Ep 93: Finding Joy (w/Brian Egerton)

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What are some things we can keep
in mind to protect our joy?

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Well, today's guest is going to
tell us all about that in just a

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bit.
Welcome to the show.

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I'm Daniel Dalp and this is for
your Sunday morning drive.

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We're the short podcast with the
goal of providing some

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motivation, Dr. and
encouragement on your way to

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worship or whenever you listen
and helping you to recenter your

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mind on those spiritual things
when life gets hectic.

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Our guest today is my good
friend Brian Eggerton.

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I've known Brian all my life.
Life.

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We grew up together in the youth
group at Washington Ave.

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Church of Christ in Evansville,
IN.

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We lived together while
interning in Western Kentucky.

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We had a lot of all nighters.
We were in each other's

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weddings.
Yeah, he's a dear friend and an

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outstanding brother in Christ.
Brian serves as a minister at

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the Seven Oaks Church of Christ
in Mayfield, KY.

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He and his wonderful wife,
Haley, have two sons, Luke and

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Jake.
And I'm so thankful that Brian

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took the time out of his
schedule to contribute to the

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show.
He has some excellent thoughts

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to share with us.
So let's go ahead and get the

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show on the road today.
This is episode 93, Finding Joy.

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Let's go to church.
Are we there yet?

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As human beings, we spend much
of our lives seeking after

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happiness.
We surround ourselves with

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people we love.
We ingrain ourselves and

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activities we enjoy.
We even eat that extra scoop of

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ice cream because it makes us
feel good.

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The problem is, so much of what
brings us happiness in this

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world is fleeting and temporary.
Happiness is a feeling of

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contentment or satisfaction in
the present moment based on what

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we do or what happens to us.
Since happiness is based on the

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present moment, people spend
much of their lives chasing

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after something that is
impossible to hold on to.

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Instead, God, in His Word,
challenges us to seek after joy

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rather than happiness.
Joy is a deeper emotion that

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comes from within, from a sense
of purpose or a sense of

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meaning.
Joy is something that we can

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hold on to no matter what
circumstance we face in the

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present moment.
The Apostle Paul wrote a lot

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about joy in the book of
Philippians.

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In fact, Philippians is
oftentimes referred to as the

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Epistle of Joy.
I would suggest to you, however,

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that the focus of the epistle is
on how to find joy in a world

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that so quickly robs us of our
joy.

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In this letter, Paul mentions a
number of things in this life

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that so easily can rob us of our
joy.

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Let's consider three of these
things, things that he mentions.

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First off, he mentions that
circumstances can rob us of our

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joy.
When Paul wrote this letter, he

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was actually sitting in a prison
cell.

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Yet he was able to see that his
circumstances actually worked

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out for good because it allowed
him to share Christ with people

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he might not otherwise have been
able to.

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He was even able to say, my
chains are in Christ.

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Philippians chapter 1 and verse
13.

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See, our circumstances can so
easily rob us of our joy.

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When things don't go our way or
when circumstances turn out,

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they bring a negative effect in
our lives.

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But Paul reminds us that when we
look at life through an eternal

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perspective, then it changes the
way we view our circumstances.

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And instead we can maintain and
find joy even despite our

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circumstances.
A second thing that he

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identifies in the book of
Philippians is that people can

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rob us of our joy.
All of us have experienced

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people who 'cause our attitudes
and our demeans sour.

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We're around them because they
make our lives difficult.

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People can be our greatest
blessings, but also our greatest

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frustrations.
See, Paul acknowledged that

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there were two individuals in
the church in Philippi who were

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causing problems and as a
result, they were causing the

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joy to be sucked out of the
church.

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And Paul's challenge for them
was to be a of the same mind.

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Philippians chapter 4, verses 2
and three.

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See, Paul understood that it's
only through seeking unity with

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others that we can hold on and
find our joy, rather than

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allowing those difficult people
to rob our joy from us.

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A third thing he identifies in
the book of Philippians is that

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worry and anxiety can rob us of
our joy.

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During Paul's ministry, he had
many things that could have

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constantly been on his mind and
constantly brought him worry.

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Maybe he he was worrying about
being accepted by the disciples

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because of his past life of
persecuting the church.

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He could have been worried about
the faithfulness of the churches

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that he had helped establish.
He could have been worried about

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the mob of people that were
traveling from city to city to

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try to kill him on his
missionary journeys.

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Even though he had countless
things he could have been

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worried about, Paul was able to
say in Philippians chapter 4

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verses 6 and 7.
Be anxious for nothing, but in

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everything by prayer and
supplication with Thanksgiving.

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Let your requests be made known
to God and the peace of God,

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which surpasses all
understanding will guard your

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hearts and your minds through
Christ Jesus.

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Paul reminds us that we don't
have to allow our worry to rob

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us of our joy because we serve a
God who is big enough to bear

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our burdens for us.
My guess is that Paul was not

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the only one who had moments
when circumstances, when people,

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when worries, tried to rob his
joy.

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Maybe you're thinking to
yourself, I have so many

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difficult people and difficult
circumstances in my life.

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I don't know how to not worry
about them.

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Maybe you feel like the weight
of the world is too much to bear

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and no matter how hard you try,
you still feel like your joy is

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being robbed from you.
I want you to do something with

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me this morning.
For the next 10 seconds, I want

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you to look around and I want
you to notice everything you

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could find that's the color
blue.

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Ready.
Go.

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Everything you can find that's
blue.

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Maybe it's a road sign, maybe
it's someone's clothing, Maybe

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it's that old cup from a fast
food restaurant still left in

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the car.
Look around.

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Everything you can find that's
blue.

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Now stop and close your eyes.
And unless you're driving now

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without looking, what I want you
to do is call to your mind

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everything around you that's the
color red.

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How many things can you think of
that are red?

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Why is it harder to think of red
things than blue things?

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OK, you can open your eyes.
You remember the blue things

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because that's what you were
focused on.

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You see, the reason that Paul
was able to maintain his joy

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throughout his life is because
he was constantly looking for

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and focused on God.
We find true joy in life only

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when our awareness of God is
greater than our awareness of

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our problems.
Let me say that again.

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We find true joy in life only
when our awareness of God is

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greater than our awareness of
our problems.

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My challenge for us today is to
make seeking after God the top

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priority of our lives.
In doing so, we'll be able to

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experience joy beyond anything
that this world can offer.

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Brian, thank you so much for
those fantastic thoughts.

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Now it's time to hear yours.
Here's your discussion questions

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for this week.
As you seek to find joy in your

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life, consider these questions.
What are some things in your

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life that bring you true joy?
What are things or people in

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your life that occupy the most
space in your mind and consume

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your energy, your attention, and
rob you of your joy #3 What is

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one thing you can do differently
today to help your awareness of

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God be greater than your
awareness of your problems?

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Hey.
Thanks for listening.

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Thanks again to Brian for
contributing to the show.

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Be sure to share it with a
friend.

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Have a great week.
Protect that joy and I'll see

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you Sunday.