Therefore, joy is one specific trait of
all believers who are born of God. Joy is the believers’ inherent nature
that influences their vital functions in this world. The believers’ joy will
always remain with them, because it is the essence of who they are
in Christ.
This book is designed to bring you to another level of spirituality,
where the world’s system cannot affect your state of joy. At the end
of this book, you will realize that once you are in Christ, no power of
circumstance can take away your joy which is your strength in Christ.

God bless you as you read.

xii

1
=Word, Word, Word

THERE ARE A number of Hebrew words which are translated into “joy”
and some of the key ones are: (1) Gil - which means to have joy in
God’s works, to take pleasure in what God does; and to rejoice. (2)
rānan, is an expression of jubilant shouts at the times of sacrifice and
shows satisfaction for God’s saving power; it is a cry of joy which indi-
cates a public expression over God’s acts of salvation in the past and
present (Ps 32:11). The significance of these words goes beyond public
and corporate worship into individual attitudes of thankful joy before
God.

This expression of joy not only testifies to God’s past acts, but future
events. While the keynote of public worship is the focus, this kind of
rejoicing moves beyond that to involve creation and the entire created
universe: the heavens, the earth, the mountains, the islands, the solar
system which all join in the worship and rejoicing. (3) śûś, is a glad
enthusiasm received from God through his Word; the power of God’s
Word in one’s heart creating joy. (4) śāmah, is a joyful disposition in
attitude and conduct.

The New Testament has different sets of words that define joy. (1)
Agalliaō - a whole-hearted expression of joy in public worship. God is

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Discovering the Power of Joy

at the center of all things and as believers we should reflect on his past
and future blessings. (2) Euphrainō expresses the joy of the believers
in times of religious festivity. It also describes the atmosphere of en-
joyment rather than the feelings.

(3) Chairō is another word for joy that is mostly used in the New
Testament. It is joy that comes from the person’s well-being. It deals
with the joy a person experiences as well as the source that brings that
joy; joy as the expression of laughter; joy as the expression of praise;
joy as the expression of shouting; joy as the expression of happiness;
joy as the expression of rejoicing and joy as the expression of worship.

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

The true reality of joy today is fading from the people of God. It is
very important that we recapture the reality of true joy. I hope this
journey will take us back to the Word of God to find that joy. We have
come to a place in the life of the church in which entertainment has
taken the place of real joy. Everything else in life seems exciting except
church and the true worship of God. I think of the people within “the
Christian community” as prime candidates for joy. Our life experiences
since the inception of my home church have been tested severely, and
we have not yet experienced the real fullness of joy. We sing about it,
talk about it, but we have not yet experienced its fullness.

This is where I would like us to go from here: ‘serving the LORD with
gladness, coming into His presence with singing, and making a joyful
noise unto the LORD’. Where are all the Davids? One of the greatest
qualities of David’s life was worship; he entered God’s presence with
a sense of joy. Even if David was sad, he knew that when he entered
God’s presence it was full of joy.

David knew that even if he had been weeping all night, when time

2

Words, Words, Words

comes for morning worship, then joy comes. Joy is not the same
thing as pleasure or happiness. Pleasure is momentary and condi-
tional; some pleasures may be evil while some happiness is false.
However, the joy of the LORD is spiritual, good, true, pure and last-
ing. Everything was created good and for good, but evil can distort
the good. Therefore, we are very hungry for joy deep within us. We
have experienced pleasure and happiness but, most importantly, we
are longing for something more such as real joy.

FREE AT LAST

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s. “I have a dream” speech captured for
us in eloquent terms what freedom will bring. Dr. King saw a nation
sweltering in the heat of injustice and oppression gradually become
transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. He saw racial dis-
crimination replaced with a true judgment of character rather than
judgment by the color of one’s skin. Dr. King described freedom in the
words of the Old Testament prophet, ‘when every valley shall be ex-
alted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places be
made plains, and the crooked places be made straight, and the glory
of the Lord revealed, and all flesh will see it together.’

This freedom, as Dr. King anticipates, will turn discord into a beautiful
symphony of brotherhood as people work together and pray together.
Dr. King went on to say that only when all men are free, can America
become great. Only then will the voice of freedom ring out. These
words are powerful paintings on the walls of our minds: when free-
dom rings in every village and every hamlet, every state and every city,
we will be able to say free at last! Thank God almighty, we are free at
last!” The freedom all children of God experience and anticipate is far
more profound and it brings joy.

The Apostle Paul describes freedom in these words, “Behold, I show

3

Discovering the Power of Joy

you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall be changed, in a mo-
ment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet: for the trumpet
shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall
be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this
mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have
put on incorruption and this moral shall have put on immortality,
and then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, ‘Death is
swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where
is thy victory?’ The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the
law. But thanks be to God, which gives us the victory through our
LORD Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be you steadfast,
unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the LORD, forasmuch
as you know that your labor is not in vain in the LORD” (1Corinthians
15:51-58 KJV).

4

Note

2
=My Firs Encounte wi Tu Joy

IT WAS OCTOBER 30th of 1981 when I gave my life to Jesus Christ; the
experience was joy unlimited. This was for me a real foretaste of what
heavenly joy might be like. It was my time of jubilee! (A time of free-
dom) What is jubilee? Jubilee is a fiftieth anniversary, a special year
that is celebrated with exultation in Israelite history. It was a joyful cel-
ebration, a spiritual emancipation from sin and a time of restoration.
Seven is the holy number that means wholeness and perfection. God
created the earth in six days and rested on the seventh day.

The seventh day of the week is the Sabbath of sanctification for
God’s people. Every seventh year was also a year of sanctification.
Seven years multiplied by seven times called for a year of celebra-
tion, which is called a jubilee. A celebration every fifty years was
part of the redemptive Law of God, which meant a time of justice,
peace, and forgiveness for all people. Jubilee was a time to proclaim
remission of sins by the sound of the trumpet. It was a time of cel-
ebration, peace, forgiveness of debts, freedom to slaves and great
joy in the land. It was a time of listening to God moving in the hearts
of men bringing justice and forgiveness. A proclamation was needed
by the sound of the trumpet to emphasize the importance of the re-
demptive purpose, to make it known to everyone with joy that God

6

My First Encounter with True Joy

demands in the land the sharing of resources and the forgiveness of
sins.

God wants me to share with other believers that the joy of the Lord is
our strength. My conversion was a type of jubilee experience, a time
of grace when God had touched my heart with his words. God insisted
that I should keep his precepts and his judgments, and that I should
fulfill them so that I can dwell in the land without fear and live in con-
fidence. I was not only set free from the labor of sin but now I belong
to God and everything that the enemy had stolen from me, he now
must return. In my restoration package, one of the items on the list is
joy. This is what the devil has taken away from many Christians. Joy!
As a new believer, I had learned that God’s Lordship over my life could
produce that joy. And that God’s Lordship would be the source of my
joy. Jesus has sounded the trumpet for my Jubilee and declared me
clean and at peace with Him. I can say, that this is what the LORD has
done for me, “He has set me free”. I now walk in obedience to his plan
and I find fullness of joy in his presence.

I believe Psalms 126 described God’s restoration and deliverance
for his people this way: “when the LORD brought back the captives
to Zion, we were men who dreamed. Our mouths were filled with
laughter, our tongues with songs of joy” (NIV Ps 126:1-2). Some of us
are like those former Israelites; we are in a daze! We cannot find any
joy in life. When the actual freedom came to Israel, they felt as if they
were in a dream world because it had happened so quickly. However,
there were some who were excited with “laughter” and started to re-
joice with “songs of joy.” They were just ringing out shouts of joy for
what God had done.

So great was their joy and rejoicing that the heathen heard about it
and marveled at the great things the LORD had done. First, they were
in shock, and then the shock wore off and transformed itself into joy.
This great act of God for the Israelites brought new life and joy back

7

Discovering the Power of Joy

into their worship. This was the very same way I felt when I first ex-
perienced Jesus Christ as my personal LORD and Savior. Laughter and
shouts of joy filled my heart, my experience of salvation had given me
a new morning in my life.

8

Note