Rejoice! (Part 1) Series

Rejoice! Choosing Joy in the Midst of our Mess (1)

Scott Bayles, pastor

Blooming Grove Christian Church: 10/4/2015

What makes you happy? What brings a smile to your face and joy to your heart? You might think it would be money, power or fame. We may fantasize about going on a tropical vacation, buying a luxury car or winning the lottery, but according to a new survey, we don't actually need any of that fancy stuff to find happiness; rather, it’s the simple things that really make us feel fabulous.

U.K. healthcare group, Bupa, sponsored the survey that asked 2,000 people what brought them happiness. They compiled the top fifty answers which include things like:

1. Feeling the sun on your face

2. Finding a $5 bill in your jacket pocket

3. The smell of fresh baked bread

4. A random act of kindness from a stranger

5. Snuggling on the sofa with your spouse

6. Finding good bargain

7. Freshly-brewed coffee in the morning (Pepsi)

8. Waking up before the alarm and realizing you have more time to sleep

9. Seeing a rainbow

10. Laughing so hard it hurts

11. Popping bubble wrap

12. Watching your breathe float away in cold air

13. Dancing like no one’s watching

The list just goes on and one with things like that. I would add to it: The sound of my children laughing. The feeling of a hot shower. Warm chocolate chip cookies. Sitting in a movie theater beside my wife watching the newest superhero movie.

There are so many little things that bring joy to hearts. But if our happiness depends solely on these sorts of things, then what happens when the sun is hidden by grey clouds, your pockets are empty, the Pepsi’s flat, or the kids are screaming instead of laughing. Often our joy disappears and disappointment and discontentment set in.

Not surprisingly, the Bible has a lot to say about happiness. It speaks of indomitable joy as a fruit of God’s Spirit welling up in the life of a believer—joy that runs deeper and stronger because it’s anchored not in our circumstances or successes, but in the love of God and the person of Jesus.

The Apostle Paul had a lot to say about that kind of joy. His letter to the Philippians is often called the “epistle of joy.” The Philippians believers enjoyed a special relationship with Paul and so he wrote them a personal letter expressing his joy and emphasizing the real joy of the Christian life. The words joy or rejoice appear no less than sixteen times in four short chapters, and the pages radiate with this positive message, culminating in Paul’s exhortation: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4 NIV). What makes Paul’s words even more profound is that he wrote this letter from a Roman prison awaiting trial and possible execution—yet the dominant theme of the letter is joy!

I don’t know about you, but I could use more of that kind of joy in my life. So for the next few weeks, I’d like to dive into the book of Philippians and see what we can learn about experiencing joy in the midst of our messy, mixed-up world.

In the first chapter, I see at least three lessons we can glean from Paul’s writing about experiencing joy. First, Paul reminds us to focus on partnerships.

• FOCUS ON PARTNERSHIPS

Like I said before, Paul had a special relationship with the church in Philippi. He highlights that relationship, saying, “Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ” (Philippians 1:3-5 NLT).

This is the first appearance of the word joy in this letter. Just the thought of their friendship stirred feelings of thankfulness and joy in Paul’s heart. He remembered them in his prayers with joy because they partnered together in sharing the Gospel and building God’s church. Even though he was miles away and wrongfully imprisoned, he felt joyful because he knew there were people who loved him and cared for him. Later, Paul mentions the “care packages” they sent him and how much they meant to him.

Partnerships—relationships—can be a tremendous source of joy.

In fact, positive psychology guru, Martin Seligman studied happiness and found several characteristics common to happy people. Number one on the list: Happy people spend time with others and spend the least time alone. Friendships and meaningful relationships bring us joy.

On the other hand, loneliness is one of the biggest barriers to joy. There are more than 300 million of us in the United States, and sometimes it seems like we're all friends on Facebook. But the sad truth is that Americans are lonelier than ever. Surveys show that 1 out of 4 people feel lonely at any given moment and, of Americans who ate dinner last night, more than 22% ate alone. Loneliness largely affects children, teenagers, college students, newly married couples, mothers, and especially senior citizens.