Joy in Christian preaching is the deep, abiding gladness rooted in God's presence and grace, distinct from fleeting worldly happiness. It often contrasts the noisy, shallow joy of the sinner with the steady, sustaining joy of believers, even amid trials or martyrdom. Illustrations frequently use images of light, music, and overflowing abundance to depict joy's spiritual vitality and influence (Nehemiah 8:10, James 1:2-3).
Laughter is a divine gift worthy of heartfelt thanksgiving.
It is said that Dr. Theodore Cuyler and Mr. Spurgeon were once out in the fields enjoying God's sunshine and the beauties of nature. Dr. Cuyler told a story at which Mr. Spurgeon laughed until his sides shook. Suddenly Mr. Spurgeon said, "Theodore, let's get down on our knees and thank God for laughter." And these two happy Christian preachers knelt in the field and thanked God for His great gift of laughter.
A boy explained his need to be noisy and active to avoid bursting inside.
James was a happy playful, noisy boy. He delighted in that kind of sport which made the most stir, and resulted in some kind of demonstration. One day, his mother lost all her patience, and cried out, "James, stop your noise, and sit down quietly for the next hour, or I will punish you."—"Why, mother," said he, "I can't keep still. I'll burst right open. I know I would, if I couldn't run and laugh, and get the noise out of me."
Selfishly hoarding joy leads to loss, while generosity increases joy abundantly.
He who selfishly boards his joys, thinking thus to increase them, is like a man who looks at his granary, and says, "Not only will I protect my grain from mice and birds, but neither the ground nor the mill shall have it." And so, in the spring, he walks around his little pit of corn, and exclaims, "How wasteful are my neighbors, throwing away whole handfuls of grain!" But autumn comes; and, while he has only his few poor bushels, their fields are yellow with an abundant harvest. "There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth." Beecher.
Joy shines brightest in believers, drawing others even through sorrow.
Christians, it is your duty not only to be good, but to shine; and, of all the lights which you kindle on the face, joy will reach farthest out to sea, where troubled mariners are seeking the shore. Even in your deepest griefs, rejoice in God. As waves phosphoresce, let joys flash from the swing of the sorrows of your souls. Beecher.
Without joy, life and service are out of tune and ineffective.
What is our life without joy? Without joy, we can do nothing: we are like an instrument out of tune. An instrument out of tune—it yields but harsh music. Without joy, we are a member out of joint. We can do nothing well without joy and a good conscience, which is the ground of joy. Sibbes.
True joy and peace can be found even in the face of martyrdom.
John Bradford in Newgate is to be burned the next morning in Smithfield; and he swings himself on the bedpost in very glee, and delights, for to-morrow is his wedding-day. And he says to another, "Fine shining we shall make to-morrow when the flame is kindled." And he smiles and laughs, and enjoys the very thought that he is about to wear the blood-red crown of martyrdom. Is Bradford mad? Ah, no! but he has got the peace of God that passeth all understanding. Spurgeon.
Steady, moderate joy sustains life better than intense, fleeting excitement.
We ought not to seek too high joys. We may be bright without transfiguration. The even flow of constant cheerfulness strengthens; while great excitements, driving us with fierce speed, both rack the ship, and end often in explosions. If we were just ready to break out of the body with delight, I know not but we should disdain many things important to be done. Low measures of feeling are better than eestasies for ordinary life. God sends his rains in gentle drops, else flowers would be beaten to pieces.
— Beecher
Joy is love delighting in its own happiness without fear of loss.
Joy is the happiness of love; it is love exulting; it is love aware of its own felicity, and rioting in riches which it has no fear of exhausting; it is love taking a look of its treasure, and surrendering itself to bliss without foreboding. Dr. J. Hamilton.
God rejoices over sinners who repent and return to faith.
As a husbandman delights much in that ground, that, after long barrenness, becomes fruitful; as a captain loves that soldier that once fled away cowardly, and afterwards returns valiantly: even so God is wonderfully enamored with a sinner, that, having once made shipwreck of a good conscience, yet at last returns, and swims to heaven upon the plank of faith and repentance.
— Spencer
Believers can experience deep joy even amid persecution and hardship.
Mr. Renwick, the last of the Scottish martyrs, speaking of his sufferings for conscience' sake, says, "Enomies think themselves satisfied that we are put to wander in mosses and upon mountains; but, even amidst the storms of these last two nights, I cannot express what sweet times I have had when I had no covering but the dark curtains of night; yea, in the silent watch, my miad was led out to admire the deep and in-expressible ocean of joy wherein the whole family of heaven swim. Each star led me to wonder what He must be who is the star of Jacob, of whom all stars borrow their shining."
The sinner's joy is shallow and noisy, masking the deep wrath of God within.
Like new liquor, which works over in town and froth when thick and troubled, the joy of the sinner runs over in empty laughter and effervescent spirits when the heart is brimful of the wrath of God.
— Bp. Hopkins
Worldly joy is noisy, impure, and fleeting, leaving the soul dry afterward.
The joy of the world resembles a torrent. As upon a glut of rain, you shall have a torrent come rolling along with noise and violence, overflowing its banks, and bearing all before it; yet it is but muddy and impure water, and it is soon gone and dried up: such is all the joy this world can give. It makes a great noise, it is commonly immoderate, and swells beyond its due bounds; yet it is but a muddy and impure joy: it soon rolls away, and leaves nothing behind but a drought in the soul. Now, since the world's joy is but such a poor empty thing as this, it is most gross folly for us to lay out our best love upon that which cannot repay us with the best joy. Ep. Hopkins.
Small changes can drastically shift human emotions from sorrow to joy and vice versa.
When Peter of Cortona was engaged on a picture for the royal palace of Petti, Ferdinand II. particularly admired the representation of a weeping child. "Has your Majesty," said the painter, "a mind to see how easy it is to make this very child laugh?" The artist merely depressed the corners of the lips, and the inner extremities of the eyebrows, when the little archin seemed in danger of bursting his sides with laughter, who, a moment before, seemed breaking his heart with weeping. If this be true in the world of living men, slight, very slight, are the causes that make or break the happiness of life. The touch of a brush can dim heaven with a cloud, or brighten the prospect in the far horizon.
Filling each day with good and joy brings blessings and courage.
Priscilla Leonard is the author of these lines found in the Pittsburg _Christian Advocate_:
Into the basket of thy day Put each thing good and each thing gay That thou canst find along thy way.
Neglect no joy, however small, And it shall verily befall Thy day can scarcely hold them all.
Within the basket of thy day Let nothing evil find its way, And let no frets and worries stay.
So shall each day be brave and fair, Holding of joy its happy share, And finding blessings everywhere.
Laughter and jesting provide wise relief from serious burdens and foster joy.
It is wise to laugh, and Joe Miller is right when he says that the gravest beast is an ass, and the gravest man is a fool. This opinion of the famous jester is in accord with Plato, who is reported to have remarked to his friends, when their social enjoyment was occasionally intruded upon by the approach of some sedate wiseacre, “Silence, my friends, let us be wise now, for a fool is coming.” Other notable characters, if not themselves witty, have sought relief from the strain of serious employment by a laugh and innocent merriment. Philip of Macedon, Sylla, the Roman dictator, Queen Elizabeth, and our own Abraham Lincoln, keenly enjoyed a good joke, while Julius Cæsar, Tacitus, Erasmus, and Lord Bacon compiled jest-books. So there is high authority for jesting, and a jest is merely petrified laughter--a laugh congealed into words, so as to be passed from mouth to mouth and handed down to further generations.--EDMUND KIRKE, _North American Review_.
A careless laugh altered a man’s life path, showing the power of cheerfulness and providence.
Albert J. Beveridge, United States Senator from Indiana, believes that the direction of his career was completely changed by a careless laugh. A writer in _Success_ quotes him as saying:
When I was a youth in Illinois I heard that the Congressman from our district intended to hold an examination to determine what young man he should appoint to West Point. I pitched in and studied hard for that examination, and found it easy when I came to take it. Most of the other fellows seemed to be still struggling with it when I had finished, and I was so confident that I had made few mistakes that I was in a pretty cheerful frame of mind. This is why I laughed when one of the strugglers asked a rather foolish question of the professor in charge. The latter evidently felt that the dignity of the occasion had been trifled with, for he scored one per cent against me. When the papers came to be corrected this loss caused me to fall one-fifth of one per cent below the boy who stood highest on the list. He is a captain in the army now, where I suppose I should be had it not been for that laugh. I believe in the power of cheerfulness. Looking back, I am rather glad that I laughed. (Text.)
A good laugh is a vital, natural duty that reveals joy and human eccentricity.
The doctor who could not laugh and make me laugh I should put down for a half-educated man. It is one of the duties of the profession to hunt for the material of a joke on every corner. Most of them have so esteemed it. Garth, Rabelais, Abernethy, and a hundred or so more too near to be named, what genial, liver-shaking, heart-quickening, wit-waking worthies they were and are! To the son who loves her best, nature reveals most her tricks of workmanship. He knows there is a prize in every package of commonplace and sadness, and he can find it--not only the bit of fun shining to the eye of a connoisseur like an unset jewel, but the eccentricity, the resemblance, the revelation, countless signs and tokens of the evanescent, amusing, pathetic creature we call the human.--A. B. WARD, _Scribner’s_.
Laughter preserves joy and counters despair, enriching life’s experience and health.
To what a dreary, dismal complexion should we all come at last, were all fun and cachinnation expunged from our solemn and scientific planet! Care would soon overwhelm us; the heart would corrode; the river of life would be like the lake of the dismal swamp; we should begin our career with a sigh, and end it with a groan; while cadaverous faces and words to the tune of “The Dead March in Saul,” would make up the whole interlude of our existence. Hume, the historian, in examining a French manuscript containing accounts of some private disbursements of King Edward II of England, found, among others, one item of a crown paid to somebody for making the king laugh. Could one conceive of a wiser investment? Perhaps by paying one crown Edward saved another. “The most utterly lost of all days,” says Chamfort, “is that on which you have not once laughed.” Even that grimmest and most saturnine of men, who, tho he made others roar with merriment, was never known to smile, and who died “in a rage, like a poisoned rat in a hole”--Dean Swift--has called laughter “the most innocent of all diuretics.” (Text.)--WILLIAM MATTHEWS, _Home Magazine_.
Per Nilson tells the story of Nisswa, Minnesota, where they hold the popular Nisswa Turtle Races.
Every Wednesday evening in the summer months, the people of Nisswa and the surrounding communities gather at a designated parking lot for the weekly races. It’s big excitement and big business. Vendors rent turtles; others sell "turtle products." And the fans gather early, placing their chairs and blankets in the best viewing sites.
In one recent contest, 435 turtles raced in heats of fifteen over a six-foot-long course. Bif, the announcer, calls the turtles to their mark, gives them the "Go!" . . . and the crowd goes wild. People stand, jump, and wave their hands in the air, imploring their turtles to be unturtle-like.
The excitement grows and finally reaches a boiling point as the preliminary winners all gather for the championship race. Amid unrestrained shouts and cheers, the first turtle crosses the finish line, and the winning "trainer" receives five dollars — along with a turtle necklace.
What an uncharacteristic frenzy of emotion for the normally reserved folks of Northern Minnesota! And some people get upset when Christians worship "too expressively" in church on Sunday morning.
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“Happiness is an attitude of mind, born of the simple determination to be happy under all outward circumstances.”
-- J. Donald Walters
“A good laugh is sunshine in the house.”
-- William Makepeace Thackeray
"Pleasure is very seldom found where it is sought: Our brightest blazes of gladness are commonly kindled by unexpected sparks."
-- Samuel Johnson (1709-1784), writer and lexicographer, B&P 3/25/03
"Happiness in this world, when it comes, comes incidentally. Make it the object of pursuit, and it leads us on a wild-goose chase, and is never attained. Follow some other object, and very possibly we may find that we have caught happiness without dreaming of it."
-- Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864), Writer, B&P
"Real joy comes not from ease or riches or from the praise of others, but from doing something worthwhile."
-- Wilfred Grenfell (1865 - 1940), English medical missionary, B&P
"Joy has nothing to do with material things, or with a man's outward circumstance ... A man living in the lap of luxury can be wretched, and a man in the depths of poverty can overflow with joy."
-- William Barclay (1907 - 1978), clergyman and writer, B&P
"Happiness is not a state to arrive at but, rather, a manner of traveling."
-- Samuel Johnson (1709-1784), essayist and lexicographer, B&P
"One is happy as a result of one's own efforts, once one knows the necessary ingredients of happiness - simple tastes, a certain degree of courage, self-denial to a point, love of work, and above all, a clear conscience. Happiness is no vague dream, of that I now feel certain."
-- George Sand (1804 - 1876), writer, cited in BITS & PIECES
"Your unhappiness is not due to your want of a fortune or high position or fame or sufficient vitamins. It is due not to a want of something outside of you, but to a want of something inside you. You were made for perfect happiness. No wonder everything short of God disappoints you."
-- Fulton Sheen, Catholic Bishop, QFTM 8/13/02
"The happiest people seem to be those who have no particular cause for being happy except that they are so."
-- William Ralph Inge (1860-1954), clergyman, B&P 5/2/03
"The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance, the wise grows it under his feet."
-- James Oppenheim, "Instant Quotation Dictionary,", p. 153.
"Happiness is the harvest of a quiet eye."
-- Austin O'Malley, "Instant Quotation Dictionary," p. 153.
"The secret of happiness is not in doing what one likes, but in liking what one has to do."
-- James M. Barrie (also attributed to King George V)
"Success is getting what you want; Happiness is wanting what you get.
-- Dale Carnegie
"If happiness could be bought, we'd be unhappy with the price."
-- (unknown)
"The road to happiness lies in two simple principles: find what interests you and that you can do well, and put your whole soul into it - every bit of energy and ambition and natural ability you have."
-- John D. Rockefeller, III, QFTM 2/14/04
"I have learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions and not on our circumstances."
-- Martha Washington, QFTM 2/14/04
"You can multiply happiness by dividing it."
-- Cited in The Best of BITS & PIECES
"The opposite of joy is not sorrow. It is disobedience."
-- Leslie Weatherhead
Joy is like an oasis that refreshes our soul. A brief definition: “Joy is the sense of delight that arises within us in the presence of someone or something we love.” To put it another way, joy is a response rather than a state of being. It depends, not on our acquisition of something, but rather on our encounter with something. Happiness possesses, joy appreciates; happiness grasps, joy beholds. As theologian Karl Barth once observed, “Joy is really the simplest form of gratitude.” Many times in the Bible, joy is the sense of delight arising in people in the presence of someone or something they love.
The great and ultimate joy is what the Bible calls “the wedding supper of the Lamb.” Because beauty is the source of joy, our ultimate Joy must arise from our delight in the beauty of God, in the attractiveness of His goodness and holiness. As Jonathan Edwards reminded us, “All the beauty to be found throughout the whole creation, is but the reflection of the diffused beams of that Being who hath an infinite fullness of brightness and glory.”
Just as being eternally united to God’s perfect goodness is the ultimate end of human happiness, being eternally united to God’s perfect beauty is the ultimate end of human joy. For that reason, even now, when we catch a glimpse of God, we experience joy as a token, a pledge, of our final encounter face-to-face.
RELEVANT. It is a word used so often in the world of Christian ministry that, if you didn’t know better, you might think “Thou shalt be relevant” was the eleventh commandment. Some Christians strive to be relevant in superficial ways; they make sure that their churches follow the latest corporate fads, that their pastors dress according to current trends, and that their music is iPod-worthy. For some, the mark of a relevant church is the strength of the coffee it brews.
Others go deeper by investing time to understand popular culture. They endeavor to make the gospel relevant by relating it to the barrage of messages that fill page and screen.
I am not about to argue that Christians should cease all efforts to be relevant. I believe that relevancy is important, perhaps even essential, to the expansion of God’s kingdom. However, I believe most Christians have limited the definition of relevancy, and have consequently overlooked the natural relevancy of the Christian message.
My colleague Michael Ramsden has said, “If you believe you have to make the gospel relevant, you are assuming that it is irrelevant.... But the gospel is not irrelevant; the gospel is perceived to be irrelevant, and all you’re doing is removing that faulty perception.”
I believe that showing the relevancy of the gospel has more to do with being different from the world than it does with looking the same as the world. How, besides chasing an elusive image of progressiveness, can Christians remove the perception of Christianity’s irrelevancy? Consider with me three key areas:
TRANSPARENCY. If Christians want to be relevant, we must fight the temptation to put on masks and pretend that all is well in our lives. When we admit our struggles, people can relate to us, and we give them permission to be open about their own struggles. Transparency, even when our spiritual lives are in a tangle, is a sign of spiritual authenticity, and authenticity is rightly prized by our culture.
SIN. Christians need to be honest with the world about sin and its consequences. Humans innately know that all is not as it should be. We only need to read the headlines to know that our world is deeply broken. We must resist the urge to sugarcoat poison or anesthetize wounds that are still bleeding. Though it may not be a comfortable subject, the truth about sin is vitally relevant.
JOY. There are few things rarer, and hence few things more sought-after, than true, abiding joy. The good news of the gospel is that joy does not have to depend on our circumstances, and it is not something that can be bought or earned. True joy is found only in God himself, and God delights to be delighted in. Christians do not always feel joyful, but we can point the world to the source of true joy by pursuing it in God. It has been said that the greatest crime in the desert is finding water and keeping silent. We live in a world deserted by joy, but we know where it can be found.
Culture critic Brett McCracken writes, “True relevance is not about making faith fit into a hipster sphere as opposed to a fundamentalist box. True relevance is seeking the true faith that transcends all boxes and labels.” The gospel itself is the most relevant thing we have to offer to the world. We must be careful not to obscure its true relevance with our own well-intentioned attempts at it.
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Copyright © 2007 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Reprinted with permission. "A Slice of Infinity" is a radio ministry of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.
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[Original illustration at this number was deleted for being obsolete]
As new creatures in Christ, we can enter the presence of a holy God.
1. What Isaiah Saw.
2. High and Exalted.
3. Glory and Splender.
4. Burning Purity.
5. Holiness Incarnate.
6. Daring to Draw Near: If we possessed seraphims' eyes we would be able to
see the entire earth covered with the radiant majesty of God.
7. Holiness Is Happiness.
8. Happiness... Then and Now.
Experiencing God's joy requires our obedience.
Quote by 17th-century mystic, Francois Fenelon:
"Those who are God's are always glad,
when they are not divided,
Because they only want what God wants,
and want to do for him all that he wishes.
Peace of conscience, liberty of heart, ... freedom from
the fears and lusts of the times,
Multiply a hundredfold the happiness which the true
children of God possess...
... if they are faithful."
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Article: "I've Finally Got It Together ... Why Don't You?"
Joy results when we turn to God. God rejoices over one sinner who repents (Luke 15:7).
Bill Eikenbary grew up in a Christian home, but drifted away as a young person. His dream in life was to be a police officer. He soon became one, and set his sights on being a sergeant. A few years later he achieved it, and his ambitions were fulfilled.
Soon his job no longer seemed rewarding. He became an alcoholic and sank into depression. By 1980 he had considered suicide more than once. One night he sat at his desk with his service revolver cocked and pressed against his head. He never knew why he didn’t pull the trigger.
A few weeks later Bill was patrolling the downtown at 2 a.m. He came to a church and walked to the front door. It was unlocked, and he went in. His flashlight beam came upon an open Bible on a communion table. As he read it, the passage from the Psalms spoke to his heart. [Passage was from Psalm 143] Bill closed his eyes and prayed to Jesus to become his Lord.
He said he experienced a cleansing that words cannot describe. All is depression and despair were washed down the drain. The next day he told his wife and she revealed that she had been attending that same church for several weeks. She had given her life to Christ in the same sanctuary Bill had been in only hours earlier.
In Bill’s own words, “My heart overflowed with joy as we wept in each other’s arms.”
Have you experienced the joy of God’s salvation?
Author felt that worship was getting routine and boring. He had lost his sense of amazement. The Gospels stress how amazing Jesus' ministry was to the people. He is still amazing today. Mere human skill rarely impresses us for long; our hearts yearn to see the things that only God Himself can do. Jesus was amazing because He operated in the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit, not in mere human ability.
The Pharisees thought they had God all figured out but did not recognizing the Lord in their midst. We can be doctrinally sound and yet sterile in our worship. And in our quest to "make God relevant" we can lose our sense of awe over His greatness.
AMAZING THE WORLD
Our Lord wants to bring us to a fresh place of amazement in our personal lives with Him. He also wants us to be people through whom He can again amaze the world. We tend to think He will only be able to amaze the world through people who are somehow impressive in themselves.
But God's heart is different. He delights to manifest the wonder of His powerful presence through the most common vessels He can find, so that all the world can see that the amazing life we live is His doing and not our own.
If we're bored, then chances are we're not living a full Christian life. In God's presence is fullness of joy. When people visit our church meetings, do they marvel at the Lord's joyful presence with His people? God wants to put the "wow" back in our Christian life and worship.
Pre-Christmas sermon on Joy.
1. Happiness at Christmas.
2. Joy and Christians.
a. More than an emotion.
b. Joy at what God has done. (OT)
c. Joy in suffering. (NT)
3. How to have spiritual joy.
a. Personal relationship with God.
b. Personal relationship with Christians.
4. God's joy.
a. He rejoices over repentant sinners.
b. Have you come back to him?
Folks, is it true that some of us would rather dye than have grey hair? He-he, I’d be glad for any color hair — I’d just be glad for hair!
There is an old popular song, “Am I Blue?” Maybe that is your theme song today. On a happy scale of 1 to 10, you may be struggling to reach 1.
I’m unusually fortunate, I guess — I don’t often get blue. But I know that no matter how bad earthly things get for us, God is still there as steady as the Rock of Gibralter. In times like this, we need to understand that these things that may be happening to us probably weren’t CAUSED by God. Things just happen in life, and sometimes they seem to happen all at once. It doesn’t usually happen because you’ve been bad, so please don’t put yourself on a guilt trip. God can use difficult times to strengthen us, but don’t blame God for things that happen.
If I do get down, I always go to the Psalms and read chapters like Psalm 34. Then I ask God to take what I just read and make it real in my situation. Two way communication with God is the best way I know to get through difficult times.
Psalm 34:15 says, “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are attentive to their cry.” That is so reassuring for a believer who is struggling with difficult times.
It’s easy to say, “Why me, Lord?” We should probably say, “Why not me, Lord — I have you in my life to help me, and my neighbor may not.” Lord, help me not to grumble. Let’s not be like the Israelites in Exodus 17:7 (NLT) who said, “… Is the Lord going to take care of us or not?
[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #18673]
The key to the beatitudes is the word "blessed."
Many modern translations like the Living Bible and the version called Good News for Modern Man, translate this word as "happy." To some liberal scholars the beatitudes become a system for finding positive mental health. If you're not happy, then be meek, pure, and peaceable, and happiness will soon follow.
There is some truth to this approach, but the beatitudes involve much more. For one thing, the English word "happy" is based on the word "hap" which means chance. Just as the word haphazard means hit or miss, the word happiness refers to an emotion which depends on the chances and changes of life. Human happiness can come and it can go. The blessedness of a Christian, however, is unchangeable. In John 16:22, Jesus says, "No one will take away your joy."
Sermon for Palm Sunday 1994. Luke 19:29-44
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TRIUMPH OR TRAGEDY?
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I. Everyone likes a parade.
II. Palm Sunday fulfilled prophecy about the Messiah.
A. The concept of the Messiah has inspired Jews for 3,000 years.
B. The key events in Jesus' life are alluded to in OT prophecy.
III. The Parade unleashes the joy of God's Kingdom.
A. Most parades are fun for the observers.
B. Palm Sunday crowd is unrestrained in its joy and praise. 19:37
C. True believers in Jesus have joy.
IV. The parade honored Jesus as the coming King.
A. We all need honor and recognition.
B. It is appropriate to honor Jesus. Rev 5:12
C. If we honor him, he will honor us.
V. All parades come to an end.
A. There is often a letdown afterwards.
B. Many of those at Palm Sunday were superficial.
C. Do you recognize God's coming?
Celeste and I wanted to experience a New York City ticker tape parade. When Desert Storm veterans were honored, we went with our girls. To avoid congestion we took a bus and made our way to the steep canyons of Wall Street. The streets were so crowded with onlookers we were flat against a building, actually inside a entryway.
This turned out to be a good thing. When the troops came marching up, the crowd went wild. Cartons of paper and confetti were tossed out of windows. They even threw real ticker tape, imported from Connecticut since Wall Street no longer uses real ticker tape. They also threw stones, coins and small pieces of lumber, which is why we were glad we were in a doorway.
We never saw the soldiers. There was a glimpse of helmets, and a Patriot missile poked up. But the energy and joy was a sight to remember forever.
Sermon in Philippians series. Four ways to handle stress. Phil. 4:1-7
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HOW TO HANDLE STRESS
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I. Are you a stressed-out person?
A. Road-rage and atrocities fill the news.
B. Here are some God-given principles for relieving stress.
II. Get along with everyone.
A. Are you fighting with anyone right now?
B. Fighting is common among Christians.
C. Try to get along. Romans 12:16-18
III. Be happy about everything.
A. Rejoice!
B. Be gentle.
C. Focus on Second Coming.
IV. Worry about nothing.
A. Worry stifles our joy and pumps out stress.
B. You are not God.
C. Worry is worthless. Matthew 6:25,34
V. Pray about everything.
A. Replacing a negative with a positive.
B. Have a thankful attitude.
VI. Have peace in everything.
#4361
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“Most folks don’t mean to exaggerate — they just remember big.” — Ann Landers
Are you a joy plant? What do I mean? Joy is something that grows from within. It does need to depend on outward circumstances. It has to be cultivated and nourished, and that needs a right attitude.
Paul said in Phil. 4:11 (NIV). “… I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.” That’s a description of joy! Joy doesn’t depend on a “high” or an abundance of “things” or a hilarious time or jocular conversation — it is inner contentment. You have to work at it with the help of God. For the Christian, it starts with a right relationship with the Father through faith in Jesus Christ. When we have inner peace because we know that God really loves us, then we have a good foundation for developing an attitude that culminates in joy.
Someone is saying, “But you don’t know my situation.” You are right. You may be bearing a burden that has you looking up to see the bottom. But, in spite of all the problems of life, I believe a true child of God can cling to all the Father’s promises and find inner contentment that means inner joy. I believe that we can learn to say with Paul, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.” You’ll notice he said “learned.” Learning is an ongoing process.
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[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #6434]
There can be shadows over victory and sadness in success:
Around 1900 a baseball game was being played by two Minnesota semi-pro teams. At the end of nine innings they were locked in a scoreless tie. In the top of the tenth, however, the team from Benson scored a run. The team from Willmar came to bat in the bottom half of the inning. Willmar's pitcher, Thielman, smacked a single. The next batter, O'Toole, smashed a terrific drive deep in the outfield. The crowd began its customary and proper uproar. Thielman rounded second base and headed for third with O'Toole digging after him.
As Thielman arrived at third, however, he collapsed. O'Toole didn't dare to pass him in the base path and so he obligingly half-carried and dragged Thielman the ninety feet to home plate. Amazingly, the umpire allowed both runs. Willmar had won! Thielman was the winning pitcher. Thielman was also dead. He had died of heart failure at third base. There can be shadows over victory and sadness in success.
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(From Bill Stern's "Favorite Baseball Stories," Garden City, NJ: Blue Ribbon Books, 1949, p. 7.)
If you have ever gone through a toll booth, you know that your relationship to the person in the booth is not the most intimate you’ll ever have. It is one of life’s frequent nonencounters: You hand over some money; you might get change; you drive off.
Late one morning in 1984, headed for lunch in San Francisco, I drove toward a booth. I heard loud music. It sounded like a party. I looked around. No other cars with their windows open. No sound trucks. I looked at the toll booth. Inside it, the man was dancing.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“I’m having a party,” he said.
“What about the rest of the people?” I looked at the other toll booths.
He said, “What do those look like to you?” He pointed down the row of toll booths.
“They look like… toll booths. What do they look like to you?”
He said, “Vertical coffins. At 8:30 every morning, live people get in. Then they die for eight hours. At 4:30, like Lazarus from the dead, they reemerge and go home. For eight hours, brain is on hold, dead on the job. Going through the motions.”
I was amazed. This guy had developed a philosophy, a mythology about his job. Sixteen people dead on the job, and the seventeenth, in precisely the same situation, figures out a way to live. I could not help asking the next question: “Why is it different for you? You’re having a good time.”
He looked at me. “I knew you were going to ask that. I don’t understand why anybody would think my job is boring. I have a corner office, glass on all sides. I can see the Golden Gate, San Francisco, and the Berkeley hills. Half the Western world vacations here… and I just stroll in every day and practice dancing.”
________
By Dr. Charles Garfield, from Condensed Chicken Soup for the Soul, Copyright 1996 by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen & Patty Hansen
Is obedience what pleases God most? In the account of the ten lepers, nine of them obediently followed obeyed Jesus' command to go to the priest yet they were not commended by Jesus. The one who came back to express gratitude was the one commended.
True obedience is a response of gratitude toward the giver of the gift. It is gratitude in action. God's obedience is obedience that acts because the follower loves God and is not deathly afraid of him. The obedience that pleases God comes from the followers who know whom they love.
The key to joy and peace in your walk with God.
1. Surrender is an unnatural response.
2. The three truths of surrender.
4. Conditional surrender?
5. Tests of surrender.
6. The peace of surrender.
#4103
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Can significant spiritual growth occur when times are tough?
1. Sing for Joy
2. Receive good times as a gift
When finally, the clouds lift, the sun shines, and we enter a period
of calm, we don't seem to know what to do.
3. Draw near to God
4. Repent
5. Practice spiritual Disciplines
6. Erect alters and monuments
7. Be a steward of the Good times
Why aren't Christians more excited during worship? If they knew what they had in Christ, they could not help but show their emotion of happiness! If Christians fully understood what they have in Christ we would have to place seat belts in the pews to hold them down to keep order.
The Reader’s Digest and other companies have become famous for their giving away of millions of dollars each year in their sweepstakes. It is fun to watch their commercials on television when they show the reactions of the recipients of the prizes.
One that is especially good is the ad of the young girl who comes to the door with a bath towel wrapped around her and when they tell her she has just won 10 MILLION DOLLARS she goes berserk! That girl acts like a person who has just won 10 million dollars should act! She grabs her mouth, her eyes enlarge to twice their normal size and she screams for joy.
You can take the most reserved person on earth and announce that he has just won a great prize and he will go bananas. Why? Because the IMPOSSIBLE has become the POSSIBLE and he will have a hard time comprehending that it could happen to him.
It is the same for Christians. What the Lord has done for us sounds impossible. It sounds like a fairy tale, but IT IS NO FAIRY TALE. I have a feeling that by the time we get through this book, some of you are going to “go bananas” spiritually!
Christians can choose to be joyful, and Philippians shows how.
I. Joy is a choice made by those who discipline their attitudes.
A. Paul commands us to be joyful.
1) How is this possible?
2) It is an attitude that determines feelings, not a feeling
that determines our attitude.
B. It is not automatic, but work.
II. Maintain a grateful heart.
A. Think of how God has used you to bless others.
B. Remember God's blessings on your family and friends.
C. Glory in even the simplest things.
D. Learn to see God's goodness, because times of drought will come.
III. Focus on future hope.
A. Paul kept his future rest in mind. 1:21
1) He saw the final good, the final victory.
B. Jesus is an example of such hope. 2:5-11; Heb 12:2
C. Hope winches us out of despair.
1) Think beyond the present.
2) Think beyond yourself.
IV. Pursue godly goals.
A. Keep your spiritual goals clearly in mind. 3:8-11
B. A forward focus doesn't leave time for depression and
disappointment.
C. Set our minds on heaven.
V. Pray.
A. Impulse to pray when in trouble is almost automatic.
1) We see it as our right to grumble.
B. Pray about everything.
1) It is the alternative to anxiety.
2) Joy doesn't just wait for answer, but grows through prayer
itself.
3) Prayer carries a promise: peace. 4:7
VI. Think godly thoughts.
A. Tragedies tend to focus our minds and stifle us.
1) But we can choose what to think about. 4:8-9
2) Instead of being obsessed, we need to back off and give it
all to God.
3) Substitute pure thoughts.
B. Thoughts are best disciplined in action.
VII. Learn contentment.
A. Find contentment in what you have, rather than despair at what
you don't.
1) Jesus encouraged us to get busy in the present. Matt 6:34
2) Contentment in not in amount, but in attitude.
3) Dissatisfaction breeds anxiety and frustration.
B. Discontent happens naturally, but contentment is learned.
1) Exercise discipline and self-control.
2) Seek first God's Kingdom. Matt 6:3
C. Sadness is normal, but we don't have to let it gain control
of our lives.
1) Self-pity leads to enslavement.
2) The alternative can be chosen - joy.
Sermon in 50 Day Adventure series. #4 - Tracking joys. Phil. 4:4-8
================
REFRESHED BY JOY
================
I. Rejoice, or else!
II. Make a choice: Joy is inward-looking. 4:4
A. Joy is a choice made by those who discipline their attitudes.
B. Have a grateful heart (and mind). 4:8-9
C. Learn contentment for the here-and-now. 4:11
III. Work for others: Joy is outward-looking.
A. Joy is best experienced in relationships.
B. Fellowship produces joy. 1:25-26
C. We can find joy through service. 1:18
IV. Pray: Joy is upward-looking.
A. Letter's first mention of joy is linked with prayer. 1:4
B. Pray about everything. 4:6
C. Find joy through worship.
V. Focus on future hope: Joy is future-looking. 1:21; 3:20
#3584
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Incredible as it sounds, Alexander Whortley lived in a mini-trailer 3 feet wide, 4 feet long, and 5 feet high until he died at the age of 80. It was made of wood, had a metal roof, and it housed him and all his meager belongings. No matter where he worked, Whortley chose to spend his life in that cramped space, even though larger quarters were always available.
I can’t imagine why anyone would choose to live in a box - certainly not if housing with far more elbow room were available. But are we allowing ourselves to be squeezed into narrow boxes of a different sort? Are we hemmed in by selfishness, an unforgiving spirit, bitterness, or sinful habits? Are we boxed in by unbelief with its coffin-like narrowness of vision, seeing only this little world and this brief lifetime as the hope-suffocating sum of our existence?
God wants us to live in the expansive joy of His strength, realizing the security of His protection and the blessing of His favor (Psalm 84:11). He lovingly urges us to dwell in the spacious mansion of faith and freedom in Jesus Christ. But to do this, we must, in obedience to the Lord, move out of our spiritual boxes and abandon the doubt, the guilt, and the fear that constrict our souls. -VCG
The Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly. — Psalm 84:11
There’s a wideness in God’s mercy
Like the wideness of the sea;
There’s a kindness in His justice,
Which is more than liberty. — Faber
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[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #4698]
My closest Jewish friend in college nicknamed me "Simchah" - the ancient Hebrew word for joy.
It was no secret in our dorm that I laughed often and found a delight in daily circumstances that somehow escaped many others. One Christian friend confided: "The non-Christians here have a saying about you: ‘Either Paul is totally crazy, or he’s on to something we don’t know about.’"
They were right. I was on to something - I should say Someone - they didn’t know about, though I tried often enough to introduce them to Him. Only a short time before, I had met the Lord, and He had become the great Fountain of my joy. Whenever I sensed His presence, a deep delight that I couldn’t contain welled up within me.
In the more than 20 years since, joy has rarely been far from me, because Jesus has remained close by. That’s not to say that I haven’t known considerable grief, sadness, and struggle. Nor could I even say that I’ve been happy most of that time. But I’ve known an abiding joy nonetheless. When Christian friends ask about the secret of that joy, I share with them two important lessons that have made all the difference: First, I’ve learned not to confuse joy with happiness; and second, I’ve discovered that if we want joy, we must abandon the pursuit of it, and go looking for God instead.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HAPPINESS AND JOY
People often equate happiness with joy, but the two are quite different. Our best clue to the meaning of HAPPINESS is found in one of its close synonyms, contentment, which has the same root as the word CONTAIN. To be content is to contain or possess what we want. So to be happy is to be satisfied, either because we have what we desire, or because we’ve given up the desire for what we don’t have.
Happiness, then, is not so much a feeling as it is a condition or state of being. It’s a calming of the heart’s activity. Jesus spoke, for example, of the shepherd who is happy to find a lost sheep (Matthew 18:13). Once the shepherd obtains what he wants, his activity toward that goal ceases. The writer to the Hebrews told Christians to be happy (or content) by giving up the desire to obtain more than what they had (Hebrews 13:5).
We can see why the pursuit of happiness is the unhappiest of pursuits: We can’t always have what we want; when we get what we want, we may lose it; and even if we don’t lose it, the sense of satisfaction may fade as we find ourselves attracted to something else.
That’s why it’s so important not to confuse joy with happiness. The Lord has promised that joy is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). But He never promised that we would have everything we want in this life. If we want to discover joy, we won’t find it by continually striving to arrange the circumstances of our lives in a satisfying way. We must look for it elsewhere.
Like happiness, joy brings us pleasure; so what exactly is the difference between the two? One simple definition of joy that might distinguish the two experiences is this: JOY IS THE SENSE OF DELIGHT THAT ARISES WITHIN US IN THE PRESENCE OF SOMEONE OR SOMETHING WE LOVE.
While happiness is a condition or state of being, joy is a response. Joy depends, not on our acquisition of something, but rather on our encounter with something. Happiness possesses; joy appreciates. Happiness grasps; joy beholds.
This understanding of joy is found throughout the Bible. For example, joy is the appreciative response of a father to the wisdom he finds in a cherished son (Proverbs 15:20). It’s the exultation of someone who loves righteousness upon seeing justice reign in the land (Proverbs 21:15). It’s the pleasure taken by a citizen of Jerusalem in the beauty of that beloved city (Psalm 48:1-2). In each of these cases, people aren’t feeling content because they have acquired something (happiness); they’re taking delight in their encounter with something they love (joy).
THE ORDER OF JOY
Joy represents the culmination of a sequence of events inside us: We see goodness; we recognize it for what it is; we love it; and we enjoy it. Seeing, knowing, loving, enjoying-that is what we might call the "order of joy."
Jesus spoke of this connection between vision and rejoicing when He comforted His disciples on the night of His betrayal. He told them that He would be taken away, but that they would see Him again; and when they saw Him, their grief would turn to joy (John 16:16-22). For us as for the disciples, joy comes when we see the Lord, because it’s the natural result of being in the presence of Someone we love.
In heaven, we will eternally behold the face of God as He is, without anything to obstruct the view (1 John 3:2). When at last we see Him perfectly, we will know Him and love Him perfectly, and we will enjoy Him without measure (1 Cor. 13:12).
In the meantime, God is wooing us, drawing us to Himself with glimpses of goodness in this world that point us toward Him as their Source. Just as Jesus’ disciples rejoiced because they continued to see Him after His ascension-through the works He did by His Spirit-we, too, can see Him if we’re willing to look for Him. The resulting vision of God in times of trouble and in our everyday lives can cause joy to well up within us, a foretaste of the joy of heaven.
LOOKING FOR GOD IN DIFFICULT SITUATIONS
With all this in mind, we can understand the second lesson I’ve learned about abiding joy: To discover joy, we must abandon the search for it, and go looking instead for the One who is Himself joy to see, to know, and to love.
God is always with us. But our view of Him is often limited or obstructed, either by the difficult circumstances of our lives or by the wayward attitudes of our hearts. So if we want the joy God has promised, we must always be looking for God’s presence, whatever the situation in which we may find ourselves. We may have ample cause for sorrow; but no matter how difficult a situation might be, if we can somehow see the goodness of God at work, we will know Him better, love Him more, and find joy in His nearness.
I remember coming home one afternoon to discover that the kitchen I had worked so hard to clean only a few hours before was now a terrible wreck. My young daughter had obviously been busy "cooking," and the ingredients were scattered, along with dirty bowls and utensils, across the counters and floor. I was not happy with the situation.
Then, as I looked a little more closely at the mess, I spied a tiny note on the table, clumsily written and smeared with chocolatey fingerprints. The message was short - "I’m makin sumthin 4 you, Dad" - and it was signed, "Your Angel."
In the midst of that disarray, and despite my irritation, joy suddenly sprang up in my heart, sweet and pure. My attention had been redirected from the problem to the little girl I loved. As I encountered her in that brief note, I delighted in her. With her simple goodness in focus, I could take pleasure in seeing her hand at work in a situation that seemed otherwise disastrous.
The same is true of my joy in the Lord. Many times life looks rather messy; I can’t find much to be happy about in my circumstances. Nevertheless, if I look hard enough, I can usually see the Lord behind it all, or at least working through it all, "makin sumthin" for me. He has left His signature, His fingerprints, on the situation if I will just search for them. And when I find the evidence of His presence and His plan, a joy rises up in me that cannot be overcome by otherwise unpleasant circumstances.
Several years ago, I severed my left Achilles tendon while playing volleyball. My left leg up to my hip was placed in a cumbersome cast for many weeks. As far as I was concerned, the handicap couldn’t have come at a worse time: It was a hot Georgia summer, and we were living in a tiny campus apartment with only one bathroom - upstairs. My whole leg throbbed and itched continually; I couldn’t get up and down stairs without terrible difficulty; I couldn’t drive or take a shower; and I had to sleep on a mattress in the hall because my fumbling in bed with the cumbersome cast kept my wife awake at night. To make matters worse, my wife was pregnant and struggling almost daily with morning sickness.
The Lord was there, but I had to look for Him. I found Him in all the wonderful friends who came to take care of us. They helped with meals, housecleaning, and transportation. They prayed for me and with me. They kept me laughing and reminded me that God was still in control. And when the cast finally came off, I realized that we were closer than we’d ever been before. God had been in the middle of that mess, and He had left His signature in the lovingkindness of my friends.
JOY IN THE EVERYDAY
Sometimes joy seems to elude us most in the everyday routine. The world seems gray; the hours seem empty. We aren’t particularly distressed, but we don’t find much pleasure in what we do.
In these times, joy must come to us the same way it comes when we are hurting: We must catch a glimpse of the Lord. The task of preparing ourselves for joy in the ordinary circumstances of life is actually a matter of directing our attention. As Bible teacher A.W. Tozer once put it, we must build "the inward habit of beholding God." How do we cultivate this habit?
Perhaps surprisingly, we make room in our lives for God’s joy through the traditional disciplines of the Christian life - such things as prayer, worship, Scripture study, fellowship, and service. Now you may object that, as the Scripture tells us, "all discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful" (Hebrews 12:11, NASB). Yet eventually joy will follow the discipline - if we keep our eyes on the Lord as we labor. The purpose of spiritual disciplines, after all, is to open us to God’s grace, which also opens us to the joy of encountering God. Each discipline can open our eyes to some aspect of God’s goodness that enables us to see, know, love, and delight in Him more deeply.
The discipline of prayer, for example, can give us daily a joyful view of God’s nearness. But it becomes a frantic and draining labor if it centers on ourselves or our concerns. Once while I was in graduate school, our finances were especially tight, and I panicked when an emergency expense came up. When I approached the Lord in prayer, I found myself pointing furiously at the problem and nagging Him to pay attention to it.
Then suddenly I remembered to turn my focus to God instead of the problem. I began to praise Him, declaring Him all-powerful, all-wise, and all-loving. I began recalling all the times He had proven Himself faithful to us, all the times we had seen His fingerprints in the midst of untidy circumstances. Before long I was rejoicing that He ruled over the situation. I still wasn’t happy with my circumstances, but the assurance of God’s loving power brought joy into the midst of an everyday challenge.
A LOVE LETTER FROM GOD
Scripture reading is another discipline that can provide us a joy-inspiring view of God. When I approach the Word of God as a fresh love letter from my closest Friend, searching for Him as I read, then in each line I taste the pleasure of knowing better the One I love. When the Scripture commands me, for example, to forgive, the command becomes an occasion for joy when I behold in the Scripture my Savior forgiving my own sin, setting the example for me. Then, when I ask Him to help me forgive others and express my confidence that He will answer, I sense His nearness even more vividly. My joy abounds.
The same is true when we reach out to others in the discipline of service. If we keep our eyes on the task itself, we may find ourselves in a joyless ministry. The work may be long and hard, the fruit may be difficult to measure, the people receiving our ministry may be ungrateful.
Yet Jesus said that if we care for the "least" of His brothers and sisters, we will be caring for Him as well (Matthew 25:40). We’ll find joy in our service only to the extent that we find Jesus there - only when we remember that whatever work we do, we are "working for the Lord" (Col. 3:23).
LOOKING FOR GOD’S FINGERPRINTS
Whichever Christian discipline we may consider-worship, witness, fasting, fellowship, or many others - the same principle holds. If we want our lives to flow with joy, then we have to look for the Lord in what we’re doing. However dismal or intimidating our circumstances may seem, we must look for God’s fingerprints in the midst of them, some indication that He is with us. Only then will we be able to "leap for joy," as Jesus said, because we’ll be looking past the hardship to focus on our great reward: the Lord Himself (Luke 6:23).
Will we always be happy? By no means. Happiness will come and go until we reach heaven and at last our desire rests fully in God.
Will we be beyond the reach of sorrow? Of course not. But the sorrow will be chastened by the joy, and the joy will be our refreshing stream in the desert until that Day when the wilderness will become a garden-and we will behold at last the beauty of the Face which we were created to enjoy forever.
___________________
PAUL THIGPEN has a Ph.D. in historical theology from EMORY UNIVERSITY and is assistant professor of religious studies at SOUTHWEST MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY in Springfield. He has written 13 books and numerous articles. Paul is a consulting editor for DISCIPLESHIP JOURNAL and a contributing editor for THE JOYFUL NOISELETTER, a publication of the FELLOWSHIP OF MERRY CHRISTIANS.
#3701
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The secret to finding joy in spiritual disciplines is focusing not on what we do, but on the ONE for whom we do it. Duty or Delight? In Matthew 6, Jesus teaches that the disciplines are about joy, though He never mentions the word.
1. Grace, Grace, Grace.
2. Pins and Pizzas.
3. Awards and Rewards.
4. Basketball Its Own Reward.
5. Stargazing.
6. Beholding Wonder.
7. Addicted to the Disciplines.
#3875
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Don't fall off the sofa, couch potatoes, but happiness could be as easy as turning off your television set. Or at least that might be a start. "People who are passive, who are vegetative, dare I say watching television, are less likely to report themselves happy than people who are actively doing things," says psychologist Martin Seligman of the University of Pennsylvania. Dennis Heathey, a paralyzed teacher of the homeless, dismisses television as a source of joy. "There's no human interaction there," he says. "It's the relational activity that makes me happy. Sharing in somebody else's happiness is GREAT." These observations come, quite surprisingly, from television. And the source of this biting-the-hand-that-feeds-you? ABC News, in a refreshing - and reassuring - special called "The Mystery of Happiness: Who has It & How to Get It." John Stossel starts off by reminding viewers how difficult life has been through most of history. People struggled in poverty. Food was scarce. Disease killed off many children. Earthly happiness was unimaginable.
Thomas Jefferson changed that in the Declaration of Independence, and Americans have been thinking about the pursuit of happiness ever since. People in other parts of the world don't have as much time to think about happiness. In this age of anxiety, most Americans say they're happy. Yet that hasn't stopped Stossel from debunking some of misconceptions about what leads to happiness. Money can't guarantee joy, several lottery winners acknowledge. A woman won $26 million watched her marriage fall apart.
Beyond the anecdotal, the ABC special explores new scientific theories about happiness. An X-ray style test indicates that a happy person has increased activity in the brains left frontal area. Good-sport Stossel takes the test at the University of Wisconsin, and the results confirm he's not predisposed to happiness. "What a whiner I am!" he confesses. Other tests bolster the view that happy people are born that way. Identical twins, even those who grow apart, share a similar outlook, according to a University of Minnesota study. The University of Maryland has found that children are born with biological predispositions. Yet that shouldn't deter anyone from working toward happiness.
To stress points about optimism, faith and the importance of control, the special talks to such diverse subjects as Olympic swimmer Matt Biondi; U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz; a symphony conductor; an Amish woman and a couple married 54 years. McCain endured 5 years as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam because he had a "a fundamental belief that things in the end were going to be OK." And if people don't feel that way, they can change. Stossel gives a few pointers: Laughter helps. Putting on a happy face can make a difference. The approach could be called the Nike philosophy: Just do it.
Sermon in 1 Peter series. Joy, wonder, heritage of salvation. 1:8-12
===================
ANGELS LONG TO LOOK
===================
I. The joy of our salvation.
A. Do you need to see to believe? 2 Cor 5:7
B. To know Jesus is to LOVE him.
C. Filled with "inexpressible joy."
D. We don't see him now - but someday we will.
II. The heritage of our salvation.
A. Old Testament prophets. 1:10
B. Preachers.
III. The wonder of our salvation. 1:12
A. Prophets wondered enough to investigate details.
B. Angels long to look into it.
#4078
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Article based on Psalm 126.
1. Easy joy.
2. When reality sets in.
3. Sowing in tears.
Rewards will come in due time.
4. A time to reap.
Learn to express the pure joy of knowing God [full article at #21847]
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Praising God blesses us by focusing our eyes on His greatness. It transforms our perspective on life's difficulties. Ps 66:2-3
Praise is a powerful weapon to break down walls, open doors, and win battles as we fight to extend God's kingdom.
REASONS FOR PRAISE
God is worthy of praise, Isa 51:13, 1 Chron 29:11, Ps 148:3,
Praise deepens intimacy with God. Ps 22:3, 2 Chron 5:13-14,
1 Cor 3:16
Praising God blesses us. Deut 30:16, Ps 63:2-5
Praise is a weapon in spiritual warfare. 2 Chron 20:6,12,21-22,
PRAISE AND DISAPPOINTMENT. Hab 3:17-18, Ps 42:11, 2 Sam 12:20, Job 1:21
Ways to Practice Praise Ps 119:164
Sing. Ps 147:1, Ps 149:1
Meditate.
Use your body. Ps 150:4, Ps 33:1
Praise with others.
Created for Worship. Eph 1:12, Ps 34:1
The trouble with many men is that they have got just enough religion to make them miserable. If there is not joy in religion, you have got a leak in your religion.
- Billy Sunday SERMON, NEW YORK 1914
As we rolled five-year-old Mary into the MRI room, I tried to imagine what she must be feeling. She had suffered a stroke that left half of her body paralyzed, had been hospitalized for treatment of a brain tumor, and had recently lost her father, her mother and her home. We all wondered how Mary would react.
She went into the MRI machine without the slightest protest, and we began the exam. At that time, each imaging sequence required the patient to remain perfectly still for about five minutes. This would have been difficult for anyone - and certainly for a five-year-old who had suffered so much. We were taking an image of her head, so any movement of her face, including talking, would result in image distortion.
About two minutes into the first sequence, we noticed on the video monitor that Mary's mouth was moving. We even heard a muted voice over the intercom. We halted the exam and gently reminded Mary not to talk. She was smiling and promised not to talk.
We reset the machine and started over. Once again we saw her facial movement and heard her voice faintly. What she was saying wasn't clear. Everyone was becoming a little impatient, with a busy schedule that had been put on hold to perform an emergency MRI on Mary.
We went back in and slid Mary out of the machine. Once again, she looked at us with her crooked smile and wasn't upset in the least. The technologist, perhaps a bit gruffly, said, "Mary, you were talking again, and that causes blurry pictures."
Mary's smile remained as she replied, "I wasn't talking. I was singing. You said no talking." We looked at each other, feeling a little silly.
"What were you singing?" someone asked.
"Jesus Loves Me," came the barely perceptible reply. "I always sing 'Jesus Loves Me' when I'm happy."
Everyone in the room was speechless. "Happy? How could this little girl be happy?" The technologist and I had to leave the room for a moment to regain our composure as tears began to fall.
Many times since that day, when feeling stresses, unhappy or dissatisfied with some part of my life, I have thought of Mary and felt both humbled and inspired. Her example made me see that happiness is a marvelous gift - free to anyone willing to accept it.
________
By James C. Brown, M.D., from A 5th Portion of Chicken Soup for the Soul, Copyright 1998 by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen
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