Searching For Joy

0:35Page 454. If we haven't met, my name is Alan Doody. I serve as the preaching pastor here at New Life. I've served in this role since we started the church back in 2009. Do we have any college students who were born in 2009? Anyone? We have any students here? Okay, we are getting really close to being college age as a church, though. Next year, I think, will be the year. So, whether you are brand new at New Life or you have been here for 17 years, you have come to worship on a very special day. We are about to begin a new chapter in the life of our church, one that we have been prayerfully preparing for since the beginning of this year. And I suppose, in some sense, we've been prayerfully preparing for since we started the church 17 years ago. And so, for many of you, this video that you're about to see is going to remind you of the things that we've been talking about for some time, what we're doing. And why we're doing it. And for others, this is going to help you understand what this exciting vision is all about. So let's watch this video together. Well, friends, you just heard us express in that video: joyful is a two-year discipleship journey that has its focus of every one of us becoming a more joyful follower of Jesus. That's what this is really about. And this morning, we're going to take the first step on that journey together as a church body. But we don't want this to be something that you just hear about on Sundays and then kind of forget about for the rest of the week. In 2022, right after COVID, we did something together, we called it Together in 22, where we read the scriptures together for a year, we memorized the Bible together. It was an awesome time of unity and alignment. And we want to do something like that again. And so we have created a very special resource for you. Do me a favor: if you are in high school, if you are in 9th through 12th grade, raise your hand nice and high and keep it up. Okay? If you're in college, raise your hand nice and high, keep it up. Okay? If you are an adult, raise your hand nice and high and keep it up. Keep those hands up. High school, college, and adults. Okay. I want you to reach under the seat in front of you and I want you to pull out this guidebook right here. High school students, college students, adults. Everybody in those categories pull out that book. Now, you will notice there is a card that is sticking out of that book. I want you to pull that out and I want you to set that down in your lap. Just a second, okay. I promise we're going to come back to this, but pull this card out, set that down in your lap. I want to walk you through the guidebook for just a minute. If you turn in your guidebook to pages 12 and 13, okay, flip over there, page 12 and 13, these two pages are going to remind you of our goals for the joyful journey. So, as you heard in the video, our secondary goal, the second most important goal, is we are trying to raise $4 million over the next two years. $2.4 million goes to our ongoing investment in people, places, and programs to fulfill the mission of our church. And then $1.6 million to purchase and to renovate an existing facility for our church body. But as you see right here, our primary goal is not money, it's 100% engagement over the next two years. We want every adult, every college student, every child in our next-gen ministries praying and investing and celebrating what God is doing. So, listen to me. If we raise $4 million or more, but our hearts and lives are not changed, we have not met our goal. This is about heart change, this is about life transformation. Our primary goal is not a dollar amount, our primary goal is discipleship. That's very important. Okay, turn over to pages 16 and 17.

4:26If you were here during the Christmas season, we started introducing the concept. Of the generosity journey. So many of you found that language and that idea helpful that we wanted to include it in this resource. And so we've put it here in the book. So if you are single, I want you to look over this. If you are married, I'd love for you to look over this and talk over this with your spouse and consider where you are on your own generosity journey.

4:53Everybody's in a different spot. But in the coming weeks, I want you to ask and answer a couple of questions. The first question is this: Where am I on my generosity journey? The second question is: what next step is God inviting me to take? Where am I? What next step is God inviting me to take? So as we move through the sermon series, I want you to revisit the generosity journey and think and pray about the answers to those questions. Now go ahead and flip the page to the next section.

5:27You will see a beautiful picture of Everett and Emma, who sadly have moved to Dallas, but we love them. Flip another page. You will see Joyful Week One and a Sermon Notes page. Starting here, you will see that we have included a sermon notes page for every one of the six weeks that we're going to be doing this particular sermon series. Flip over to the next page, page 22. After every single sermon on Sunday, Pastor Joshua and I have written five devotionals for each week. So five out of the seven days each week, we've given you material that you can use during your own. Time with the Lord to continue to think and pray about the stuff that you are hearing on Sunday from God's Word. We want that to be a great resource for you. So, there are 30 devotionals in all. We hope that they will bless you. You'll use them. In our life groups, we're going to be talking about these concepts and helping one another apply God's Word to our lives together as a church body. So, if you're not in a life group, today would be a great day to decide to visit one. Stop in the connect room right across the hall after worship, and we will help you find a life group that works with your schedule. Okay, now flip all the way to page 92, way at the back of the guidebook. Page 92: Joyful is not just for the older half of our church body, it's not just for high school students, college students, and adults. Okay, it's for everybody, it's for preschoolers, for those in kindergarten through fourth grade, it's for our Tribe 56 students, it's for our middle school students. And on these last few pages, you'll be able to see how we are planning to train and equip and resource the younger half of our church. So, that's what the last few pages of the guidebook are. Okay, fast and furious, but you will have time to look over the guidebook this afternoon and the rest of the week. Let me invite you to turn back now to page 21 and go ahead and set that in your lap. Page 21, that's your sermon notes page for today.

7:23Okay, now, as promised, you can go ahead and grab that card. Okay, let me tell you what this. card is, let me tell you what this card is not. This card is a tool for prayerful discernment. This card is a way to respond to how God is leading us as a church body over the course of the next six weeks and over the course of the next two years. This card is not something that you should fill out today. This card is not something that you should fill out next week. This card is not a test of Christian faithfulness or maturity. And this card is not the primary goal of joyful.

8:07We're going to talk about this commitment card a lot more over the next few weeks. So you don't need to do anything with it right now except take this home, put it somewhere you're going to see it every day, and begin to pray. That's all we're asking today. I want to challenge every high school student, college student, adult in the room, put it somewhere you're going to see it. Your bedside table, your bathroom counter, your fridge, where you'll be reminded to ask God, where am I on my generosity journey and what next step is God inviting me to take? Sunday, October 4th will be Commitment Sunday, and that's the day that we're going to ask everybody to hand in one of these commitment cards. And so between now and then, let's commit to engage fully, to pray continually with confidence that God is going to hear us and answer us when we pray, and that He will make us through this process more joyful followers of Jesus. Okay, so you can go ahead and stick that somewhere in your guidebook there.

9:10And let's take a moment and just pray and ask the Lord to speak through us to us through King David so we hear the word from Psalm 16:11. So let's pray. God, we ask in this moment that you would fill our hearts and our minds with faith, with eager anticipation about what you desire to do through us individually and through us collectively as a church. God, we pray that over the next six weeks and over the next two years, that you would answer our prayer and that we would become more joyful followers of Jesus. If nothing else happens, that's a win.

10:05We want to know you, Lord, the joy of knowing you. Jesus, you said this is eternal life, that we would know you and the Father who sent you. And so we pray that we would know the joy that you promise us. God, we pray now as we turn our attention to your word, that through your Spirit, You would speak to us, that you would meet us, that we would be open and eager and ready for what you have to say. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.

10:44Everyone is searching for joy. Everyone. At some level, that is what life boils down to, isn't it? It is an endless search for joy. I want you to consider the preamble of our Declaration of Independence here in America. Take a look on the screen. The founding fathers wrote: We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

11:23To our country's founding fathers, it was a self-evident truth that God created us and He gave us certain rights that nobody could take away. And one of those was the pursuit of happiness or the pursuit of joy. Friends, that's what we're all doing. We are all pursuing joy. We might be doing that wisely or foolishly. We might be experiencing more of it or less of it, but that's what we're all doing. We are all pursuing joy. We are all Searching for joy.

12:04And over the next two years, and especially the next six weeks, we're going to think a lot about the pursuit of joy. And so, this morning, what I want to do is I want to simply set the table, I want to lay the foundation for the rest of this series and for what we're going to be thinking about. And so, let me put this on the screen for you. We're all searching for the path to joy. We're all searching for fullness of joy.

12:33And we're all searching for never-ending joy. And here's what we're going to discover through Psalm 16:11: The search for true and lasting joy leads to the Father through the Son. The search for true and lasting joy leads to the Father through the Son. So, let's begin with that first truth: that we are all searching for the path to joy. Look at Psalm 16:11. David writes, You make known to me the path of life. Friends, Jesus taught that in life there are only two paths that we can take: one path leads to destruction, and one path leads to life. Every one of us is on one of those two paths. The path to destruction or the path to life. Look at what Jesus said in Matthew 7 on the screen.

13:37Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction. And those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life. And those who find it are few. Friends, Jesus says there are just two paths. And the vast majority of people are not on the path that leads to life. No, they're on the path that seems like it will lead to life. They are on the path that promises that it will lead to life, but it does not. Instead, many people are on the path that leads to disappointment, disillusionment, and eventually destruction.

14:31I'm thankful for King Solomon. He was like a pioneering scientist who performed experiments on himself and then reported the results back to us so that we didn't have to go through that. Very kind of him. Look at Ecclesiastes 2. Look at what Solomon said his experiment was going to entail. I said in my heart, Come now, I will test you with pleasure. Enjoy yourself. Well, with what kind of pleasures did Solomon test himself? Well, interestingly enough, the very same pleasures that our society and our hearts tell us will lead to life today: drinking alcohol, building houses and planting vineyards, gardens, and parks, increasing his wealth, entertainment and amusement, and as we all know, pursuing unlimited sexual encounters.

15:38Here's what Solomon declared. Look at this on the screen. He said, And whatever my eyes desired, I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil. Just like a modern person, Solomon reasoned, I've worked hard. Now it's time to play hard. I earned all this. I deserve this. And so he kept his heart from no pleasure. Whatever he wanted to do, that's what he did. And what was his conclusion? Did Solomon find the path that leads to life? Was he now satisfied and fulfilled? At the end of this experiment, did he declare, you reaped me? I found it. I found the path to life.

16:35No. Look at Ecclesiastes 2 once more. Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it. And behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun. After walking this wide, easy path, Solomon found that it did not lead to life. It led to disappointment and disillusionment. And if Solomon had stayed on that path, it would have eventually led him to destruction.

17:19Friends, we need to remember that Solomon was not an atheist. He was not an agnostic. He was not casually religious. He was the son of David. Solomon was the king of Israel, the leader of a theocracy that was supposedly under God and God's law. Like nearly all of us in the room today, Solomon was a believer. And yet, here he was, disappointed and disillusioned after walking down the easy path. The path that leads to destruction. Where did he go wrong?

18:08Solomon's father, David, tells us right here in Psalm 16, 11. Look again at Psalm 16. You make known to me the path of life. Friends, God has revealed the path that leads to life. He's revealed it through his word, and especially he has revealed it through the word made flesh, Jesus Christ. Look on the screen at this interaction between Thomas and Jesus. Thomas said to him, Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?

18:51Jesus said to him, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Friends, God has made known to us the path of life. He's revealed it in his word and especially in his word made flesh, Jesus Christ. He is the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus is the path of life, the way to God the Father and all that God the Father promises us. Jesus is the path. And so if you have not received Jesus, By faith in his life, death, and resurrection, if you are not following Jesus as one of his disciples, then friends, you are not on the path that leads to life.

19:43You are on the path that leads to disappointment, disillusionment, and eventually destruction. The way off that path is repentance. That word means to change your mind, to change directions, to start going a different way. It means following Jesus. But here's the thing. Many of us are following Jesus already, just like Solomon. We're on the path that leads to life, but for some reason, just like Solomon, we're experiencing some measure of disappointment and disillusionment. In other words, we're still searching for the fullness of joy.

20:38Remember, Jesus leads us on the path of life, and Jesus is the path of life. Many of us are on that path following Jesus, but we've forgotten what he promised us. I want you to look on the screen at John 15:11. Maybe you've never noticed this before. Look at this verse. Jesus says, These things I Spoken to you that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be full. Let me read that again. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

21:25That's what Jesus says. He says the reason that he taught everything that he taught is so that his joy may be in us and that our joy may be full. But friends, I think for a lot of us, we would say we're not experiencing that. We're not experiencing the fullness of joy that Jesus promises us. Why not? If you're familiar with the Bible, you've heard of the Pharisees before. They were one of the most prominent strands of Judaism in Jesus' day. Their name, Pharisee, means separated ones. And so if you've read the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, you know a couple things about them. The first thing you notice about the Pharisees in the Bible is they were committed. They were committed. They were committed to the Jewish faith and took it very seriously. They took the Bible literally. They sought to live out every one of God's 613 Commandments.

22:33They were so committed that Jesus said they tithed out of their mint, dill, and cumin. So they didn't just give 10% of their money. When they got back from HEB, they gave 10% of their spice rack. That is commitment. Friends, the Pharisees were spiritually serious people, probably like a lot of us here at New Life. We are spiritually serious people. We take the Bible seriously. We take obedience seriously. We take church membership seriously. We are not religious casuals.

23:14And neither were the Pharisees. They were committed. But the other thing you notice about the Pharisees when you read the Gospels is they were joyless. Can you think of a single joyful interaction between a Pharisee and Jesus in the scriptures? I mean, Nicodemus' interaction with Jesus at night is the closest thing, but I wouldn't call that joyful. That's just like not hostile. They couldn't celebrate a man's withered hand being made whole. They couldn't celebrate a paralyzed man getting off his mat and walking. Walking home. They couldn't celebrate a blind man receiving his sight just because Jesus did these things on the Sabbath. The Pharisees had lost the plot so badly that after Jesus healed a woman who had been sick for 18 straight years, for many of you, that is your entire life.

24:26Look at what Luke records about this interaction. But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, There are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day. Like, oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize there were so many people lining up to heal everyone every Sabbath day. But that's where they're at. They can't even celebrate these wonderful miracles from one who is obviously the Son of God.

25:04They're joyless. They didn't lack commitment, but they did lack joy. And friends, I wonder: is that where many of us are at today? Is that maybe where you're at today? Fully committed, but lacking joy. If that's the case, where do you find joy? Where can joy be found? Look at Psalm 16, 11. You make known to me the path of life. In your presence, there is fullness of joy. Friends, fullness of joy is found in the presence of God.

25:58And we know that when we die or when Jesus returns, we are going to be in God's presence and therefore experiencing that fullness of joy. Take a look on the screen, 2 Corinthians. Paul says, So we are always of good courage. We know that while we were at home in the body, we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. Why? Because in the Lord's presence, there is fullness of joy. We'll experience that for all eternity. Okay, look at Revelation 21. Think about what this means for us one day. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man.

26:44He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. Oh, that is really good news. God promises that one day, after we die, or after. Jesus returns, we will be in God's presence forever, and in His presence there is fullness of joy. That is awesome. That gives us something to look forward to, even on the worst days in this fallen world. But what about today? That's great for then, whatever then is, but what about today? Is there any hope for us to experience the fullness of joy that comes from the presence of God right now?

27:35Or do we just have to wait until we die or until Jesus returns? Look at Psalm 139. Where shall I go from your spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand, your right hand shall hold me. Even there your hand shall lead me. Your right hand shall hold me.

28:14Brothers and sisters, the fullness of joy is found in the presence of God. And God is everywhere. God is everywhere. There is nowhere that you can go where God is not. So, what's our problem then? If it's true that God is everywhere and in his presence there is fullness of joy, why are we not experiencing more of the fullness of God's joy? Let's let Jacob tell us, Genesis 28, 16, look on the screen. Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.

29:01Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it. There it is. Friends, our problem is that God is present all around us, but we are often not aware of it. Like Martha, we are distracted with many worries and cares and anxieties and worldly concerns, and so we miss the presence of God and the fullness of joy that comes with it. I'll just think for a moment with me. How would our lives be different if every time we walked outside, we began to cultivate an awareness of the presence of God? And we looked around and saw the miracle of the things that he has made, the people he has created in his image, the things that he is doing in our world.

29:56How would our lives be different if every time we opened our Bibles? We did so with anticipation, knowing that the God and creator of the universe is speaking directly to us right here and right now through His Word. How would our lives be different if every time we prayed, we did so with the understanding, the confident faith that God would hear us and He would answer us? How would our lives be different if every time we gathered together for corporate worship as we are now, we did so with the anticipation of knowing that here where we are gathered together, God is uniquely present with us?

30:42Friends, I think those things would change our lives. In God's presence, there is fullness of joy, and God is present at all times, all around us, if we'll only learn to be aware of it. Nothing can steal our joy if we are aware, if we live in the light of the truth, that God is here to bless, to comfort, to counsel, to help, to rescue us at all times. So we're all searching for the path to joy.

31:15Jesus is that path. We're all searching for fullness of joy, and in God's presence, there is fullness of joy. But that leaves us searching for one more thing. That is never-ending joy. You see, all of the pleasures that we experience in this life, they're real. They are real. The problem with all of the pleasures that we experience in this life is that they are imperfect and they are impermanent. Worldly pleasures are imperfect. You know this. Almost nothing is ever as good as you imagined, or hoped, or dreamed.

32:10So you spend hours planning that trip with your friends or that dream vacation with your family. For hours, you research it, looking for the right place, the right time, the right deal. And you go, and it's just not quite as good as you imagined. The service is not as attentive as advertised. The weather doesn't cooperate. Worldly pleasures are imperfect. But more than that, worldly pleasures are impermanent. The very best moments that we have in this life all come to an end.

33:01You think about the best moments with your family, your friends, in your career. They have all come to an end. And sometimes what we do is we try to recreate them, don't we? We try to get the same people in the same place, doing the same thing, looking for that same feeling we had the last time, and we leave disappointed. And that's because worldly pleasures are impermanent, they don't last. But look once more at Psalm 16, verse 11.

33:36You make known to me the path of life. In your presence, there is fullness of joy. At your right hand are pleasures forevermore. At God's right hand, there are pleasures forevermore. Forevermore, as in the rest of this life, and forevermore, as in for all of eternity. Friends, in this brief life on earth, God never stops giving good gifts to his children. He does not run out of them. And just because somebody else gets good gifts, it's not a zero-sum game, that doesn't mean there's nothing left for you. And when you get good gifts, that doesn't mean that's the end of it, that you can't ask for any more good gifts from your heavenly Father. Look what Jesus says in Matthew 7. And take these words to heart like he actually meant them.

34:34Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone. Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent. If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him?

35:21The context here is a son asking his father for bread, for a fish, for good gifts. And Jesus' point is that all imperfect, sinful, evil fathers give good gifts to their children when they ask. So, friends, how much more will our perfect Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask? At God's right hand, there are pleasures forevermore, even in this life, but especially in eternity. At God's right hand, there are pleasures forevermore. Look at what Scripture says about this. John 14.

36:10Jesus says, In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, that where I am, you may be also. Look at 1 Corinthians 15. Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall all be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.

36:59One more, look at Revelation 22. They that is God's people will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads, and night will be no more. They will need no light or lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever. See, friends, the problem with all of our earthly pleasures is they are imperfect, and they are imperfect. But at God's right hand, there are pleasures forevermore in this life and in eternity.

37:44And do you know why God says through David, at your right hand are pleasures forevermore? It's because that's where Jesus is. Here is the most quoted Old Testament verse in the New Testament, Psalm 110. Look at this. The Lord says to my Lord, Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. Look at Hebrews 1. Jesus is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

38:51Friends, at God's right hand, there are pleasures forevermore, and that is because Jesus is seated at God's right. Right hand, having accomplished everything that the Father gave him to do. He lived a sinless and miraculous life. He offered himself on the cross in your place and mine for our sins, and he rose from the grave on the third day, victorious over sin and death. Jesus did everything that the Father gave him to do. He came to earth so that our joy would be full.

39:30Being known by Jesus, knowing Jesus and making Jesus known is the ultimate pleasure in this life and in the next. Friends, in Jesus, there is fullness of joy. And so all we need to do is follow him along the path of life. All we need to do is abide in his presence through obedient faith and enjoy him forever, starting right now, starting today. And so, friends, that is what this two-year joyful journey is all about. It's about becoming followers of Jesus who are filled with so much joy that we see investing our time, our energy, and our resources in God's kingdom as the wisest and most satisfying thing that we could ever do.

40:25That is what I want for myself. That is what I want for my family. That is what I want for you. I want us to become more joyful followers of Jesus. And I invite you to join me on that journey. Let's pray. Lord, I want to begin by praying for those who are searching for the path to life. Like Solomon, they've looked in so many places, so many things, so many people have promised joy, but have not delivered.

41:12I pray that today they would turn around and they would get on the path that leads to life through faith in your Son, Jesus Christ. I pray that this would be the start of a new journey for them, a journey of faith. I pray that they would count the cost, knowing that it will not be easy. You did not promise us an easy life, a healthy life, a wealthy life, but you promised that it would be worth it. And you have always kept your promises.

41:51God, I pray for those who are already on the path of life, so many of us who are followers of Jesus, who are even still. not experiencing the fullness of joy that you promise. In some measure, we have been disappointed and disillusioned. And I pray that today would be the start of finding the fullness of joy in Jesus. Show us the things that are stealing our joy, that we are allowing to rob us of joy. Show us where we become distracted and pulled in different directions by the worries and anxieties and cares of this world.

42:40And help us to leave those things behind that we might enjoy Jesus completely and fully. Thank you, God, for your word. It is sufficient for all of our needs. And we believe that your spirit is sufficient to meet us today and transform our hearts and minds to be more like Christ. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.