Too Easily Pleased<\/b><\/p>\n
C. S. Lewis gave us the following insight: <\/p>\n
Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition, when infinite joy is offered to us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in the slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.<\/p>\n
The Agony of Deceit by Michael Horton, Editor, Moody Press, 1990, p. 49<\/p>\n
Pursuit for <\/p>\n
Men have pursued joy in every avenue imaginable. Some have successfully found it while others have not. Perhaps it would be easier to describe where joy cannot be found:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Not in Unbelief \u2014 Voltaire was an infidel of the most pronounced type. He wrote: \u201cI wish I had never been born.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2022 Not in Pleasure \u2014 Lord Byron lived a life of pleasure if anyone did. He wrote: \u201cThe worm, the canker, and grief are mine alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2022 Not in Money \u2014 Jay Gould, the American millionaire, had plenty of that. When dying, he said: \u201cI suppose I am the most miserable man on earth.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2022 Not in Position and Fame \u2014 Lord Beaconsfield enjoyed more than his share of both. He wrote: \u201cYouth is a mistake; manhood a struggle; old age a regret.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2022 Not in Military Glory \u2014 Alexander the Great conquered the known world in his day. Having done so, he wept in his tent, before he said, \u201cThere are no more worlds to conquer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2022 Where then is real joy found? \u2014 the answer is simple, in Christ alone. <\/p>\n
The Bible Friend, Turning Point, May, 1993<\/p>\n
Misery Dinner<\/b><\/p>\n
Author Leo Buscaglia tells this story about his mother and their \u201cmisery dinner.\u201d It was the night after his father came home and said it looked as if he would have to go into bankruptcy because his partner had absconded with their firm\u2019s funds. His mother went out and sold some jewelry to buy food for a sumptuous feast. Other members of the family scolded her for it. But she told them that \u201cthe time for joy is now, when we need it most, not next week.\u201d Her courageous act rallied the family. <\/p>\n
Christopher News Notes, August, 1993<\/p>\n
Stand Strong<\/b><\/p>\n
This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one: the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap, and being a force of nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. <\/p>\n
George Bernard Shaw, quoted in Courage: You Can Stand Strong in the Face of Fear, Jon Johnston, 1990, SP Publications, p. 171.<\/p>\n
Let Your Balloon Go<\/b><\/p>\n
A conference at a Presbyterian church in Omaha. People were given helium-filled balloons and told to release them at some point in the service when they felt like expressing the joy in their hearts. Since they were Presbyterians, they weren\u2019t free to say \u201cHallelujah, Praise the Lord.\u201d All through the service balloons ascended, but when it was over one-third of the balloons were unreleased. Let your balloon go. <\/p>\n
Bruce Larson, Luke, p. 43<\/p>\n
Resource<\/b><\/p>\n
\u2022 Holy Sweat, Tim Hansel, Word, 1987, p.132.<\/p>\n
\u2022 J. Carl Laney, Marching Orders, p. 133 (difference between Columbia River and Trinity River).<\/p>\n
Undertakers<\/b><\/p>\n
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., was a member of the U.S. Supreme Court for 30 years. His mind, wit and work earned him the unofficial title of \u201cthe greatest justice since John Marshall.\u201d At one point in his life, Justice Holmes explained his choice of a career by saying: \u201cI might have entered the ministry if certain clergymen I knew had not looked and acted so much like undertakers.\u201d <\/p>\n
Moody Bible Institute\u2019s Today In The Word, June, 1988, p. 13.<\/p>\n
Christians<\/b><\/p>\n
As a third-century man was anticipating death, he penned these last words to a friend: \u201cIt\u2019s a bad world, an incredibly bad world. But I have discovered in the midst of it a quiet and holy people who have learned a great secret. They have found a joy which is a thousand times better than any pleasure of our sinful life. They are despised and persecuted, but they care not. They are masters of their souls. They have overcome the world. These people are the Christians\u2014and I am one of them.\u201d <\/p>\n
Moody Bible Institute\u2019s, Today In The Word, June, 1988, p. 18<\/p>\n
Saying<\/b><\/p>\n
\u2022 Joy is the byproduct of obedience.<\/p>\n
Source Unknown<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Too Easily Pleased C. S. Lewis gave us the following insight: Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition, when infinite joy is offered to us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in the … Continue reading “Joy”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-901","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/901","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=901"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/901\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=901"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=901"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=901"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}