Sermon: Joy in the Lord

Our circumstances often determine whether or not we are happy, but remaining in the vine determines whether or not we have joy.

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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.

It makes more sense in the winter, but not in the summer. I mean, in the summer, everything is going on, everything is more upbeat. But 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 is The Super Bowl or Valentine’s Day. And after that, it’s easy for us to lack a certain something, and that something is joy.

But what about the summertime? Those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer? 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. “Researchers have found almost no correlation between income levels and happiness. Between 1957 and 1990 income levels in the U.S. doubled. Yet during 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.”

Now, of course, one of the reasons why is because things like divorce and drug abuse became more accepted, so more people did those things. But also, 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.

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 a brighter personality than others, but for most of us, to continue in joy, we must tap into that well of joy that God has to provide for us. There will be times of joy in our lives, but we don’t have an endless supply of it. God has an endless supply of it, and like an appliance that’s plugged into an outlet for its supply of energy, we need to be plugged into God for our source of joy.

You’ll notice that right at 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 mentioned this in a sermon just recently. But when I hear about bearing fruit, I think of 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 the 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.

Now, I hope this is not a true story, but:

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?

You know, when I worked for the newspaper, I came across a lot of people who weren’t happy unless they were miserable. It was in our office, it came through our office in the form of town gossip. I remember our publisher would come in, asking our editor whose desk was next to mine, “Have you heard anything about____?”

“No,” our editor would say, “What about it?” Then our publisher would relay the news he heard on the street while he was out selling advertising. “Why is the paper always the last to know?” Our editor would always say.

Or our town historian would come in, or our local radio newscaster would come in, or another advertising salesman “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 to siphon through a lot of gossip to get to the accurate news and we had our work cut out for us quelling the town gossip so everyone had the real facts. In other instances the negativity came in letters to the editor, we heard it 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 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 for the town’s community 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 I complained because it was so 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 for 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.

What if, instead of negativity, we sprang from within us a sense of joy? What if that police officer in that story 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 dolorous (dollerus) (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 doing 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. A little.

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. Bob Nelson, when he was trying to defend why he cursed in his comedy, said that comedy was to challenge people, it was to get under their skin, it was to provoke them 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. And I think there was a direct correlation. Our society as a whole was blessed with more joy.

It’s strange, but I find even less joy when listening to Christian radio now than I did 30 years ago. Today, Christian radio is pretty dry and dull. Maybe it’s because of a sense of dullness in our everyday society as a whole, and it’s affected our Christian community as well. I don’t know.

Now, I don’t want to assume that our Christian musicians or whomever we hear on the radio is not plugged into God. I do 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 by 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 giddiness or 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. I don’t burst out with giddiness or robust laughter or any of those things, it’s just not me, and thank God, I don’t have to feel pressured to be like that. Why? Because that’s not the Biblical definition of joy. Now joy can be all of 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, 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, 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. 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, like I also said last week, life isn’t perfect. I stress over paying the bills just like anyone else. But if we remain in Christ, we gain strength and 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 who 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. 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 have joy. 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 they do, 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. Have you been keeping in the right relationship with God? Have you been keeping close to his vine? This is the secret to joy. Joy is a spiritual matter. So today, if you need more joy in your life, search your heart and seek God and remain in Him. And in several verses throughout scripture, God promises that we would receive His joy that He desires to provide for us.

Prayer: Dear Lord, I ask you today, to not just fill us with joy, but to also draw us close to you, our source of joy. Draw us closer to the vine. Lord, our relationship with you is a personal one. And I ask that you would personally convict us of any wrong, anything that hinders us from receiving that joy and bring us to a place of right relationship with you. As you’ve said in other verses in that chapter, prune the wickedness from us. It is the only way that we experience the joy that comes from you that we so desperately need. May that joy surprise even ourselves.

And may we be a conduit of joy for others. May the joy that you provide for us become contagious. And may it minister to those around us; and like the peace that we talked about last week, may it change the atmosphere around us; from our homes to our schools to our workplaces to the shops to the banks. May we be the joy that others need. And may it all draw others to you.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

 

 

 

This is an updated edition of a post originally published on First Baptist Church of Watkins Glen

Featured Image by Barbara A Lane from Pixabay

 

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