Title: Joy of Joy (Luke 6:20-23)
Contents
Title Joy in Joy / Scripture Luke 6:20-23 / Space Daebok Church
***Introduction
What do you consider to be 'joy'?
People define ‘joy’ in their own way. Some people call it 'satisfaction', some people say 'there is no trouble in the heart', and some say 'things are going well'. In the Korean dictionary, ‘joy’ is defined as ‘pleasant emotion that arises in the heart due to heartwarming and satisfying events’, or simply ‘joy in the heart’.
Everyone is right. What is clear is that ‘joy’ is not something that arises on its own, but is the result of something. However, in general, the sources of joy that people say are limited. Having a limit means that ‘joy’ cannot last forever. For when the cause of pleasure disappears, so does joy. Limited joy cannot be true joy.
This is a story I heard before. There was a very poor female butler in Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do. He was single at an early age and had a difficult life with children. The female butler's job was a 'dirt-cleaner' who cleaned the dirt in the bathroom. Although the living environment was difficult and he was doing a job that looked low in the eyes of others, he said that he was immediately moved to see how much joy and grace he lived every day. That is why it is said that dozens of people a year are moved by the deacon and come to the church.
It is that people come to the church constantly moved by the thought, 'How can I live in an environment like yours with such joy and gratitude?' However, the church is struggling to build the chapel, and it is said that the female deacon donated 4 million won with the money she earned from the bathhouse.
Deacon Lee's joy is not because of the good environment or because of her material things. It must be a joy that transcends all things. There was joy and peace that emanated from the female deacon, even without words. Others saw Jesus Christ through him.
Do you have this kind of joy in your life?
Now let's take a look at some of the greatest joys we can get from living in the world.
1. What is true joy?
Everyone in the world seeks joy and pleasure. Whether the pleasure is physical, mental, or spiritual may make a difference, but ultimately, everyone seeks pleasure. Even the ascetic saints of the Middle Ages sought true spiritual joy through physical asceticism.
In the world we live in now, physical pleasure is reaching its peak. In particular, since the advent of an information medium called the Internet, the world is rapidly falling into physical addiction. The extent is truly beyond imagination. In addition, there are many things that people consider to be objects of pleasure. But all of these things pass in an instant, being governed by the environment. That's why people seek deeper stimulating pleasure. These momentary worldly pleasures are never true joys.
God constantly tells the saints to “rejoice” through the words of the Bible. It is clear that the joy God speaks of is not worldly. The Lord said, “You are grieved now, but when I see you again your hearts will rejoice. No one can take your joy away” (John 16:22). The source of never-ending joy is staying in Jesus Christ. Therefore, true joy is the satisfaction we feel deep in our hearts because the Lord is with us.
The source of Christian joy is Jesus Christ. This is because all Christian life is possible only in Christ. If a Christian seeks to take pleasure in something worldly, he will never succeed. On the contrary, it not only increases the suffering of the heart, but also leads to death by falling into temptation. 1 John 2:15 says, “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.” And in James 1:14, he said, “But it is that each man is tempted, when he is drawn away and deceived by his own lust.” To pursue the joy of the world is to love the world, and to love the world is to be drawn and deceived by one's own greed. The result is to put yourself to the test.
Therefore, the true joy is that I myself remain in Jesus Christ. If you think, ‘I believe that I am in Jesus Christ, but there is no such joy,’ listen to the following words.
2. How can we find true joy?
I just said that the true joy is that I remain in Jesus Christ. The Lord testifies of this fact. Let's look at John 15:10-11. “Just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love, so if you keep my commandments you will abide in my love. I give this to you, so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be full.” Through these words, the Lord teaches “how I can remain in Christ and why I must remain in Christ.”
If you want to have true joy, keep the commandments of the Lord. What are the commandments of the Lord? That commandment is in the next verse, John 15:12. “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” Just as the Lord has loved me, I also love people.
I love my family, can I hate them? I love my friends, will I lie to them and do wrong? I love my neighbors, how can I hate them, cheat, lie, and do evil?
The Lord says, 'Love one another' if we want to have joy. When I love, joy and peace permeate me. The deeper the love, the fuller the joy and peace.
And another thing is to seek fullness in the Lord. Satisfaction in the Lord is 'joy'. The Lord said to His disciples in John 16:24. He said, “Until now you have asked for nothing in my name; ask, and you will receive, so that your joy may be full.” Ask anything if you remain in the Lord. If you do that, the Lord has promised that you will be filled with 'joy'.
3. What is the way to enjoy the joy of joy?
So far, we have looked at what true joy is and how we can obtain it. Now it is our turn to see how we can enjoy the highest of the joys of living in the world. Foreshadowing is that the Christian's joy can only be realized if we change the way we think a lot.
Let's look at the text.
The true joy of all life is to remain in Jesus Christ. However, the greatest joy among the joys the greatest joy that a Christian can attain while living in the world, and that affects the eternal kingdom of God is suffering and persecution from the Lord. Let's look at verses 22 and 23 of the text. And let's look at Matthew 5:11,12. “Blessed are you when they curse and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad. great is your reward in heaven. So they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
The eight kinds of happiness mentioned above are the blessings that you can enjoy in the life of the saints in Christ. However, this happiness that I just read is a blessing that encompasses the previous eight kinds of happiness, and it is a blessing that is effective even in the kingdom of God.
If we live a life of love while keeping the commandments of the Lord, there is bound to be oppression of the world. For Christians are not of the world, and their darkness is revealed. This also happens in the church. This is because even in the church, there are people of darkness, not light, and tares that are not wheat.
However, this great joy is not given to those who live in compromise with the world and who do not fully remain in Jesus Christ. Therefore, the way to enjoy the joy of joy is to enter completely into Christ. That is, we live a life of love by thoroughly obeying the commandments of the Lord. Although there are hardships, criticisms, and pains in the life of love living in the will of the Lord, do not be afraid. The Lord is with you, and there is a great reward that cannot be compared in the world.
In the name of the Lord, I pray that the lives of all our saints will be such a happy life where you can enjoy the joy of joy forever.