MEMORY VERSE: ‘Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.’ Psalm 32:11.
LESSON AIM: Joy is a quality of God. We see this in the fruitage of the Spirit. This lesson is to show us how we can have that joy and radiate it to others.
‘Christ is represented as hunting, searching, for the sheep that was lost. It is His love that encircles us, bringing us back to the fold. His love gives us the privilege of sitting together with Him in heavenly places. When the blessed light of the Sun of Righteousness shines into our hearts, and we rest in peace and joy in the Lord, then let us praise the Lord; praise Him who is the health of our countenance and our God. Let us praise Him, not in words only, but by the consecration to Him of all that we are and all that we have.’ Testimony Treasures, volume 3, page 77.
1. What took away the joy in this world? Genesis 3:6-10.
NOTE: ‘Sin originated with him, who, next to Christ, stood highest in the favour of God, and highest in power and glory among the inhabitants of Heaven. Before his fall, Lucifer was the covering cherub, holy and undefiled. The prophet of God declares, “Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.” Peace and joy, in perfect submission to the will of Heaven, existed throughout the angelic host. Love to God was supreme, love for one another impartial. Such was the condition that existed for ages before the entrance of sin. But over this happy state there came a change.’ Spirit of Prophecy, volume 4, page 316.
2. When Jesus came to our world what was His purpose? Luke 4:18.
NOTE: ‘When Christ was accused of eating with publicans and sinners, He said, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Again He said, “The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” “They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.” In the synagogue at Nazareth He announced the character of His mission to the world and said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” He quoted from the prophecy of Isaiah where it is said of Him that He came “to comfort all that mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness.’ Review & Herald, August 13, 1895.