Have you ever felt old, worn-out and used-up? Do you feel like everyone around you is draining you dry of any life that you have? The kids are always making constant demands on you, the boss gets raises and promotions as a result of work that you have done, your teacher expects you to have time to do 5 hours of homework every night and your spouse never seems to be satisfied with what you do around the house. At the end of the day, no matter what the calendar says is your age, you feel old. You’re just making it from day to day. If you can relate to this, I would suggest to you that you need a vacation! As you all know, last week, Stacy and I went on vacation to Florida. This was a much needed trip for us and we realized it more so once we got there. Even though it was a difficult task to board the plane back to Kansas, we feel a certain youthfulness and rest from going there.
Illustration: Throughout history, there have been tales of about a legendary Fountain of Youth that could restore the health and vitality to anyone that drank from its waters. By the 1500’s the Fountain’s legend became so popular that famous Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce De Leon gave up on acquiring treasure and spent his energy searching for these waters of longevity. Even though Ponce De Leon went on to discover Florida as a result of his quest, the Fountain of Youth still alluded him and every man that has sought it since. Today, the secrets of how such a Fountain can deliver youth would be considered priceless. Those priceless secrets, however, are exactly what I offer in this sermon today. And surprisingly, they are absolutely free. -
We are still looking for the mythical fountain of youth. Women try to find it in make-up and facials. Men and women try to get it by having their faces lifted and their bellies suctioned. Now is the time of year when the diet craze is about to take effect because everyone wants to look good when they put that new bathing suit on. And then we’ll spend time out in the sun this summer to get just enough color on our faces to give us that “youthful glow”.
Illustration: On our plane ride from Atlanta to Orlando we sat next to a man that lived in Florida. He told me jokingly that he was 50 years old but the humidity in Florida is what kept him looking so young. The truth was that he was probably only 35 at the oldest but it did get me thinking a little about the possibility of the “Fountain of Youth”.
Once I arrived in Florida, I gotta tell ya, I felt revived, young and full of spunk. As we toured Disney, Universal, and the beaches, I couldn’t help but to think that maybe the secret to youth is found in Joy, laughter, and trying new things in life. Going to Disney World made me feel young again. But I also believe it isn’t just Disney World or even Florida for that matter. I believe that the Fountain of Youth is available to each of us and it is found where ever laughter is heard. As we broke the chain of doing the same ol’things we do each day in our lives, life seemed to become a bit brighter for us. I believe that Stacy and I found the famed Fountain of Youth on our trip but it isn’t an actual fountain that we could drink from but it is a fountain of enjoying life.
God tells us to enjoy life, to be cheerful.
Prov. 17:22 “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”
A cheerful heart, a cheerful face, and a laughing mouth is good medicine. It’s good for the person who is laughing and for the person who is hearing the laughter.
Illustration: Stacy will tell you that I am the worst driver she has ever known but please don’t believe her. I did however support her false belief of me being a horrible driver during our vacation to Florida last week. She drove the rental car the entire time we were there except for last Sunday. Sunday was our sigh seeing day and we decided to take a trip to see Daytona Beach and just enjoy the sights. I suppose she allowed me to drive that day so she could spend a good amount of sightseeing rather than driving.
I took the keys and she told me as I started the car, “Please don’t wreck and don’t do anything stupid” I just grinned and said, “of course not.” As soon as I pulled out of our hotel parking lot I found myself in trouble. I went to turn my blinker on and the windshield wipers popped on and I was blocking an entrance for another car as I sat there trying to fix it. And then a car came out of nowhere and was on my left side trying to pass me but couldn’t because I had another driver to my right waiting for me to go. Stacy looked at me and cringed as she said “Dear Lord”. I soon got the traffic cleared up and my wipers off, we were safe. Then we both just began to laugh and laughed about it for a good while.
Laughter is good medicine. It can bring about a certain amount of healing in the body and the soul.
We very easily could have just been upset over the vehicle scare but instead of being grumpy about it and having Stacy tell me, how she made a mistake in allowing me to get behind the wheel, we both chose to laugh. It really brightened the mood of the day as we went out.
I also thought about laughter as we made our way to Disney World on another day. It is said that Disney is the Happiest Place on Earth. I believe they may just be right.
We walked all day long in 90 degree weather, we were hot, sweaty and tired but we just couldn’t stop smiling. I mean, how in the world can you not have a smile on your face walking around Disney? It is just clean fun. Kids, parents, grandparent, and couples; were all there for one common reason, to laugh, to have joy, to take a break from the rest of the world and their everyday ordinary lives!
I wonder about our church. Do we all come here for the same reason as well? Kids, parents, grandparents and couples, why are we here each Sunday? Do we come with joy in our hearts to worship, praise and fellowship? To take a break from the world and to be rejuvenated?
I fear that we have made church too much of a normal everyday thing for us. We come here once a week and just go through the motions. We need to find joy in worshipping God and church should be our weekly Disney World. We should come here with our loved ones with one mission in mind, to smile and be filled with joy in the presence of God, to praise him doesn’t mean we come to church each Sunday with scowls on our faces but with smiles on our faces.
Psalm 100:2 Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.
Whatever is going on in our lives, we should come to church full of joy and as we do, we are not only receiving a blessing but giving a blessing as well. Look at the people to whom you are drawn. It’s not the sullen and sad. It’s the joyful and jubilant! It’s the happy people with smiles that we would rather be around!
How many times in life have you heard or you yourself have been totally bored and placed in a bad mood by a laxidazical and depressing church service? If that’s the way a church is, they are not serving God the way they ought to and they are a hindrance in helping people draw close to the joy that comes with a relationship with Jesus.
If you believe that church should be a proper, stuffy, boring place, you’re wrong. God has blessed us with things like Joy, Happiness, and Laughter.
God has given us the gift of humor and laughter, why can’t we use more of it in our church? A sense of humor is a blessing that God has given us. Let’s share it with others and share it in church.
Maybe being young isn’t all about our physical appearance or even how others see us. Maybe it is something within us, how we see ourselves.
VIDEO: Evian Baby Commercial.
The point this video has for today’s sermon is, Laughter and youthfulness. We need to choose to live Young. This Evian commercial is insinuating that by drinking their water, you’ll feel younger. But I choose to believe what Jesus tells us in John4:14 instead.
John 4 :14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
Jesus is the living water that only he can provide. And by accepting Him and all He offers, we will have eternal life. A life that is ageless and forever young. A life full of laughter, Joy, and Love. A life that each of us seek here on earth but is only found through Jesus. Jesus is the Water of Life!!
I also believe that God wants us to not only accept Him but to enjoy the Life here on earth that He has given each of us. Eccl. 8:15 “So, I commend the enjoyment of life, because nothing is better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany him in his work all the days of the life God has given him under the sun.”
God is not dull! God is not a bore! He is not against us laughing, having a good time, and enjoying life. HE IS FOR US! He wants us to be able to enjoy what He has created. Why do you think He made it in the first place? To share in it. To rejoice in it. To praise Him in it and for it!
1 Tim. 4:4 “For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving.”
What is it that you enjoy in life? Hunting and fishing? Gardening? Planting flowers? Playing in the dirt? Playing golf? Lifting weights? Washing clothes? Washing dishes? Running the vacuum? (Ha!) Running? Walking? Biking? Jogging? Jazzercising? Vacationing? Going shopping?
Whatever it is, do it, give thanks for it, and rejoice in it, because it is from God to be enjoyed! AND IT CAN BE A GREAT STRESS RELIEVER!
Stacy and I truly needed a stress reliever and He blessed us with our vacation. To be able to take a break was a huge motivation for me personally in living a happier life.
You see, people are hurting in this world. People are full of stresses, Grief, Pain, losses of loved ones, split marriages, financial ruins, Bad health, stresses of parenting and a list of many more. And even though if we were to ask each individual person what is that they need, they would tell us very different answers. But the simple truth is that we all need the same thing, JOY. We each need and desire pure joy in this world and the truth is that it can only be found with Jesus.
We need to realize that Our father has all things under control. Remember back when your children were small or when you were small. No cares, no worries. We knew that Mom and Dad would take care of everything for us.
VIDEO: “Act Like a Child, Trust God”
If we believe we’re God’s children, maybe it’s time we started acting like it and leave the worrying to Dad.
Matthew 6:27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? - Act like a child. Trust God. Enjoy Life.
Whatever our lot is in life, we need to seek the blessings that God provides and enjoy the lives He has given to us. We need to begin to experience life to its fullest.
ENJOY LIFE. Enjoy the things that God has given you. Be thankful for them. Don’t ever forget to say, “Thank you, Lord.” And allow these things to relieve some of the pressures and stress of this life. You need them. And I need them.
Instead of sulking around, being mad at God and doing nothing in this blessed life that He has given us, do something! God has given us so very much and we need to experience to its fullest, always placing him in the middle and praising Him for it.
Conclusion:
We have a short amount of life in this world and it is to be cherished and enjoyed. Not dreading each day we have. Look up to Jesus and thank him for the good you have and be rejuvenated with Joy and laughter. Take a break from the norm, go out to a movie, go bowling, go out to eat, take a trip, a walk, something and enjoy what God has given you.
Feel young again, laugh a little and realize that life offers much more than you realize. Life’s too short to sit around and wait for heaven; God has you here now and has blessed you to live, so LIVE, LIVE LIFE TO IT FULLEST! Enjoy the youthfulness spirit in which He has giving us.
Stop searching for the Fountain of Youth, the next best thing that will take years off. Stop searching for it because it has already been found. Jesus offers us the drink of eternal life and once we have accepted it, let’s enjoy it and learn to relax a little and laugh more.
If you buy into the lie that you are old, guess what, you’ll be old. If you accept the truth that you are a child of God and He wants you to celebrate life and be filled with joy, you’ll have a more youthful and happier life.
