"WHERE IN THE WORLD CAN
YOU FIND JOY?" Written and preached by David P. Nolte
LUKE14:15-24
The story is told of two sisters, daughters of a strict, legalistic,
minister who lived in Denmark. The minister's stringent and rigid religious
disciplines made life hard for his daughters. His approach to Christianity
was joyless and devoid of celebration. When the minister died, the spinster
daughters carried on his Puritanical disciplines and lived a cold, austere
life of piety. The influence of the minister and his daughters made the
community also forbidding, cold and joyless. One night a young refugee
from France showed up in the village. The sisters took her in, not so much
out of charity or welcome, but out of a strict sense of "Christian duty!"
The girl was Babette. She was grateful for their hospitality, grim though
it was, and showed her gratitude by doing chores and taking care of the
elderly ladies. Babette came into a miserable and bleak situation, but
she would unwittingly change all that. There is another who came as a Stranger
into this world and Who, like Babette, was not warmly welcomed and Whose
coming into the world made a difference.
JESUS CAME INTO A DARK AND
JOYLESS WORLD: V1:
When Jesus came, things were tough for God's people.
Rome occupied the land. Taxes were exorbitant. The people were oppressed.
Religion was burdensome. The leaders loaded on all sorts of rules and regulations
made by man. They were judgmental and overbearing. They put rules ahead
of people, ritual ahead of human need. The Pharisees took an approach to
religion that was void of joy and celebration. They were critical of the
good things Jesus did to bring gladness because He violated their traditions
and interpretations of Law. He healed on the Sabbath, He welcomed harlots,
tax gatherers and other sinners.
Economically the people were depressed. Perhaps they had meat to eat once
a week and not much of it then. Poverty was the rule not the exception.
People were afflicted with all manner of illnesses and problems.
Yes, it was a dark and joyless world into which Jesus came. Note the Bible's
assessment of the conditions:
Isaiah 9:1, 2 declares,
"But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier
times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt,
but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other
side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. The people who walk in darkness
Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine
on them." It was a time of gloom, anguish, darkness and contempt until
Jesus came.
Luke 4:18, 19 tell
us, "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach
good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim
the year of the Lord's favor." It was a time of poverty, bondage, and oppression
until Jesus came.
In time of foreign oppression, religious legalism and harsh economic deprivation,
the world was a joyless place. But into that world came Jesus.
He wants to come into your world of darkness, into your world of joylessness,
into your hard situation. He wants to come into it with you; He may not
remove you from it, or it from you, but He will be there in and through
it with you.
For some it is loneliness. You feel abandoned, cut off, forsaken, friendless
and forgotten.
For some it is guilt. You recognize your moral failures, your shortcomings
and your sins and feel helpless to do anything about it.
For some it is a sense of failure and futility. You touch something and
it breaks; you plant a tree and it dies; you touch gold and it turns to
mud.
For some it is weariness. Existence itself is a drudgery, you are worn
down by the constant dripping of life, you are tired mind, body and soul.
For some it is illness and pain. You don't feel good, disease wracks your
body, you are undergoing all sorts of rigorous treatments.
For some it is fear. The world situation strikes anxiety into your heart.
Nameless, faceless dreads loom up before you. What will happen next? Are
we safe or are we going to suffer another attack?
For some it is grief. You've said "goodbye" to the dearest on earth.
For some it is depression and sadness. The sun is shining but you live
under a cloud. Others laugh, you cry. Others enjoy, you endure life.
For some it is injustice. You have been cheated, lied about and treated
unfairly.
Into such a joyless world came Jesus. Into such a joyless scene came Babette.
It was wartime and rations were meager. By chance, Babette unexpectedly
came into a fortune. What would she do with her new wealth? Aha! She would
do something nice for her benefactors. She decided to throw a great banquet
for the village. She was excited, but they were dismayed! To hold such
a feast would be a joyful and festive occasion. Their joyless spirits recoiled.
It seemed frivolous. It seemed worldly. It seemed even sinful. In light
of their situation they thought they should fast, not feast. So it was
with the Pharisees of Jesus' day. Their religion was stern and harsh. They
wanted to appear unworldly and devout and dignified. Religion was serious
business and they wanted none to forget it. Into that milieu came Jesus
to show us that joy is godly and that godly joy is good and right and acceptable.
JESUS CAME TO BRING HEAVEN'S
HOPE AND JOY: VV21-23:
God is not some grouchy, grumpy grinch who wants to steal our joy. He doesn't
sit on high listening for some sound of gaiety so he can end it with a
bout of grief. God wants us to see His kingdom as a banquet, a feast, a
celebration, a time and place of joy! And in the parable Jesus likens the
kingdom to a banquet.
Joylessness is not of God; God is the giver of joy!
Psalms 16:11 (NIV)
"You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy
in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand."
Psalms 30:5 "Weeping
may last for the night, But a shout of joy comes in the morning."
Isaiah 12:6
"Cry aloud and shout for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, For great in your midst
is the Holy One of Israel."
Isaiah 35:10 "And
the ransomed of the LORD will return, And come with joyful shouting to
Zion, With everlasting joy upon their heads. They will find gladness and
joy, And sorrow and sighing will flee away."
John 15:10, 11 "If
you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept
My Father's commandments, and abide in His love. These things I have spoken
to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full."
Romans 14:17 "for
the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace
and joy in the Holy Spirit."
Into a joyless world came Jesus to bring heaven's hope and joy. In this
world we have troubles, but He says, "Be of good cheer, I have overcome
the world."
Darkness flees before His light; despair is replaced by His hope; gloom
melts before His joy.
Jesus came to bring joy. So Babette wanted to bring some joy to the village.
She wanted to throw a great banquet with her wealth. The people, out of
"Christian duty," agreed to come to the banquet -- but they were determined
not to enjoy it! What they didn't know was that in France Babette had been
a professional chef. She knew how to prepare food; she knew how to do a
banquet! The food was the finest and though the simple people tried hard
not to become festive, someone slipped and laughed. Another smiled and
soon there was the sound of mirth and celebration. The power of joy bubbled
over. One person was heard to say, "The stars have moved closer tonight."
They learned the truth stated by Joseph Harmon, "Joy is the echo of God's
life and presence within us. Christianity stripped of its joy is not Christianity
at all." Jesus came to break through the gloom with joy; heaven's joy.
Babette's feast transformed the people by bringing joy. Just so:
JESUS CAME TO TRANSFORM OUR LIVES WITH HEAVEN'S JOY:
Notice from the text that Jesus offers something good which will change
our lives: See Verses
21-23 again.
Those on the outside are brought in and welcomed.
Those poor, disabled, and forgotten are enriched and remembered.
The downtrodden and dispossessed have a place at His table in His kingdom.
The unwanted and rejected are precious in His sight.
Jesus always takes the world's castaways and rejects and downtrodden and
miserable and changes their lives. When Jesus throws a banquet, He invites
a lot of folk others would overlook or snub. His invitation list reads
differently than that of others:
In John 4 the
woman at the well received living water though she was a despised Samaritan.
Her life was transformed.
In John 8 the
woman caught in the act of adultery was given grace though she was a law
breaker. Her life was transformed.
In John 21
Peter is given a chance to work for Jesus even though he denied Christ
three times. His life was transformed.
In 1 Timothy 1
Paul declares the grace of God that called him to new life even though
he had persecuted the church. His life was transformed.
After they tasted the joy of Jesus they were never the same again!
Jesus takes people from where they are to where they ought to be. He is
ready to change any life that surrenders to Him. He will change your life.
He invites you to a banquet where the godless and sinful and broken are
welcome when they come in faith. He spreads His table and invites us to
come and find joy!
Come to the banquet! That's His invitation. That's the essence of the gospel.
God still invites. Anyone who wishes is free to respond. Whatever goes
on in the world, terrorism, war, recession, or any other vexing thing,
you can find joy in Jesus. I'm not talking about being happy all the time;
happiness depends on circumstances; I'm talking about joy which is an inner
quality based on Jesus. The joy that comes when the broken find wholeness.
The joy that comes when the outcast find welcome. The joy that comes when
the hopeless find assurance. The joy that comes when the guilty find forgiveness.
The joy that comes when the weary find rest. The joy that comes when the
cheerless are gladdened. It is to that joy that Jesus invites you. Isaiah
30:18, 19
puts it this way: "... the LORD longs to be gracious to you, And therefore
He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the LORD is a God of justice;
How blessed are all those who long for Him. O people in Zion, inhabitant
in Jerusalem, you will weep no longer. He will surely be gracious to you
at the sound of your cry; when He hears it, He will answer you." Where
in the world can you find joy? Where Jesus is. He came into a grim and
joyless situation to bring Heaven's hope and joy. He came to transform
our lives with that joy. He waits to dispel your darkness and sadness and
replace it with His eternal joy. He invites; on His behalf we invite. Will
you come?