Message 04 | Revival Joy | Dr Jerry Savelle

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Brother Jerry: Glory to God.

At around 3 a.m. this morning, turn me down a little bit, I’m getting feedback. At about 3 a.m. this morning I was awakened by the Holy Spirit with the following phrase in my heart, and I heard it come out of my mouth. Joy unspeakable and full of glory. Joy unspeakable and full of glory. Say it with me. Joy unspeakable and full of glory. Look to somebody and tell him, I have joy, unspeakable, and full of glory. That was what came out of my mouth the moment my eyes came open. I also noticed that the joy of the Lord began to spring up in my spirit, and its 3 o’clock in the morning. I didn’t want to wake everybody else up in the house. It is hard to suppress joy when you really have it. I said, “Lord, and can this wait? I don’t want to wake everybody else up.” I had joy in my heart all day long. Hallelujah, hallelujah. And I believe it is going to hit you tonight like perhaps you have never experienced before. Hallelujah.

Later in the morning Pastor John came over, and had some coffee with us. We were sitting at the table outside just overlooking the lake. And he said to me that after I left the auditorium last night, and we were sitting in the speaker’s room, pastor’s office, and I was just kind of basking in the glory so to speak. Lot of times when I’m under an anointing like that, I had to sit a while before I get up and walk or sometimes I got to run. It affects me different ways. Sometimes I’ll get in the car to drive home, and my wife would say, “Pull over, you don’t have a clue where you are going.” Sometimes I’ll drive in circles in the parking lot and I haven’t got a clue what I am doing. And so we were just sitting back there and just, you know, basking in the glory, but I could hear you out here, and I said to some of them, I said, I think, I think they’ve started another service. That’s happened a lot. And so Pastor John was telling me that some of you began to come up and weep, some of you began to praise God, some of you the spirit of joy came on you. And he said it lasted for about 40 to 45 minutes and he finally had to tell you go home. Now that’s church folks. When the Pastor has to tell you to go home, so you can get up and come back. Hallelujah. Amen. I believe that was a prelude to what’s going to happen tonight. Hallelujah, hallelujah. Hallelujah! It’s hitting me good. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

We were driving over here tonight and the Spirit of joy hit all three of us in the car. I’m telling you I don’t know how Brynn was able to drive. Spirit of joy hit us, and I started telling them a story that I remembered when I was a little boy.

I was born in Mississippi on a farm that my grandfather bought in 1927, my father was raised there, and I was born there. And we had about eighty acres when I was a kid. My grandfather farmed it, he raised cattle, raised hogs, we kept a hundred head of hogs on the on the property, and about that many in cattle, and of course grandmother had chickens, and you know we were old MacDonald’s farm. You know Old MacSavelle’s farm, something like that.

And I remember one day, I couldn’t have been over five or six years old, and my grandmother, I mean my grandfather said, “Son I don’t need for you to go to field with me today.” Because I always like riding on the back of the tractor with him, and before he got a tractor he had a mule. You have mules over here? Donkeys? Yeah? So grandpa had a mule with a plough, and they throw them straps over him you know, and he called that mule old Bessie, and old Bessie you know would make the rows for him to sow into. And he was out there on what he called the flat. There are a lot of hills in Mississippi, and he

farmed the flat, as acres that was flat and didn’t have all those hills, and everything, and he just called it the flat.

Every time we’d start that way he’d say, “Let’s go to the flat son,” and so he was out on the flat with old Bessie, and there was a black man that was a neighbour of ours just down the road. And he come up there, and my grandfather’s telling me this, I wasn’t there but my grandfather told me about it. And he said that the gentleman come up there and they got to talking and then the man’s got to talking about some really difficult times he was facing, and he kept talking about how bad it is, he didn’t know what he is going to do. Grandpa had him to hold the mule for a moment while he did something. And he is talking to my grandfather about all these troubles and all his problems he was having and sound like impossible situations to overcome, and while he was talking the Spirit of joy came on him, and Grandpa didn’t know that this man was Pentecostal. He didn’t know what a Pentecostal was. And so the Spirit of joy came on him right in the middle of him telling on all the problems. And he got to laughing and he got to shouting and he got to jumping up and down. My grandfather thought he lost his mind. And finally the man said to my grandfather, “Hold the mule, the Holy Ghost has come on me.” And my grandfather come up and telling me that story, he said, “I’ve never seen anything like that,” but he said, “right in the middle of him telling me all these terrible problems, he just went to laughing and shouting and dancing, and then when he got through he said, “It will be all right now,” and he went home.”

There is something about the Spirit of joy if you’ll yield to it, if you yield to it, after you do, everything is going to be alright. Praise God, hallelujah. So listen if you’ve got some problems tonight, you got some challenges, you got some impossible looking situations, tell somebody next to you, “Hold my mule, I got to shout.” Hallelujah. Come on let’s shout on to God. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Glory to God.

I’ll let you be seated after I make this statement, maybe. The Lord impressed upon me today to talk about revival joy. I remember reading a statement by Charles Spurgeon, years ago. I have it in my notes back home and I wrote it down fresh this morning. Charles Spurgeon made this statement. He said, “A genuine revival without joy in the Lord is as possible as spring without flowers or a day dawn without the light.” He was a great, great evangelist in days passed and one of the most highly respected men of old in the ministry. Listening once again what he said, “A genuine revival without joy in the Lord is as impossible as spring without flowers or a day dawn without light.” So if joy doesn’t break out in this place we haven’t had a revival yet. Did you hear what I said? If joy doesn’t break out in this place then we haven’t had a revival yet. Hallelujah. I believe God wants the joy of the Lord to break out in this place, hallelujah, and I’m going to invite you right now if it hits you, interrupt me. If you feel like running run, if you feel like dancing dance, if you feel like shouting shout, if you feel like laughing laugh, I’m just liable to join you. And probably a bunch of others will too. Hallelujah! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!

Hallelujah, Brynn hold my mule. Glory to God.
Well you can be seated if you can. Somebody else needs to hold my mule. What are you waiting on Walter? Hold my mule. Hey! Hey! Praise God.

Hallelujah. So if the Spirit of joy begins to come on you, just lean over and tell somebody, “Hold my mule,” and help yourself. Hallelujah. Amen. Praise God.
I dare you when you go to work tomorrow, if it comes on you then and some of you will experience it, just look over to somebody and tell them in the office, “Hold my mule.” And don’t even telling them what it is about, just tell ‘em you should have been at church, hallelujah. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hey! Hold my mule! Hallelujah! Glory to God. Hey! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah. Glory to God.

Some of you are just sitting there looking at us, and thinking, well if he knew what I was going through, he wouldn’t be as happy. Well let me read something to you from

Habakkuk 3:17, 17Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines, the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat, the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls. (Habakkuk 3:17) Now that what you call a bad day. Nothing is working out for this guy. Not one positive thing is working out for him. You think you’ve got trouble? Go read about his. And then he says. Habakkuk 3:18, 18Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will rejoice in the Lord my God. (Habakkuk 3:18)

Sounds like to me the best thing you do if you’re facing impossible situations right now, and in the natural it looks like you don’t have any reason to be joyful, just break forth into joy. Do it anyway. Break forth into joy. Break forth into joy. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Glory to God, Hallelujah. Glory to God. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Glory to God. Hey! Hey! What are you waiting on? Hey! Hallelujah. Okay.

Walter, hold on, since Tony is not here with me, you know big Tony that travels with me most all the time, he’s not here because he had to be in Los Angeles, because his mother was ill and had to go to the hospital. But Tony is my surrogate runner. When I feel like running I’d say, “Run for me Tony.” So you going to be my Tony. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

Ok, be seated for a moment. But if it comes on you help yourself. Don’t bother being concerned about interfering with me. This is not my first rodeo, as we say in Texas. Hallelujah, glory to God.

Joy unspeakable and full of glory. What does he mean by that? Peter wrote that by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Joy unspeakable and full of glory. Joy that is so indescribable that you don’t have words for it. Most Christians have never experienced that, and some wouldn’t yield to it if it came on them. They’re concerned about making a fool of themselves. Sometimes you just have to make a fool of yourself. Amen.

See Brynn is doing it again, I think he’s going to spend the night on the floor. Hallelujah. I want to read something to you. I wrote this down in my notes. Let me find it. I’ve made a lot of notes today. Now listen to this.

Now you try doing that and try to keep it quiet. I thought I was going to choke myself this morning trying to hold it in. Now listen to this. I don’t know if I’m going to get to preach tonight. Many people react to the manifested presence of God in different ways. Amen. Not everybody reacts the same. Some tremble in His presence, some are moved to weeping and crying, some get stuck to the floor and can’t get up, some break out into praise, some breakout in thanksgiving, some breakout in laughter, some breakout in joy, some experience such joy that new songs begin to come up out of their spirit, songs that have never been heard before, Holy Ghost inspired at the moment. Hallelujah. It is not uncommon for the praise of God’s people to become loud, even shouts. Even shouts. Some even respond by jumping, leaping, spinning. Because they’re experiencing a joy that’s unspeakable and full of glory. And some people fear it. Some people stand around and look at it and think, “We have seen strange things tonight.” And be careful of saying, “Well I’d never do that.”

One night in that Toronto meeting I did for 21 nights we had unusual things happen. No two services were alike. I stayed 21 nights went home for a week, came back 14 nights, went home for a week, and came back another 9 nights, and no two services were alike. And one night before getting to the service in my prayer time the Lord said the Spirit of laughter is going to hit them tonight, and the Spirit of joy and He said some of them be so drunk in the Holy Ghost that they’ll have to be carried to the car. Little did I realize I’d be the first one they carried out. I got so drunk in the Holy Ghost and when I came to, somebody put me in bed, put my pyjamas on and covered me up. It must have been Joe, hallelujah, he was with me. Praise God. Hallelujah. So don’t ever say, “That’ll never happen

to me.” You might be the first one carried out of here. Glory to God. Some of you could use a good dose of joy, a merry heart doeth good like a medicine. It’ll bring healing.

My wife and I, Happy and Jeanie Caldwell, Buddy and Pat Harrison.Of course Buddy’s going on to be with the Lord, but for years we three couples would go on vacation together. Every December, first two weeks of January. Buddy and Happy have been some very dear close friends of mine on all these years. And we were flying over to Honolulu and I tried to help someone with their luggage. I was trying to put it overhead, and I didn’t realize how heavy it was, and I went to pick it up and I don’t know how, I picked it up wrong or something and it hurt my arm, and I couldn’t even lift my arm. Then the thing fell out of the compartment and landed on my shoulder, the same one that was already hurt. When we got to Honolulu I couldn’t lift my arm. It was, it was in such pain, and it was that way all day. And that night we went to eat, and Buddy and Happy and our wives, they laid hands on me, prayed for me. In the natural nothing happened, but I received it by faith.

While we were sitting there having dinner, Buddy went to telling a story about something that happened in a Kenneth Hagin meeting. He was Kenneth Hagin’s son in law. And it was the funniest thing, and we got to laughing. I’m telling you we laughed until I thought they was going to carry us out of there. People looking at us over there you know and I couldn’t stop laughing, Buddy couldn’t stop laughing, Happy couldn’t stop laughing, none of us could. And when we got through laughing I just said guys that was the funniest thing I ever heard, and I realized my arm was healed, my shoulder was healed. Praise God. A merry heart doeth good like a medicine. There are some healings that will never come until you get your joy back.

Hey! You have to watch me because me and Joe we are part Cherokee Indian, and when the joy of the Lord hits me my heritage springs up. I go to dancing and I shouting like a Navajo Indian or a Cherokee Indian. A Cherokee Indian rather. You ought to see me do a war dance. Hallelujah! On the devil. Praise God. But a lot of times it just comes on me and I just have say, “Hey, hay hey hey, hay, hey hey.” Put a chop on the devil. Hallelujah! Some of you are hoping it will come on me. Hallelujah! Well, maybe after you do your Zulu dance. Hallelujah.

I think I feel like running, Walter. Hallelujah.
You are my backup. [Brother Jerry pointing to Pastor John to run as backup]

These are really great notes. I wrote them today.

I think he is going to be that way all night. You know, some folks that need the greatest breakthrough it hits the hardest. Hallelujah!

What is this joy unspeakable and full of glory? It is a joy that fills the heart, fills the soul, and you can’t, you can’t put it aside. You can’t resist it. It is not designed to be resisted, it is designed to be yielded to. Hallelujah! It’s a joy that the world knows nothing about. They know happiness from time to time, but they don’t know Holy Ghost joy. As joy is a fruit of the Spirit. Happiness can be just a thing of the flesh. But joy the Bible says in Galatians, is a fruit of the Spirit, comes from the Holy Ghost. Anybody filled with the Holy Ghost in here? Then don’t ever again say, “I don’t have any joy.” Yes you do, it’s down in there. You just need to quit suppressing it.

Thank you for your enthusiasm.

Hallelujah. If the Holy Ghost is on the inside of you, then joy is there, faith is there, peace is there, all the fruit of the Spirit is abiding in you. It is like I said last night, sometimes you just got to stir it up. Brother Hagin used to do that with us in the camp meetings. We were talking about that on the way over here, and he would talk about you know, the devil wake him up in the middle of the night and say, “You’re not going to get to get this and

you’re not going to have that and that is not going to happen,” and he’d say, “I learned to laugh at the devil.” He said, “When I first started it’d come out like Ha Ha Ha …Ha Ha … Ha Ha Ha …Haha Haha.” And the devil’d say, “What are you doing?” Brother Hagin’d say, “I’m laughing to you. Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!” He said, “It had about as much of anointing as a duck has, but I did it anyway. The Bible said rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice so, Ha Ha Ha. The devil will ask me, “What are you laughing at?” You! “What are you laughing at me for?” You said I wouldn’t get it, Jesus said I would, ha ha ha. Ha Ha Ha.” He said, “After a while it was not making myself do it,” he said, “The Spirit of joy’d come on me and I couldn’t quit doing it.” Hallelujah!

If you’re going through a problem right now that looks impossible… Ha ha ha.
Ha Ha Ha on the devil. I say Ha ha ha on the devil!
Genuine revivals are not for the faint-hearted. Amen! Stiff-necked people, they need it more than anybody.

Romans 15:13, “13 Now may the God of hope,” our God is the God of hope, “fill you with joy,” (Romans 15:13) through the power of the Holy Ghost. Where does joy come from? We are not making it up, it comes from the power of the Holy Ghost. Amen. And God said, His Word says, He’ll fill you up with it, joy. Hallelujah. If you don’t have any joy in your life, maybe you are not as close to God anymore. In fact, perhaps you need to pray the prayer that David prayed, “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation.” Sometimes joy needs to be restored. People had it and they let go of it, they let it lie dormant. But you got joy down in your heart right now that was given birth to by the Holy Ghost, and whether you ever tap into it or not is a different question.

When I was a young boy, probably about ten years old. No I had to be a little older than that, maybe twelve and my sister’s like four years younger than me, so she was about eight years old, and she told my mom and dad she wanted to learn how to play the piano. And you know, my mom and dad didn’t have extra money to spend on a piano that they wasn’t sure that she’d keep it up, you know practice, and they said well let’s just wait and see how serious you are before we, you know, go buy a piano. So, she was taking lessons and then she’d come home but she couldn’t practice because we didn’t have a piano. And she’d say, “Well mama I can’t practice what the teacher taught me, because I don’t have a piano.” And they said, “Are you going to stick with it? We are not going to waste this money on something you are not going to stick with.” She said, “I promise I promise.” So they bought her a used piano you know, one that they could afford. They put it in our living room, and the living room was here, and then my sister’s bedroom was here, then there was a bathroom over here, and then my bedroom, and then my mom and dad’s bedroom. And I’d be in my bedroom and I would hear my sister in there practicing. And on first just kind of sound like two fingers you know, and I would listen to her, and then after she’d come home from lessons I’d listen to her, and when nobody was around I would go in there and I’d do what she did. I guess they call it playing by ear. Okay. And I remembered, I didn’t see her what she did, I didn’t see where she put her finger, I just went in there and put my fingers on it and I could hear what she did and I’d duplicate it. Now, I didn’t want anybody to see me, because where I grew up in the South, boys didn’t play pianos. Now I don’t know what the word is you use over here, but they call you a sissy. Does that sound familiar? If a boy played a piano, same word. And my best friend Kenny, lived across the street, same age as me, and I’d be playing it and I’m looking out the window, make sure Kenny is not anywhere in sight, because if he saw me playing that piano, he’d say, “You sissy!” And we’d fight all the way to his house.

And so, every time mom and dad, Shirley would leave, I would slip in there, make sure Kenny is not, because on our road growing up nobody locked their doors back in those days, you know. The neighbourhood were all like family, you know, everybody was close, everybody knew each other. And so, you know, Kenny’s able to come over at any moment or I’m able go to his house any moment. And if we decided to we would spend the night with each other. Sometimes I would go there about dinner time say, “What ya’ll eatin’? Oh,

can I stay?” And finally you build a relationship, you don’t even manage, just set out and start eating you know.

And so, I’m everyday, whenever everybody leaves, make sure they are all gone. I don’t want my mama see me, don’t want my daddy seeing me, didn’t want Shirley, but most of all Kenny. Because he and I, we played baseball, we boxed, we did boy things. I didn’t want him to see me play that piano. But after a while I thought, maybe I got something in me, maybe I could do this. And then one day, I thought I look good, and Kenny slipped up behind me, saw me playing that piano, “You sissy,” we fought on the floor, we fought out the door, we fought in my yard, we fought in the street and we fought until we got to his house. And I never touched another piano. There was something in me – potential – that remains to this day untapped and if I could find Kenny here I’d whoop him again. Watching Garth up there play all of that and do all that. Why didn’t you live across the street from me? It’s the same way with joy. Every believer has got it. Well I just don’t have joy like that Christian. Yes you do.

There is not three or four kinds of joy there’s one joy from the Holy Ghost.
And you may not be yielding to it, and most time out of embarrassment, and a lot of times because, you know, you want to be sophisticated. Does Brynn looks like he is sophisticated? It is coming on him again, hallelujah.

We don’t want people to think we are holy rollers. Somebody might do that tonight, I don’t know hallelujah. It might do you good. We got a boy back home that worked for me for several years and then he launched out into his own ministry. He traveled with me all over the country. I’m telling you the Spirit of joy would hit him and he would take off and he would run and then he would get across the front and he trip, and he just rolled, then he rolled back this way, then he rolled back this way.

One night one of my nieces came to hear me preach. She had never heard me preach, and she came and she brought her best friend, little high school girls about 14 years old, and we put them on the front row and I went to preaching and Jeff it hit him, and he ran around the building about three laps. That little girl, she was a Baptist, she had never seen anything like that in her life. Her eyes got this big and my niece’s eyes got about that big. And when Jeff come around the corner the last time he landed right under her feet and just laughing beyond control. And after the service I asked my niece and the little friend of hers, I said, “How’d you guys enjoy the service?” They said, “We never seen anything like that. Does that happen everywhere you go?” “Only if Jeff is there.” Amen.

And, you know, we were in a meeting in Arizona one time and it hit Jeff and I don’t know I think were in the First Church or the Frigidaire, I don’t know what the name of that church was. It was the deadest place I have ever been in my life. The Apostle Paul couldn’t have had a revival there. That’s dead! Amen. And all of a sudden the Spirit of joy hit Jeff and then he took off and everybody he touched took off behind him went running, and when it all ended they went to look around see if anybody saw. Oh we saw ‘em alright. But, you know, later I got testimonies of people in that meeting who got set totally free, who had breakthroughs happen in their life, because they yielded to the Spirit of joy. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

Don’t restrain yourself, don’t hold back. Joy is of the Lord. Somebody said like Brother Hagin I thought of something Brother Hagin said today, he said, somebody told him one time, “Brother Hagin aren’t you afraid of some wildfire?” He said, “I can handle wildfire its raising people from the dead that’s hard.” Amen. Well aren’t you concerned Brother Jerry that we might get in the flesh? Well, Joel said His Spirit’s gonna fall on all flesh. It will do your flesh some good to yield to the Holy Ghost.

Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! You bunch of fanatics. Now listen, if you’re concerned that somebody you know saw you come in here tonight, more than likely they saw it, they’ve already

heard about it, so you might as well just go ahead and yield to the Spirit of joy. They already think you’re a nut, give them some proof. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! I’m telling you a dose of joy, you can’t imagine how healthy it is. Praise God! Amen!

I just wrote a little book that just come out about God’s medicine, you know from Proverbs, and I talked about in there, I gave my testimony about how God healed me of that heart condition and the stroke. And talked about scriptures in there about the Spirit of joy and the part that it played in all that. And the doctor said, when I went back for the check-up, and his words were, “Your recovery has been magical, can you explain this?” I said, “Yes sir I can.” And when he got to examine me he said, “Well more than likely that’s the last time I’ll ever see you.” I said, “How is that?” He said, “You don’t need me, your heart is perfect. You’re completely recovered like I’ve never seen before. No symptoms of a stroke.” I said, “Well sir, if you’d like for me to come up here to help you once in a while, I can bring the Spirit of joy. It will do something you can’t do.” Hallelujah. Amen! The Spirit of joy. Glory to God, glory to God. I said glory to God! Hallelujah.

Joy shouldn’t be absent in the life of a believer.

I was asked by a denomination, a major denomination in the US, to come and speak to their pastors in their big annual ministerial meeting. Pastors from all over the country that were affiliated with this denomination, I won’t mention what it was, and they said and the men who was the president of the organization he said, I want you to come. Help yourself young man. He said… Look at them two behind you, it’s contagious! And look at that little girl over there. It’s contagious! Hallelujah. Now when the kids go to yield into it, come on you! Come on you!

And he said, “I want you to come and be the…” I might have to send Brynn to the back. He said, “I want you to come and be the a keynote speaker in our convention this year.” I said, “Okay.” And he said, “Do you mind if I tell you what the subject would be that we want you to speak on?” I said, “Well sir, normally I don’t allow anybody to tell me what I’m going to preach.” I said, “But what have you got in mind?” He said, “I want you to preach about this new phenomenon that’s taking place in the church.” I said, “What?” He said, “Joy.” I said, “You think that’s a new phenomenon?” I think it’s strange when Christians don’t have joy. Amen! It shouldn’t be strange seeing people that love Jesus having joy. Jesus said, “I give you My joy, and that it might remain.” Hallelujah, “and that it might be full.” Look to your neighbour and say, I’m supposed to be full of joy. Say you can’t tell it right now, but I’m supposed to be full of joy. Hallelujah. Glory to God. Well if you are full of joy and Jesus said you’re full of joy, and the Bible said the Holy Ghost one of His a fruit of the Spirit is joy, so that means you got it. If you’ve got it I dare you to let me see some of it. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Glory! Glory! Glory!

Hey! What are you waiting on? Glory, glory, glory!
Come here sweetheart, you got some joy haven’t you? Turn around and let them see what joy looks like. I’m telling you. Come up here sweetheart. Is she your sister? She’s your friend? Show them what joy looks like.
If some of you don’t start yielding to it, I’m gonna send them out to lay hands on you. Amen! Bless you two. Hallelujah. Amen

Nehemiah 8:10, 10…the joy of the LORD is our strength. (Nehemiah 8:10) The joy of the Lord is our strength. So where does strength come from? Joy! That’s the reason some of… That’s the reason some of you hadn’t been able to resist the devil. That’s the reason some of you he is overcoming you. Because the Bible says if you resist him he’ll flee, but if you don’t have any joy, that means you don’t have any strength, if you don’t have any strength you can’t resist, if you can’t resist he won’t flee, if he won’t flee you don’t win. So see how important joy is? Hallelujah! Satan’s after your joy. He comes to steal your joy. And he’s not like Christians, he doesn’t just do it about three hours on Sunday. He’s after it every day of the week, 24/7.

In 1981, I was having my annual board of director meeting, and my directors had come in from all over America. And we had our board meeting. And afterwards we had a dinner together, and then we invited him all to come back to our home and for fellowship, and we didn’t get through till about one o’clock in the morning.

And yes, hallelujah, and we didn’t get through till that funny time of the night, one o’clock in the morning. And I had to leave the next morning or that morning to go preach at Rhema with Brother Hagin and so about 1:30 I crawl in bed and all of a sudden, I heard this, “If satan can’t steal your joy, he can’t keep your goods.” Hallelujah. Hallelujah! Hey! Hey! Hey! Glory! Glory!

And I said out loud, “Lord not now I’m sleepy,” and I tried to close my eyes, and I heard it again. Never heard that phrase in my life before. Never heard anybody preach on it before. And He said it again, “If Satan can’t steal your joy, he can’t keep your goods.” I said, “Lord can this wait? I need some sleep I’m gonna have to get up early in the morning.” He said again, “If satan can’t steal your joy, he can’t keep your goods.” So, I got out of bed, my wife said, “Where are you going?” I said, “To my study.” I said, “The Lord just said something to me.” She said, “Well can’t you study it tomorrow?” I said, “No apparently not,” and I got up. And the Lord gave me that revelation on “If satan can’t steal your joy, he can’t keep your goods”. So, when I flew to Tulsa, that was the first time I preached that message at Rhema, first time I preached it anywhere but I preached it first with Brother Hagin at Rhema, and then we came out with a book on it shortly after that, and that books been reprinted twenty-five thirty times in several different languages and has gone around the world. Amen! In fact, the first time I went to Singapore, my wife and I flew to Singapore and we got there in the wee hours of the morning and we don’t know anybody in Singapore and I don’t know who my driver is and we’re walking down the corridor there and I said, Carolyn said, “Who’s going to pick us up?” I said, “I don’t have a clue.” And these two young men started walking toward us and they both had this silly grin on their face and I told Carolyn, I said, “That might be our ride.” And when they got up to me they were, “Oh! If satan can’t steal your joy, he can’t keep your goods. Hahaha.” I said, “That’s our ride.” The book had already got there before I arrived, praise God. I wrote that book in 198… Well, l wrote it in ‘81, it was published in ‘82 and it’s still one the of the best sellers. Why? Because people need joy! People need joy. A better statement is they need to release the joy that they have. Hallelujah.

And right after I wrote that book it seemed like everywhere I went Brother Copeland wanted me to preach the sermon. I’d get up to speak and he say, “You gonna preach on joy tonight?” I said, “No I’m going to go this way.” He said, “Are you going to preach on joy tonight?” I said, “No, I’m gonna I’m gonna talk…” “Are you going to preach on joy tonight?” I said, “That is exactly what I’m going to preach on.” Who am I to argue with Kenneth Copeland? One time he started preaching on joy. He went about ten minutes into it and he said, “I don’t know what I’m talking about. Get up here, Jerry and finish this. This is your sermon.”

And shortly after the book came out, we were doing a believer’s convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, and I had been somewhere before that convention and I didn’t have time to go home. And so I called the man that I buy suits from. I normally don’t buy suits much in Fort Worth because I travel all over the place. I buy my suits you know in cities that I go to quite often. But I called a man that I bought suits from before in Fort Worth, and I said, “John I’m gonna be in Charlotte North Carolina next week and I need five suits.” Well, he knows what I like, he knows the style and everything and he’s done them before, he’s got my measurements and so I don’t have to go you know measure ‘em again, he keeps the measurements on file. And I said, “And you pick out the shirts to go with them, pick out the ties to go with them and then send them to this address, the hotel I would be in Charlotte.” And so, when I got to Charlotte to my hotel there’s a box waiting in the room there and had all my suits in it. I’m supposed to speak that night. And so I laid out all my

suits, and of course I carry a steamer with me, so I can steam them you know, and make them look nice. And so, I steamed them all and I thought now which one I will wear? You know, decisions… So I picked out the one I was gonna wear, and I put on the slacks. I’m looking in the mirror and they’re this much too short. This is what they look like.

Not only that, but I was taping all of my services to launch my television ministry. I said, “He cut ‘em too short!” So I put that suit up and I went and got another, and it was like that. Every one of ‘em were cut too short. And then all of a sudden, I heard a knock on my door and it was my crusade coordinator. He said, “Brother Jerry, you ready to go? It’s time to go.” And I’m standing there in this suit that’s too short and I’m going to launch my television ministry. And I’m not going to lie to you, I lost my joy. And if I could have reached John I’d have got his joy too, the tailor. I said, “Lord what am I going to do, I don’t have anything else to wear!” He said, “Compensate.” I said, “What?” He said, “Compensate.” I said, “How?” He said, “Pull ‘em down, son.” He said, “Just pull them down to the length you want ‘em.” I said, “Lord, that is going to look funny.” He said, “Not as funny as you look right now.” So I had to pull the waist way down, and now my crotch is way down here, and now I’m walking like this.

Then the Lord said, “Don’t let it get your joy.” And I said, “You’re too late, it’s already gone!”

I was an actor on my own sermon. But I did it, praise God. I walked over there like this… and preached on “Don’t let the devil steal your joy,” hallelujah. And you know what? Before I left that meeting a man came up to me and he said, “Brother Jerry,” and he’d already done this in advance, he didn’t know anything about, he’d already done this in advance. He came from Miami Florida to that meeting. And he said, “Brother Jerry, would you come out to my car? I have something for you.” He had 20 suits in the back of his car, waiting on me. Hallelujah. Hallelujah! 20 suits. And they all fit! Hallelujah! The Bible says, “If you catch a thief make him recompense.” And the Bible even says you can make him pay you back up to seven fold. Seven times. Hallelujah. So that is another good reason to yield to the Spirit of joy and maintain your joy no matter what you are going through, because satan will have to pay you back seven times if you don’t let him steal your joy!

Hey! Hey! I feel like running! Hey! Glory, glory glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Glory!
What are you waiting on? What are you waiting on? What are you waiting on? Come on. Hallelujah! Glory!

Amen! I was in Pasadena California, the same year, and I’m preaching on joy everywhere I went and I preached on joy for three nights. Actually, three services a day for three nights. And the last night, there was this young man that had been coming into all the meetings. And I met him, shook hands with him, and he was buying every tape, I mean he is loading up on the tapes back then it was CD’s, I mean cassettes and he’d buying the cassettes and taking them home with him.

Well we finished the meeting and flew back home and I get a letter from him. It came to the office and they put it on my desk and I read it. He said, “Dear Brother Jerry, I thoroughly enjoyed the meetings this past week in Pasadena.” And he said, “I’ve always wanted a little MG automobile,” and he said, “I finally found one and I like doing bodywork, paint work like you did,” and he said, “and I bought it and I was going to restore it,” and he said, “the only time I drove it over to the meeting in Pasadena was the last night.” And they had a parking garage that was connected to the convention and everything, convention centre, and he said, “And when I went back to the parking garage somebody had stolen my MG.” And he said, “You know, I wanted to cry, you know, but I remembered your sermon on “Don’t let the devil steal your joy, don’t let the devil steal your joy.”” And he said, “I resisted all of the emotions that I was experiencing at that time and I decided to just stay in joy.” And I said, “Well Lord, you know how much that car meant to me, but if you can use it to win that thief to the Lord then I’ll gladly stay in joy over it.” And he said, “A couple of weeks later. I get a phone call, and the person on the other end said, is this so-and-so?” He said, “Yes.” He said, “Well I am the man who stole your MG and he said only reason I knew how to get a hold of you because you had pay for it, the insurance papers

and all that in there, and that is how I got your number.” He said, “And you also had some cassette tapes in there, and he had a tape deck, and I’m thinking maybe they’re rock and roll or something – I put one in and this guy went to preaching on joy, and kept saying if you won’t let the devil steal your joy, he can’t keep your goods.” He said, “Now I don’t know the right word, and I think you Christians call it conviction.” He said, “Well whatever it is it come on me.” And he said, “And I decided to say I’m sorry to God, and that man at the end of the tape told me how to receive Christ and I prayed the prayer and I got born again.” And he said, “And I want to return your car.” And he said, “And here’s where you can find it. The keys will be under the mat.” And he said, “Here’s where you can find it and I’m not going to tell you my name for obvious reasons.” He said, “But you may not recognize your car,” he said, “because I repainted it, it has been totally restored, enjoy it.” So the devil had to pay him back sevenfold.

Hallelujah. Hallelujah! Some of you looking at me like, “I don’t believe that.” I don’t care if you do or not, I got the letter. Hallelujah! Amen.

Joy is a fruit of the Spirit, to resist joy is to resist the Holy Spirit. And you wouldn’t do that in your right mind. You wouldn’t say I’m gonna resist the Holy Ghost today. Why? That almost sound like you to be blasphemy, you wouldn’t say that. But when you resist joy and it’s a fruit of His, of the Spirit, then aren’t you resisting Him? Quench not the Holy Spirit. Hallelujah! Are you still here?

Joel 2:21 says, 21 Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice, for the LORD will do great things! (Joel 2:21) Hallelujah. Who is He going to do it for? The folks that are rejoicing, the folks that have joy, the folks that are glad. Hallelujah. Are there any glad people in here? Are there any happy people in here? Are there any people full of joy? Hallelujah! Hallelujah! How many of you are ready for some great things? Hallelujah. How many of you are ready for some greater things? Then yield to joy. Hallelujah! Glory to God! Amen, Amen.

Buddy Harrison used to say this, “You got to get under the spout when the glory comes out.” Amen. And joy is a vital part of your living in a, living a victorious life. It’s hard to do when you don’t have joy. Or you don’t yield to the joy that God put in you. Can you say amen?

Psalm 16 verse 11, 11 Thou wilt show me the path of life; in Thy presence is fullness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. (Psalm 16:11) Hallelujah! Fullness of joy! I mean how many of you would rather have in your automobile a quarter of a tank or a full tank? Full tank could take you further, Amen! I want a full tank of joy, Hallelujah! And I don’t care what anybody thinks, I lost my reputation before I got saved, and so did you. You concerned about your reputation? You lost it a long time ago. I know you notice this, in Your presence

What are you waiting on girl? okay get yourself up, help yourself.

In thy presence is fullness of joy.
Is anybody yet convinced we are in the presence of God?
Hallelujah!
In His presence is fullness of joy, no wonder revival is for Christians. They’re the ones that need reviving, Amen!

11 …at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. (Psalm 16:11)

There is one great theologian and revival historian made this statement. One thing to bear in mind is that ever since the days of Pentecost there is no record of the sudden and direct work of the Spirit of God upon the souls of men that has not been accompanied by events that are abnormal. Hallelujah.

Look at somebody and say, I’m not normal. you should be normal. The world has normal people, we’re not normal people. The Apostle Paul said, we’re not mere men anymore. Look at somebody and say; did you know you’re sitting behind somebody that is not normal.

Ever since the days of Pentecost there is no record of the sudden and direct work of the Spirit of God upon the souls of men that has not been accompanied by events that are abnormal. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Glory to God!

So if we keep having normal Church then are we really having Church at all? Hey! I’ve been waiting on you all night what are you waiting on? I said what are you waiting on? The bottom line is this. Hallelujah. Lay hands on him John, lay hands on him Joe, lay hands on him Brynn. we want total restoration, in the name of Jesus, Hallelujah! The joy of the Lord is your strength. the Joy are the Lord is your strength. the joy of the Lord is your strength, the joy of the Lord is his strength, I said the joy of the Lord is his strength.

I said, what are you waiting on? Hallelujah. The bottom line is this. Hallelujah, hallelujah. Lay hands on him John, lay hands on him Joe, lay hands on him Brynn. We want total restoration in the name of Jesus. Hallelujah. The joy of the Lord is your strength. The joy of the Lord is your strength. The joy of the Lord is your strength. The joy of the Lord is your strength. The joy of the Lord is his strength. I said the joy of the Lord is his strength. Hallelujah. Glory to God.

Joy unspeakable and full of glory. Psalm 27:6, 6 And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in His tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD. What would be a sacrifice of joy? More than likely when you don’t feel like it. More than likely when in the natural you think you don’t have any reason to have joy. But the psalmist said I will offer the sacrifices of joy in the tabernacle. Hallelujah. I will sing, yea I will sing praises unto the Lord (Psalm 27:6). In other words he is going to praise God anyway. Hallelujah. Some of you have never experienced what praising God anyway produces. Well as soon as God heals me, I will praise Him. As soon as I have my breakthrough, I will praise Him. As soon as I get a better job, get my bills paid, I will praise Him. It didn’t take any faith at all. But how about praising Him while you’re waiting for it to happen? How about offering sacrifices of joy while you’re waiting for it to happen? That’s real Bible faith.

Remember the lepers that was standing afar off? They saw Jesus and they shouted Master, Master, have mercy on us. They had leprosy, they weren’t allowed in that city. Under the Levitical law, if they came into that crowd, in that city, they could have been stoned. So that’s why they were standing afar off. But they saw Jesus, Master have mercy on us. And when He heard them He shouted back and said, go show yourself to the priest. Under Levitical law you can’t go show yourself to the priest until you’ve been cleansed of leprosy. You can go show yourself to the priest after your cleanse, not before. You can be legally stoned, under Levitical law. But He is speaking of things that are not as though they were. And the Bible says He said to them; go show yourself to the priest. And I love this statement. As they went, they were cleansed. Hallelujah. As they went, they were cleansed. Glory to God. All ten of them were cleansed. Not one of them had that disease anymore, but only one out of that crowd came back and fell at Jesus’ feet and worshiped Him and thanked Him for his freedom from that disease. And Jesus said to that one man, all ten of them could have had this, but that one man, He said; your faith has made you whole. That means you not only have this disease anymore you don’t have any signs of it, no effects of it. The other nine they didn’t have the disease anymore but if part of their nose was missing, it was still missing, part of their hand was missing, it was still missing, part of their feet was missing, and it was still missing. They just didn’t have the disease anymore. Look what thanksgiving and praise produce. One man. Hallelujah. So we could possibly say that one out of ten Christians have joy. The other nine, let me say it this way, one out of ten Christians will express joy, the other nine keep it buried. And they’re missing out on miracles. I don’t want to miss out on anything God has for me. I said; I don’t

want to miss out on anything God has for me. And there are some things that will never come to pass in your life until you stir up your joy. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Amen.

Psalm 32:11, don’t quench joy. Don’t quench joy, flow with it. I think I’m going to take you on the road with me. Hallelujah. Psalm 32:11, now listen to this; how come all the kids got joy in here?

I took Jesse Duplantis, well Brother Copeland had asked Jesse and I to go to a meeting with him in London one time years ago and Jesse had not been over there before. Brother Copeland and I’ve done several meetings there. So I said, Jesse, we got there before a couple of days before the meeting started so I said, let me give you a little tour of London. So my wife Carolyn and me and Jesse and Kathy, we went on a little tour. So I took him to an abbey and we walked in that abbey and there are tombs, graves in there, in the walls just like this wall right here, they’ve got graves, people are buried in the walls, they are in tombs. I said, “Jesse you know what that is right there,” I said that’s dead people. He started laughing like you just did. There was a guy that came by, I don’t know what he was carrying some kind of you know, some, quiet in the church, quiet in the church. I said something or Jesse said something, we started laughing we just, the Spirit of joy hit us, this guy walks by, quiet in the church, quiet in the church. I said; Jesse you’ve just been in the deadest church you’ll ever be in, in your life. Not only is there a wall full of dead people but that guy with the thing is dead too. Quiet in the church? You haven’t read your Bible. If you think it’s going to be quiet in heaven that you’re going to be in a little corner where it’s real quiet, everybody going to be leaving you alone. Heaven is the noisiest place you will ever visit. Can you imagine, can you imagine 24/7 from the beginning of time and until the end of time? Can you imagine that you have to hear this, 24/7? Angels flying around you going Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty. They make a left and every time they look into the face of God; Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty. How long you suppose they’ve been doing that? They’re going to be doing that throughout eternity and not one time have you ever heard or read in your Bible that God said, can somebody shut them angles up, enough is enough. Heaven is a noisy place. I said; Heaven is a noisy place. Well, how about the Lord’s Prayer? Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Church ought to be a noisy place. I said; church ought to be a noisy place. Hallelujah. We don’t want to interrupt the preacher, some preachers need interrupting. Not your pastor but you know. I’m quite sure that he’ll welcome an interruption from the Holy Spirit, praise God. If not I need to take him home and teach him something. Hallelujah. Where’s my notebook? Praise God. I’m almost done.

Be glad in the Lord and rejoice; shout for joy (Psalm 32:11).
Psalm 5:11, 11But let all those who put their trust in Thee rejoice; let them ever shout for joy because Thou defendest them. (Psalm 5:11)
Psalm 47:1, 1O clap your hands all ye people, shout unto God with a voice of triumph. (Psalm 47:1)
Isaiah 12:6, Hallelujah. 6Cry out and shout for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee. (Isaiah 12:6) Hallelujah. God inhabits the praises of His people. That means He comes down and He abides in it. Shouting don’t bother God at all, rejoicing doesn’t bother God at all. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Praise God. Glory to God.
Psalm 63:5, 5My mouth shall praise Thee with joyful lips (Psalm 63:5). Hallelujah. Psalm 67:4-5,4O let the nations be glad and sing for joy. 5Let all the people praise Thee. (Psalm 67:4-5) Joy in our hearts should be just as natural as your next breath. Hallelujah. Glory to God.
Philippians 4:4, 4Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice (Philippians 4:4). Having joy, rejoicing as far as God is concerned is not optional. Hallelujah. It is something that He expects of us. He put it in us and He wants it to remain full. Can you say Amen?

Now when you yield to the Spirit of joy, that comes under the title of a time of refreshing. A time of refreshing. How many of you have been refreshed tonight? A time of refreshing. The Amplified says; recovering from the effects of heat and reviving with fresh air. That is

what a time of refreshing is about. Recovering from the effects of heat, what does heat represent? Fiery trails. You get in the presence of God and in His presence is fullness of joy, and you yield to that joy, then it will cause a refreshing to come into your life, and you will recover from the effects of fiery trials, not only that but you will be revived with fresh air. Hallelujah. Glory to God. Amen and Amen. Somebody say Amen.

Listen to this, Psalm 126:1-3, 1When the Lord turned again our captivity, we were like them that dream. 2Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue was singing: then said them among the heathen the Lord hath done great things for them. (Psalm 126:1-3) Even the heathen began to talk about the goodness of God, in God’s people’s lives. They could see the joy, they could see the joy when God turned their captivity. I believe God is turning some captivity in here tonight. Praise God. I believe God is turning some captivity in here tonight. Glory to God. Amen.

He is turning the captivity, bondages are being broken, strongholds are coming down, release and freedom is coming to many of you, turnarounds are taking place, restoration is taking place. Can anyone in here give the Lord a shout? Hallelujah. Glory, Glory, Glory. Hallelujah. Come on, don’t turn it off, go ahead and release some joy. Go ahead and shout unto God with a voice of triumph. Hallelujah, Hallelujah. Amen.

Here’s how you keep it stirred up. Listen to this, Psalm 103:1, 1Bless the Lord O my soul. (Psalm 103:1) Your soul is made up of your mind, your will and your emotions. And that’s the part of you that won’t yield, unless you command it to. Unless you take authority over it.

What is he saying? Mind, will, emotions, you will bless the Lord, you understand me, you will bless the Lord. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Glory to God.

I learned years ago from Brother Copeland, back in 1969, I remember him preaching a sermon about the power of praise. And he said some mornings I have to get up, grab myself by the ear, pull myself in front of a mirror, point my finger in that mirror at myself and say; Kenneth Copeland you’re not going to act like this, you’re not going to be grumpy, you’re not going to be mean, you’re not going to be ugly, you’re not going to be depressed and you just start praising God. You hear me boy, praise God. Try it sometime, you’ll like it. Hallelujah. That’s taking authority over your soul and not your soul taking authority over you. Amen. Hallelujah. Praise God.