A book, fresh off the press, has the arresting title, EVERY DAY A FRIDAY,” wherein the author says you can make every day a Friday – a day of happiness and relaxation – if you decide in advance to be happy on Monday through Sunday. If one did not know his Bible, he might conclude this book is the greatest revelation since the Bible was written but if one knows the message of the Bible he would know it is “Humanism on Steroids,” for in this book no mention is made of sins and how it separated us from God and no reference to the necessity of repentance, etc. Regrettably this book tells us how to be happy but not truly joyful.
However, the book does confront the reader with the possibility of living a life of real joy all the time, which is promised in Jesus in the Bible. (John 15:11; Romans 13:13). So let us note what the Bible says about joy:
- The Real Source of Joy Is Intimacy with God through Jesus Christ (1 John 1:3-4). The very first Gospel announcement promised great joy, because of the birth of Jesus. “For behold I bring you tidings of great joy, for unto you is born this day in the City of David, a Savior who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10). Without a Savior, we are without joy, all are burdened by sin and guilt, but when we truly repent and surrender to Jesus as Lord and Savior, joy replaces guilt, our emptiness, frustrations, etc. And not only does this joy come at the moment of our conversion, but Jesus offers it throughout our lives if we will internalize His Word, “These things (Abide, internalize My Word) I have spoken unto you that MY JOY may be in you and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:11). Obedience to God brings the fullness of the Holy Spirit, whose fruit is “joy.” (Gal. 5:22).
- The Showing of Real Joy Is Inevitable.
- If one is filled with joy . The purpose of man is to know God and enjoy Him forever.
- To encourage our fellow man. Just how do we do this:
- We should most of all notify our face that we have joy. Think of the profession Christians who even come to church whose faces look like a “reprint of the Book of Lamentations.” Or appear to have been baptized in vinegar. Choir members on TV.
- We should show it in our smiles. A person with real joy on the inside wills how it on the outside by smiling. “If you’re not smiling, you’re like a person with a million dollars in the bank and no checkbook. Illus: Have you heard the saying, “You’ve got to fake it to make it.” No, you don’t have to fake it. If you ever saw Doris before she went to heaven , she was smiling, and her smile was her heart reaching out to you saying, “I love and care about you.” And I’ve never known a human being whom people fell in love with at first sight like Doris. I miss her smile more than anything and can hardily wait to see her heavenly SMILE in the presence of Jesus.
- We should add joy to our Resume. : I read that professors at Yale University made a study of how we influence others, and they found that it is not looks, height, personality, but our smile. Illus: Holiday Inn interviewed 5000 prospects for new jobs, and they automatically disqualified any applicant who smiled less than 4 times during the interview. “Smilers are workplace winners.”
- We should express joy in our worship as well as awe. My dad used to say, “We need more doxology than theology.” A worship service without joy is no worship service at all. “O clap your hands all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph.” (Psalm 47:1) Illus: Chancellor shouted every time we celebrated the Lord’s Supper. Member of First Baptist Church, Dallas, who shouted, and 5 doctors tried to calm her down, and Dr. Criswell waved his hand and said, “Brothers, let her alone, we need more of that in the First Baptist Church.”
- We should sow joy in our soul-winning. Psalm 126:6, “He who goes forth rejoicing…” For 17 years I worked to train 3000 persons to share their faith. I taught these persons to look the lost in the eye, smile and exude great joy as you asked them the $60. question, “Bill, have you reached a place in your own spiritual life that you know for certain if you died tonight you would go to heaven?” I discovered the smilers were soul winners; the frowners were failures in the main.