Christmas 2021
Week 2 (joy)
Preparing to receive the lost!
What Jesus wants for Christmas!
And today we talk about Joy!
Joy:
a feeling of great pleasure and happiness.
C. S. Lewis:
Saw clear distinction between joy, pleasure, and happiness: "I sometimes wonder whether all pleasures are not substitutes for Joy.", and "I call it Joy, which is here a technical term and must be sharply distinguished both from Happiness and Pleasure. Joy (in my sense) has indeed one characteristic, and one only, in common with them; the fact that anyone who has experienced it will want it again... I doubt whether anyone who has tasted it would ever, if both were in his power, exchange it for all the pleasures in the world. But then Joy is never in our power and Pleasure often is."
Joy can be elusive, it can sometimes feel like it's lost forever. But in Christ, it is possible to find joy in all circumstances!
If God could somehow control us all, this is what we would want for us all
Galatians 5:22–25 (ESV)
22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23gentleness, self-control; against such things, there is no law.
24And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.
So, by all these definitions, joy is something we must pursue, look for, and work at. It does not just appear. So where do we find true biblical joy??
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I will give you 4 places where I believe all Followers can find True Joy!
1. Joy is found in the pursuit of God in our lives!
Isaiah 55:8–9 (NLT)
8“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
9For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.
· Sometimes we simply desire to little
CS Lewis on our problem being that we desire too little
From “The Weight of Glory” Chapter 1, Paragraph 1:
If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good and earnestly to hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, I submit that this notion has crept in from Kant and the Stoics and is no part of the Christian faith. Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.
· We dream too small
· We think too small
· And therefore, our joy and rewards are too small
If we truly pursue what God calls us to, if we find ourselves in full-on longing and pursuit of all that God's word has for us, we can’t but fall into pure joy in our life!
· In our Marriage
· In our friendships
· In our jobs
· With our kids
· In every area of your life, you will find Joy if you are in pursuit of God in your life
2. Joy is found in being content (even in our suffering)!
Philippians 4:11–13 (NIV)
11I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.
12I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
13I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
Complaining steals our joy
Philippians 2:14–15 (NLT)
14Do everything without complaining and arguing,
15so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.
· So how are we to be content in this world
· To learn not to complain or grumble
· Even when the situation is not good? Even if we are suffering through trials
We find our joy in the sweet sovereignty of Jesus Christ!
Philippians 1:6 (NLT)
6And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
Philippians 1:29 (NLT)
29For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him.
· You find joy knowing that Jesus is in control
· And that he is bringing you through this, and will be with you all the way through it
· We know the end of the book
· We know what our final future holds
· So, we find joy in Jesus and in the security that He is in control!
3. We even find Joy in our sorrow!
· We all need to meditate on this!
1 Peter 1:3–6 (NIV)
3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy, he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you,
5who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
6In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.
· God is honest with us, grief will come
· Sorrow will come
· But even in the midst of our darkest trials, Joy can be found
o Found in the hug of a true friend
o Found in the banding together of family, during our dark times
o Joy found in the hope that Jesus is not done with us yet!
4. and finally, Joy is found in loving people!
Philippians 2:2–4 (NIV)
2then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.
3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,
4not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
· Joy in people overflows from the joy we find in Christ Jesus
· Joy in people comes from working side by side in spreading the Gospel
o From working together in something bigger than ourselves
· We complete each other joy
o By having one common goal
o By being of one mind
o By putting others first
o By helping others grow in Christ
o And working toward having one mind in Jesus
· Joy is rooted in helping others
o You have never experienced true joy until you truly help someone with no strings
o When you sacrifice something to help someone
o Your life changes forever
o And that kind of Joy is addicting!
· We find joy when we know others love us the way Christ loves us
Philippians 4:10 (NIV)
10I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last, you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it.
· There is a joy in knowing that I am in a family of believers that love me
· That is concerned for me
· And will be there when I need it most!
Philippians 4:4–9 (NIV)
4Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
5Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
6Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
9Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
· And when we find the Joy that God has promised us all peace is not far behind!
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