This time of year, I think our moods kind of change a bit. As the sky becomes brighter, we become brighter, we’re well out of the winter doldrums, and we’re a bit more upbeat. But not everyone. And I don’t know about you, but there have been times when I’ve experienced summer doldrums. Not “the dog days of summer,” but actually being down for one reason or another. Diana was just saying that the other day, she wasn’t quite herself, and she said it might have been because of the weather. And I’ve noticed that about myself as well.
It makes more sense in the winter but not in the summer. I mean, the winter is cold, the skies are gray, and there’s not much going on. We tend to hunker down and not go out. We don’t socialize as much; things get slow. The only things to look forward to after New Year’s is The Super Bowl or Valentine’s Day; after that, it’s easy for us to lack a certain something, and that something is joy.
But what about Spring, when the weather is just about as perfect as it can get? Well, the devil comes to steal, kill and destroy, and he’s no respecter of person, age, gender, or sunshine.
Scripture: If you have your Bibles, turn with me to the Gospel of John, chapter 15. We’re going to read verses 4 and 5, and then we’ll skip down and read verses 8-11.
This is a set of verses that I find myself referencing a lot for my sermons. Not that I intend to, but it just seems to be a key theme to living a victorious Christian life. So I find that I keep coming back to it a lot. The more I read it, the more I find just how important it is.
As you’re turning there, I’ve found an interesting statistic. I’ve read this before, but it bears repeating. “Researchers have found almost no correlation between income levels and happiness. Between 1957 and 1990, income levels in the U.S. doubled. Yet at the same period, people’s levels of happiness did not increase. In fact, reports of depression actually increased tenfold. Incidence of divorce, suicide, alcoholism, and drug abuse also rose dramatically.”
It doesn’t make sense, does it? Why are the statistics of these things higher when all seems well and good? In my opinion, I think, more people during that time probably withdrew from church, which means they probably also withdrew from Christ. And that’s where our scripture leads us to this morning.
John 15, beginning with verse 4, says this:
4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
Now skipping down to verse 8:
8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
Joy is not something that will automatically come to us. Some people may have brighter personalities than others, but for many of us, to continue in joy, we must tap into that well that God provides. There will be times of joy in our lives, but we don’t have an endless supply of it all on our own; we’re not made that way. God has an endless supply of it. I think God purposely made it that way so that we can have one more thing to be dependent upon him for, and it helps strengthen our relationship with him and it shows us the kind of love and grace he has to give us his supply of joy.
You’ll notice that right in the beginning of this set of verses–in verses 4 and 5–Jesus is talking about bearing fruit. This is something else that I go to quite often. In fact, I briefly mentioned this in a sermon just recently, as well as the fruit of the Spirit, which contains nine different elements, one of them being joy.
They are not nine fruits. They are nine different elements that make up one fruit (singular) of the Spirit.
Joy is an element of that fruit, and in order to produce fruit, the fruit must be connected to a supply like a tree or a vine. In our lives, we are going to run out of joy. We are going to be depleted of joy. Why? Because we live in a real world, we have real emotions, and we face real problems. We get depleted of our energy, and we get depleted of our joy.
Here’s another story that bears repeating:
There was a fellow who was about to jump from a bridge. An alert police officer slowly and methodically moved toward him, talking with him all the time. When the officer got within inches of the man he said, “Surely nothing could be bad enough for you to take your life. Tell me about it. Talk to me.” The would-be jumper told how his wife had left him, how his business had gone bankrupt, and how his friends had deserted him. Everything in life had lost meaning. For thirty minutes he told the sad story—then they both jumped.
That’s a sad story, isn’t it? Despair, loneliness, worry, negativity–it’s unfortunately contagious. Have you ever noticed that? Have you ever heard the phrase, “Misery loves company?”
You know, when I worked for the newspaper, I came across a lot of people who were not happy unless they had something to complain about. It was in our office; it came through our office.
Our town historian would come in, or our local radio newscaster would come in, or just a concerned citizen dropping off a letter to the editor, “What do you think about the mayor (fill in the blank) or the police chief (fill in the blank) or the school district (fill in the blank)?”
Yes, we had our work cut out for us quelling the town gossip so everyone had the real news. In other instances, the negativity came from citizens’ opinions at town board and school board meetings. And we kind of found it to be our jobs to not only quell the gossip but also to boost spirits a little. You know, when you’re a hometown paper, it’s kind of a well-known secret that you’re the backbone of the town spirit.
But boy, it was hard sometimes. Why? Because negativity is contagious. It got to us. It was hard not to be sucked into that negativity. It was the same way when I worked at The Bon Ton. I did way more complaining at The Bon Ton than I should have. I look back on it now, and I find that it was actually a pretty decent place to work. Sometimes I wish I could hop in a time machine and go back to those days. But sometimes, I griped and complained because it was warranted, but more so because it was contagious.
In my driving job, a lot of the communication is done via an app on our cell phones. We’re on the road and every time we pick up and drop off, we have to push a button. But when there’s a no-show, I have to call in. It frustrates the dispatchers on the other end. Me? I don’t care so much. I’m like, whatever. What’s my next trip? But I’ve been complimented on a few occasions on how pleasant I am over the phone. It’s not that I’m pleasant all the time deep down inside, but it doesn’t bubble to the surface. What bubbles out of me is a pleasantness or a sense of joy that I can’t explain. It shouldn’t be there, but it is.
Sometimes my passengers give me that same compliment. I don’t know how many passengers have said they’d love to visit this church or be their pastor. Unfortunately, it’s hours away from here and they have no form of transportation, but hopefully, something like our Facebook posts will get to them.
What if, instead of negativity, we sprang from within us a sense of joy? What if that police officer in that story I read was filled with joy rather than being sucked into depression? Misery might be contagious, but so is joy. Not only is it good for our souls, but it boosts the spirits of those around us and is a ministry unto itself.
Here’s what Charles Spurgeon said:
“There is a marvelous medicinal power in joy. Most medicines are distasteful; but this, which is the best of all medicines, is sweet to the taste, and comforting to the heart. This blessed joy is very contagious. One dull or depressed spirit brings a kind of plague into the house; one person who is wretched seems to stop all the birds from singing wherever he goes . . . [But] the grace of joy is contagious. Holy joy will oil the wheels of your life’s machinery. Holy joy will strengthen you for your daily labor. Holy joy will beautify you and give you an influence over the lives of others.”
We have some DVDs at home called Bananas Comedy. And if you’re looking for good, clean fun, look those up. They’re a little hard to find now, but they’re worth searching for. And on one of those DVDs, I remember watching an interview with a Christian stand-up comedian named Bob Nelson. He was asked what led him to do clean comedy. He relayed the time many years ago when he was working in Vegas at one club, and Red Skelton was working across the street at another. This was in 1992. So Bob was invited to meet Red Skelton backstage. At the time, Bob wasn’t a Christian, and so Bob wasn’t doing clean comedy, and Red Skelton knew it.
So Red had a clever way of enticing him to no longer curse. Red said to him, “I’m so proud of you; you don’t curse in your comedy.”
Well, Bob had to admit to him that he did curse. And he did tell some off-color jokes.
Red said to him again, “No, you don’t understand. I’m so proud of you. You don’t curse in your comedy.”
And Bob had to say to him again, “Yes, I do.”
Well, this went on for a little while and then, Bob’s wife acted as the interpreter and told Bob that this was Red’s way of telling him to please not curse in his act anymore.
So Bob said, “Why don’t you want me to curse?”
Now, I don’t know what Red Skelton’s spiritual life was like, but according to the interview, Red said, “Because laughter does good like medicine. And when you curse, you’re poisoning the medicine.”
And it struck the comedian so hard that he has performed clean ever since. And years later, he became a Christian.
It’s true, isn’t it? Joy is a medicine. Red Skelton apparently knew the Bible. Proverbs 17:22 “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”
Comedy today isn’t joyful. Now that The Goldbergs are off the air, I’ve intentionally given up on primetime TV. I’ll watch the classics on reruns or streaming or DVD. Bob Nelson, when he was trying to defend why he cursed in his comedy, said that comedy was to be edgy, to provoke people a little. But that’s not what God created it to be.
It’s hard to find joy in our entertainment. We used to be filled with a sense of joy because our entertainment was filled with a sense of joy. And our entertainment was filled with a sense of joy because our society was plugged into God. Not every entertainer was a Christian, but we were living in a more Christian society. This is what we mean when we say we lived in a Christian nation or we want to live in a Christian nation. It isn’t some kind of ‘Christian Nationalism.’ But I think there was a direct correlation between our society being plugged into God and being blessed with joy.
Just yesterday, I was talking with Ginger and was reminded of Ken Davis, who was also on the Bananas DVD set. And you’re probably familiar with his former one-minute radio program called “Lighten Up and Live,” which was a segment interjected throughout the day. This radio program was just a reminder throughout the day to look for the good and the humor throughout the day. Some people have a gift for that.
I find that our Christian media or entertainment personalities are more joyful than the rest of the world. Why? Again, if you go back to verse 8, being plugged into God, or being grafted or remaining in the vine, shows the world that we are God’s.
“8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
Joy shows the world that there is something to this Christian life. It shows the world that we hold the joy that they so long for and desire. And that joyfulness, as I’ve mentioned, does not come to us naturally but from our source, which is Christ.
I think that before we go too much further, we should define what joy is. In our modern culture, we think of joy as happiness or laughter. Or being filled with an upbeat personality all the time. Now, I’m introverted, so I don’t do those things very well; it’s just not me. Why? Because that’s not the Biblical definition of joy. Now, joy can be those things if that’s part of your personality and your personal expression. But Biblical joy is actually kind of hard to define. I looked up joy on one of my sermon study sites and it listed a page-worth definition and cited all of these examples of joy in the Bible. How can we sum it up? Is it happiness? Is it laughter? Is it excitement?
Speaking of Christian radio programs, Focus on the Family put it this way:
Although happiness and joy can be present at the same time, happiness is based on material things or events, such as when a person is given a gift, graduates from college or celebrates a birthday.
Joy, on the other hand, is from God and runs deeper — it can be present even during unhappy times.
Like I said before. There are times when I’m not happy with something going on in my job, but what bubbles to the surface is joy. I surprise myself. How can I be so happy when I feel so unhappy?
Joy and happiness run together, but happiness is temporal, whereas joy is something that flows. It’s a state of being.
And like the dispatchers I talk to or my passengers that God puts in my van, it’s a ministry. Everyone needs someone to brighten their day, make their work environment pleasant, or make their trip comfortable and safe. Sometimes, you never know how you can brighten someone’s day just by being kind.
Not only that, but the world is watching. They’re taking notice. There’s something different about us. They want to see if there really is anything to this Christianity business. They want to see if God is real. We are the ambassadors of Christ. We represent Him. And like my pleasantness over the phone at work, they know that I’m a pastor, and hopefully, my joy is evidence to them that there is something supernatural to this thing called Christianity. It’s not a choice. It’s not something that I have to constantly concentrate and work on. It’s–like I said–just something that bubbles to the surface.
And, like I also said, I’m not always joyful; just ask my family. They know. They’ve seen me at home when my joy is depleted. After I come home from work. There are times when I hit lows. We’ve all been there, let’s be honest. Even your pastor. We all need to be recharged.
We live in a fallen world where life isn’t perfect. I stress over paying the bills just like anyone else. But if we remain in Christ, we gain strength, faith, and joy. Our joy does not come from our circumstances, even if our circumstances are good.
Here’s what some of the wealthiest men in American history have said about joy:
- “I am the most miserable man on earth.”—John Jacob Astor, America’s first multimillionaire and richest man in America at the time of his death on the Titanic.
- “I have made many millions, but they have brought me no happiness.”—John D. Rockefeller, Founder of Standard Oil Company and the richest man in America at the time of his death.
- “The care of $200 million is enough to kill anyone. There is no pleasure in it.”—W.H. Vanderbilt
- “Millionaires seldom smile.”—Andrew Carnegie
- “I was happier when I was doing a mechanics job.”—Henry Ford
Roy Zuck, in The Speaker’s Quote Book, asked, “Where is Joy Found?” and his answer:
Not in money: Jay Gould, the American millionaire, had plenty of that. When dying, he said: “I suppose I am the most miserable man on earth.”
Not in position and fame: Lord Beaconsfield enjoyed more than his share of both. He wrote: “Youth is a mistake; manhood a struggle; old age a regret.”
Not in military glory: Alexander the Great conquered the known world in his day. Having done so, he wept in his tent because, he said, “There are no more worlds to conquer.”
Where then is real joy found? The answer is simple, in Christ alone.”
I want to end on this point. Verses 9-11:
9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
You see, it doesn’t matter whether you are rich or famous or whether you have everything you’ve ever wanted. It’s not in the right job with the right pay, living in the right house in the right neighborhood, driving just the right car with just the right features, or having a picture-perfect family. These things, though they’re all nice, can make you happier, but they cannot give you the joy you need in your inner spirit. Only The Holy Spirit can infiltrate your spirit. And Christ can only do that if we remain connected to Him.
He wants our joy to be made complete. He designed us with that intention. Imagine “The Garden” before sin entered the world. God made everything perfect. Adam and Eve experienced perfect joy. And then they lost it.
Yes, we will experience sadness. We may even experience devastating things. We won’t experience happiness all the time, and we won’t always have joy. But in the grand scheme of things, God wants us to be people of joy. Going back to the idea of happiness, I’ve heard TV preachers talk about God wanting us to be happy, and they preach on methods to be happy. And a lot of it is self-improvement with scripture. And sometimes, that scripture is out of context. Even if it’s not out of context, to me, that’s not good preaching because God doesn’t call us to be happy, and scripture is full of people who weren’t necessarily happy all the time. But God calls us to be joyful, and in order to do so, we must be filled with His joy.
I came across a reel this week on Instagram, and I shared it. It was by Jack Hibbs talking about how we need to preach The Bible rather than happiness or being a champion or five easy steps to a successful marriage or a battery you. Those are all good for talks or a Bible study curriculum, but we need to be grounded in the Word of God, or as I’ve been saying, plugged into the source of our everything, which is God; and let His spirit flow in us.
Jesus wants our joy to be complete. And it is made complete when we remain in Him.
“Joy is the flag which is flown from the castle of the heart when the King is in residence there.”—Robert Rainey
So, our circumstances often determine whether or not we are happy, but remaining in the vine determines whether or not we are joyful. So today, I’m going to ask you, how has your joy been? Not your happiness, but your joy.
I’m going to ask Tina to come up and lead us in our last song. And as she does, I’m going to ask you, have you been remaining in Him? Have you been keeping with His commands? Notice, in these verses, Jesus made it clear that obeying His commands and receiving His joy go hand in hand. This is the secret to joy. Joy isn’t a feeling; it’s a spiritual matter. So today, if you need more joy in your life, search your heart and seek God and remain in Him. God promises that he will provide us with His source of joy that He desires to give to us.
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on First Baptist Church of Watkins Glen
Featured Image by Jacqueline Munguía on Unsplash
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