Willesborough Baptist Church

Small Group Study Notes

Studies 1-4

RADICAL JOY

RADICAL JOY

We are commencing a new but brief series called RADICAL JOY.

There was a conference organised in the States that went under the

title RADICALIS – for those who are into Latin, it is a word meaning

‘of roots’, ‘proceeding from a root.’

The word ‘radical’ has come to mean something that is excessive like

radical Islam, radical feminism or radical politics – ie. something that

goes to a particular extreme.

The way I am using RADICAL in this series is by talking about roots.

We have the word radish that is a root plant that can be eaten.

In being radical we are to go back to the root of something and in this

series it is joy that we are going to be radical about.

The series is going to be four sessions – and then we will move onto

another theme like RADICAL GRACE or RADICAL LOVE. As in

previous series the small group sessions will be supplemented with main

messages on a Sunday morning that also take up the theme.

It was Leslie Newbigin who said the ‘evangelical church should be an

explosion of joy in the community.’ Doesn't that statement make you

sit up and think? The mission of God in the community begins with an

explosion of joy!

I am talking about radical joy – in order that we might go to the roots

of what joy is really all about and find that as joy is ignited afresh

within our hearts and lives then there will be an overflow of His love

and grace in our lives. As someone put it, ‘joy is a by-product. Seek it

for itself and it will always elude you…joy is a by-product of a real and

vital relationship with Christ. Seek Christ and his kingdom and joy will

slip quietly in the back door of your life.’

Alan Dinnie

September 2014

1. JOY RULES OK

SCRIPTURE - Philippians chs 1-4! [For private reading not the group reading]

Play the DVD

In this short series focusing on joy - I want us to get to the heart of what joy is

really all about. Joy is more than just a personality trait, it is not just a case of

some people being more joyful than others. What is the root of joy? On each

Sunday during the series I will be affirming the root of joy as being found in the

amazing joy-filled Trinity, Father Son and Holy Spirit. It is as we connect with

the God of joy that perhaps we will become more an ‘explosion of joy in the

community.’

This quote of Leslie Newbigin sounds good on paper - but how does the

reality kick in within the local church?

Do you think that joy is a missing element among God’s people and if

you think so, how do you access the expression of joy? I know of no

meter that can monitor the level of joy among God’s people or is there?

JOY IN PAUL’S LETTER TO THE PHILIPPIANS

1. THERE IS JOY IN PRISION - Paul was in prison (1:13-14) and he speaks of

being in chains, certainly a limiting experience where he was restricted from

doing what he passionately wanted to do. There were many prison periods for

Paul but joy broke through those restrictions and kept him in a freedom, even in

chains, where he trusted God.

What are some of the prison experiences that we can encounter? How

would we help another person discover joy in their ‘prison’ experience?

Look at the verses in 2:17-18 where Paul talks about his personal

situation. He had that ability to rejoice and joy is expressed as a shared

experience with others.

2. THERE IS JOY IN PRAYER - the whole expression of Paul in prayer was

one of great joy. It was not a situation where he seeks to have his own pity

party. There is not a ‘woe is me languishing here in prison’ attitude but a joy

that knew the presence and power of God that stirred him to pray.

Take the opening sentences in 1:3-4 where Paul says In all my prayers

for all of you, I always pray with joy.’ In what way can you find that

your praying for WBC is infused with joy or is it the opposite?

3. THERE IS JOY IN PARTNERSHIP - Joy is not a solitary experience or

expression but a corporate sharing together in the work God calls us to

participate in. It is in the enriching bond of partnership that there is a joy that

flows and it is a joy that satisfies through the warmth of affection and love that

unites God’s people.

Take a look at the verse in 2:2 where Paul speaks of having his joy

made complete through being like minded. What challenge does that

present to us? Jesus is the man of joy whose life’s attitude is indicated

to us in the following verses (6-11) of the great Christological hymn.

Imagine being Euodia and Syntyche whose only claim to fame through

Paul’s letter is his encouragement that they sort out their differences!

4. THERE IS JOY IN PRACTICAL PROVISION - The whole background to

this letter is the warmth of fellowship and faith that caused the church in

Philippi to send a gift to Paul to help with his expenses. It was a gift sent by

Ephaphroditus who nearly died in the process for he became very ill.

Do you remember what Jesus said about giving? That it was more

satisfying and joy-inducing to give than to receive. How do you find the

spirit of giving? Does it impart joy? Think about some of the great

occasions recorded in scripture where giving is associated with an

explosion of joy.

FINALLY IN SUMMARY - Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice.

I know of no finer illustration of this text than my friend and colleague Frank

Gamble who pastored churches with increasing disability but always with

great joy.

Are there some people who we would say are a real joy to be with

because joy just spills over from them and we become infected.

Further reflection - read through the whole of Philippians and pinpoint the

fifteen or so references to joy or rejoice.

Take the opportunity to ponder each reference and face the challenge that it

presents to you today.

‘I wish you all joy in the Lord. I will say it again: all joy be yours.’ (NEB)

2. JOY THAT BREAKS THROUGH CONFUSING

CIRCUMSTANCES.

I always like to have some kind of paragraph to begin each session with when

working on the booklet for our teaching series. So, this time, I Googled "JOY" to

see what it produced; guess what? The first item that came up was a dress

shop near Clapham Junction Railway Station! How very apt! Isn't retail therapy

the only JOY that the world outside recognises? And the fact that the shop is

situated near Clapham Junction Railway Station was very fitting too (sorry about

the dressmaking pun); fitting because Clapham Junction has often been a

synonym for the busyness of this world.

Praise and thank God that we don't fit in comfortably within this world! Praise

God that a dress shop would be the last thing that we would think about when

we said the word "JOY"! Praise God that His understanding of JOY is so vastly

and totally different to the one the world accepts. The retail therapy kind of JOY

eventually leads to worry, fret and financial ruin; whereas the JOY that comes

from Jesus reverses the process. With Christ the journey begins with the worry,

fret and ruin that the lives we live bring to us and leads on to the unutterable

JOY that can only come from Heaven itself.

Today we are taking a look at this glorious Heavenly JOY that breaks through

and destroys the difficult and confusing circumstances that we so frequently find

ourselves in. So, let's turn away from the earthly meaning of JOY and embrace

the life enhancing JOY that can only come from the Lord Jesus Christ. May He

bless each one of us as we go through this study. (Mavis)

How do we experience JOY in the midst of difficult and painful situations? How

can we learn to respond JOYFULLY to a damaged world around us, and how

can we begin to actively cultivate the kind of JOY that Jesus spoke about?

Why not do a Bible search of the word JOY - here are a few verses (that I use in the DVD)to help you get started:-

Nehemiah chap. 8 v 10 ; John chap. 15 v 11; John chap. 16 v 22 - 24; Hebrews chap. 12 v 2; 1 Peter chap. 1 v 8

PRAYER - Spend a little time asking Jesus to open your hearts to His

understanding of real JOY.

Play the DVD.

But it isn't just after a dreadful event that we can experience the JOY of the

LORD! Perhaps the most profound and exhilarating kind of JOY comes when

we can truly trust Jesus during a time of trouble. Many years ago my Mum

knew a missionary who had been taken by the Mau Mau (a very cruel band of

men in Africa). They had captured many missionaries of all and every

denomination and imprisoned them in a tiny hut and regularly took one out,

chopped him/her up and threw them to the crocodiles! This missionary told my

Mum that their experience of the JOY of God and the power of the Holy Spirit

was so amazing in that hut that she wouldn't have changed her weeks in there

for anything! (She was eventually rescued by British forces).

QUESTION. What is it that gives some of God's children such amazing

confidence in God? And why don't we experience the same kind of JOY every

day of our lives? What are we missing? What are we doing wrong?

DISCUSS.

A tiny weed can crack concrete in order to grow, flower and produce seed. It

doesn't care whether anyone acknowledges it, it doesn't need praise or

encouragement, it simply does what God created it to do in the darkness

underground and against all odds; and then it explodes in a riot of colour and

beauty with the JOY of producing its flower. You can learn a lot about JOY

from plants and flowers!

QUESTIONS. Is our answer somewhere here with the weeds? Do we tend to

be so much in need of praise and encouragement that we take our eyes off

Jesus and fret and worry - about what other people think; about what our future

holds; about whether someone else is better/cleverer/more good looking than

us? Do you think that if we could only recognise that God has a unique

purpose for each of our lives (like the weeds with their growth, flowering and

seeding), and that this and only this is what we are here for, that this would

help us keep our eyes on Him? DISCUSS

OR - Are we sometimes a little afraid that God might take us through

circumstances that we wouldn't like, perhaps take us out of our comfort zones?

Is it possible that God has a much greater and bigger agenda than we could

ever suppose, and that He is inexorably working His purpose out through much

of the suffering that we experience; and therefore we ought to be rejoicing in it

rather than being cowered down under it?

LOVE IS TERRIBLE. From Mountains of Spices by Hannah Hurnard

“Yes” the Good Shepherd said “Love is a consuming fire. It is a burning, unquenchable

passion for the blessedness and happiness, and, above all, for the perfection of the

beloved object. The greater the love, the less it can tolerate the presence of anything

that can hurt the beloved, and the less it can tolerate in the beloved anything that is

unworthy or less than the best, or injurious to the happiness of the loved one.

Therefore it is perfectly true that Love, which is the most beautiful and the most gentle

passion in the universe, can and must be at the same time the most TERRIBLE –

terrible in what it is willing to endure itself in order to secure the blessing and

happiness and perfection of the Beloved, and, also, apparently terrible in what it will

allow the beloved to endure if suffering is the only means by which the perfection or

restoration to health of the beloved can be secured.”

Hark to love's triumphant shout! "JOY is born from pain, JOY is sorrow inside out, grief

remade again. Broken hearts look up and see this is LOVE'S own victory."

SPEND SOME TIME taking a deeper look into the way Creation works now that we

live in a fallen world. Is it possible that, because there is absolute war between Good

and Evil; between our Lord and Saviour and the Evil One that pain and suffering is

inevitable until we eventually exist in the VICTORY of Jesus? And, isn't it also

possible that suffering is, in truth, the path to that VICTORY? Jesus certainly found

that to be true. His path of pain led to the victory of resurrection, and to the salvation

of each and every one of us; and we are told that we are to "Follow Him".

It's one thing for Jesus, the Lord of Glory, to have victory over Satan - that's inevitable,

simply because He really is Lord of everything. But, what an amazing and astounding

VICTORY when weak and puny little folk like you and me have victory over Satan (in

the power of Jesus, of course); and what a kick in the face to God's enemy when you

and I find real JOY in the experience! DISCUSS.

PRAYER. Lord Jesus, You have walked the path of suffering, You have faced

confusing circumstances more terrible than we will ever have to. Your deepest pain

came when You cried out to Your Father, "Why have You forsaken Me?" You

understand exactly how difficult we find the complex experiences we have to face and

You are ready and willing to uphold and strengthen us. But we seem to be missing

something. The Bible teaches that You faced Your horrors because of the JOY that

was set before You. We need that JOY, Lord! We need the JOY of the Lord that

becomes our strength. We don't want to let You down, we truly want to face this world

with all the confidence and grace that You showed, so we ask right now that You fill us

with Your JOY in all circumstances. Grant us the JOY that grows from deep within,

and then explodes whatever situation we find ourselves in. Grant us this gift, we pray.

In Your Holy Name and for Your Glory alone. AMEN.

A LITTLE FURTHER. If you would like to go into this subject a little more, then may I

recommend "The Inward Journey - A story of God's transforming love" by Gene

Edwards. It was originally written to help and encourage new Christians, but its

message (although written in a young style) is profound enough for the most mature

Child of God.

STUDY 3: THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND JOY This session is aimed at understanding the set-up of the Kingdom of God and how joy being a key part of that, is a discovery just waiting for us to make. Prayer As we begin the session, close your eyes, hold out your hands (palms downward) and take a minute to give over to God the hassles of the day and release to him its concerns. Then continue holding out your hands (this time palms upward), to receive God’s presence and wait on him for a minute. Play the DVD The Kingdom Q. When we pray “Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” how would you describe God’s will in heaven? Q. So what exactly are we saying when we pray those words? From things that Jesus says about the Kingdom of heaven, we see that the Kingdom coming is the action of the Holy Spirit (Matt 12:28). It is God’s workings here on earth. As God’s children we’re called into this kingdom. God used Jesus’ shed blood (when he was executed on a Ro-man cross) to make us to be a Kingdom. We’re part of it. We are partici-pators in it (Rev 5:10). The availability of joy to us Read Romans 14 Q. Do you think the bit about eating and drinking simply relates to whether it’s ok to have Halal meat in your Subway sandwich, or something deeper? Q. What might have been the issue between the Jewish and Christian believers in this text? The Jewish people had just been released from an observance driven faith in God. This was baggage the Gentile Christians were unfamiliar with. Q. How does it feel knowing that God doesn’t want to control or condemn you?

Entering into the joy of the Kingdom

The criteria for entry into the Kingdom comes through son-ship, not observance. We are accepted into his Kingdom not through our hard work, sacrifice, ability or religious observance, but because we are his children. Sons and daughters of the King are princes and princesses. We sometimes have a hard time accepting a title like that. But that is what God has made us and why joy in the Holy Spirit is accessible to us.

The keys to God’s Kingdom secrets Joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Q. What can we do to encourage fruit in our lives?

John 7:37-38. Q. The principle of coming to the waters of God’s Spirit is well estab-lished in the Bible. What important attitude is God developing in us by doing things in this way?

Self-sufficiency separates us from God, when he is more than enough for all our needs. We are able to recognise the times when we lack joy and like a thirsty person we often look to provide for ourselves.

Q. Fears and lies come in and prevent the flow of joy. How do you think they come in?

By renouncing lies that we’ve believed, our fears are then put into per-spective, God’s perspective.

Q. What is meant by thanking God?

Thanksgivings are not simply listing the things we have, it is more to do with thinking about God’s ways and being grateful that he is those things. We then begin to see how he has been those things to us. Psalm 34 reminds us of his works in the past and his plans for our pre-sent and future.

Prayer

Father God I come to you thankful that joy is your idea. I’m so glad that it was your idea to impute to me your own joy. There may be some things in my life that are keeping you at arm’s length. Please show me what lies I have believed and fears that I have taken on board. I lay them at Jesus’ feet. So please come Holy Spirit and fill me afresh with your joy.

4: SERVING WITH JOY

There are I am sure many people who have impacted your life - in what way

have you found them to be men and women who express joy with ease.

I told you about my friend and colleague in the first talk, Frank Gamble whose

life was joy filled service through suffering.

Play the DVD

Recording the talk at Elm Tree Farm just brought back all the memories of David and Betty Pickford. The testimony of many live on in our own memories and remain to challenge us in our service.

In your group - share something of the testimony of someone who has particu-larly touched your own life. Where have you seen joy lived out well?

The call is to serve with joy - this is emphasised by the Psalmist. Psalm 100:2 Serve the Lord with gladness: come into his presence with singing.

What does it mean to serve the Lord with gladness?

Do you think that a lack of joy in service is a sin?

We sometimes joke about a ‘grumpy’ Christian - they have no joy-filled song

that stirs them, they are always expressing negativity. I realise how there can be

some very valid reasons for a despondent spirit. There is though, the place of

finding joy amidst life’s deep struggles.

Peter refers to joy arising out of our relationship with God in Christ.

1 Peter 1:8-9 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though

you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. It is Jesus who is the fountain of joy.

What is this inexpressible and glorious joy all about? How can it be ex-

perienced?

Reflect on these words of Hudson Taylor “It is the consciousness of the threefold joy of the Lord, His joy in ransoming us, His joy in dwelling within us as our Saviour and Power for fruitbearing and His joy in possessing us, as His Bride and His delight; it is the consciousness of this joy which is our real strength. Our joy in Him may be a fluctuating thing: His joy in us knows no change.”

Nehemiah was a great OT leader who served with joy as he returned to Jerusa-lem from Babylon in order to lead the people in the rebuilding of the Jerusalem walls. It is in Nehemiah Chapter 8 when the walls are rebuilt that Ezra gathers the people together and the scriptures are read. The Spirit of God takes hold of the word of God and stirs a new spirit of repentance and faith that in turn leads to a joy filled expression of hope. There was a great deal of godly sorrow but Nehe-miah says, put on your party clothes let’s celebrate. Nehemiah said, "Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength." [8:10] Nehemiah calls the people not to be downcast but to rejoice with great joy.

Then later on in Ch 12 the spirit of joy continues to be expressed on the occa-sion of the walls being dedicated. There is a great gathering of the people v.27 they came together to celebrate joyfully...v.43 they were rejoicing for God had given them great joy.

What do you see is really happening to the people that Nehemiah refers

to? In what way can the joy of the Lord be the believer’s strength?

SERVE WITH JOY IN THE WORKPLACE

Can the Monday to Friday workplace be infused with joy?

What does Colossians 3:23-24 say about serving the Lord?

SERVE WITH JOY IN EVERYDAY ACTIONS

What really motivates us in our earthly service?

Ephesians 6:7-8 calls us to serve wholeheatedly. How can Jesus ener-gise our service? Every act of kindness is a act toward Jesus.

SERVE WITH JOY IN THE LOCAL CHURCH

Serving in our gifting ‘Always abounding in the work of the Lord’ 1 Cor 15:58. This is not just in the areas where we might feel gifted but all serving.

Serving in our giving for God ‘loves a cheerful giver’ 2 Cor 9:7 Remember we are ‘workers together with Christ’ 1 Cor 3:9

What is the one thing you want to see change in your life as a result of

this short series of studies.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow ‘with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.’ Rom 15:13

RADICAL JOY

The DVD introduction to the study series together with

these study notes is brought to you by,

Alan Dinnie, Mavis Gibbs and Paul Martin.

Study 1 Joy rules OK Alan

Study 2 Joy that breaks through confusing circumstances

Mavis

Study 3 Authentic joy of the Kingdom Paul

Study 4 Serving with joy Alan

The series is complemented by the Sunday Sermons that Alan

will be preaching in a series also on Joy

If you missed a particular Sunday you can always listen to the

message or download the message from the Church website

www.wbc-ashford.org.uk

The Father of Joy

The Son of Joy

The Spirit of Joy

The Church of Joy