BONDED TO GOD’S JOY We have discussed being bonded to God’s love in our mind and in our heart, and last week I shared about being bonded to his peace in times of adversity. God also bonds us to his joy - not just the joy of having everything going right but getting his joy of overcoming things going wrong. We get God’s own joy that he feels when he sees fear and dread and darkness being overcome in our lives. This is God’s shout of triumph that resonates in our spirit and our soul as we triumph over these things by his grace. This is the point where there is an inner turnaround and new joyful motivation is found to continue conquering and to conquer and reinforcing our motivation to take on new challenges. Knowing God’s love draws us to him, knowing his peace settles us in agreement with him, but knowing God’s joy takes us beyond being drawn to his love and settled in his peace. Knowing God’s joy makes us move forward confidently in his strength as part of his victory over evil in the world. We were not created to cope with these pressures in our own strength, so the only complete answer is the spiritual joy of God. As David said the joy of the Lord is my strength. Zechariah prophesies of the last days in chapter nine about God blowing the trumpet for battle and being seen over his people. In chapter ten Zecharia says And he will make them as His majestic horse in the battle. (Zechariah 10:3).A powerful picture of this majestic battle horse is seen in the book of Job Chapter 39:19. Have you given the horse strength? Have you clothed his neck with thunder? Can you frighten him like a locust? His majestic snorting strikes terror. He paws in the valley, and rejoices in his strength;He gallops into the clash of arms. He mocks at fear and is not frightened; Nor does he turn back from the sword. The quiver rattles against him, The glittering spear and javelin. He devours the distance with fierceness and rage; Nor does he come to a halt because the trumpet has sounded. At the blast of the trumpet he says, ‘Aha!’ and he smells the battle from afar, hearing the thunder of captains and shouting. We see the same picture of the joy and enthusiasm of the end time Church as Jesus begins riding on a white horse, conquering and to conquer in the book of Revelation Chapter 6.The background to that is that after the Messenger who speaks to John in Revelation Chapter 3 has given John the letters to the seven churches in that region, he makes this prophetic statement in the next chapter.Revelation 4:1 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will show you things which must be hereafter.That means that everything that is spoken to John from that point on (90 AD) is prophetic for the future of the world in the purposes of God. In Chapter 5 these future events are revealed as the seven seals that only Jesus is worthy to open and as each seal is opened it continues to come to its fullest expression of worldwide, not just local, end time events until Jesus returns and the New Heavens and new earth come into being. The first four seals are referred to as ‘The four horsemen of the apocalypse’. And these four horsemen speak of present and future worldwide eventsThat first horseman is on a white horse, which speaks of the worldwide Reformation in 1517 of the Church being reformed from dead works into faith and from doing penance into finding repentance at the time of the reformation. Reading on in Revelation…Revelations 6:2 And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.This is seen as a symbol of God’s joyful and enthusiastic strength in the battle of his people over the forces of evil. We see Jeus here wearing the crown of authority as head over his Church and with a bow in his hand. Judah, you are my bow! Ephraim,