Fishing with Joy

Fishing with Joy

Last week I talked about fishing with bread, how easy is it to fish with bread?

This week we are going to go fishing with Joy.

How do we fish with joy?

The bible tells that joy should be a clear quality of a Christina life. It is even one of the fruits of the spirit.

How can a Christian live a joyful life and fish?

To understand we need to look at the word Joy and how we should live a joyful life.

What is Joy?

Joy for us is a positive human condition that can be either feeling or action. The Bible uses joy in both senses.

Joy as Feeling.

Joy is a feeling called out by well-being, success, or good fortune. A person automatically experiences it because of certain favorable circumstances. It cannot be commanded.

For example; A Shepard will celebrate and be happy, joyful.

“And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off.”

The shepherd experienced joy when he found his lost sheep.

“When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.”

The multitude felt it when Jesus healed a Jewish woman whom Satan had bound for 18 years.

Joy as Action.

There is a joy that Scripture commands. That joy is action that can be engaged in regardless of how the person feels.

We have the freedom to choose if we want to be happy or sad. When something good happens we go so what or rejoice with that person.

“Then Hannah prayed and said: “My heart rejoices in the Lord; in the Lord my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance.”

The beatitudes also talk about being joyful.

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Christ instructed his disciples to rejoice when they were persecuted, reviled, and slandered.

Paul also said that we should rejoice.

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

Always we should rejoice.

I have learnt to praise him when I succeed and also to praise him when things don’t.

Over and over again in the pages of the New Testament, is the idea of joy communicated as an important, part of life.

The Bible dictionary describes Joy as a quality or attitude of delight and happiness.

Based on the biblical teaching, I would go so far as to say that it is the Christian’s duty, to be joyful. That means that the failure of a Christian to be joyful is a sin, that unhappiness and a lack of joy are, in a certain way, indications of the flesh.

How should we share Joy?

“Shout for joy to God, all the earth; sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise!

Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you.

All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name.”

What should the church be?

This is where I want to spend the remainder of our time together today.

How should we be as a church?

What should the church be? A place filled with Joy.

“Sing aloud to God our strength; shout for joy to the God of Jacob!”

As a church we should sing aloud the praises and the blessings that God gives us.

I want to break down Joy for you.

As a church and as an individual we should live Joy as follows.

J- Jesus, O- Others, Y- Yourself

Jesus should always be first in everything that we do.

Others looking for opportunities to help others. Yourself is third.

Now you may think well that is a very easy idea, so simple that a young child can learn it and understand it. But it is far more difficult to get it into one’s bloodstream.

But this illustration contains a profound truth. Joy is often elusive (mysterious) because we put ourselves first and Jesus last.

When that happens, we are trying to spell joy as y-o-j, and we need to rearrange our priorities.

Not only do we need to put Jesus first, we need to put others ahead of ourselves. R.C once had a lengthy conversation with a woman who was going through very difficult treatments for cancer.

Through it all, however, she displayed a remarkable radiance. Every time he saw her, she seemed joyful. He began the conversation by asking, “How are you doing?” Well, she gave him a summary of how she was doing that lasted about fifteen seconds, and then she said to him, “R. C., how are you doing?”

He answered the question, but it was only after the conversation had ended and he was on his way that the truth came home to him. He had gone to her hospital room to comfort her and to show his concern for her well-being, but while they talked for about a half-hour, maybe fifteen seconds was devoted to her condition.

For the whole rest of the time, they were talking about his troubles and worries, and she was comforting him. It was no wonder she was so joyful; she was not wrapped up in herself in the least.

As a church we need to show care for others. Search out the needs of them and help them. This means asking not just the how are you questions but the, what is happening in your life? Can I help you in some way?

We need to be excited about Jesus and what he did for us. We need to celebrate that.

What did Jesus do for us?

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Jesus at the very beginning in Genesis became our Goel (Hebrew) and right through the Old Testament we see that the Goel is coming.

Goel in English means redeemer.

He came to take the cost demanded, I have called you by name.

When you understand this you will understand what he did for one of his children on the cross.

As a church to often we do not want to show joy. To often we don’t want others to have joy. We are too afraid to have a joyful religion. We fill it with dos and don’ts.

Even some people join a church out of fear and not because of joy. I don’t know what kind of religion you have but there are two types of religion.

1. Fear based religion

2. Religion of Joy

Fear based religion; we are constantly trying to please God.

A family had 3 children and they took the middle daughter to the doctor because she was wetting the bed still at the age of 8. The doctor said to the parents I don’t need to talk to the daughter I need to speak with the parents. He told them that she suffered from enuresis. Which means she is not sure of the love you have for her. She tries so hard to please you she lives in fear and trying to achieve your love.

The parents told this child how much she is loved and no matter what she will always be loved.

Within a few days she stopped wetting the bed.

How many of us have a wet bed religion. How many of us are trying to please God in order to be saved. We don’t need to he loved us so much that he came to be our Goel and did all these things.

We should be living a life of joy and celebrating and telling our neighbours about Jesus and what he has done for us and what he can do for them.

We should be sharing the story of redemption and gives us the history of redemption and the to thief’s on the cross represent the whole world.

“One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

Then we have the most outrageous requests in all of the bible.

Here he is speaking to his Goel.

“Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

There are 3 parts first he says “Jesus the Lord Saves” second “remember me”. The covenant remember when you brought your children out of exile.

3 when you come in your kingdom. The thief is the only one to realize the kingdom to come.

This request was granted, I will read it as it is written in Greek

The Greek reads “Truly to you I say today with me you will be in paradise.”

“Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

The thief on the cross new then and there that when Jesus would return that he would be going to heaven. The thief is the first to be promised to be in heaven.

This is a time of joy. We should be out there telling people about Jesus and celebrating with them when they accept Jesus that there name is in the book of life. We should be out there teaching them to have the wonderful relationship that we have they can have too.

I like to look at it this way when I get to heaven that I will be walking the streets of Gold and many may look at say what is he doing here. And I can’t wait for Jesus to turnaround and say he’s with me.

What about you?

When things are going bad we should look for the joy. When things are not going according to plan we should look for the joy.

I do not know what the future holds for you or for this church. I do know that if we choose Jesus our redeemer we can celebrate with Joy and be in paradise when he comes.