"THE WAY OF CHRIST"

The Way Of Joy

INTRODUCTION
  1. The Way Of Christ is also the way of joy...
    1. Jesus spoke in order that His disciples' joy might be full - Jn 15:11
    2. He did so that they might have His joy fulfilled in themselves - Jn 17:13
  2. Many Christians appear to fall short in experiencing such joy...
    1. It is often apparent as they go about their daily living (dispirited, sad)
    2. It frequently carries over into our worship (lack of enthusiasm, boredom)

[If The Way Of Christ is the way of joy, then how can Christians be filled with joy...? ]

  1. UNDERSTANDING JOY
    1. COMPARE THE GREEK WORDS FOR JOY AND GRACE...
      1. The word for joy is chara
        1. Which Thayer defines as "joy, gladness"
        2. Vine adds "delight"
        3. By one count the word is used 60 times in the NT
      2. Closely related is the word charis
        1. Which is the word most often translated as "grace"
        2. Grace in the objective sense is "that which bestows or occasions pleasure, delight, or causes favorable regard" - Vine
        -- Joy is gladness that comes from grace!
    2. CONSIDER THE RELATION OF JOY TO GRACE...
      1. Joy is directly proportional to grace one has received, or at least to the perception of grace that one has received
        1. Receive a small gift, and your joy might be minimal
        2. Receive a large gift, and your joyous reaction is greater
      2. "If you have no joy in your religion, there's a leak in your Christianity somewhere." - Billy Sunday
      3. "The reason why many poor souls have so little heat of joy in their hearts, is that they have so little light of Gospel knowledge in their mind." - William Gurnall
      -- The more we understand God's grace, the more we will experience God's joy!
    3. CONTEMPLATE THE ABIDING JOY OF THE LORD....
      1. The Lord certainly does not want Christians to be joyless - cf. Jn 15:11
      2. The joy He gives is "inexpressible and full of glory", able to sustain us in the worst of circumstances - cf. 1Pe 1:6-8
      -- The Lord has made it possible for the Christian to say: "Rejoice!" - Php 4:4

    [A failure to remember things graciously given which make for joy in our lives can explain why many Christians do not have the degree of joy (gladness, delight) they should have. But we have every reason to be joyful. We just need to remember what it is that produces joy. Here are keys to...]

  2. EXPERIENCING JOY
    1. FAITH PRODUCES JOY...
      1. Joy comes from having a confident trust (faith) in God - cf. Php 1:25
        1. For faith in God dispels attitudes that prevent joy from occurring
        2. Such as worry, doubt and fear - cf. Mt 6:25-30; 14:27-31
      2. This emphasizes the role of God's Word in producing joy...
        1. For faith comes from the Word of God - Ro 10:17
        2. In turn, faith produces joy - cf. Ro 15:13
        -- Thus the need to read and study the Bible daily!
    2. OBEDIENCE PRODUCES JOY...
      1. Obedience to the Word of God fosters joy in the hearts of the obedient
        1. Notice the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch - Ac 8:35-38
        2. Also the conversion of the Thessalonians - 1Th 1:6
      2. Conversely, disobedience dispels joy and produces fear! - cf. He 10:26-27
      -- Could lack of joy be an indication of lack of obedience on your part?
    3. FORGIVENESS PRODUCES JOY...
      1. The guilt of sin is a major reason why many people lack joy
        1. Awareness of such guilt causes stress, unhappiness, and worry
        2. As Paul illustrated describing the dilemma of one struggling with sin - cf. Ro 7:22-24
      2. But where there is forgiveness, there can be joy!
        1. Consider David's psalm of confession - Psa 32:1-5,10-11
        2. The correlation between forgiveness and joy is also seen in Psa 51:7-12
      3. Those in Christ can enjoy forgiveness of sins and the joy that follows - Ro 5:1-2,10-11
      -- If you have not yet received the forgiveness found only in Christ, there is no way to experience the abiding joy that comes only "in the Lord"
    4. CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP PRODUCES JOY...
      1. It is a joy just to witness such fellowship
        1. Paul experienced joy by witnessing love and fellowship in Philemon - Phm 7
        2. He also found great joy in learning of the restoration of brethren - 2Co 7:7
      2. How much more, the joy to experience such fellowship!
        1. Paul rejoiced in the fellowship he had with the Philippians - Php 4:10
        2. John spoke of the joy that comes of Christian fellowship reunited - 2Jn 12
        -- Are you developing the kind of Christian fellowship that adds to our joy?
    5. CHRISTIAN SERVICE PRODUCES JOY...
      1. There is the joy of spreading the gospel
        1. Barnabas rejoiced in the conversions at Antioch - Ac 11:20-23
        2. The Christian Jews delighted to hear of the conversion of the Gentiles - Ac 15:3
      2. There is great joy in seeing the spiritual progress of others
        1. This was a frequent source of joy to Paul - Ro 16:19; Col 2:5; 1Th 3:6-9
        2. John wrote that this was the highest form of joy - 3Jn 4
      3. Jesus also spoke of the "blessedness" (i.e., joy) of giving to others - Ac 20:35
      -- Those willing to be involved in serving the Lord, whether it be through teaching or the giving of one's time, energy or money, will experience joy from such service!
CONCLUSION
  1. The way of joy in Christ is available to all, presuming we are willing to receive it through:
    1. Faith in Christ
    2. Obedience to His Will
    3. Forgiveness through His blood
    4. Fellowship with His disciples
    5. Service in His Kingdom
  2. If you have not yet done so, why not begin experiencing the way of joy today by...
    1. Obeying the gospel of Christ - Mk 16:15-16
    2. Receiving the forgiveness of sins through the blood of Christ - Ep 1:7
    3. Participate in the fellowship of Christian love as you work toward bringing others to salvation in Christ - cf. Ac 2:38-42

Are you experiencing the joy that Christ intends for you to experience as you follow the Way of Christ...?

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. - Ro 15:13