Bill Johnson teaches how to make your life a continual feast. Proverbs 15 states that for the merry heart, life is a continual feast. How can you steward a happy heart? The wisdom in Proverbs teaches that the words you speak actually play a significant role in the level of joy you walk in. Learn to surround yourself with good news and guard your words and experience life as a continuous feast as you trust in the Lord and His goodness. This is session 18 of The Pursuit of Wisdom devotional series. Join Bill Johnson for a journey through the book of Proverbs. This weekly study will take you through Proverbs, focussing on a new chapter each session. Learn keys for walking in biblical wisdom so that you would reign in life, leading and serving those around you well. Growing in divine wisdom is key to walking in the fullness of God’s purposes for our lives. Subscribe for the full series. The Pursuit of Wisdom Series (new videos added weekly) 
• The Pursuit of Wisdom Devotional | Bi… Subscribe for weekly videos: https://bit.ly/bjmYoutube Connect with Bill Johnson Ministries: Website: http://bjm.org/ Facebook: https://bit.ly/bjmFacebook Instagram: https://bit.ly/bjmInstagram Mailing List: https://bit.ly/bjmMailingList Additional Resources: https://shop.bethel.com/collections/b… Scripture References: Proverbs 15 Proverbs 18: 21 Bill Johnson is a fifth-generation pastor with a rich heritage in the Holy Spirit. He is senior leader of Bethel Church in Redding, California, and is passionate about seeing Revival and God’s Kingdom established and revealed in the lives of individuals, families, communities, and nations. Bill’s teaching on the Kingdom of Heaven, hosting the Presence, and the renewed mind has helped thousands around the world to step into their true identity in Christ, God given purpose, and walk in a supernatural lifestyle displaying both purity and power. #BillJohnson #BethelChurch #Perspective #Joy #Happy
all of you that would say I just I
really need more joy in my life well
here it is a person has Joy because of
the answer of their mouth you’re
presented with a challenge a question a
problem a difficulty what’s the answer
your answer determines your measure of
Joy I think it’s a big deal for us to
take responsibility for managing our own
soul in that realm that healthy area of
joy you and I were designed for great
[Music]
joy
hello again welcome back uh once again I
really am thrilled that that you’re able
to join us in this quest for wisdom
chapter 15 is where we’re going today so
let’s just get let’s get started verse
four is where we’ll start um today a
wholesome tongue is a tree of life but
perverseness in it breaks the
spirit a wholesome tongue is a tree of
life the tree of life is mentioned three
in three books of the Bible in Genesis
in Proverbs and in Revelation Genesis is
what was Revelation is what will be but
Proverbs reveals what is a present tense
reality and the thing you need to
remember about the tree of life is it
marked it marks whoever touches it with
their Eternal purpose so when it says a
wholesome tongue is a tree of life that
means it is possible through our our
speech I don’t want to say to create the
reality but to agree with the reality
God has created for us that we get to
tap in now to our Eternal purpose we get
to speak life and death is in the power
of the tongue we get to speak life and
death over our children our
grandchildren our friends we are able to
speak even over cities over businesses
things that bring great strength and
great courage and more importantly help
to Define
or help people to realize God’s Eternal
purpose in each of these things and so a
wholesome tongue is a tree of life you
have the ability to speak the words of
God that Mark people with the reason
they were created that’s a pretty
significant task let’s move on to um to
verse uh
13 verse 13 says a merry heart makes a
cheerful countenance but by sorrow of
the heart the spirit is broken now I
want to take verse 15 as well because
we’ll put these two together verse 15 is
all the days of The Afflicted are evil
he who has a merry heart has a continual
feast all right so let’s read these two
together 13 and 15 a merry heart makes a
cheerful countenance but by sorrow of
the heart the spirit is
broken all the days of The Afflicted are
evil but he who is of he who is of a
merry heart has a continual feast all
right here’s here’s the deal if The
Afflicted versus the merry heart or the
sorrow that breaks the spirit is
compared to a cheerful countenance if if
those are just this is your lot in life
you’re just born with a a happy nature
versus an Afflicted nature then that
this would be cruel this this would be a
cruel conf confrontation of the
realities that you and I are stuck with
the only reason it’s brought in here is
because these are
choices it’s actually decisions that we
make and what we think and what we talk
about we actually help to determine the
nature of the prosperity of our own soul
we draw from truth and make that our
confession our prayer Our decrees
sometimes we just need to stop and just
just declare things like God I trust in
you I don’t know what’s going on in this
situation but my trust is in you
sometimes it has to be spoken it can’t
just be a nice happy warm fuzzy thought
it’s got to be a decree and you and I
need to take responsibility for the
moment that God’s put us in and make the
Divine creas why because we are the ones
who decide do we have the cheerful heart
that actually becomes manifest did you
know in scripture the Bible actually
teaches that Nations will turn to God
because of the joy that is in the heart
of the believer it’s actually in the
Psalms that Nations will turn because
they see what God has done for his
people and the joy that’s in their on
their countenance that captures their
attention that’s where we’re at and I
believe that uh uh Joy is expected when
you just won the lottery Joy is expected
when you just got the raise or you just
had a healthy baby child Joy is expected
when you have joy in the middle of
adversity that’s when you capture the
attention of the people around you so
let’s determine we’re going to be tree
of life people people that decree what
God is saying all right let’s move on
quickly
um here’s an interesting one verse 23 I
we we keep getting back to this thing
about our speech but it’s because it’s
all through here and this one stands out
to me strong it says a man has Joy by
the answer of his
mouth is it possible that the joy level
that we live in was determined by our
conversation and our
decrees is it
possible all of you that would say I
just I really need more joy in my life
well here it is a person has Joy because
of the answer of their mouth you’re
presented with a challenge a question a
problem a difficulty what’s the answer
your answer determines your measure of
joy
I think it’s a big deal for us to take
responsibility for managing our own soul
in that realm that healthy area of joy
you and I were designed for Great
Joy amen I’m about ready to preach here
how we doing for T well look at that we
got all kinds of time all right let’s
see let’s move on and um I like verse 28
I was just pondering this uh last night
because it caught me off guard it says
in verse 208 it says the heart of the
righteous studies how to answer and and
it was the word studies that caught me
off guard so I looked it up and it’s the
same word that’s used in various places
in the Old Testament for the word
meditate it means to murmur or to mutter
and so biblical meditation if you’ve
been to the Wailing Wall or you’ve seen
pictures of of the Jews who stand at the
wall and they’re they’re bouncing back
and forward that’s actually a physical
it’s almost like a physical Act of
meditation where they they are reciting
and repeating and uttering muttering
certain statements and
phrases the righteous do that in their
heart of hearts on how to answer on what
to say on how to phrase things I want to
make sure that I communicate well I want
to make sure that I communicate
accurately and the righteous do that
right there they rehearse what to say
now let’s go to the last
verse all right um it’s verse 30 the
light of the eyes rejoices the heart and
a good report make the bones healthy
there’s another one I don’t know you
just can’t get too much good news that
it actually affects our health it
actually affects our health their bones
become healthy we have to take this as
the word of the Lord and sometimes you
just have to go out of your way
sometimes things are so challenging
we’ve got uh things that we’re facing in
our home right now healthwise that are
quite serious quite significant and so
we go out of our way to find the good
news the report of the Lord why because
a good report makes the bones
healthy I pray that for you again this
issue of divine Health this issue of
good news bringing life to every part of
our being I pray that it would be
multiplied to you over and over and over
again yep amen amen bless
you