Living in joy is our divine right, despite circumstances. Supernatural joy enables us to endure persecution for our faith and live victorious in the day to day. Joy and peace were gifts the disciples would share with those they encountered. Both peace and joy are supernatural deposits within out heart, which can be drawn upon in times of testing. Join Carl now, for the second part of this series on joy…
Here is a complete transcript of the podcast…(below)
Friend, this is the second part of our message, Living in Supernatural Joy, and right now there are nearly one in ten Americans on some kind of antidepressant. You know, drugs are needed in some cases, but many times they are due to unresolved soul issues. You feel a physical manifestation in your body of something that is in your soul that has never been resolved. The number of people on these antidepressants is increasing by 400% from 98 to 2008, and shows no sign of abating. Friend, this is a crisis that we need to keep an eye on, but we can choose to change our thought life and our subsequent emotions, and relieve our soul, relieve the logjam of the soul, and to feel the presence and joy of the Lord as we change our focus and shift it upon Him away from the circumstances of life. Joy is a supernatural byproduct of God’s indwelling presence, and joy is tied to our spiritual, mental, and emotional strength. It’s a very important topic, not one to be laughed at, amen? Join me now for part two of our message. Men have a tendency to be more angry, women tend to gravitate towards being depressed, is a general observation from the statistics that I read. Men have anger issues, ladies are upset about stuff, they can gravitate towards worry and anxiety. We are responsible for our emotional response to what happens to us.
Yes, there are people who have been sexually abused, there are people who’ve had terrible things happen to them, okay? They need unique ministry, they need unique counseling, they need a sit-down, a one-on-one, lots of prayer, getting stuff out of their soul. We’re not downplaying any of those things, we’re just talking about the generalized issues of sin, and worry, and doubt, and all these things, all right? We are responsible, however, I’ve got to park the bus there, we’re responsible for our emotional response. You could have had a really bad day, and we certainly go through grieving if something very traumatic has happened, but as you process that, don’t allow the remnants of those things to stay with you, release them, okay? It’s important to release from the soul, from the soul, not your spirit man. Remember, we’re tripartite beings, which is a smart word for saying we’re comprised of three parts, spirit, soul, and body. When you’re born again, your spirit man is instantaneously changed from death into life. Then the process of sanctification begins in the soul, right? The condition of your soul can impact your physical body.
You could have a reoccurring stress issue, it could be a bitterness issue, it could be a resentment issue in your soul that is actually projecting physically. So, joy is from God, amen? 1st Thessalonians 1:6, “and you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction with the joy of the Holy Ghost, amen?” So, it’s the joy of the Holy Ghost, it’s not in and of ourselves, right? How many are saved in this room? Three people, amen. No, I’m kidding. I got a busy net, didn’t I? But I’m kidding. So, you just release some of those endorphins right now, just laugh and release those endorphins, amen? We’re going to talk about endorphins in a minute. The joy of the Holy Ghost, it’s not of you, friend. As you focus on God, as you focus in praise, as you focus in worship, as you focus on His word, I mean, five minutes of worship, and we’re like, man, I really feel the presence of God here. How about doing that at home by yourself for 30 minutes? You’re going to feel the presence of God increase. That’s an absolute fact, okay? I’ve had awesome times in worship, amen? Awesome. At home, okay? And just, Father, we thank you right now for your presence. It’s as easy as that. It’s as easy as shifting your focus, okay? As soon as you do that, you’re sowing to the Spirit.
You’re not sowing to the flesh. And you will reap of that same Spirit. The Greek word for joy is kara, which stems from the same Greek word for grace. Check it out. This tells us that the kara, or joy, is produced by the grace of God. It’s an equipping grace. So when you say, Lord, I thank you for today. I thank you that you’re helping me and getting through everything I need to do. You’re relying on that grace. And then that joy is going to come, amen? It’s a decision. It’s a decision. And because it’s in and of God and nothing to do with circumstances, you can access that joy no matter what you’re going through. Remember in the praise sermon a few weeks back, we talked about chapter 16 with Silas and Paul, and they were locked in fetters and chains, right? They were bleeding and bloodied. What did they do? They started praising God. That is a courageous thing to do, friend. Because they’re saying, you know what? It’s awful in here. We’re going to focus on the Lord.
And what happened? They were freed, right? That’s symbolic of our soul as well. We’re not in chains physically. Maybe some of us are. But the more we worship, the more freedom we’re going to feel, amen? The more we praise God and make it a decision daily, the more we’re going to feel His presence. Ooh, that’s powerful, guys. Joy isn’t human-based happiness that comes and go. Rather, joy is of divine origin. It’s a fruit of the Holy Spirit as well, right? It’s mentioned in Galatians. Joy is a fruit as well. So that means it’s independent of what happens today. Today I was happy. Manchester United are the Europa League champions of Europe. I had to get it in there. 2-0 against Ajax. I was really happy about that, okay? But that’s not joy, friend. Because that’s based on circumstances. That’s based on stuff that’s going on around us. Joy is tied to the Lord. There’s a difference. Happiness depends on whether the dress fits. Happiness depends on whether you lost those few pounds or not. Happiness depends on all these other things, okay? That’s temporary.
It’s fleeting. It goes away. And it’s also dependent on circumstances lining up synchronistically until, wow, that was really good. It all lined up. I’m happy. No, you don’t want to be a victim like that. You don’t want to be a victim of happiness. You want to be a bestower of joy. You want to bring joy to the party, amen? You want to bring it with you. Man, that person’s got a different attitude. They’re always in good spirits. What’s different about them? Wow, what a powerful ministry, amen? That’s a fruit. You’re showing fruit of joy to your friends. That guy, he goes through some stuff, but he’s always got a good attitude. That’s a real sign to your unbelieving friends that there’s a Jesus living on the inside of you, amen? So joy is a Spirit-given expression that flourishes even when we are strenuous, even when times are tough and daunting, okay? When the going gets tough, God gets going with His grace.
There’s more grace for the situation. Father, this is tough for me right now. I’m relying on you. It’s hard for Clint Eastwood to say that, maybe, because he’s the man, right? I’m the man. I don’t need anybody. Listen, friend, if you’re in Christ Jesus, that’s the bad attitude. That’s the wrong attitude. We ought to be leaning on God because He’s got so much grace to give us, amen? But sometimes our pride gets in the way. I can handle this by myself. Bad decision. You don’t need to handle anything by yourself. Why are you even thinking like that? How many of you got situations right now that are difficult in your life, in this room? Yeah, several. How many know that it’s not going to help the more you meditate on those issues, the more you think about the debt, the more you think about symptoms in your physical body, the more you start thinking and meditating on those things? That’s not helping any at all, is it? So our focus needs to be shifted on the Lord, and as we do that, by the words we speak, then greater grace is going to come for your situation, friend. I don’t know what your situation is, but I believe God can get you through that situation and turn it around as well. It’s not about just enduring it. It’s about believing God to change it, right? Do you trust this lady? I do. She looks like a nice lady. Dr. Aiko Horman, a former NASA scientist and spirit-filled Christian who hails from Japan, has done much research into the mind and how it can impact our emotional state.
Check this out. She says the human brain is capable of processing a thousand impressions a second. Only 18% of them are from external stimuli through the senses. The other 82% are internally generated through our self-talk, inner speech, and hearing. And what we’re imagining daily, whoa, that is powerful. If this is correct, that means that you can either live in hell or heaven, and it depends on what thoughts you think and what words you use. Because she’s saying 80% of your experience is internally generated, not external. It’s how you respond to what is happening around you, right? That means that some people could be having a really bad time, but they are focusing on that 82%, and they’re saying, Lord, I know that you’re taking care of this situation in Jesus’ name. When you do so, your alignment shifts from what is going on around you to his word, to him helping you, et cetera, et cetera. Amen? Here’s the deal.
The secret place to the most high, right? Psalm 91. That’s where we need to get to. We need to have days where you could do this at lunch, at work. Close the door, sit down, be quiet, start praising God, and get into the secret place of the most high. That is something that people are missing. They’re not waiting on the Lord, right? They that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength, right? If we don’t take time to spend time with him, we’re going to lose out on the benefits of him living inside of us, right? The Eastern meditation people will stare at the wall, and they’ll sit on a Swiss ball, and they’ll chant over and over again, and um, and all this stuff to try and empty the mind. And there is a peace that comes with that. But meditation, according to God’s word, is filling the mind with things that appear, things that are holy, things that are true, things that are a good report, right? You need to develop the secret place of the most high in your own office, in your own home, wherever you are.
Because as you do so, you will calm your mind, and you will feel better because the hormones will kick in. Those endorphins, those feel-good hormones, okay? We’re going to talk about that in a moment. Heaven or hell is on the inside of each of us. We have a part to play in the outcome. She says, therefore, these emotional events tend to make deep impressions on the memories for good or evil. There are people in this room who’ve seen war, who’ve seen combat, okay? They’ve experienced terrible things. Jesus has healed them of those things. But when they’re experienced, they’re lodged in the memory, in the amygdala, okay? In the reticular formation and different parts of the brain, which store memories, then they are replayed back over and over again when they’re sleeping, right? They’re getting tormented by their memories. Some people need special prayer for that, right? God can do it, friend. God can break those images. How many believe that? Yeah, he can do that. What I’m saying is some of these images and some of these memories, it’s almost like you’re experiencing a second time because it’s so real to you, because 82% of what you’re experiencing is internally generated. The good news of that statistic means that you can change the inside of you like that, right? You make a decision to change. I’m going to think on good things. Meditate on the word. Find my secret place of the most high. You can change the way you’re feeling by focusing on the Lord, right? That’s the good side to that stat. So how do we feel joy? We shift our focus.
Isaiah 26:3, such a powerful verse. Write it down. So powerful, “You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you.” We could park the bus right there. End of sermon. That’s it. We’re done. We’re done, Cheryl. You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you. That means that if your mind is on the Lord, no matter what is occurring around you, some people have real difficulties in this room. In fact, there’s some people who are thinking, we’re never going to get through this. You’re going to get through it, friend, because you’re going to focus your mind on him and you’re going to think of those fluffy places and clouds and mountains. And the squirrels are jumping from tree to tree. Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, good report, virtue, praise.
Think on these things. In fact, Paul’s actually instructing you what to think of, right? Well, what is true? What is just? What is honest? The word is. Think on these things. Think on the Lord. You can see Jesus in your mind’s eye. I’ve done that. I don’t think that’s controversial. He’s given me images before of himself taking care of my situation, sitting on a park bench saying everything is going to be okay. Okay. Your imagination can be used for good or evil, can’t it? Friend, join me for part three tomorrow. Until tomorrow. Good night. God bless and remember to spread the good news.
Title: Living in Supernatural Joy: Part 2 (LIVE)
https://carljosephministries.com/podcast/living-in-supernatural-joy-part-1-live/
https://inspiration.org/spiritual-life/the-secret-to-supernatural-joy-in-your-life
Related keyword searches:
Isaiah 26:3
Perfect peace
How is perfect peace obtained
Kara
Greek for joy
Charis
Philippians 4:8
External stimuli
Internal stiumuli
Emotions driven by external or internal
Six Frequently asked questions:
1. What is supernatural joy, and how is it different from happiness?
Supernatural joy is a divine gift from God that originates from God’s presence within us. Unlike happiness, which is temporary and dependent on circumstances, supernatural joy is constant and flows from our relationship with Christ. It’s a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) and remains even in times of hardship.
2. How can I access joy when I’m feeling overwhelmed or depressed?
Accessing joy begins with shifting your focus from your circumstances to God’s truth. Worship, prayer, meditating on Scripture (like Isaiah 26:3 and Philippians 4:8), and speaking words of faith help align your soul with the Spirit. Joy comes when we “sow to the Spirit” and dwell in the secret place of the Most High (Psalm 91).
3. What does it mean that joy is tied to grace?
The Greek word for joy, kara, is rooted in the word charis, which means grace. This connection shows that joy is not something we manufacture—it is produced by God’s empowering presence in our lives. As we rely on His grace daily, joy begins to flow naturally, equipping us to face challenges with strength.
4. Can emotional or traumatic experiences affect my physical and spiritual health?
Yes, unresolved issues in the soul—such as bitterness, resentment, or trauma—can manifest in physical symptoms and hinder spiritual growth. While unique counseling and prayer are often needed for deep wounds, believers are encouraged to take responsibility for their emotional responses and seek healing in God’s presence.
5. What role does the mind play in experiencing joy?
According to studies referenced in the message, up to 82% of our emotional experience is internally generated through our thoughts, self-talk, and imagination. This means that much of our inner turmoil or peace stems from where we place our mental focus. Keeping our minds stayed on God (Isaiah 26:3) is key to maintaining supernatural joy.
6. How do I cultivate a lifestyle of joy in everyday life?
Start by making joy a daily decision. Practice worship regularly—even in private settings—speak words of life over your day, and meditate on God’s promises. Establish your own “secret place” with God where you can refresh your spirit. As joy becomes your lifestyle, it not only strengthens you but also becomes a witness to others.
Carl is an authority. He is a biblical scholar, minister, author, husband, father, and life coach. In his mid-twenties he had a powerful encounter with God and saw miraculous healings as a result. Carl is a unique researcher who investigates current affairs, societal trends, prophecy, technology, cults, and end time events, all through a biblical lens.
Carl holds a Doctorate in Theology (Th D). His Alma Mata includes: Salford University, Manchester, UK, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London, UK, Rhema Bible Training College (Tulsa), and Southwestern Christian University (Oklahoma City).
Carl Joseph Ministries empowers believers in Christ to fulfill their God given potential. Join Carl every other Monday on the Lions Unchained Podcast, available on Spotify, iTunes and other mainstream platforms.
He currently resides in Colorado, with his lovely wife Amy, and their three children.
