Joy Unconditional
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This evening, we continue our series on the topic of Joy.
Having or knowing the joy of the Lord… is a POWERFUL thing! And this series is designed to help us remember how we experience His joy and what kind of impact it can have on our lives.
We spoke of the importance of allowing the joy of the Lord to be our strength.
His joy is so abundant that it becomes a type of fuel that can literally keep us going in life!
Last week we spoke of the joy we find in our salvation AND in the salvation of others.
God desires for all to come to repentance. And we read of celebrations that take place when one soul comes to know Him. The lost now found. The blind now see. This certainly should call us to celebrate!
We prayed for those who do not know the Lord. And church, we need to continue to pray for the lost! Continue to believe for their salvation!
This evening, we unpack another aspect of Godly joy that I feel is critical to the life of the believer. This is especially true in our world today.
We know tonight that we live in an ever-changing world. We know how rapidly change can come… and it can leave a person feeling… unsettled.
No matter where you turn, things are being adjusted, culture is going a different direction, trends place emphasis on different ideas and the list could go on. There is much shifting and change. Sometimes the changes are good. Other times, they create distress. It’s safe to say it is near impossible to find stability in our ever changing world.
What we need to understand is God never intended for His creation to find stability in the world around them. True joy and security is found in the Lord.
Even in Genesis, before sin entered the world, God was the source of Adam and Eve’s contentment. It wasn’t until the serpent got them to take their eyes off God and His commands that things began to fall apart.
While our world may be in a constant mode of change, we need to know that our God remains the same. His promises never change. His Words never change. His resolve never changes. His love never changes.
God’s amazing attributes are not conditional. They do not change and adjust with the rest of the world.
Our ever-changing world is very familiar with the term conditional.
When we stop and think about it, we set conditions on everything
Our employment – perform a certain way to earn a designated pay. Better performance might equal better pay. Unsatisfactory performance might result in looking for a new job. Break the rules or ignore the boss and you have broken the conditional agreement.
In retail – Try it for 30 days, if you’re not satisfied, return it for a full refund!
No satisfaction, no commitment to buy.
In social society the message goes out that your future depends on your present privilege. This might include your financial status, educational status, and even your nationality. A big debate has begun on this very point.
To set a condition or to be conditional is to restrict, limit, or modify a circumstance.
Some conditions come naturally, others are set or defined. The truth is everything on earth has limits. Everything on earth has restrictions. Everything on earth is, in a sense, conditional.
Think of your car for a moment. Most of today’s vehicles (original equipment) can go beyond 250,000 miles depending on how well a person takes care of the vehicle. It’s life span is conditional based off its care.
Much of the same could be said of our health. How well we take care of ourselves often determines how long a person will live.
While the world around us is restricted, is ever changing, and limited in nature, we know today that our joy in the Lord can remain no matter what! Why is that?
Our joy in God is not based off the conditions or circumstances of this world. It is founded in who God is and what He has done.
But understand this tonight: There is one condition that must be met before one can experience unconditional joy in the Lord. That requirement is this: unconditional surrender to God.
Surrendering to God means giving all to God. And once all is given to God our slavery to the ever changing world comes to an end, and our life in Christ begins.
I want to talk about three points regarding our full surrender to God. Each of these areas will have a huge impact not only in our relationship with God, but in our relationship with the world. We are not of this world, but live in this world. It’s time we take the necessary steps to be overcomers of the world and experience God’s full joy no matter what may be taking place around us.
Unconditional Love
Unconditional Love
In our world and culture, this phrase just doesn’t seem possible. In a world full of conditions, how can unconditional love exist?
Love is perhaps one of the areas that we place the most conditions. Why? Because it is within the context of love… that a person is very vulnerable.
In love, we open our hearts. In love, we place our trust. In love, we go deeper and give access to our emotions.
Love is a powerful thing! But love can also lead to deep… hurt. Love can be abused. Love can be manipulated. Love can be selfish and misguided.
Therefore, we place conditions on love. We guard ourselves, we guard our hearts. We choose carefully who we get close to… out of a fear of getting hurt.
And… the more a person gets hurt, the more reluctant they become to love. Their heart… becomes hardened.
But there is something very important that we need to understand. God loves you… no matter what! Although we know all about conditional love…
God’s love for us… is unconditional.
I’m curious tonight… how many in the room truly believe that statement? God loves you NO MATTER WHAT! The kind of love I am talking about is agape love which literally means unconditional love or love without condition.
Much of our world today is unfamiliar with this kind of love. Instead, they choose to base “love” off of emotions and circumstance. “I will love you as long as…” and the conditions are set. If the conditions are broken or not met, the “love” fades away.
God has chosen to extend to His creation “agape” love. He did not set conditions on His love. Paul explores this truth in Romans 8. He asks a question in verse 35...
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
Notice immediately the direction of the love in the question. Paul speaks of the love of Christ meaning is there anything that can separate Us from His love? This does not mean “our love to Christ” implying that nothing can come between our love for Jesus. We know this is certainly possible and happens all to often.
We are experts in conditional love. If our desires are not fulfilled that must mean we are not loved so we turn away. When things don’t go their way… people tend to stop going God’s way. God gets blamed for not being loving ans caring for said need.
God KNOWS best. He knows what we need, where and when we need it. He has a plan for all of us and it is a good plan! His love for you is and enduring, never-ending love!
Paul answers his own question later in Romans 8:38-39 saying
38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Say this with me today NOTHING, NOTHING CAN SEPARATE ME FROM HIS LOVE.
And for those that sometimes feel talk is cheap know this: God put His unconditional love for you and I into action. He didn’t simply claim unconditional love, He demonstrated it. That demonstration was carried out by His Son, Jesus Christ.
God’s sacrifice for us was unconditional
8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
We quote this often when speaking of God’s love, but I want us to understand the complexity of this demonstration of God’s unconditional love.
Jesus went to the cross without condition. His sacrifice was not done on condition that we repent.
God didn’t look to the world and say “Hey! I’ll send my Son if you promise to repent and choose to believe in Him!” No, no, no! In fact, He did something much different!
John 3:16 tells the story!
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
There was no condition on the cross! His sacrifice was for all who would later choose to believe! ALL PEOPLE MATTER TO GOD!
And this is important for us to understand for two reason:
One, You matter to God! No matter your past or present, God cares about you and He has given you the opportunity to have a redeemed future!
Two, those around you matter to God! I pray we see people the way God sees people - God has placed a high value on His creation.
Value is determined by how much someone is willing to pay for something. God gave His Son… God gave His very best for this world.
Instead of looking down on others with condemning eyes… lets remember that Jesus died for that person… gave His life for that person. Let’s extend to the world the same kind of love that God has extended to us.
God is certainly worthy of our unconditional surrender! He has proven through His incomprehensible demonstration of unconditional love that He certainly has our best interest in mind! And the thought of His unconditional love compelling Him to make an unconditional sacrifice should most certainly produce an unconditional joy within our souls!
He loved us before we knew Him. Jesus died for us before we believed in Him. What an amazing God we serve today! Such revelation should create an overwhelming and unstoppable joy begin to rise up within us!
Unconditional surrender certainly makes way for us to experience the fullness of God, His love and His joy. But such surrender must be accompanied by something greater than simple belief in God. Unconditional joy requires unconditional faith.
Unconditional Faith
Unconditional Faith
Hebrews 11:1 gives a definition of what faith is. It states
1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
With a show of hands, how many would agree that God in facts exists?
Such an acknowledgement would indicate that you in fact believe in someone you cannot see. In fact, most of our senses cannot pick up the reality of His existence. We can, however, look upon the evidence of His existence.
We experience moments when we “feel” the Presence of God. This is not imagined or a result of heightened emotion.
We experience moments when we “see” God move. We witness the Spirit of God impact our lives or the lives of others.
We experience moments when we “hear” His voice. Either spoken through His Word or through our spirit, God does in fact speak to us.
And while I agree that such moments are amazing, today I want to consider the other ‘moments’ in life.
What about the times when we don’t feel God? Do we stop believing? What about the moments when we don’t see God move? Do we turn on our faith? What about the moments when we do not hear His voice? Do we turn our ear a different direction?
What is faith if it only exists in the good times? What is faith if it can’t stand the test of fire?
Too often faith can fold under pressure. Too often we allow emotions to take control of situations. Too often we worry, we doubt, and we stress. Too often, we trade in our joy as our faith begins to waiver.
Faith might give way to fear.
Faith might give way to how a person feels
Why does this happen? What causes a person to look inward… instead of upward in times of difficulty?I would suggest that it comes down to… control. When facing a difficult circumstance, a person might try to do all they can to “fix” the situation and in doing so… their true limitations are realized. There are some things, church, that we cannot fix on our own. Our joy diminishes as we realize our limited ability and insufficient resources.
“I can’t do this” or “I can’t make it” or “I did my best” or “I thought it would be different.” I, I, I, and I.
We have all experienced these thoughts before. But praise God, the Lord never intended for our best to be good enough!
God’s grace… is sufficient. His power is made perfect in your weakness. but his power will not be realized so long as you place faith… in your strength.
What is faith if it cannot stand the test of fire? Our faith in God must be unconditional.
“But Pastor, you don’t understand what I’ve been through or what I am going through. How could God allow such things to take place?” I get it… your struggle IS REAL. I know that and more importantly… GOD KNOWS THAT. But God’s power and grace are also REAL.
Paul certainly knew what it meant to endure hardships of this life. In his second letter to the Corinthians in chapter 12 Paul describes enduring what he identifies as a “thorn” in his side.
God did not remove the “thorn” or the struggle. But he assured Paul that everything was going to be okay.
9 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. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
When unconditional faith is present it opens the door for God’s strength to prevail when we are weak! HIS POWER IS MOST EVIDENT WHEN WE ARE POWERLESS!
But His strength and His power will never be realized if we allow our faith in Him to be shaken by the earthly conditions that may surround us.
I asked before, I ask again: Do you believe in the existence of God? Do you believe in His power, in His might and in His resolve no matter what? Then you have reason to rejoice! For even in our times of weakness OUR GOD IS STRONG! Stop saying I, I, I and start saying God Your grace is sufficient for me! I walk not in my power but in your power! May our struggles not decrease but increase our faith in the Lord God Almighty!
Unconditional Purpose
Unconditional Purpose
Lastly, Unconditional faith in God leads us to this next point: unconditional purpose. To phrase it another way: submitting ourselves to the plan and purpose of God - no matter what.
As our belief in Him is unwavering… so must our trust in His plan and purpose be… unwavering.
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.
These verses say a lot! Embrace your faith in God, fully trust Him and leave your old understanding behind you. Submitting to the Lord opens the door for God to guide us down life’s path.
It’s this guidance that we so desperately need to embrace once again!
We know God has a plan for our lives.
11 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.
This word from God to the people of Israel is as true today as it was then. But understand this: His plan will never be realized in our lives until we are willing to accept it unconditionally in our lives.
His plan brings direction to our lives.
His plan brings purpose to our lives.
His plan must become the priority of our lives.
And emphasis must be placed on the fact that it is HIS plan.
Nothing is more satisfying than knowing that you are walking in God’s plan for your life.
Trusting in God may not come naturally, but Joy is a natural result of trusting in God. Why? Because once the trust is established and your path is made straight, you will begin to live life more abundantly through Jesus Christ.
Having no direction or experiencing a loss of direction in life can drain a person of joy. It leaves a person wondering aimlessly through life just trying to make it from day to day.
I encourage you today: trust in the plan that God has for you and do not doubt.
If we doubt God’s purpose and plan for our lives We are subject as James 1:6 states to be blown and tossed by the wind. We go wherever the wind blows us. Not a very reassuring thought for sure.
His plan and purpose is something we can trust. In order for that trust to exist, we must receive His plan and purpose without condition. Unconditional surrender to God’s purpose for our lives creates unconditional joy rooted in the truth that we know where we are going and we know who is leading us there!
Conclusion
Conclusion
Unconditional joy is more than a nice thought or a wishful dream. It is a reality that you and I can experience on a daily basis IF we are willing to fully surrender ourselves to God.
Surrender to God with all our being.
Surrender to faith. Place human reasoning aside and embrace God’s full instruction and truth. Leave fear and feelings behind as you embrace His truth and His love.
Surrender to His purpose and plan. He created you with a purpose on purpose. You are no accident or mishap. Fully embrace His direction and His plan.
Unconditional joy is the result of removing any and all worldly stipulations or conditions and fully embracing what God has for us.
There can be no negotiation. There can be no compromise. There can be no doubt. Only surrender. Unconditional.... surrender.
Remember, God never intended for His creation to find stability in the world around them. True joy and security is found in the Lord.
We find joy in the stability found in His unconditional love.
We find joy in the stability of unconditional faith.
We find joy in the stability of His unconditional purpose.
Joy no matter what is found when we truly let go… and let God… NO MATTER WHAT.
This evening, I feel God calling us to that point as we close.
Maybe you’ve been holding on. Maybe you have intensified the struggle because of your reluctance to let go and trust God.
God is calling out to hearts tonight… and He desires to fill you with joy that this world cannot take away from you.
This joy remains even when we walk through the hardships. Remember Paul’s words… he DELIGHTED in his weakness because of God’s power being made perfect in his circumstance.
God’s grace is sufficient. His love for you will never end. Will your love and trust in Him be the same?
Tonight we close with a prayer of surrender.
Lord, we find peace in this surrender as it places you at the center of all things.
We trust in Your love. We trust in Your plan. We place our full faith in you. And in that placement… we find joy… a joy that this ever-changing world can NEVER take away.
Fill us with Your everlasting joy tonight! Fill us with Your peace and comfort. Move in our hearts and minds as only you can in Jesus’ name.