The river of God is full of water; Ps 65:9 NKJV

Joy started to bubble up within me as I opened my eyes, and I heard in my spirit, “HE’S HERE!” We lived on a farm east of Stayton, and a near nightly adventure was to walk the grass fields and pray in the Spirit. One circuit was about a mile. As I was finishing the circuit, I heard in my spirit, “If you’ll go around again, I’ll visit you!” So, I did, not knowing what to expect, but expecting something great. I finished the circuit the second time and was a little deflated – no great vision revelation…not even the interpretation of tongues! But the next morning….

You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Ps 16:11 NKJV

RM and I were taking our kids to Timberline Lodge to go snow skiing. It was the boys’ birthday, and everyone was excited. We loaded up the spaceship (our Toyota Previa van looked like a spaceship to my seven-year-old daughter), and headed for the mountain, while all the time I was aware of the joy filled presence of God.  We visited the chalet, we rode the ski lifts, and we even skied down the mountain with all bones, ligaments and muscle staying intact, all day long – the Lord and I, and my family. What a joy filled experience! There were no specific revelations, but the whole experience was a revelation of what Heaven will be like, fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore. A glimpse of what we have to look forward to…

You can’t ‘order up’ a visitation of God, but you can learn to access joy. The river of God flows from the Throne to bless all the world. The leaves of the trees on its banks are for the healing of the nations.

We are continuing our look at joy and the word of knowledge to see how we can bear the fruit of both!

…that ye also may have fellowship (Grk. KOINONIA) with us: and truly our fellowship (Grk. KOINONIA) is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. and these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. 1 John 1:3-4 NKJV

To have fullness of joy, we need to wrap our hearts around the concept of KOINONIA, which could be translated as ‘full sharing.’ The day we live in is breathtaking in its scope of evil – the loss of freedom by government fiat the world over for a supposed ‘good cause,’ and its consequences, is staggering – and we are challenged to be light in the midst of the darkness. The key to our being that light…is joy!

I got taught ‘way back when’ the interpretation principle of ‘first usage’ or ‘first mention’ in the Word. This law teaches that the first usage of a word or concept will contain the basic, foundational understanding of that word or concept all the way through the Word. The first usage of KOINONIA is in Acts 2:42, but there are key usages in the last four places where it is used that we must point to first, as we see how to kill KOINONIA, and kill the fruit of joy in our daily lives.

If we say that we have fellowship (KOINONIA) with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

What is it to walk in darkness? To walk in darkness is to actively and consciously sin. I realize that this is a teaching subject that doesn’t draw great crowds, but is still fundamentally necessary to address because the Word addresses it. Sin, in whatever form it comes, just ruins everything – lives, businesses, families, churches, communities, even nations. The answer always is to confront it, confess it, and forsake it wholly with all of it’s tentacles (interestingly, a guy asked me to pray one time about contention is his household. As I prayed, I saw a picture in my spirit of written pages in a box in his attic. He looked and yes, they were there. As it turns out, they were written by a relative who was a spiritist. When the demonic material was destroyed, the contention ceased). Get forgiven and cleansed from all unrighteousness, and the sun will come out from behind the clouds!

But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship (KOINONIA) with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:7 NKJV

THIS PRINCIPLE OF KOINONIA IS THE KEY TO ANSWERED PRAYER. Why? People doubt God because they doubt their relationship with God. Everyone with half a brain knows there is a Creator God, but where doubt comes in is in my relationship, my KOINONIA, with Him. We know we have perfect standing before Him – Jesus has done His part! – but our logical mind also tells us that we have to do our part, ‘full sharing’ is not a one-way street. When I do my best, whatever that looks like, sometimes even less than my best, I can trust God to do His best, resulting in answered prayer.

The first usage of KOINONIA is in Acts 2.

And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship (KOINONIA), in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.

Someone was teaching the Word, showing how Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies, probably with discussion and occasionally lecture. The house church model of teaching was more of a roundtable rather than a lecture hall style, and it was marvelously effective. The breaking of bread, what my friend Medad calls ‘swallowship,’ was a family meal honoring Jesus’ broken body and shed blood. As opposed to western tradition, it was an actual meal. Some of the greatest times of learning and ‘growing close’ to dear ones has for me come over eating together, i.e. swallowship. Also, it’s a great way for a lost one to join the family. Praying for one another unites everyone in humility and concern. Such an environment fosters miracles, as we shall see.

Now here is where KOINONIA goes to another level.

 Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. Acts 2:42-45 NKJV

The fear of the Lord chases away contemptible emotions like pride, lust and envy, like the appearance of the sheriff’s car slows speeding motorists. The man or woman with the fear of the Lord walks in the room and all the little demons get timid and anxious. Every teacher knows you must have someone’s respect before you can teach them. The fear of the Lord fosters an atmosphere where the power of God can move. The fear ushers in some of the greatest promises in the Word, and lays the foundation of miracles. When this is happening among a group of believers anything is possible!

When it says that they ‘had all things in common’ it goes without saying that there is much in your life that you don’t share with others. But there is a principle in KOINONIA here that says that you haven’t reached a man’s heart until he has opened his billfold to share generously. The principle of tithing was never meant to set a ceiling on giving at 10% but rather to set something more like a floor. People with hearts touched by KOINONIA always seem to go beyond the tithe!

The river of God is a river of joy and revelation. KOINONIA with the Lord and each other brings in joy, answered prayer and changed lives. Rivers that are full of water are some of the most powerful realities on the earth’s surface, and make a splendid example of the power of God. When we pray much in tongues rivers of living waters are released in all directions by the fountain of God within us. When we do our best, whatever that is, and some times even when we don’t, we can trust that God always will, and we will see His hand in favor and blessing. That’s the river of God! Love you!

Remember dear ones, we must be about our Father’s business…