The words that were just read, came from the prayer of Jesus, in the garden just before he was betrayed by Judas and arrested by the temple guards. And you’re thinking, that’s a weird advent reading.
Maybe, or maybe not.
This Advent season your preaching team has been focusing on Gifts from the King. Normally when we celebrate someone’s birthday, we celebrate by bringing them gifts. But this year we are focusing on the gifts we receive from Jesus, the birthday boy.
On week one I spoke on the gift of Love, and this past week Pastor Rob spoke about the gift of Peace. Next Sunday, is actually Dec 21, the shortest day of the year. I know, the day still has 24 hours, stop it, you know what I mean. And Pastor Deborah will be speaking on the Gift of Hope.
This morning, I will be focusing on the gift of Joy. Which is kind of fitting in that Joy is woven throughout the Christmas Story.
Joy really is the entire focus of the first Christmas, as the chorus of angels reminded the Shepherds in the fields as they brought them news of the Baby born in a stable, Luke 2:10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.”
But the gift of joy, wasn’t confined to the Christmas story, even though that was where it began. As we continue our journey through the New Testament, we see the gift of joy appearing throughout Christ’s earthly ministry.
The Father’s joy was mentioned when Jesus was baptized, it was mentioned when he forgave people. And on that first easter, the women, expressed joy when they realized Jesus had been raised from the dead.
And as Jesus prays in the Garden, knowing that within hours one of his friends would betray him and he’d be arrested. Knowing that before a full day had passed, he would be accused in a mockery of a trial, convicted and sentenced to death and would die a horrific death on the cross.
That even knowing that his followers would scatter. That his closest friend would deny knowing him, Jesus prays for those who would choose to follow him. John 17:13 “Now I am coming to you. I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy.”
He was praying that his followers would embrace the gift of Joy he was giving them. And that becomes a reality throughout the story of the church.
The words joy and rejoice are used over 130 times throughout the New Testament.
Some of those verses you are probably quite familiar with.
We are told in 1 Thessalonians 5:16 Always be joyful. And a very similar command in Philippians 4:4 Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice!
And when Paul lists the Fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5, this is what he told the early believers, Galatians 5:22–23 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
So, it would seem that Joy is not only a gift, but it appears that it’s a gift that we are expected to embrace. The words, always be joyful, and always be full of joy, aren’t suggestions, they are commandments.
And God will never command us to do something he doesn’t empower us to do through his Spirit. We believe that as Wesleyans. Wesley taught that real Christian holiness is always joyful holiness, because joy is the evidence of God’s Spirit at work.
And maybe you are thinking, Denn I’m just not a naturally happy person. I’m not one to display my emotions or smile a lot.
That’s okay, because within the Biblical context, joy and happiness are two different things.
Happiness is an external emotion that is often connected to external circumstances. This happened and so I am happy. On the other hand, that happened and that makes me unhappy.
For some of us, our emotions are tied to external influences like the weather. I am really shallow in that my happiness can often be tied to the weather. When it’s bright and sunny I feel happier than when it’s grey and dreary.
The experts call it Seasonal Affective Disorder; I just know that makes me feel SAD.
Which is a one of the reasons why the Guptills try to go south in February, in search of the sun.
William Lyon Phelps wrote, “If happiness truly consisted in physical ease and freedom from care, then the happiest individual would not be either man or woman, it would be, I think, an American cow”
There have been all kinds of theories about what it takes to make people happy. Ingrid Berman said, “Happiness is good health and a bad memory.” Daniel Boone said, “All you need for happiness is a good gun, a good horse, and a good wife.”
And Alan Alda summed up his philosophy by saying, “It isn’t necessary to be rich and famous to be happy. It’s only necessary to be rich.”
In contrast joy is something that comes from an internal sense of well-being and can be present in spite of negative external circumstance. As a matter of fact, I have witnessed joy in the presence of sorrow.
Therefore, if I accept the gift of joy that Jesus offers then I should be able to be joyful, even in February. Even if I’m not happy about the weather.
In his book, the Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren writes, “Joy is the settled assurance that God is in control. . . Happiness depends on happenings, but joy depends on Christ.”
But like any gift, we have to choose to accept the gift of joy. Unfortunately I’m sure many of you know a Christian or two, who you wouldn’t necessarily describe as being joyful.
Mark Twain described one man he knew as “A solemn, unsmiling, sanctimonious old iceberg that looked like he was waiting for a vacancy on the Trinity.”
To be truthful, some Christians look like they fell off a church. You ever see the gargoyles that hang on some Churches in Europe? But that isn’t what Jesus wanted for his followers.
Jesus wants us to experience a life changing joy and that is what was on his heart when he was facing crucifixion. That was the gift he gave, at the first Christmas, it was the gift he offered to those who followed him, and the gift they received when he was raised from the dead on the first Easter.
The apostle Peter writes to the early church with these words, 1 Peter 1:8 You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. And then Peter finishes with this great promise, 1 Peter 1:9 The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.
And the salvation of our souls ought to be a reason in itself for joy.
So, how do we choose to accept the gift of joy? It was Abraham Lincoln who said, “Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”
There is a story told about Lincoln, when advised to appoint someone to his cabinet who he didn’t like, he refused, saying, “I don’t like his face,” and when told the man can’t help his looks, Lincoln famously responded, “Every man over forty is responsible for his face,”
And that may oversimplify it a little bit, but I think the same could be said for joy.
So, the question is, how do you choose Joy?
You Choose Joy by Choosing to Not Complain. In every situation that comes your way there will be something to complain about, and you will get to choose whether or not you complain.
Because complaining is an activity, just like watching TV is an activity or going for a walk is an activity.
This evening, you will ask yourself, what am I going to do tonight? After you’ve come out to the Chosen Christmas special of course. And if you decide that you are going to watch TV, you will settle down in your favourite chair and turn on the TV and decide which program you are going to watch. It’s all about choices.
And in the same way you can say, what am I going to do in this situation or that situation? And then you will decide whether or not you are going to complain about that situation.
Here is the great secret if complaining is an activity, then like any other activity it is a choice. You will choose to complain or you will choose not to complain. But don’t forget, it is your choice.
If you want people to enjoy being around you than here is the secret. Are you ready? Get a pen and write it down because it is really important: Quit your whining.
Francis Jeffrey said, “The tendency to whining and complaining may be taken as the surest sign symptom of little souls and inferior intellects.”
Here is an excerpt from Anne Franks’ diary “Mrs. Van Daan’s grizzling is absolutely unbearable; now she can’t any longer drive us crazy over the invasion, she nags us the whole day long about the bad weather. It really would be nice to dump her in a bucket of cold water and put her up in the loft.”
Too many of us echo the words of Joe Walsh in his song “Life’s been good to Me” when he writes. “I can’t complain, but sometimes I do.”
You know as well as I do that the more you complain about something the worse it seems to get.
It’s like the tough piece of meat that the more you chew it the bigger it gets until it’s too big to swallow and too big to spit out and you don’t know what to do with it.
If you have time to whine and complain about something, then you have the time to do something about it. It is time we all learned the lesson that Paul speaks about in Philippians 4:11 Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have.
And remember, don’t complain that you aren’t getting what you want, just be thankful you’re not getting what you deserve.
You Choose Joy by Choosing to be Grateful
This is the opposite of the first point. And just like complaining gratefulness is an activity. It is something you choose to do.
You will look around you at what you have in your life, and you will either choose to be grateful or you will choose not to be grateful, it’s as simple as that.
Going back to the words of Paul again the Bible tells us in Ephesians 5:20 And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
What are we supposed to give thanks for? Everything. As a matter of fact, almost every complaint can be turned into an opportunity to give thanks.
If your car won’t start? You should be thankful that you have a car that starts most of the time.
Is the service slow in the restaurant? How about being thankful that you can afford to go to a restaurant in the first place.
I remember when I was in college Dad was fishing at the time, this would be forty-five years ago. and he had just had his taxes done at the end of the year, and he was excited because he had to pay a considerable amount in tax. And I will never forget what he told me, he said, “Do you know how much I had to make to have to pay that much in tax?”
We live in a blessed country, and the things we complain about the most are some of our greatest blessings. Our health care. Our roads. Even our politicians and the taxes we pay. Benjamin Franklin, reminded his readers, “Constant complaint is the poorest sort of pay for all the comforts we enjoy.”
And if you don’t believe that we have a lot of comforts, then you’ve never travelled in the majority world. To get a new perspective, then plan on joining Greg Drost and I as we travel to Bangladesh in February.
And don’t just have a grateful heart, have a grateful mouth as well.
Take time to thank people for the things they do in your life and not just the “big” things. Don’t forget to thank the person at Tims who pours your coffee, or the person at Sobey’s who rings in your groceries.
When was the last time you thanked your garbage man? Do you realize what a mess we’d live in if it wasn’t for our garbage collection?
And show your gratitude to your family, your spouse and your kids. Thank them for what they do.
The last point is by far the simplest to implement and yet I think it’s the one that will benefit us the most, both internally and externally.
You Choose Joy by Choosing to Smile
You understand the power of a smile, right? A smile actually has the power to make you feel better. Medical research has shown that smiling causes the brain to release endorphins, which is the chemical in our bodies that gives us a feeling of wellness and fights pain.
As well research tells us that smiling increase your blood flow, reduces your blood pressure and lowers stress. And it doesn’t even have to be a real smile; you can trick your body simply by smiling. You say, “what if I don’t feel like smiling?” Smile anyway; my philosophy when it comes to smiling is “Fake it til you make it.” If I’m not happy I still, try to smile when I’m around people.
And you realize the power of your smile? Smiles are contagious so when you smile others smile and that release endorphins in them, making them feel better. You literally have the power to change someone’s day and that may change their life.
That’s part of why I use humour when I preach, I want people to feel better when they leave church than when they arrived and if I can get you to laugh and smile you will.
The other reason, goes back to when I was at University and we had an old preacher, and by old I mean my age now, preach in chapel. His name was Jimmy Lentz and he said, “I get people to open their mouth to laugh and then I jam it full of truth.”
I think Jesus smiled a lot, why? Because people wanted to be around him and because little kids wanted to be around him. I don’t think that would have been the case if he had been a scowler.
Andy Andrews wrote, “Your smile is your calling card. It is the most potent weapon you have. With your smile, you can forge bonds, break ice, and calm storms. Use your smile constantly. The power of who you are is revealed when you smile.”
I’m not trying to put anyone on a guilt trip about their emotions, I know that we go through seasons in our life where being joyful seems really difficult if not impossible. Joy isn’t pretending that everything is fine, Jesus didn’t.
Jesus wasn’t happy all the time, we are told that there were times that he cried in grief, there were times he was angry, there were times he was frustrated but those can’t be the emotions that control our lives.
Things may be tough right now, but it will pass, honest.
Every night has a dawn, every storm has an end, every mountain has a crest.
King David struggled with depression throughout his life, just read the psalms, but he also had a grip on this joy thing. Listen to what he wrote in Psalm 30:5 For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime! Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.
It wasn’t long before Jesus went into the Garden to pray that he told his apostles in John 16:22 “So you have sorrow now, but I will see you again; then you will rejoice, and no one can rob you of that joy.”
There will be times in your life that won’t be joyful, happy times, and God never intended for you to put on your happy face during those times.
When Lazarus died, Jesus wept. Solomon wrote in the Ecclesiastes 3:1 & 4 For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. . . A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance.
Let each one of us learn to laugh, learn to rejoice always and remember when you’re laughing to learn to laugh at yourself, because as John Powell reminds us, R“He who has learned how to laugh at himself shall never cease to be entertained.”
If your joy is based on circumstances this morning, then you need to give your life over to the Lord and let Him place His joy within.
Here is your promise for today, Romans 4:7–8 “Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sins are put out of sight. Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of sin.”
So where are you at today? Are you ready to choose joy? Let’s read this last scripture together, making it our closing prayer.
Psalm 9:1–2 I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done. I will be filled with joy because of you. I will sing praises to your name, O Most High.