Howdy. Well, we're talking a little bit today about the theme of joy as our third Sunday of Advent.
But what I wanted to do is to help to distinguish that a bit from the idea of what happiness may feel like at any given point.
Because happiness can be something that may be fleeting, it may go up and down, but that's a bit different from what it is to find joy.
So when happiness can be fleeting, can we truly find joy in our life?
There was some years back when I was traveling down into Guatemala and a bunch of us decided we were going to go zip-lining.
So we went up this mountain range area and we saw, and this thing was just huge.
I mean, it went for quite a ways down the, I was like, I don't know how in the world they even got this up in the first place.
And everybody was taking turns going down this zip-line, you know, and people would be yelling, or they'd be upside down,
or off to the side, or Superman or whatever it was.
And I decided that of course I was going to be a little different, of course.
And I began seeing the greatest American hero theme song as I'm sliding down the zip-line.
You know, believe it or not, I'm walking on air, I never thought I could be so free.
And I'm just going along and everything and I sang the entire song.
Like almost two minutes I swear that thing was, and all the way from beginning to end, it was a really long one, I swear.
And I get to the end and I looked over and it was like, alright, alright, cool, cool, cool.
Okay, who took the video of me sliding down the zip-line?
Nobody had taken a video.
Every other person they had taken a video of it and I was just like, oh, you know, it's like this thing where I was so excited,
so happy to be on the zip-line, and then at the end what I was looking forward to is getting to show everybody how cool it was,
and there was nothing.
Isn't it amazing that you can be having the most fun experience, so pleasurable, and all of a sudden something can happen and just takes the fun out of it, you know?
And that's the thing about happiness is that sometimes we end up seeing it go up and down, because it's not always the same thing as true joy.
Sometimes when we just end up getting disappointed and we end up struggling with this feeling of, does happiness really last?
The thing is, is that finding happiness, it's not a bad thing.
Being happy is not something evil, but the question is, is finding happiness always a good thing?
Is that actually the joy, is it actually the goal of joy, is to try to find a feeling of happiness?
And that's something I want us to wrestle with a little bit today, because happiness can be a little bit tricky at times,
but there's something deeper that we're looking to.
See, we get this question of, why is it that pleasure in life can be so hard today?
There are, this is the nerd part of the sermon, there are four chemicals that are oftentimes associated with feeling happy.
There is dopamine, which comes from eating food, achieving goals, completing tasks, or taking care of yourself.
There's oxytocin that comes from socializing with people, physical touch, petting animals, and helping other people.
There's endorphins from exercising, listening to music, watching a movie, or laughing, or serotonin, being in the sun,
being mindful of what's going on around you, being with nature, or just meditating on something calm and peaceful.
The thing is, is that each of these can end up working to create a feeling of happiness.
But what's interesting is that sometimes they end up coming at unexpected times that make things complicated.
See, it turns out that dopamine doesn't just come when you satisfy what you want, it also comes when there's anticipation.
When you are anticipating that you're going to get something that you really want.
And that's the thing about it, is that you end up getting even more dopamine leading up to something, oftentimes, and even getting it at all.
That's why you can only eat, you can't only eat one potato chip.
That craving after getting the first one keeps rising and you keep going back for more.
But the thing about this though, is that it has become even harder to deal with in today's world, especially a world where we are constantly swiping on things like social media.
And why is that?
Well, it turns out that it's not actually the anticipation of knowing you're going to get something you want.
It's actually the anticipation of hoping you may get something you want that's uncertain.
What do I mean by that?
If somebody decides they're going to post something onto Facebook and they put it on there and then they walk away.
I put a picture, I put a quote, I put something I think is important.
And then they're wondering, did anybody read it?
Did anybody look at it?
Did anybody hit like?
Oh no, did somebody hit unlike?
And then just their mind, well, I need to go check and find out.
They don't know if anybody has actually done anything, but it's just wondering.
If maybe somebody has said, yes, I like what you posted.
Or other times, whenever we're just trying to go through and see if someone has added something or interacted in some way, or even if they've liked us as a person.
Mostly because of the way we may look or the appearance that we may give.
This is also why it is that online dating becomes so addictive, but isn't very satisfying.
The thing with this is that we end up getting this instant desire for gratification.
Why?
Because you may be thinking, well, if you don't know if you're going to get what you're looking for on social media,
then how does that make you happy?
Because all you have to do is just swipe again and you get another chance.
And then you can always jump to another social network to see if somebody else likes you.
The thing is, is that we are in a world where there is no waiting and no wondering anymore.
We are constantly looking for some level of constant satisfaction.
But here's the problem with that.
The more that we do that, the more that we try to instantly satisfy what we want, the less we enjoy it.
The less that it actually creates happiness inside of us.
This is one of the reasons for why it is that certain addictions become as powerful as they are.
Alcohol, drugs, physical intimacy, social media, many things gambling that can end up continuing to pull you in,
not because it may be all that enjoyable itself, but because the drive, the anticipation of it draws you in even further.
And that's one of the things that we end up discovering is that if all we're looking for is some interaction with our emotions,
or an experience to bolster our happiness, does that actually bring real joy or something that we would really want?
And that's one of the things that we end up having to deal with when we look at John the Baptist.
What was it that gave John joy in his life?
You see, we end up knowing that John was looking forward to Jesus coming, the anticipation of Jesus and everything that he was going to do.
And we know that Jesus had said, the Spirit of the Lord of God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to those who are bound to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.
And then there was John, and he sees Jesus and he proclaims that he is the one to come, and then what ends up happening to John?
He gets thrown into prison.
So now, after hearing the words of Jesus, what is John especially looking to?
Liberty to the captives and opening the prison to those who are bound.
But what happens to John?
John is still in prison.
See, the thing about this is that his anticipation, was it met with satisfaction?
It was, but not the way he was expecting.
See, that's one of the things that we see in the verse, is what it is to be scandalized or offended by someone.
When we are scandalized, we are offended, we are seeing something or receiving something that we were not expecting.
We are not getting what it was that we expected, what it was that we wanted.
The thing is, is that Jesus wasn't coming to bring what it was people expected, but rather came to bring the kingdom of God.
We may be expecting one thing, but we end up receiving another.
But here's the thing for John, was he going to reject what God was doing because it was different from what he was expecting?
What was it that we end up seeing Jesus actually doing?
The eyes of the blind will be opened, the ears of the deaf are unstopped.
Those who cannot walk are able to leap like deer.
Those who cannot speak, their tongues will be shouting for joy.
The dead will rise and the poor will receive good news.
Jesus was doing all of these things.
But could John look beyond what he was going through to see what Jesus was truly doing?
Because John's goals, his purposes, his plans, what it was that he came to do, they were being fulfilled.
But was his experience keeping him from seeing what God was doing?
Isn't the same thing true for us though?
Do we ever look beyond the moment of what we're experiencing now to see what God is actually doing around us?
Because that's the thing about joy.
Joy goes beyond a given moment.
See, as much as I was frustrated at the end of that zipline and that all these people, nobody had taken a video,
the reality was that I was probably the most entertaining out of the people sliding along that zipline.
And all the people that were standing there on either side were having a great time laughing and pointing and enjoying the show,
so much so that they had forgotten to take the video.
But here's the thing.
Was it more important to make sure that there was a video clip online that somebody may or may not swipe through in five seconds?
Or to enjoy that time with the people who are right there with me?
And that's the thing that we end up doing.
We oftentimes end up missing the true fruit because of what we're looking for at any given moment.
The thing is that Jesus' ministry was bearing fruit more than just what was happening at that moment.
Yes, John was in a prison cell, but that didn't mean that Jesus wasn't doing what he had come to do,
to bring hope and life and salvation to the world.
But that's the thing about our own lives of faith, is that oftentimes we are spending so much trying to make sure that at this moment
we're experiencing what we want to feel and getting something that we may not get otherwise.
And that's what we oftentimes do in Advent, is that sometimes we are struggling so much to make sure
that we're having an experience at that point that we may miss what the ultimate joy actually is.
But also in our life of faith, are we actually looking to be built up, to grow, to learn, to try new things,
to discover more about God?
Because if we are struggling with what's happening inside of ourselves, then maybe we need to be asking the question,
are we living for more than what's happening right in front of us?
Because joy goes beyond the happiness of today.
That's the thing that we end up seeing. If you'll remember, there were four different ways in which happiness happens in our brain.
And whenever we are struggling with the times of happiness at that moment of getting something satisfied that we wanted,
what if we look at other things that are blessing us by God?
To be dedicated to things that actually matter. Are we dedicated to life and faith and purpose?
To doing what is right in this world, but especially to sharing the good news of the gospel with other people?
We end up, could we change from the uncertainty of swiping through our Facebook and our Instagram
and go to something that we know is truly certain at all times, that God has made us His children,
and that we have life eternal because of Him.
If we end up feeling that what we do in church and in faith has become stagnant and boring,
isn't that a time when we should try something different?
Doesn't that mean that maybe we should try a new study or a different small group or to find another opportunity to serve in the community?
Or to be able to reach out to people we've never met here in this place and discover that maybe that might be our new best friend?
I mean, hey, there's a lot of people here. They're kind of weird, but they're nice.
And the thing with it is that with each of these opportunities, is that maybe just discovering something that you've never tried before.
Maybe we get to the new year and you want to actually read through the Bible in a year.
Whenever we find that something is boring, it doesn't mean that it's lost its joy.
It just means we have a chance to try it in a new way.
But there's also times when we can look for the little pleasures, the little things that may come up.
Not the things that take away from purpose or meaning, but the things where maybe we make a friend laugh.
Maybe we share a meal with somebody we haven't seen in a while.
Maybe we end up just taking some time, make things look a little bit festive, just to draw people's attention for a bit.
Not in place of what's meaningful, but to draw us closer to what is meaningful.
Because our meaning goes beyond what happens here now.
We're not just animals responding to some stimulus that tries to make us dance and move.
But rather is to be able to look and discover something new that we've never seen before.
And maybe we have to be willing to wait just a little bit longer for something.
It may turn out that whatever gratification you're looking for, the thing that maybe has driven you to the things that were unhealthy in the past.
Maybe if we slow down, whether with friends or accountability, we might be able to discover what could actually bring true joy.
Because true joy takes time.
True joy is something that has to be built on.
And maybe there are things that you need to work on in your life, whether it be maybe finding community to live alongside,
or therapy, or even for some people medication, there may be any number of things that may be happening in your life.
But with each of these things is to be able to go through them over time and to be able to pursue what really matters in life.
Because Jesus didn't come into the world as a grown man.
He came into the world as a baby.
And that's the thing about coming into the world as a baby is that it takes time and that you have to wait to see what God's going to do.
So this baby who grew into the man who would bring us salvation and life everlasting, he is the one who has made us for eternity.
So whatever may be in your life right now that you are using just to try to get through the day,
my hope and prayer is that that will no longer distract you from the things that really matter.
Let's spend more time living our lives today, not just for today, but as if we truly believe that we have life everlasting.
Thanks be to God.