HAVING JOY IN THE MIDST OF A DARK WORLD
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Intro into Advent :
- Well, we have been walking through Advent on these Sundays for the last couple of weeks. Looking in anticipation to the first coming of Christ on Christmas day.
- Advent is just that, it is a season of anticipating the coming of Jesus. And what is normally practiced in this season, is to reflect on the things that remind us of the purpose of this season we celebrate. So, people will take the time, to slow down and to reflect on the hope in Christ, of the Peace found in Christ, of the Love of Christ, and the joy found in Christ.
- Jay walked us through the first two weeks looking at the Hope of Christ and the Love of Christ. Today we will be looking at the Joy in Christ.
- So, if I could have someone light the candles. Hope- purple candle, Love- purple, Joy pink.
Intro into Joy
- - as I was considering the season of Christmas, the anticipation of Christmas day and the subject of Joy, I couldn’t help but think of Christmas through the eyes of a Child.
- For a child, the Christmas season has many different things associated with the season. Christmas break from school, a time to decorate around the house, a time to put up Christmas lights and Christmas tree, a time of fun and not so fun family traditions. A time for a lot of parties and family gatherings.
- Now many children like ours are taught about the true meaning of Christmas, about the birth of our Savior.
- But all Children that celebrate Christmas have this in common, they all live with anticipation of Christmas day when they can open their presents. The anticipation is met with great Joy as they open the presents and received what they hoped for.
- For some, the joy is turned to disappointment when they realize their parents cannot afford all of the things on their wish list.
- But the season is filled with Anticipation for what they have hoped for, and joy is the result of finally receiving what they hoped for.
Transition
- This is what we are going to look at today, the anticipation that led to Joy.
- When we as Christian speak about Joy it is not the same as what a Child experiences on Christmas morning. Their Joy is really based on what they receive. The Joy that a child experiences on Christmas morning can really be called “happiness” rather that “joy”.
- -well isn’t that the same thing you might ask? There is a difference and so as we start tonight, we are going to start by describing “ What Joy is”, “Where Joy comes from” & “How I can Have Joy”.
- We will look at the “WHAT”, “WHERE” and the “HOW”
- So I’ve titled this message…. “Finding Hope in the Midst of Darkness”
I. What Is Joy ?
- Well since we started by saying Happiness and Joy are not the same thing, lets start by looking at the difference between these two things.
- Happiness- Websters dictionary describes Happiness as…. The agreeable sensations which spring from the enjoyment of good; that state of being in which his desires are gratified, by the enjoyment of pleasure without pain
- In other words, a person is happy when they receive what is desired. Much like a child on Christmas morning. When they receive something good and full of pleasure that does not come with pain.
- So “happiness” is speaking about something that is conditional on circumstances, on what we receive, on what we achieve, etc.
- As long as I get something that I have always wanted, as long as I get what is good and does not cause me pain, I am filled with happiness. The problem with this, is the moment I don’t get what I want, or the moment the circumstances of my life change which are not pleasurable anymore, then that happiness is removed.
- Happiness is based on external conditions and can be lost as things change.
- Joy – There are some 8 different Greek words for joy used in the new testament. This is something I read.
- The most common used word for Joy is “chara” which appears 60 times in the new testament. This word speaks of joy as calm, delight, or inner gladness.
- It is related to the Greek word “chairo” which speaks of “rejoice” and related to the word “Charis” which is “grace”.
- Therefore, the word “joy” or “chara” means to rejoice because of grace. It is the awareness of God’s grace or favor through Jesus, as well as our reaction to it.
- In a sharp contrast, Joy is not based on external conditions or circumstances, but it is based on a relationship with Jesus.
Warren Wiersbe
defined “joy” as...
“that inward peace and sufficiency that is not affected by outward circumstances”.
- That relationship with Jesus can sustain me in the most difficult of situations, and is not affected by external circumstances. Circumstances may change, but my relationship with Jesus does not.
- So lets dive in more into this relationship and my reaction to it.
II. Where does Joy Come from ?
A. Joy Comes from the Gospel Message ( Lk. 2:10-14)
- Before we get into this, lets set the stage of what was happening both culturally and spiritually.
- Culturally- Lk. 2:1 tells us that the birth of Jesus came during the reign of Ceasar Agustus.
One commentator described the culture this way- “For decades, the world Agustus lived in and Jesus would be born into, was wrecked by war, brutality and immorality”.
Spiritually- you had the Jewish community longing and anticipating the coming of their Messiah, their deliver. They assumed the Messiah would come and overthrow the Roman empire and free them from the bondage of the Roman empire.
- It was here while people were anticipating the coming of a political leader who would bring freedom, that God set forth His plan of Salvation to the world.
- In v. 1-6, we see Joseph and Mary go from their town of Nazareth to Bethlehem in order to be registered in accordance with the decree put out by Ceasar Agustus.
- While in Bethlehem, Jesus was born. I don’t want to down play this, but I want to move to our section of the story today. Really want we want to focus on today.
Read Lk. 2:8-14
- our story picks up with some country Shepherds in Bethlehem. Many believe that these shepherds might have been those responsible for the keeping the sheep used in the temple for sacrifices.
-but the role of the shepherd was not a glorious one, it was actually looked down upon.
- One author described the role of a shepherd during this time period this way….
“As a matter of fact, they were despised elsewhere, as well. Sheepherding was one of those occupations that everyone needed and no one desired. Hebrews in particular prized cleanliness and purity. Life among the sheep lent itself to tired feet, long work shifts, and unwanted aromas” ---- sounds like a youth retreat----
- It was to these shepherds on a dark night that we see the angel appear before them with the glory of the Lord.
- And we see that this sight freaked them out, the angel tells them not to be afraid. And the Angel goes on to tell them of this amazing news.
- “Do not be afraid for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people”.
- The angel is telling them that he has good news for them. This news will bring great joy to them but also to the whole world.
- The words “good tidings “ is to announce good news, to “evangelize”. In other words, “good tidings” literally means that they preached the gospel to these shepherds, who were regarded as social outcast.
- the great news or the gospel was that a Savior was born into the world, but not a political savior as was they anticipated, this was an external needed they were looking to change
- God sent His only Son to come in a lowly manner , to be a baby born in a lowly place, laying in a manger, or a trough where animals would eat. Only to live among men to ultimately become the sacrifice for the world. His death on the cross was God’s mean of salvation for the world. His means of reconciling us to Himself. We were separated because of sin. Humiliation and death would be required for our salvation. God was worried about the internal need.
- It was this news of a reconciled relationship with God, of a means for salvation that would produce great Joy in the world.
- So we can’t speak about JOY, without talking about our access to this relationship with God we have
Transition
- I want you to notice how this great news of salvation was sent to these social outcasts who were in the middle of the dark night.
- Thinking about God’s love for us despite the things we have done, thinking about His forgiveness and His grace….. how God reached out to us in our lowliest place, our darkest hour…. the thought of this should naturally produce JOY within our hearts.
- This has nothing to do with our external circumstances but with our eternal position.
- Now lets take a look at this relationship that the Gospel message has made a way for.
B. Joy Comes from our Relationship with God
Martyn Loyd Jones
“joy in other words, is the response and reaction of the soul to a knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ”.
- We want to take a lot at a few aspects of our relationship with God that produces this JOY within the life of a believer.
1. Joy Comes by believing in what God had done for us in the Past (1 PT. 1:6-9)
In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.
- Peter is describing the faith of those he is writing to. These people are going through difficulties and hardships yet are finding joy in the midst of it. Their faith had been tested through fire, yet the testing would reveal the genuineness of their faith.
- Peter would even describe that they had not seen Him, speaking of Jesus, yet they loved him, and have believed in Him. Though they do not see Him, they believed in Him, they rejoiced with joy.
- It was their belief in Jesus that produced great faith and Joy in these believers. It would lead them to finish well and would lead to their ultimate salvation.
- It is not enough to know about the gospel message. It is not enough to know what God did for me, what is required is for me to believe and place my faith in Jesus as my Lord and Savior. To believe and receive the work He did on the cross.
So Joy comes first through my relationship with God as i believe in what HE did for me in the past.
2. Joy comes by understanding God is with me in the Present ( Zeph. 3:17)
The Lord your God in your midst,
The Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.”
- Knowing that God is with you, in the midst of your day, in the midst of your situation, brings confidences and JOY. Knowing that you are not alone produces JOY in our hearts.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned,
Nor shall the flame scorch you.
God doesn’t promise that we won’t go through difficulties, but He does promise to be with us in the midst of them and to work through them.
- God was not only working in the past for our salvation, but He is working now in my present situation for our sanctification . This brings JOY.
3. Joy Comes by knowing the promises God has for my future ( John 14:1-4)
“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know.”
- Jesus has promised to prepare a place in heaven for us, He has promised to come back for us.
- Jesus is speaking to His disciples after telling them not to be troubled by situations they might encounter, rather to find Joy and comfort knowing that we have a planned future with our king.
Transition
- So Joy is not an external thing based on conditions or circumstances, but it is based on a relationship with Jesus.
- Our Joy comes from the Gospel message, God making a way to reconcile us to Himself. Our joy comes from our relationship with Him, and believing in what HE has done in our past, understanding that He is with me in the present, and knowing the promises HE has for my future.
- That all sounds great, but we live in the real world with real things happening to us daily. So the question that must be asked is, “HOW CAN I HAVE JOY IN THE MIDST OF A DARK WORLD?”
III. How Can I have Joy in the Midst of a Dark World ?
A. By Remembering what God has done for us ( Josh. 4:19-22)
In the book of Joshua you see the Nation of Israel being lead by Joshua from the wilderness into the promise land. God would create a miracle and cause the people to cross over the Jordan river on dry land, He would stop the water. And after the people had crossed over, the Lord spoke to Joshua to take a man from each of the 12 tribes to get a stone from the middle of the Jordan river. They would take these 12 stones with them to Gilgal and were to set up these memorial stones.
The purpose of these stones was to bring a reminder to them of what God had done in the past, to remember His faithfulness, but it was also meant to create opportunities to pass on who God is and He had done in the past to the younger generation that did not know.
as people passed by and looked over to the stones, they would by reminded of God’s faithfulness, as children passed by , they would ask with curiosity , what is that...... and it was an open door for the parents to speak about God. These were memorial stones.
Transition
for thanksgiving our family went over this passage, and rather than going around table and say “what you are thankful for”, we sent everyone off by themselves and just had them write down their own memorial stones.
i told them, just sit and write down everything that God has blessed you with, write down every time that God has been faithful.
see it is good for us to take the time to reflect and look back on everything that God has done in our lives. To look back at our memorial stones, how God saved us, how God has restored our marriages, how God has blessed our family....etc.... remembering these memorial stones produces a heart of gratitude and a heart of Joy.
this is what we are doing in Advent, a time to slow down during the busy season, and remember why we celebrate, and what God has done for us.
III. How Can I have Joy in the Midst of a Dark World ?
B. By Continually being filled (Rom. 15:13)
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
That word “fill” in the greek speaks of - to make full, to fill up, to fill up a deficiency
Paul is speaking a prayer of God filling these people with Joy and peace through their belief. He is writing to believers here, so he is not talking about a one time filling at the moment of conversion, but he is speaking about a continual filling.
- how many of us know that we can be depleted of our JOY and our Peace?
- There are many things in life that we encounter with that can simply deplete our Joy.
1. Life can deplete us of our Joy
just everyday things. a bad day at work, an argument with a friend or a spouse, road rage on the freeway..... stress from school, work or finances, the busy schedules with kids...... all of these everyday things sometimes can slowly deplete our JOY and Peace over time
2. Sin can deplete us of our Joy
when we go outside of God’s will for our lives and live in sin, we will begin to slowly lose our Joy. Our hearts become slowly hardened towards the things of God, and we will be self consumed. When we are in sin, we are really doing what we want without the concern for anyone else. And this self lothing life, will have no JOY.
We will not experience the blessing of the holy Spirit doing amazing things in us and through us that leads to joy.
Transition
since we can be depleted of our JOY either by daily life or through sin, there has to be a time of being refilled. And as Paul mentioned in Romans , it is the God of Hope who does the filling of JOY and Peace in our lives
there has to be the time when we come to the presence of God in order to be filled once again with His spirit, with Joy and with Peace.
You will show me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
think of a pitcher of water filled to the top. You then begin to add rocks to the pitcher. Slowly as you add more rocks to that pitcher, you begin to displace water out of the pitcher. If you keep adding stones, eventually you will end up with a pitcher filled with stones rather than a pitcher of water.
now think you our heart as this pitcher of water. And the daily things of life can become stones we put in our heart. Sin becomes these stones. The more of these things that are brought into our lives and heart, it has the potential of pushing out the Joy and peace in my life.
but when i come to the presence of God in prayer, reading His word, or in worship, even in times like this, it allows God to slowly begin to remove those stones from and to refill my heart with His Spirit , with Joy and with Peace.
and that leads us into the next thing.
III. How Can I have Joy in the Midst of a Dark World ?
C. By Making the right Choice ( Gal. 5:15-22)
Do you know that having Joy is a choice?
I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
Paul would tell us in this interior passage of Gal. 5, that there is a choice of how we want to live. We can either make the decision to live in the spirit or we can make the choice to live after our flesh. And he would go on to tell us what the life of the Spirit looks like and what the life of the flesh looks like.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
The Spirit
So Joy is a direct result of a person living and walking in the spirit. When you and I decide to come to God and spend time in His word, when we spend time in prayer, we are allowing ourselves to be filled as we mentioned earlier, with the Spirit of God.
and what will take place naturally, is that my life will produce these charateristics naturally. When i spend time with God, i will have love in my heart for others, i will have Joy, i will have peace, i will be patient with people.
The Flesh
but the opposite is true as well. When i do not spend time with God, i ill produce out of my life the things that are in my nature, the flesh.
Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
so when i make the choice to do other things rather than spend time with God, i should not be surprised when i react to life in this way. When i am bitter, when i am angry, when i hate people, when i have no self control........ when there is no JOY in my life..
and i think we have all experienced this.
you know like when someone is “hangry”, they need food… the same thing when a person is not filled with the fruits of the spirit. You are like, sorry but you need some time with the Lord, because what is coming out is no good. Walking in the spirit is our choice, and JOY is a fruit or a by product of a life walking in the spirit.
III. How Can I have Joy in the Midst of a Dark World ?
D. By Understanding that my Joy cannot be taken away
Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.
as we mentioned earlier, our JOY is not based on circumstances but on a relationship, our JOY can be depleted if we are not careful, and we can make the choice not to experience JOY....... but i love what Jesus says here, no one can take our JOY away.
There are things that the enemy uses to influence us and to try to steal away our JOY.....
What tries to steal away our JOY
The enemy will use the current culture to steal our JOY
it can be difficult to experience and live in JOY in a world that is so corrupt and evil. Hard to live in JOY in a world that calls good evil and evil good. Where wickedness and sin is approved by society. Where we have to worry about our kids and what they are being influenced by.
Corrie Ten Boom
“Look to the world you’ll be distressed, look to yourself you’ll be depressed, look to Jesus you’ll be at rest”.
but remember that God revealed His greatest plan of salvation in the darkest hour of night, to a group of outcast shepherds, in a world that was wicked and evil.
2. The enemy will use people to steal our JOY
strains in relationships, maybe the hurt that a person caused, the betrayals, the ending of a relationship.... The things said about you......
these things can hurt and can influence us to lose our JOY. But we must remember that our JOY comes from our relationship with God the father, who will never leave us nor forsake us.
3. The enemy will use trials to steal our JOY
trials can be one of the things that the enemy loves to use to steal away our JOY. He will use trials to question God’s love.
but this does not have to be the case. Matter of fact, we are told to Rejoice in times of trials knowing that they are working in our lives.
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.
Paul was a man who understood this. Paul wrote the book of Phillipians while he was in a Roman prison. And one of the main themes in the book of Philipians is JOY.
i believe its every 7 verses, the word “rejoice” or “joy” is used throughout the book. The entire book is speaking about rejoicing. How can a person stuck in a Roman dirty prison speak about JOY. The answer again is because his joy was not based on external circumstances but on a relationship with the Savior.
- as you work your way through the book of Philipians you begin to see Paul’s perspective and how he was able to have JOY in a dark time.
How was Paul able to have JOY in a dark time
a. He knew that the trials in his life would further the gospel ( phil. 1:12-18)
Paul was in prison and would be in contact with different guards. Different opportunities to be a witness for Christ and to share the gospel.
Our darkest hours can often be used to be a witness for Christ .
b. He knew his trials would encourage other believers ( phil. 1:23-26)
Paul standing firm in the faith and having JOY in the process would serve as an encouragement to other believers.
We have the ability to encourage other believers by how we deal with our trials and hardships. People are watching us, both Christians and none Christians, there is so much opportunity to minister to people by how we respond to life’s greatest difficulties.
c. He knew his trials were made to cultivate spiritual growth in him ( phil. 1:6)
listen God was working in Paul, conforming him into the image of Jesus, and for him, the difficulties in a Roman prison is what God used to develop him. And here we are 2,000 years later, being encouraged by what he went through.
God may allow difficulties in our lives, but remember, they are meant for our good. To develop in us spiritual character.
Transition
so while we may go though different things in life, remember that no one can take away our JOY.
III. How Can I have Joy in the Midst of a Dark World ?
E. By Pursuing God’s Presence ( Lk. 2:15-20)
so wrapping things up, we circle back to our story in Luke.
Read. Lk. 2:15-20
We see now after the shepherds are told this great news of a Savior, they decide to go into the city and find this baby. They pursue after the new born king.
and when they found this child, they told all those who were there what the Angel told them about Him. Then they left glorifying and praising God.
notice with me that they pursued after king’s presence, and when they found Him, they left glorifying and praising God. They worshipped God.
This principal is true in our lives. As you and i willfully pursue after God and His will, we will live a life of a “living sacrifice” ,which will glorify God and will be pleasing to Him. Rom. 12:1-2.
a life lived as a living sacrifice to God will bring JOY to God and will create JOY in the life of the individual.
Conclusion
we looked at a lot of things tonight. But i pray that you might have been drawn what God has done for us in His love. That you may be encouraged in your relationship with God and that you would know that we can have JOY in the midst of a dark world.