The Sources Of Joy

He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. - John 3:29

In both John chapter 1 & 3, John the Baptist is sharing his testimony about Jesus Christ. And he exalts Christ. John the Baptist praises Jesus Christ. He glorifies His name. He says in verse 31, He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. In John chapter 1 he says, "It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.” Again he says. Behold The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. (v29).

Now let us come back to verse 29 of this chapter. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. Here, John the Baptist is talking about his fullness of joy. I mean, the fulfillment of joy. His joy comes forth because he is the friend of the bridegroom who stands and hears his voice. When you and I stand and hear the voice of the Lord, we should greatly rejoice. We need to take delight in the Lord for we are able to hear His voice. Christians are supposed to have joy. At Christmas, we sing, "Joy to the World, the Lord is Come." If you didn’t know, this song is based on Psalm 98:2 reads, “ The Lord has made his salvation known,” 4, “Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth,” and 6, “shout for joy before the Lord, the King”.

In Nehemiah 8:9-12, we find God instructing the leaders to tell Israel that it is okay to be joyful and festive in our celebration and praise of God. The joy of the Lord is our strength. A story about a mother and father who sat with their three-year-old child during a Sunday morning worship service. The small child was quietly walking in the pew, smiling and laughing at the people sitting in the pew behind them. The father very solemnly grabs the boy and tells him to stop smiling and having fun, because this was church and we were to look serious and somber. The boy replied and answered to his father, "Daddy we are coming to the house of the Lord, to rejoice in Him.”

In Reader's Digest where a person is quoted as saying, "I'm going to be happy and joyful, in the presence of the Lord at the house of the Lord." The Psalmist says in Psalm 122:1, “It was glad when they said to me, Let us go into the house of the Lord. There is a source of joy in the presence of the Lord, and there are a lot of secrets of joy in the house of the Lord. Today, I would like to share three insights as we look at the source and the secret of joy

1. The Source of the Joy should be God Centered not Circumstance centered:

John the Baptist says, whoever is a friend of the bridegroom who stands and hears him. Who is our bridegroom? Jesus Christ! You can have great joy in your life if you have Him or are centered in your life.

Our circumstances are always changing, and if our joy is based on them, it will be fleeting and uncertain. On the other hand, if our joy is rooted in God, it can be constant and dependable, even in the midst of difficult circumstances. Max Lucado of San Antonio, Texas he tells about a gentleman called Robert Reed. Robert's hands are twisted and his feet are useless. He can't bathe himself. He can't feed himself. He can't brush his teeth, comb his hair. He can't speak clearly. Robert has cerebral paralysis.

Max shares, "I heard Robert Reed declare, `I have everything I need for joy!' Amazing! I want to draw near to him, stand and hear his voice in His presence. Joy is always only one decision away. Choose God. The source of joy depends on your orientation to life. It has nothing to do with the events of your life but with the deeper orientation of your life. When we rely on circumstances for our joy, we set ourselves up for disappointment and disappointment when those circumstances change. However, when we center our joy in Christ, we find a deep and lasting joy that is not dependent on our external circumstances. Additionally, Christ is the source of all hope, peace, and love, which are all key components of joy, so when we center our joy in Him, we have access to all of these things. In short, relying on external circumstances for joy is unreliable and fleeting, but centering our joy in Christ brings a lasting and unshakable source of joy in our lives. Joy is a gift that comes when a life is centered on God. Paul says in Roman 12:12, Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer. Not only our joy comes from the Lord that our life should be God centered on Him. But also we should believe deeply in Christ.