Four guys are flying in a single-prop airplane. The engine starts sputtering, and it dies. The plane is going down but there are only 3 parachutes on board.
The passengers include one of the best doctors in the world; one of the smartest guys in the world with an IQ that is off the charts; an old priest, and a young nerd.
The doctor says: people need me for my medical skills. He grabs the first parachute pack, and jumps. The smart fellow says: the world needs me for my intelligence” grabs a pack, and jumps.
The old priest says to the nerd: “I have lived a long and happy life, full of “Joy”. You take the last parachute.”
Then the nerd says: no worries, there are still two parachutes left. The smartest guy in the world just grabbed my backpack.”
Good morning. Welcome, and thank you for coming this morning.
Today’s message is titled “Joy” and it is based on Philippians 1:1-11
Today is the second Sunday of Advent in the season of “Joy” as we celebrate the arrival of the Messiah 2000 years ago.
A “Joy” that is reflected in many of the Christmas carols, O Come, O Come, Emanuel, “Joy to the World” among many others.
Speaking of Joy, last week my wife and I watched a movie called “Joy”, a biography of Joy Mangano, the inventor of the miracle mop. The movie depicts a life a hardship and disappointments.
Joy Mangano was a divorced mother of two, working as a booking agent for Eastern Airlines. She lives with her young children, her ex-husband her mom, her divorced dad and her grandmother all in the same house.
By the end of the story she had created her own business empire. She invented over 100 trademarked products including “the huggable cloth hanger”, with over a billion sold. She is a regular guest on HSN.
Joy’s inner strength, and fierce imagination carried her through the storms she faced. The movie is truly an inspirational tale, a touching story, reflecting on the hard realities of life.
She had a deep rooted conviction that she could make a difference in the world, with her inventions. Joy didn’t succumb to all the naysayers around her. Her resilience ultimately won the day, with a joyous ending.
The name “Joy” is not very common. According to baby namehub.com there are 130,000 girls that have been named Joy since 1880.
Joy is from an older generation of “word” names. Joy began to be used as a name by the 17th century Puritans, with the idea of “being joyful in the Lord.” It came into general use in the late 19th century.
The question is, what does “Joy” sound like? Pondering this question, singing birds are a glorious manifestation of the sound of “Joy”.
American poet Emma Lazarus wrote:
From bush and hedge and tree
“Joy”, unrestrained and free,
Breaks forth in melody,
Chirp and song for thee,
A few years ago we had a group of birds at our Willow Creek farm, not just a few, but tens of thousands. These birds appeared to be full of joy, just chirping away. But, made them so joyful??
In Willow Creek, we grow this crop called Ilex verticilata, the red berries used in Christmas arrangements. We start picking in September but the last ones as late as December.
As the sugar levels in those berries rise, it attracts birds, because they love to munch on these delicious berries.
In order not to lose the crop, we cover the Ilex fields that haven’t been picked yet with netting, to keep the birds out.
I remember that one particular Saturday afternoon, hearing all these birds chirping away in the walnut trees bordering the field. It was a remarkable sight and an even more amazing sound of “Joy”.
These birds had spotted this field with Ilex berries, ostensibly it reached the perfect sugar content to attract them. The netting saved the crop from being eaten by the birds, so our customers could continue to enjoy the Ilex berries in Christmas arrangements like this one.
I have been in the flower business my whole life, it is not an easy business, tough competition from across the World, rising cost, and certain customers grinding down the price, making it harder to make an honest living, but despite it all that, it is a great business.
Every day, I am reminded of what it is, that we produce besides the actual flower……. That is Joy. (hand someone a Bouquet) Every time someone receives flowers it elicits Joy. Have you ever seen a person receiving flowers and not being happy and full of joy?
In 2007, Rutgers University did a behavioral study and found that people’s mood immediately changed, causing happiness and “Joy” upon receiving flowers.
What does the bible say about Joy?
Joy is mentioned 165 times in the bible, more than 100 times in the Old Testament alone, with book of Isaiah leading the chart.
Isaiah 12:3 With “Joy” you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
61:7 everlasting “Joy” will be yours.
Of all the letters in the New Testament, Paul’s letter to the Philippians signifies “Joy” more than any other. Philippians is truly a letter of Joy. And that is what brings us to today’s reading in Philippians 1:1-11
Philippians 1:1-11
1Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons: 2Grace to you, and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.3I thank my God every time I remember you, 4constantly praying with “Joy” in every one of my prayers for all of you, 5because of your sharing in the gospel, from the first day until now.
6I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you, will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. 7It is right, for me to think this way, about all of you, because you hold me in your heart, for all of you share in God’s grace with me, both in my imprisonment, and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8For God is my witness, how I long for all of you, with the compassion of Christ Jesus.
9And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight 10to help you to determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, 11having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, for the glory and praise of God.
Please bow our heads. Guide us, O God, by your Word and Spirit, that in your light we may see light, in your truth find wisdom, and in your will, discover your peace, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
In his 2d missionary journey, Paul had a vision of a Macedonian man pleading with him. Come and help us (Acts16:8,9). He felt that God had made Philippi in Macedonia his top priority.
Paul traveled to Philippi, the leading city in the region. When he got there he looked for a synagogue, a place where his fellow Jews gathered, but there wasn’t one. This implied that Philippi did not have a large Jewish community.
In Jewish tradition when there were ten or more adult Jewish males in a community, they had the obligation to build a synagogue. But if there weren’t, then they usually met at an outdoor area, usually by a river.
Paul went out, and he found a place along Gangites River where the local Jews gathered for their Sabbath worship. There he met Lydia, a gentile business woman who worshipped the God of the Jews, but had no knowledge of Jesus.
When Paul spoke to the group about the good news of Jesus Christ, Lydia‘s heart was filled with “Joy”. Later her home became the gathering place for the early believers.
Philippi became the first European city to receive the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
As was the case in many other places where Paul had preached, persecution followed closely behind the establishment of this community of believers.
But persecution and imprisonment did not deter Paul’s gusto and passion to spread the gospel.
A few years later while in prison in Rome in 62 AD, Paul thought about, and prayed for the church he had started in Philippi as he wrote this very personal letter.
The Philippians had a special spot in his heart. In this short letter he uses the word I, 78 times.
Paul, intimately loved his brothers and sisters in Christ, and this letter reflects this well. He knew that these folks, were very concerned about him, he writes this letter, filled with gratitude and Joy, to ease their minds.
Paul’s ‘Joy”, came from his trust in God’s divine will. Even though Paul did not know his fate, he still beams encouragement and “Joy”.
This could be instructive to us as well: Stay positive, hopeful confident and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, no matter where you are in life.
Paul displayed an attitude of gratitude no matter what the circumstances were, and this in turn inspired those believers in Philippi.
They had taken up an offering for him and sent him a very generous gift that came from the hearts of those believers in Philippi.
This letter that Paul wrote to them from the prison in Rome is a letter of thanksgiving and gratitude for the money that they had sent to him.
It was the main reason for Paul’s writing this letter. Unlike most of Paul’s letters, that were written from an apostle to the church, this letter is written as a very warm, friendly greeting from friend to friend.
It is interesting that given the fact that while Paul was doing all of this rejoicing, he was chained to a Roman guard.
While he was in Rome for two years, awaiting his appearance before Caesar, he was under house arrest, but chained to one of the Roman guards.
There were some 10,000 elite soldiers in Rome who had been assigned as the imperial guard and whose main duty was to protect the emperor.
One of these men was chained to Paul on shifts, twenty-four hours a day, for two years. Paul saw this as an amazing opportunity to witness.
They couldn’t get away, and as the result of Paul’s spreading the Gospel to these men, many of them were brought to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
A mini revival took place there in the heart of the Roman Empire, while Paul was there, awaiting his appearance before Caesar.
Paul’s “Joy” despite the adversity he faced, actually gave encouragement to fellow believers, it emboldened them. Paul wrote in verse 4: constantly praying with “Joy” in every one of my prayers for all of you.
God works through prayers of friends.
Let me illustrate this with an example: American Presbyterian Pastor, Andrew Brunson, who spent over 20 years ministering to Christians in Turkey, was arrested over alleged links to political groups. He spent 2 years in a dark and cold Turkey prison.
But the prayers of thousands of Christians around the world were answered and he was released last month. Paul wrote In Romans 12:12: Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
Paul always had the light within him. He writes in Philippians 4:11: “I have learned, in whatever state I am, I’m content, because my contentment does not lie in my circumstances. My contentment lies in my relationship with Jesus Christ and that cannot change.
Last week I went to see a presentation of Quanuquanei A. Karmue, he goes by Q. He wrote a book called “Witness” about his horrendous experience as an eight year old child, surviving the Liberian civil war of the late 90’s. 250,000 people were killed in that war.
But before his presentation, he asked his mother who was in the audience, to come to the podium and sing a song that he heard her sing during those dark days in Liberia, while bullets were flying and people all around them were killed.
This small lady came up and sang this song with a trembling voice:
It is no longer I that liveth,
it is Christ, who lives in me
he lives, Jesus Christ lives
King Jesus is alive in me
It is no longer I, that Struggle
It’s my Lord who have Struggled for me,
Jesus Christ lives in me.
This lady was sentenced to death by a rebel leader, was stripped naked and taken to the killing field. She sang this song with a deep conviction: It is no longer I that liveth, it is Christ who lives in me.
Through a series of miracles she survived. She and her 5 young children survived the atrocities of the civil war in Liberia, fled to Ivory Coast and lived to tell about it.
Jesus living in our hearts……that is Christmas at the core.
Jesus seeks to be born in us. Jesus seeks to give us a new life. Christmas is God sharing himself with the world, not just 2000 years ago, but today.
The “Joy” of Christmas is a Blessed, Holy, Joy
This is how Charles Spurgeon described it: “There is a marvelous medicinal power in “Joy”. Most medicines are distasteful; but this, which is the best of all medicines, is sweet to the taste, and comforting to the heart. This blessed joy is very contagious. Holy joy will oil the wheels of your life’s machinery. Holy joy will strengthen you for your daily labor. Holy joy will beautify you and give you an influence over the lives of others.”
Friends, no matter what earthly Joy comes our way, through receiving the packages under the Christmas tree, and other the holiday gifts, all of this will pass away.
None of those gifts match the “Joy” of receiving Jesus Christ in our hearts.
And this is the indescribable “Joy” that filled Paul while writing this letter to the Philippians.
Let the “Joy” of a relationship with Jesus enter into our hearts. Joy like a fountain in our soul.
Friends, this is the question: are we hungry for an encounter with our Lord Jesus.
Let Jesus come into our hearts and touch the heavy laded parts of our soul, let him heal and comfort and give us strength.
With “Joy” we pray.
With “Joy” we believe.
With “Joy” we sing.
With “Joy” we spread the word and;
With Joy” we put our trust in Jesus and accept him as Lord and Savior.
Thank you,
God Bless you,
Amen
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