thoughts an quotes for Joy sermon

Luke 2:8–14 ESV

8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

What is Joy?

noun: joy

a feeling of great pleasure and happiness.

JOY (שִׂמְחָה, simchah; χαρά, chara). joy is more a state of being than an emotion; a result of choice. One of the fruits of the spirit (Gal 5:22–23).

also means delight

Would those closest to you describe you as a joyful person? Do you have joy?

Matthew 2:10 (ESV)

10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.

Joy can be hard to define

1 Peter 1:8–9 (ESV)

8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,

9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Joy is powerful

Nehemiah 8:10 (ESV)

10 Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

John 15:11 (ESV)

11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

Joy is fruit of the Holy Spirit

Galatians 5:22–23 ESV

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Joy is good for us, good for our neighbor, good for the witness of Christ we have been entrusted with

Joy is a choice

Hebrews 13:17 ESV

17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

Joy or groaning

Joy can be practiced

Joy is a noun, but the verb or action of joy is to REJOICE

Re experience joy

to cause joy

to stir up the joy that is there

Philippians 4:4 ESV

4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.

Man is fond of counting his troubles but he does not count his joys. If he counted them up as he ought to, he would see that every lot has enough happiness provided for it.

Fyodor Dostoyevsky

What is the opposite of Joy?

Sadness, depression, bitterness, melancholy, pessimism, sorrow, a downer, not fun to be around

1 Peter 4:12–13 ESV

12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.

Chose to Rejoice or to Complain, be sorrowful, bitter

The Joy of Christ

Why are we celebrating the birth of christ as a joy?

John 15:11 ESV

11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

Hebrews 12:2 ESV

2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Jude 24 ESV

24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy,

The Spurgeon Study Bible: Notes Chapter 2

No, no, we will never know the fullness of the joy that Jesus brings to the soul unless, under the power of the Holy Spirit, we take the Lord our Master to be our all in all, and make him the fountain of our delight! “He is my Savior, my Christ, and my Lord.” Let this be our loudest boast. Then we will know the joy the angel’s song predicts for people.

Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists Matthew, Mark, and Luke Luke 2:8–14

The angel opens his discourse by saying, that he announces great joy; and next assigns the ground or matter of joy, that a Saviour is born. These words show us, first, that, until men have peace with God, and are reconciled to him through the grace of Christ, all the joy that they experience is deceitful, and of short duration. Ungodly men frequently indulge in frantic and intoxicating mirth; but if there be none to make peace between them and God, the hidden stings of conscience must produce fearful torment. Besides, to whatever extent they may flatter themselves in luxurious indulgence, their own lusts are so many tormentors. The commencement of solid joy is, to perceive the fatherly love of God toward us, which alone gives tranquillity to our minds. And this “joy,” in which, Paul tells us, “the kingdom of God” consists, is “in the Holy Spirit,” (Rom. 14:17.) By calling it great joy, he shows us, not only that we ought, above all things, to rejoice in the salvation brought us by Christ, but that this blessing is so great and boundless, as fully to compensate for all the pains, distresses, and anxieties of the present life. Let us learn to be so delighted with Christ alone, that the perception of his grace may overcome, and at length remove from us, all the distresses of the flesh.

Romans 14:17 ESV

17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

John 15:4–5 ESV

4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

John 16:20–22 ESV

20 Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. 21 When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. 22 So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.

Joy referencing unity, obedience, gratitude, belief, happiness, fruit of the spirit, brothers and sisters inchrist, the church,

1 Peter 1:8–9 ESV

8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

The joy that Jesus gives is the result of our disposition being at one with his own disposition.

Oswald Chambers

Joy is never in our power, and pleasure is. I doubt whether anyone who has tasted joy would ever, if both were in his power, exchange it for all the pleasure in the world.

C. S. Lewis

I sometimes wonder whether all pleasures are not substitutes for joy.

C. S. Lewis

Man cannot live without joy; therefore when he is deprived of true spiritual joys it is necessary that he become addicted to carnal pleasures.

Thomas Aquinas

Reason pursuing this is

Nehemiah 8:10 Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

Ezra 6:22 ESV

22 And they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy, for the Lord had made them joyful and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria to them, so that he aided them in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.

Sing for joy

shout for joy

Feast with joy

Isaiah 29:18–19 ESV

18 In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see. 19 The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the Lord, and the poor among mankind shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.

Habakkuk 3:18 ESV

18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.