Jesse Duplantis - The ministry of cheerfulness

The Ministry Of Cheerfulness

by Jesse Duplantis

Contents

1 The Ministry of Cheerfulness

2 Living Letters

3 Don't Be Affected By the World's Message

4 Never Let Them See You Sweat

5 The Valley of "Ono"

6 Standing in the Strength of God

7 Songs in the Night

Chapter One

The Ministry of Cheerfulness

Cheerfulness is infectious! I love to spread the joy of the Lord everywhere I go. No matter where I am, or what I'm doing, I make it a point to infect others with good cheer.

Of course, I wasn't always this way. I've had to learn through the Word just how to keep the joy of the Lord flowing in my life. I pray that as you read, you will be challenged to incorporate the joy of the Lord in your own life. It is the only way to go!

I guarantee you that if you'll listen to and stick with the things of God, you will live an overcoming life.

You will infect everyone around you with the precious, healing joy of the Lord. Your ministry can and will be one of cheerfulness.

I acquired a pencil sketch of Jesus, laughing and full of joy, years ago while ministering during a session at a well-known Bible school. A student, whom I know only as Suzanne, blessed my wife and me with a drawing of what she described as "the Jesus you preach about. " As she gave it, she told us that after hearing me minister she was inspired to draw Him in a different way, full of joy and laughter.

To her, I shared a side of Jesus that she had never heard about. I had to admit after seeing the picture that, although I knew Jesus to be the author of my joy, I had never seen a picture of Him laughing.

My wife and I loved it so much that we had it framed and hung it in our foyer. We wanted the joyful face of Jesus to be the very first thing that visitors to our home would see.

Now, that picture has gotten mixed reactions.

Some people can never picture Jesus in a cheerful way.

His eyes shining with love and squinting from laughter are just too much for them to handle. They think that Jesus lived every moment of His life solemn and serious.

But I believe that He had many joyful times in His life here on earth. If He hadn't, the children would have never come to Him so readily while they were playing. They were laughing and probably tumbling all over the grass, just horseplaying like kids do. I imagine Jesus was smiling ear to ear as He watched them play.

I believe it was His joy that put those kids at ease and caused them all to want to be near Him.

Both adults and children alike were drawn to Jesus because He was a man with a ministry of cheerfulness. Jesus ministered joy, peace and hope while He was here on earth, and He continues to do it today through His Spirit and His Word.

In John 16:33, Jesus told His disciples: These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

I'm always amazed at how many Christians are shocked when trouble surfaces in their lives. Although Jesus warned us that it would happen, they have this idea that salvation through Christ brings a candy-coated life. Jesus plainly said that while we were in the world we would have tribulation or trouble. But He commanded us to be of good cheer, because He's overcome this world.

So when trouble comes, don't be shocked! Be of good cheer, be reminded that Jesus has overcome this world and every circumstance in it!

The devil is just stupid enough to make the Word of God come to pass. The boy doesn't have a lick of sense! You'd think that he'd leave us all alone just to try to prove the Word wrong. But, of course, he's too stupid to come up with any bright ideas.

When the devil sends trouble your way, don't buckle under his attack by singing, "Gloom, despair and agony on me! Deep, dark depression, excessive misery!" No way! Refuse to agree with that idiot!

Don't major on the tribulation, major on the fact that Jesus has overcome the world. He's won! And we've been made more than conquerors through His victory!

Do you know that even in times of tribulation, joy doesn't have to leave you? Jesus said it is possible to be in peace and of good cheer, even in the midst of tribulation, because He has overcome the world.

Really, it's totally up to you. You have a choice to either trust God or worry. You choose joy or you choose anxiety. Either way, you are going to be confronted with trouble in this life. Jesus said it would happen, so there is no changing that. But what you can change is whether you'll go through it in misery or overcome it in joy. I'll tell you from experience that I've tried both ways, and joy is definitely the way to go!

I heard someone say once the key to being successful doesn't depend on what you've been dealt in life, but how you "deal" with what is dealt. In other words, your reaction to the trouble is what is going to determine your success in this life.

Just because you've got some trouble doesn't mean you have to lose joy. You can make a choice to be full of cheer, because you know that Jesus has already overcome. It's your part to enforce Satan's defeat by rebuking him and standing on the Word.

When trouble comes in my life, I say to the devil,

"You idiot! You've just proved the Word of God is true! And if this part is true, then it all is! So devil, get ready because I'm going to blast your plans for my defeat. Jesus made me victorious through His blood, and it's in His name that I command you to take your hands off my life! Devil, I enjoy telling you that you are defeated and I have overcome! I laugh at your trouble and enjoy not giving you the pleasure of seeing me buckle under it! You fool, get under my feet!"

You see, I'd rather laugh at the trouble than align myself with it. If I give in to the trouble and begin rehearsing the problem, the joy of the Lord in my life is suddenly replaced with worry and anxiety. I've learned that in order to keep that joy, I must major on the promise and not the problem. Jesus has already overcome, and He's given all authority and power to me! Realizing and believing that is the key to not losing any of that precious joy.

Living in the joy of the Lord is one of the most effective ways to reach others for Christ.

Every human on the earth is searching for joy. It's the one thing everybody wants out of life. Joy opens doors that once were locked shut! If you choose to live in joy, others will be literally drawn to you. They won't know why, but they'll just love being around you!

Some will even ask you why you are always so cheerful. Jesus will use your joy to draw others in so that you can share the Gospel with them. He wants to have a relationship with them so badly, He's going to use any and every avenue you allow Him to in order to reach them.

But if you choose to allow the devil and circumstances to replace your joy with anxiety, you will have a hard time reaching others for Christ through your witness. You'll have to almost chase people down just to tell them about God. And when you finally catch them, you'll have a hard time trying to convince them that what you have is worth having.

Think about it. Who would want to accept the God of someone who lives beaten down and depressed? I mean, if it ain't working for you, why should they believe that it will work for them? It's just a fact that people who are familiar with you will pay more attention to what you do and how you live, than what you say to them. So be cheerful!

Replace the moaning and groaning, criticizing and complaining with the promises God's given you in His Word. Quit looking at what the devil's done and start looking at what God's done! He's made you more than a conqueror! If He's for you, who can be against you? He's the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. He's overcome this world and everything in it!