THE PUREST JOY

 

Prov 17:22

We read in the Proverbs this morning, “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” I remember watching John MacArthur had a Q/A during one of their Christmas evening services, where a woman named Joy, came to the mic to ask John a question about salvation. And John responded, “Joy, you have a wonderful name. but sometimes it's hard to live up to isn't it I mean how would you like to be named Joy and have to always be assumed to be possessing all of that.” I say that because joy is really hard to demonstrate when you live in a fallen world that seems at times to be getting worse and worse, by the minute, and not by the year. Its hard to be joyful when you see what has happened even in the past few days.

 

From: 

The mass shooting in Australia, with Muslim extremists, father and son, started shooting in broad daylight, resulted in 15 people were at killed at Bondi Beach as they celebrate Hanukkah. According to the latest update, 24 people remain in hospital - three are in critical condition and another five are critical but stable.

 

Two people were killed and nine others were wounded in a shooting at an engineering and physics building on Brown's campus in Providence, Rhode Island.

 

Rob Reiner, aka “Meathead” and his wife, who were stabbed to death, supposedly by their own son.

 

The hatred from seating officials and their twits about others and the loss of life.

 

To have Joy or be named Joy, is something that is hard to do considering what is around us every day, especially during the Christmas season where everything is heightened to a higher degree.

According to goggle, December in Canada, means… the official start of winter, bringing cold temperatures and snow, the Christian church/family celebrate the of the birth of Christ, as “God with us”. Festive Christmas celebrations, lights, feasts, Boxing Day sales, the Winter Solstice, and major shopping/retail activity, all wrapped in holiday cheer and preparation for the New Year.

 

With all these celebrations going on, the one thing this country needs, absolutely needs, is the true reason for the purest joy. 

What is the purest joy?

As the angels said to the lowly shepherds, “And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:10-11. Know this! Joy can persist in the harshest of circumstances because it depends on God and His promises. Why would the angel specifically say, “Great Joy” this means intense, profound happiness This news of the birth of Christ produces “great joy” the same joy described by Peter, “Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” 1 Peter 1:8-9. “Inexpressible joy” literally means “higher than speech” those who live in personal communion with Christ, experience a joy so divine that they cannot communicate it; humanly speaking. It’s a joy in believing on Him, which is better experienced than expressed; it’s a joy the natural man knows nothing of, apart from His saving grace. This joy is solely reserved for His saints who have had their sins forgiven through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

According to Scriptures “Joy” is…..

God given…. Eccl 2:26

Christ appointed…….. Isaiah 61:3

One of the fruits of the Spirits……. Gal 5:22

The Gospel……. Luke 2:10-11

The gospel to be received with…… 1 Thess 1:16

Promised to the believer….. Psalm 132:16

The Fullness of God’s presence……. Psalm 16:11

Increased to the humble…..Isa 29:19

Believers should always worship in….. Psalm 42:4

 

Joy shall be the final reward of believers at the judgment day. “…‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’” Matt 25:21

  

See, there is no greater time in history to remind ourselves that we need to seek His joy, and live out this joy in Christ, so others can see your joy that you have in His salvation. In the original Hebrew, the word for “merry” means “joyful, happy, full of cheer.” The “heart” is a person’s inner self, thoughts, emotions, and will. “ A joyful heart is good medicine,” in our text of Scripture. “Medicine” is something that treats or alleviates the symptoms of disease. One commentary suggests, “A cheerful heart causes good healing” as an appropriate literal translation. The NET Bible reads, “A cheerful heart brings good healing.” The Revised English Bible says, “A glad heart makes for good health.” Studies have shown that laughter is good for your health. Just google “laughter is good for your health”, and you’ll see what I mean. 

A joyful heart, what does that look like? 

I guess you ask yourself! What motivates your heart to be joyful?

Is it material things?

Is it success?

Is it money?

Is it your relationships?

Is it good health?

Is it God Word and His people?

Is it our church/ church family?

 

What if I flipped the question this way! What does it take for you to lose your joy?

 

Is it the loss of material things?

Is it loss of success?

Is it losing money?

Is it the loss of a relationship?

Is it failing health?

Is it God’s Word and His people?

Is it our church/church family?

 

See! The purest joy that is the best medicine, can only be found in a relationship with Jesus Christ through His finishing work on the cross. This relationship isn’t some temporary joy, that’s what the world offers with all its colour and loud noises.

 

Our hope, and peace, are found in the

joy we have in Christ.

And this is what the church needs to tell, and display to world, this is where a sinner can find the purest joy. Stop shopping for joy that won’t last or fulfill, stop trying to fabricate, or invent some new way to find joy. Stop settling for third, or fourth best, because the gospel is our greatest joy, because it’s the greatest news. “Purest” means having the greatest purity or being the freest from anything of a different, inferior, or contaminating kind. The purest joy is a joy that is also full of glory, which renders the highest of praise. This world is tainted, and corrupted with the sinful desires of mankind, that is why John wrote, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” 1 John 2:15-17. You add joy to the end this promise that John speaks of, and you get the “Purest joy” which reveals an intense, untainted happiness found in the simple, genuine moments like a child's laughter, nature's beauty, deep connections, or spiritual breakthroughs, representing a state of being fully present and connected, free from worldly troubles or added complexities, often described as an effortless delight or profound inner peace.

 

To find the purest of joy that is good medicine for an aching heart that is filled with….

Doubt

Sorrow

Depression, the winter blahs.

Uncertainty of tomorrow or a future

Confusion and numbness to what is around you

Bitterness and faultfinding

Lacking any emotion or feeling to the wickedness of mankind.

Lacking hope or peace in this broken world system.

 

The purest joy can only be found by resting in Christ, and wrestling

there, until He brings you into submission. This is a healthy and glorifying submission, under His grace… to open your eyes to see what is before you and that is the glorious Christ as you face tragedy, happiness and daily leaving. That is why the shepherds could do this, “And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.” Luke 2:20. The purest medicine of joy, even when a heart has been shattered into a million pieces, is found whole in the saving work of God, through His Son. The reason for great joy, because it’s the greatest news since the 400 years of silence. The hope of Genesis is coming in full colour wrapped in a manger. That alone is enough to have joy in the darkness.

 

People today are consumed by the passionate pursuit of happiness, and they try and find it through…. 

Self-help books

Motivational speakers, podcasts, celebrity preachers.

The next and greatest wonder drug prescribed by their doctor.

Alcohol and drugs, even sadly suicide thanks to MAID.

Advice columnists claiming to offer the key to happiness, but for many it leads to dead ends!

What does it mean to have true joy that is

good medicine for the heart?

 

The world will equates, compares this, with true joy, and lasting happiness. See society calls joy “Finding what makes you happy!” Which this means it’s all about you! Aristotle said “Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.” Franklin D Roosevelt said “Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort. “ Lawrence Welk said “Music was my joy, my home, the one place I felt happy and secure.” This type of joy has no staying power, it stems from earthly pleasures, its misleading and its short lived. Zophar, Job’s friend said, “Do you not know this from of old, since man was placed on earth, that the exulting of the wicked is short, and the joy of the godless but for a moment?” Job 20:5

 

It’s the idea…..that the happiness of a hypocrite would be brief, referring to the happiness arising from the possession of health, life, property, friends, reputation. Soon God would take away all these, and leave him to sorrow. It feels good for a season until it loses its flavour or appeal or it goes away.

 

For example: You get your new car, a new rifle, a new purse, a new cell phone, or that new video game, or the games seasons pass, that you have been waiting all year to finally play. You’re excited to get it! “But something happens that changes all that over a short period of time; it starts to loss its flavour, or you don’t find it as interesting as it was when you purchased it. So, you begin the quest once again to find what makes you happy, as you once felt. And unfortunately, this is mankind’s way of finding joy; and not genuine joy that Lord has given us though the gospel. What we’re doing is creating, or fabricating, our joy though things of outward pleasures…. that have no sustaining power. See! From the time you received or from the time you get them, they usually become as the Bible says “unfit” 

What does that look like? Jesus said “Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill, but men throw it out...” Luke 14:34-35. This is exactly what happens when our once excitement begins to diminish; man-made, man centered joy, will never stand the test of time!!

 

For a season yes! But long term? No! Why? Because............

 

True joy stems out of love for Christ and His finishing work on the Cross. 

True joy comes from the gift of salvation that He freely gives to whom He wills. 

True joy comes out of a love for righteousness and a hatred for sin. 

True joy is rooted, its firmly planted in His God breathed Words on the pages of Scripture. 

True joy begins when the Spirit takes up residence in our lives and overfills our cup. 

True joy is despite what the day brings, it will always be my plumb-line! Why? The Lord’s joy will never fail or go away. 

True joy is our living hope, as we anticipate entering into the Kingdom with Christ for all eternity.

The culture defines “Joy” as “cheerfulness, a calm delight: a gladness, to be exceeding joyful.” True Biblical “Joy” is not an attitude dependent on chance or circumstances. Big difference! Because its the deep and abiding confidence that, regardless of one’s circumstances in life, all is well between the believer and the LORD because of His covenant promises that is found through redemption. John Piper said “Christian joy is a good feeling in the soul, produced by the Holy Spirit, as he causes us to see the beauty of Christ in the word and in the world.” This is what the Proverb is telling us, that is healthy for the soul, the best medicine for whatever ills you. Because the alternative crushes, and dries up the bones. (v22) and many feel this way during the holiday season, even in the church. “Crushed spirit dries up the bones” means a deep emotional pain, despair, or a negative mindset severely weakens a person, impacting their entire being. “Bones” represents the whole body's strength and health, it highlights how mental and emotional suffering, like prolonged sadness or trauma, can lead to physical exhaustion, low energy, and overall poor health, contrasting it with the healing power of a joyful heart. An unresolved argument with family, which leads to awkwardness when gathering over a meal during the Christmas season, not very joyful.

 

Present circumstances, trials, or sufferings, can diminish your joy during this time of year. A great loss of someone close, which clouds your motivation to be close to others and to find joy this time of year. Family job loss during the Christmas season, example GM plant, 1200 people in Ingersoll, jobless right before Christmas. Individuals, that have no family, no children, no love ones to share this joy with. A broken spirit of despondency, always looking at the dark side, having hard thoughts of God are induced, as if God had forsaken, neglected or forgotten them. Charles Bridges compares this with a telescope, he said, “The power of the telescope fails in bringing distant objects close…. The hope of future enjoyment is dark. Distance too often lessens communication. Prayer is less frequently or powerfully sent up. The answers therefore, and the supplies of cheering grace from this source, are more flimsy.”  This is someone who is discontent and a critical unbelieving sadness, take possession of the soul, and absolutely unfit us for the service of God.

 

R C Sproul wrote, “The opposite of a cheerful heart is a "crushed spirit" that "dries up the bones". Here, "bones" is used to represent the whole person. A cheerful heart brings tremendous benefits to all that we are, and a broken spirit brings harm to the whole person. The crushed spirit that dries up the bones is not the broken spirit of repentance, for repentance restores us to the Lord and thereby is a means to life. Instead, the writer refers to the heart that cannot rejoice in the Lord, that has become so cynical that it cannot find joy in the simple things. May none of us possess such a heart.”

 

These are the signs we need to be most watchful against, the joy killer, that tries to steal your joy with its influence. Don’t allow your imagination to dwell needlessly in gloom and doom, because external things act upon the body and through the body upon the mind. Whatever threatens to "dry up your bones," look to Jesus, the great physician, who is our sustaining joy for everything that is before us. When the cares of your heart are many, let the consolations of the One, Jesus Christ, who was crushed for you cheer your soul. “When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.” Psalm 94:19 

My prayer is that we will rediscover...rekindle...be filled with true biblical joy, and stop seeking after man centered happiness. Happiness is temporal and goes as fast as it arrives. True joy can only be found in the Lord Jesus Christ. Why? Because.....His joy is permanent and everlasting!!! My prayer….. is that the Lord would illuminate His grace to our hearts to find true joy and rest in Him. My prayer….. is that He will make Himself known to you in a real way, so that you can have true biblical joy if you seek His face. Our joy glorifies God and it benefits us. By His grace, the Lord has ordained that what glorifies Him is what is good for us. Let’s say with Paul no matter what happens........ “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” Phil 4:4