Is Your Joy Half Full, Or Half Empty?

Opening Joke

The Preacher and His Horse

A circuit-riding preacher trained his horse to go when he said, “Praise the Lord,” and to stop when he said, “Amen.” The preacher mounted the horse, said “Praise the Lord,” and went for a ride in the nearby mountains.

When he wanted to stop for lunch by a mountain stream, he said, “Amen.”

He took off again, saying “Praise the Lord.”

The horse started heading toward the edge of a cliff on a narrow mountain trail. The preacher got excited and said, “Whoa!” Then he remembered and said, “Amen,” and the horse stopped just short of the edge.

The preacher was so relieved that he looked up to heaven and said, “Praise the Lord!”

Tell about the facebook survey of what people though of our country.

We are talking about joy this morning. I really wanted to get input. After all joy and lack thereof affects everyone. This is what I wrote. “I can use some help with a project. In one picture or gif tell me how you feel about our country right now. This is not a political post and it is not meant to start arguments. There are no wrong answers. This is how you personally feel in picture or gif form. If there are arguments that start I will shut them down. That is not what this post and project is about. Thanks so much for the help!”

As of the time that I prepared this lesson 39 people responded. Including many of you in this very church. These are 5 of my favorite. I really wish I could share all 39, however you all want lunch before dinnertime.

1.Carrie Underwood

2.Minion

3.Monkey

4. Kid with the look.

5.confused

My answer

Show the glass and share the 2 viewpoints.

Pessimistic

half empty. not much left. probably warm...

Optimistic

half full, looks refreshing, will get me by....

Today we are going to talk about a couple of guys who showed true Christian Optimism.

The Pre-Story

Before we jump in to today’s scripture I want to share why Paul was there in the first place. Paul wanted to check on the people that he converted. That is why he was out in Philipi. We have had some amazing evangelists but they usually send others to check on the people that they convert. The message that Paul was delivering was so important that he wanted to make sure that the people understood by being there himself. That is one reason why he was arguably the best evangelist in Christian history. There was NOTHING more important to him. This is also what led him to this moment in time right here.

It is important to note that the term we is used here because Luke is telling the story from an eye witness account. He was there. He saw it, and he is telling the story.

Satan Hates Joy

Acts 16:16–18 ESV

As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and us, crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.

The girl was demon possessed. She was a fortune teller, an oracle. And she was popular.

The greek word for what she was here literally means “a python spirit.”

The python was actually a symbol of a famous oracle and represented the greek god Apollo, who was believed by the greeks to give predictions of future events. The greeks and Romans put a lot of stock into these people.

Satan is like a fisher, he baits the hook according to the appetite of the fish. - Thomas Adams

She was also making her masters a lot of money. She would have been a gold mine!

Her masters didn’t care about her at all.

The girl or in this case the demon knew who Paul and Silas were and why they were there and she was attacking them with the truth.

If people heard the fact that she knew what these two men were all about, and they knew who she was, then they would pay little attention to Paul and Silas.

“Paul was annoyed” Paul not only resented the Satanic assault against his Lord, he knew the agony the girl must have been in. So he used the power that was given to him by the one true God to expel the demon.

Paul did what he was supposed to so Satan thought that pain would take care of Paul. He tried this because...

Pain Hampers Joy

There is good reason pain hampers joy. Because we let it. I think that we can all agree, it’s hard to feel joy when you have pain or other things going on in your life, because we have trained ourselves to focus on the things that way us down instead of trying to see God’s plan or any goodness at all that could lead to joy. Look what happened to Paul and Silas.

Acts 16:19–24 ESV

But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice.” The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

We know that being persecuted was nothing new for Paul. Being put in jail after being falsely convicted of a crime and then beaten for it, was.

Look at the scenario they found themselves in. Because they were doing God’s work.

The authorities hated the Jews. The Jews were causing all sorts of problems for the Romans. When the men who owned the little girl came and told them that Paul and Silas were trying to push their jewish ways and cause problems, it gave the magistrates all the ammo they needed to take these men and make an example out of them.

They were beaten with rods. Probably above and beyond what the law for actual beatings required.

Not only were they put in jail, they were put in jail in the inner most part. This part of the jail was the darkest, most secluded, scariest part of the jail. Then they were shackled to the wall on top of it to make sure they didn’t go anywhere.

(Possibly the worst part) They had no idea what was coming tomorrow. It may be more beating’s, it may be a release (highly doubtful), it could be death.

Paul and Silas knew God was Sovereign.

Romans 8:28 (ESV)

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Paul talking about this situation later said.

1 Thessalonians 2:2 ESV

But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict.

Paul and Silas had to choose how they would react to this attack on their lives and faith. Let’s see how they reacted.

Acts 16:25–34 ESV

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened. When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.

Paul and Silas Worshiped! They had and SHOWED joy! And because of this they showed the other prisoners, the guards, and us that.....

Real Joy Is Contagious

It is one of the most triumphant moments in New Testament Christianity. And that is what faith ought to do for us; it ought to give us the power to sing in all sorts of devastating circumstances. It is easy enough to be happy in pleasant circumstances, when life is sunny and bright and everything is going well. The man who cannot rejoice in the beauty of the world around him and the glad and gracious gift of life, then the sun is shining and he has home and work and friendships, is a churlish creature. But to sing in a dungeon, and at midnight, when happiness is a victory and cheerfulness a miracle, that is the special gift and grace of Christianity. - James Hastings

After everything that they went through instead of crying and moping they were praying and worshiping. They would not allow their joy to be silenced.

The other prisoners it said listened. Some were mad? Some Sad? Some wondering what could make these 2 nuts do this.

Then the earthquake.

The chains came off, the doors opened. Even at this point Paul and Silas cared more about spreading the Joy they felt in their hearts then running for their lives.

The jailor wakes up to the earthquake and the open doors and knows that his life is over because he failed and all of his prisoners are gone.

Before he falls on his sword to end his life, Paul yells for him to stop because no one had left!

The jailor falls at the 2 men’s feet, takes them to his home, and then becomes saved as well as his whole house! Family and servants! The Jailor saw the joy and faith of Paul and Silas and it was contagious! He wanted what they had.

The jailor and his house were saves because of Paul and Silas’ faith and joy. Period. The jailor saw what these two men were all about and he wanted it to because their Joy was contagious.

Paul and Silas were set free, not by the jailor, but by God. They honored Him with their faith and Joy and He honored them with their lives.

1 Peter 5:10 ESV

And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

True Christian Joy Is Never Half Empty

We are not in the same situation as Paul and Silas. We may be close to it, we may not. But we as humans are dealing with a lot of things that seems to be taking our Joy away in a big way. Not just Christians, but non Christians alike.

As we suffer our joy continues to leave. Thank Heidi.

Heidi #1

We start out with a glass full life and when bad things happen, especially in times like now like this picture it takes our joy away bit by bit until we don’t see the glass as half empty we see the glass as totally empty and say what joy is there.

This is where we need to fix our thinking. Its hard to do but it is completely necessary.

Heidi 2

True Joy means for us as Christians that even though life may continue to knock us down and make us want to look at the world in a pessimistic way we know that our glass is never empty because our hearts are filled with our savior not the world and NOTHING can empty that.

When we walk around with true joy, God given, Jesus filling joy the world will see. Some may yell, some may cry, some may try and do whatever they have to to take away that Joy, but if that Joy is real, it will be contagious and people will catch it.

PRAY