Learning to Agalliao: How to Jump for Joy in Every Single Thing That Happens in Your Life, by Making Just One Relationship Better.

By David Ross Sherman

Learning to Agalliao describes a passionate relationship with God that spills over into every other area of someones life. Agalliao is a Greek word that means to jump for joy. In Learning to Agalliao, you will discover that even in times of trial and pain you may find the joy that comes only through an abiding relationship with Jesus. God is filled with joy and desires joy for each of His children.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Apr 28, 2015
• ISBN: 9781490877082

Book preview

Copyright © 2015 David Ross Sherman.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission. NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® and NIV® are registered trademarks of Biblica, Inc. Use of either trademark for the offering of goods or services requires the prior written consent of Biblica US, Inc.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

1 [phone]

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-4908-7707-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-7709-9 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-7708-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015906007

WestBow Press rev. date: 04/22/2015

Contents

Preface

Occurrences Of Agalliao In The New Testament

Section One Relationships

Chapter One What’s In A Relationship?

Chapter Two Your First Love

Chapter Three Choices And Revelations

Chapter Four Playing Your Instrument

Chapter 5 Diligence And DNA

Chapter Six A New Creation

Section Two The Kingdom Of God

Chapter Seven Living Water

Chapter Eight You Gotta Have Heart

Chapter Nine How’s Your Hearing?

Chapter Ten Seeing His Influence

Chapter Eleven Love And Death

Chapter Twelve Suffering In The Kingdom

Section Three The Transformed Heart

Chapter Thirteen The Vision

Chapter Fourteen Intent And Action

Chapter Fifteen Thinking About It!

Chapter Sixteen Feeling Good

Chapter Seventeen Where There’s A Will

Chapter Eighteen A Social Butterfly

Chapter Nineteen The Nourished Soul

For Greg,

who, by his life, taught me the importance of a relationship with Jesus Christ

Preface

Sometimes in life we come across something that amazes us to the degree that we become so intrigued by it we, are driven to discover all we can to find the deeper meaning. For me, the word agalliao is one of those things. As a pastor researching a Sunday message I was studying Matthew 5 (Sermon on the mount) when I came across the passage where Jesus was speaking in Matthew 5:11-12 and spoke these words:

"Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

The Greek word interpreted exceedingly glad is the word agalliao. This is the Strong’s concordance Greek dictionary definition of that word:

NT:21 agalliao (ag-al-lee-ah’-o); from agan (much) and NT:242; properly, to jump for joy, i.e. exult: be (exceeding) glad; with exceeding joy; rejoice greatly

This Greek word shows up eleven times in the New Testament. It intrigued me to look at the various uses by various people within the word of God. I have included all eleven scriptures here to show you the different uses of this wonderfully descriptive word. Aside from Jesus using it to describe how we should jump for joy at being persecuted we see the wonderful picture painted by the actions of the Philippian jailer (my personal favorite) when he took Paul and Silas home to meet his family. (Acts 16:34) This is so descriptive of how we should be found when we first discover the Lord has taken up residence in our hearts. When Peter spoke of David in his famous sermon on Pentecost to a large crowd, (Acts 2:26) he said that David wrote that his tongue jumped for joy. (to be fair this may have been referring to his language, but the word used is glossa and literally means tongue. And it should be no surprise to anyone that we will all be jumping for joy at the marriage supper of the Lamb. (Rev. 19:7)

Our God is a God of great joy and we who are called by His wonderful name should understand that the enthusiasm for that call should show up in our lives, no matter who we are, our station in life, the trials we presently endure or the temptations and difficulties we face. For greater is He Who is in you than he who is in the world. And the good news is that yes, He has overcome the world.

This book is a manual of relationships. An attempt to assist you in developing a deeper, closer understanding of your relationship with God and to help you mature in that relationship, thereby making every relationship you have better, no matter with whom that relationship may exist. It is my sincere hope, as well as God’s, that would be the case for all of humanity. Sadly, we live in a world that is dark and full of sin and rebellion towards God. Even some who claim His name (Christian) deny His Godness. I understand why. It is simply because He is beyond our understanding, except for that which He chooses to reveal. I don’t think that is because He doesn’t want us to understand Him, but because that is the only way we could possibly have a relationship with Him. We are just unable to comprehend such a being in His fullness. We are finite, He is not. We are limited to our humanness and He is unlimited in everything. But He has shown us the part of Himself we need to know in order that we may form an eternal relationship with Him. And if we do that much, we will have an eternity to know more of Him. Will we ever know all there is of God? I really could not tell you that, but since we are created beings and He is the creator, I doubt it. Even in our spirit state, even while embracing eternity we are able to know only what He chooses to reveal to us. That is why faith plays such an important role in our relationship with Him. Some have created the God they want to have, but that is indeed, a very dangerous thing to do. It is like getting on an airplane that a plumber designed. It will probably have a great bathroom but it more than likely won’t fly very far (if it gets off the ground at all). God is God, you know, I am.

The whole point of this book is to help you understand that a relationship with a being Who is like no other being will be a relationship like no other relationship. He will not drive you home from a party after you have had too much to drink. He will never be the best man at your wedding (or your bridesmaid either). He is God, and you’re not. You can either choose to deal with that or not. When He came to earth in human form (Jesus) He showed us both how much we can be and how we should be. He chose a particular time in our history to do that for a reason. Personally, I think it was because there were no cell phones or automobiles then. Can you imagine Jesus at the sermon on the mount and He is interrupted by His cell phone ringing? Sorry, I really have to take this. It would certainly put a damper on the message. And He was in no hurry to be anywhere, yet He always arrived on time.

As we progress in our relationship with God, we will come to understand that there is no other relationship like the one we are able to have with Him. Personally I am a person filled with exceeding joy. My cup runneth over. And that is only due to the fact that I have learned to see God in everything. Everything! It makes me jump for joy like a little child when I think such a wondrous being has made Himself available to everyone who desires to have a relationship with Him. If that does not affect you in some way, check your pulse. But if it does, even if it makes you angry, then there is still hope, for you can come anytime and join in the joyous celebration that is happening and is yet to happen. I say that because if you’re angry enough at God to deny Him, you may be angry enough to attempt to prove Him non-existent and irrelevant. That is exactly how I came to discover Him in 1982. Go ahead, try to disprove Him. It cannot be done because He is visible in all things. You merely have to be looking. Jesus said to seek and you will find. That does not mean scanning the television to see what you may find.

A state of exceeding joy has nothing to do with the moment. In this life there are many trials and difficulties and times of great sadness. I have experienced many of those times myself and because I work so often in the disaster arena, I have watched many others suffer great and tremendous loss. To be jumping around in a state of happiness during those times is not joy, it is failure to deal with reality. (It might even be termed insanity) Joy, and especially the agalliao kind of joy, exceeding joy, is a place, not of unending happiness, it is a place of unending hope. Even in front of the firing squad or looking down at your executioners while on a cross. Paul and Silas had that kind of joy while in chains in a prison and it caused them to be freed and share with their jailer that joy, which then caused that jailer to capture that kind of joy as well. He and his entire family soon shared that same joy. Every single Christian, should own that kind of joy, but sadly, many do not. Every single person on the face of the earth has the ability to own that kind of joy. This book is for them.

Occurrences of agalliao in the New Testament

(the words in bold lettering are the words that are interpreted from agalliao) All scripture references in this book are from the New King James Version of the bible, unless otherwise noted.

Matt 5:11-12

"Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Luke 1:46-49

And Mary said: "My soul magnifies the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name.

Luke 10:21-22

In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight. All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.

John 5:31-36

"If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true. There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true. You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. Yet I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved. He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light. But I have a greater witness than John’s; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish — the very works that I do — bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me.

John 8:54-58

Jesus answered, "If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing. It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God. Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I say, ‘I do not know Him,’ I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad. Then the Jews said to Him, You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham? Jesus said to them, Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."

Acts 2:25-26

For David says concerning Him: ‘I foresaw the Lord always before my face, For He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken. Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad; Moreover my flesh also will rest in hope.

Acts 16:31-34

So they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household. Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.

1 Peter 1:3-9 (twice in these verses)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith — the salvation of your souls.

1 Peter 4:12-13

Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.

Rev 19:5-7

Then a voice came from the throne, saying, Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great! And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, "Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready."

SECTION ONE

Relationships

CHAPTER ONE

What’s in a relationship?

We will all one day realize we are spiritual beings having a physical experience, not physical beings having a spiritual experience.

Chapter excerpt

To begin our trek to a deeper relationship with God, and discover the total joy found within that relationship we must first understand relationships in general. To understand why and how we should trust in the Lord, not only in our relationship with Him, but also how He can be found within all our other relationships, we must first understand why we need relationships at all. If we