December 16th, 2025
by Keith Justice
by Keith Justice
The Secret to Unshakable Joy: Jesus, Others, Yourself
There's a simple acronym that many of us have encountered, perhaps on a coffee mug or a decorative sign: J-O-Y. It stands for Jesus, Others, Yourself. At first glance, it seems almost too simple, perhaps even trite. But beneath this three-letter word lies one of the most profound truths of the Christian faith—a truth that has the power to transform how we experience life, even in its darkest moments.
Joy That Transcends Circumstances
What if true joy wasn't dependent on our circumstances? What if it could survive a cancer diagnosis, overshadow bankruptcy, remain present through divorce, and persist despite betrayal? This kind of joy exists, but it's fundamentally different from what our culture calls happiness.
There's wisdom in the saying: "Happiness depends on the happenings." Happiness is circumstantial, emotional, fleeting. But biblical joy is something altogether different. It's a deep, abiding gladness and delight in God—rooted in His presence, His promises, and His covenant. It's anchored in who God is, not in what's happening around us.
Scripture teaches us that joy can coexist with sorrow, pain, sickness, and persecution. In fact, some of the most joy-filled writings in the New Testament came from prison cells. The apostle Paul, chained to a Roman guard twenty-four hours a day, facing possible execution, wrote the letter to the Philippians—a letter overflowing with joy and containing the command to "rejoice" more than sixteen times in just four chapters.
How is this possible? Because joy is not a feeling to be manufactured; it's the natural overflow of a life in covenant with Jesus.
First Things First: Jesus Above All
King David understood this principle over three thousand years ago. In Psalm 16, he declares something radical: "Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the Lord, You are my Lord. I have no good apart from you."
David looked at every possible inheritance the world had to offer—land, wealth, fame, pleasure—and essentially said, "I'll take the Levite package, please." The Levites, you'll remember, received no tribal lands when Israel entered the Promised Land. Their inheritance was God Himself. And that's exactly what David wanted, even while running for his life from a king who wanted him dead.
This is the first and most crucial element of joy: Jesus must be truly first. Not Sunday-morning first, but Monday-morning first. Diagnosis-morning first. Bills-due-and-you-can't-pay-them first. Truly first in everything we do.
Our lives are not defined by our health, our freedom, our reputation, our titles, or our comfort. Our life is Jesus. When we make Him our portion, our chosen inheritance, we're declaring that He is enough—regardless of what we have or don't have in this world.
Consider how Jesus Himself could face the cross with joy set before Him. The answer? The Father was His portion. Jesus had nowhere to lay His head, yet He possessed a joy that carried Him through the ultimate sacrifice.
The Beauty of Others
Once Jesus is rightly positioned as first in our lives, something remarkable happens: His bride, the Church, becomes beautiful to us. This is the second element of the J-O-Y principle—Others.
David, after establishing God as his portion, immediately turns his attention outward: "As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones in whom is all my delight." When we have Jesus first, His people automatically become precious to us.
This is challenging, isn't it? We're tired. We've been hurt. People have taken advantage of us. The last thing we want to do is serve one more ungrateful person. But here's a crucial truth: self-focus is the fastest way to kill joy, while Jesus-focus is the fastest way to resurrect it.
When we encounter another believer—even one we find difficult to love, even one we find annoying—we should see nothing other than Jesus Christ. Every person in the body of Christ is beautiful and precious to the Lord. They are His inheritance, His treasure.
The early church understood this principle profoundly. Paul wrote about the churches of Macedonia, describing how they overflowed with joy despite extreme poverty and were rich in generosity. These believers, many of them blue-collar workers who their families had disowned for rejecting pagan gods, faced genuine persecution. They struggled to find work because they wouldn't participate in pagan ceremonies. Some were malnourished, on the verge of starvation. Yet they joyfully gave to one another and supported the ministry.
Why? Because all they had was the person standing next to them and their faith. And that was enough.
When we pour out our lives for others, we become most like Jesus. And God will not let an act of love go unrewarded—He gifts us with joy.
The Challenge of Putting Yourself Last
The final element of J-O-Y is perhaps the most countercultural: Yourself comes last. Jesus taught that whoever wants to be first in the kingdom must be last. This doesn't mean we don't matter or that self-care is unimportant. We must stay filled with the Word of God, spend time in His presence, and refresh our spirits in His river of living waters so we can serve effectively.
We need to guard ourselves, practice the fruit of the Spirit, and take care of the temple where He dwells. But this care of self is always in the context of being equipped to serve God and others—not as an end in itself.
David understood this ordering. After establishing God as first and celebrating the saints, he concludes Psalm 16 with confidence: "I have set the Lord always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore, my heart is glad and my whole being rejoices... In your presence there is fullness of joy."
Notice that word "therefore." Because God is first, David is safe. Because God is first, his future is secure. The joy flows from the proper ordering.
Joy Is a Person
On the day of Pentecost, Peter quoted this very psalm and explained that while David died and his body decayed, Jesus did not. The psalm ultimately points to Christ. Joy is not merely an emotion or a state of mind—joy is a person. His name is Jesus.
The world's formula is backwards: You first, others if you have extra, and maybe Jesus if you have time. But Jesus invites us to a different way: Put Him first, love your neighbor, and watch joy flow.
This Advent season, as we celebrate that joy came to the world in the form of a baby in Bethlehem, let's remember that this joy is all-inclusive. It's for everyone. It's for you.
The invitation is simple but profound: Jesus, Others, Yourself. Follow this order, and you'll be pulled upward into the same joy that Jesus came to give us—joy to the whole world.
(This blog was created from Keith Justice's original sermon using pulpit.ai)
There's a simple acronym that many of us have encountered, perhaps on a coffee mug or a decorative sign: J-O-Y. It stands for Jesus, Others, Yourself. At first glance, it seems almost too simple, perhaps even trite. But beneath this three-letter word lies one of the most profound truths of the Christian faith—a truth that has the power to transform how we experience life, even in its darkest moments.
Joy That Transcends Circumstances
What if true joy wasn't dependent on our circumstances? What if it could survive a cancer diagnosis, overshadow bankruptcy, remain present through divorce, and persist despite betrayal? This kind of joy exists, but it's fundamentally different from what our culture calls happiness.
There's wisdom in the saying: "Happiness depends on the happenings." Happiness is circumstantial, emotional, fleeting. But biblical joy is something altogether different. It's a deep, abiding gladness and delight in God—rooted in His presence, His promises, and His covenant. It's anchored in who God is, not in what's happening around us.
Scripture teaches us that joy can coexist with sorrow, pain, sickness, and persecution. In fact, some of the most joy-filled writings in the New Testament came from prison cells. The apostle Paul, chained to a Roman guard twenty-four hours a day, facing possible execution, wrote the letter to the Philippians—a letter overflowing with joy and containing the command to "rejoice" more than sixteen times in just four chapters.
How is this possible? Because joy is not a feeling to be manufactured; it's the natural overflow of a life in covenant with Jesus.
First Things First: Jesus Above All
King David understood this principle over three thousand years ago. In Psalm 16, he declares something radical: "Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the Lord, You are my Lord. I have no good apart from you."
David looked at every possible inheritance the world had to offer—land, wealth, fame, pleasure—and essentially said, "I'll take the Levite package, please." The Levites, you'll remember, received no tribal lands when Israel entered the Promised Land. Their inheritance was God Himself. And that's exactly what David wanted, even while running for his life from a king who wanted him dead.
This is the first and most crucial element of joy: Jesus must be truly first. Not Sunday-morning first, but Monday-morning first. Diagnosis-morning first. Bills-due-and-you-can't-pay-them first. Truly first in everything we do.
Our lives are not defined by our health, our freedom, our reputation, our titles, or our comfort. Our life is Jesus. When we make Him our portion, our chosen inheritance, we're declaring that He is enough—regardless of what we have or don't have in this world.
Consider how Jesus Himself could face the cross with joy set before Him. The answer? The Father was His portion. Jesus had nowhere to lay His head, yet He possessed a joy that carried Him through the ultimate sacrifice.
The Beauty of Others
Once Jesus is rightly positioned as first in our lives, something remarkable happens: His bride, the Church, becomes beautiful to us. This is the second element of the J-O-Y principle—Others.
David, after establishing God as his portion, immediately turns his attention outward: "As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones in whom is all my delight." When we have Jesus first, His people automatically become precious to us.
This is challenging, isn't it? We're tired. We've been hurt. People have taken advantage of us. The last thing we want to do is serve one more ungrateful person. But here's a crucial truth: self-focus is the fastest way to kill joy, while Jesus-focus is the fastest way to resurrect it.
When we encounter another believer—even one we find difficult to love, even one we find annoying—we should see nothing other than Jesus Christ. Every person in the body of Christ is beautiful and precious to the Lord. They are His inheritance, His treasure.
The early church understood this principle profoundly. Paul wrote about the churches of Macedonia, describing how they overflowed with joy despite extreme poverty and were rich in generosity. These believers, many of them blue-collar workers who their families had disowned for rejecting pagan gods, faced genuine persecution. They struggled to find work because they wouldn't participate in pagan ceremonies. Some were malnourished, on the verge of starvation. Yet they joyfully gave to one another and supported the ministry.
Why? Because all they had was the person standing next to them and their faith. And that was enough.
When we pour out our lives for others, we become most like Jesus. And God will not let an act of love go unrewarded—He gifts us with joy.
The Challenge of Putting Yourself Last
The final element of J-O-Y is perhaps the most countercultural: Yourself comes last. Jesus taught that whoever wants to be first in the kingdom must be last. This doesn't mean we don't matter or that self-care is unimportant. We must stay filled with the Word of God, spend time in His presence, and refresh our spirits in His river of living waters so we can serve effectively.
We need to guard ourselves, practice the fruit of the Spirit, and take care of the temple where He dwells. But this care of self is always in the context of being equipped to serve God and others—not as an end in itself.
David understood this ordering. After establishing God as first and celebrating the saints, he concludes Psalm 16 with confidence: "I have set the Lord always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore, my heart is glad and my whole being rejoices... In your presence there is fullness of joy."
Notice that word "therefore." Because God is first, David is safe. Because God is first, his future is secure. The joy flows from the proper ordering.
Joy Is a Person
On the day of Pentecost, Peter quoted this very psalm and explained that while David died and his body decayed, Jesus did not. The psalm ultimately points to Christ. Joy is not merely an emotion or a state of mind—joy is a person. His name is Jesus.
The world's formula is backwards: You first, others if you have extra, and maybe Jesus if you have time. But Jesus invites us to a different way: Put Him first, love your neighbor, and watch joy flow.
This Advent season, as we celebrate that joy came to the world in the form of a baby in Bethlehem, let's remember that this joy is all-inclusive. It's for everyone. It's for you.
The invitation is simple but profound: Jesus, Others, Yourself. Follow this order, and you'll be pulled upward into the same joy that Jesus came to give us—joy to the whole world.
(This blog was created from Keith Justice's original sermon using pulpit.ai)
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