WEBVTT - Backseat DJs 0:00:02.040 --> 0:00:04.600 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. I'm the pastor of Elevation 0:00:04.880 --> 0:00:07.080 Church and this is our podcast. I wanted to thank 0:00:07.120 --> 0:00:10.440 you for joining us today. Hope this inspires you. Hope 0:00:10.440 --> 0:00:12.479 it builds your faith. Hope it gives your perspective to 0:00:12.520 --> 0:00:17.919 see God is moving in your life. Enjoy the message. Look, 0:00:17.960 --> 0:00:20.640 I want to preach about joy today and I want 0:00:20.640 --> 0:00:23.360 to get there from a story and then share several 0:00:23.400 --> 0:00:27.280 scriptures with you can't tell your story. I just got 0:00:27.280 --> 0:00:30.040 a new car last year. I drove a Nissan Maxima 0:00:30.160 --> 0:00:32.960 for ten years before I bought this new car. I 0:00:33.040 --> 0:00:37.280 loved my Nissan Maxima. My car before this Nissan Maxima 0:00:37.320 --> 0:00:40.199 was a Nissan Maxima. That's how much I liked my 0:00:40.280 --> 0:00:43.760 Nissan Maxima. I maximized the Maxima and it was very 0:00:43.800 --> 0:00:48.120 good to me. Only thing that I ever remember happening, 0:00:48.120 --> 0:00:50.000 other than the time it cut off in an intersection, 0:00:50.200 --> 0:00:52.680 was that one day I was driving down the road 0:00:52.720 --> 0:00:56.200 a few years ago and my stereo system started doing 0:00:56.200 --> 0:01:01.600 strange things. It started skipping around to different tracks without 0:01:01.600 --> 0:01:07.400 me telling it too, and the volume kept increasing and decreasing, 0:01:08.240 --> 0:01:09.840 and so then I would put it back on the song. 0:01:09.840 --> 0:01:12.800 I wanted to listen to, and I would turn down 0:01:12.880 --> 0:01:14.760 the volume or turn up the volume, depending on it 0:01:14.760 --> 0:01:20.240 would go both ways without me telling it too, without 0:01:20.280 --> 0:01:24.520 me turning the knob, and it happened for about ten 0:01:24.560 --> 0:01:27.560 to fifteen minutes straight one day that I was driving, 0:01:28.120 --> 0:01:31.560 and it seemed like my speakers in my car had 0:01:31.560 --> 0:01:35.080 a mind of their own. So I thought maybe my 0:01:35.120 --> 0:01:40.360 Maxima got a demon, and then I looked in the 0:01:40.400 --> 0:01:42.440 backseat and realized it wasn't a demon. It was my 0:01:42.520 --> 0:01:47.120 daughter that she had the center console down and I 0:01:47.160 --> 0:01:49.600 never rode back there, so I didn't realize that all 0:01:49.600 --> 0:01:52.240 the years that I've had this car, you can control 0:01:52.320 --> 0:01:59.240 the volume and skip tracks from back there. And she 0:01:59.440 --> 0:02:02.080 was laughing, and Graham was back there and he was laughing, 0:02:03.400 --> 0:02:08.400 and they were controlling something from the back that I 0:02:08.440 --> 0:02:13.000 was trying to deal with in the front, and they 0:02:13.080 --> 0:02:16.080 thought it was so funny, and I told him stop 0:02:16.080 --> 0:02:18.600 that it's annoying. When I figured out what they were doing, 0:02:20.120 --> 0:02:22.200 two or three minutes later, there goes the volume up 0:02:22.240 --> 0:02:25.280 and down again. There goes track two, track three, track four. Again, 0:02:25.360 --> 0:02:30.320 it's on shuffle. And I turned around and said, I'm 0:02:30.320 --> 0:02:33.959 telling y'all stop, I don't like it. It was maybe 0:02:34.080 --> 0:02:38.359 cute the first time for you, but it's really driving 0:02:38.360 --> 0:02:42.600 me crazy up here. Stop and a few minutes go 0:02:42.680 --> 0:02:45.840 by and it starts happening again. I pulled the car 0:02:45.880 --> 0:02:48.920 over the third time. I pulled the car over the 0:02:48.919 --> 0:02:52.640 third time. I'm Providence Road. I said, let me explain 0:02:52.680 --> 0:03:03.839 something to you, I said, Passengers, in this maximum, I'm 0:03:03.840 --> 0:03:10.920 the driver. That means I'm the DJ. I get to 0:03:11.000 --> 0:03:16.440 choose what comes on this stereo and how loud it 0:03:16.520 --> 0:03:22.320 is because the driver gets to be the DJ. I 0:03:22.320 --> 0:03:25.720 want to preach to you for about thirty seven minutes 0:03:25.720 --> 0:03:35.040 today about back seat DJs, because I suspect that there 0:03:35.040 --> 0:03:38.760 are some things in your life that are being controlled 0:03:39.280 --> 0:03:43.160 from the back seat, that are being controlled at a 0:03:43.280 --> 0:03:47.640 level that you're not realizing that they're being controlled. And 0:03:47.840 --> 0:03:50.120 I believe that today God is going to use me 0:03:50.800 --> 0:03:54.640 and trust me. I've studied joy has become more important 0:03:54.720 --> 0:03:57.640 to me every year that I've been alive. I feel 0:03:57.680 --> 0:04:00.840 like in my twenties I just cared about accomplishing. In 0:04:00.840 --> 0:04:03.680 my thirties, I've been figuring out, what's the point if 0:04:03.680 --> 0:04:07.000 you don't enjoy it? What's the point in doing something 0:04:07.080 --> 0:04:10.280 awesome if you are not in a position to appreciate 0:04:10.600 --> 0:04:14.720 the accomplishment because you constantly need more. And I spent 0:04:14.800 --> 0:04:17.839 my twenties and maybe the beginning of my thirties just 0:04:17.920 --> 0:04:22.600 trying to get more, more, more. Sometimes that meant more popularity. 0:04:22.720 --> 0:04:26.560 Sometimes that meant more impact. Sometimes that meant more influenced. 0:04:26.600 --> 0:04:30.200 Sometimes that meant more money, more resources, more friends, more 0:04:30.240 --> 0:04:34.400 phone numbers, more connections. But lately I've been asking the 0:04:34.440 --> 0:04:37.719 Lord for more joy, and it sent me on a 0:04:37.720 --> 0:04:40.440 scriptural trajectory, and I want to bring you into it today. 0:04:40.440 --> 0:04:41.640 Would it be all right if we talked for a 0:04:41.680 --> 0:04:48.360 little while today about what's controlling your joy? Amen? I'm excited. 0:04:49.760 --> 0:04:53.960 Do you feel my enthusiasm? James? Chapter one, Verses two 0:04:54.000 --> 0:05:01.120 through four. We'll start here. I believe there are some 0:05:01.240 --> 0:05:06.280 things that are destroying your joy that you were unaware of, 0:05:07.760 --> 0:05:12.919 and James is going to teach us how to develop joy. 0:05:13.960 --> 0:05:18.640 Very different than discovering joy. Discovering joy means it's waiting 0:05:18.880 --> 0:05:22.159 somewhere and you got to find it. It's waiting in 0:05:22.200 --> 0:05:26.080 your next career move, it's waiting in your next relationship. 0:05:26.839 --> 0:05:30.200 It's waiting somewhere. You're not right now, But James is 0:05:30.200 --> 0:05:33.039 going to show us something that may be familiar to 0:05:33.080 --> 0:05:35.400 a few of you, but it is very strange if 0:05:35.400 --> 0:05:38.800 you consider what he's actually saying. And I'm going to 0:05:38.839 --> 0:05:42.400 just read those verses, those three verses to you, he says, James, 0:05:42.480 --> 0:05:46.799 Chapter one, verus to consider it pure joy, my brothers 0:05:46.800 --> 0:05:54.719 and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds. That's 0:05:54.800 --> 0:05:56.680 not where I was looking for joy. By the way, 0:05:57.360 --> 0:06:00.840 that's not what I was praying for, hoping for, asking for. Anyway, 0:06:00.880 --> 0:06:03.560 this is what the Bible says. He said, consider it 0:06:03.680 --> 0:06:08.080 pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials 0:06:08.680 --> 0:06:12.000 of many kinds. Because you know that the testing of 0:06:12.040 --> 0:06:20.880 your faith produces perseverance, Let perseverance finish its work so 0:06:20.920 --> 0:06:26.360 that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 0:06:29.040 --> 0:06:31.120 I'm glad he's specified because the first thing I want 0:06:31.160 --> 0:06:33.800 to mention to you today, all of these points they 0:06:34.120 --> 0:06:36.839 kind of follow the theme of DJ. So the first 0:06:36.839 --> 0:06:42.400 one is the distinction of joy, the distinction of joy 0:06:42.440 --> 0:06:46.000 knowing what it really is, understanding the nature of it. 0:06:46.800 --> 0:06:50.839 And James helps us to do that first bite, helping 0:06:50.880 --> 0:06:55.400 us to understand that there are trials of many kinds. 0:06:55.440 --> 0:06:58.920 That's what verse two said the old King James Pastor 0:06:58.960 --> 0:07:05.159 Mickey preached from said divers trials because I have learned 0:07:05.200 --> 0:07:09.720 that we're not all going through the same thing, but 0:07:09.760 --> 0:07:13.440 we are all going through something. And how many know 0:07:13.880 --> 0:07:16.680 that there are as many different kinds of trials as 0:07:16.680 --> 0:07:21.680 there are different drinks at Starbucks, as there are different 0:07:21.720 --> 0:07:26.560 colors of paint at home depot. I found out that 0:07:26.800 --> 0:07:31.080 there are trials that are associated with plenty. There are 0:07:31.320 --> 0:07:35.960 trials that are associated with poverty. I always understood the 0:07:36.000 --> 0:07:40.880 first one because everybody understands that being broke is a battle. 0:07:41.920 --> 0:07:47.520 But management of resources can, in its own way, test 0:07:47.560 --> 0:07:50.680 a part of your character that if you're not prepared 0:07:50.680 --> 0:07:53.680 to have it tested, it can create a lot more 0:07:53.720 --> 0:07:58.680 problems than financial poverty. In fact, financial riches can create 0:07:58.720 --> 0:08:03.040 relational poverty if there is not the emotional maturity to 0:08:03.120 --> 0:08:05.720 help us to steward with understanding what we've been given. 0:08:06.760 --> 0:08:11.320 I'm appreached today. If y'all come along with you, it's truly. 0:08:12.400 --> 0:08:17.440 There's single people trials, there's married people trials. There are 0:08:17.480 --> 0:08:21.480 trials that are associated with loneliness, and there are trials 0:08:21.520 --> 0:08:26.000 that are associated with companionship. There are many kinds of trials. 0:08:26.680 --> 0:08:29.920 There are many different That's what James is saying. He's 0:08:29.920 --> 0:08:33.560 making a distinction, that there's different kinds of trials, And 0:08:33.679 --> 0:08:36.560 some of us are like, well, can I try a 0:08:36.559 --> 0:08:39.760 different kind of trial? Like can I trade trials? Like 0:08:40.080 --> 0:08:42.920 you're talking about rich people trials, I'd like to try 0:08:42.920 --> 0:08:45.760 those for a little while you're talking about married people trials. 0:08:45.960 --> 0:08:47.560 I'd like to try. I think I'd be good at 0:08:47.600 --> 0:08:50.720 those trials. I think I'd be better prepared for those trials. 0:08:50.840 --> 0:08:52.600 But we never again, after the year that we had 0:08:52.720 --> 0:08:57.280 last year, get to associate joy with status or success, 0:08:57.960 --> 0:09:00.440 because we have now seen it. No matter or how 0:09:00.480 --> 0:09:03.840 great your name is in the eyes of people, you 0:09:03.880 --> 0:09:06.960 can still want to take your very own life because 0:09:07.080 --> 0:09:09.840 joy is not a product of what people say about you. 0:09:10.600 --> 0:09:12.880 Joy is not a product of how people hold you 0:09:12.920 --> 0:09:18.960 in esteem or in disregard. And so there's different kinds 0:09:19.440 --> 0:09:23.120 of trials. Added to that, most of us don't understand 0:09:23.120 --> 0:09:29.080 the distinction between a temptation and a trial. The language 0:09:29.120 --> 0:09:33.120 that James uses in this biblical writing, the common Greek 0:09:33.200 --> 0:09:36.640 of his day, allows for both. When he says trials 0:09:36.679 --> 0:09:40.000 of many kinds, he could just as easily be referring 0:09:40.040 --> 0:09:44.880 to economic hardship or persecution that many of this diaspora 0:09:45.160 --> 0:09:48.840 of tribes scattered abroad who were believers in Jesus were experiencing, 0:09:49.280 --> 0:09:53.200 or he could be talking about temptation. And it is 0:09:53.240 --> 0:09:56.840 important to know the distinction between the kind of trials 0:09:56.880 --> 0:10:01.200 that you will experience in your life, Otherwise you might 0:10:01.280 --> 0:10:07.360 spend years blaming the devil for your bad decisions. There 0:10:07.400 --> 0:10:11.800 are different kinds of trials. Some of our trials are 0:10:11.880 --> 0:10:15.360 the result of evil in the world, and that results 0:10:15.400 --> 0:10:19.360 in all kinds of different warfare that we could study 0:10:19.360 --> 0:10:22.400 for weeks about. Some of our trials are the results 0:10:22.800 --> 0:10:25.760 of things that we did contrary to our inner wisdom. 0:10:26.240 --> 0:10:29.120 There are many different kinds of trials, and if you 0:10:29.760 --> 0:10:33.160 don't know the difference between a temptation and a trial, 0:10:33.920 --> 0:10:37.840 you will try to use the wrong tool on the trial. 0:10:39.600 --> 0:10:45.679 Because when tempted, the Bible teaches resistance. When you are 0:10:45.720 --> 0:10:51.199 tempted to step outside of the God given means by 0:10:51.240 --> 0:10:53.800 which you've been empowered to meet your God given desires, 0:10:55.280 --> 0:11:01.320 the strategy, the tool, the technique is resistance. When you 0:11:01.360 --> 0:11:04.760 face a trial, however, not a temptation, but a trial, 0:11:05.840 --> 0:11:11.200 often the key is not resistance but acceptance. And this 0:11:11.320 --> 0:11:14.320 was important for me to see the distinction because a 0:11:14.320 --> 0:11:18.280 lot of times I'm accepting what I should resist and 0:11:18.320 --> 0:11:25.160 resisting what I should accept. It is taking me time 0:11:25.240 --> 0:11:29.120 to learn the difference, is taking me prayer to learn 0:11:29.160 --> 0:11:32.960 the difference. It's taking the other's community to learn the difference. 0:11:33.280 --> 0:11:35.080 I'm having to get into the Word of God to 0:11:35.120 --> 0:11:37.600 know the difference so that I can approach my trials 0:11:37.960 --> 0:11:41.080 with wisdom. In fact, that's what James one to five says, 0:11:41.080 --> 0:11:43.760 and it's connected to this passage, even though I never 0:11:43.840 --> 0:11:46.520 thought it was. It says, if any of you lacks wisdom, 0:11:46.840 --> 0:11:50.000 you should ask God, who gives generously to all without 0:11:50.000 --> 0:11:52.280 finding fault, and it will be given to you. Now, 0:11:52.360 --> 0:11:54.160 if you want to flip the flow this year, just 0:11:54.240 --> 0:11:57.840 to James one to five. Instead of asking everybody around 0:11:57.880 --> 0:12:01.200 you what you should do, start with the source, Start 0:12:01.240 --> 0:12:05.360 with the solution. We're talking about your problems with people 0:12:05.360 --> 0:12:08.680 who are powerless to fix them. It's making you feel worse, 0:12:09.000 --> 0:12:15.480 it's making them feel worse, and everybody's frustrated. So I 0:12:15.520 --> 0:12:18.880 need the wisdom to make the distinction, to know the 0:12:18.920 --> 0:12:22.120 trial that I'm in. God is this one that you 0:12:22.200 --> 0:12:24.360 want me to fight or do you want me to 0:12:24.400 --> 0:12:26.920 do what the Parables said to do one time with 0:12:26.960 --> 0:12:29.160 the weeds that were growing up alongside the terars, and 0:12:29.240 --> 0:12:32.680 leave it alone and let you deal with it. There's 0:12:32.720 --> 0:12:37.880 a distinction. There's different kinds of trials. Some of the 0:12:37.920 --> 0:12:39.679 stuff that I'm dealing with as a parent right now 0:12:39.720 --> 0:12:46.800 is just called puberty. You can't cast it out, you 0:12:46.840 --> 0:12:52.120 can't annoy it, you can't instruct it. It's a different 0:12:52.240 --> 0:12:55.319 kind of trial. It's just life. Some of the stuff 0:12:55.320 --> 0:12:58.200 I'm dealing with right now is a temptation. Some of 0:12:58.240 --> 0:13:00.800 it is, actually, I believe, from the pit of hell. 0:13:01.480 --> 0:13:03.800 Not that the devil is like personally a sign to me, 0:13:04.559 --> 0:13:08.120 but just some stuff is evil against my purpose. And 0:13:08.200 --> 0:13:09.960 don't give yourself too much credit, because a lot of 0:13:10.000 --> 0:13:11.720 us like to think that the devil had nothing better 0:13:11.760 --> 0:13:15.520 to do than give us, you know, a flat tire, 0:13:15.559 --> 0:13:17.400 and I think the devil is much busier than that. 0:13:17.640 --> 0:13:20.400 I think a lot of it comes down to distinguishing 0:13:21.320 --> 0:13:26.920 the type of trial that I'm in, which helps me 0:13:27.000 --> 0:13:35.240 to understand the distinctions between joy and pleasure. Oh, you 0:13:35.240 --> 0:13:37.520 know those little church signs that they do. I think 0:13:37.520 --> 0:13:39.000 we should get one. By the way, at elevation the 0:13:39.040 --> 0:13:40.719 church signs where they change the letters and they put 0:13:40.800 --> 0:13:42.319 up the little quotes. Yeah, I like this. I think 0:13:42.320 --> 0:13:44.040 we should get one. How many vote we get a 0:13:44.080 --> 0:13:46.280 church signed. Let's have our first ever church voted elevation 0:13:47.120 --> 0:13:48.800 church vote. We should get a church sign and we 0:13:48.840 --> 0:13:50.240 could put stuff up there like this. I saw this 0:13:50.240 --> 0:13:54.800 one day. It said no Jesus, no Joy, but it 0:13:54.880 --> 0:13:59.280 was felt k n ow Jesus. So the first one 0:13:59.320 --> 0:14:02.280 was no Jesus, you don't have Jesus, you don't have joy. 0:14:02.640 --> 0:14:07.880 K and oh Jesus, k and ow Jesus, kN ow joy. 0:14:08.040 --> 0:14:12.120 And I thought it's cute, but it's it's not true. 0:14:13.120 --> 0:14:15.720 No Jesus, no joy. There's a lot of things you 0:14:15.720 --> 0:14:26.400 can enjoy without Jesus. Christy Kreme tastes good whether you're 0:14:26.480 --> 0:14:34.600 saved or not. My taste bloods didn't get saved. It's 0:14:34.640 --> 0:14:36.920 fun to talk bad about people whether you're saved or not. 0:14:37.600 --> 0:14:41.400 Only differences. And this is important is that the quality 0:14:42.160 --> 0:14:45.800 of the joy becomes more important than the quantity of 0:14:45.840 --> 0:14:49.120 the joy. You also hear preachers say stuff like this, 0:14:49.840 --> 0:14:53.200 God doesn't care if you're happy. He just wants to 0:14:53.240 --> 0:14:56.080 make you holy. And I can't believe how many people 0:14:56.080 --> 0:15:00.760 will say amen to some business like that that you 0:15:00.800 --> 0:15:04.200 would never feel about your own kid. How many parents 0:15:04.200 --> 0:15:06.760 do we have in the house, and how many of 0:15:06.800 --> 0:15:09.000 you don't care if your kid is ever happy in 0:15:09.040 --> 0:15:16.160 life at all. I'm gonna call child Protective Services on y'all. 0:15:17.160 --> 0:15:21.440 I ain't no good good father. No, he's a good father, 0:15:21.600 --> 0:15:23.480 good gift. So I never got that. And I never 0:15:23.480 --> 0:15:27.240 really understood the distinction between joy and happiness, because like, 0:15:27.280 --> 0:15:29.840 there's not a difference in the Biblical language. It's not 0:15:29.880 --> 0:15:33.560 difference like in English we have like phar real happy, 0:15:33.720 --> 0:15:37.040 which is like dancing happy, and then in Hebrew they 0:15:37.080 --> 0:15:39.800 had happy. It's the same word, it's blessed. It's the 0:15:39.840 --> 0:15:43.080 same word as joy. When James says counted joy, he 0:15:43.160 --> 0:15:48.600 means consider yourself supremely happy literal translation. So we need 0:15:48.640 --> 0:15:55.040 to make the distinction, I guess between generic joy and 0:15:55.160 --> 0:16:05.480 Jesus joy because he said verse two, consider it pure joy. 0:16:05.680 --> 0:16:07.440 The way my mind works, if there's such a thing 0:16:07.480 --> 0:16:12.160 as pure joy, there must be another kind of joy. 0:16:12.400 --> 0:16:14.760 I kind of cheated that a little bit. It's more 0:16:14.800 --> 0:16:18.600 a grammar issue because the literal translation is count at 0:16:18.640 --> 0:16:22.160 all joy, so he doesn't say pure joy. I got 0:16:22.160 --> 0:16:23.680 a verse for this, though, Let me do it from 0:16:23.720 --> 0:16:27.920 a Let me do it from Hebrews chapter twelve. I've 0:16:27.960 --> 0:16:33.880 always loved this picture of joy because it helps me 0:16:33.960 --> 0:16:43.400 to make a distinction between joy and pleasure. Okay, pleasure 0:16:43.480 --> 0:16:47.440 can be associated with joy, but joy is not dependent 0:16:47.480 --> 0:16:50.720 on pleasure. This is the second thing I want to 0:16:50.720 --> 0:16:53.400 talk about. I want to talk about the direction of joy. 0:16:54.680 --> 0:16:57.440 The direction of joy. We're talking about backseat DJs, right, 0:16:57.480 --> 0:17:02.160 We're talking about how sometimes we find our joy controlled 0:17:02.200 --> 0:17:07.879 by circumstances and situations. But Jesus gives us a picture 0:17:07.920 --> 0:17:12.960 that stands contrary to the cultural expectation of joy. And 0:17:12.960 --> 0:17:14.480 I promise I'll read the scripture in a minute. But 0:17:14.520 --> 0:17:16.760 I just want to tell you so much and don't 0:17:16.760 --> 0:17:19.040 know where to start, where to stop. It's just it's 0:17:19.080 --> 0:17:22.200 all in me today. There seems to be right now 0:17:22.440 --> 0:17:26.600 more than there was like when my grandparents. We're thirty 0:17:26.640 --> 0:17:31.159 and forty, there seems to be a pressure for us 0:17:31.240 --> 0:17:36.240 to always feel pleasure. It's no longer just a desire 0:17:36.280 --> 0:17:38.840 that we have that we want to feel good. It's 0:17:38.880 --> 0:17:42.480 almost like the way that social media has constructed our 0:17:42.560 --> 0:17:46.960 viewing experiences of other people's lives through the filters of 0:17:47.040 --> 0:17:51.840 their most desirable moments. There is something wrong with me 0:17:52.520 --> 0:17:56.760 If I am not constantly happy all the time. That's 0:17:56.800 --> 0:18:00.959 a problem with me because I am not genetically predisposed 0:18:01.240 --> 0:18:04.320 to be happy. I'm just not. I've found that out 0:18:04.359 --> 0:18:07.920 about myself early in life. I am not like one 0:18:08.000 --> 0:18:11.920 of you who just finds reasons to smell roses, who 0:18:12.080 --> 0:18:15.399 just finds reasons to be happy. Some of y'all appreciate 0:18:15.440 --> 0:18:19.480 the rain, appreciate the sunshine. The rain makes you feel relaxed. 0:18:19.640 --> 0:18:22.040 The sunshine makes you feel active. You can find the 0:18:22.160 --> 0:18:25.479 joy in everything. I am not of your species, and 0:18:25.480 --> 0:18:29.400 frankly you make me sick. But joy is something different, 0:18:31.560 --> 0:18:34.280 because the pressure to feel pleasure is part of the 0:18:34.320 --> 0:18:38.320 reason why we feel so miserable. And now we are 0:18:38.359 --> 0:18:40.840 living in the midst of a generation that thinks that 0:18:41.040 --> 0:18:44.239 joy is associated with a feeling in your flesh. And 0:18:44.280 --> 0:18:47.720 it can be, but it doesn't have to be. It's 0:18:47.760 --> 0:18:50.520 important that I say it can bring a feeling, but 0:18:50.600 --> 0:18:52.520 it doesn't start with the feeling. This is where we 0:18:52.520 --> 0:18:55.720 flip the flow. Can we flip the flow if anybody 0:18:55.720 --> 0:18:58.639 flipped the flow, it was Jesus. Here he is up 0:18:58.640 --> 0:19:02.879 on a cross. Here he is mocked, and his reputation 0:19:03.160 --> 0:19:07.160 is beyond repair. Here he is being spat on and 0:19:07.520 --> 0:19:11.240 condescended to by the ones that he created. And the 0:19:11.280 --> 0:19:14.439 writer of Hebrews, whoever he was, says, we need to 0:19:14.480 --> 0:19:21.239 fix Hebrews twelve to two. Our eyes on Jesus, the 0:19:21.320 --> 0:19:25.320 pioneer and perfector, or the author and finisher. Either translation 0:19:25.720 --> 0:19:35.120 is acceptable of our faith. H for the joy set 0:19:35.720 --> 0:19:42.600 before him, he endured the cross. Now this is where 0:19:42.680 --> 0:19:47.919 my message really happens. Okay, what have you set before you? 0:19:49.800 --> 0:19:54.639 That is what your joy is connected to what you 0:19:54.800 --> 0:19:59.239 have set before you. And I'll break that down the 0:19:59.240 --> 0:20:04.680 best that I can. Joy is a point of view. 0:20:07.480 --> 0:20:12.480 Joy is a way of looking at things. This helps me. 0:20:13.040 --> 0:20:15.840 I don't know about you, but it sets me free 0:20:16.040 --> 0:20:22.879 from feeling the need to feel a certain way. We 0:20:22.960 --> 0:20:27.400 got so many people quitting their jobs because they're unhappy 0:20:29.240 --> 0:20:33.600 and not really understanding that sometimes joy is not the 0:20:33.720 --> 0:20:40.199 absence of sadness or the presence of the spectacular. And 0:20:40.280 --> 0:20:42.280 all we need to look at is that one verse 0:20:43.280 --> 0:20:47.760 where it says that Jesus for the joy that was 0:20:47.800 --> 0:20:51.919 set before him. I want to use that as a 0:20:51.920 --> 0:20:56.959 picture for a moment. He set joy before him, so 0:20:57.240 --> 0:21:00.000 in order to endure the cross, that's the next part, 0:21:00.400 --> 0:21:06.520 enduring the cross scorning as Shane, he didn't find joy 0:21:06.640 --> 0:21:12.400 in the event. He found joy in the guaranteed outcome 0:21:14.080 --> 0:21:19.120 of the event. He did not find joy in the 0:21:19.200 --> 0:21:22.320 feeling of hanging on the cross. It wasn't like because 0:21:22.320 --> 0:21:25.160 he was the son of God that the nails, you know, 0:21:25.680 --> 0:21:29.440 transcended the laws of pain and the material laws of 0:21:29.480 --> 0:21:34.400 the universe. It was just as painful, but because of purpose. 0:21:35.240 --> 0:21:38.800 You understand, it's very different to go through pain with 0:21:39.080 --> 0:21:46.800 purpose than pain without purpose. It's the difference between Graham 0:21:47.040 --> 0:21:50.159 jumping on my back he's only ninety pounds and me 0:21:50.320 --> 0:21:52.719 not knowing that he's gonna jump on my back and 0:21:52.760 --> 0:21:56.120 me feeling like every disc just slipped like I'm seventy 0:21:56.160 --> 0:21:59.200 three years old in my lower back. And the difference 0:21:59.240 --> 0:22:02.320 between me putting ninety pounds on the bar to squat it. 0:22:02.800 --> 0:22:05.120 If I do it on purpose, it's a warm up weight. 0:22:05.720 --> 0:22:07.800 If I don't expect it, it might take me down 0:22:07.840 --> 0:22:13.719 to the ground. Same weight. But what I was ready 0:22:13.800 --> 0:22:18.280 for when Jesus hung on the cross. He wasn't surprised 0:22:18.320 --> 0:22:22.199 by the shame. He wasn't surprised by the suffering. He 0:22:22.320 --> 0:22:26.720 wasn't surprised by the pain. He wasn't surprised by the jeering. 0:22:27.080 --> 0:22:31.760 He wasn't surprised by their saliva. He wasn't surprised by 0:22:31.800 --> 0:22:41.040 the blood. Joy is a focus before it's a feeling. 0:22:43.160 --> 0:22:46.399 If you came to church just to hear that, I 0:22:46.640 --> 0:22:51.919 promise you got your gas money's worth. Joy is a 0:22:52.119 --> 0:22:57.879 focus before it's a feeling. And so while we're chasing 0:22:57.920 --> 0:23:02.680 a feeling called joy, God has given us the ability 0:23:02.760 --> 0:23:09.120 to choose not our feelings. You ever tried to choose joy? 0:23:10.119 --> 0:23:12.320 I saw it on Pinterest. I tried it. It sucked, 0:23:12.400 --> 0:23:15.359 it didn't work. Then I felt guilty because I couldn't 0:23:15.359 --> 0:23:18.080 find joy, and it made me feel less joy. So 0:23:18.200 --> 0:23:21.199 now I'm in a joyless pit of joylessness. It is 0:23:21.240 --> 0:23:29.200 cyclical joylessness and shame is the difference between choice and consequence. 0:23:33.840 --> 0:23:37.800 Joy is a choice, really because some of the trials 0:23:37.800 --> 0:23:41.240 that people go through are actual mental illness, and it's 0:23:41.280 --> 0:23:42.920 kind of hard for them to just feel happy because 0:23:42.920 --> 0:23:46.679 they got a good parking space and no matter how 0:23:46.760 --> 0:23:48.919 much you tell them to feel happy, be happy, you know, 0:23:49.880 --> 0:23:55.000 be happy, feel happy, counter blessings. James doesn't say counter blessings. 0:23:56.440 --> 0:23:59.160 This is in a nursery rhyme. It's a Bible scripture. 0:24:00.200 --> 0:24:04.480 He said, count it all joy. He said, learn how 0:24:04.520 --> 0:24:12.120 to flip. You might not know this statement, but there's 0:24:12.160 --> 0:24:21.600 a there's a statement in financial terms, it's an income statements. 0:24:21.600 --> 0:24:24.040 It's got your your income on one side, your expenses 0:24:24.080 --> 0:24:29.080 on another. James says, if you can learn to put 0:24:29.119 --> 0:24:32.280 some of the stuff in the income column that you 0:24:32.320 --> 0:24:35.560 thought was an expense, some of the stuff in the 0:24:35.600 --> 0:24:38.960 blessing column that you thought was a burden. If you 0:24:38.960 --> 0:24:42.280 can flip the flow, you actually have more joy than 0:24:42.320 --> 0:24:46.040 you're aware of. But you're not gonna get it by 0:24:46.119 --> 0:24:49.480 praying for a feeling. You're going to get it by 0:24:49.520 --> 0:24:53.600 making choices. Joy is not a choice. In fact, the 0:24:53.640 --> 0:24:56.080 worst way that I can get more joy is to 0:24:56.119 --> 0:24:59.840 focus on getting more joy. The best way to st 0:25:00.240 --> 0:25:03.240 being happy is to ask yourself the question am I happy? 0:25:03.840 --> 0:25:06.320 And see? I don't remember my grandparents ever talking about this. 0:25:06.359 --> 0:25:08.560 If they did, I don't remember it. I never remember 0:25:08.760 --> 0:25:11.880 my grandmother my grandfather talking about are we really happy. 0:25:12.200 --> 0:25:16.160 They didn't think like that. There wasn't feeds and scrolling. 0:25:16.240 --> 0:25:18.880 There wasn't. There wasn't all this other stuff to make 0:25:18.920 --> 0:25:22.400 them feel unhappy at a moment's notice. There wasn't. There 0:25:22.440 --> 0:25:26.520 wasn't an infinite supply of unhappiness in their pocket in 0:25:26.560 --> 0:25:31.600 the form of a device. They didn't have that, So 0:25:31.600 --> 0:25:37.320 they focused on something else. What was it? What is 0:25:37.359 --> 0:25:41.679 it that brings joy? If I focus on it, I 0:25:41.720 --> 0:25:46.399 know it is not. It's not looking around, how are 0:25:46.400 --> 0:25:49.040 they doing? What do they think? Where'd they go on vacation? 0:25:49.240 --> 0:25:51.520 Where's your thinking? Where's he going on? What's she wearing 0:25:51.640 --> 0:25:55.120 when she is? What do they think about me? That's 0:25:55.160 --> 0:25:59.600 not gonna do it, he said for the joy set 0:25:59.640 --> 0:26:03.840 before him. So I can't be looking all around and 0:26:03.920 --> 0:26:07.879 expecting to have joy. I can't be judging my situation 0:26:08.440 --> 0:26:11.639 according to other people's calling and expect to have joy. 0:26:12.720 --> 0:26:15.959 I can't be judging my gift compared to other people's 0:26:16.040 --> 0:26:19.159 talent and expect to have joy. I know is so 0:26:19.280 --> 0:26:22.679 cliche because we say it every week, but nothing destroys 0:26:22.760 --> 0:26:27.399 joy like comparison. The life you've got some of you 0:26:27.440 --> 0:26:30.560 would be so enjoyable if only you didn't do this 0:26:30.600 --> 0:26:35.720 while you were living it. If only you didn't do this. 0:26:36.040 --> 0:26:37.800 I mean, it's hurting my neck just to do it. 0:26:37.840 --> 0:26:40.560 To illustrate to you, imagine what is doing to your soul. 0:26:42.240 --> 0:26:46.240 You can't have joy that way. It is destroying your joy. 0:26:46.920 --> 0:26:50.480 You're praying for more joy, and yet you are destroying 0:26:50.560 --> 0:26:54.080 the joy God has given you, the joy of your salvation, 0:26:54.680 --> 0:26:58.120 the joy of your calling, the joy of your assignment. 0:27:00.600 --> 0:27:05.879 God give me more joy. Well, it's a decision not 0:27:06.000 --> 0:27:09.600 to have joy. That's the worst way to get joy, 0:27:09.400 --> 0:27:13.879 the decision of what I'm going to focus on. And 0:27:13.920 --> 0:27:16.960 I can't get it like this. And I definitely can't 0:27:17.000 --> 0:27:21.280 get it like this looking at what's behind me. I 0:27:22.200 --> 0:27:25.520 can't look back. Remember when God called Moses at the 0:27:25.560 --> 0:27:27.679 burning bush and he said his name, he said, I 0:27:27.720 --> 0:27:33.800