When we seek to understand joy, we’ll discover that joy changes our attitude, our affections, and it helps us with the way we act and respond to the circumstances in our lives.

Part of understanding joy is considering its source.  Our joy is based on our relationship with God and it is born in us by the Holy Spirit.  Joy elevates us in the presence of God.  It controls our worship of Him, even when we’re going through difficult times and situations.

We’ve been learning that grace has many benefits.  Today Pastor Ford will share how grace transforms our tears into triumph, our gloom into glory, our weakness into strength, our barrenness into fruitfulness, our worries into worship and our heartaches into hallelujahs!

If you’re committed to God, then you’ll be committed to His word.  If you’re committed to His word, you will walk in His ways.  If you walk in His ways, then you’ll avoid those people who refuse to walk in His ways and obey His word.  Learn more as we begin a new study in Psalm 1.

One benefit of grace is justification.  With justifying grace, Jesus clothed us in His righteousness. So now when God looks at us, He no longer sees our sin, He sees His Son, because we’re covered in the blood of Jesus Christ.

As we look further at the benefits of grace, we’ll see that grace sets us up and provides everything we need for where God is taking us.

Who is grace?  Titus 2:11-13 says, “The grace of God has appeared to all men.”  That’s Jesus.  He’s the grace of God!  And as believers, we receive all the blessings of His benefits.

Even though it often seems that the benefits we’re expecting are delayed, grace is always working on our behalf to give us what we do not deserve.  And God is either getting us ready for what He has for us or He’s getting ready for us the things He has in store for us.

Looking at the benefits of grace from Jeremiah 52, Pastor Ford reminds us that grace gives us God’s best even when we are at our worst.  We need to understand that we wouldn’t have God’s best if He hadn’t given it to us by His grace.

His death on the cross proved Jesus’ humanity, but the resurrection proved His deity.  So His death was His humiliation but His resurrection was His exaltation—confirming what Jesus was communicating when He said, “I am the resurrection and the life.”