Happy Father’s Day to all! Dads and granddads, we greatly appreciate you!
Good Morning to our Cross Church family meeting at Nance Elementary again this morning.
Let me ask you a serious question, “What would like to change about your home?” If you could change one thing about your roommate, what would it be? If you could change one thing about your siblings, what would it be? Children, if you could change one thing about your parents, what would it be? Parents, if you could change one thing about your children, what would it be? Or if you could change one thing about your spouse, what would it be?
We’re in a summer sermon series devoted to bringing the change into our lives that we’ve always longed for. It’s a series devoted to explaining, promoting, and advocating living life with the fruit of the Spirit: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23). We will look at each of the fruit of the Spirit in turn over the course of the summer.
Today, I want to speak on how you can become more joyful and overcoming sorrow that comes into our lives. Most of our life is a search for happiness in one form or another. Some of you may have read Katherine Mansfield, a short-story fictional writer of a century ago. Katherine Mansfield describes happiness as suddenly swallowing a glowing slice of the afternoon sun. We search for happiness in our careers, in our childhood, and certainly, we search for it in our homes. But happiness or joy eludes us. Where is your happy place?
Three Myths to Happiness
Now, sadness cannot be normally reduced to one universal cause in our lives. Instead, you need to ask yourself, “What made me happy that is now missing in my life?” What fire have I been warming myself at instead of Jesus?
1) Money Brings Happiness
The first myth when it comes to pursuing happiness is this: the more money I earn, the happier I’ll be. Studies show there is a diminishing return to making more money. In a 2010 study, people making over $75,000 a year saw a diminishing return to happiness.
Myth #1: Money Brings Happiness
2) Escape Brings Happiness
Abraham Lincoln is generally noted as our nation’s greatest President, but even he went through a period of depression that those closest to him removed all razors and knives from his home, thinking he might commit suicide. After a breaking up with his Mary Todd (eventually his wife), Lincoln wrote a letter to his law partner and ended the letter with these words:
“I am now the most miserable man living. If what I feel were equally distributed to the whole human family, there would not be one cheerful face on earth. Whether I shall ever be better, I cannot tell; I awfully forbode I shall not. To remain as I am is impossible. I must die or be better, it appears to me.”
We often think escaping the circumstances we are facing will bring us happiness. So we go on vacation, or we find our favorite band who’s playing in a concert for fun. Yet, after the concert, the lights will come back on. And the cruise ship will return back to port. And eventually, the vacation will end.
Myth #2: Money Brings Happiness
3) Image Brings Happiness
A recent study by the University of Missouri researchers demonstrated a relationship between Facebook users and depression. When individuals see a stream of positive Facebook posts – new jobs, engagements, and vacations – this leads to an inaccurate picture of others' lives. After surveying more than 700 college students, they came up with the term “Facebook envy.” How many times have we heard, “Image is everything”? When you live to create and sustain an image, you’ll become a fake. And there’s no shorter distance between losing happiness than living a fake life.
Have you fallen behind the “Hope Line” where not even a hint of joy’s rays of light have fallen on you?
Today’s Passage
Jesus is but hours from His death when He speaks the words in today’s Scripture. These words are part of what is known as the Farewell Discourse, but for us today, Jesus’ words show us the way to possessing tremendous joy in our lives.
“A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.” So some of his disciples said to one another, “What is this that he says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’; and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?” So they were saying, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.” Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” (John 16:16-24)
The Pressure Cooker
Almost everyone agrees that the state of homes is much worse than it used to be. Talk to almost any of the schoolteachers in our church, and they’ll tell you one of the most challenging things about their jobs as teachers is the parents. Life at home isn’t what it used to be, with growing divorce rates, fewer people marrying, and with absentee dads on the rise. Life at home isn’t what it used to be. We wring our hands and say, “What’s wrong with us? What’s wrong with our homes? What’s wrong with our schools?”
You mind finding it surprising to know that the Bible is much easier on our homes and our schools than we are on ourselves? Are you surprised by this? The Bible says the troubles between us are actually because of the existing trouble within us. Let me say this another way…
… if you are unhappy with yourself, then you’ll be unhappy with everyone else.
… and if you are arguing with yourself, then you’ll argue with everyone else.
The pressure cooker of your home doesn’t create your problems, but it simply reveals the problems inside you. No matter the home you came from, no matter how dreary the place where you work, God can change you to give you joy … real joy… from the inside.
1. Jesus Enters into Your Sorrow
The immediate reason for sadness in today’s text is Jesus is telling them He’ll only be with them for a little while longer. Jesus is telling His friends that He is about to die, and as a result, they’ll experience tremendous but temporary sorrow. In fact, the Disciples have a lot of confusion over Jesus’ prediction that He is leaving. You can hear them saying, “Leaving? Where’s He going? What will we do?” They begin to ask a dozen among themselves, and they have so many questions. Jesus, in turn, predicts that they “will weep and lament,” while “the world will rejoice.” (John 16:20b). “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.” (John 16:20)
Let me be clear: Jesus did not promise He would eliminate your despair but that He would overcome your despair. In fact, on one level Jesus promises His followers trouble for the very fact they follow Him: “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Yes, to say to you that you can eliminate all sorrow or sadness is promising too much.
1.1 Jesus Himself Limits of Sorrow
Jesus promises that our sorrows will come to an end. He doesn’t eliminate our sorrows but He does limit our sorrow. Find hope in this for Jesus Himself limits your sorrow: “a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory” (Matthew 12:20). You are not hopelessly locked in the prison of despair. Just think of the counsel from the famous Psalm 23: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever” (Psalm 23:4-6). Again, our Lord promises He will limit our sorrows.
1.2 Jesus “Flips” Our Sorrows
But Jesus doesn’t just limit your sorrow, He flips your sorrow. Let me show you… While a counselor, a spouse, or a friend might say to you, “I hope to help you. I’ll do my best to help you.” In contrast, look what Jesus will tell you: “…your sorrow will turn into joy” (John 16:20b). Jesus is most effective at turning sorrow into joy. Jesus is not a doctor that says, “Let’s see if this works…” No, He is completely effective in all of His prescriptions. The Bible doesn’t say, “You ought to rejoice,” or “You should be more happy.” Instead, Jesus says, “…your sorrow will turn into joy” (John 16:20b). Jesus tells His followers that their sorrow will turn into a fountain of perpetual joy. God promises you that He’ll take away your bitterness and give you sweet joy in its place. It’s not that He completely removes bitterness, but He transforms such experiences. This is the ugly duckling becoming a beautiful swan. Jesus is promising Beauty and the Beast, only it isn’t a fairy tale.
Jesus says, “I’m about to die but I will see you again.” When Jesus’ followers realize He is resurrected, our very sorrows become a fountain of joy.
Jesus Enters into Your Sorrow
2. Jesus Creates Your Joy
On one level, Jesus enters into our sorrows, and He limits our despair. Yet, He promises so much more than simply comforting you in your grief. Jesus’ arrival into your life is the cause of great joy. I want to convince you of this practical truth: Joy is the normal condition for believers. Let me show you how: “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy” (John 16:20).
Jesus says, “You will rejoice.” He doesn’t say, “Some of you who live in upwardly mobile societies with excellent opportunities at education with even greater prospects at a good job … will be happy.” Nor does He say, “Those who have a greater emotional and peaceful temperament will be happy.” No, Jesus says, “your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you” (John 16:22b).
If I were not convinced Jesus was God Himself, I would accuse Him of possessing a massive ego. Jesus makes a connection to the joy of the mother at her newborn child and His followers being reunited with Him after His resurrection. See the ego on Jesus. Only Jesus could say this kind of thing. Only Jesus could back up saying this kind of thing. Do you realize how happy a mother is who sees her child? Jesus tells us that His followers experience just this kind of joy. In Psalm 96, the Bible says that even trees clap for joy when Jesus comes (Psalm 96:12). Or think about when John the Baptist was still in His mother’s womb. The Bible describes the time when Elizabeth (John’s then-pregnant mother) gets near Jesus, who is still in Mary’s womb … … and John leaps simply because He is in the presence of Jesus (Luke 1:44). I want you to take this home with you: Joy is the normal condition for believers.
Tell me if you’ve ever heard this kind of thinking before: You delay coming to Christ, because you wanted to “have fun” in the world. “Later,” you thought, “Later, I’ll come to Christ but now I want to have fun.” More than a century ago, London’s most popular preacher was man named Charles Haddon Spurgeon. In an age before texting, emailing, and calling, a young man wrote Spurgeon to ask him if he could marry his bride and he at certain time. Spurgeon replied that he could not marry this young couple the week in question but asked if they could postpone their marriage by one week when he would be back in town. In place of waiting a week, the young man asked the pastor could he not marry them a week earlier than originally proposed. Why? Because he didn’t want to postpone his wedding one week more. Knowing Christ is such a joy that I cannot understand why you would postpone your marriage to Christ even by one day more.
Jesus is predicting His death by crucifixion and He goes on to compare the event to “a woman is giving birth.” “When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world” (John 16:21). Jesus is telling us that His resurrection from the dead will have such an impact on His followers emotionally that it will be similar to woman giving birth. The pain of labor is diminished by the joy of seeing your child. So in their confusion, Jesus predicts they’ll go through a tunnel of intense sorrow (while the world is happy) followed by an intensity of joy that is unspeakable. Jesus is telling us that joy is inevitable when you find Him. Joy isn’t optional; instead, it is inevitable.
So let me say something to the Christians in the room for a moment. Given what Jesus says about joy in your life being inevitable and not optional… … given that many of you are not experiencing joy currently … … the question I want you to ask yourself is this: “What am I doing to stifle this joy?”
1. Jesus Enters into Your Sorrow
2. Jesus Creates Your Joy
3. Jesus Sustains Your Joy
The world’s joy is fairly simple: if you have good circumstances you’re happy; if you have bad circumstances you’re sad. Yet, a Christian’s emotional life is more complex. Let me show you the secret to having happiness despite what others might consider a depressing life.
“In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full” (John 16:23-24). What does Jesus mean when He says, “In that day you will ask nothing of me” (John 16:23a)?
Confusion is one of the strongest parts of our growing despair, especially confusion over what God is doing. We get confused when we think God is delaying. The gospels are really consistent in telling us about the confusion of Jesus’ followers about a crucified Messiah. It’s only after Jesus raises from the dead, do they “get it.” Jesus makes a promise to His followers, “There’s coming a day when your confusion will fade like the fog in the morning. There’s coming a day when the Father will give you the Holy Spirit.” “In place of asking me for information, you will ask the Father (in prayer) but you will ask ‘in my name.’” Then, “your joy may be full.”
What’s the difference? It’s the Holy Spirit who dwells inside believers. You think happiness is a debit card attached to an unlimited bank account. You think happiness is an extended summer vacation with no school in sight. You think happiness is the perfect spouse. The real secret to joy is this: You cannot lose divine love. You cannot lose the Holy Spirit living in you. No one can cast you out of His presence. “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). You’re not going to have any fruitfulness or productivity in your life if you’re out there on your own. You’ve got to stay connected. I’d like to be more loving. I’d like to be more joyful. I’d like to be more at peace, no matter what happens to the economy. I’d like to be more kind to people who are mean to me. I’d like to be a good person. I want to be faithful, not unfaithful. I want to keep my promises. To have the life I want to live, I have to be spiritually connected.
Closing
Again, joy is the normal condition for believers. In the quiet of this moment, identify your source of happiness for a moment. If you are experiencing sorrow, you do yourself no good to tell yourself to quit being depressed. Instead, you need to ask yourself, “What made me happy that is now missing in my life?” What fire have I been warming myself at instead of Jesus?
Allow me to led us into time of prayer where we ask the Holy Spirit to invade our lives.
