THE JOY STEALERS

I Introduction

A. Mark Twain was a professional humorist whose letters and writing a made people laugh and forget their troubles for a time.

1. Yet in private, Mark Twain was himself a man whose life had been broken by sorrow

2. when his beloved daughter Jean died of an epileptic seizure, Twain was too ill to go to her funeral.

3. He said to a friend, "I have never greatly envied anyone but the dead. I always envy the dead."

B. Jesus Christ was a man, "acquainted with sorrows and grief"

1. Yet he possessed a deep joy beyond anything the world had to offer.

2. As He faced the death of Calvary, He said to His followers "These things have I spoken to you that my joy might remain in you and that your joy might be full." (John 15:11)

3. Those who truly trust Jesus Christ have the privilege of experiencing the fulness of joy (Ps 16:11)

C. What is it that robs us of our joy?

1. The answer is found in this letter written centuries ago.

2. 19 times in four chapters (Philippians) Paul mentions joy, rejoicing or gladness.

3. The unusual thing about it is this: Paul is in prison and finds himself chained to a soldier so as not to escape.

4. Yet despite his situation and discomfort Paul overflowed with joy. What was his secret?

D. The secret is found in another word often repeated in the book of Phillippians. It is the word MIND.

1. Paul uses the word mind 10 times and the word think 5 times.

2. Add the one time he uses remember and you have a total of 16 references to the mind.

3. In other words the secret of Christian joy is found in the way a believer thinks in his attitudes toward life.

4. As a man thinketh so is he. (Prov 23:7)

5. Phillippians, then is a great book on biblical psychology.

6. It is not some shallow self help book, but it explains the mind the believer must have if he is going to experience Christian joy in a world filled with trouble.

E. The best way to get the real picture of the book is to discover the thieves that rob us of our joy.

II. Thieves that Rob Us of Our Joy

A. Circumstances

1 Most of us would confess when things are going our way we feel a lot happier and we are much easier to live with.

2. Dad must have had an easy day at the office, little Peggy said to her visiting girlfriend. "He didn't squeal the tires when he pulled into the driveway, and he didn't slam the door when he came into the house. And he even gave Mother a kiss".

3. Have you ever stopped to think how few circumstances of life are really under our control.

4. We have no control over the weather or over the traffic in a large city.

5. The person whose happiness depends on ideal circumstances is going to be miserable most of the time.

6. Note the fact that Paul in the worst of circumstances could write a letter saturated with joy.

III. Second Thief is People

A. All of us have had our joy lost because of people.

1. But we have to live and work with people, we can't isolate ourselves from them.

2. We must learn to understand people and even laugh at their peculiarities. It's the only way you can be with people and still not have ulcers.

3. We must accept people as they are and seek to be patient with them and their strange ideas.

4. God is using them as sand paper on us to refine us and make us more and more like Him.

IV. Third Thief of Joy is Things

A. Abraham Lincoln was walking down the street with his two sons, who were crying and fighting.

1. what's the matter with the boys? a friend asked.

2. The same thing that's wrong with the whole world," Lincoln replied. "I have three walnuts and each of the boys wants two !"

3. Things! what thieves they can be! Yet Jesus said, "A man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth" (Luke 12:15)

B. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus warned against laying up treasures on earth; they are not safe, they do not last and they never satisfy.

1. Yet most people today think that joy comes from things that they own.

2. In reality, things can often rob us of the only kind of joy that really lasts.

V. Fourth Thief is Worry..

A. This is the worst thief of all. How many people have been robbed of peace and joy because of worry.

1. Most often over things that never happen!

2. Worry has a number of physical consequence that go with it, Insomnia - ulcers - hives - rashes

3. You can purchase sleep at the drug store but you cannot purchase rest.

4. Paul had plenty of reason to worry - he was a prisoner of Rome.

B. In spite of his difficulties Paul refuses to worry

1. Instead he writes a letter filled with joy and encompassed in it is a prescription for worry (4:6-7)

2. How do we capture these thieves and keep them from stealing our joy which is rightfully ours in Christ.

3. The answer is found in 4:8 - the solution to these problems is to begin cultivating the right attitude of mind.

4. Paul calls upon them in 4:9 to not only have an academic knowledge of the truth but put it into practice.

D. Obviously you cannot put into practice these truths unless you know the author of them.

1. Be sure you are a believer in Christ when you receive him you no longer belong to yourself but unto Him.

2. If you belong to Him then you must trust your circumstances to Him. Allow Him to work them out in the way that only His wisdom can.

3. Believe on Him not only as your Savior but as your keeper as well.