06/24/2007
What Has Happened to all your Joy? (Gal 4:12-20)
At BHQ, my first real job with any career potential, I started in the warehouse and worked my way up quickly, into the office, into sales, into management.
I was there when we had a record years, so good that we got all of the sales and management people together in Chicago to celebrate our success, something around $200million in one year if I remember correctly.
It was a lot of fun, it was easy to be excited about the job, as a salesman, I had some success, we landed a nice contract with one of my customers, which made it possible for us to open a new location in Topeka, which I got to manage.
Things were going so well, I had a spiritual renewal in Topeka, got baptized, came back to KC to start another new operation for the company inside a steel mill. Steel mill’s were our niche market as a company.
But the steel industry went south, and with a lot of our eggs in one basket, our company fell hard. Steel companies were filing for bankruptcy left and right, the steel mill in KC we were in filed for bankruptcy and closed the mill, I had to lay off everyone I had hired out there.
I went back to the KC sales branch as the RD manager, and we had to begin laying off people there as well. Management took a pay cut, the magic was gone, it wasn’t so easy to be fired up about work.
The company pulled through, its still going, which is a testament to the leadership of the company.
Not long before I left the company, I remember having a conversation with another manager, in the hose and belting department, his name was Dennis.
He had been in the industry for a number of years, had been with our company, then worked for another hose and rubber company, and had been back with BHQ for several years.
He had put his whole life into his career for the most part, and he was feeling down about our situation. I was trying to cheer him up, I told him it was just a job, things would get better. Try not to let this get you down.
He just looked at me, and he had a one word question – HOW?
There was a lot in that question, How? I had a family to go home to, I had a relationship with Jesus, things much more important to me than a job, but Dennis didn’t have Christ in his life, and he didn’t have much family, he was divorced, had a daughter, but didn’t get to see her that often, she lived in ST. Louis I believe.
There are ups and downs in any job, any relationship, in anything worth doing or having
My job at BHQ, in the beginning, it was new, I was fired up, it was easy to be passionate about my work. But as time wore on, and things got tough, it wasn’t so easy anymore, I lost some of that zeal.
Our walk with Christ can be like that sometimes too, don’t you think?
In the beginning, you are on fire for Jesus, full of gratitude for his Salvation, in awe of his power, utterly broken over the your sin that put him on that cross
But over time, you can lose some of that zeal, we begin to take his grace for granted, the edge wears off of our passion, and when things get tough, sometimes we get angry at God, we blame him, and we wallow around in self pity, wondering what happened to our joy
Gal 4: 12-20 (NIV) 12 I plead with you, brothers, become like me, for I became like you. You have done me no wrong. 13 As you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you. 14 Even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself. 15 What has happened to all your joy? I can testify that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. 16 Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?
17 Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may be zealous for them. 18 It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good, and to be so always and not just when I am with you.
19 My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you, 20 how I wish I could be with you now and change my tone, because I am perplexed about you!
PRAY
I. What it was like
12) I plead with you, brothers, become like me, for I became like you.
Paul became like them – Paul was a missionary
In order to reach people with the gospel, missionaries immerse themselves in the culture of the people, learn how they think, how to communicate best with them.
That’s what Paul did.
1Cor 9: 22-23 (NIV) 22 I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
Jesus told us to be in the world but not of it in his prayer for the disciples and for us in John chapter 17:
Jn 17:14-16 (NIV) 14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.
Paul became like them in order to bring them to Christ, now Paul is asking them to become like him
Is Paul being conceited? - Not really
If we put his statement in context with his other writings, we know that Paul is very humble, he knows that he is not perfect, he calls himself chief among sinners.
But what Paul is, He is devoted to Jesus Christ. Everything he is about, Everything he does, Everything he is, is centered around Christ and His glory.
That is what Paul is asking the Galatians to become.
Then, once again Paul is taking the Galatians down memory lane
12...You have done me no wrong. 13 As you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you. 14 Even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself. 15 What has happened to all your joy? I can testify that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me
You have done me no wrong: Paul is letting them know that even though they are in a crisis now, and have drifted from Paul’s solid teaching about the gospel, Paul is still thankful and he still remembers how well they treated him in the beginning
It is interesting that Paul mentions that is was an illness that caused Paul to first deliver the gospel to the Galatians.
We often see an illness as a setback, an obstacle to overcome. But for Paul, it was a God given opportunity to share the good news of Jesus.
We need to see this from both sides as well. In v 14 Paul says his illness was a trial to the Galatians.
It can be a big hassle to help someone who is sick, to take care of them. There is a lot of speculation about what illness Paul was suffering from. One of the most prevalent theories is that he had some kind of trouble with his eyes. If so, he might have needed a lot of help if it was severe while he was there. He might have needed help to walk from one place to another, to eat, to write for him, to read his letters or scripture to him. He would need help doing just about everything. The eye trouble theory might be supported by what Paul says in v15 “I can testify that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me.”
The truth is, we can’t be sure what his ailment was, but it doesn’t really matter. He was ill, it was a trial for the Galatians, but Paul says :
14 Even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself
Unfortunately, when the burden of caring for someone who is ill, or elderly, and they need a lot of help, the one helping can experience frustration and sometimes they allow that to turn into contempt or resentment of the person they are helping.
On the way from Orlando to Panama City Beach this past week, we stopped at a rest area and there was what looked to be a mother and daughter.
The mother was elderly, she used a cane and walked very slowly. It looked like she could really use a walker. She was holding on to her daughter’s arm, and they were walking slowly toward the bathrooms. The daughter had a little dog on a leash, and her mother was having trouble walking because the leash was against her leg and she seemed to be in fear of tripping over the dog.
The daughter was visibly upset and frustrated. She told the older lady she was on her own, and took off with the dog. Her poor mother stood there on the sidewalk looking around, not sure where to go or what to do.
The daughter came back and finally helped her walk back to the car, but you could just feel the helplessness of the mother, and the scorn and contempt of the daughter – it was heartbreaking.
Paul tells us that the Galatians acted in the opposite manner. Even though his illness was a burden, was a trial for them, they treated him like he was an angel from God, like he was Jesus Christ himself.
That’s about the biggest compliment he could pay them, is it not?
Have you ever sat and thought about what it would be like to meet Jesus face to face, in the flesh?
Have you thought about what you would say, what you would ask him? How would you treat him, would you recognize him?
You would give him your best, wouldn’t you, you would give him your undivided attention, see that he was comfortable, give him all the time he wanted.
Jesus told us that when we help someone in need, when we feed the hungry, give a drink of cold water to the thirsty, clothe the naked, we are doing those things to him.
If we truly believe and understand that, then the excellent way Paul was treated by the Galatians should be the norm when it comes to Christians.
Paul says in verse 15 that he can testify that if they could have, they would have torn out their own eyes and given them to Paul.
Whether Paul’s eyes were really the problem or not, Paul is saying that these people were absolutely willing to truly give of themselves, to make major sacrifices to help another person.
They had that fire, that zeal for Jesus that turns people into super-servants
Service always involves sacrifice. Our VBS volunteers will be giving up their time and giving their love to the kids who come here this week. That takes commitment, that takes passion for these kids, passion for Jesus
Let me ask you a question? I want you to think about this one. It got me this week.
Have you ever driven on by, or walked on by someone who was obviously in need of help?
You see a Mom with her kids on the side of the road by a broken down car,
or someone struggling to carry their groceries home or to the car,
or someone who looks like they are in a strange place and are lost but afraid to ask for help,
or an elderly lady, who needs help walking, but her daughter left her alone on the sidewalk at a rest stop on the highway in Florida
Have you ever seen someone like that and kept on going, you start talking to yourself:
I should stop, I should help that person, (but it will cost me)
We are really good at talking ourselves out of things like that –
That mom probably has a cell phone, she can call someone to come get her, she might be frightened if a big man were to stop and approach her.
Someone else will help, I will be late if I stop.
Do you know what I was thinking as I stood there watching that poor old lady on the sidewalk at the rest stop, looking around and looking helpless?
If I go over there and help that person, her daughter might get mad. She might be insulted that I stepped in to help, there might be a confrontation. Her daughter is responsible, she will come back and help.
What has happened to all your joy
Paul asks the Galatians in v15 and 16, what has happened to all you joy? Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?
Part of the problem for the Galatians is that they are falling prey to some false teaching.
But in the bigger picture, part of the root problem is that they have lost some of their zeal for Jesus, they were once on fire for Him, but they have fizzled out a little, their fire has been tamped down by time and by the world around them.
The enemy specializes in trying to throw water on our fire. That just might be his voice that you hear saying “Someone else will help”, “don’t get involved”, “I am on a schedule, I am too busy to take time to help.” “there might be a confrontation”
Those are cop outs designed by the master of deception to “let you off the hook”, to help you wimp out and run away from your responsibility as a Christian.
That right – your responsibility. We keep saying that my salvation, my life as a Christian, in the end it is not about ME. It is about HIM, it is about Jesus, about being devoted to him, being on fire for Him. It is about the glory that is given to Jesus when His disciples carry out His will by being His hands and feet.
That first voice that you hear, the one that says “I should stop”, “I should help”, that voice is the Holy Spirit. That voice comes from God, that is the voice that we need to listen to.
Our sinful nature doesn’t want to listen to that voice. There is an inner struggle, a battle within each one of us: The flesh versus the Spirit
What has happened to all your joy?
Sometimes is just kind of fades away as we slowly give in to the flesh, to our sinful nature, and we start listening to the wrong voice.
The desire of God, the desire of the Holy Spirit living in you is to sanctify you, to make you more and more like Jesus. But you must cooperate.
You can resist, you can kind of turn down the voice of the Spirit, like turning down the volume on a stereo, get back a little of that old dark comfort, turn down the light a little – man loves the dark, resists the light. Our sinful nature thrives in the darkness.
It is hard to give up all the control in your life, we have a tendency to take back a little, then a little more, then a little more.
The other voice, the one whispering in your ear to take it easy, live a little, don’t be such a Jesus Freak, people might start talking.
As that happens, your fire starts to die down some, you lose your zeal, and with it goes your joy.
That is part of what happened to the Christians in Galatia, has it happened to you?
Are you just a little afraid of being labeled a Jesus Freak, a Holy Roller, a Bible Thumper, a Zealot?
Do you know what Paul says in vs 17-18?
It is fine to be zealous
Gal 4: 17 Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may be zealous for them. 18 It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good, and to be so always and not just when I am with you.
Being zealous is fine, as long as it is for the right purpose and it is genuine.
The false teachers in Galatia are zealous, but not for good. They are zealous to win people to themselves, to their way of thinking. They do not have the ultimate goal of Glory to God. They want the Galatian Christians to be zealous in the same way, for the wrong reasons and directed at the wrong target
It is fine to be zealous, as long as the purpose is good, in other words as long as we are zealous for Christ. God wants us to be zealous when it comes to Him, He wants us to be on fire, it is far better than being wishy washy / luke warm.
Re 3: 15-16 (NIV) 15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot or cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
Jesus would rather you be cold even than lukewarm.
If you are cold, the people in your life might not even know that you are a Christian because you probably don’t talk about your faith much, so at least you aren’t doing too much damage, you just look like another pagan.
But if you are Lukewarm, then people might be looking at you and seeing you as an example of what a Christian is like. And if you are Lukewarm, then you are a bad example of a true Christian, your life may have a negative testimony to the people in your life.
People like that put a bad taste in the mouth of Jesus, he wants to spit them out.
He wants us to be hot – He wants us to be on fire. He wants us to be zealous for HIM!
And if you are on fire, it doesn’t come and go. If it is not just a show that you are putting on, look at me, the amazing Christian will now perform again, see what I can do?
If you are on fire, you aren’t looking to have glory for yourself, you just can’t help yourself when it comes to living life for Jesus.
You just can’t help yourself when it comes to being the hands and feet of Jesus and helping people who are in need.
I was thinking about that elderly lady at the rest stop this week. She needed help, but I was afraid there might be a confrontation.
You know what, maybe there was supposed to be a confrontation.
I was afraid that if I helped that lady walk to the restrooms, her daughter might get angry and tell me to mind my own business.
But maybe that is what God had in mind. Maybe God put me there to tell that woman that I saw someone in need so I helped her, maybe she needed to hear someone point out that her mom needed help, that she looked afraid, that she was hurting her mother’s feelings. Maybe she was just having a terrible day and that was all it would take to bring her to her senses.
I will never know. I can’t go back in time.
What I can do is pray for God to give me the Strength to turn up the volume on the voice of the Holy Spirit.
What I can do is ask God to stoke up my fire, to increase my zeal for Him.
It is a risky thing to do, because He will tell you to serve other people. He will ask you to sacrifice, he will take you out of your comfort zone and put you into situations you never thought you could handle.
But that is OK because HE can handle anything.
Will you go there with me today? Will you risk being on fire for Jesus? Will you ask for it? The next time you see someone in need, will you listen to that first voice?
Or maybe you are like my friend Dennis from my story at the beginning of this talk. He never had any real joy. He was looking in the wrong places for it.
It is a very sad story, because not too long after I left the company, Dennis was laid off, He was bitter about it, sued the company for discrimination, the company settled the suit so he got a little money, but it didn’t bring him any joy.
Dennis’ problem wasn’t his job situation, he got another job in no time. His problem was that he didn’t know Jesus. He saw no hope and no purpose in his life. As far as I know, he never did find real joy, never found Jesus, he became manic depressive, unbalanced, depressed, and he took his own life.
Sometimes I wonder if it could have changed anything if I had been more on fire and more zealous when I talked to Dennis. I don’t know, I can’t go back in time.
But if you are here today and you feel hopeless like he did, I can tell you that it is never really hopeless, and that you can have real joy, your life can have real purpose.
God wants you to have joy, to have purpose, and to have a real relationship with Him, the creator of the universe.
Your sin separates you from God, but He sent His son Jesus, God in human flesh, to die on the cross to pay for your sins.
If you will turn away from your sin, and turn toward Jesus, believing that He is the Son of God, that He did die on the cross to pay for your sins, and that he conquered death and walked out of that tomb on the third day. If you will do that and ask Him to forgive you, and ask Him to be your Master, your Lord and Savoir, He will.
He will forgive your sins and He will make His home in your heart. He will save you from an eternity apart from God and He will give you joy and purpose.
I can’t go back in time to talk to Dennis again, but I can talk to you. If you want someone to talk to, I am here, and I want to talk
Lets pray.
