Whatever Happened The Good News?

Be Joyful . . . .

I believe that one of the great needs today when it comes to our ability to impact the world with the gospel message is for Christians to find and manifest the joy that we ought to know with regard to our faith.  Unfortunately the message that we communicate non-verbally is often so loud that it overrides the words that we have to say.  What we say in non-verbal ways is always the more powerful message.

We communicate:

q       Paranoia

q       Suspicion

q       Legalism

q       Dead Orthodoxy

q       Condemnation

q       Disgruntled with life

q       Joy-less-ness

Kaufmann Kohler states in the Jewish Encyclopedia that no language has as many words for joy and rejoicing as does Hebrew.   In the Old Testament thirteen Hebrew roots, found in twenty‑seven different words, are used primarily for some aspect of joy or joyful participation in religious worship.  Hebrew religious ritual demonstrates God as the source of joy.  In contrast to the rituals of other faiths of the East, Israelite worship was essentially a joyous proclamation and celebration.  The good Israelite regarded the act of thanking God as the supreme joy of his life.  Pure joy is joy in God as both its source and object.  The psalmist says, "Thou dost show me the path of life; in thy presence there is fulness of joy, in thy right hand are pleasures forevermore". (Psalm 16:11)

q       Negativism

BE JOYFUL! 

Don’t tell me what to be.  You don’t turn emotions off and on with the snap of a finger.  If the idea of being joyful is an emotion then this is true.  However, I see it as a choice that we make.  It is an attitude that will determine the quality of life that we enjoy.  It is totally up to you as to your degree of contentedness in life.  Make the right choice.

Attitudes of the Christian

   It is the "advance man" of our true selves.

   Its roots are inward but its fruit is outward.

   It is our best friend or our worst enemy.

   It is more honest and more consistent than our words.

   It is an outward look based on past experiences.

   It is a thing which draws people to us or repels them.

   It is never content until it is expressed.

   It is the librarian of our past;

   It is the speaker of our present;

   It is the prophet of our future.

   What is it?

   It's our attitude!

Being joyful then is a choice that you make to find God’s promise in all circumstance good or bad.

Let’s identify the things that tend to steal the joy from us in life:

q       Beyond the shadow of a doubt, people can steal your joy.

Gordon Macdonald identifies 5 sorts of people who enter our lives.

1.  The VRP’s (very resourceful people) they ignite our passion.  They inspire us to improve and to go further. +3

2.  The VIP’s (very important people) they share our passion.  Teammates, fellow workers. +2

3.  The VTP’s (very trainable people) they catch our passion.  They are people to whom you give time and effort confident that they will in turn pass on to others what they have been given. +1

4.  The VNP’s (very nice people) they enjoy our passion.  +0 contributor.  Vast majority.

5.  The VDP’s (very draining people) they sap our passion.  On the - side.

q       Our joy is stolen many times by our own set of unrealistic expectations.

q       Our joy is stolen by the fragility of our ego’s.

q       Our joy is stolen by our inability to see that circumstance is providentially for my good even in the worst of times.

How do we find the “JOY” of the Lord translated into everyday living?

1.      True joy comes from dependence on God for all things.  Our sense of self-worth, direction, purpose, etc.  As we depend on people or fate to meet our needs, we will become more and more disillusioned.

2.      It comes from obedience to God.  As long as we attempt to run things our way, emptiness will be waiting for at every juncture.

3.      Don’t take yourself too seriously.  Do all that you can as well as you can and then let God take care of it.

4.       Don’t attempt to change things that God doesn’t attempt to change.

5.       Don’t carry unnecessary burdens.  There are enough real problems and weights in life to deal with without carrying things that are needless.