Two of the major driving themes in your ministry, Pastor John, are of course God's sovereignty

and the centrality of joy in God and in the last podcast that was broadcast on Friday,

episode 207.

We talked about the joy of Calvinism and God's joy as the foundation of our own joy.

You have a second half explanation here of how Christian hedonism and Calvinism connect,

explain that for us now.

Tony, last time, when you posed this question to me about sovereignty of God and joy,

I said that God's joy in the fellowship of the Trinity is the foundation of his sovereignty

and the overflow of his sovereignty as God creates the world to share in the joy that he has in him.

So now the question becomes more specifically in this world.

There is so much sorrow.

We are disappointed again and again.

We're discouraged, we suffer, we fail, we're assaulted, we get sick, we die day after day.

It seems to me, I mean, I feel that the world is attacking our joy in God, our families joy,

in God, our churches joy, in God, our nations joy.

We're constantly being assailed by things that threaten our joy.

And the question is how does God's sovereignty work to help us fight for joy in God

because joy in God is the reason we're made and it's what glorifies God.

And the answer comes in Romans 828 and 832 in Genesis 50, verse 20.

When I read Rejoice Always in 1 Thessalonians 5, 16, I say to God, oh God,

do you mean always, really?

And I think his answer is yes, but not a superficial smiley face, praise God anyhow,

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