The real truth about joy

John 16:5-6 We are all familiar with the old saying you can lead a horse to water but you cannot make it drink. And I have shared with you several times that as Christians it is not our job to make anyone drink, it is our job as Christians to make others thirsty. And it is our joy that will make other thirsty. It is our sorrow transformed into joy that will make others who don’t know Christ envious. God uses our joy to create a hunger and thirst in the hearts of others and that is what we have to offer the world. After all, who wants to hang around a bunch of gloomy and sad people? The very thought is depressing to me. I believe the Word of God and the God of the Word tells me we can capture the joy and keep it. "But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, ’Where are You going?’ "But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.” John 16:5-6 The disciples were sad because Jesus was living out what God had sent Him to do. Understand something Joy comes from selflessness and sorrow comes from selfishness. I. First, capturing the joy means we have to ask what impact our requests and actions have on God's plans. Jesus knew his disciples were not thinking of him or his kingdom. Their hearts were asking where are you going because we are comfortable here and your leaving will upset that. Although their question was right, their motive in asking was wrong. We must ask with proper motive and as two world people when we pray. It is important to ask God if my requests and actions are taking me where He is going. Am I in step with His will? II. Capturing the joy means we must be intent on one purpose: John 16:5, Jesus is intent on one purpose: “But now I am going to Him who sent me.” He came to earth for one purpose: to do the will of His Father – to seek and save the lost; to give his life a ransom for many and accomplish the work he was given to do. We too should have the same attitude and intent in our heart if we want our heart controlled by joy. The Lord said as the Father has sent me so send I you (John 20:21). Philippians 2:2 tells us to“make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.” And the Apostle Paul said: “Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14) Jesus was never distracted and always moved forward in his earthly ministry. Likewise, we must be moving forward in our Christian life. Moving forward means we can neither live in the past nor be content with the false sense of contentment offered by the status quo. Being status quo Christians brought sorrow to the heart of the Disciples. Quoting Paul again, “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.” (1 Corinthians 9:24-27) Where are you in the race today? Are you living in the past of regrets and failures? Are you content with the status quo? Or are you moving forward with one intent and purpose and experiencing the transforming joy Jesus talks about? III. Capturing the joy means we need to learn God often brings joy to our lives by transformation. The circumstances do not necessarily change but a transformation takes place. Jesus was trying to tell the disciples He was going to the Cross to suffer the most painful death imaginable, yet the Scripture tells us “…for the joy set before Him Jesus endured the cross, despising the shame.” And we are admonished in Hebrews 12:3: “For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you may not, grow weary and lose heart.” Losing heart means to lose your joy. Jesus said to his disciples in John 16:20: “Truly, truly, I say to you, that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will grieve, but your grief will be turned into joy.” God doesn’t remove the grief but transforms it into joy. God takes seemly impossible situations, adds the miracle of His grace, and transforms trial into triumph and sorrow into joy. IV. Finally, we must continually examine what we are doing now for the Lord. The Bible says, “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you--unless indeed you fail the test.” Life is all about perspective, this letter from a daughter to her parents is a great example: Dear Mom and Dad, It has now been three months since I left for college. I have been remiss in writing this and I am very sorry for my thoughtlessness in not having written before. I will bring you up to date now, but, before you read on, please sit down. YOU ARE NOT TO READ ANY FURTHER UNLESS YOU ARE SITTING DOWN, OKAY? Well then, I am getting along pretty well now. The skull fracture, and the concussion I got when I jumped out of the window of my dormitory when it caught fire shortly after my arrival, are pretty well healed now. Fortunately, the fire in the dormitory and my jump, were witnessed by an attendant at the gas station near the dorm. He was the one who called the fire department and the ambulance. He also visited me at the hospital, and since I had nowhere to live because of the burned out dormitory, he was kind enough to invite me to share his apartment with him and his three buddies. It's really a basement room, but it's kind of cute. He is a very fine boy and we have fallen deeply in love and are planning to be married. We haven't set the exact date yet, but it will be before my pregnancy begins to show. Yes, Mom and Dad, I am pregnant. I know how much you are looking forward to being grandparents! I know you will welcome the baby and give it the love, devotion and tender care you gave me when I was a child. The reason for the delay in our marriage is that my boyfriend has some minor infection which prevents us from passing our pre-marital blood tests, and I carelessly caught it from him. This will soon clear up with the penicillin injections I am having daily. I know you will welcome him into our family with open arms. He is kind and, although not well educated, he is ambitious. Although he is of a different race and religion than ours, I know your often expressed tolerance will not permit you to be bothered by the fact that his skin color is different than ours. I am sure you will love him as I do. His family background is good, too, for I am told that his father is an important weapons dealer in the village in Africa from which he came. Now that I have brought you up to date, I want to tell you that there was no dormitory fire, I did not have a concussion or a skull fracture. I was not in the hospital, I am not pregnant and I am not engaged. I do not have syphilis and there is no man (of any color) in my life. However, I got a 'D' in History and an 'F' in Science, and I wanted you to see those marks in the proper perspective. Your Loving Daughter