Joy

Introduction

So we are continuing our sermon series on the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Last week we did love. This week we are doing joy.

What do you think of when you hear the word ‘joy’? Probably the emotion of joy. And that’s not wrong. Joy is an emotion. It’s that feeling of happiness you get when:

you eat good food

you are hanging out with your really close friends or family

when you do well in your exams, or achieve something great

you get a present that you always wanted on your birthday.

Whatever the reason may be, joy is that sense or feeling of gladness, happiness, elation that you experience.

Now it’s always helpful to compare the Christian understanding of something, to how the world understands it. So if joy is an emotion or feeling in both Christianity and also in the world, then what is the difference?

1. Joy is commanded

The first main difference is that joy for Christians is something that is commanded of us! In the world, joy or happiness is pursued as a goal. It’s something we want and achieve for ourselves. For Christians, joy isn’t something that we just want or something that is simply desirable - joy is commanded of us.

So many bible verses command or order us to be joyful! There are literally hundreds of verses I could quote from. Here are just a few examples:

Philippians 4:4 “4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.”

Paul here commands his readers twice in one verse - ‘rejoice!’

1 Thessalonians 5:16 “16 Rejoice always,”

Deuteronomy 26:11 “11 And you shall rejoice in all the good that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house, you, and the Levite, and the sojourner who is among you.”

Now this can be surprising for some people, because many people actually don’t associate Christianity with joy. They think Christians are killjoys, party-poopers, people who don’t have any joy or fun in life. That’s because all they associate with Christians are all the rules and regulations - all the things that you can’t do and are prohibited.

In the extreme form, this is something called ‘asceiticism’. I’m sure you’ve seen the stereotypes in movies or books - the monks and nuns from the medieval period, who completely withdraw from the world, don’t enjoy any physical pleasures so they can focus on the ‘spiritual’ things. They don’t drink, they don’t get married, they don’t participate in any worldly enjoyment. They don’t enjoy life!

And this is obviously unbiblical! God actually commands us to be joyful in the Bible. Joy is commanded because joy & happiness is meant to be one of the defining features of Christians! Obviously, as Christians we don’t participate in things that are immoral or evil, like excessive drinking or drugs or criminal activity. But Christians are meant to be defined by joy and happiness - and Christians can have true joy and happiness because we have the ultimate source of joy.

2. Joy is from God

And that brings us to our second point. Christians can have true joy and happiness because we have God - God himself is the ultimate source of joy.

Let’s look at some examples from the Bible:

Philippians 3:1 “1 Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.”

Paul says ‘rejoice in the LORD’. We are to rejoice, find joy, in God himself.

If you read 1 Chronicles 13-16, you see this long story of David trying to bring the ark of the covenant into Jerusalem, the central city of the nation of Israel. And when the ark of the covenant finally arrives at Israel, look at how they respond:

Read 1 Chronicles 15:25 “25 So David and the elders of Israel and the commanders of thousands went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the house of Obed-edom with rejoicing.”

and 1 Chronicles 15:28–29 “28 So all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the Lord with shouting, to the sound of the horn, trumpets, and cymbals, and made loud music on harps and lyres. 29 And as the ark of the covenant of the Lord came to the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David dancing and celebrating, and she despised him in her heart.”

It’s like a party! There is music, there is dancing. There is so much joy. And why is there so much joy and happiness and celebration? Because the ark of the covenant represented the very presence of God. The joy and celebration came directly from God himself. God himself is the source of the greatest joy.

And why is that?

Because of who God is. God is the all powerful all knowing God who is in control of everything.

And this all powerful all knowing God has freely chosen to love and be in relationship with me. And not only be in relationship with me, but save me by actually dying on the cross for me.

God actually takes pleasure and gets a lot of joy himself in actually being good to us. God is utterly committed to us, just like a husband is committed to loving his wife. Read Jeremiah 32:41 “41 I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul.”

Our God is a good God. Read Deuteronomy 26:11 “11 And you shall rejoice in all the good that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house, you, and the Levite, and the sojourner who is among you.”

You shall rejoice in all the good, that the Lord your God has given to you. All the good things we have in life are a gift from God.

So we rejoice in not only who God is, but also in what he has done for us. God is love, who is utterly committed to us, and has proven to us that commitment by giving us the gift of himself in his Son.

So of course as Christians we have a reason to rejoice. We have God himself. What other reason do we need to be joyful?

3. Joy is always

So what this means for us is that unlike the world, joy does not depend on our earthly circumstances. For those who are not Christians, joy is something that is dependent on our circumstances. It is hard to be joyful in a miserable situation, like being homeless, poor, whatever it may be. So for non-believers, happiness and joy is mainly achieved by manipulating your circumstances and environment, so that you can place yourself in a situation where it is possible to be joyful. That’s why the people of the world relentlessly pursue wealth, fame, family, whatever situation or circumstance it may be, that brings them happiness and joy.

But for believers, it is the opposite. We are commanded to be joyful, even in difficult circumstances. Even in challenging situations and trials in life, Christians can be joyful. So many verses talk about this:

Colossians 1:24 “24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church,”

James 1:2 “2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,”

1 Peter 4:13 “13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.”

Believers are able to be joyful despite our sufferings. And that is because for believers, our joy does not ultimately come from our earthly circumstances. Our joy ultimately comes from God, our relationship with Him, and what He has done for us. Our earthly circumstances can change, they can be destroyed, and they can be taken away. You may be rich one day, but the next day it can all fall apart. Earthly joy is fragile. But God, your relationship with Him, and what He has done for you - nothing can touch that. No one can take that away from you. It is permanent, untouchable, unbreakable, an unshakeable foundation. This is why in Philippians 4:4 Paul is able to say “4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.”

Our relationship with God is not a ‘sometimes’ experience, but it is a permanent ‘always’ experience. That is why we are able to find joy, even if our life circumstances are not joyful.

Conclusion

To conclude, I want to read from just one more verse. Read Hebrews 12:2 “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.”

Jesus faced the ultimate suffering and shame in life before the cross. But despite this, Jesus was able to endure it all because he had joy. He had joy despite his terrifying and horrible circumstance.

And this verse tells us that Jesus, who was able to rejoice despite his suffering, is the author and perfector of our faith.

So let us pray that we also have a faith that believes in our all powerful and loving God, who is the fountain of our greatest joy that we can always drink from, no matter what we are facing in life.

Discussions

Discuss about how we can be joyful always, as Paul instructs us in Philippians 4:4.