Lord of the Joy
John 16:19-22
http://gbcdecatur.org/sermons/LordOfTheJoy.html
How many here are saved?
How many here have joy?
It should be the same exact crowd. A joyless Christian ought to be a contradiction in terms...an oxymoron.
[Read text]
How many know about the sorrow of v. 21? [Guys, put your hands down!]
As a teen, I wondered why any woman would ever have more than one child. But this verse answers that question. That sorrow is turned into joy...that is, until they become teens!
v. 22b The world did not give you your joy, therefore, the world cannot take it away!
John 15:11
These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
God's Word is sufficient today to whatever needs in this room. I believe He is about to comfort the afflicted ... and afflict the comfortable.
ill.--Ponce de Leon never found the fountain of youth. Why? Is it because it doesn't exist? That's not altogether true. He never found it because he was looking in the wrong place.
It exists only in God's Word...
Nothing will keep you young like the joy of the Lord!
We have in our church some of the youngest old folks you'll ever know. And their secret isn't found in a vitamin store, a yoga class, or a jar of Oil of Old Lady! Their youth cannot be attributed to good genes or avoiding sweets any more than it can be attributed to Obamacare!
It's the joy of the Lord, and it's found in the eyes, and overcomes any crows' feet around them. It's found in a toothy smile, and it doesn't matter if those teeth were original issue. And it's not really outward anyway, so even if the hair turns gray, turns blue, or turns loose, the joy of the Lord has roots that go much deeper!
Outside of our wonderful senior saints here, have you ever known some aging folks who get grouchier instead of sweeter? Aging is not as pleasant as we thought when we were 9. Things are starting to break. Places hurt where I didn't know there were places!
But the joy of the Lord only grows fuller with age, and as I walk around between s.s. classes it seems the joy increases with each age group I ascend!
ill.--I heard about a 95 year old widower who still went out on nursing home visitation. One day he approached a lovely lady who was a resident at the nursing home and asked her to marry him! He said, "I've got $15,000 and just need someone to help me spend it!"
I hope I'm like that one day...not hitting on old ladies, but having that spark of joy!
I hope you don't just spend time with people your age. Some like to work with kids or teens to help keep them young. I guarantee the same results when you spend time with your elders. And that's the group the Bible tells us to get to know. The younger are to submit to the elder, and elders are commanded to teach the younger.
Think about it. Our younger crowd has lots of decisions to make, and not much wisdom and experience to make decisions from. Our elders have lots of wisdom and experience, and not many decisions to make. If you would seek their advice and spend time with them it would not only make their day, it would help your life!
ill.--the other day Bro. Priddy took me to lunch, and we had a great time. He's over 80 now, and here I am, just 35! [wink]
The joy of the Lord is the fountain of youth.
1. The Misery of a Heavy Heart. [not filled with joy]
a. Burdens the soul.
Proverbs 12:25
Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: but a good word maketh it glad.
ill.--imagine you are walking down the road with a heavy backpack on. Someone pulls over and gives you a ride. But you choose not to remove the backpack. You have taken them up on their offer of a ride, but it's not as big of a blessing to you as they intended. It could be an insult to the driver.
Some of you have hopped into God's truck of salvation. Now, allow Him to carry your burdens for you as well. Don't insult the driver!
What is your burden? Guilt? Something from the past? Let God forgive it and help you forget it!
Is it a burden of worry or anxiety for the future? Take it to the Lord and leave it there.
Heavy burdens make the heart stoop. [Harold]
b. Breaks the spirit.
Proverbs 15:13
A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.
You can live with a broken heart. It's very difficult, but it happens often. But if you have a broken spirit...you're in big trouble mister!
When your spirit is broken it's like the lights go off in your eyes. It's as though you are just engulfed in a cloud of hopelessness. There's nothing left of you but the shell of a person! You can't live long that way.
Only the Lord can heal a broken spirit. Allow Him to do it.
c. Buries the body.
Proverbs 17:22
A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.
The soul affects the spirit and the spirit affects the body. It's not about hardening of the arteries, but hardening of the attitude.
ill.--urban legend says that the sick mind of Hitler experimented with children from his concentration camps, separating one test group away from the neglect and abuse to an orphanage filled with the same food, but also love, discipline, games and laughter. The experiment showed that the children in the orphanage grew an average of two inches taller and several pounds heavier, and suffered less disease.
Get the point? A heavy heart takes its toll on the human body. The heavy heart is headed for an early grave.
2. The Mastery of the Heavy Heart.
God has given us the fixer elixir on the screen! A medicine!
Let's all model the merry heart for the generations behind us. They should see us laughing and having a good time. They should see us crying and hurting, and yet held up by the Lord of the Joy! They'll see plenty of others with a victim's mentality in the world, who love the attention they get from rehearsing their pain. They need us to model the real healing, healthy, medicinal joy of the Lord!
We have a lot of fun at GBC...sometimes borderline too much. Once in a while there's a criticism from some grouch about how much laughter there was in a service, but for each of those complaints there's about 10 who say, I'm glad my kids can know that church is a fun place, and that there's joy in serving God!
But the 'merry heart' is not just silliness or laughter, it's a deep sense of abiding joy that's far better than the temporary fix of a good laugh.
Proverbs 14:13
Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful; and the end of that mirth is heaviness.
Godly joy goes far deeper to the core!
a. The seat of joy is the heart.
Joy springs from the merry heart. It's from the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks. It's as a man thinketh in his heart...so is he.
The seat of joy is not the bank / your toys / friends / spouse / kids
Real joy is apart from any of these things that you can lose! Real joy doesn't start outside and work its way in, but the opposite!
b. The source of joy is the Lord.
The Lord of the Joy!
Proverbs 16:20
... whoso trusteth in the LORD, happy is he.
Where was Paul when he wrote 'rejoice in the Lord, and again I say rejoice'? A dungeon!
ill.--Reader's Digest cited studies which say in order to have joy you need 3 things:
1. Someone to love.
2. Something meaningful to do.
3. Something to look forward to.
Jesus provides all 3!
We have someone to love, and they will never change their mind about us, and never leave us!
We have something to do of eternal importance!
And can you think of something you have to look forward to? [heaven!]
"Christ is all I need!"
c. The strength of joy is medicinal.
Studies show that induced laughter relieves stress and tension, and releases chemicals from the brain that affect every organ of the body, and exercises muscles that otherwise wouldn't usually get worked.
And we're talking about something much better than induced laughter...the joy of the Lord!
d. The stability of joy is a continual feast.
Proverbs 15:15
All the days of the afflicted are evil: but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast.
Now, back to John 16:
v. 22 'your joy no man taketh from you.' - continual!
15:11 'that my joy might remain in you' - continual!
If your joy is in things, then when your things are gone, your joy is gone!
If your joy is in another person, then they can take your joy with them as they go!
If your joy is in riches, they will take wing and fly away with your joy. Don't tell me money doesn't talk...it does! "Bye-bye!"
Well, the world didn't give me my joy, and the world can't take it away!
The world is lookin' for love ... in all the wrong places. Rise above!
3. The Ministry of a Healthy Heart.
God promises a lasting joy if we will cling to it. Why? Is it so we'll be happier on the earth? No! Is it so we can with more energy serve the devil? No! It is so we will follow the true fulfillment that is glorifying Him!
a. This joy is to be seen.
Proverbs 15:13
A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance:
Countenance = Face!
ill.--ever passed a car that has a bumper sticker that says smile if you love Jesus, then looked at the driver and they look like a wrinkled prune. They should move the sticker from the bumper to the dash!
If you are saved, make sure and notify your face! No wonder the world doesn't want what we've got ... they're afraid it's contagious!
b. This joy is to be shared.
If you had a cure for cancer wouldn't you want to share it with the world?
I believe that a life without Christ is meaningless. Do you agree? Shouldn't we share Christ with the lost?
Do you have the joy of the Lord? If not, then you need to receive the Lord of the joy!
http://gbcdecatur.org/sermons/LordOfTheJoy.html
