Continuing Joy
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Introduction
Introduction
“Eeyore, the old grey Donkey, stood by the side of the stream, and looked at himself in the water.
“Pathetic,” he said. “That’s what it is. Pathetic.”
He turned and walked slowly down the stream for twenty yards, splashed across it, and walked slowly back on the other side. Then he looked at himself in the water again.
“As I thought,” he said. “No better from THIS side. But nobody minds. Nobody cares. Pathetic, that’s what it is.”
There was a crackling noise in the bracken behind him, and out came Pooh.
“Good morning, Eeyore,” said Pooh.
“Good morning, Pooh Bear,” said Eeyore gloomily. “If it IS a good morning,” he said. “Which I doubt,” said he.
“Why, what’s the matter?”
“Nothing, Pooh Bear, nothing. We can’t all, and some of us don’t. That’s all there is to it.”
“Can’t all WHAT?” said Pooh, rubbing his nose.
“Gaiety. Song-and-dance. Here we go round the mulberry bush. ...I’m not complaining, but There It Is.”
― A.A. Milne
Perhaps you have an Eeyore in your life. Perhaps you are an Eeyore.
Why do so many people see the glass half empty instead of the glass being half full?
Should we as Christians be different?
"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."
Is this a quote of our times? It actually was from a book called Spiritual Depression by Martin Lloyd Jones, written in 1965.
Unfortunately, we
Should Christians be different?
Today, over 50 years later, we still see Christians struggling with the absence of joy. Over the next few weeks, we are going to look at this particular fruit of the Spirit and particularly how it is used as somewhat of a theme in the Book of Philippians.
Why are we short on joy?
First let’s define joy.
Let’s define joy:
To the secular world, joy is intense, ecstatic, and exultant happiness. One Christians writer states that “Joy is an outward sign of inward faith in the promises of God” (Tommy Newberry, The 4:8 Principle).
Joy is listed second in the list of the fruit of the Spirit, right behind love.
The Bible mentions the word joy or a form of it multiple times. It is only mentioned by word in the Book of Philippians six times in four chapters, but the whole book has it as its theme.
Our message today is Continuing Joy. I will focus on Philippians 1:3-6.
Philippians 1:
I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Joy begins when we partner with the Gospel of Christ.
Joy begins when we partner with the Gospel of Christ.
Paul writes to the church at Philippi because of a partnership that came about from a plea from a man in Macedonia that we learn about in
During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
Acts 16:
Paul goes and helps establish this church. They help him through prayer and financial resources to advance the gospel. It begins with the Gospel. the good news, that Paul was called to preach. The Good News is the source of joy.
The Good News is that God loves us. The Good News is that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. The Good News is that we are no longer slaves to sin but are set free. The Good News is that we are redeemed. The Good News is that nothing can separate us from the Love of God. The Good News is that we are children of the King and are heaven bound if we turn from our sin and accept this Good News and receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
When we do this, we should have joy “as an outward sign of inward faith in the promises of God.” We should at least smile!
Are you living a life of joy?
Many people today profess Jesus as the Lord of their lives, but they have this sour puss/Eeyore mentality that keeps them from smiling. They go around singing “Gloom, despair and Agony on me.....deep, dark depression, excessive misery.......whoooooaaaaa!”
They have Jesus in their heart, but forget to tell their face!
They think they can be joyful tomorrow when life gets better....in the sweet bye and bye.
Did you know that the secret living a life of joy tomorrow is purely a matter of thinking strong, joyful thoughts today?
Did you know that the secret
Joy begins when we say yes to Jesus and trust Him with our lives. Perhaps like me, you trusted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior as a young child or some time ago. Are you trusting Him today?
Jesus said
Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
We must deny ourselves daily, take up his cross daily and follow Jesus daily. Remember the definition I gave you earlier?
“Joy is an outward sign of inward faith in the promises of God.”
The promises of God are good! His Word is full of many, many good promises!
The very least we can do is merely read His word to be reminded of His joy.
Paul gives the example in of continuing joy by thanking God for the Philippians and praying for them with joy. What an honor it is to pray for each of you! As I read your name or see your face, I can celebrate your faith in the promises of God because of your partnership with the Gospel! Let’s continue to pray for each and celebrate life together. Let’s live out our calling to be people of joy as we proclaim the Good News!
Turn to your neighbor and say “you give me great joy!”
Joy begins when we partner with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Joy continues in confidence.
Joy continues in confidence.
Paul writes
being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Philippians 1:
What gives you confidence?
Confidences means trust or faith in a person or thing. It also means a trusting relationship. Paul states, “being confident of this.” “This” is referring to being able to pray with joy because others have partnered with Jesus.
Galatians 5:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Do you notice that joy comes after love in the fruit of the Spirit? I believe this order is present because love produces joy. When you pray for someone you love, you will experience joy as you trust that person. If you love someone, you believe in them!
Are you confident in the promises of our Lord? One such promise from the Lord is the idea that you will reap what you sow. We can’t sow deception and reap confidence. You can’t sow bad and reap good. You can’t sow unjoyfulness and reap joyfulness.
Sometimes
A study in Psychology Today revealed that there are two reasons one might be unjoyful. One is negativity bias which means our mind’s tendency to give more to the negative. An example would be if you lined ten people up so say something to you and nine of them said something positive and encouraging, but the tenth person would say something negative, the negativity bias means you are thinking more about the negative comment than the other nine positive ones.
The second reason for being unjoyful that this study showed was habituation. This means that while we receive boosts of happiness from new positive experiences, over time we get used to those experiences and they no longer have the same effect.
The confidence level decreases.
However, the study pointed out that by making one change, both the negativity bias and the habituation went away when the participants of the study wrote about their joyful experiences and shared them with those that were closest to them. Bottom line, joy continues in confidence when it is shared. Sharing joy increases joy!
Every Wednesday night in our prayer meeting starts out with praise. It is a beautiful time to celebrate the goodness of our Lord and the marvelous things He had done for us. As we share, our joy increases. As our joy increases, our confidence in the goodness of our Lord increases. And do you know what? It is not limited to Wednesday night!
This confidence shows us that God is faithful and if He started it, He will complete it.
Joy Continues as A Good Work
Joy Continues as A Good Work
Joy
show us that He, being God, who began a good work will complete it.
What a promise we have here! That should make us joyful knowing that we can trust and be assured in His word!
We also have the assurance that God’s word gives us!
The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me;
your love, O Lord, endures forever—
do not abandon the works of your hands.
Psalm 138:
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
I am reminded here that if we aren’t joyful, then creation will be:
Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
let the sea resound, and all that is in it;
let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them.
Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy;
they will sing before the Lord, for he comes,
he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
and the peoples in his truth.
Psalm 96:
Psalm 96:
Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
let the sea resound, and all that is in it;
let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them.
Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy;
they will sing before the Lord, for he comes,
he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
and the peoples in his truth.
You will go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
will clap their hands.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Are you going to let the mountains and hills of the trees of the forest burst into joyful songs or are we?
I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.
1 Peter 1
John 16:2-222
Are you allowing your joy to continue?
Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations 2050 Spurgeon’s Joyful Experience
When Spurgeon was riding home one evening after a heavy day’s work and feeling very wearied and depressed, the verse—”My grace is sufficient for thee” came to him. He immediately compared himself to a little fish in the Thames, apprehensive lest, drinking so many pints of water in the river each day, it might drink the Thames dry, and hearing Father Thames say to it, “Drink away, little fish, my stream is sufficient for thee.”
Then he thought of a little mouse in the granaries of Joseph in Egypt, afraid lest it might—by daily consumption of the corn it needed—exhaust the supplies and starve to death; when Joseph came along and, sensing its fear, said, “Cheer up, little mouse, my granaries are sufficient for thee.”
Or again, he thought of himself as a man climbing some high mountain to reach its lofty summit, and dreading lest he might exhaust all the oxygen in the atmosphere, when the Creator Himself said, “Breathe away, O man, and fill thy lungs ever; my atmosphere is sufficient for thee.”
“Then,” he told his congregation, “for the first time in my life, I experienced what Abraham felt when he fell upon his face and laughed.” Joyful experience.
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
Do you know why he was able to recognize this?
Do you know why he was able to recognize this?
But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
If you and I should ever ask Jesus why in the world we should ever be joyful, I am certain He would look at us and say lovingly, “Because of this” and He would simply spread out His arms.
We have lots to be joyful?
Let’s make sure we have continuing joy....the world needs us more than ever!