JOY OF LIVING

Sermon Summary, 6/17/18, “”Joy of Living!” (Phil 1:6; 9-11)

Joy! We are in the midst of a sermon series on joy!  I remember growing up, I wanted a Lionel train.  I would make me happy.  Then a Red Ryder BB gun.  It would make me happy.  Then a Winchester .22.  It would make me happy.  But they didn’t and they don’t.

When we get bigger, our toys get bigger.  Then it’s our spouse and family.  We need to be careful don’t we?  If we base our joy on our children, they will disappoint us; and, God forbid, if we lose them, it can destroy us.  I put way too much dependence on my joy in my granddaughter.  I have no idea what would happen.  I just don’t.  What then must be the source of our joy? 

Our series is based on Paul’s letter to the Philippians, written from prison, but a letter of joy, non-the-less.  “I give thanks every time I remember you, constantly praying for you with joy!”  Be grateful, be joyful, be positive.

Laugh again.  A man walks into a lawyers office and asks, “How much do you charge?”  “A $1000 for three questions.”  “That’s awefully expensive isn’t it?”  “Yes, what is your third question?”  Laugh again.

Be positive.  We are going to focus on a positive attitude.  A negative attitude says I need things to be happy.  A positive mindset says I need virtually nothing tangible to be joyful.  A negative attitude says I need others around me to be happy.  A positive attitude says I have the ability to create my own joy.  A negative attitude ways joy is always out there, always in the future.  A positive attitude says I can choose my joy now.  No need to wait for my ship to come in.  Positive attitude!

Our happiness, our joy depends on the set of our sails.  (“It is the set of the sails and not the gales that determines the way we go.”—from Ella Wheeler Wilcox)

Paul had set his sails on Rome, the center of that day’s world.  He made it through shipwreck and hardship and then was forgotten for two years in jail.  But when he wrote to the Philippians he wrote with joy and with confidence.  “I am confident...that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.” (1:6)  Paul had confidence that he was at work in him, in them, and he’s confident God is at work in you.  “and it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment.”  (1:9)  About living now.  Not that even Paul had already attained it “but I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.” (3:14)  That my friends is a positive attitude.

Our joy depends not on things, nor others, nor events, but on Jesus, the center of our Joy! “’Tis the set of the soul that decides the goal, and not the calm or the strife.”  Amen.