Nehemiah 8:10; Philippians 4:4 “Lemon Lipped Joy”  2-1-09 “The joy of the Lord is your strength.:” “Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again, rejoice!”

One of the great hindrances to helping people come to Christ is when Christians lose their joy.  Too many have shallow faith whose joy tends to go in and out with the tide of problems.  When problems go away their joy comes back.  When problems come back their joy goes away.  Some, for whatever reason, look like they’ve just eaten a lemon- and they are almost proud- like that is what the faith is about.   Some outsiders think that to become a believer in Christ means that our happiness is taken away.  And so they refuse to even try Christ.  But the joy of the Lord is our strength- not our weakness. 
I. WHAT IS CHRISTIAN JOY?  Jesus said that he came that we might have life and have it abundantly.
God is the giver of life, and the provider of joy. 
A. WHAT IT IS NOT:Perhaps when we think of joy, it is first defined by what it is not.
1. NOT ARTIFICIAL- Not a fake smile on the face all the time.  “I’m happy, happy, happy all the time.” Not true. 
In fact, joy is different from happiness.  Happiness depends on Happenstance- circumstance and comes and goes.  Christian joy is steady and unshakeable. 
2. NOT DRUG INDUCED- Life is too hard- only way to be happy is to escape- with drugs.
                Not escape, but reality induced.  God is the deep reality.  Though govt is corrupted and makes             bad decisions, God is still on the throne.  Though cannot control economy- God is in control.
3. NOT TERMPORARY- We seek temporary joys- team wins; win a pageant, scholarship, award, festivals; inauguration;
                You can have Christian joy even when team loses.  Paul said rejoice in the Lord always.   
B. WHAT IT IS- real, deep experience of God’s presence.  Rejoice “IN the Lord”.  Cannot be in the presence of God and not experience His joy.
Human beings have joy when our burdens are lifted- when we know that our future is secure.  We have joy when we know that the really important things will turn out okay.  That’s what a Christian has!  We replace worry with trust.  We replace concern with the future with knowing who holds our future- and that He loves us.  If God loves us, and God is in control- you are going to be okay.

II. WHY IS CHRISTIAN JOY IMPORTANT?  The shorter catechism says that our chief end (main purpose) is to “glorify and enjoy Him.”  We emphasize the glorify part more than the enjoy part.  But the enjoy is there too.
A. IT IS A COMMAND- You would think that God would not have to command us to rejoice in Him- to find our joy, hope, and strength in Him.  But we can get so down in our circumstances.  Listen to these great words of Habakkuk- they are words for us especially in 2009- “though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vine, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord!  I will be joyful in God my Savior.  The Sovereign Lord is my strength. (Hab. 3:17,18).  Habakkuk knew something we need to know again.  Being joyful is not a matter of what you have or don’t have.  Prosperity and good economies come and go- but God is steady, faithful, and trustworthy and joy producing.
B. IT IS OUR STRENGTH- (Neh. 8:10) In good and bad times.  A Christian martyr- waiting for his time to die wrote this in the basement of a roman arena: “In a dark hole I have found cheerfulness; in a place of bitterness and death I have found rest.  While others weep I have found laughter, where others fear I have found strength.  Who would believe in a state of misery I have had great pleasure; that in a lonely corner I have had glorious company, and in the hardest bonds perfect repose.  All these things Jesus has granted me.  He Is with me and fills me with strength and consolation.  His joy strengthens us when we have no strength.  That is why joy is a fruit of the Spirit- it is not just from deep inside of us- it is from Him!  What is keeping you from having joy in your life?
III. HOW DO WE OBTAIN CHRISTIAN JOY?
Enjoy what God has given you to enjoy.  Appreciate what you have- count your blessings.
1) FIX EYES ON WHAT GOD HAS GIVEN YOU- PEOPLE (family, friends, neighbors).
Helen Keller said to use your eyes as if tomorrow you would be stricken blind.”  If you had three days to see, what would you look for?  Maybe a friend, baby, museum ant, maybe just stand on the corner and watch people go by.  All simple things.
2) FIX EYES ON HIM- He is our joy.  When the world is falling around us, when you feel like the boat is sinking, keep your eyes on the life raft!  He is the life raft. 
                C.S. Lewis said that our world lives in a “windowless universe.”  There is a window- if we would look-.  There is more than this existence!  The joy is found in that we can pull back the curtain and see the light!  There is joy shining into the darkness of our lives.  For Lewis, we come close to spiritual experiences when we have good, clean play.  Not selfish play when we want to “crush” or demoralize and dehumanize the other team.  But play that is full of joy.  Lewis had his kids in the Narnia books find the other world when they were playing.  God delights in us, and has given us Himself to delight in.  Joy is not just limited to our youth when we could sing, dance, have energy and less worries about mundane things.  There is a joy in the Lord. 
                Friday, January 30, was the funeral for Kay Yow, longtime womans basketball coach for N.C. State.  She taped her own farewell.  One of the striking things she said was, “And now I say farewell, and its been a wonderful journey, especially since the time I accepted Jesus as my lord and savior.”  She taped this while suffering with cancer.  Play can, if we will let it, point us to a deeper joy- the joy of the Lord that no cancer, no job loss, no death can take away. Many end of coming to Christ because they see how God helps Christians through hard times.

“The took away what should have been my eyes (but I rememberr Milton’s paradise)
They took away what should have been my ears (Beethoven came and wiped away my tears)
They took away what should have been my tongue (but I talked to God when I was young)
He would not let them take away my soul (Possessing that I still possess the whole).

Are you a joyless person?  Have you let your worries, crushed expectations, the things you have lost take away your joy?
My Pentecostal friends talk about “joy in the Holy Ghost” They are right- but the joy given by the Holy Ghost is not dancing or speaking in tongues or handling snakes- it is a deep, steady joy that sometimes breaks out in a smile or laughter.  Seek the joy of the Lord in your life.