Secret
of Joy
God has
given us a great virtue that cannot be replaced; this virtue is capable
of healing any wound; it can make repairs; can bring back to life a dead spirit;
It is one of the mystery behind living long; this virtue will make you have it
easy to relate with people; it can make you overcome difficult situations that
has swallowed other people; it can bring promotion; it can bring favour and it
can empower you to make heaven. This great virtue is Joy. Joy might be look
difficult to achieve especially when the situation is not joyful; It is
therefore paramount that you acquire the key; the secret to Joy; this will make
you a Joyful person all this days of your life.
I pray; the lord will plant inside of you fountain of Joy in the name of
Jesus.
In the
year 1900 a survey asked,
"What must you have to be happy?"
Results
showed 72 answers. The same
survey was taken among the same size sampling in 1950. Results showed 496
answers.
I wonder
how many results there would be today?
Our world
is in a mad pursuit of happiness. Just go to the bookstore and look at all the
books on fulfillment and finding the good life.
It's not
an improper goal, but we need to raise the bar a bit. We need to get back to the Bible, and learn how to find real joy.
Happiness is based on external
happenings [happenstance / circumstances]
Joy is internal and abiding, and
rooted deeply.
Most seek
their fulfillment in people, places, and things.
People -
If only I could have a certain relationship, or be accepted by the right crowd,
then I could be happy.
Now, it's
important to have the right kinds of friends, or to marry
the right person, but people are not a permanent source of happiness.
ill.--the
prominent theme of love songs today is, "My life is
worthless/meaningless/has no significance without you"
This
statement should be made about none other than Jesus our Savior! Your life can
be significant and full of joy and meaning even if you have no one apart from
Christ.
Illustration
v Paul teaches us in 1 Cor. 7 that even if you go your
whole life unmarried, you are not a second class Christian or an incomplete
person. This is because we are complete in Christ!
People
change, people leave, and people die.
How about things?
"If
only I had some things that others have, then I could be happy."
v Nightline's Ted Koppel confronted Tammy Fay Baker about her
lavish spending and she said, "When I am depressed, spending is my
therapy. Buying things makes me happy."
What an
awful message to send to the lost world!
Things
lose their luster, and you lose the joy. There's always a newer model car, a
great gadget invented ... and do you have your iPhone 13 yet?
The Bible says that all this material
world will one day go up in flame!
How about places?
If I
could live in that area or that house or have that job, then I could be happy. And maybe I'd be happy in another church, I mean, I've been
here for a few years already and it's old now!
These
people never find happiness in places. Do you know why? Because everywhere they
go they take themselves with them! It's an internal problem.
v. 22 The world didn't give us our joy and the world
cannot take it away. Places can't, people can't, nothing can!
Let's go
to Philippians
4
“Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I
say, Rejoice. “ {Philippians 4:4”
Paul
wasn't laying on a beach when he wrote this, no one was fanning him with a palm
branch or feeding him grapes. He was in a dungeon.
"Yeah
but, he hasn't been thru what I've been thru." You're right, he
went thru much worse! His back was bleeding and covered in scars from 5 times
being beaten with 39 lashes. 3 times with a stick. He had been stoned,
shipwrecked, robbed, betrayed, and was mocked and maligned by most of his
world.
This guy
says he is rejoicing in the Lord, and I can listen to a guy like this. He has
earned credibility!
What
characteristic does he have, that may reveal the secret to joy?
Unselfishness
A lack of joy and selfishness seem to go hand in hand.
Self-centered people, even if they are saved, are joyless.
Jesus
Others
You
Live for Christ,
serve others, and walk in joy!
Illustration
v Little boy and his sister were sharing a rocking horse, and it
was tight. He said, "If one of us would get off, there would be more room
for me."
Philippians 1 now...
vv. 1-8 [emphasize 'you' all 9 times]
If we
today were writing a letter from prison, we wouldn't be saying 'you' very much.
The prominent pronoun would be 'I'!
"I
can't believe this is happening to me! I can't stand this place, this food,
because I am innocent!" Incidentally, we wouldn't have any joy in that
place. Paul did.
He says:
"I
have you in my thoughts, in my prayers, and in my heart."
"I
have you in my thoughts"
v. 3b 'every remembrance of you'
What do
people think about when they remember 'you'?
Just
thinking of certain people evokes feelings from you. There's certain names I
could bring up and you would feel anxiety, because of how you associate them
with something in the past.
[bitterness
because they wronged you / disgust because of what they did / jealousy because
of what they have]
Illustration
v Lady told her friend that her husband unnerved her. He made her
walk the line so much that she couldn't stand to be around him. He could enter
the room or call on the phone and she would be overcome with nervousness. She
said, "It's so bad that I'm losing lots of weight." "Why don't
you leave him?" "I will, as soon as I get down to 110."
How do
you make people feel? We would all hope to bring some joy into their hearts.
But do we?
Or do
they feel undeserved guilt after speaking with us? Are we so negative that we
bring them down? Are we so self-righteous that we turn them off? Are we so
sinful that they can't associate with us? Are we so opinionated that their
thoughts aren't relevant? Are we so busy and focused that they know better than
to ask our help? Are we so critical that they cringe to see us coming? Are we
so unfriendly that they would rather talk to ANYONE else? Are we so stuck on
ourselves that they are repulsed?
How about
it? Have you known someone who says such things about others that it makes you
wonder what they must say about you?
Or, are
they so joy filled that it spills over into your life? Are they so inspiring
that they make you want to be like them? Are they so compassionate that you
can't help loving them? Are they so positive that it changes your outlook? Are
they so encouraging that they make you feel better when you are with them? Are
they so giving that it makes you want to pay it forward to someone else? And even
when they challenge you with truth, is it so spoken in love with the right
attitude that you want to receive it and grow? Are they so easy going that they
put you at ease? Are they so deeply spiritual that they don't have to wear it
on their sleeve for you to know it? Are they such a servant that you always
know you can count on them when you need help? Are they so faithful that you
know they will not let you down? Are they so outwardly focused that you have to
pry personal prayer requests out of them? Are they a person of vision, and that
helps you to see the big picture as well? Are they so concerned that you can
see in their eyes that they truly care? Is there such wisdom when they speak
that your ears perk up?
Isn't the
bottom line whether they truly put Jesus first in their lives, then others,
with very little thought for themselves?
Paul says
he is remembering them. Who are they? They are a great church, close to his
heart.
In Acts
16 we see 3 of his first converts, and no doubt he is remembering them now in
our text.
One had a
tender heart, one had a tormented heart, and one had a toughened heart.
Lydia was
a successful businesswoman who sold to royalty.
Paul
opened up the Scriptures to her, she opened up her heart, and then her home to
be a meeting place. What a tender heart! And Paul remembers how God got it all
started thru her!
Then
there was a demon possessed woman with a tormented heart, who followed them
around town obnoxiously repeating, "These are the servants of the most
high God," mocking them. Paul cast out that demon, and she was saved, and
became like a little child! Now Paul remembers her amazing testimony.
Then
there was the Philippian jailer with his toughened heart. He had put stripes on
Paul's back when he was imprisoned there for preaching, and yet after the
earthquake he fell to his knees and begged to be saved, and then took Paul home
to his family as well!
Paul is
thinking about the wonderful things God did in Philippi and he says, "This
is the joy of my life!"
He's
sitting in jail, not having a pity party, but walking down memory lane!
He's not
thinking about himself, but about others!
ill.--Not
- "Gloom, despair, and agony on me!"
Rather -
"It will be worth it all, when we see Jesus. Life's trials will seem so
small, when we see Christ..."
Life
throws its best at us, and it can be pretty bad. What should you do?
Visit a
nursing home! Call a cancer patient! Correspond with a missionary. Listen to
orphans sing about being adopted!
Cancel
the pity party, and think of others! Then bring it around to Jesus, and He will
cheer all of you up!
"I
have you in my thoughts."
"I
have you in my prayers."
vv. 9, 4 See the connection between prayer and joy?
And there's a connection between thoughts and prayers. Praying is a thoughtful
thing to do. When you are thinking of someone, it should lead you to prayer!
"I
have you on my heart."
v. 8 'bowels' = the innermost part / heart of a
person.
Even in prison, I
have you on my heart!
The heart
is a great place to carry someone.
You can
carry them on your back. [get off my back!]
They can
be on your nerves.
They can
be on your bowels, literally. "I've
had a belly full of you. I can't stomach you!"
Back = pain in the neck
Nerves = breakdown / high blood
pressure
Stomach = ulcer
Carry
people on your heart = loving them thru the eyes of Jesus!
Ever been
eyed by someone? You can feel their eyes on you. You can tell that they are
looking for a problem, and you can feel the pressure because you know very well
you've got problems, and now you're under the microscope. You're in the
fishbowl, and there's no way out!
On the
contrary, have you ever sensed someone looking at you thru the eyes of Jesus?
They are seeing you, not for who you currently are, but for who you can be.
When they look at you they see what you must be going thru, and they have a
vision for your healing and future blessing! They love you in spite of
yourself, and they are seeing you thru the eyes of Jesus! They carried you on
their heart!
I know
who I am. I can be a pain in the neck. I can get on people's nerves. Many can't
stomach me. And some carry me on their heart!
It's no
coincidence that such people [you are thinking of right now] are the most joy
filled you will ever know. It's because they are unselfish. Other-centered, not
self-centered. They have an
outward look.
They put Jesus first and
others second and themselves last, and it makes them thoughtful, prayerful, and
filled with a joyful heart!
Thanks
for reading, God bless; Have a Joyful Day.
Preached By
Jerry Shirley
http://gbcdecatur.org/sermons/SecretJoy.html
Prayer Points
1. Father Lord, let your revives of Joy begin to flow into my life
in the name of Jesus.
2. Every enemy of my Joy; die in the name of Jesus.
3. Anything in me killing my Joy, die in the name of Jesus.
4. Glory killers! Of my father’s house, die! In the name of Jesus.
5. Evil powers, in my place of birth, assigned against me, die! in
the name of Jesus.
6. Any power, that accepted witchcraft for my sake, you are a liar,
die! In the name of Jesus.
7. I kill, every inherited sickness in my life, by the power in the
blood of Jesus.
8. Every power that pursued my parent and his now pursuing me, you
are a liar, die! In the name of Jesus.
Seven Fold Amen with Faith!!!
Amen! Amen! Amen! Amen! Amen! Amen! Amen!
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2015 is your Year of multiple restoration and
unparalleled Favor in the name of Jesus
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IF THE ENEMY HAS STOLEN FROM YOU;
RECOVERY IS BY FORCE.
STOP THEM BEFORE THEY STOP YOU,
GOD BLESS YOU.
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