Joyful Community
Notes
Transcript
Main Point: One of the defining characteristics of a gospel-centered community is Joy.
Big Idea: “If joy is missing from Christian community, it’s a clear indication that something is amiss in our understanding of the gospel...the relationship between justification and sanctification is crucial to experiencing joy in Christ.” -The Gospel-Centered Community by Robert Thune and Will Walker (p. 52)
Hook: How many of you enjoy roller coasters? Who likes loops? Who likes big drops? I love roller coasters. Several years ago, I was with a group and we went to a theme park. This park had a ton of dope roller coasters. Some had a ton of loops, some had massive drops, some had both. One particular roller coaster had you start by laying on your back and your feet were above your head. It was a lot like a dentist chair. We were at the park early, and there were no lines anywhere. We rode coasters back to back to back. And then I got in the dentist chair ride. After that one, i had to slow down. I’ve never gotten motion sickness, but that one proved to me I was getting old! Sometimes our spiritual life is like a roller coaster, we deal with ups and downs and we are are just waiting for the next up to get us through the down. It’s hard to keep up with that. It’s hard to always feel like the Christian we were right after camp. And it’s hard to stay the Christian we were while there. There’s a weird lack of consistency in the Christian walk, and that reflects in our Christian community. You can be really tight when you’re all up together, but then in the downs we separate and isolate. The same goes with the fruits of the spirit we are trying to reflect through this community—specifically joy. We see God do something big in someone we care about, and you’re ready to drop kick the devil. You’ve gone through a month where you haven’t touched your bible in three months and you’re falling back into old sin and we find ourselves praying that we aren’t ready for Jesus to come back. We are there and everywhere in between.
Intro: Twentieth century British preacher, Martin-Lloyd Jones said it like this: “Christian people too often seem to be perpetually in the doldrums and too often give this appearance of unhappiness and of lack of freedom and absence of joy. There is no question at all but that this is the main reason why large numbers of people have ceased to be interested in Christianity…In a world where everything has so sadly gone astray, we should be standing out as men and women apart, people characterized by a fundamental joy.”
If we, as believers, and as a community of believers, have a lack of joy, it is not only a gospel issue, but a missional issue. If we want to build a community that draws people, specifically lost people, we have to be capable of harnessing and growing in this attitude of joy in a legitimate and capable way. And we must relentlessly pursue it.
Now, this isn’t a call for fake happiness and to fake it until we make it. Just bury the pain and people will think we are happy. Doing that just would make you look creepy. So the question then, is how do we become more joyful.
I. How do we become more joyful?
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
Joy comes from believing. A lack of joy in our lives is not from a lack of anything earthly. If we lack joy, our problem is belief. We are not fully trusting and resting in what Jesus has accomplished for us in His death and resurrection.
Who would be thrilled today if you found out that at the end of today, you would be given $100,000? We would be stoked. What if that same day, you spilled your drink, lost your AirPods, and got a cold. Would you look at the day and think, well it was going to be a great day, but I just can’t enjoy it anymore. You might be bummed in the moment, and that would be understandable. But at the end of the day, It would take a lot to steal that joy of the $100k from you! The gift of Jesus is so great a gift that we shouldn’t ever let anything outshine it. Our source of joy should be so eternally great that anything temporary cannot steal that joy from us. No matter what comes our way, Jesus has gifted us something beyond our comprehension, and when we don’t lose sight of that we are able to remain joyful!
So, if we’ve received this gift, what happens? Do we just forget? I think our belief problem is deeper than that. What has happened is we have confused justification and sanctification.
II. Justification vs. Sanctification
I know, two churchy words, but you know what they mean and you can follow me here. But a quick reminder:
Justification is a legal and theological term that refers to God’s once-for-all declaration of forgiveness and pardon and more that He has given to His people. We were on trial for our sins, our blatant acts against God. Standing guilty before a perfect, holy Judge and we didn’t stand a chance. The sentence was assured and we were going to be guilty and sentence to an eternity separated from Him. We pleaded guilty and as the gavel was being swung God looks over at Jesus and declares “not guilty.” Not only was the guilt of our sin transferred to Jesus, but His righteousness was credited to us. We are free, forgiven, and declared righteous in Christ.
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Sanctification refers to our ongoing transformation into Christ likeness. A journey towards holiness that continues throughout our whole lives. Sometimes these changes are rapid and dramatic and amazing and overwhelming. Sometimes these changes are slow and methodical. But whatever the pace, it is always happening, because God is faithful
Imagine you buy a new car that sparkles under the sun. Justification is like receiving the title—it declares you the owner. Sanctification, however, is the work that happens over time, like washing and maintaining that car to keep it looking beautiful. It’s a journey of making sure your car inside is just as stunning as it looks outside. In faith, justification happens instantly, while sanctification is a daily refinement process.
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
Justification is a one time act of God and sanctification is an ongoing process that requires our cooperation.
I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.
Here’s where we often make the mistake. We base our confidence in our justification based on our sanctification. Unless we feel like we are “doing well” in our holiness and obedience, we doubt whether or not we are truly forgiven by God.
When we are in a season of being stuck in the same struggles and sins creeping up, and we don’t feel like we can get our act together, we at some level doubt that God really accepts and loves us. And this leads us to lead lives of despair, discouragement, and defeat.
Our community is full of joy when we are coming off a moment of strong sanctification. We are excited about what God has done in our lives and the lives of those around us. We are eager to bring others in on what God is doing in our community. Our communities get spiritually depressed when too many of us are being dragged down by our lack of day to day sanctification or righteousness. We don’t live out the same way we were before. We are just trying to make it to the next day. If our lack of sanctification causes us to doubt God’s love and acceptance, then we have to be honest and recognize that we are relying on our own righteousness and not Christ’s which was credited to us!
When we rely on Him and Jesus’ righteousness, we are clinging to the one thing that can always bring us joy.
One way to do this is to regularly proclaim to ourselves beautiful truths of the gospel!
I have peace with God (Romans 5:1)
Jesus bore my sins in his body on the cross
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
God has credited Jesus’ righteousness to me by faith
And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,
It is finished! (John 19:30)
We contribute nothing to our justification and our sanctification (or lack of it) does not change it! Relying completely on our justification is our greatest source of joy and it is crucial. This is an ongoing reminding and reorientation that we have to submit to ourselves to.
III. Growing in Joy
So, if we want to be a joyful community, how can we grow in joy? Here’s a few practical steps.
Step One: See Your Sin
Where are you struggling with sin in your life? Poor prayer life, failing to love others, reaching for addictions, etc…
How is your failure in this area causing you to feel toward God? discouraged, defeated, shameful, useless—it will be different for everyone.
Now think about those failures in terms of unbelief. What are you not believing about the gospel and your justification. How are you trusting in your own performance instead of resting in Christ’s accomplishments.
Step Two: Remembering and Receiving What We Have in Christ
We have to now shift our eyes from ourselves and onto Christ.
Justification in a negative sense—though I am a sinner I am forgiven. I am no longer under condemnation. I don’t have to pay for my sins or work my way back into God’s favor
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Justification in a more positive sense— Despite my sin, When God looks at me He sees Jesus righteousness.
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Adoption—God doesn’t just forgive me; he adopts me as His child, and that is my identity.
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”
Which of these promises speaks to your area of unbelief in step one?
Step Three: Responding in Joyful Gratitude
Finally, just ask yourself: “If I really believed the truth of justification by faith, what would i be doing, feeling, or thinking differently?
This isn’t just to make us feel better, but the result will be that we love God more, love others, and repent from sin.
Take time and praise God for what you are grateful for and gratitude will spark joy in your life.
Closing: We don’t have to live in a roller coaster of faith all of the time. We don’t have to wait for an event to be brought together in joyful community. We can growing in joy always by relying on what God has done through us in Christ. If we are all growing in joy, and encouraging those around us to do the same, our community will become infectious. People will want to know more and be a part of it. You can truly change the world by building a joyful community, and it’s all anchored to us recognizing that we have to anchor that joy in something that never changes and is always sufficient.
Pray
