Can’t Get No Satisfaction? Recognizing the Joy Possible for People of Faith (Phil. 4:12)

 

What makes you happy?  Two years ago MTV and the Associated Press surveyed young people.[1]  They asked 13-24 year olds, “What makes you happy?”  At least two sets of answers were surprising.  The first surprise has to do with what 13-24 year olds said makes them most happy.  What makes 13-24 year olds the most happy?  They said it was this: spending time with family.  Over 70% said spending time with family is what makes them happiest.  A second surprise had to do with what 13-24 year olds said does not make them happy.  What does not make 13-24 year olds happy?  They said it was this: sex.  Despite all of the pressure in our culture to be sexually active, young people said having sex does not contribute to happiness.

 

The survey raises interesting questions about happiness.  What really brings joy to life?  What makes people genuinely happy?  How would you answer these questions?  What brings joy to your life?  What makes you satisfied?

 

Here is what may seem to be an odd question: Does Jesus bring you joy?  [Is your walk with Jesus characterized by joy?

 

In Philippians Paul writes about some Christians who might have a hard time answering “Yes” to those questions.  Paul writes about some who are not experiencing joy: 

·         In Phil. 1:18 Paul mentions Christians who are stirring up trouble for him while he is in jail.  That doesn’t sound like people filled with joy, does it?  These are Christians who just want to cause trouble. 

·         In Phil. 1:28 Paul suggests some of the Christians at Philippi are frightened by those who oppose them.  That doesn’t sound like people filled with joy, does it?  These are scared Christians.

·         In Phil. 2:14 Paul suggests some Christians there are grumbling and arguing.  That doesn’t sound like people filled with joy, does it?  These are Christians who complain and critique.  Apparently there are Christians in Philippi whose spiritual lives are not characterized by joy.

 

A few years ago Rolling Stone magazine published their list of the top 500 songs of all time.[2]  Number 2 on the list was a song by the Rolling Stones called “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction.”  Mick Jagger and Keith Richards wrote the lyrics.  The Stones were on an American tour when the idea for the song hit.  Jagger and others were irritated by the consumerism in the United States—the constant barrage of advertisements and the insinuation that if you would just buy product X you would find joy, you would gain satisfaction.  As a kind of protest, Jagger and Richards wrote “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction.”  It was their way of saying that nothing you buy or own will ever truly bring satisfaction to life.

 

And there is a sense in which some Christians, even some of us, might sing that song when it comes to our walk with Jesus.  In our Christian faith we just don’t seem to ever really get satisfaction.  In spite of the time we spend attending church services, volunteering in ministries, reading and praying on our own, we just don’t seem like satisfied and joyful people.  There are some of us for whom joy is not a characteristic of our walk with Jesus.

 

Author Dennis Prager once asked a deeply religious man if he considered himself a truly pious person.[3]  The man said he did not.  Why?  He said that he didn’t think he was joyful enough to be considered truly pious.  A truly pious person, the man remarked, will be full of joy.  He went on to suggest that his lack of joy and the lack of joy of many Christians is a threat to the Christian faith.  In response, Prager wrote these words: He was right; in fact, unhappy religious people pose a real challenge to faith. If their faith is so impressive, why aren’t these devoted adherents happy? There are only two possible reasons: either they are not practicing their faith correctly, or they are practicing their faith correctly and the religion itself is not conducive to happiness. Most outsiders assume the latter reason. Unhappy religious people should therefore think about how important being happy is—if not for themselves, then for the sake of their religion. Unhappy, let alone angry, religious people provide more persuasive arguments for atheism and secularism than do all the arguments of atheists.  The man and Prager are worried that there are just too many unhappy Christians and that this lack of joy discredits the Christian faith.

 

A few weeks ago a man approached me at the gym where I work out.  We’ve known each other for a couple of years.  He attends a church and he knows I preach for a church.  He asked me, “When someone gets baptized at your church, do people clap?”  Apparently this issue had come up at his church.  Some clapped at a recent baptism and he and others were uncomfortable with it.  He said, “We clap at ballgames not at baptisms.”  Some of us Christians seem to have a hard time with this issue of joy.  Some of us have a theology with no room for joy—a theology that says we ought to be somber and serious people.  Some of us get caught in grumbling and complaining which robs us of joy.  Some of us are caught in circumstances that don’t seem to permit joy.  I’m afraid that for far too many of us, joy is not a defining trait of our Christian faith.

 

That’s why it is so helpful to spend time with Paul and his letter to the Philippians.  Paul is stuck in a situation where joy would seem impossible.  He is in jail.  As early as Phil. 1:7 he mentions his “chains.”  And this wasn’t the only time Paul was in chains.  Paul spent roughly one-quarter of his missionary career in prisons.  And prisons were no place for joy.  Here’s how one historian describes prisons in Paul’s day:[4] Roman imprisonment was preceded by being stripped naked and then flogged—a humiliating, painful, and bloody ordeal. The bleeding wounds went untreated as prisoners sat in painful leg or wrist chains. Mutilated, bloodstained clothing was not replaced, even in the cold of winter.  Most cells were dark, especially the inner cells of a prison, like the one Paul and Silas inhabited in Philippi. Unbearable cold, lack of water, cramped quarters, and sickening stench from few toilets made sleeping difficult and waking hours miserable. Because of the miserable conditions, many prisoners begged for a speedy death. Others simply committed suicide.  Paul was put in jail when he first arrived in Philippi.  And now he’s writing from jail to the Philippians.  It’s not a circumstance conducive to joy.

 

Yet the one word which is used again and again in Paul’s letter is the word “joy” or “rejoice”:

·         In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy… (Phil. 1:4 TNIV)

·         But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, (Phil. 1:18 TNIV)

·         Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, (Phil. 1:25 TNIV)

·         then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. (Phil. 2:2 TNIV)

·         But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. (Phil. 2:17 TNIV)

·         So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.  (Phil. 2:18 TNIV)

·         Welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor people like him,  (Phil. 2:29 TNIV)

·         Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you. (Phil. 3:1 TNIV)

·         Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends! (Phil. 4:1 TNIV)

·         Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! (Phil. 4:4 TNIV)

·         I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. (Phil. 4:10 TNIV)

 

In spite of Paul’s circumstances, joy was still a defining characteristic of his Christian faith.  And he wanted it to be a defining characteristic of the Philippians’ faith.  Here’s a man who ought not to have any joy writing to Christians who are struggling with joy, and he basically says this: “I am filled with joy!  I want you also to be filled with joy!”  For Paul, joy and the Christian faith were one and the same.  And that joy was possible regardless of circumstances.

 

In fact, Paul writes this in Phil. 4:12: I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. (Phil. 4:12 TNIV).  The word translated “secret” was also used in pagan religions to refer to the mysteries of that religion which only the initiated could learn.[5]  The pagan religions had secrets and privileges which could be yours only if you went through the process of initiation.  Paul uses that word here.  He is saying that the Christian faith has a secret; it has a privilege only for those truly initiated into it.  And here is that secret: contentment in any situation.

 

The word “content” means to have sufficient resources, to need no aid.  It means to be self-sufficient.^[6]  Paul is saying that he has learned the mystery of having sufficient resources for joy regardless of the circumstances.  No matter his circumstance, no matter what else he doesn’t have, as long as Paul has Jesus, he’s got all he needs to experience real joy.  The great secret of the Christian faith, one that some Christians have not yet discovered, is that Jesus provides the resources for a lasting and unwavering joy—regardless of circumstances.  Nothing else is needed.  In walking with Jesus Paul finds he is able to have joy in every situation. 

 

A few years ago Christian author Brennan Manning was interviewed.[7]  He said this: I believe that the real difference in the American church is not between conservatives and liberals, fundamentalists and charismatics, nor between Republicans and Democrats. The real difference is between the aware and the unaware.  When somebody is aware of that love—the same love that the Father has for Jesus—that person is just spontaneously grateful. Cries of thankfulness become the dominant characteristic of the interior life, and the byproduct of gratitude is joy.  Manning is saying the real difference in the American church is not between conservatives and liberals, evangelicals and Pentecostals.  The real dividing line is between those who are aware of Paul’s secret and those who are still unaware.  The great divide is between those who experience joy as a fundamental aspect of their walk with Jesus and those who don’t. 

 

Why is this?  Why do some of us live as Christians with great joy while others of us do not?  There are many reasons.  In this Sunday morning series we’re going to explore five reasons.  We’re going to explore how joy can be a central part of our faith if we’ll do the following:

·         First, focus on a person rather than on piety.  Joy becomes a consistent presence when our spiritual focus is more on knowing and becoming like the person of Jesus than on learning and keeping laws and religious rules.

·         Second, focus on effort rather than earning.  Joy comes when we don’t attempt to earn favor with God or Jesus through religious activities but when we put forth all of our effort to grow in our spiritual life.

·         Third, focus on the future rather than the past.  Joy becomes a reality in our Christian life when we find ways to put our failures behind us and focus instead on the goal in front of us.

·         Fourth, focus on our purpose rather than our pain.  Joy can be ongoing when we pay less attention to our difficult circumstances and more attention to the way in which those circumstances are serving a greater purpose.

·         Fifth, focus on what’s right rather than what’s not.  Joy becomes a reality when we make a decision to stop focusing on the things in life that are not right and instead focus on the praiseworthy things of life.  We’ll explore all five of these over the next five weeks.

 

John Ortberg writes about FTT-Failure to Thrive.[8]  He says his wife, a nurse, first introduced him to these three letters.  She would write FTT on the chart of an infant who was unable to gain weight or grow.  Sometimes the failure to thrive was the result of the parent or care-giver being depressed and passing that depression on to the newborn.  Sometimes it was caused by something being wrong in the infant’s metabolism.  It was a diagnosis which pointed to the fact that the newborn had failed to thrive.  The infant was alive but not thriving.  Ortberg suggests that this is the basic human condition: failure to thrive.  Often we are alive, but we are not thriving.   And what Paul does in Philippians is show how God intends for us to thrive.  God didn’t create us and place us on earth just so we could barely survive.  He created us and placed us here so that we might thrive.  Even in jail, God makes it possible for us to not simply survive but to thrive. 

 

But as we know this thriving, this joy doesn’t come easily.  So much around us and within us keeps us from experiencing joy.  This is why most writers of the spiritual life call Christians to practice a discipline called “celebration.”  The best thinkers in Christianity have long-called Christians to practice the discipline of “celebration.”  The discipline consists of small things we do to express and experience joy.  And the more we practice them, the more joy becomes a part of every facet of our lives.  Richard Foster in his book Celebration of Discipline suggests these practices as part of the discipline of celebration:[9]

·         #1 – Sing, dance, shout and play like children.  Especially if you are a parent or grandparent, take some time to get down on the ground and play and dance and laugh in the same way your children or grandchildren do.  

·         #2 – Laugh.  Learn to laugh at a good joke.  Learn to laugh at yourself.  Make a habit of watching good comedy.

·         #3 – Take joy in the creative works of others.  Listen to music or visit a museum or walk through some antique stores and let yourself enjoy the creativity you see and hear.

·         #4 – Make family events like birthdays, graduations, marriages, and anniversaries occasions of great joy.  One of the easiest ways to move toward joy is to learn to throw and enjoy a great party.  When that next special occasion comes up, make it a grand celebration.

·         #5 – Celebrate lesser events like finishing a project, receiving a raise, or eating a meal with someone.  Almost every week we experience some lesser, but still important event.  Learn to celebrate those.

Foster’s point is that in order to learn the secret of having joy in every circumstance we have to first learn to truly experience the joy that comes in the positive circumstances of life.  The more we practice these small disciplines, the more joy will become a defining characteristic of our lives.

 

Let’s close by practicing a celebration discipline.  I’m going to lead us in prayer together.  And at two spots I’m going to stop and ask you to say aloud to God something that brings you joy.  I want you to think of two things that bring you joy.  At the appropriate time I’ll ask you to say those things aloud to God.  Let’s pray: “God, we confess that we are not always the joyful people you intend us to be.  We’re alive but we don’t always thrive.  So right now we want to practice rejoicing.  We want to say “thank you” for some things in our life that bring us great joy.  Right now God we want to mention one thing in our life that brings us joy.  Right now, all at once, we are going to say that one thing:….  God, thank you for what we just mentioned.  But we have even more to rejoice over.  We want to mention a second thing that brings us joy.  Right now, all at once, we are going to say that one thing:…..  God thank you for what we just mentioned.  We take joy in them.  But we especially take joy in you and in Jesus.  We pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.