JOY!

Billy Sunday once said,

         “If you have no joy in your religion, then there’s a leak in your Christianity somewhere.”

           Gert Behanna observed the following after attending church for the very first time:

 

“I was 53 years old when I found out there was a God. The shock & the wonder of that discovery have never worn off in the more than 20 years since.

 

But I’ve had another shock in my life almost as great as the first. In fact, it happened the very next Sunday. It was meeting my first church-goers. I’d never been to church in my life, and I remember how eagerly I awaited that first Sunday.

 

I’d just had a glimpse of God Almighty. Me, an alcoholic, a drug addict, rich, lonely, and miserable, and already I was beginning to know what joy really was. And now, on Sunday, I was going to meet people who had know Him for years! What ecstatic people, these long-time Christians would embarrass me with their enthusiasm.

 

Well, Sunday came, and I went to church, and of course you know what I found: bowed heads, long faces, and funeral whispers. Far from alarming me with the warmth of their welcome, nobody spoke to me at all.

 

At first, I was sure this was just one isolated experience. But as time went on, and I attended other churches in various parts of the country, I made a bewildering discovery, these long-faced, listless people were present in every congregation.”


           (Gert Behanna ends his observation with a searching question we all need to answer):

 

“How could they come into God’s presence Sunday after Sunday without breathing in the joy that danced in the very air?”

 

Although Mr. Behanna’s observation might seem a little harsh

                      and might not apply in every situation.

           For the most part what he has observed is true.

 

           In many churches, and in the lives of many Christian people,

                      there doesn’t seem to be any evidence of the joy of the Lord.

 

           It seems like a lot of Christians have sprung a leak, and the joy has run out of their life.


 

How about you?

           Are you filled with the joy of the Lord?


           Are you manifesting this aspect of the Fruit of the Spirit?


           This evening we are going to look at several verses in Philippians

                      that should help us to understand and to claim the spirit of Joy.

 

 

Philippians 3:1 (NIV) 1 Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you.


Philippians 4:4 (NIV) 4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

 

           Let’s look at 3 ways we can catch the joy of the Lord today:

 

I.       THE JOY OF CHRISTIAN LIVING

 

Those who are Christians have made Jesus the Lord of their life.


           That means we are allowing Him to take control.

 

           He’s got a hold of our steering wheel;

                      He is at the helm;

                      He is the director of the movie that is our life.


           

And when Christ is Lord of our life we begin to say “No!”


                      No to sin and “Yes” to the Spirit of Christ.


           Now some people look at all the “No’s!” of Christianity,

                      all the “Thou shalt not’s” and can’t understand how Christians can have any joy.


           After all, if you’re a Christian you can’t do anything fun anymore!

 

 

What the world fails to see, and what so many Christian’s fail to grasp,

                      is all the “Yes’s” we have in Christ.


           There may be a lot of “No’s”, but what we need to realize,

                      is that it’s the “Yes’s” of Christ that bring joy of our lives.


           

Let me give you a couple examples of what I’m talking about:


A. The Joy of showing the world Jesus in our life.


Jesus said, (Matthew 5:14-16) “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

 

           We love to show people new things.


                      We love to take our children, friends, to places they have never been

                                 and watch their faces light up as they see and experience the wonder of it all.



We loved to do that in Florida at Disney World.

            It was great to take someone to Disney who had never been their before

                      and to see the sparkle in their eyes as they tried to take it all in.

 We need to realize that we have something better than Disney to share with the world.


          We have Jesus Christ.

                       And there is eternal Joy in sharing Jesus with those around us.

 


B. The joy of setting a Christian example.


Abraham Lincoln once said: “A child is a person who is going to carry on what you have started. He is going to sit where you are sitting, and when you are gone, attend to those things which you think are important. You may adopt all the policies you please, but how they will be carried out depends on him. He will assume control of your cities, states, and nations. He is going to move in and take over your churches, schools, universities, corporations. All your books are going to be judged by him. The fate of humanity is in his hands.”


           Lincoln outlined for us the great responsibility we have to our children

                      and the generations that will take our place.


           But as Christians we should also realize the great joy that we can experience,

                      as we share Jesus with our Children, especially in our life style.



What a great feeling to hear someone say that your son or your daughter is just like you.


           That they are seeking to honor Christ in their life as you honor Christ in yours.

 

God said (Deut. 4:9), “be careful and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.”

 


C. The joy in Christian living.


There is not a better experience in life than that of knowing you are living within

                      the will and the scope of God’s desires for your life.

 

Micah 6:8 “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”


           We take joy in knowing God is pleased with our lives.

 

           We take joy in knowing we have been obedient to Him.


           We rejoice in knowing, that we are living our lives by the example set for us by Jesus Christ.


           And in this we discover the joy of Christian living.

There is another aspect of this joy we are to have that is just as important:



II. THE JOY OF CHRISTIAN GIVING

 

We rejoice in the privilege of giving financially to God’s kingdom.

2 Corinthians 9:7 “Each man should give what he has decided to give in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”


           What kind of giver does God love?:



A. A cheerful giver!


Now, all Christians should be cheerful givers.


           We should take joy in knowing that the money we are returning to God

                      is being used to benefit His kingdom.

 

           We are joyful because God has blessed us,

                      and we want to share those blessings with others.


           Our offering to God is an act of praise, it is an act of worship.



B. A giver of time!


In Acts 17 we find Paul with a group of philosophers,

           and in verse 21 we’re informed that these people,

                      “spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.”

 The Christian doesn’t find joy in idle talk like the Athenians.

           We find our joy in giving our time to God.

           We find joy in Christian service.

           We find joy in knowing our time spent in service to God is time well spent.



C. A giver of praise!


In Samuel 6 we find David leaping and dancing in praise to the Lord.


           We find joy in singing, praying, and lifting up our hands to Almighty God.

 

We can say as David did in Psalm 84:1-2: “How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh cry out for the living God.”



D. A giver of our Christian witness!


There is nothing so satisfying as sharing Christ with others.


           The joy of seeing people respond to the gospel is beyond description.


           We rejoice in Christian witness because of the results of that witness.

 

           

And we do not rejoice alone:


           Luke 15:10 “there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”            

   

          There is great joy to be found in giving our witness to others.

   
           Joy for us, joy for the angels, joy for God, and joy for the repentant sinner.

There is one last aspect of Christian joy we don’t want to leave out.

 

III.   THE JOY OF BEING A CHRISTIAN


Or more simply put, the joy over the benefits of being a Christian.


           You remember the children’s song don’t you?:

                      “I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart.”


           The joy of Christian being is experienced in our hearts.



A. Joy comes from knowing our sins are forgiven.

 

1 John 3:8 “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work”


           Jesus destroyed Satan’s work on the cross, and through that cross He set us free.


           1 John 1:7 “the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin.”


           We should find wonderful joy in the fact that the blood Christ shed on the Cross,

                      has washed our sins away.

 

1 Peter 1:8-9 “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”

B. Joy in knowing that we have salvation in Jesus.


Friend, when you accept Christ as your Lord and Savior, He shares His salvation with you.


           Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

 

John 5:24 “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.”

 Oh what joy those verse bring to our lives!

           We were once dead in our sins and now in Christ we are ALIVE!


          We are no longer condemned to eternal death, but have eternal life in Jesus Christ!

C. Joy in knowing we are going to heaven.


2 Corinthians 5:1 informs us, “Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.”


           What joy fills our life as we look forward to our eternal home.


 Do you find joy in knowing heaven awaits?

           That some day soon you will be in the very presence of God Almighty?

           That soon you will be able to take hold of the Master’s hand?



CONCLUSION:


It is said that as Benjamin Franklin concluded a stirring speech on the guarantees of the Constitution, a heckler shouted,

           “Aw, them words don’t mean nothin’ at all. Where’s all the happiness you say it guarantees us?”


           Franklin smiled and replied,

“My friend, the Constitution only guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness; you have to catch it yourself.”

One of our great Christian hymns was inspired by the glowing face of a man

                      who seemed to continually radiate joy.


           Seeing him in the audience during a revival, the speaker noticed his radiant expression.


           The message that night was about the return of Christ,

                      and often this happy man would exclaim joyously,


                                 “Yes, yes! And that will be glory for me!”

 After the service the speaker asked:

 

“Who is the brother with the blessed testimony?”

 

“Oh, that’s Old Glory Face”, replied the informant, “He’s a Christian that always seems to be on the mountaintop.”


          Later, Charles H. Gabriel, was so impressed with the man

                      that he was moved to write the gospel song, “O THAT WILL BE GLORY FOR ME”

 

“When all my labors & trials are o’er, and I am safe on that beautiful shore, Just to be near the dear Lord I adore, Will through the ages be glory for me. O that will be, glory for me, Glory for me, glory for me; When by His grace I shall look on His face, That will be glory, be glory for me.”

 Friends, the JOY is out there.


          The Glory is out there.

 

           All we have to do is claim it in Jesus Christ.


And we claim it by making Jesus the Lord of our Life, and by giving our life in loving service to him.

 

 

Don’t wait any longer, claim the JOY today!