Jackie Rodda led the praise this week, reminding us not to take for granted our freedom as Christians in this country, to unrestricted access to Bibles and meeting together to worship God. This being in stark contrast to the plight of some persecuted Christians who suffer greatly for their faith, are forbidden to pray together, cannot buy Bibles, but yet refuse to deny the commitment to Jesus Christ. Pastor Ed Evans then spoke passionately, explaining that the kingdom of God is about Righteousness, Peace and Joy in the Holy Spirit. It is not about external things such as what we should or should not eat or drink or even wear. He focused this week on the Joy we experience by being in the Kingdom of God. We should not expend our energy by focusing on issues such as the structure of our meetings, the seating arrangements etc. where diverse views are held, but look to the interior life of the spirit. God's joy does not describe a happy moment or euphoric emotion, but it is a gift which is given for a reason. Isaiah 12 v 3 says: "Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation." When we are 'reborn' by the Holy Spirit (by receiving Jesus into our hearts as our personal Lord and Saviour), joy becomes one of the fruits of our spirits. Galatians 5 v 16 tells us to walk in the Spirit and we will not gratify the desires of our old sinful nature. At our conversion, we are given all the constituent elements we need to live anew in the Spirit. In John 15, Jesus tells us to abide in Him and His love so that His joy may remain in us and that our joy may be complete. In Philippians 4 v 4, Paul writes: "Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!" It is God's desire to allow the joy inside us to well up and be poured out to others. Isaiah 61 v 3 declares that the Spirit of the Lord will bring comfort, giving the oil of joy for mourning and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. Some religious people who adhere strictly to rules and regulations, experience no joy and hence acre unable to allow a reservoir of joy to flow out. Joy is infectious and has physical benefits as confirmed in Proverbs 17 v 22 which states that a cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. Joy helps us to navigate and sustain us through lives challenges enabling us to stand in times of trial and know that we will overcome. In the last verse of the book of Jude, we are told that through Jesus Christ we are able to be presented before the glorious presence of God without fault and with great joy. Our lives are no longer evaluated or defined by our performance, for as true believers filled with the Holy Spirit, belonging to God, we are able to enter the Holy of Holies. This was accomplished by Jesus shedding His blood for us and being raised from the dead an d who now stands as our advocate before the Father in heaven. We express our Joy by praising God. Many of the Psalms are filled with praises to the Lord and in Psalm 8 v 1 and 2, the writer David tells us there is strength in praise which silences the foe i.e. the spiritual forces pif wickedness. Praise can change the atmosphere with the presence and glory of God. In 2 Chronicles 20, Jehoshaphat faced a vast army coming against him, but the Lord told him not to be afraid because the battle was not his, but God's. Jehoshaphat then appointed men to sing praises to the Lord. In consequence, there was confusion and the enemy turned on themselves and destroyed one another. We can behave similarly by faith, keeping our eyes on God, knowing that the Lord is on our side and the victory has already been won for us by Jesus. We ended with communion, asking God to touch our hearts whilst bringing our needs to Him. Emmanuel Gospel Church, Manorbier, meets every Sunday at 10.30 am. Bible study is on Monday evenings at 7.30 pm. For more information or a pastoral visit, please 'phone (01834) 871975. Recordings of our meetings are available on CD or by visiting our website http://www.emmanuelgospelministries.org">www.emmanuelgospelministries.org.