A Joyful Heart Is Good Medicine

MELVIN NEWLAND, MINISTER

RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK

TEXT: Proverbs 17:22; John 16:33; Matthew 14:27

ILL. This past week I came across an interesting story concerning a guy named Billy Bray. He was a rough old Cornish coal miner who had become a Christian during the 1905 Welsh Revival.

After his conversion Billy Bray was so happy, so full of joy that he was shouting praises almost all the time. But that bothered people. And somebody said, “Billy, why don’t you tone it down some? You’re just too happy. You’ve got too much joy all the time.”

Billy replied, “I can’t help it. God saved me & I can’t help it. When I put down one foot it says "Hallelujah!", & when I put down the other foot it says "Glory to God!”

“But Billy, suppose you’re mistaken? Suppose when you die you find out that you’re not going to Heaven, you’re going to Hell?”

Old Billy said, “Praise God, I’ve been having a wonderful time in the Lord ever since I gave my life to Him. Jesus has been good to me, & if I die & go down to Hell, then I’ll be thankful for all the joy Jesus brought into my life here."

"I’ll shout about that all over Hell, & they’ll have to send me up to Heaven because they can’t stand that kind of joy down there.” (Adapted from Ed Wood on Sermon Central)

A basic point of some of my messages in the past has been that, for most people, their faith - what they have been taught, what they believe - makes all the difference in the way they act, in the values they hold dear, & in the standards which guide the way they live.

Now, in that same vein, may I suggest that our emotions have a profound affect upon the way we feel.

Maybe King Solomon said it best when he wrote these words, "A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones." (Proverbs 17:22 KJV)

Our emotions cause us to sweat, to weep, to tremble. Our emotions cause us to turn white with fear, red with embarrassment, purple with anger, & green with nausea. Our emotions really do effect us physically.

So King Solomon was right. If you're joyful in your heart, then that is good medicine. But if you're not joyful, if your spirit is broken, then it dries up your bones. You become old & tired, & a person no one much wants to be around.

ILL. In his book "A Window on the Mountain," Winston Pierce tells of his high school class reunion. A group of the old classmates were reminiscing about things & persons for which they were grateful.

One man mentioned that he was particularly thankful for Mrs. Wendt, his English teacher, for she more than anyone had introduced him to Tennyson & the beauty of poetry.

Acting on a suggestion, he wrote a letter of appreciation to Mrs. Wendt & addressed it to the high school. The note was forwarded & eventually reached the old teacher.

About a month later the man received a response. It was written in a feeble longhand & read as follows: “My dear Willie, I can’t tell you how much your letter meant to me. I am now in my nineties, living alone in a small room, cooking my own meals, lonely, & like the last leaf of fall lingering behind."

"You will be interested to know that I taught school for forty years & yours is the first letter of appreciation I ever received. It came on a blue, cold morning & it cheered me as nothing has for years. Willie, you have made my day.” (From Sermon Central)

Think about it. Who are the people to whom we are attracted? "Gloomy Gus" who walks around with a frown on his face? The person who sees all the bad things in the world, who is thoroughly convinced that everything is going to fall apart? Is that the kind of person with whom we love to spend our time?

I don't think so! We are attracted to the person who has a smile on his face, & joy in his heart.

But someone says, "Well all right, preacher, I hear you. But circumstances in my life aren't that good. Things have been tough. Just why should my heart be filled with joy?"

Let me mention 3 reasons this morning. I believe that if you will take these reasons to heart & live with them daily, that it will make a world of difference in the way you feel.

I. WE HAVE EXPERIENCED A GREAT DELIVERANCE

The first one is this: “We who are Christians have experienced a great deliverance.”

The Bible teaches that while we were sinners God loved us. While we were sinners God sent His Son to die on the cross for us.