Simple Joy

Do you have a movie or a song that no matter what mood you are in, who you are with or what is going on in your life that when you see it or hear it automatically brings a smile to your heart?

For me I have two that bring me a ton of smiles…one is the classic A Christmas Story…Every Christmas I can’t wait for the iconic line…

“You’ll shoot your eye out!” Department Store Santa

The second is the movie Elf…I love it for a lot of different reasons. However the greatest reason is how genuinely full of Joy Buddy the elf is for Christmas....I love the scene where he creates a winter wonderland in a department store…I love the line

“Best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to Hear “ Buddy the Elf

Both of these movie bring a smile to my face and a sense of happiness but they are not what causes Joy.

Joy Comes from a deeper place in our heart that is not dependent on a movie, a favorite song, or a special memory. As wonderful as these things are Joy is a deeper reality.

Joy has room to deal with anger, Loneliness, pain, betrayal, depression, loneliness......Joy is the state of living that does not make sense of the chaos…

Joy is the presence of God that keeps us from surrendering to the Chaos....Joy can wrap it’s arms around the full spectrum of the human experience.

Joy is a fundamentally different way of looking at the fabric of all existence.

Scott you are doing it again....You are getting away from the Simple Theme…I don’t think so....I think that God wants all of creation to be so sure of God’s love for the world that even in the midst of Chaos we can choose to see God as dependable.

In fact that is exactly what Paul is trying to tell the Philippians here in this passage…early on Paul is begging a couple of ladies to put aside there differences and focus on the message of Christ.

Now Paul moves from pleading with a particular situation to commanding it of all followers of Jesus.

Philippians 4:4-9

“4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

This is not a suggestion nor is it a request…Paul is mandating that followers of Jesus always Rejoice...

5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

I stood with this group of friends holding up our first place ribbons…we had won our first basketball tournament…we were finally coming together as friends and looking forward to dominating in Jr. High and High school…I still remember the feeling I had at that moment. Pride, Excitement and dread...

Wait dread....even though everything was right in that moment…even though there was so much promise in that moment I also had the knowlege that this 1st would be my last…

I would never play basketball with this bunch again…I would never experience the triumph of victory again with this group because in a couple of month I would be starting all over in a place that I knew no one and would have to prove myself all over again....but that moment was still worthy of celebration.

There are moments when everything feels at Peace in the world even though it isn’t. This is living in the Joy of the Lord...

Even though my life was about to be turned upside down this moment seemed like everything was right with the world even when it wasn’t.

In this moment I choose to just be grateful for the opportunity to be part of something truly glorious.

Choosing gratitude even if things are not what you dreamed they would be is the power of Joy.

Verses 8 and 9 move from the experience of Joy to the practice of experiencing Joy.

8 Finally, 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.

9 Whatever 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.”

In other words the Key to living in the power of the Joy of the Lord is to Choose Gratitude....

How do we choose joy in a world that has the ability to break your heart at any moment?

How do you choose simple Joy in a world that seems to be full of dread? How do you and I choose Joy or gratitude when there is so much pain and want in our lives at any given time?

The old testament gives us a very good picture of how this is possible....ready?

Ecclesiastes 1:2 “2 “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.””

WoW! So enlightening and joyful right?????

Let’s go on>>>>>

Ecclesiastes 1:3-11

“3 What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun? 4 Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever. 5 The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises.

6 The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course. 7 All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again.

8 All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing. 9 What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.

10 Is there anything of which one can say, “Look! This is something new”? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time. 11 No one remembers the former generations, and even those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow them.”

Then the author goes on to say the the pursuit of Wisdom, riches, and leisure is meaningless....How does this help with joy?

The Hebrew word for meaningless(Hevel) is translated a vapor, smoke or mist....In other words all of the things that we try to get our joy from are vapor, smoke or mist....spray bottle here....

Let that sink in! This was and is revolutionary for me. Most of my life I have allowed things that are temporal in nature dictate my joy.

When we get our joy from temporal circumstance we often find ourselves prisoners of cynicism and disappointment.

Instead of getting our Joy or sense of meaning from those temporary things what if God made us to accept its temporal nature and enjoy the life God has given us by living for the eternal....

Ecclesiastes 2:24-25

“24 A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, 25 for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?”

Savor the moment your in whether it is a terrible moment or a beautiful one becuase it will not last.

Children are a wonderful example of this....especially at Christmas…while it’s true that they soon become board with the toys and other gifts they receive on Christmas almost before they day is over....that moment they open the gift and see their dreams comes true is why we go overboard on Christmas.

Savor the Joy of the Lord in all circumstances.

Communion is a tangible way to Savor the Joy of the Lord…As we come to the table and receive the broken Body and Shed blood of Jesus we remember the faithfulness of God.

We remember that everything eternal and meaningful comes from Jesus and everything in the future belongs to Jesus as well…

We remember the even when it seems like everything is wrong…Jesus will make all things right.

We remember that this life is a gift from God and as long as we are here we should express our gratitude by looking for ways to enjoy life rather than focus reasons life is not enjoyable.