August 18, 2024 Sermon "I Choose Joy"

Scripture:  James 1:2-4; Nehemiah 8:10; Proverbs 17:22; Luke 6:45

Good morning Strangers Rest – didn’t we have a good sermon last week? Rev. Bobo’s message on how to win souls, if we take it to heart, prepares us for witnessing to our neighbors on September 8th during our Church on the Block event. So I thank God and Rev. Bobo for the message we heard on last Sunday. Now, because of technical difficulties, we were unable to broadcast on last Sunday so Rev. Bobo has graciously allowed up to upload a PDF copy of his message on our Church website. I highly recommend that you visit the Church’s website and read it.

The title of my message this morning is “I Choose Joy.” I have shared with you recently that we have a choice about the things we allow into our lives. The Bible is very clear that because we have free will, we can choose to walk with God according to His will or not. If we make the choice to walk with God according to His will then we will find ourselves rejoicing, or having joy, even during some of the most difficult times we will experience here on this earth. As I was meditating on this message the song that Dea. Taylor brought to the choir two months ago came to mind. That song, “I Am Redeemed” gives a clear example of the change that takes place within us when we accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior. The song  says, “Where there was hate, love now abides. Where there was confusion, peace now reigns. I’m walking, with Jesus, I am a child of the King. It’s all because, I am redeemed. I'll tell of His favor, I'll tell of His love. I'll tell of His goodness to me. He purchased my redemption with His own precious blood, and from sin, I've been set free. I am redeemed, bought with a price, Jesus has changed my whole life. If anybody asks you, just who I am, tell them I am redeemed.” These words should be the testimony of all of us and if they are, then you too will find yourself choosing joy this morning over everything else.

I want to share with you this morning that in the midst of all the negativity of the world which has crept its way into God’s house, why I choose joy and I hope that you too will make this choice. James 1:2-4 from the Amplified Bible says, “(2) Consider it nothing but joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you fall into various trials. (3) Be assured that the testing of your faith [through experience] produces endurance [leading to spiritual maturity, and inner peace]. (4) And let endurance have its perfect result and do a thorough work, so that you may be perfect and completely developed [in your faith], lacking in nothing.” James says that when we are faced with various trials we should consider it nothing but joy. Why, because these trials produce endurance that perfects and completely develops our faith. If you are experiencing some trials in your life or are surrounded by a lot of negativity, today, I am saying to you that you can choose joy.

Last week, during a time of meditation, the Spirit of God spoke to my heart about joy – what it is; what it means; and most important, why I should choose to walk in it every single day. Notice I said “choose to walk in.” This is not something that is done automatically, we have to choose to do it otherwise we will be like those who really do not understand who they are in Christ Jesus. The Spirit further confirmed what He had told me when I had a conversation with Deacon Monroe. So this morning I will share with you some of what was shared with me, and I hope that, if you are not feeling any joy right now, you will walk away from this message knowing that joy is available to you and is actually within you because of who you are – a child of God – even if you do not see its manifestation currently. I want you to remember this if nothing else, our joy is not dependent upon the people surrounding us - it is dependent upon knowing Who we belong to. Our joy is not dependent upon our circumstances, good or bad. Our joy is dependent upon the One Who is able to impact our circumstances in ways that we can never imagine.

Before I get into the heart of this message, I want to give you the Greek definition for joy. The Greek word for joy is chara and it means, “calm delight; gladness; greatly, exceeding joy.” Now, keeping this definition in mind, I want to share with you a Super Bowl commercial that I saw a couple of years ago that really struck me. This commercial caught my attention primarily because it had absolutely nothing to do with the product being sold by the sponsor of the commercial. The sponsor of the commercial sold alcoholic beverages, which I do not consume, so I normally ignore these types of commercials. But this one caught my attention and, when I saw it, I rewound the playback and put on the close caption. I wanted to verify what I thought I had heard. As I listened to it again, the Spirit confirmed some things He had already shown me. Here is what the commercial said: “What if we were wrong this whole time? Wrong in thinking that joy only happens at the end. After the sacrifice; after the commitment; after the win. What if happiness had always been there, fueling the run towards greatness? It’s not a distraction, but instead something more vital. What if joy is the whole game and not just the end game? So ask yourself, are you happy because you win, or do you win because you’re happy?” I can confirm to you that this commercial was spot on from a Scriptural viewpoint as it relates to joy. Although this commercial was talking about sports, I want you to translate it to life itself.

Listen to this revised commercial as it applies to our lives as children of God. “What if the Bible was right this whole time? Right in saying that joy exists all the time, not just at the end. During the sacrifice; during the commitment; during the win. That joy has always been there, fueling the run towards victory? It’s never a distraction, but something more vital. That joy is the whole game and not the end game? Joy is not determined by our circumstances but because of our relationship – our relationship with Christ. So ask yourself, do you have joy because you’re victorious, or are you victorious because you have joy?” For a child of God, joy is not the end game, it is the whole game. We are victorious in life because we have joy through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, regardless of the circumstances we are facing at any given time! If you truly understand, accept and believe this, then when you are surrounded by trials, tribulations and negativity you can face it with joy. You do not have to become what others are. You do not have to respond as others respond. Your joy can be full and complete as you walk with God!  

Nehemiah understood this as there was a moment in Israel’s history when the Law (God’s word) had long been forgotten and broken by the Children of Israel but was to be re-established for them. When the Law was read in their presence after such a long period of them forgetting it, they had a true moment of guilt and repentance. Nehemiah 8:9 records, “And Nehemiah, who was the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, ‘This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn nor weep.’ For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the Law.” As the people heard the word of the Lord, they remembered the many sins in their past history and they shed tears mingled with thankfulness because they had been reminded that they are a nation that belongs to God and that He had not forgotten them. Nehemiah knew that if the spirit of his people once again began to fail that they would not be able to face or conquer the difficulties of failing once again. In other words they needed encouragement – they needed joy! Think about it, how many times can you fail before you start believing that you can ever succeed? How many times can you get it wrong before you start believing that you can never get it right? This is where the Children of Israel were at this moment. So understanding this, the following was recorded in Nehemiah 8:10. “Then he said to them, ‘Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.’” Please know that as a child of God, “….the joy of the LORD is your strength.” 

A person who is not a Christian can have joy because the word in the Hebrew simply means “gladness.” So a person can have gladness WHEN their emotions have experience something good, like a job promotion or an unexpected gift. Human joy is interwoven with human emotions. But the Bible says the joy, the gladness, that we can receive from the Lord has nothing to do with what is going on with us emotionally. The joy that comes from the Lord is His joy and His joy is based on Who He is, not on what’s going on in our lives. In other words, we can have supernatural joy in the midst of the most difficult circumstances because our Father freely gives it to us. And what is so special about His joy is that it will be our strength. In other words, the joy of the Lord will strengthen us during the worst times of our life if we allow it. Yes, things can look extremely dark, but trust in God, accept His calming joy and watch Him work! Let me share a personal story with you about how God’s supernatural joy strengthened someone.

On February 25, 1946, in our hometown of Columbia, Tennessee, a disagreement occurred between a white, politically connected store clerk and Gladys Stephenson and her son James, a black navy veteran. The Stephensons were relatives of my wife Nikki. This incident led to the first race riot in the United States after the war. My grandfather and his brother, both carpenters and Baptist ministers, heard about the mounting crisis from their brother Albert. This caused alarm for them because my Great-Uncle Calvin’s wife had a cousin who had been lynched in 1933. He had vowed that there would never be another lynching in Maury County as long as he lived. Their involvement, initially and throughout the ordeal, were as men of faith whose primary goal was to bring an end to the rioting. Initially they had sought common ground between the leaders in the black community and the white civic leaders that would hopefully put an end to the violent confrontations. However, this changed when they were arrested as they attempted to rescue their nephew from the hot zone after a shooting. They were charged with 23 other men with attempted murder. While they were acquitted after more than a year in jail, it took a lot of people working on their behalf like a young Justice Thurgood Marshall who represented them on behalf of the NAACP and the former First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt, who worked to raise money for their defense. 

I am sharing this story with you as an example of supernatural joy because of how this incident did not affect their lives. Although I now understand the personal stake my grandfather and great uncle had in that riot, it was a story that my Aunt Faye (my grandfather’s daughter) told me that really brought it home to me. She told me that my grandfather refused to eat beans or bologna sandwiches as a result of being in jail for a year after the riot because this is primarily what they were served. My grandfather and great-uncle could have easily left the jail as bitter men who hated whites, but that was not the Spirit that lived within them. They were able to maintain their joy and had an eternal security and peace in that dreadful situation. They understood whose they were and they did not walk away from believing God’s Word even though, like so many, they could have easily done so. They were not perfect men and had their flaws, but in this situation they were able to maintain their joy even with the knowledge that at any point they could have been killed while in jail without recourse. They were falsely accused, falsely jailed for over a year and forced to eat beans and bologna sandwiches, day in and day out and yet at the end of their jail time they were not bitter or filled with hate against those who imprisoned them. They had maintained their joy!

Now let’s look at the impact joy plays in our lives. It is a known fact that a person’s mental state, especially as it relates to joy, can have an impact on their recovery and survival when they are dealing with a serious illness. No observant person will deny that there is an intimate connection between a soul that is sorrowful and sickness of the body; or that cheerfulness of spirit tends to physical health. This is why a physician always tries to keep his patient in “good spirits” by giving them a reason to have hope for a better outcome. Hope fuels joy and vice-versa. Solomon said, and I am reading from the Amplified Bible, that “A happy heart is good medicine and a joyful mind causes healing, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.” (Proverbs 17:22, Amp) When a person has good health his cheerful disposition will tend to help keep him healthy for the most part. And even if he becomes ill, his joyful spirit will aid in his recovery. Likewise, when someone is experiencing a depressed condition of mind it can expose them to being more susceptible to other diseases. If your mind is tired your body will manifest it physically. So what Solomon said nearly 4000 years ago is proven medically today as we know that a cheerful, contented disposition enables us to resist some of the attacks of diseases within our bodies.

Solomon also said, and again I will read from the Amplified Bible, that “A heart full of joy and goodness makes a cheerful face, but when a heart is full of sadness the spirit is crushed.”  (Proverbs 15:13, Amp) On the surface it looks like Proverb 17:22 and this verse are saying the same thing, but when you examine them more closely you see their differences. Proverbs 17:22 speaks of what a lack of joy does to the body physically – dries up the bones, which includes breaking down the body physically, but also it’s a reference to constant disappointment and prolonged periods of confusion. Strangers Rest, is it possible that a broken spirit may play a role in the onset of diseases affecting the mind like dementia or Alzheimer’s? A study published in the May 2012 issue of the “Archives of General Psychiatry” found that people who became depressed late in life had a 70% increased risk of dementia, and those who'd been depressed since middle age were at 80% greater risk. Researchers have long known that depression and dementia go hand in hand. Well, Solomon knew this long before they did!

But when you understand Proverbs 15:13,  it’s telling us what joy looks like. When someone does not have joy it shows physically on their body. Even though they may be smiling when you see them, you know something is just not right with them. Something is a little bit off in their demeanor. A merry heart cannot be hidden as the person is free and easily smiles. However, when someone is sorrowful and weighed down by life’s struggles, even though they may smile there is no life behind the smile. Their eyes don’t sparkle or shine. They seem dull. The outer man is, to a large extent, a reflection of the inner life. The joy of the heart is made visible upon the countenance for all to see and likewise sorrow of the heart is also made visible for all to see. We cannot hide what is held within our hearts. And we see this in Luke 6:45 when Jesus says “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” Someone can be smiling at you and giving off an air of happiness, but all you need to do is listen to them when they speak to know what is in their hearts. People will tell you what is in their heart when they open their mouth. You will hear the joy, the bitterness, the anger and everything else that is present in their hearts. But the key for us, when we choose to walk in joy, is not to internalize what is within them. We do not allow the anger, hate, bitterness and negativity of others to shut down our joy. As a matter of fact, based on what Paul wrote, the more we are around such people the more joy we should experience.

I read an article from the Mayo Clinic titled “Forgiveness: Letting go of grudges and bitterness.” The article gave examples of how people experience hurtful situations throughout life and how those wounds can leave us with lasting feelings of anger, bitterness and even thoughts of vengeance. It stated that if we don’t practice forgiveness, we might actually be the ones who pay the price – something Christians should know from reading the Bible. The article was not just talking about the emotional and physical price we pay for unforgiveness, but also the impact on our spiritual well-being. The article acknowledged that while forgiveness means different things to different people, in general it involves our decision to let go of resentment and thoughts of revenge. The act that hurt or offended us might always be with us, but forgiveness can lessen its grip on us and help free us from the control of the person who harmed us. It states that forgiveness doesn’t mean forgetting or excusing the harm done to us, but that it brings a kind of peace that helps us to go on with life. Forgiveness can lead to healthier relationships, improved mental health, less anxiety, lower blood pressure, fewer symptoms of depression, a stronger immune system, improved heart health and improved self-esteem. When we allow the negative feelings of unforgiveness to crowd out our positive feelings, we might just find ourselves swallowed up by our own bitterness or sense of injustice. Where there reign feelings of unforgiveness and bitterness joy dissipates. So for a Christian, the only way we can walk in pure joy is to walk in forgiveness – it’s really that simple. Joy and unforgiveness cannot exist in the same space.

In order to experience God’s continual joy we have to be walking with Him and understanding His Word – His promises and His commandments. Choosing joy during our challenging life circumstances is never easy, especially when we are tempted to ignore God's wisdom and follow our own ways. David said, “The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.” (Psalm 19:8) You see the phrase, “rejoicing the heart”? When we read God’s word and begin to obtain a clearer and increasing knowledge of His will for our lives, we begin to understand that His promises are truly for us today. We begin to discover the depth of God’s love and grace towards sinful men. We begin to see evidence of the mercies that He continually bestows upon us. This understanding brings joy to our hearts when we reflect on the fact that we are never alone and we have someone Who has promised to always be there for us in our time of need and when things are going well.

We know that true joy can only come from God – it is not an emotional response to when something happens to us. And because of that, when we choose to trust God with our future it brings us both joy and peace. Why? Because the things that we are so consumed with, that we worry over, we have turned them over to God to let Him work it out – complete with telling us what our roles are in Him working it out. I know it seems strange to find joy by trusting in someone else – when you are used to trusting in your own capabilities, but I’m a living witness that my greatest joy came when I learned to just be still before God and trust that He is figuring everything out for my good. Remember what was written in Proverbs 3:5-6? It says, “(5) Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; (6) in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” When we truly place our trust in God, joy follows because when we release something from our hearts something else replaces it. So when we release the worry and sorrow that is occupying space in our hearts, our hearts now have room to receive the joy that God is trying to get through to us. God’s joy is always there with us – we just need to find a way to let it in so we can give it out. Proverbs 16:20 says, “He who heeds the word wisely will find good, and whoever trusts in the LORD, happy is he.” Also, Psalms 28:7 records: “The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song I will praise Him.”  (Psalm 28:7)  When we truly trust in the Lord our hearts learn to rejoice regardless of the situations we are facing.

Remember what I shared earlier about the differences between joy and happiness? Divine joy isn’t on the same low level as happiness. Happiness is based on circumstantial pleasure, merriment or excitement that causes one to feel hopeful or to be in high spirits. These fleeting emotions of happiness, although very pleasurable in the moment, usually go away just as quickly as they came. I mean think about it, all it takes is one piece of bad news or an angry word from someone, or a bill that was not expected and our emotions of happiness disappear right before our eyes to be replaced with emotions of anger, fear, or worry depending on the situation. But joy, God’s joy, is unaffected by outward circumstances. In fact, it usually thrives best when times are tough – sort of like God’s supernatural response to the devil’s attack.

In the example given in First Thessalonians, Paul tells the Thessalonians, “(6) And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit, (7) so that you became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe.” (First Thessalonians 1:6-7) When Paul wrote this, the Thessalonians were under great stress due to persecutions; yet in the midst of it all, they continued to experience great joy. In fact, the Greek strongly implies that their supernatural joy was due to the Holy Spirit working inside them. Paul even called it the “joy of the Holy Spirit.” The best that this world can offer us are fleeting moments of happiness that changes when our circumstances changes. We can be happy one moment and mad the next based on something said to us. We can be happy when we arrive on our jobs and frustrated as soon as we turn on your computer and see the list of emails we have to respond to. Happiness is not guaranteed; it is not permanent; and because it’s enjoyable for a moment many people spend a lifetime seeking it only to die realizing that life here on earth contains so much more than mere happiness. When the seed of God has been placed inside our human spirit, that divine seed produces a “joy” that isn’t based on outward events or circumstances. In fact, when times are extremely frustrating and tiresome, if we allow it, the supernatural life of God will rise up inside us to defy that devilish pressure. The supernatural “joy” will sustain us in our hardest times. If you are feeling week, tired, depressed or losing hope because of your situation, do not rely on your own strength because “the joy of the Lord is our strength.” It is His joy that will get you through the tough times and enable you to deal with people in a loving manner.

Before I close I want to leave you with an understanding of the word “rejoice.” That word “rejoice” in the Hebrew means to “make joyful.” In the Greek it means, “to put in a good frame of mind; make glad. And, just as with joy, it means to be “calmly happy or well-off.” When you read your Bible and you come across the word rejoice, remember it is saying something about a shifting that should happen in your mind. Philippians 4:4  says, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!”

So what about you Strangers Rest? Do you choose His joy this morning? I am choosing His joy. And because I can choose His joy, it totally up to me to walk in it or reject it. So, do you choose His joy or will you choose the world’s way of negativity? You do not have to give me your answer this morning because everyone around you will know your answer by how you talk and how you act. I will leave you with what is recorded in Proverbs 10:28: “The hope of the righteous [those of honorable character and integrity] is joy, but the expectation of the wicked [those who oppose God and ignore His wisdom] comes to nothing.”

Until next time, “The Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance on you and give you peace.”  (Numbers 6:24-26)