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Everyone wants joy, but few people are full of joy. The life of a christian shhould be full of joy.
We may be seeking the wrong kind of joy, that is fleeting and has dimminishing returns. God has a joy that is supernatural and everlasting. Be filled with Joy!
Welcome back to Redemption Church in Plano TX. My name is Chris Fluitt.
We are in a calorie packed sermon series.
Full (title slide)
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! This Thursday you are going to eat until you are full. God has a table prepared for you and He intends you to fill up on all the good things He has prepared.
God intends us to be THANK FULL, MERCY FULL, and GRACE FULL. That is what we have learned the 3 previous weeks of this series. All our notes, videos, & mp3s are available to you at our website redemptionplano.com. Do a quick search for “FULL” and you will be able to access the entire series.
Today at God’s table he has provided Joy. God wants you to be JOY FULL.
Joy Full
Have you ever met a joyful person? It is always fun to be around people that are filled with joy. Joy is an attractant.
I don’t enjoy being around malcontents: bitter, angry, depressed, sullen people. We enjoy joyful people. Enjoy/In Joy
In fact, we use the word “enjoy” to describe people and circumstances that bring us into a state of joy. There aren’t too many words like “enjoy.” It ties together language & emotion. Think about somebody you “enjoy” being around. Does this person bring joy, happiness, energy, and an over-all good feeling?
The life of a Christian should be marked with joy. Christians should be among the most joyful people you ever meet.
The world should ENJOY Christianity.
Far too often Christians are wearing anger on their faces, rather than a joyful smile.
…Exhibiting an angry argument, instead of a joyful laughter.
…Troubled & impatient, rather than being happy to help.
Our savior was full of joy and a joy to be around. People met your messiah and never wanted to leave his side. They were drawn to Jesus. There are even times where Jesus told people like the delivered demoniac, “Stay here and do God’s work here,” because the man wanted to follow Jesus… to be in the presence of Jesus…
Jesus is joyful. His followers should be joy full. Are there any joyful Jesus people here?
His kingdom is joy…
Romans 14:17 (NIV) For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,
God’s Spirit is joy…
Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
I repeat… The life of a Christian should be marked with joy. Christians should be among the most joyful people you ever meet.
Are you Joy Full?
How are you doing when it comes to joy? Are you experiencing consistent Joy?
Are you so full of Joy that it flows out of you?
Are you having a joy full year? Why not? Would you say that 2020 has been a joy full year?
Joy based on circumstance is fleeting
Has a virus affected your joy?
Has an election season hurt your joy?
Has a rough economy depleted your joy?
Have problems in your relationships deterred your joy?
Has loss stolen your joy?
Has uncertainty dwarfed your joy?
Have the circumstances of life made you less than joy full?
God has a joy that is not based on circumstance. The apostle Paul, who frequently faced difficult circumstances, says this…
Philippians 4:10-13 (NIV) I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
You can rejoice. You can be happy & content in every circumstance. You can face every circumstance through the strength of Jesus Christ.
Stop basing your joy on circumstance. Joy based on circumstance is fleeting.
Joy based on recency is fleeting
Have you ever been really happy to receive something, only to later become less than happy?
You got the job you were praying to receive… You were so excited and told everybody about it at small group… you took extra good selfies for your insta… you were ready to celebrate… but all to soon it just became another job… you grew unhappy and unsatisfied… you started to have to talk yourself into getting out of bed in the morning… all the excitement was gone.
In a few weeks kids will be opening up Christmas presents. There will be so much joy at this moment that mom will grab her phone to record the kid’s surprised faces and celebration dances… but all too soon, what was celebrated will no longer interest the children. Parts will be lost, toys are broken, and lay forgotten under a pile of stuff… When you are gathering these dead up to hall to the trash, you may not even have a moment of recollecting there was joy attached to the item.
That new relationship joy. That glow from simply being together. That excitement about getting off work so that you could go see each other… That joy had nothing to do with where you were going, what you were doing, but everything to do with just being together. Yet over time… even though you love each other… even though you are faithful to each other… that excitement and celebration gives way to everyday life… falling asleep on the couch 5 minutes into a Netflix episode. (Not Netflix and chill… Netflix and asleep)
That salvation joy when you first were saved by faith in Jesus Christ leads to that unforgettably clean feeling when you sins were gone and you were made brand-new… Learning about Jesus, reading His Word and seeing fresh revelation straight from God: Seeing God answer prayers and being on fire for Him, ready to tell the next person your testimony: excited to come to church to worship, hear God’s Word, and see your family… expecting God to do something amazing kind of joy. Overtime, you begin to decide if you are going to go to church or small group based on, ‘ if you feel like it’. You are satisfied with feeling excited some of the time, as opposed to all the time.
If your joy is based on ‘recency’, then you will never be joy-full. You will have a “what have you done for me lately mentality” toward the things of God. Your joy will give way to your dissatisfactions.
God has a joy not based on principles of recency. He gives an everlasting joy. Isaiah 35:10 speaks about God crowning us with everlasting joy. “An everlasting joy shall be upon their heads.”
Our God is the master who says to His good servants, “Enter into the joy of the Lord.” (Matthew 25:23) There is a joy you can enter and you NEVER have to exit.
God’s joy is not a revolving door. His joy is everlasting.
Joy based on circumstance is fleeting
Joy based on recency is fleeting
Joy based on the natural is fleeting
Your body can release chemicals that make you feel happy. Serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin, and endorphins will give you the sensation of emotional joy & happiness. These chemicals operate in the natural to give you a sense of joy, but they are fleeting and offer diminishing returns.
Thrill seekers have to seek greater thrills to get a fraction of the joy they had the last time the endorphins told them they were happy and alive.
People will seek greater intimacy to get a fraction of the joy they had the last time their brains released oxytocin to tell them they were loved and secure.
People will abuse drugs, sex, and even food to get a fraction of the joy they had the last time their brains released dopamine to tell them they were experiencing excitement and satisfaction.
Not only is natural joy fleeting, it is subject to the law of diminishing returns.
The thing that is making you happy right now has a shelf life… come a year, a months, or weeks it will no longer be enough.
Natural joy is fleeting
You can’t be JOY FULL with fleeting, diminishing joy. You will keep trying to fill a tank that is leaking. You will never have satisfaction… no matter the circumstance, the receny, nor the natural stimuli…
We need to be filled with a Supernatural joy
There is a supernatural Joy that comes only from God’s Spirit.
You can’t fake this joy. You can’t read enough self-help books or become enlightened enough to attain this joy. You can’t trick your brain with chemicals to achieve this joy. You can’t obtain enough money, power, or success to have this joy. This supernatural joy only comes from the Holy Spirit!
Acts 13:52 (NIV) And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
Read the context of this verse. This joy is not based on circumstance… the Jews are stirring up strife & violence against Paul & Barnabas… They had jail cells in front of them… persecution in front of them… rejection in front of them… BUT WHAT DID THEY HAVE INSIDE OF THEM? They were filled with Joy & Holy Spirit!
Romans 15:13 (NIV) May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
God’s Supernatural Spirit gives a Supernatural Joy, Peace, Hope… whatever you need!
Stop looking to the natural for what only God’s Supernatural can provide.
Full Joy is found in PRESENCE:
Presence, not presents;
Presence, not successes;
Presence, not achievements;
Psalm 16:11 (NIV) You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
Full joy is found in His presence.
1 Chronicles 16:27 (NIV) Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy are in his dwelling place.
Wherever His presence dwells, becomes the place where strength and joy are found.
John 15:11 (NIV) I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
Jesus wants our joy to be made full and complete by our act of letting His joy be present within us.
Full Joy is found in PRESENCE
Are you joy-full? When was the last time you were in His presence?
It is noticeable when someone has been in His presence. Moses’ face shown with the glory of God. The Pharisees could tell the disciples had been in the presence of Jesus.
Do we bare the marks of ones who have been in the presence of the Lord? Is His joy, love, & peace noticeable in our life?
In the presence of the Lord there is joy. In the presence of God’s people, there should be joy.
It has been a rough year. There have been difficulties, disappointments, and losses, but yet, there is a FULL JOY available for you today.
I want to invite you to RE:JOY today.
RE: JOY
There is a word in our English language for experiencing joy again and again. You can remember joy and experience it again… You can restore your joy and experience it again like it is the first time… Do you know what that English word is?
Let’s see if you can pick up on this word…
Psalm 30:5 (NIV) For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.
Romans 12:15 (NIV) Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.
Luke 10:20 (NIV) However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
Philippians 4:4 (NIV) Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
Psalm 51:12 (NIV) Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
You need to remember joy today and RE-JOY… rejoice! Joy remembered becomes REJOICING!
Church we need a joy that overflows in rejoicing.
Joy is not quiet… Joy is a celebration.
Joy is not shy… Joy is declaration that Jesus is King and has won every victory.
Joy is singing and dancing… Joy is laughing and smiling…
When was the last time you really had a full joy. God wants that for you right now! Come receive a full joy.