Summary of Discovering Joy: Part Two
Preamble
Brent discusses Starfish Ministries and gives a “shout out” to the Club 67 grade 7 boys group who raised a little over 200 dollars. As a church we raise enough money for lots of stuff which included various items including 8 goats and 39 chicken.
Some people bring joy wherever they go, some people bring joy when they go
Brent uses a story about a fictional character named Hank. Hank was a grumbler. His joylessness prevented him from effectively loving his wife, his kids, and his community. Brent terms these people “joy suckers.” These people are black holes of Joy – joy gets sucked into them and never seen again!
Joy is integral to the health of our soul
Rarely will we confront these “joy suckers” regarding their negative effect on us. Why is this? Brent suggests this is because we consider joy as an extra. We think joy is only for the lucky people. We feel that most people have an easier life than us and we often believe others have more reasons to be Joyful. (Psalm 16:11)
Joy comes when you know God and “eat” his Word
Knowing God takes effort. We must actively seek God and strive to be in his presence. (1 Peter 1:8-9). We must strive to “eat” God’s word! (Jer 15:16)
We must accept a lack of control
Joy will come when we trust God and accept that he is in control of our lives. We must strive to lean on God and reject our own self reliance. This will occur when we accept that Jesus has saved us – we have done nothing!
We all are tempted by counterfeit joy
Counterfeit joy arises when we believe that something other than God would bring us joy. Examples of counterfeit joy: a renovation of the kitchen, a new car to be proud of, a better job with better status, the Christmas bonus to reduce your debt, a vacation to brag about, and the list goes on.
Counterfeit Joy leads to exhaustion.
Matthew 2:10, Luke 2:10
Two years after Jesus’ birth the wise men spot the star above Bethlehem and “they were filled with joy!” Brent points out that our perception of the wise men were quiet and humble and tiresome from their journey. But instead they were excited! They were full of joy at the arrival of Jesus!
Joy also comes from relationships and turning outward
(3 John 4) John was a disciple and at the end of his life he wrote that the thing that brought him the greatest joy was watching those he had told Jesus about continue to follow God.
Joy is the most infallible sign of the presence of God
If our Joy was overflowing we would make a huge impact in our community. Our challenge is to accept that Joy must fill our lives. If we aren’t filled with joy we must take action.
Challenges to SouthRidge
- Give! Donate money! This is the easiest to do.
- Make it personal – choose another family and focus on loving and providing for them. This is harder to do.
- Bring someone into your life – looking to your neighbours, coworkers, and creating a relationship and bringing them into your life.
About this Message Series
This is a message in a series called “Joy – Christmas 2015”. This series focused on the topics of joy and joyfulness. The series touches on the Christmas story and the birth of Jesus. This series was started in Decemember 2015.