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On the last night of Jesus’ earthly life, he dined withhis disciples in the Upper Room. He took theoccasion to teach one last time. He reminded themof what was crucial to being his disciple. He saidthings like, “Abide in me.” “Abide in my love.” “Keep

my commandments.” Then he said these mostimportant words: “I have said these things to you sothat my joy may be in you and that your joy may becomplete. (John 14:11)

There is not a person in this room or in this city  who does not want joy. We all want to be joyful and joyous. We want our joy to be real, lasting, andcomplete. So for the next several weeks, we willcenter our thoughts around the theme “Find True

 Joy.”

This morning, we start with the question, “What is Joy?” First I’ll offer three observations of joy, andthen I’ll answer the question. (1)

First observation: Joy surprises. It comesunbidden. In fact, it is counterproductive to try tomake yourself or someone joyous. Real joy cannotbe commanded or commandeered or coerced, or

even coaxed. Paul says it is a fruit of the Holy Spirit.As a fruit of the Holy Spirit it blows where it willson its own timetable. In his autobiography,Surprised by Joy, C. S. Lewis remembers his firstencounter with real, spiritual joy. When he was five

 years old, his older brother, Warner, made a littletoy garden of twigs and flowers in the lid of acookie tin. Lewis says the sight of it enchanted him;he fell under its spell. It symbolized paradise to him.It aroused in him a longing for somethingunobtainable but deeply desired. It wouldoccasionally come upon him at odd, unpredictablemoments. He discovered it was restlessness for Godand it always snuck up and surprised him.

Second observation: Joy differs from pleasure,

happiness, fun and excitement. Joy is similar tothese with some common characteristics. But real

 joy is deeper and more satisfying. The longing thatcomes with joy differs. Other desires areexperienced as pleasures if we expect them to besatisfied soon. For example, we hunger, and ourhunger can be readily satisfied by a home-cookedmeal. We tire and long for sleep. And eight hours of 

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— SERMON SERIES: FINDING TRUE JOY —

WHAT IS JOY?April 25, 2010 David R. Hosick

Galatians 5:16-26

 Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposedto each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you arenot subject to the law. Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity,licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions,envy,* drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before:those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

 By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ  Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying oneanother.

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rest refreshes and satisfies. Many of our desires andlongings can be easily satisfied. Our longings aremore pleasant when we know satisfactions are onthe way, like when we leave work hungry and arrivehome or at restaurant where dinner awaits. Joy differs from pleasures, but when it is satisfied itneed never be lost.

Third observation: Joy co-exists with pain. Thatlast night in the Upper Room, Jesus said more to hisdisciples: “So you have pain now; but I will see youagain, and you will rejoice, and no one will take

 your joy from you.” (John 16:22) There isindestructibility to Christian joy.

This was powerfully illustrated by three Ugandanmen who were executed by the forces of Idi Amin.These men lived in the diocese of Bishop Festo

Kivingere in Uganda. The bishop tells whathappened: People were commanded to go to thestadium to watch the execution. Death permeatedthe atmosphere. Three thousand people gaped atthe spectacle. Bishop Kivingere reports: I hadpermission from the authorities to speak to the menbefore they died. Two other ministers were with me.They brought the men in a truck and unloadedthem. They were handcuffed and their feet werechained. The firing squad stood at attention. I

 wondered what to say. How do you present the

gospel to doomed men who were probably seething with rage? We approached them from behind. They turned to look at us. What a site! Their faces werealight with an unmistakable glow and radiance.Before we could say anything, one of them burstout, “Bishop, thank you for coming! I want to tell

 you the day I was arrested, I asked Jesus to comeinto my heart. He came in and forgave my sins!Now heaven is open and there is nothing betweenme and my God. Please tell my wife and children Iam going to be with Jesus. Ask them to accept him

into their lives as I did.”The two other men told similar stories. They excitedly raised their hands which rattled theirhandcuffs. The bishop said he felt like he needed totalk with the soldiers. So he told them what theprisoners had said. The soldiers stood there withguns cocked and bewilderment on their faces. They 

 were so dumbfounded they forgot to put the hoodsover the prisoners’ faces. The three stood close

together. They looked to the crowd and began to wave. The people waved back. Then shots rang outand they were with Jesus. It was a day longremembered and resulted in an upsurge of life inChrist in Uganda.

As Jesus said, “You will have pain now, but … you

 will rejoice and no one will take your joy from you.”

Christian joy is indestructible because Christ isindestructible. Paul was fond of telling the firstChristian to “rejoice in the Lord.” The basis of our

 joy is Jesus Christ. Christ proved indestructible by rising from death. Now, by the presence of the Holy Spirit, he is with us and nothing can separate usfrom him and the love of God he offers. Paulassured the first Christians, “Neither death nor life,nor anything else, has any power to separate us

from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”(Rom. 8:35, 39) Even in circumstances where joy  would seem impossible, and there seems to benothing but despair and death, Christian joy remains because in Christ, nothing can separate usfrom God’s love. Joy coexists with pain.

 Joy surprises. It differs from pleasure, happinessand fun. And it coexists with problems, pains,despair, and death. But, what is joy? Joy is when anelated peace comes over us because our deepestlonging for God’s love is satisfied. Paul says joy is afruit of the Holy Spirit. The fruit the Spirit gives us isexperience of the love of God. This is the joy Jesus

 wishes to complete in us. The Greek work both Pauland John use for joy is CHARA. It is from the sameroot as grace. It is not the pleasure we derive frommaterial things. Still less is it the happiness of achievement or acclaim. “It is a joy whosefoundation is God.”(2) One commentator defined

 joy like this:

It is the gift of the Spirit that becomes a

condition of the heart which is confident of its relationship to Christ — a forgiven sinneraccepted by God’s grace with the livingChrist as a daily companion. (3)

Imagine that you live in a land ruled by a king wholives in a distant castle. No one sees the king, but hisson has come among you and told you of his father.You’ve come to understand the king as one who is

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powerful, good, wise, loving, and concerned abouthis land and people. With a mix of awe andcuriosity, and a little anxiety, you long to meet theking. One day, the king’s son comes and says,“Follow me. My father desires to see you.” The close

 you get to the castle, the drier your mouth gets, thesweatier your palms get, the faster your heart beats.When you arrive at the castle and enter the throneroom, your throat is so tight, you can hardly breathe. The son leads you to the throne and youbehold the king. His grandeur and majesty overwhelm you and you fall on your face in fear. Hemotions for you to rise. As you do, he steps downfrom his throne. He stands directly in front of youand stares you in the eye. Then he beams a grandand royal smile and says, “I am especially fond of 

 you. I am glad you are my subject. Be glad I am yourking.”

Would that bring you joy? Absolutely. Your soul would soar; your heart would rejoice. It wouldhappen every time you thought of it. This is our

Christian joy. Jesus, God’s son, brings us to God. Godlooks at us and says, “I am especially fond of you.Live in my love forever.”

 Joy is the elated peace that comes from satisfyingour deep longing for God’s love. That longing issatisfied through Jesus Christ. Jesus said he desires

for his joy to be in us and for our joy to be complete.There is not a person in this room who does not

 want joy. If we accept him, he promises no one willtake our joy from us.

Sources:

C. S. Lewis, Surprised by Joy, Chapter One. DorisDonnelley expands on Lewis in The Living Pulpit ,Vol. 5, No. 4, p. 6.

William Barclay, The Letters to the Galatians and

 Ephesians , Westminster, p. 50

Maxie D. Dunnam, The Communicator’s Commentary , WORD, Vol. 8, p. 116.

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Rev. Dr. David R. Hosick, PastorSermon Series: Finding True Joy 

No. 1: “What is Joy?”

701 Beach Drive NE St. Petersburg, Florida 33701-2618 (727) 822-2031 www.fpc-stpete.org Additional copies of this sermon and others are available on the website, or by contacting the church office.