~~ Laughter and Dancing ~~

Is laughing of God? Does God’s Spirit ever cause his children to laugh for joy? Why do so many people think this blessing is not of God? I wonder, do they ever read the Word of God? Why are so many people so ignorant as to the working of the Holy Ghost in the lives of God’s children and of the Word of God?

I recently was walking on a road near my home. A man stopped to talk with me. We almost immediately went into discussing the things of God. The man, upon learning that I am of the ‘holiness�?faith, asked me if I think God causes people to laugh. Also we have had this question in our group a good while back. The man spoke of some group of people he had heard of recently, who just laugh and laugh in church. He seemed to scorn this and think it is wrong. So he asked me what I think of this.

I feel the need to teach on this today. I hate seeing so many religious people who really hate the true blessing of God. All they seem to think of as a blessing from God is MONEY. …supposing that gain is godliness!

Wrong they are. I told the man yes. God has many times caused me to laugh in the Spirit. It is most wonderful indeed. He seemed to think I am a nut. Why? He was of the Baptist belief, which I was also raised in. They have no knowledge of the Holy Ghost at all. They seem to believe that God is dead, deaf and dumb. He is so far away from us all, that we could never actually hear him speak to us. Yet the Word of God is full of God speaking to his people. Why not us today? Why would God speak in times past and be silent to us? Again, it is total ignorance of God. I truly do not believe a person could have the true Holy Ghost in their lives and not believe in these blessings of God.

So when I hear people scorning these blessings which the Holy Ghost gives to us, I know that person has never been filled with the Holy Ghost. I do not care if they call themselves Apostolic, Holiness, Catholic, Baptist or anything else. If they do not know that God’s Spirit causes us to rejoice in many ways, they have never experienced the true Baptism of the Holy Ghost.

A word of testimony here and then I will give solid PROOF from the KJV that God does indeed bless his people with LAUGHING. A few years ago my daughters and I were in a motel room. My brother-in-law had died and we went to their town for the funeral. We were spending the night in a motel. We had a prayer meeting in that room. As I was praying, I heard Wanna begin to make sounds as if she were crying. I thought something was wrong with her, so I opened my eyes to see. She was standing at the front door, just laughing and laughing in the Spirit. It was a marvelous time, with only my daughters and myself. No one could blame that on trying to make an impression of folks. It was the true blessings of God.

Many times I have laughed and laughed in the Spirit, both at Church and at home alone. So now, is it Scriptural? Let’s just see:

Lu 6:21 Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.

Jesus said here it is a BLESSING. Does God make one to laugh: Ge 21:6 And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me.

Sarah said, God has made me to LAUGH.

This was spoken in prophecy to Jesus: Job 5:22 At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh: neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth.

Job 8:20 Behold, God will not cast away a perfect man, neither will he help the evil doers:

Job 8:21 Till he fill thy mouth with laughing, and thy lips with rejoicing.

We see from the above verse that laughing is the same as rejoicing. Does God not ever give rejoicing? Of course he does and I will prove it.

Job 9:23 If the scourge slay suddenly, he will laugh at the trial of the innocent.

Job 22:19 The righteous see it, and are glad: and the innocent laugh them to scorn.

Does God laugh? Ps 2:4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.

Ps 37:11 But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. Ps 37:12 The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth. Ps 37:13 The Lord shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming.

Is it inconceivable to think that delight is expressed in laughing? Of course that is how it is mostly expressed.

Ps 52:4 Thou lovest all devouring words, O thou deceitful tongue. Ps 52:5 God shall likewise destroy thee for ever, he shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling place, and root thee out of the land of the living. Selah. Ps 52:6 The righteous also shall see, and fear, and shall laugh at him:

A deceitful tongue is those who teach lies against the Word of God and those who slander and lie against others. See that God will root them out of the land and the RIGHTEOUS shall LAUGH at him. It is the righteous here who do the laughing, not the deceitful worker.

Here again we see GOD LAUGHING at the wicked: Ps 59:7 Behold, they belch out with their mouth: swords are in their lips: for who, say they, doth hear? Ps 59:8 But thou, O LORD, shalt laugh at them; thou shalt have all the heathen in derision.

Here is a short chapter which is all about rejoicing when God delivers. Laughter is part of this rejoicing.

Ps 126:1 A Song of degrees. When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. Ps 126:2 Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them.

Ps 126:3 The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad. Ps 126:4 Turn again our captivity, O LORD, as the streams in the south. Ps 126:5 They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. Ps 126:6 He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.

Pr 1:25 But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: Pr 1:26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;

Again we see that God will LAUGH at the wicked when their destruction comes.

Here we see that there is a time to cry and a time to LAUGH. Do you suppose it is speaking only of the natural life? Of course not. Ec 3:4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

Isa 37:22 This is the word which the LORD hath spoken concerning him; The virgin, the daughter of Zion, hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee.

This verse does not use the word, laugh. But from other Scriptures I see that laughing is a part of what God puts into our mouths: Ps 81:10 I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.

The Webster’s Dictionary shows that laughing is connected with both joy and scorning. It shows that rejoicing is manifested in laughing. It is hard to imagine rejoicing not being connected with laughing. Did Jesus rejoice? Lu 10:20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven. Lu 10:21 In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight.

Rejoice is mentioned well over 200 times in the Word of God. We are told to rejoice always. I suppose the same people who scorn laughing as a part of rejoicing in the Spirit also scorn and deny that the Spirit of God also causes us to DANCE. Yet the word of God shows that many times we Dance in the Spirit. It is a form of rejoicing and praising the Lord.

Php 3:1 Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe.

Ex 15:20 And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. Ex 15:21 And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.

Dancing is as much a part of praising and rejoicing in the Lord as is singing. Did Miriam sin when she danced and played her music?

Jud 11:34 And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter.

Was this girl sinning as she danced to greet her father?

Jud 21:21 And see, and, behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in dances, then come ye out of the vineyards, and catch you every man his wife of the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.

Were these women sinning when they danced in dances?

1sa 21:11 And the servants of Achish said unto him, Is not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands?

Again we see dancing and singing as part of their rejoicing.

2sa 6:14 And David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod.

Was David wrong when he danced before the LORD? If so, why didn’t God rebuke him for this? Notice that he danced with all his might, not just some little, shy doings which he would have seemed to be ashamed of what he was doing. No. He went at this in a big and powerful way. He did this to glorify God.

Here is a very special verse about dancing in the Spirit of rejoicing in the Lord:

Ps 149:1 Praise ye the LORD. Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints.

Ps 149:2 Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.

Ps 149:3 Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp.

Ps 149:4 For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation.

Ps 149:5 Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds.

This group of people are the witnesses of God. We praise his name in the DANCE. The new song is the New Testament of Grace. So this proves that DANCING and REJOICING is part of the New Testament worship and praise to God. How can one be JOYFUL and not LAUGH?

I truly think those who scorn laughing and dancing in the Spirit have never been filled with abundant JOY. So then, how could they have the Holy Ghost? He fills us with JOY unspeakable and FULL OF GLORY. (And that does not bring laughing? How very ignorant and foolish!)

Lets use this verse again here for the dancing: Ec 3:4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; (So why does so many ‘church�?folks think of dancing and laughing as only sin or earthly?)

Jer 31:3 The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. Jer 31:4 Again I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel: thou shalt again be adorned with thy tabrets, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry.

Now the above proves that part of the blessing of being built again by God is DANCING.

Jer 31:13 Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow

This same group of virgins to God are rejoicing in the DANCE, both young men and old together. Can you imagine this kind of JOY without some LAUGHING? I see that they must go together. Joy unspeakable and full of glory would have to be manifested in part by LAUGHING.

Ac 2:12 And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?

Ac 2:13 Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.

Ac 2:14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:

Ac 2:15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.

Now I ask you�?what were these new Christians doing, how were they acting, which caused some people to think they were DRUNK? Isn’t drunkenness manifested many times by laughing and dancing and singing? Sure it is. These people were REJICING in the DANCE, the laughing, and the joy of the Lord. I say all who truly receive the Baptism of the Holy Ghost today, as they did, will act the very same way.

So, mark it down. When you hear people scorning these blessings of the Spirit of God, they know not the true God or His Spirit.

By: Jo Smith ~~ Jan. 4, 2008