November 15-16, 1997 Sermon

November 15-16, 1997

Mike Slaughter

Your Joyometer
Good Evening Church. I want to ask you a question.This is going to take a little bit of thought, but I want you to be honest. Don't skip over this question too quickly. How would people who know you well describe you on the joyometer? Where would you fall on the continuum, somewhere between tense and uptight or loose and laughter? Where would the people who know you well, who have been with you this week, tell me you would be?
Duke University just released a report last week. It's the end of a four-year study that was in last Sunday's Dayton paper. It was a study on the relationship between stress and heart disease. Heart disease is still the number one killer in this country. Psychological stress releases stress hormones in the body, and these stress hormones literally bombard the heart, forcing it to beat at a constant pace of 'fight or flight.'Duke University just released a report last week. It's the end of a four-year study that was in last Sunday's Dayton paper. It was a study on the relationship between stress and heart disease. Heart disease is still the number one killer in this country. Psychological stress releases stress hormones in the body, and these stress hormones literally bombard the heart, forcing it to beat at a constant pace of 'fight or flight.'
This is what the study proves: psychological stress really has physical effects throughout the body. It fights against your immune system, it increases the blood pressure, and it makes all those platelets sticky which in turn will gum up your pipes. Now as we've been talking just last Sunday and as Duke's study points out: acts of generosity and laughter release beta endorphins, and these endorphins. The body's natural defense system against stress.
Now isn't that something about how God created us? We are fearfully and wonderfully made! There are literally hormones that are released to battle stress in our body. It is no accident that the people of God are a celebrating people. That is why we have psalms or songs.
You and I are created to dance. I love what the psalms say. We're to shout for joy. You like that? It says beat the drum. Pound that sucker! Blow the horn! Clash the symbols! Praise the Lord with dance, the scripture says. Bang the drum, blow the horn, shout for joy! Dance! We're created to dance!

Psalm 126:1-4
1: A Song of Ascents. When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream.
2: Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, "The Lord has done great things for them."
3: The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad.
4: Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like the watercourses in the Negev!

Today's psalm deals with joy. Go there with me. Psalm 126. It's no accident that there are psalms, because we are created to be a party people, a celebrating people. "When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, (or brought back the captives to Zion, that's what it says literally) we were like those who could dream. Then our mouths were filled with laughter and our tongues with shouts of joy." Now the word there should be shouts, but you know what Westerners that came out of Europe did. They got quiet when they went to church. We translated that down a little, but the Hebrew word says shouts of joy. "Then it was said amongst the nation, (man, look at those folks) the Lord has done great things for them." It's a God thing that the Lord has done in those people. The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.

Psalm 126:5-6
5: May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy!
6: He that goes forth weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.

Don't you like that? We are filled with joy. Now the key word in this psalm is joy. "Our mouths are filled with laughter." Joy, Galatians says, is the second fruit of the spirit. How can you tell that you are controlled and filled by the spirit of God? A fruit of that will be joy. Joy is second only to love. How can you tell the Spirit in a person's life? One, they don't cut other people, they love other people. Second, they're filled with joy. Joy.
You know, joy was tied into the first miracle of Jesus. What was the first miracle of Jesus? Water to wine. That's the first miracle. The people of God are always counter-culture. Community. Joy is the counter-culture value to entertainment. You see, entertainment is really just a counterfeit, because in entertainment we buy the vitality of another person's imagination to energize our lives. Joy goes much deeper than entertainment. Now, what is the key to joy?
People of joy are constantly remembering what God has done. Do you see how this psalm begins? "We remember when you restored our fortune. We remember when you led us back as captives into Zion." Now remember, these are Jewish people who are singing this song. Jewish people have long known the pains of suffering in captivity.

Three Keys To Joy
Joy is not the absence of pain and suffering. That's how joy is different than happiness. Notice the theme is joy, it's not happiness. Happiness is totally dependent upon circumstances and all the circumstances working out just right. If your marriage isn't working, you can't be happy in your marriage, can you? But can you know joy? Yes, because, you see, joy isn't dependent upon circumstances. It's not the absence of pain and suffering. And you see, any time Jewish people experienced pain and suffering, they didn't focus on the pain and suffering. What did they do? They sang the songs of Zion. They filled their minds with the thoughts of what God had done in the past. How God had led them out in the past. Every time they were suffering, they would sing songs of Zion and they would remember how God led them to the Place of Promise.

I. Remember
Do you remember when God led you out? Do you remember where you were, what you were doing when God found you? Well, I do. I got home the other day from an out-of-town conference. I walked over to the table late at night to check my mail, and it still amazes me when I see "DR. Michael Slaughter" in my mail.
It's still too easy to remember back to my senior year in high school, three days before graduation when I was flunking government, and I wasn't going to graduate. I still remember those cold, numb feelings, all of the esteem issues and everything that went with that. Boy, I remember! Lord, you led me out, and you led me to this wonderful place. Do you remember where you were when God found you? Can you remember?
Len and Ray and I did a conference in Pittsburgh this week. We had a ballroom filled with pastors and church leaders at the Sheraton North. It amazes me how God is using this place to touch people. On the week before we were in Toronto. The next trip we're going to three cities on the west coast - Pasadena, Seattle, and Portland. And, San Diego's the next swing. It amazes me, and it's not because God needs me.
God doesn't need us. Did you know that? God didn't make us because he needs us, God is complete within God's self. God made us because he loves us. God doesn't need us, we need God. Before I came out here to speak tonight, I didn't say, "Oh, God, I can do you a favor tonight." A volunteer mentality gives the idea that God needs us and we can donate little bits of time. No, we need God. As a servant, I'm back to saying, "God, I need you. Help!"

Restored Our Fortunes
The influence of what God does amazes me. God doesn't need me. He's doing this as part of my restoration. He leads me out and brings me to this wonderful place. You know what amazes me? Tonight we look like a small church, but do you know we're in cyberspace? In the last 30 days, 1500 people have tuned into what we do in worship. Our Web site, on the Internet, has received hits from 31 states and three Provinces in Canada. Listen to where people are listening from-- Australia, Finland, Japan, Belgium, Italy, United Kingdom, Chili, New Zealand, Sweden.
Can you believe this? And it's not because God needs me. It's because God finds this person with broken esteem and he leads us out to this wonderful place. Isn't that amazing? You see, the Jews were smart. Whenever they found themselves in a place of uncertainty or pain, they didn't focus on the pain. They sang the songs of Zion. They filled their minds remembering what God had done in the past.
I just want to read this one letter to you. This is from Australia. Listen to this: "Thank you, thank you, thank you for making the sermons more printable with less paper waste. Paper costs a fortune here. I was just reading the latest sermon you have put online. Thanks for your hard work. I love that I can be so far away from my church, but still be in touch. I'm really looking forward to the chat line." This from our sister in Christ, Sally Bostwick, who moved to Australia. Isn't that neat that people in Australia call this their church? It's not because God needs us, Church. It's because we need God.

To Sustain In Difficult Times
It is part of God's plan of leading us out. Do you remember where you were when God found you? Do you remember how God led you out? You see, remembering what God has done sustains us in the in-between times. Those times of pain and uncertainty. We all have them. Can you imagine Jesus? You remember how he was sweating the night before his crucifixion, but God had told him he would raise him up.
Can you see what Jesus was feeling the first day in the grave. Like one of those Twilight Zone movies, or Alfred Hitchcock, trapped in a coffin. When are they going to open this thing up? Where are you God? Second day in the Grave, what God has promised is coming, but where are you God? But on the third day, you see you remember, you don't focus on the pain. Like Peter, when he stepped out of the boat, you know that point in time where your foot steps off the edge and you step out there in thin air before your foot hits the water. How did Peter have the guts to take that risk?
We can take that kind of risk because we remember, we fill our minds with the stories of what God has done in the past. You see, joy remembers. And because joy remembers what God has done in the past, joy dreams what God is going to do in the future. Don't you love it?

II. Dream
Don't you like that, what it says in the first verse? It says, "we remember how you restored the fortunes of Zion." We remember how you led us as captives back to Zion, so we became a people again who could dream. You see, joy builds off the past. It anticipates the future. Joy expects things to happen.

We Suffer From Hopelessness
You know, most people suffer from hopelessness, and they don't even know it. Do you know what hopelessness is? It is the inability to see beyond today. It is to live in a survival mode. Any of you ever been there? Listen to this. Here's what the Duke study says: "The inability of people to dream, to have a dream of hope for tomorrow, is as unhealthy as smoking one pack of cigarettes a day."

Psalm 126:4
4: Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like the watercourses in the Negev!

Joy has a future focus. It expects things to happen. Look at verse 4 with me. The prayer is 'restore our fortunes like streams in the Negev.' How many know what the Negev is? It's a desert. It is baked ground. But did you know a sudden rain in the Negev makes the desert blaze with blossoms?
God is going to do a new thing, people, and when you live remembering what God has done in the past, you stop focusing on your pain or uncertainty today. You are dreaming and expecting what God will do in the future. It affects your whole disposition. When people look at you they don't see a negative drain, they look at you and they go, "Wow! How are you that way? You've just been through a divorce. Your spouse walked out on you, wow. It's a God thing. Wow! Truly God has done a great thing for you."
People, remember your dreams. Some of you are sitting here tonight and you feel that your marriage is pretty dry. It's like baked earth. Remember when you met your spouse. Remember those feelings. What were the reasons you had for wanting to be married to that person? Remember those feelings, those aren't accidental feelings. Those are feelings that God put there. Remember those dreams, because God makes blossoms blaze in the desert, my brothers and sisters.
Your children. Some of you are frustrated with children right now because of their lack of direction. Remember the dreams you had for them when they were born. Remember how hard you worked to come up with the right name. You wanted to give them a name of blessing. My brothers and sisters, remember your dreams because God will bring forth new life in the desert. Joy is not the absence of conflict or pain. It is filling your mind with reminders of what God has done and expecting what He will do. Hey, joy remembers. Joy dreams. And you know what else? Joy gives.

III. Give
Psalm 126:5-6
5: May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy!
6: He that goes forth weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.

Look at verses five and six with me. "May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy." What does sow mean? It means to give, doesn't it? It means to invest. May those who sow in tears, even in hard times, even in the tough times, reap with shouts of joy. Those who go out weeping while bearing seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy carrying their produce.

A "Get" Focus
Most people are caught with a "Get" focus, not a "Give" focus. Remember, as a kid, you start out with a "Get" focus, don't you? Oh, Christmas is coming, I can't wait to see what I GET. Right? And when you were a little kid, the Sears and Roebuck catalogue used to come to your house. In September, you began to dream about what you would GET. Oh, Daddy, please, if I could just get this three-wheeled tricycle, I'll be happy. But happy is a cheap substitute. It's not the same thing as joy. And happy doesn't last long.
You see, a lot of us get married to be happy, and all of us discover happy doesn't last long. You're not looking for happy, you're looking for joy. Right? You get the three-wheeled trike, you haven't had that very long until someone down the street gets a bike. "Daddy, I know I said I'd never ask for anything again, but, if I could just have a bike!" You been there? Done that? Never ask for anything again. You're happy Christmas morning when you run downstairs and see what you got, but then somebody down the street got a bike and it had a motor on it. You remember? "Daddy I know when I said when I got the bike I'd never ask anything again, but believe me, this time, if I could just ... a car." Right?
You live with a "Get" focus. What are you doing? I'm getting an education. I'm getting a relationship. I'm getting a house, and then I'm getting a bigger house. It is such an ego driven energy and it consumes, because then you get all this stuff and you've got to lock up everything you've got. Right? You have to put locks on your house to keep your things safe, and then you have to back up the locks with alarms. And then you have to secure the alarms with insurance. And then you die.

A "Give" Focus
What has it been about? Joy does not come from getting. You see, joy comes from giving. Joy comes from a new focus. When in pain, we go out crying because it hurts. We go out crying but we've got the seed of giving in our hand when we go. You see that in this psalm? Because joy comes from giving even in our pain, we decide to live in response to the abundance and generosity of God. You see, we trust God will richly provide all my needs according to his riches in Christ Jesus. Joy centers in a God who generously gives, rather than our ego which freely grabs.

2 Corinthians 9:6-8
6: The point is this: he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
7: Each one must do as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
8: And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that you may always have enough of everything and may provide in abundance for every good work.

What do the first five letters of miserable spell? Miser. Miser-able. You see, joy is not found in wanting to get. Joy is found in giving, my brothers and sisters. It is the law of generosity. Now we're going to look at one passage together. Turn to 2 Corinthians 9 and mark it. I want you to everyday go to this passage. Second Corinthians 9. I'm going to start at the sixth verse. Important life principle. The point is this: "The one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully." Common sense. You get only what you give. Right? If you invest a little, what are you going to get? A little. If you give more, what are you going to get? More.
Hey, I found this out one year when I was a student. I'd never been into gardening, but three of my neighbors wanted to have a garden together and we built a garden plot 90 ft by 120 ft. You can't believe how much stuff came out of that garden. Everyone else did like 10 ft x 20 ft. You get what you give! Now look at verse 8. "And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything you may share abundantly in every good work." God is unlimited in what God has. God will give to you in abundance accordingly as you share in abundance. Those who share more will get more. It is the law of generosity.

2 Corinthians
9:10-11
10: He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your resources and increase the harvest of your righteousness.
11: You will be enriched in every way for great generosity, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God;

Look at verse 10 with me: "He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity which will produce thanksgiving to God through us."
It is real hard, in hard times, to let go once you've seen what's in your hand. This is all I've got, things are real hard now, what happens if I let go of this seed? There is no time more important to let go than in tough times. If you do not put your seed in the ground, what do you have? Only what is in your hand. This is basic common sense. There is no time more important, the only way you're going to receive is to risk your seed to the ground. Right? To give your seed to God's hand.It's the law of generosity. Joy doesn't come from getting. Joy comes from giving.
Now I do not go along with some of these TV preachers who say to give so you get. You give because the Lord is God. That is why you give. But in 1976, when Carolyn and I finally resolved this issue, I'd been a Christian since 1969 and I still hadn't resolved this issue of tithing. Tithing is to give. The Bible teaches that we need to begin by giving 10% of our seed, right off the top to God. Right off the top - he gets the first and best. Because everything I have, God provides abundantly, and God will trust me with more if I am willing to use God's seed for the sake of other people.
Carolyn and I had kind of been saying, "Well, I'm a seminary student, and times are hard, and I have to pay that seminary bill this semester, and really, since I'm a seminary student, isn't that tuition really giving to God?" My, how we can rationalize. My, how we rationalize. But, Jesus is Lord. Finally we said, "No matter what we owe, right off the top, the number one check is going to be 10% of our gross income." You know, since May, 1976, Carolyn and I have never had a financial problem. You cannot outgive God. You see, it is a matter of trust.
Well, where does joy come from? Joy remembers. Whatever you're going through, it doesn't focus on the pain. It remembers what God has done. Remember how God has led you out? Can you remember tonight? Can you remember where you were when God found you? Some of you are still there, and I want to tell you something. God is chasing you down, and it's not to beat you with a stick, it's to bring you to a better place. Quit running. Because joy remembers what God has done. Joy dreams. It expects something to happen. Because joy knows that it's God who gives all things, joy gives. It lives out of the give not the get.
Well, my brothers and sisters, the time has come. We've been talking about the dance all fall. We've been talking about getting honest with God. Do you remember when you were a kid? Do you remember the first dance you went to? How many of you can remember your first dance? What grade were you in? 7th? What month was it? Do you remember what time of the year? Fall?
We had three dances in my 7th grade year. My mom wouldn't let me go to the first two -- "you're too young" -- but you know I pestered her long enough I finally went to the third. It was in the spring. Do you remember the first person you danced with? Any of you remember? How many of you who are my age remember? I remember, because I begged my mom to go. Now I'm at the dance, but being at the dance is not the same thing as dancing. I'm this 7th grade kid who argued with my mom to go, and I'm there but now I've got to ask a girl to dance.
So I stood there most of the night with my buddies and didn't ask anyone. Finally, Nancy... I remember, 7th grade... Nancy walks over and asks me to dance and I have been dancing ever since. It's not enough to hear about a dance, or even to go to the dance. You know, my brothers and sisters, God himself has extended his hand to you, and he says, "Dance." Well, this week, at Ginghamsburg, we are going to take time to evaluate, let go, and give God the right to sow in every area of our life.
If you have received this card in the mail, put it in your Bible at the page with 2 Corinthians 9. Every day this week, read through 2 Corinthians 9 and ask God what you are to give to God' s hand. Ask God what you are to give in your relationships, in your lifestyle and in your resources. Let go, and give to God, and see what God will do with your life. For, my brothers and sisters, life is too short not to dance. Way too short not to dance.
Before we go, would you stand up with me? Here's why we dance. (Mike leads the congregation in "Amazing Grace") Isn't God's grace amazing. It's amazing, because I remember what it was like when the Lord found me, but the Lord has led me out, and He's led me to this wonderful place. My brothers and sisters, as you go this week, remember, dream and give. Go in Jesus' name. Amen.