Essentials Of The Faith / Sunday Morning Sermon Series / Special Services / Advent 2002

12/15/02 Joy

Intro: How about some real church bulletin bloopers.
 -Don't let worry kill you..let the church help.
 -Remember in prayer the many who are sick OF our church and community.
 -Thursday night Potluck supper. Prayer and MEDICATION to follow.
 -At the evening service, the sermon topic is  'What is Hell'. Come early and listen to our choir practice.
 -Ladies, don't forget our church yard sale. Its a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house.
  Don't forget to bring your husbands.

A few of my reflections on life this past year
 -I'm not into working out as you can tell. My philosophy  is, no pain...no pain.
  Besides, I'm in shape. It just happens to be round.
 -Ever wonder why when you blow in a dogs face he gets mad at you, yet when you take him on a car ride he sticks his
   head out the window?
 
Prov. 17:22 says 'A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones!'

 Don't you love that? Joy, laughing, a happy heart is good for you. Almighty God has said that a joyful heart is good medicine. What He has given us is a prescription for Joy. All we need to do is fill it. How is it filled? Through a relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ. Christmas reminds of the joy of Christ's birth. Even the newspaper has picked up on the joy of the season.

I. Christmas and Joy
ILL: Newspaper Dec 8, 2002 'Outta my way!'

 Christmas Joy? Our nerves are on edge. We are exhausted and have short tempers. In fact, the gap between those joyful and those miserable widens this time of the year.
Think about this...

 In the midst of affluence, what do you celebrate if you are poor?

 In this season of family reunions, how do you find joy if you went through a bitter divorce this past year?

 How do you express 'good will on earth' when you have been deeply hurt by someone you thought was a friend?

 How can you come to a worship service focused on JOY when you can't find any joy in your heart?

 The Christmas season should be a time of celebration and joy but for many there is only a pretense of joy, a facade, hiding the emptiness and sadness in their hearts. I hope that when you all leave this morning and go about your weekly busyness, I mean business, you fill God's prescription for joy.

II. The Christian and Joy

ILL: A Christian leader once said to Groucho Marx 'Mr. Marx, I want to thank you for bringing so much joy into the world.' Groucho replied 'I want to thank you for taking so much out.'

 The opposite should be true. Joy should come naturally to people of faith. Joy should be at the heart of the Christian life.  We should be bringing and sharing the joy of the Lord with others. After all, the angels at the birth of Jesus announced that they were bringing great joy. Where did it go?

ILL: Billy Graham  (Decision magazine) said 'One of the desperate needs among Christian young people is exuberance and vitality in their loyalty to Christ. People go to a football game and shout their heads off or go to a circus and cheer act after act. They become enthusiastic about everything conceivable, but when it comes to spiritual matters they think we are supposed to become somber and quiet and wear black and never have a good time or enjoy a religious event.'

 Where do you think these young Christians learned their attitudes about joy and worship? From us!

 Now I am not talking about approaching the throne room of Heaven and slapping God high fives.  But too often the church has replaced expressing great joy with settling for sanctimonious respectability. What happened to the shouts for joy!, the overflowing, exuberant joy that God's Word tells us about? We should be the most joyful people and this the most joyful place on the whole planet! Amen? But often we and it are not. Why? Perhaps we have forgotten what joy really is.

DEF: Joy is the enjoyment of, the delight in, God and all that comes from His hand.

 With joy comes pleasure, gladness and delight.  Joy is happiness, and fun, yet it can be so much more.  Joy is expressed though laughter but remains when laughter has been replaced with tears.

 Joy is expressed by clapping your hands in praise to God but also by clasping your hands  together in prayer to God.

 The Bible reveals that joy is not a sentimental word, it has a bite to it.

 Joy was at the tomb of the resurrected Lazarus, replacing sadness.

 Joy was there when the leper returned to thank Jesus.

 Joy was there when the woman caught in adultery was forgiven.

 Joy was there when the deaf hear, the blind saw, the lame walked.

 Joy was there when the little children came to Jesus.

 Joy was there on the cross when Jesus said 'It is finished'.

AND

 Joy was there when your new life in Christ began.

And I believe with all my heart that  Joy is here each time we gather together to worship our  risen Savior.

Listen to this.
 There are 30 separate words for joy in the Bible
 There are over 542 references to joy in the Bible.  Here are a few

Deut. 16:15 'You shall be altogether joyful' a command from God.

Neh. 8:10 'the joy of the Lord is your strength'
                        No joy, no strength.

Eccl. 2:26: 'God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy to a man who is good in his sight'
                        Obedience and faithfulness brings joy.

Ps. 47:1 'Clap your hands all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy'
                        Joy is often expressed in the Bible and even in some very brave churches, physically, even loudly

Zeph. 3:17: 'God rejoices over us with singing.'
                        Think about that.

Acts 13:52 'the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit'
                        People thought they were drunk. When was the last time you were so joyful, so full of the joy of the Lord that
                        people thought you were drunk?

 Over and over again in Scripture, joy is offered as the response to the Person and work of God. Our lives will never be fulfilled or complete without joy. Joy  wants to be the overriding characteristic in our corporate worship and in our lives when we have made peace with God through faith in Jesus Christ.

Trans:
 As in all things in life, faith in Jesus Christ is the bottom line. It is through faith in Jesus, God's Son, that we can know joy..abundant and overflowing joy.

Read: John 15:11

 The context here is relationship with God through Jesus Christ. If you are part of the vine (Jesus) you will bear fruit, one kind of fruit is joy. (Gal 5:22-23) If you are not part of the vine (Jesus) by faith, then you will be discarded...there is no fruit on a dead branch. No joy w/o Jesus

 The text goes on to say that love and joy are related. When you know the love of God you will experience His joy. And you can only know the love of God when you are rightly related to him by believing that Jesus is God's Son and that He died to take away your sins.

 Once you know and accept that, you can walk out of the dungeon of misery and sadness and never look back. All the blessing of the Father, the love of Jesus and the joy of the Holy Spirit are ours for the asking...so ask.

 Understand that this joy is not oblivious to life's sorrows. But the joy of the Lord rises far above our circumstances, whatever they are.

 Joy invades our souls during times of personal trauma as well as times of spiritual ecstasy.
 Joy lives in the same household as grief.
 Joy visits hospital rooms, nursing homes and funeral parlors.
 Joy comes in the exuberance of corporate worship and the solitude of your prayer closet.
 Joy comes in the touch of a compassionate friend and in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season.

Conclusion

 Don't seek happiness, it's staying power is weak. Don't even seek joy itself, but instead seek the One in whom joy is found.

Ps 37:4 says 'Delight yourself also in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart'.

 Do you desire to have true, lasting joy in your life?

 Then make your delight the Lord by asking Jesus to be the one who forgives your sin and gives you the free gift of eternal life.

 Make a commitment, choose the Joy of the Lord..and He will be your strength forever.