Advent In One Chapter, Part 3: The Psychology Of Joy
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Introduction- Challenges Of Being Joyful During Advent
Introduction- Challenges Of Being Joyful During Advent
Joy to the world! the Lord is come;
Let Earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare him room,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing.
Joy to the world! the Saviour reigns;
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.
"Joy to the World" is an English Christmas carol. The carol was written in 1719 by the English minister and hymnwriter Isaac Watts, and its lyrics are an interpretation of Psalm 98 celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.
Since the 20th century, "Joy to the World" has been the most-published Christmas hymn in North America
Illustration: This is why Kipchoge smiles when he runs (and why you should be doing it too)
Training your facial muscles to lighten up can boost your performance
BY RUNNER'S WORLD
2 NOV 2018
Last year, top-ranked marathon runner Eliud Kipchoge ran 26.2 miles in just two hours and 25 seconds in Monza, Italy, as part of Nike’s Breaking2 project. His time, although not record-eligible, is the fastest marathon time ever recorded, and the effort required to clock it was undoubtedly gruelling. This year, the man himself went on to set a new marathon world record at the Berlin Marathon, crossing the line in 2:01:39. Yet in both marathons, Kipchoge never let the pain show on his face. In fact, it appeared as if he was actually grinning at times.
No, he was not trying to mock his competitors: Kipchoge later told reporters he was smiling to relax and work through the pain, employing a strategy some runners have long believed to be true: that smiling while running can help you to run more efficiently.
Studies have shown that when we enrich our workout with a smile, we feel that our perceived effort is far less than the effort we exert when we frown while exercising.
The reason for this difference has to do with facial feedback. “When we make a facial expression, we may experience the emotional state we associate with the expression. We associate smiling with happiness or enjoyment, states that make us more relaxed, so when we smile, we are consciously trying to relax. By adopting the facial expression of frowning, however, we are experiencing an emotional state of feeling tense or less relaxed.”
And as it turns out the smile does not even have to be particularly genuine. In other words you can fake it till you make it.
But if the muscular expression of smiling can influence or even cause the feeling of relaxation, then planning to smile so that one feels relaxed is no more fake than smiling as a result of first feeling relaxed.
So the writer concludes by suggesting “we ought to simply reconsider our assumptions about the one-way relationship between feeling and smiling. Instead of believing we need to channel an emotion like happiness before smiling, we should remember that the act of smiling itself can cause an emotion or feeling.
Transition To Body
Transition To Body
9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy;
Body
Body
Go deeper in our walk & relationship with the LORD
Go deeper in our walk & relationship with the LORD
9 For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
Paul (the Apostle Jesus Christ ) & Timothy (brother in Jesus Christ) pray substantively for faithful saints
5 Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time.
6 Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.
10 The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away.
11 Who considers the power of your anger, and your wrath according to the fear of you?
12 So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.
Filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding
2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.
1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Walking Right
10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise,
16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.
17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
Illustration: Men’s Discipleship group teaching on replacing bad habits with good habits
8 But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.
9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds,
10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,
12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering;
13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.
14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.
15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
(Go deeper in our walk & relationship with the LORD)
(Go deeper in our walk & relationship with the LORD)
Understand the source & nature of our strength
Understand the source & nature of our strength
11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy;
Strength-
δυναμούμενοι endowed w. all capability Col 1:11
Power- potential for functioning in some way, power, might, strength, force, capability
Endurance- the capacity to hold out or bear up in the face of difficulty, patience, endurance, fortitude, steadfastness, perseverance
1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.
2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.
4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.
5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.
30 Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted;
31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
(Go deeper in our walk & relationship with the LORD
(Go deeper in our walk & relationship with the LORD
as well as
Understand the source & nature of our strength)
Understand the source & nature of our strength)
but also learn to
Appreciate the adequacy & expense of our acquittal
Appreciate the adequacy & expense of our acquittal
12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.
13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,
14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
Giving Thanks- to express appreciation for benefits or blessings, give thanks, express thanks, render/return thanks
Qualified- to cause to be adequate, make sufficient, qualify
Conveyed- transfer from one place to another, remove
Redemption- redemption, acquittal, also the state of being redeemed
Illustration: The ESPN documentary, O.J.: Made In America, takes an exhaustive look at multiple facets of one of the most infamous crimes of the 20th century, but there's one small sliver of it that may be of particular interest to us today. It's found in the fourth episode, and it's a two-minute breakdown that explains how O.J. Simpson was able to afford the famous "Dream Team" of attorneys that ultimately got him off when it seemed impossible.
The "Dream Team" refers to the team of trial lawyers that represented O. J. Simpson in his 1995 trial for the murder of his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ronald Goldman. The team included Robert Shapiro, Johnnie Cochran, Carl Douglas, Shawn Chapman, Gerald Uelmen, Robert Kardashian, Alan Dershowitz, F. Lee Bailey, Barry Scheck, Peter Neufeld, Robert Blasier, and William Thompson.
This Dream Team that, at its peak, cost O.J. an astounding $50,000 every single DAY! And keep in mind that the trial lasted 135 days, not including pre-trial, preparation and more.
So the cost of OJs defense was approximately $6.75 million
O.J. had already burned through his liquid assets such as cash and stock. He didn't want to sell his house, so he had to find a way to make some money.
How does a celebrity accused of murder make money?
To put it simply, Simpson was able to sell various pieces of memorabilia while he was incarcerated, and in a somewhat ironic twist, the fact that he was incarcerated actually raised the value of signed O.J. memorabilia (which was already pretty valuable thanks to his iconic status as an athlete and entertainer before his arrest). To that end, O.J., is reported to have dated certain items in his autographs, in order to conclusively place him in jail at the time of the signing, thus raising the value of that particular item even more.
12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.
13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,
14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him,
7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
Transition To Close- Patience with joy
Transition To Close- Patience with joy
11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy;
Illustration: “You Bring Me Joy” by Anita Baker off her second studio album, “Rapture” released in 1986
You bring me joy
When I'm down
Oh so much joy
When I lose my way your love comes smilin' on me
I saw your face and then I knew
We would be friends
I was so afraid but your eyes, they'd say "Come to me"
So I'd say to you
"Can we talk for a while?"
You'd say "It's alright"
When you love me, I smile
I feel your heart and you feel mine
You bring me joy
You bring me joy
Don't go too far away
If I can't see your face I will remember your smile
But can this be right
Oh and should we be friends
I get lonely sometimes
And I'm mixed up again
'Cause you're the finest thing I've seen in all my life
You bring me joy
My joy, my joy
10 Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,
9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Close
Close
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.