Joy - Faith, Unity and Joy

I. No Junior Holy Spirit 00:02

…see your plans, your purposes for our life, Lord, that we might build our lives on the foundation of your love. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

So you might notice that there’s a bit of a generation gap in our church today, or maybe you didn’t. All of our youth are up on the mountain at their retreat, and from what I’ve heard, things are going really well. I just want to make one note about that. As they come down the mountain today, I encourage you, if you encounter them, ask them what they learned. What did God do in their life? I think sometimes we fall for the trap in our culture where we think there’s a limit to what God can do based on the type of person you are, the age you are. And we sometimes forget that there is no such thing as a junior Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit that is in our youth is the same Holy Spirit that raised Christ from the dead (Rom 8.11). And so you could learn a thing or two from these young people and the things God is teaching them.

So that’s my one encouragement regarding our youth retreat. Please keep them in your prayers as they’re coming down the mountain, and of course, as they get back into the daily grind of life, we should pray that the work God has begun in them will be brought to completion (Phil 1.6).

II. A Sermon on Joy for Lent 01:15

Okay, today we’re going to continue the series we’ve been doing. We started with faith and unity, and we’re going to continue today with joy. We felt like God was giving us this word for Saint Michael’s as we enter into 2024: that he wanted to make us a people marked by remarkable faith, mountain-moving faith; by unity, the love between one another that would evidence to the world that we are followers of Jesus; and by joy. In fact, specifically, we’re going to focus on the idea of joy as “the joy of the Lord is our strength,” because God’s taking us somewhere as a church. And for those of you who are visiting, it’s a funny time to be talking about what God’s doing in Saint Michael’s when we see all these visitors here. God’s taking you somewhere too. We’re all on the same journey, the way of the cross. We’re going to get to the way of the cross later.

Now, it may seem odd to begin Lent with a sermon on joy. If you know anything about Lent, it’s a solemn penitentiary season. It’s one of these… sorry, penitentiaries are where you lock people up. It’s a penitential season. Sorry, I’m a little off on the wording there. But it can feel penitentiary, the way you celebrate it. That is not the way Lent is to be celebrated. In fact, there’s a whole passage that we’re not going to talk about today, for the sake of time, where God talks about the fast that he wants (Isa 58.6). And the fasting he wants is the one that sets people free, that heals people, that raises people up. And Jesus makes very clear what he thinks about the fasting where you make yourself miserable. He doesn’t think that’s what God’s talking about at all. And so we’re going to talk about that in this sermon.

III. The Path of Life 03:28

As we move into this, I want to start with this thesis: joy is all about alignment, about being in alignment with God and his purposes for us. Let’s start in Psalm 16:11:

11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Ps 16.11

What does this Scripture tell us about joy? Well, first of all, I want to key in on that phrase, “You make known to me the path of life.” It means that there’s actually a path. And as you know, a path is a delineated direction, a space in which to walk, and you can be on the path or you can be off the path. And I want to argue today that that phrase is intentional. The path of life will lead you into his presence, where there’s fullness of joy. Further, in Proverbs 4:26 it says:

26 Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. 27 Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil. Prov 4.26–27

My argument today is that joy is found on the path of life, and that all the misery we experience tends to come when we leave the path of life.

Let’s keep talking about this. First of all, where is the presence of God? Well, right here. God is present when two or three are gathered in his name (Matt 18.20). And so this morning we know that God is present. But maybe there’s somebody out there who says, “But what about the fact that God is everywhere? Isn’t God supposed to be omnipresent?” Well, let me just explain. I think we all know this, but let me just dive in. There are places where it is right to say God is not there. I’m really trying not to go philosophical here, but poetically, what the psalmist is pointing out is that you can come to the house of the Lord to meet God, or you can run away from him and hide yourself. Now, the promise of the psalmist is also that God is there too. But you can hide from God’s presence. You can cut yourself off from the ways of the path of life.

And my argument today about the path and joy is that you need to know where God is taking you in order to experience the fullness of joy he has. This is not a get-rich-quick scheme. I feel like sometimes we talk about Christianity like “Just accept Jesus and all your problems will go away. Just accept Jesus and everything will be better.” While those may be true statements, they don’t explain what I was talking about earlier, the way of the cross. In fact, when we talk about the path of life, I would tell you that, controversially or paradoxically, the path of life is the same path that led Jesus to his death. Stick with me a little longer. We’re going to get a little further into this.

IV. The Flesh and the Spirit 06:00

Paul writes in Galatians 5, verse 16, “I say, walk by the Spirit.” All this walking, all this path: it’s about where we’re heading. Every one of us is walking through life, and there are choices we make, either to be in alignment with the purposes of God or to walk aside. But let’s continue here:

16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. Gal 5.16–17

Let me just break that down in our language. I want to lose twenty pounds this year. This is a goal. But the desires of my flesh are against that goal in my life. To be very practical: the desires of my flesh called to me. Those Thin Mints I ate last night while I was watching TV were calling to me, the Girl Scout cookies and the milk. They were calling to me to lead me away from the desire of my spirit to improve myself. I’m trying to make it very clear and very plain. Paul’s writing in language that is not meant to make it hard to understand. He wants you to think about all those things you know you should do that you find yourself not doing, or all those things you know you shouldn’t do that you find yourself doing.

And when we look at this, we can see that our lives can be this anxious push and pull between our desires, the things we know we should do, and the things that drag us away from that. And let me say, the anxiety and the tension in there can rob our joy. This is meant to be the path of life. This is meant to be the path of joy. In fact, I would argue that nobody has had more joy in their life than Jesus as he walked this earth. And so when we talk about Christianity, I don’t want to get caught in this dour idea of Lent where it’s like, “Shape up, be better, stand tall, get those bad things out of your life.” All of those things are true. We want to shape up. We want to be better. But it’s for the joy, the freedom, the healing. It’s not to make you feel your guilt all the more, or your shame. It’s actually to set you free to experience life, and life abundantly (John 10.10).

So if we talk about these things: a couple of weeks ago we talked about how faith can be corrupted by our unruly desires. We brought up how, with Eve in the garden, Satan comes in the form of a serpent and says, “Doesn’t that fruit look really good?” “Oh, you mean the one God told me not to eat?” “But it’s really good.” And it says specifically that when she saw the fruit was good to the eye, then her faith was compromised, and she took and ate (Gen 3.6). In the same way, these unruly desires promise joy, don’t they? Every commercial that comes on your screen promises you some fulfillment, some joy: buy this product, eat this cookie, do this thing, and you will feel better. That’s the lie. Walk the path of life. Walk in alignment with God and his purposes. That’s where the true joy is found.

V. Bob Cratchit and Scrooge 09:25

I’m going to use one story we are all very familiar with to illustrate the difference between people who follow the desires of the flesh and people who follow the desires of the Spirit. It’s a classic: A Christmas Carol. We see maybe the clearest example, in our modern lexicon, our modern storytelling, of the misery that comes when you pursue the desires of the flesh, and the joy that comes when you are in alignment with God and his purposes.

We’ve got Scrooge, who follows only money, and it’s empty. In fact, the ghost of his past, the ghost of his present, and the ghost of his future come and haunt him because he’s so miserable and empty. And then you have Bob Cratchit. Gotta love Bob. What a name, Bob Cratchit. And yet he’s the hero of the story. The surprising turn is that he has joy, and life, and life abundantly. And we’re talking about the guy who can barely afford food, who is freezing, whose son is about to die because he doesn’t have proper care. That guy has joy. That’s the contradiction in terms we run into when we look at the world that promises, “Follow these things and you will be fulfilled,” and then we look at Bob Cratchit, the family man who worked by the sweat of his brow, who loved his family and did everything he could to provide.

And Scrooge is on the outside looking in at a dinner happening between Bob Cratchit and his family, and his heart melts at the sight of true joy. And guess what? Bob Cratchit’s faithfulness to stay on the path of life, to pursue the things of God, is the exact thing that becomes the miracle that turns Ebenezer Scrooge into his own provision. You know that Bob Cratchit’s life changed because Ebenezer was converted. He saw a picture of Christian joy, and the next day Ebenezer comes out and completely changes Bob Cratchit’s life. And I don’t know if you know this: Tiny Tim, he does okay. He gets the medicine, he gets everything he needs, the food, the clothing, the provision. And Bob Cratchit, who was just faithful in the little things, becomes the person who creates the change God wanted to bring about in Scrooge’s life.

VI. The Fruit of the Spirit 12:58

It’s so simple, and yet every day I find myself fighting the same battle. “But man, that thing on Amazon, that would be really nice. Have you seen how good TVs have gotten lately? Have you heard how good speakers have gotten? Did you know that you can get really, really tasty Scotch at the grocery store?” There are so many things that promise the joy that is found only in Christ. All of those things can be good in their context. I’m not saying don’t drink the good Scotch. I am saying know what’s going to bring you joy.

Paul continues. After he tells you to give up the desires of the flesh and embrace the desires of the Spirit, he says:

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Gal 5.22–24

You’re starting to see hints of what I mean by “the way of life is the way of the cross.” You have to actually crucify all those things that pull you away from what you want. Let me look at this list here. Let’s go back to verse 22: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness. Man, if that was the way people characterized my house, how much joy would there be?

If you think about this in community, what are the things that pull away from joy? Selfishness, pride, anger. Let me talk specifically about children. What are the things that drive me nuts about my children? They are selfish, they are angry, they are prideful, they think they know better, they are rebellious. What am I trying to teach them? I’m trying to teach them the way of life. I’m trying to teach them to deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Jesus. And my six-year-old doesn’t quite get it yet, much less my three-year-old. It’s going to be a long road. But what am I doing by pursuing, disciplining, raising them? I’m trying to lead them to the path of life, the path of joy.

But what if I’m harboring all my own issues? There’s a little hint: I am. I have my own stuff. Well, I can decide, especially during the season of Lent, to look at those things and say, “What can I give up? What can I put aside that’s leading me to all of the things I don’t want in my children?” That’s pretty clear if you ask yourself, “How do I want my kids to live?” Well, that’s pretty convicting, because I don’t do it very well. I want my house to be a house of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. That’s what Lent is about: engendering the fruits of the Spirit by denying the desires of our flesh and embracing the things God and Christ are leading us to.

VII. Far Too Easily Pleased 15:28

I am going to quote C. S. Lewis. I think I’m contractually obligated to bring him up every couple of months, so this is our time. We’re going to read through this really quick, because he really sums it up for us really well:

It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.

That’s like my motto for Lent. It’s not about just denying yourself. It’s about having the right desires. Our desires are not too strong. We often think, “Oh, Christianity is all about denying our desires.” No, it’s about shaping your desires. I want to desire Christ first, before everything else, and then all the other stuff falls into place, all the other things that are in you. In fact, your desire to have a good time, your desire to have nice things, all of that is a part of God’s kingdom. He built that into you. You’re meant to have life, and life abundantly. It just gets twisted when, walking down the path, we swerve to the right or to the left, and it gets twisted, and our hearts start desiring things that are not from him, that are not good, or desiring too much. You can have too much of a good thing. You can have too much of a bad thing. All of those things happen.

And Lent is the perfect moment to say, “You know what? I feel burdened. I feel anxious. I feel depressed. I’m not feeling enough joy.” Thank God Lent is here, where we can set aside those things that pull us every which way, and we can embrace those things that are on the path of life, where there is joy and fullness and the presence of God. I love when Lent comes around. I know, but really, I do. And there are times when it’s hard. Literally, I had not thought once about getting a donut, and then Ash Wednesday comes around. I gave up sweets for Lent, and that day I’m like, “You know, donuts are really good. Donuts are just exactly what would give me joy.” No. It’s training yourself to desire those things that are above, the better things. I can say I did not eat the donut. Okay, I’m still good so far. We’ll see.

Lent is also about learning about repentance and forgiveness. So if you mess up, you’re still in the program. Go to God. We have confession on Saturdays. It’s a great time to get rid of those guilty sins.

VIII. Don't Give Up 19:01

Okay, so maybe you’re tracking so far, but you’re thinking to yourself, “Man, I’m trying so hard to be on the path, and I’m miserable. I’m trying, and yet I feel empty or alone or anxious or depressed anyways.” Don’t worry, there’s more. Let’s talk about this. Galatians 6:9 says:

9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. Gal 6.9

If there’s one secret to Christianity, just one thing you have to do: you just don’t give up. You keep doing the thing. You keep running after Jesus. You keep taking up your cross. You could be really, really bad at being a Christian and still get everything Jesus promises, as long as you don’t give up. In fact, if you think you’re a good Christian, you probably need to go to confession. You probably need to pray a little. You probably need to ask God, “God, what do I need to change in my life?” There is so much grace. Don’t give up. You will reap the harvest.

IX. The Joy of the Lord Is Your Strength 20:08

And secondly, the inspiration for this whole message came from Nehemiah chapter 8, verse 10, where he says, “The joy of the Lord is your strength.” Now, the context for this Scripture is fascinating. The Israelites have been in captivity for hundreds of years, a long time, and they finally are rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. And as they’re rebuilding the walls, something crazy happens: they find the book of the law. They didn’t have God’s word. They had lost it. They had lost their direction. They were way off the path. They didn’t even know there was a path. And they found the book of the law.

And it’s such a beautiful picture, because what do you do when you rebuild walls? You rebuild the boundaries. Let me talk about it in our culture. Our culture is all about taking down the boundaries. That’s literally the ethos of the culture right now. What’s a man? What’s a woman? Who knows? There is no boundary. I’ve got some things written here. Boundaries like the difference between a man and a woman. That sex is only good in the context of marriage: “No, no, no, sex is boundless. You can do it with anybody, anytime, anywhere.” That marriage is between a man and a woman; that marriage is between one man and one woman. All of the boundaries are being pushed and broken. Drunkenness is something that is embraced and accepted. The culture wants to tell you that your twenties are a time where you’re no longer a child, and so you no longer have those boundaries. You don’t live at your parents’ house, or you have this ability: “You’re an adult now. Do whatever you want.”

And what has all of this boundary resetting, tearing down the walls, done? Anxiety, depression, and loneliness are at all-time highs in our culture. Every single thing that is torn down has opened people up to walking right off the path, not even knowing that there is a path. And all of this is not because God’s up there going, “Man, you wicked, evil people, I wish I could just smite you.” No, no, no. It’s like Jesus as he looked over Jerusalem and said, “How long have I longed to gather you like a hen gathers her chicks under her wings” (Matt 23.37). All these lost and broken people who don’t understand that the path of life has boundaries.

And so you see all of the symbolism happening in Nehemiah. They rebuild the walls, and they discover the law. That’s what we’re doing in this church. We’re rebuilding the walls. Not because the walls were torn down and we embraced the culture, none of that, but because that’s our job in our culture, always, every generation. Every year we have a Lent to remind us to rebuild those walls, because things fall apart; the center cannot hold.

In the midst of rebuilding these walls, they discover the book of the law, and the people hear the words of the law, and they realize how far off the path they’ve been, and all the misery of their life comes crashing down. And they’re weeping and mourning as they hear it: “Oh man, we messed up.” But what does Nehemiah say in that moment? “I’m glad you’re crying, you wicked sinners. You better just get it all out, because you deserve it”? No. The message of Lent instead is “The joy of the Lord is your strength. Do not weep, do not mourn. This day is holy to the Lord.” The joy of the Lord is your strength.

So for you who are feeling defeated, you’re feeling overwhelmed, you’re feeling like, “I’m trying, God”: well, where is your strength going to come from? It’s not from striving. It’s not from selfish ambition. It’s not from being holier than thou. It’s from the joy of the Lord. Within the context, he says:

10 “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Neh 8.10

That’s what I want our Lent to be about. It needs to be about rediscovering the joy of the Lord, what he has done for us. In fact, I think the biggest problem we have with Lent is that we often think about Lent as a way of measuring what we’ve done for God. How good have you been? What have you done? What have you given up? Our Lent should always be about what he’s done for us: when we put aside the burdens of sin that, for whatever reason, for our unruly desires, we pick up, we put them aside and we experience the joy of the freedom that Christ already walked out for us.

X. Treasure Hidden in a Field 24:48

Let me make one more point as we close. There was a young man in a youth group, whole long story, but he came up to his youth leader and said, “I just can’t be Christian anymore.” The youth leader’s like, “Wait, what do you mean? Why?” And he goes, “It’s great and all, but I want to party. I want to go hang out and do all the things my friends are doing. I don’t want to do this anymore.” And it broke the youth leader’s heart. At least the kid was honest. But man, he missed it. Christianity is not about missing out on all the fun things everybody else gets to do. It’s about discovering that all those things are empty without Christ at the head. In fact, I’ve had better parties with you guys than with anybody else. I’ll say that: Saint Michael’s seems to get this. It’s not about giving up good things. It’s about discovering the good thing: Christ, and Christ crucified, and the hope of resurrection.

And so in Matthew 13:44, Jesus sums up this whole idea, this whole message, and he does it in one sentence, very easily. It’s broken up into two sentences here, but in the ancient languages I’m sure it was one sentence. Either way, Matthew 13:44, he says:

44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.” Matt 13.44

This Lent we’re called to renew our faith, to fix our eyes on Jesus. We’re called to renew the bonds of love with one another and live in unity. And we’re called to go and sell all we have and buy that field, because the treasure is Jesus. And when we give up our things, it’s so that we can have more of him. It’s so we can get things out of the way and experience true life, life abundantly.

But like many of the things Jesus said, this parable has a whole other meaning: Jesus actually looked out and saw the field of the world, and within the world he saw a treasure, and that treasure is you, everyone in this room. And he went and sold all he had, and he bought that field. So even as you leave this message and think about the ways you want to experience life and joy, remember it’s actually all about him. All we’re doing, like Bishop says, is giving him a little bit of cooperation. We’re just walking in the ways that he walked. But it’s all about him, and the fact that he loves you. And that is the joy of the Lord. Amen.