The Missing Joy

Rejoiced With Great Joy Matthew 2:10

Saturday, October 20, 2018

9:01 PM

You know it wasn't the doctrine of holiness that first grabbed my attention as a child, it wasn't the teachings on the standards and beliefs. It wasn't the strong and sometimes tough Christians that made up the church I attended and other churches we fellowshipped with. It was their joy. Their great JOY!

For John Wesley it was the Morivian's peace out in the middle of the ocean in a terrible storm. For me it was joy even when I saw some go through terrible and tragic things.

It wasn't just joy in the church, just joy because the Lord's presence was in the service - they were joyful even out of church. Sure they had their serious moments and did things I didn't understand but they were connected to Jesus and the joy bled through.

It was somewhat like what happened to Harry E. Jessop in one of my favorite holiness books, "I Met A Man With A Shinning Face" It wasn't just the message that the young man preached that caught Jessop's attention it was the life and joy and presence of God that made a difference.

In our text this morning the Wise men had seen the star according to Dr. Henry Morris, "only in the east" but as they left Herod to go on to Bethlehem, they took a look at the sky, and Lo and Behold There was the Star again.

The Bible says, "They rejoiced with exceeding great joy." over the sight of the star.

Now I don't know how "Wisemen" rejoice with exceeding great joy"

I always thought of the "Wisemen" as smart dignified and sophisticated people.

Perhaps one turned to the other and said in his most dignified expression of joy, "Why Brother Balthesar, I perceive through my visionary recepticals the sphere of burning gaseous substances has once again appeared in the heavens. I am overcome with delight and joy. Let us continue our pilgrimage this great Potentate."

I don't know how they showed their joy, if they had been hillbilly's I might have a better understanding - "Hey Slim look aint that that there star we saw back yonder? YEHAW LETs GO FIND THAT KING"

But the Bible doesn't say how but it does tell us it was:

A Noticable Joy - A joy that was known enough to put it in the Bible not as thy were joyful - but that they "REJOICED WITH EXCEEDING GREAT JOY" One translation puts it this way, "When they saw the star they shouted joyfully" Matthew 2:10 (NET1) The NIV says they were "overjoyed"I'm not exactly sure what that means - but I do know it was a visible, noticable joy. A recordable joy. Maybe it was like the clip I seen last year of the Professor Robert E. Kelly whose BBC interview went viral. He was doing a live SKYPE with BBC television in his home office when in the middle of it his two young children burst into the room with all of the vim and vigor of kids their age. The daughter in the yellow sweater from the video, Kelly explained "was in a hippity-hoppity mood that day because of a school part." Later it was reported that she was overjoyed when she saw her dad on the TV in the Livingroom and recognized by the background where he was and went to go find him down the hall. '

Kay Warren, Rick Warren the author of "The Purpose Driven Life" defined joy as "the settled assurance that God is in control of all the details of my life, the quiet confidence that ultimately everything is going to be all right, and the determined choice to praise God in all things."

While I know expressions of Joy are not always so pronounced nor do they have to be - but we are told that Joy is a fruit or an evidence of the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit. There will be or should be times of exceeding great joy in our lives too.

When we see evidence of God, when we as it were see the star, see the leadings to God -

I remember the many people I grew up around who all had a unique way of expressing their joy. I don't want to imitate their expression but I want to express my Joy.

I am concerned = really concerned about this - where are our spontaneous outbursts of joy?

Do we every express our joy here? Are our kids seeing joy in and out of church?

Do we have that childlike exuberance that bursts in maybe even interrupts the regular program in a spiritual "hippity hoppity" way?

It's when our cup of joy is so full that it runs over.

That it is more than our vessel can hold.

That our joy bank bursts open and we have joy enough to share and it spills out on someone else.

God I pray you would help us to every once in a while - "Rejoice with exceeding great joy."