Discover The Ultimate Source of True Joy That Comes From Within

We’ve got a great sermon for you! The question is, where are you finding your joy? Who are you? If I ask you, “Who are you?” what are you going to say?

Are you going to say you’re something, a profession? Like you’re a carpenter, you’re a lawyer, you’re a doctor. Is that your identity? Is that who you are?

Are you going to say you’re a father, you’re a mother, you’re a brother, you’re a sister, you’re a son, you’re a daughter, et cetera? You get the point, you get where I’m going. Where are you finding your identity? Where are you finding what is in your life?

Why is that the question? It’s the question because so many people, Christians included, find their joy in this world. You might say, “You know what? I’m a dentist. I go to work. I come home. I’m a father. I’m a husband. I have hobbies. I’m a friend.

I’m a churchgoer. I get involved. I do Bible studies. I help out in Sunday school. I go to a nightly program and help out with the kids, children’s church, or Awana, or kids club, or some type of a thing like that.”

And you just, that’s where your joy is. But what if you took all that out of your life? Would you be down and depressed if you lost your job? If you lost your family, God forbid? If you lost your friends, any of that, what would happen?

Where are you finding your joy? This sermon, by the end of this, we hope and pray for you that you will find your joy in the Lord, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

If you don’t believe that He is your Lord and Savior, then we want to help you make that decision to have Jesus be the Lord and Savior of your life so that you are living your life each and every day filled with the Holy Spirit, and filled with joy that only comes from Him.

So that way, and no matter what situation is going on in your life, because guess what? Life in this world is hard.

There are things that happen, there are troubles, there are turmoils, there are torments, there are all kinds of things that happen here on Earth, and we can get very discouraged.

We can get very bombarded, we can get very overwhelmed, but as long as we remember that our joy comes from the Lord, they can take everything else, but they can never take our joy.

You want to know what kind of joy that is? Keep watching. We’re going to help you find it and make sure that your joy comes from the Lord.

So, as a Christian, and if you’re not a Christian, it’s very easy to become one. Simply say, “Lord Jesus, please come into my life. Forgive me for my sins, and I want to live for you.” If you have more questions about that, comment below or reach out to us, send us an email, we’d be happy to help you.

But as Christians, as followers of Christ, no matter what happens in your life, you should be rejoicing. You say, “Wait a minute, I lose my job and I should rejoice? Okay, well, maybe it wasn’t the right job for me.”

Okay, so I could see that, but wait a minute, my dog dies and I should rejoice? I love that dog, it’s like a member of the family. Okay, well, I could get another dog, or all right, well maybe the dog was sick, so it kind of is out of its misery, no big deal, you know.

But wait a minute, you’re saying my grandparent dies or my parent dies, and I should rejoice? Well, I guess they lived a long life, they had a good life, they knew Jesus, so I know they’re in Heaven, so that’s good. They’re out of this world, which is suffering, so okay, I could rejoice in that, but wait a minute, my child dies. I should rejoice?”

You can see how it can get progressively harder as we go through these things. And the point is that you shouldn’t rejoice at the event because, no, those are sad events. They shouldn’t bring you joy.

If those sad and troublesome events bring you joy, then there might be something wrong with you psychologically. You might be receiving pleasure or joy from things that are not joyful. We call that sadistic or twisted. That’s not good.

But what God is saying here is that no matter what happens, you need to find joy because your joy is coming from God, not from these things. So, yes, in all of those terrible circumstances, there is a time for everything, as Solomon says, so find your grief.

Go through that grieving period. Jesus even says that—that you have to go through this period of grief, and when that is over, rejoice.

Remember King David, he was through that grief when he thought his son would die, and then when the son died, he gets up “Make me something to eat.” Change my clothes and they’re like,

“What in the world? You’re fasting, you’re sitting in ashes and sackcloth in the practically the dungeons, and now we tell you he’s dead and you’re fine.” He says, “Hey, there was hope while he was alive, but now that he’s dead, I must move on.”

That’s the point. That might be an extreme circumstance, but you need to move on. And you need to know that your joy is coming from God. Have faith in Him.

So in anything, no matter what happens, and I’m not saying in these terrible situations, but when things happen in your life, troubles, trials, have joy. Let’s go to the Bible for some support on this.

1 Thessalonians 5:16, “Rejoice always.” That’s it. “Rejoice always.” It doesn’t say rejoice always when times are good, or rejoice always, especially in bad times. It just says, “Rejoice always.” So do that.

Remember that in good things and bad things, you need to rejoice. Let’s go to James for a little more detail. James verse two. Chapter 1, verse 2.

James 1:2 “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds.” That could be tough. Consider it pure joy when you face trials of many kinds? That’s huge.

We have some sermons on James and trials. So you can check them out in a playlist up here, or you can check out the sermon. We’ll link to it in a card right up above.

But I want you to go to our website, socialmediaministries.com, go to the search bar, and you can type in “Trials” or “Attack” or “Joy,” or those keywords that go with this, and find related sermons that are going to help you out.

But what James is saying and what Paul is saying in his letter is that no matter what happens, rejoice. You need to have joy. Good things, bad things, anything, rejoice. Let’s go to Philippians 4:4, another letter.

Philippians 4:4, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” That’s how important this is. Paul is saying, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again.” And then it’s with an exclamation point. “Rejoice!” Why? Because you need to rejoice in what? In the Lord.

Not in the thing! So if something bad happens, you’re not rejoicing that that terrible thing happened, you are rejoicing in the Lord. So you have to find what’s called a silver lining. That’s what we refer to in normal culture.

But what we should say in Christian culture is, we are rejoicing in the Lord. Where is the Lord in that action? Someone dies, where is the Lord? Well, they’re going to Heaven. That’s where the Lord is.

You lose your job, where is the Lord? “Well, I didn’t like that job anyway. God removed me from it.” Where is the Lord in whatever circumstance? You get fired. “Well, it was a corrupt workplace. I shouldn’t be there as a Christian.”

Okay, maybe you got a job, and it’s a corrupt workplace. You say, “What am I doing in this terrible environment? Where’s the joy? Where’s the Lord?” The Lord is that you are bringing the light to that workplace.

You, as a Christian, might be able to change the dynamic of that terrible situation. Always, always, find the Lord in every situation, and that is what Paul is saying. Rejoice in the Lord always. I’ll say it again, because it’s important, rejoice.

So, if you become sad or upset, then you’re looking for joy in the wrong places. If you’re sad or downhearted, you must be sad about something.

Now, we have a sermon series about the “Sadness After Death,” so you can check that out because that’s okay. We’ve got a series about death, and the sadness that goes with it, so watch that on our website.

But if you are continually sad or downhearted, your behavior doesn’t change on a whim like King David. Now, probably not, because that is abnormal. He… Read Psalms. You’ll find out a lot about him.

He was up and down and definitely struggled with probably anxiety, depression, maybe even what would be known today as manic depressive or bipolar disorder.

He had some things going on, but find joy! You might not flip like that like a switch, but if you’re sad or down, something is bothering you. Let me say that again. Something is bothering you. Something is causing you to be downhearted or sad.

Something. A thing. Like this. This is a thing. Or this is a thing. It’s a thing. Don’t let those things of this world cause you to be downhearted or sad. The Bible says you need to be focusing on Heavenly things. And if you focus on these things above, not on Earthly things. It’s easy to find your joy. Let’s go to Colossians.

Colossians 3:2, “Set your minds on things above, not on Earthly things.” See, Earthly things can make you sad. Earthly things can also make you happy. I love sushi! Eating sushi makes me happy! I love ice cream! Eating ice cream makes me happy! I love seeing people come to know Jesus! That always makes me happy!

Now guess what? If I eat some bad sushi, that might make me unhappy. Or some bad ice cream, that’s going to make me unhappy. Because why? Because you get sick and then no one’s—you’re not happy when you’re sick, are you? I mean, you could try to be, but it’s not a great thing.

But you know what? People coming to know the Lord is always going to make me happy. No matter what. Why? Because that’s a Heavenly thing. Do you see the picture? When you find Heavenly things to bring you joy, they will always bring you joy, no matter the circumstance.

That’s how you can rejoice in all circumstances, and that’s how you can rejoice in the Lord always, because you’re finding your joy in things that are inherently and perpetually, always and forever joyful. That’s what you have to do. You have to look and focus on those things.

Because if you focus on Earthly things, you will be disappointed, because why? They will eventually be destroyed. How?

What do you mean? lose your job, lose your car, maybe your house has a problem, insurance claim needs to happen, someone dies, a pet dies, something happens, you have to move, your best friend leaves, whatever the case, Earthly things end. Let’s go to Matthew 6:19-20.

Matthew 6:19-20, “Do not store for yourselves treasure on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.”

Where is your treasure? Where are you finding your joy? What does Matthew – what does Jesus, these are Jesus’ words – what does Jesus say in the book of Matthew right there? Moths and vermin destroy. Thieves steal Earthly things. So these Earthly things can be destroyed, stolen, or wrecked. I’m not saying they will be!

You might have something, and you might have it all your life, and it will bring you great joy your entire life, and I hope and pray that that is the case for the majority of things in your life. Why would you say the majority?

Why wouldn’t I pray for everything? Because it’s not realistic. You have to pray prayers that make sense. You can’t pray, “God, have me win the lottery!” Well, why? That’s not a right thing.

We have sermons on asking God for the right things. You need to make sure you’re asking for things in accordance with God’s will because if you’re not, you’re never gonna get them. You’re wasting your time. Your hopes are up and they’re going to be crushed, and that’s just the way it is. So focus on Heavenly things.

And that’s why I would pray for you, I pray for you, that the things in your life will bring you joy. The majority of the things in your life will bring you joy, but you need to know and understand that these Earthly things, you cannot count on them to bring you joy.

If they do, that’s a bonus. You need to count on Heavenly things. to bring you joy because, why? Heavenly things are inherently joyful.

You need to look at that. That’s why the Bible tells you, rejoice in them! Focus on Heavenly things. Let your joy come from the Lord. If you focus on Heavenly things, you will be satisfied. Let your joy come from the things above, not from the Earth. And you need to rely on God to make you happy.

Allow Him to provide you with these Earthly things. and find joy in the fact that God blessed you with the Earthly things that are also giving you more joy. You see how that works? If you find your joy in an Earthly thing, it’s going to be destroyed, taken from you. You will be sad. You will be depressed.

Bad! If you find your joy in the Lord and find the joy in the blessing that you receive from the Lord, now you have double the joy because you have your joy in the Lord, you have your joy in the thing God blessed you with, and then, that is going to provide you with even more joy!

It’s like, it’s just a never-ending circle of joy because you recognize the blessings that God is giving you and then you’re thanking Him and then you’re more joyful and then the next time that you use or you see that thing you’re thinking of God again and it’s just, you’re finding this never-ending cycle of joy and appreciation for what God is doing in your life.

And then when that thing goes, you’re still joyful because you’re like, “Oh, God. Thank You for that in my life. I’m sad to see it go, but I trust You, and I know you’re going to give me more and you’re going to give me other blessings.

So help me to get through this because it’s really hard to let it go. I just thank You so much that I had it, and now I’m excited to see what’s next.” So there you have joy, even in grief. If you find joy in the fact that God blessed you, you will have never-ending joy. Let’s go to Psalms.

Psalms 4:7. Psalms 4:7 says, “Fill my heart with joy when their grain and new wine abound.” Okay, that could be kind of weird, but “Fill my heart with joy.” That’s your prayer to God. Tell Him, “Fill my heart with joy.”

And this is saying when what? When there’s grain and new wine abound. This is more like prosperity is coming; grain and new wine, because in the times of then, that’s what was going on.

But you could even change that to something more modern, your what? Bank accounts are full. When you’re working hard, when you have health and longevity in your family, when everyone around you knows the Lord, whatever your current desire might be, as long as it is in line with God’s will.

Find joy in Him, not the thing itself. When you begin to see your Earthly blessings as blessings from God, your things, like this suit that I’m wearing, is a blessing from God, or this Bible, that was given to me, as a blessing from God—look at it. It’s bringing me joy. If you’ve been with us, you know my old sermons.

I had, like, pieces of paper in here, things were falling out, and I wasn’t able to flip back and forth so quickly. And then I started using these sticker things, but because the old Bible was so tattered, it was like, literally, I’d be reading it or flipping around, and like pieces were falling down during sermons. And so I got a new Bible, and look at it. It’s great!

And I’m used to it, and I’m flipping through, and hopefully it’s a great experience on both ends. But the point is, I can have joy in this. This is an Earthly thing that I’m blessed with, and when it goes, yes, it’ll be sad just like the old one. But look at it, I got a new one! God blessed me!

Find joy in that, in the blessing from God, because it is easier to be happy in blessings from the Lord than in Earthly things. Because guess what? God is always there. The things will come and go. Let’s go to Psalms 33:21.

Psalms 33:21, “In Him our hearts rejoiced, for we trust in His Holy name.” Your heart can rejoice in what? In the thing? In your job? In your family? No, it can, but that will end.

If you rejoice in God, it will never end. Your heart can rejoice in Him, and in Him alone, and see everything else here on earth as a blessing from the Lord. If you do that, your joy will never go away.

Let’s go to John 15:11. “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.” I encourage you to read that whole chapter, John 15. But Jesus is telling people these things, so that why?

So that His joy, Jesus went through a lot, a lot of suffering, He still had joy, because He knew what He was doing. And He’s telling us all of these things throughout the Bible so that our joy may be complete.

So that His joy will be in us. He had joy in everything. And if we get a little bit of His joy in us, we will be more like Him. We become more like Jesus. We can find joy in everything as long as we know to look for joy in Heavenly things.

Let’s pray.

Lord Jesus, thank you for this time together.

I pray that each and every person watching and listening would focus on these words, that they would let them sink in, that they would meditate on them, that they would read these verses again, and again, and that they would desire to have the knowledge and wisdom that you are giving them in the Bible.

That they would understand the meaning of, “Let your joy come from the Lord.” That they would do that. That they would make a change in their life. And that they would start focusing on You and on blessings from You. And that it would be a never-ending cycle of joy for them.

Lord, that when things come and go in their life, that they would be able to let them come and go in their life because they will recognize that these things are Earthly things, that they are gifts from You, that they are stewards of all they have.

They are taking care of it for You. It’s not theirs. So they don’t need to be so attached to it, because they’re a caretaker. And if it comes and goes, that’s okay. And that they would focus on receiving their joy from the Lord.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

If you have any questions or comments, please post them below. Thank you so much for tuning in. I really hope that you have a great week. See you next week. God bless.