One thing you will find common in most churches it that there is one basic thing missing. WHAT IS MISSING?
Illus: Let me explain what is missing by telling you a story of a young boy who went to spend the week with his grandfather on the farm.
• While walking around he noticed the chickens. They were scratching and playing around. The little lad said, “They ain’t got it”.
• Next he saw a colt in the field playing and kicking up its heel’s and he said, “He ain’t got it”.
• After examining all of the animals on his grandfather’s farm and seeing that none of them had “it”, this boy finally saw the old donkey in the barn. When he saw the donkey’s long, frowning face and the way that the donkey just stood there he screamed for his grandfather to come quick. “I found it, I found it,” the boy kept yelling. When his grandfather asked what he had found he said, “Pa-Pa, I found an animal that has the same kind of religion that you have.” (Chris Layton, SermonCentral.com)
There are a lot of grumpy people around today in God’s churches. But in all fairness, you find grumpy people in other places also.
Illus: A man had a problem and went to the doctor’s office. As he walked in, he was met by the receptionist, who seemed sad and mad at the world.
The man told her that he had a sore on his chin and that he wanted the doctor to examine the sore.
This grouchy old nurse said: “Down the hall, first door to the right, and take off your clothes for the doctor to examine you."
"But ma’am," he said, "it’s just a sore on my chin. I don’t think all that is necessary."
She repeated, "Down the hall, first door to the right, and take off your clothes so the doctor can examine you!"
"But ma’am," he said.
"Down the hall, first door to the right, and take off your clothes!"
He went down the hall reluctantly, took the first door to the right, walked in and saw another man already sitting there in his boxer shorts, shivering.
He said to him, "Boy, that receptionist is really something, isn’t she? I just have a little sore on my chin and she told me to come down here and take my clothes off for the doctor to examine me.”
The man in the boxer shorts said shivering, "You think that’s bad? I’m the UPS delivery man."
We live in a world of MOODS, and one of the moods we see a lot is SADNESS.
Illus: I was told that a housewife in this church was recently heard praying this prayer:
• "Dear Lord, I pray for wisdom to understand my man.
• Love to forgive him.
• Because Lord…If I pray for strength and you give me strength I'LL BEAT HIM TO DEATH!"
But there are things in this life that sometimes happen that bring us HAPPINESS.
Illus: Saddam Hussein and his chauffeur were rolling down the highway when suddenly they hit a pig crossing the road. They killed it instantly.
Saddam tells his driver: "Go to da farm over dere and explain to da owner of da pig what happened."
One hour later, Saddam sees his driver coming back from the farm, and he is drinking and smoking this long cigar.
Saddam said, "What happen to you? Why are you drinking and smoking dat long cigar?”
"Well, the farmer’s wife insisted that I eat supper with them. After the meal he gave me this cigar and a bottle of wine to drink.”
Saddam Hussein said, "My Word! What did you tell them?"
The driver answered: "Good evening. I am Saddam Hussein's chauffeur and I have just killed the pig.” “I do not know why they were so happy."
We find SADNESS and JOY everywhere we go. We tend to equate happiness with Joy, but they are two totally different things. They each spring from a different source. For example:
• Happiness comes from the world AROUND US. Happiness comes from happenings. If people treat me well, if things are going well in my life, then I’m happy. If my circumstances aren’t favorable, then I’m unhappy.
• Joy comes from the Holy Spirit WITHIN US. The Hebrew word means, “To leap or spin around with pleasure.” In the New Testament the word refers to “gladness, bliss and celebration.”
The one place that you should find JOY is within the church. Why?
• The people around us can have HAPPINESS because a lot of good things happen to them.
• Only God can put JOY within a man’s heart.
You see, there are a lot of folks who have the happiness that the world has in their life, but they know that something within them is missing.
WHAT IS MISSING?
What is missing is that INWARD JOY that God gives a child of God even when things are not HAPPENING the way we would like things to happen.
Paul wrote to the church at Galatia about the Fruit of the Spirit in chapter 5. He asked a very penetrating question in Galatians 4:15, “Where is then the blessedness ye spake of?”
In other words, he was saying, “What has happened to all your joy…”
That question needs to be asked in the church today. What has happened to ALL OUR JOY?
Illus: Someone said that there are some THINGS YOU NEVER HEAR IN CHURCH, like . . .
• Hey! It’s my turn to sit in the front row!
• Pastor, I was so excited about the preaching of God’s Word, I never noticed your sermon went 25 minutes over time!
• SINCE WE’RE ALL HERE, LET’S START THE SERVICE EARLY!
WHAT IS JOY? JOY is the enjoyment of God and the good things that come from Him!
Illus: Someone said:
• If our freedom in Christ is angel food cake, JOY is the frosting!
• If the Bible gives us the wonderful words of life, JOY is the music!
• If the way to heaven turns out to be a steep climb, JOY is the chairlift!
Let’s look at some things that affect our joy. Let’s look at -
I. SOME JOY BUSTERS
Joy is the second fruit of the Spirit. The first fruit is love.
• The devil knows that when Christians do not bear the fruit of “love,” it drives people away from God.
• The devil knows that when Christians do not bear the fruit of “Joy,” it drives people away from God.
Illus: William Barclay has said that “a gloomy Christian is a contradiction in terms, and nothing in all religious history has done Christianity more harm than its connection with…long faces.”
Illus: Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., was a member of the U.S. Supreme Court for 30 years. His mind, wit and work earned him the unofficial title of "the greatest justice since John Marshall." At one point in his life, Justice Holmes explained his choice of a career by saying: "I might have entered the ministry if certain clergymen I knew had not looked and acted so much like undertakers." (Moody Bible Institute’s Today In The Word, June, 1988, p. 13.)
When the devil sees a church filled with JOYFUL CHRISTIANS, he will waste no time in trying to rob them of their Joy. Why? Because he knows a church full of JOYFUL CHRISTIANS CAN SET THE WORLD ON FIRE FOR THE LORD!
Illus: Suppose you went to a football game and everyone just sat there. No matter what was done on the football field they just sat there with their sad faces.
And suppose someone did get excited and stood up and said, “Yea, go man go!” and everyone turned around and looked at them as if to say, “If you don’t settle down we are going to have you tossed out of the stadium.”
Would you want to go to a football game like that?
Listen, you could have more fun going to see the dentist and having a root canal than to go to some churches where the joy of the Lord has been removed!
There is nothing more thrilling than to attend a church where everyone is smiling and rejoicing in the Lord. It is the nearest thing to heaven on the face of this earth.
Let’s look at some of the things that rob us of our joy.
A. UNRESOLVED GUILT
A lot of people are unable to forgive themselves for their past sins. The Lord Jesus has forgiven them but they cannot forgive themselves.
Listen, so you messed up in the past - GET OVER IT!
There is not a child of God that doesn’t deeply regret things they have done in the past.
God has forgiven us of ours sins and now we need to forgive ourselves.
Look at Romans 8:1, we read, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
The good news is this; when God saved you, you became a new creature in Christ Jesus. He forgave you of every sin you have ever committed or will commit.
Paul gives a whole list of what the Corinthians did before they got saved.
Look at 1 Cor. 6:9-10, we read, “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.”
After Paul gave this list of sins, look what he says in verse 11, “And such were some of you…” (Notice, this is past tense. They once were deceivers, fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, effeminate, thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers, and extortioners.)
But he then says, “…But ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”
When God saves us, Paul says He does three things:
• He washes us with the precious blood of the Lord Jesus
• He sanctifies us and sets us apart to do His Work
• He justifies us as if we have never committed one sin
If the sins of your past are robbing you of all your JOY, you need to get over them.
Illus: David committed some horrendous sins, such as; deception, lust, adultery and eventually he was responsible for the murder of Uriah.
He felt enormous guilt over these sins. He wrestled with the guilt and finally came to God in Psalms 51:12, and prayed, "Restore to me the joy of your salvation..."
He did not lose his SALVATION, but he did lose his JOY. He prayed, Lord, “RESTORE TO ME THE JOY OF YOUR SALVATION.”
Forgiveness means IT IS OVER WITH.
Illus: When someone says they have forgiven you and they keep reminding you of what you once did, THEY HAVE NOT FORGIVEN YOU! In fact, they do not know the real meaning of the word FORGIVENESS!
The law of our land accepts forgiveness for what it is.
Illus: For example, suppose a married man cheats on his wife or a married woman cheats on her husband. That is grounds for divorce in every state in the U.S.
But did you know that once she becomes aware of his indiscretion and she takes him back and let’s him spend one night at home, as far as the law is concerned, he has been forgiven. And once he has been forgiven, she can no longer take him to court and get a divorce because of adultery, because her taking him back meant she forgave him and it no longer can be held against him.
Forgiveness means it is no longer held against us! In the world of theology, we call this JUSTIFICATION.
Justification simply means that when God forgives us, we stand before Him as if we have never sinned.
God forgives our sins and there is NO CONDEMNATION IN CHRIST JESUS.
Man may hold it against you, but GOD TRULY FORGIVES US, so we need to get over it and forgive ourselves.
Many need to pray as David did, “RESTORE TO ME THE JOY OF YOUR SALVATION.”
B. A WOUNDED EGO
We men are known for our egos! When we have a large ego, it simply means we have a high opinion of ourselves that others do not share.
Illus: The coach for the little league team had not yet learned the names of all the players, so he called them by the numbers on their uniforms.
• He yelled, "Number 5, your time to bat," and Jeff came to the plate to hit.
• He yelled, "Number 7," and Steve jumped up.
• Then he yelled, "Number 1," but no one got up.
• Again he called out, "Number 1." Still no one emerged from the dugout.
• The umpire was getting annoyed at the delay, so the coach yelled out, "Who is number 1?" The entire team responded, "We are, coach. We are!"
There are many folks who think they are number one and then someone comes along and causes them to have a reality check, and they discover they are not what they think they are.
When this happens, many folks lose their joy. They discover they are not what they thought they were, and that is a tremendous blow to their ego.
In Romans 12:3, we read, “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.”
God wants us all to think HIGHLY OF OURSELVES, but God cautions us about thinking MORE HIGHLY THAN WE OUGHT TO THINK.
Illus: Mohammed Ali, who was known for his big ego, was about to take off on an airplane flight. The stewardess reminded him to fasten his seat belt.
He said brashly, "Superman don't need no seat belt."
The stewardess quickly came back, "Superman don't need no airplane, either." Ali fastened his belt. (James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988) p. 295.)
Some folks just have to be number 1.
Illus: On May 31, 1889, there was a terrible flood at Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Thousands of lives were lost. The event was one of the most significant newsmakers of that year.
A story was told about a man who lived through the flood. Every time he got a chance, he would tell people about it. He died and went to Heaven, where he was told he could have anything he wanted.
The man said he wanted a great hall where he could tell his story to tens of thousands. The wish was granted. The day came. The hall was packed. As he was ready to make his talk about the Johnstown flood, the master of ceremonies told him he would be the second speaker on the program. A man named Noah would precede him.
Illus: Dwight Moody said, “Be humble or you'll stumble.”
There is always someone who has a story better than ours. But if some folks can’t be in the SPOTLIGHT OF ATTENTION, THEY ARE UNHAPPY CAMPERS!
If we have a large ego, it is like carrying a large balloon around; sooner or later someone is going to “pop” your balloon.
People don’t always say the things we would like them to say. Sometimes they offend us and our feelings are hurt.
There are people who still remember what someone said about them ten years ago. And every time they see that person, they have flashbacks and they lose their joy. They need to GET OVER IT!
We have looked at SOME JOY BUSTERS. In the next sermon we will look at some JOY BUILDERS.
Conclusion:
#2a
I. SOME JOY BUSTERS
#2b
II. SOME JOY BUILDERS
