"A JOYFUL SOUL"

Introduction:

Are you feeling joyful today? The Christmas season is about joy, right? "Joy to the world, the Lord is come." The angel announced to the shepherds, "I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people" (Luke 2). "Tis the season to be jolly, fa la la la la la la la la."

Unfortunately, for many, Christmas is not a joyful occasion. It is fraught with loneliness, disappointment, frustration, and even deep sadness. Like the guy who sang "I'll have a blue, blue blue blue Christmas."

A lot of people are living joyless lives year round. They are functioning, fulfilling their obligations, keeping their commitments. But they are just going through the motions. The joy is gone out of their lives. Maybe you are one of those people. One important teaching many people have cast aside in their Christian journey is the need to be joyful.

Well if you have lost your joy, you have come to the right place today. God has a gift for you this morning if you will receive it. It is a priceless gift - one that will change your whole life experience. God wants to give you great joy. The joy of the Lord! And when you have received it, you will be able to rejoice always. Like the old campfire song says, you will have the "joy, joy, joy, joy, down in your heart to stay."

How can I say that? Because the Bible says so. The word "rejoice" is found throughout the Bible: in Isaiah 61, the prophet Isaiah proclaims that God has sent him to bring "glad tidings to the poor" and he says, "I rejoice heartily in the Lord, in my God is the joy of my soul." Did you hear that? Isaiah had a joyful soul. Our text today is taken from Mary's Magnificat, in which she exclaims "My soul rejoices in my God, my spirit finds joy in God my savior." Did you hear it? Mary had a joyful soul. And in I Thessalonians, chapter 5, the apostle Paul tells us to have a joyful soul. He says, "Be joyful always." This is God's will for us: to be joyful, praying continuously and giving God thanks in all circumstances. To have a joyful soul.

I want you to know that the Hebrew language, which was the original language of the Old Testament, has more words for joy and rejoicing than any other language on earth. And this comes from a language known for having few words! In the Old Testament, 13 Hebrew roots, found in 27 different words, are used primarily for some aspect of joy or joyful participation in religious worship

So you could rightly say that the Old Testament is a book of joy! And the New Testament is a book of Good News! The word "Gospel" literally means "Good news." Good news of great joy.

Francis Voltaire, who was not a Christian, said, "If Christians want us to believe in a Redeemer, let them act redeemed". Certainly one of the primary qualities a redeemed person should exhibit would be joy. There is a story told about a man from Louisville, Kentucky, who had to travel to St. Louis on business. This was years ago when Christians still kept Sunday as a very special day. For this man, "keeping the Sabbath" meant not riding the trains on Sunday. Thus, after he finished up his business late Saturday night, he had to stay over in St. Louis until the following Monday morning. On Sunday morning, he left the hotel looking for a place to worship. The streets were quite deserted, but finally he saw a policeman and asked him for directions to the nearest Protestant church. The stranger thanked the policeman for the information and was about to walk off when he turned and asked the policeman: "Why have you recommended that particular church? There must be several churches nearby that you could have recommended." The policeman smiled and replied: "I'm not a church man myself, but the people who come out of that church are the happiest looking church-people in St. Louis. I thought that would be the kind of church you would like to attend."

So how do you go about having a joyful soul? First let me tell you the wrong ways to go about having a joyful soul. To try to be joyful using these methods will lead to certain failure.

First wrong way: Don't count on your circumstances to bring you joy.

The Bible does not say get everything just right according to all your desires and expectations, then you can rejoice. In Philippians it says "Rejoice in the Lord always. And again I say rejoice." And Paul was in jail when he wrote that. Trust me, if you wait for everything to be hunky-dory before you rejoice, you are going to be one sour person. We rejoice in spite of circumstances, not because of them.

Second wrong way: Don't wait for others to be joyful first.

The Bible doesn't say, check out how everyone else is dealing with life, then, if they are all happy, you can rejoice. Most of us spend our working hours surrounded by lost and unchurched people. If your mood is just a reflection of theirs, you will end up with that "Registry of Motor Vehicles" look. You know what I mean - that look the people in line at the RMV have. Get a joyful soul, and let your face know about it. Then the joy of the Lord will give you strength to rejoice even when those around you are sulking.

Don't depend on your circumstances, and don't wait for other people to be joyful.

And the third wrong way to go about having a joyful soul: Don't expect joy to just happen to you.

There's no good fairy of joy who's going to come along one day and zap you with her joy-wand. If you just sit back and do nothing but wait for a joyous mood to invade your soul, you're going to remain joyless. If joy was automatic, everyone would have a joyful soul.

So how can I have a joyful soul like Mary described in Luke 1? The Bible gives us some clues to understand Mary's joy and to experience it for ourselves. In order to have a joyful soul:

1. Live as a servant of God.

When I studied Luke 1 I was struck by Mary's "ordinary-ness." She was a virgin from a town pledged to be married to a man. That description could have fit a thousand young women in Mary's day.

And she found favor with God. We aren't told why, exactly. But her response to the angel Gabriel's announcement gives us a clue. She said, "I am the Lord's servant. May it be to me as you have said" (v. 38). Let me ask you a hard question. Whose servant are you? Bob Dylan sang, "You've Got To Serve Somebody." Who are you serving? Are you serving yourself? Your spouse? Your children? Your employer? Be honest. Or are you serving God?

Mary's attitude about life was that she was God's servant. So whatever God brought her way she accepted. Her prayer to God was, "May it be to me as you have said."

It may seem odd to say that the way to have joy is to be a servant. But what I am saying is, you are either God's servant or you are spending your life serving someone else. To choose to live your life as a servant of God is the beginning of joy.

The second thing to do in order to have a joyful soul,

2. Let go of fear and trust in God.

I think Mary really trusted God. When the angel Gabriel appeared to Daniel, he was "was terrified and fell prostrate" (Daniel 8:16). Basically, he passed out (8:18). And when Gabriel appeared to Zechariah, he "was startled and gripped with fear" (Luke 1:13). But when Gabriel appeared to Mary, she didn't flinch. She just listened. The only thing that troubled her were his words!

And when Mary understood that God had chosen her to bear the Son of the Most High she did not faint or scream or try to get God to choose someone else. She just said "OK" (My translation). That indicates trust. And one other thing I noticed about Mary - even though she certainly understood that God's plan for her would be fraught with difficulties, she did not dwell on what it would cost her and how hard it would be. Instead of looking ahead with fear, she trusted God.

You cannot live in fear and have joy at the same time. It is true that God may lead you to do things that are difficult or to go to places that harbor danger. He may require you to go through hard times and to suffer lack or loss. But if you trust in God, then looking ahead at your future will not cause you to fear. You can say, like Mary, "May it be to me as you have said" because you know that God holds the future and He is with you and for you. Life may not be good all the time, but "God is good all the time." And because He is, you need not be afraid. If you trust God, you can have a joyful soul.

To have a joyful soul: live as a servant of God, let go of fear and trust in God. And finally,

3. Believe that what the Lord has said will be accomplished.

Old barren Elizabeth was pregnant, and her baby would be John the Baptist. When Mary came to visit her and greeted her, the baby "leaped in her womb" (v. 41). The Bible says the baby "leaped for joy" (v. 44). And Elizabeth pronounced a beatitude about Mary. She said, "Blessed is she who had believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!" (v. 45).

What the Lord said to Mary through the angel Gabriel was remarkable. Miraculous. Unprecedented. Huge. She would bear the "Son of the Most High" who would be called the "Son of God" and he would "reign over the house of Jacob forever."

Remember Bill Cosby's rendering of the "Noah's Ark" story? When God tells Noah to build an ark, Noah says, "Right. What's an ark?" We could understand if Mary had said to the angel, "Right. I'm a virgin and I'm going to bear God's child who will be Israel's King forever."

But Mary believed that what the Lord said to her would be accomplished. She believed it to such an extent that her song revealed God's future actions in the present tense - as if they had already been accomplished! And because she believed God, her soul glorified the Lord and her spirit rejoiced. She had a joyful soul!

My friends, God has said a lot of wonderful things in the Bible.

Amazing things about the coming of a new heaven and a new earth - the home of righteousness. Encouraging things about how our participation in the blessed community will lead to maturity. Uplifting things about how He will use us to reconcile people to himself and to usher in the Kingdom of God. Inspiring things about empowering us to accomplish great things and to overcome the evil one. God has said a lot of wonderful things. Do you believe that what the Lord has said to you will be accomplished? If you do, you will know joy - real joy - in your soul.

Believing God leads to joy.

Conclusion:

With a joyful soul you can enjoy life, just for what it is, and relish every moment.

Last Sunday night there was a movie on TV produced by Oprah Winfrey. It was based on the book, Tuesdays With Morrie and had the same name. I watched the movie and enjoyed it very much. And I think the message was that this man, Morrie, had a beautiful soul - a joyful soul - that enabled him to live life fully, right up to the time of his death. I was inspired. And this account of Mary's visit from the angel inspires me too. I want my soul to glorify the Lord and my spirit to rejoice in God my Savior. I want a joyful soul. I thank God that He has loved us and has given us his Son, Jesus, to die for our sins and to overcome death, and has given us His Spirit to dwell in us. Because he has, we can have joyful souls, no matter what circumstances we must face.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father,

Thank you for offering each of us the gift of joy this morning. We understand that joy is in Jesus. Give us your grace to open our hearts to receive Jesus today. We desire to live our lives as your obedient servants. Help us to trust and not to fear. Let us believe that what you have said will be accomplished. Give us joyful souls. Amen. Assignment:

Find some way this special season to defeat the blues. Consider doing something for shut-ins who have no one to care for them. Do something positive, something heart-warming, something that will bring someone else joy. For joy has a way of boomeranging and giving the person who gives it more joy than the one who receives it.

Benediction:

"Rejoice and be glad. Blessed are you, holy are you. Yours is the kingdom of God." May joy be yours this Christmas season and throughout the new year. Amen."






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