We are continuing our series on the Fruits of the Spirit. This is taken from Galatians 5:22.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control.[1]

Today’s topic is joy. I’ve know about this topic for more than a couple of months now. To be honest, every time I think about the topic, every time I try to prepare for the sermon, the only thing that comes to mind is how unqualified I am to speak about this subject.

Joy? That’s not something I’m an expert in. Stress. Stress I know. Stress is trying to keep a dozen or so business deals moving along hoping that some of them, one of them, has a fighting chance of closing. Burn out? I have great familiarity with Burn Out. Burn Out is hopping an airplane once or twice a week for the past 4 months. It’s day trips and Red eyes to West Coast to try to minimize the time away from the family. Exhaustion. Exhaustion is three very young daughters who take turns waking up a 3 and 5 o’clock in the morning, asking to be held, asking to go potty.

Why couldn’t we do a series on people who can’t keep up with their lives? I would lots to say on that topic. Between family, work, and school… There aren’t too many cycles left. By the way, I chose the background with the clock to represent a life that just keeps ticking away at a pace that we can’t keep up with. The stack of papers represent a inbox that just keeps growing and growing with more and more busy-ness that will never get done.

So now here I am speaking about Joy. The question on my mind is what is it? Is it going to make any kind of difference in my life if I had it? If so, where can I get it? Like so many questions in life, I started with the dictionary.

Webster defines Joy as :

1 a : the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires : delight

b : the expression or exhibition of such emotion : gaiety

2 : a state of happiness or felicity : bliss

3 : a source or cause of delight

My problem with the first definition is that life doesn’t always give you what you desire. So what then? My problem with the second definition is that everyone knows that happiness is a very unreliable emotion. Sometimes you are. Sometimes you aren’t. Happiness comes and goes. If Joy is as elusive as happiness, one could just a waste a lot of energy chasing something only to spend even more energy trying to find it once you lose it again.

The English dictionary wasn’t very helpful. I thought that the Greek might helpful. Joy is translated Chara. One dictionary translates this as state of rejoicing, happiness. Another said Joyfully, joyously, rejoicing. That wasn’t very helpful either..

Usually when I hear some speak about Joy, a speaker will play word games. Most people concede that you can’t be happy all the time. So instead they say that you can be joyful. They will say that Joy is a matter of the will. It is a choice. Happiness is emotion. Sometimes it is there, sometimes it isn’t. But Joy is something different.

In my daughter’s pre-school, when a kid is having bad attitude, the teacher will encourage them with “choose to have a happy heart.” As a parent, I want to reinforce what the girls are learning in school, but I have to confess a small part of me wants to vent, “How? How do you expect anyone, much less a 3 year old to choose to have a happy heart?” If life’s problem could be solved by just forcing yourself to be happy, I would think there ought to be a lot more happier people in the world.

So then I turned to the Bible, and I have to say that I was very surprised at what I found. Today’s scripture is taken from Philippians 1:1-11. This is the Apostle Paul writing. He is in prison. He is awaiting a trial, where he the potential outcome could be death sentence. This isn’t a comfortable house arrest. He is wearing chains. Thing aren’t going so well for him. Yet look at what he writes.

1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,

To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseersa and deacons:

2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

7 It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. 8 God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

To be honest, I wish I could read you the entire book of Philippians. I find this book so very remarkable. The book of Philipians is a relatively short one. It only has 4 chapters, yet Paul mentions joy, rejoicing, and hope 15 times. The man is in prison. The man is in chains. He is facing a real possibility of execution. Yet how is it possible for him to possess such a positive attitude under such miserable circumstances?

Imagine for a moment that you were in Paul’s situation. What kind of letter would you be writing? Mine would start with, “God, where are you? I’m in jail. It’s not fair. I’m serving You the best I can and all I got to show for it is a jail term with a possible execution. I’m very well educated man, respectable man. Why aren’t you using me to preach to the nations and change the world? What’s the point of all of this meaningless pain? Is this best that you can do with my life?”

Paul has known a tremendous amount of suffering, not just prison. In 2 Corinthians we are given a detailed account of how much he has endured.

2 Corinthians 11:23-27

I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. 24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. 27 I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. [2]

Many of us would consider just one of these events a life tragedy. Yet Paul has an entire collection of tragedy. How does a man who has endured so much, write anything that begins, “3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy”? This is not normal. Basic human truth, when people suffer they complain. It happens in the Bible all the time. When David wrote the Psalms, he spent a lot of them complaining about his circumstances. Job starts out strong, but in the end he started complaining too. Elijah, even after a major victory at Mount Carmel, runs away and starts whining. So what makes Paul so different?

I think it might help for us to peel back the layers of Paul’s life to gain some understanding of who he is and what makes his life work. And perhaps we can find some more substantial ways to deal with complex problems of life that require more than just a “choose to have a happy heart” kind of solution.

Verse 3 & 4, gives us a good place to start.

“I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy.” If you read the rest of book of Philippians, it becomes quite obvious that Paul cares about people. That is a core principle of his life. People matter to Paul. The question for all of us here is, “What core principles do we have governing our lives.”

This is important, because if you make poor choices here, it will limit the satisfaction you get out of life. Everything in life has its place, when we start putting unimportant things at the top of lives, we rob ourselves of the joy that we could have out of life.

You can’t take satisfaction in something that ultimately doesn’t matter. Life is full of unimportant distractions. Some of us are distracted by watching TV, watching football, playing golf, or by going shopping. These are not bad activities. Everyone needs a chance every now and then to blow off some steam and relax. The problems start when these activities take higher priorities in our lives than they ought to. These activities are like the junk foods of life. They are only good for a short term experiences. The pleasure and the satisfaction that we take from them only last for a little while.

I have a couple of favorite television programs. I’m a big fan of the West Wing and the Apprentice. I’m fascinated by leadership and interested in any kind of portrayal of it. It’s a little disappointing for me to realize that I’ve been more faithful in watching these programs than I have been in spending quality time with my three daughters. I mean favorite television program in the grand scheme of things don’t matter. Actually they matter so little, that NBC has even canceled them. Consider for a moment if I had invested all that time in my daughters. One good hour with my daughters might be a memory that could last for a life time. A couple of weeks ago, Charrise and I started taking the girls to the Smithsonian museums. I can’t begin to tell you how completely thrilling it was. It was amazing to watch the girls light up with excitement over riding the metro for the first time. Grace was completely fascinated by the map. She was quite proud of her ability to call out the next station. I was completely overwhelmed by how cute they were when Grace and Christine started licking their very first ice cream cone. These took these tiny steps to make sure they didn’t drop their cones. They were completely surprised when I showed them they could eat the cone. Come to think of it, the museum had very little to do with the experience.

Imagine you are Paul and you are thrown in prison. If your satisfaction in life is found in small activities like watching TV, Prison is going to completely ruin your life. Prison has robbed you of the pleasures of life. However, if you have built your life around caring for people, then even when you are thrown in prison, you will keep writing letters to care for those you love.

Right now, I’m paying a consultant $212/hour to provide some expertise on a few projects. Imaging that one hour of your time was worth $212. How would invest it? Certainly, you wouldn’t pay anyone $212 dollars for the privilege of watching TV. I would be willing to pay for a day at the museum. Come to think of it, when you factor in all the meals, snacks, and parking fees, it did come close.

This principle reminds me of story of Mary and Martha. Luke 10 reads:

38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but only one thing is needed.aMary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

What choices have you made for your life? Mary and Paul chose the “better” things. They chose things that cannot be taken away from them. I can’t say that I have always made the best choices in my life. I think instead I have made very normal choices and as a consequence I’ve experience very normal disappointments with life. The last one was related to my career. I’ve worked for the same company for the past 12 years. My role has evolved from an engineer to a business manager. I found that it is very easy to get consumed with the job. There’s a certain thrill, an adrenaline rush that comes closing a multi-million dollar deal. It’s wonderful feeling to command the respect of your customers, colleagues, and management. But then a couple of years ago, a big re-organization took place. New management takes power and the world is a very different place. Instead of being on top of the world, you get start over at the bottom. Instead of being respected, you are ignored. When you choose to build your life on your career, that works as long as your career is working. What happens when the reorganizations take place, What happens when big deals are lost?

Let’s face it. Building your life on something that doesn’t last is a very normal thing to do. Everyone does it. Some will choose the career, others will choose achievement, or recognition. Some of us money as a way to keep score. The more money you have, the more your life is worth. Everybody wants to do something that will make their life count. The problem is that nothing in this world will last. So doing what everyone else is doing is a guaranteed recipe for disappointment. Yet we do it anyways and we suffer the consequences. You can’t experience Joy, when your life is built on a house of meaningless cards. Consider the 100 year test. One hundred years from now, who will care or even remember your life?

Martha and Paul do not have this problem. Some of the later versus in Philippians chapter 1 reveal a little more about what’s important to Paul.

21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 23 I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; 24 but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me. [3]

Paul stands as a man who is very clear that his life is based on eternal truths and because of that his life will carry eternal significance. Being thrown in prison is not the end of the world for him, it is merely part of the Journey that Christ has laid out for his life.

Versus 6 reads:

6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Paul’s primary obsession in life is not how to get out of jail or avoid any further suffering, his primary obsession is to allow Christ to complete the “good work” that Christ has ordained for Paul’s life. Paul’s source of Joy stems from the fact that he is not alone in this world. Almighty God is with him at every moment, in the good times and in the bad, working out His will for Paul’s life. Joy comes from knowing that God created Paul and each and every one of us for a purpose. Joy comes from knowing that when we submit our lives to God, there is nothing in this world that will stop God from successfully completing that purpose in our lives.

There are significant consequences to living you life for God. It will change you.

7 It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. 8 God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

Keep in mind that these are the words of man who previously had a life long passion of murdering Christians. But when Jesus confronts Paul, and when Paul submits his life to Christ, Paul’s heart makes dramatic transformation. When we give our lives over to Christ, we not only share in his eternal purpose for our lives, but we also share in Christ’s love for people. Look at verse 8 again.

8 God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

I have confession. I find that sometimes people are a pain. I have enough problems in my own life. I really don’t have the energy to take on other people’s problems. I have always known that I need to care more about other people. But it is so difficult sometimes. There’s not enough in me, particularly when I’m stressed, burned out, and exhausted. There is not enough in me to want to take on more problems.

But the exciting thing about submitting your life Christ is that he takes over your heart. Where I am so limited in my love for others, Christ doesn’t have that problem. His love for people knows no end. He suffered a horrendous death on the cross so that we might could have the opportunity to be saved. Christ desperately wants to save each and every one of his children. When I turn over my life Christ, I not only do I experience his purpose for my life, I also share in his unending, eternal love for his people. This too is another source of eternal joy.

The problem with sin is that it taints our lives. It taints our relationships with jealousy and selfishness. The beauty of Christ is that he conquers the sin in our lives and we get to love others the way Christ loves them.

Finally, the last section of the passage reads:

9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

The problem with our world is that every one has an opinion about how life should work. Oprah got her ideas. Dr. Phil has his theories. The “Chicken soup for the Soul” people have been very successful in selling their ideas. Some ideas are harmless. Some are good for an occasional warm fuzzy or a moment of inspiration. When life is easy, it doesn’t really matter who you are following. Life is good.

The problem is that life is often hard. When life is hard, warm fuzzies are not enough. When life is hard, the truth of these numerous ideas is revealed. When life tests you, you will know the substance of your ideals. Only then can we discern what is real and is not. The beauty of the Christian life is that it is rooted in eternal truth. Joy is found in knowing that your life is securely rooted in truth. It won’t be taken away from you.

Take another look at those last versus.

9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

There is a point to life. All the suffering and the pain that we endure in this life is a temporary condition. On the day of Christ, all the problem we know in this world will come to an end. And we will get to live a perfect life for all of eternity in heaven with Him

Would you please bow your heads for a moment of prayer. I’d like to give you some time to think about your life? Do you have the kind of Joy that Paul has in his life. If you are not a Christian, I can tell you the answer. The answer is no. We can change that today. If you’d like in a few minutes, I will lead you in a prayer to accept this gift of salvation that only Christ can give.

If you are a Christian, the question is the same. Do you have the kind of Joy that Paul has in his life? What kind of principles have you chosen for your life? Do they carry eternal significance or are you doing what everyone else is doing. Everyone else is going to be disappointed, as children of God with another option available to us. We can live a life where God will complete the good work that he has begun in us. We can live a life with an eternal purpose. A life where we can share love the Christ has for his people. There is no greater joy possible in this life.

Why shouldn’t we do this?

If you want to accept Christ as your savior, I encourage you to pray this prayer with me. “Father in heaven, we come humbly before you. We confess that we have sinned against you and have made a mess of our lives. We humble ask that you would forgive us for all the wrongs that we have done. We believe that you sent your Son to die a horrible death on the cross to pay for our sins. We accept the salvation that is only possible through faith in Him. Thank you for saving us. In Jesus Name, Amen

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