The Secret of a Joy-Filled Life
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
12/08/07
audio
Who would you rather be like – Eeyore or Tigger?
On the one hand you have Eeyore – Eeyore sees the worst in any circumstance. He can find a problem or a threat in any situation. He lives in a constant state of self-indulgent misery.
On the other hand you have Tigger, who is almost annoyingly joyful. He has energy and enthusiasm to burn, because he almost never sees problems or dangers or limitations. He sees adventure and possibility and fun in everything.
Most people would say that they would rather be a Tigger than an Eeyore, but the reality is that most people live a lot closer to Eeyore than Tigger.
Most of us remember criticisms more than complements. Many of us are more concerned about what we want instead of what we have. Sometimes we see peoples faults and past sins more than we see their strengths and their victories. We often complain about the effort required by our work instead of being satisfied by a job well done.
We want to be happy. We want to live lives full of joy, but somehow we can’t seem to find enough reasons to be joyful.
Self-help experts sell us the message of positive thinking - and it can be a good message – but it’s not enough by itself. No matter how positive we are, as human beings we are limited. Our own resources are not enough to achieve the life that we want, the life that we were created for. We actually need something more than what we’ve got.
It’s not a better job or a lusty affair or a winning lotto ticket or nicer friends. What we need is much bigger than that.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
16 Be joyful always; 17 pray continually; 18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
What is the secret of a Joy-Filled Life? Verse 16 tells us we should be living this sort of life. The fact that we are told to do it means that we must have a choice in the matter – it doesn’t just happen by itself. The next 2 phrases describe the how: we are to pray continually, giving thanks in all circumstances. How can you be thankful in all circumstances? These verses are describing a lifestyle of constant communication with God. A life which is focussed on God. A life which doesn’t motor along independently. A life which doesn’t become fixed around temporary pleasures, selfish desires or ambitions. A life which is in communion with God. When a person is in communion with God, they have cause to be thankful in all circumstances.
Ephesians 1:3-10 explains why…
Ephesians 1:3-10
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. 9 And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.
Here are just a few things that I have to be thankful about:
Ø Because He loves me, God has chosen me to be a part of His family.
Ø God has made me holy and blameless in His sight – He does not hold my sins against me.
Ø God has paid the price to set me free from sin and the penalty that I deserve for my sin. He has done this through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Ø God has shown me the sort of life that He wants me to live on this Earth, and He has put His Spirit within me to help me live it.
Ø When the time is just right, God is going to finally destroy all that is evil, and bring everything under the Lordship of Jesus. We will then enjoy an eternity which is free from everything which falls short of God’s goodness.
Positive thinking is a great way to approach life, but it is not enough on it’s own. It still leaves us to our own resources when it comes to navigating our way through life’s challenges, pitfalls and hurts. It restricts our vision and limits our hope. It becomes a god in itself because we think that by changing our thinking we will be able to control our life and get what we want out of it. That’s a lie.
But when we shift our thinking from ourselves or other people, and focus our minds and our hearts on God, then we find the secret of a joy-filled life. We find something that is rock-solid – a sure foundation for us to base our whole lives on. God’s goodness cannot be eroded. His love for us can not wear out. His plans for us cannot be changed. His kingdom will not be defeated. His promises cannot be thwarted.
When you discover who God is, then you have reason to live a joy-filled life. But there is a condition attached. You must be in right relationship with Him. You need to confess your sin, and accept His forgiveness. You need to acknowledge Him as Lord of your life and live accordingly.
Just knowing about God is not enough, we need to know Him. We need to be in right relationship with Him.
Now I want to read you a story from the Old Testament that shows very practically what this can look like. It’s a story from the book of Nehemiah, and I’ll fill you in a bit about the background before we get started. The Israelites have recently returned from exile in Babylon, and they have begun rebuilding their towns and the capital city of Jerusalem. There has been a lot of opposition from surrounding peoples, but they have succeeded in rebuilding the Temple (although not to the same scale as the original Temple area), and have just finished rebuilding of the city walls. Let’s take up reading from the end of Nehemiah chapter 7.
When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled in their towns, 1 all the people assembled as one man in the square before the Water Gate. They told Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded for Israel.
8 So on the first day of the seventh month Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, which was made up of men and women and all who were able to understand. 3 He read it aloud from daybreak till noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate in the presence of the men, women and others who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law.
4 Ezra the scribe stood on a high wooden platform built for the occasion. Beside him on his right stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah and Maaseiah; and on his left were Pedaiah, Mishael, Malkijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah and Meshullam.
5 Ezra opened the book. All the people could see him because he was standing above them; and as he opened it, the people all stood up. 6 Ezra praised the Lord, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, “Amen! Amen!” Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.
7 The Levites—Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan and Pelaiah—instructed the people in the Law while the people were standing there. 8 They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear a and giving the meaning so that the people could understand what was being read.
9 Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, “This day is sacred to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law.
Why were they weeping? They had realized their personal and national guilt. As God’s Law was read they became conscious of how far they had fallen short of obeying it. We will learn more about this later in the story.
10 Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
11 The Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be still, for this is a sacred day. Do not grieve.”
12 Then all the people went away to eat and drink, to send portions of food and to celebrate with great joy, because they now understood the words that had been made known to them.
13 On the second day of the month, the heads of all the families, along with the priests and the Levites, gathered around Ezra the scribe to give attention to the words of the Law. 14 They found written in the Law, which the Lord had commanded through Moses, that the Israelites were to live in booths during the feast of the seventh month 15 and that they should proclaim this word and spread it throughout their towns and in Jerusalem: “Go out into the hill country and bring back branches from olive and wild olive trees, and from myrtles, palms and shade trees, to make booths”—as it is written. b
16 So the people went out and brought back branches and built themselves booths on their own roofs, in their courtyards, in the courts of the house of God and in the square by the Water Gate and the one by the Gate of Ephraim. 17 The whole company that had returned from exile built booths and lived in them. From the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day, the Israelites had not celebrated it like this. And their joy was very great.
18 Day after day, from the first day to the last, Ezra read from the Book of the Law of God. They celebrated the feast for seven days, and on the eighth day, in accordance with the regulation, there was an assembly.
After initially responding with sadness, the people then moved on to a celebration with great joy. They had to be helped to do this – they naturally had focused on themselves and their own sin and guilt – their own failure and limitations. They needed to be directed to place their attention on the goodness of God and of being back in right relationship with Him. As they did the things that God had told them to do they were full of joy. Even during the time of David and Solomon there had not been such a great celebration. Their circumstances were still not flash – they were still surrounded by enemies and had the task of rebuilding a ruined nation – yet they found joy in the Lord and in being restored to right relationship with Him.
The Israelites Confess Their Sins
9 On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth and having dust on their heads. 2 Those of Israelite descent had separated themselves from all foreigners. They stood in their places and confessed their sins and the wickedness of their fathers. 3 They stood where they were and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a quarter of the day, and spent another quarter in confession and in worshiping the Lord their God. 4 Standing on the stairs were the Levites—Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani and Kenani—who called with loud voices to the Lord their God. 5 And the Levites—Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah and Pethahiah—said: “Stand up and praise the Lord your God, who is from everlasting to everlasting. a”
“Blessed be your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise. 6 You alone are the Lord. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.
7 “You are the Lord God, who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and named him Abraham. 8 You found his heart faithful to you, and you made a covenant with him to give to his descendants the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Jebusites and Girgashites. You have kept your promise because you are righteous.
9 “You saw the suffering of our forefathers in Egypt; you heard their cry at the Red Sea. b 10 You sent miraculous signs and wonders against Pharaoh, against all his officials and all the people of his land, for you knew how arrogantly the Egyptians treated them. You made a name for yourself, which remains to this day. 11 You divided the sea before them, so that they passed through it on dry ground, but you hurled their pursuers into the depths, like a stone into mighty waters. 12 By day you led them with a pillar of cloud, and by night with a pillar of fire to give them light on the way they were to take.
13 “You came down on Mount Sinai; you spoke to them from heaven. You gave them regulations and laws that are just and right, and decrees and commands that are good. 14 You made known to them your holy Sabbath and gave them commands, decrees and laws through your servant Moses. 15 In their hunger you gave them bread from heaven and in their thirst you brought them water from the rock; you told them to go in and take possession of the land you had sworn with uplifted hand to give them.
16 “But they, our forefathers, became arrogant and stiff-necked, and did not obey your commands. 17 They refused to listen and failed to remember the miracles you performed among them. They became stiff-necked and in their rebellion appointed a leader in order to return to their slavery. But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. Therefore you did not desert them, 18 even when they cast for themselves an image of a calf and said, ‘This is your god, who brought you up out of Egypt,’ or when they committed awful blasphemies.
19 “Because of your great compassion you did not abandon them in the desert. By day the pillar of cloud did not cease to guide them on their path, nor the pillar of fire by night to shine on the way they were to take. 20 You gave your good Spirit to instruct them. You did not withhold your manna from their mouths, and you gave them water for their thirst. 21 For forty years you sustained them in the desert; they lacked nothing, their clothes did not wear out nor did their feet become swollen.
22 “You gave them kingdoms and nations, allotting to them even the remotest frontiers. They took over the country of Sihon c king of Heshbon and the country of Og king of Bashan. 23 You made their sons as numerous as the stars in the sky, and you brought them into the land that you told their fathers to enter and possess. 24 Their sons went in and took possession of the land. You subdued before them the Canaanites, who lived in the land; you handed the Canaanites over to them, along with their kings and the peoples of the land, to deal with them as they pleased. 25 They captured fortified cities and fertile land; they took possession of houses filled with all kinds of good things, wells already dug, vineyards, olive groves and fruit trees in abundance. They ate to the full and were well-nourished; they reveled in your great goodness.
26 “But they were disobedient and rebelled against you; they put your law behind their backs. They killed your prophets, who had admonished them in order to turn them back to you; they committed awful blasphemies. 27 So you handed them over to their enemies, who oppressed them. But when they were oppressed they cried out to you. From heaven you heard them, and in your great compassion you gave them deliverers, who rescued them from the hand of their enemies.
28 “But as soon as they were at rest, they again did what was evil in your sight. Then you abandoned them to the hand of their enemies so that they ruled over them. And when they cried out to you again, you heard from heaven, and in your compassion you delivered them time after time.
29 “You warned them to return to your law, but they became arrogant and disobeyed your commands. They sinned against your ordinances, by which a man will live if he obeys them. Stubbornly they turned their backs on you, became stiff-necked and refused to listen. 30 For many years you were patient with them. By your Spirit you admonished them through your prophets. Yet they paid no attention, so you handed them over to the neighboring peoples. 31 But in your great mercy you did not put an end to them or abandon them, for you are a gracious and merciful God.
32 “Now therefore, O our God, the great, mighty and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love, do not let all this hardship seem trifling in your eyes—the hardship that has come upon us, upon our kings and leaders, upon our priests and prophets, upon our fathers and all your people, from the days of the kings of Assyria until today. 33 In all that has happened to us, you have been just; you have acted faithfully, while we did wrong. 34 Our kings, our leaders, our priests and our fathers did not follow your law; they did not pay attention to your commands or the warnings you gave them. 35 Even while they were in their kingdom, enjoying your great goodness to them in the spacious and fertile land you gave them, they did not serve you or turn from their evil ways.
36 “But see, we are slaves today, slaves in the land you gave our forefathers so they could eat its fruit and the other good things it produces. 37 Because of our sins, its abundant harvest goes to the kings you have placed over us. They rule over our bodies and our cattle as they please. We are in great distress.
The Agreement of the People
38 “In view of all this, we are making a binding agreement, putting it in writing, and our leaders, our Levites and our priests are affixing their seals to it.”
[1]
You could read this story in 2 ways. If you read it as a story about people, it is a very sad story indeed. A story of unfaithfulness, stubbornness, sinfulness, arrogance, selfishness and spiritual blindness.
If you read it as a story about God, it suddenly becomes an inspiring story. A story about God’s power, His protection, His provision, His patience, His generosity, His compassion, His faithfulness, His mercy, His kindness, His discipline, His justice, His love, His deliverance, His instruction, His forgiveness. You can read this story and say “This is what our God is like. He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and He is our God today. And while many of our forefathers rejected Him and strayed from Him, we can choose to follow Him and enjoy the blessings of being His people.”
The story continues with the people agreeing together to live in obedience to God, and making practical decisions and promises about how they would carry that out. They had recognised that God is always good, and that all their distress as a nation had come about because they had turned away from God.
In chapter 8 verse 10, Nehemiah says to the people “they joy of the Lord is your strength”. They had just finished rebuilding the city walls. Because of Jerusalem’s location, when the walls were up, it was nearly impregnable. That is why the surrounding peoples did not want the rebuilding of the walls to succeed. The mightiest empires throughout history all had trouble conquering Jerusalem when its walls were intact. Now the people are standing within sight of those walls, but they recognise that their strength is not in their walls or their weapons, but in the joyful experience of being in right relationship with God.
The same is true for us. Our safety, our security, is not found in what we have in the bank, how good our relationships are, how healthy our bodies are nor is it wrapped up in our self-esteem. The joy of the Lord is our strength.
Do you have the joy of the Lord? Are you living in right relationship with Him? Do you know that you have received all the spiritual blessings that we talked about earlier? Are you confident of your future in Jesus?
Like the Israelites, sometimes we are at risk of getting stuck on focussing on ourselves. So often we are wrapped up in guilt or fear of failure. So often we focus on the failings of others. So often we are daunted or discouraged by our circumstances.
Put your attention on God. Talk to Him. Listen to Him. Thank Him. Entrust yourself to Him. Share your concerns with Him. Trust Him.
Living in right relationship with God is the secret of a joy-filled life.
This week I have an assignment for you. Anytime during this week if you are feeling anxious, guilty, angry, depressed or confused; I want to you stop what you are doing, take the time to think about God and talk to God about what you are feeling. What do you need to be thankful for? What do you need God’s help with? What do you believe God wants you to do right now? Not only do I want you to do this, but once you have done it I want you to share your experience with someone else, so that they may be encouraged by your example.
a Or God, translating it
a Or God for ever and ever
b Hebrew Yam Suph; that is, Sea of Reeds
c One Hebrew manuscript and Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts Sihon, that is, the country of the
[1]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (Ne 8:1). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
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