*** SHOW NOTES (not a transcript) ***

Lead:

Pop quiz: How many times does the Bible mention happiness? Bonus: What percentage of those are in the Old Testament versus the New Testament?

Intro:

Pop quiz: How many times does the Bible mention happiness? Bonus: What percentage of those are in the Old Testament versus the New Testament?

Historians generally agree…about 250 years ago there was a significant shift in western culture to a quest for happiness.(1) As Mark Sayers put it in The Road Trip that Changed the World: The Unlikely Theory that will Change How You View Culture, the Church, and, Most Importantly, Yourself:

In the contemporary culture the message is clear: happiness and fulfillment are found in breaking away from community, social expectations, rules, and tradition. Thus the life script of the contemporary world is to gain as much individual freedom as possible to assert one’s desires, and this is achieved through escaping from relational and social expectations.(2)

Unfortunately, happiness falls short of total possible awesomeness. And unfortunately many people I know have pursuits of happiness turn out in undesirable ways. Been there!

Here’s the good news: the very Author of all life made you to intrinsically desire goodness and truth and beauty. And in today’s All Our Minds segment we’re going to look at how He has revealed to us that we will find what we’re looking for.

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Bible:

Passage: Acts 9-10
Translation: HCSB (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 91
Words: ~2120

All Our Minds:

You might be surprised to know that in about 3/4 of a million words, the Bible mentions happiness 13 times. And all of those are in the Old Testament!

What does the New Testament talk about? The fruit of the Spirit.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is joy” (Gal. 5:22).

THE PLAN OF JOY
A. Christ’s birth brought joy—Luke 2:10. Christ brought good tidings of great joy to all people.
B. Christ’s life brought joy—Acts 10:38. Wherever Christ went, He brought joy, through His teaching, ministry, healing, or miracles.
C. Christ’s death brought joy—John 1:36. Because Jesus is the Lamb of God, we no longer need to make sacrifices. Through His death we have full forgiveness.
D. Christ’s resurrection brought joy—John 14:19. Because He lives, we too shall live (cf. John 11:25, 26).
E.Christ’s ascension brought joy. Note Christ’s words before His ascension (John 14:1–3) and the angel’s words after Christ’s ascension (Acts 1:11).
THE POWER OF THIS JOY
He wants our joy to be full (John 16:24).
A. Joy in sorrow. Job’s life — Job lost all that he had (Job 1:21), had faith in God (Job 12:15), knew God was alive (Job 19:25), when tried, he was as gold in a fire (Job 23:10), and even in times of sorrow, Christians may find joy in the Lord (Ps. 30:5).
B. Joy in sickness. (Paul had a thorn in the flesh (2 Cor. 12:9). Paul knew that God had a plan and purpose in everyday happenings of men (Rom. 8:28).
C. Joy in suffering — 2 Timothy 3:12. Persecution and suffering will come. Paul and Silas were in prison, yet they still sang praises to God (Acts 16:25).
THE PERIL OF THIS JOY
One may lose the joy of the Lord. David prayed for God to restore the joy of salvation (Ps. 51:12). Why?
A. Anger. When one becomes angry, he loses the joy of the Lord.
B. Criticism. Being critical toward others shows the lack of the joy of the Lord.
C. Sin. Sin always separates men from God, causing them to lose the joy of the Lord (e.g., David)
D. Spiritual pride. This leads to criticism, as well as a fighting spirit.
E. Lack of patience. A patient person is a joyful person.

The bottom line

And yet some people actually imagine that the revelation in God’s Word is not enough to meet our needs. They think that God from time to time carries on an actual conversation with them, chatting with them, satisfying their doubts, testifying to His love for them, promising them support and blessings. As a result, their emotions soar; they are full of bubbling joy that is mixed with self-confidence and a high opinion of themselves. The foundation for these feelings, however, does not lie within the Bible itself, but instead rests on the sudden creations of their imaginations. These people are clearly deluded. God’s Word is for all of us and each of us; He does not need to give particular messages to particular people. ~ Jonathan Edwards

P.S. I realized that I forgot to mention in the podcast the answer to the quiz. My bad.

Wisdom:

Passage:
Translation: HCSB (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
Verses:
Words: ~

Love you!

-R

ForTheHope is a daily audio Bible + apologetics podcast and blog. We’ve got a passion for just keepin’ it real, having conversations like normal people, and living out the love of Jesus better every single day.

Roger Courville, CSP is a globally-recognized expert in digitally-extended communication and connection, an award-winning speaker, award-winning author, and a passionately bad guitarist. Follow him on Twitter -- @RogerCourville and @JoinForTheHope – or his blog: www.forthehope.org.

Sources and resources:

Thank you for supporting this ministry should you choose to use the Amazon affiliate link behind the citation.

(1) Peter N. Stearns, “The History of Happiness” Harvard Business Review, January-February 2012, accessed October 7, 2019, https://hbr.org/2012/01/the-history-of-happiness.

(2) Mark Sayers, The Road Trip that Changed the World: The Unlikely Theory that will Change How You View Culture, the Church, and Most Importantly, Yourself (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 2010), 126. Kindle.

(3) Croft M. Pentz, Outlines on the Holy Spirit, Sermon Outline Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1978), 48–49.

#908: Acts 9-10 | Joy