#37 The Joy of Beginning(10/08/02)

By Dr. Robert H. Schuller

Leaders of the Middle Eastern nations are looking to this Hour of Power as a vehicle of real hope for peace in their part of the world. Muslims dominate the faith in many of these countries, and Israel is primarily a Jewish state. I'm astounded at how God has caused this ministry to be in a position to change the face of faith around the world.

Faith has had the same face for hundreds of years. Oftentimes, the face of faith, as projected by some priests, pastors, evangelists and preachers, has been a very serious one. That face of faith never showed a smile, but only overtones of fear and anger.

Over the past 2,000 years, that old face of faith so often has spewed violence. How many wars have been fought in the name of negative religions?

My son coined a term last week when he introduced this message series that I thought was very profound. He spoke about "toxic religions." Religion can be toxic. It can feed you and fill you, but it can also be emotionally poisonous. I believe God has called on us to put a new face on faith. And it will be a face that smiles.

The Hour of Power will soon celebrate its 30th anniversary on television. The 45th anniversary of our church is also coming up. The year 2000 will be a year of celebrations for this ministry, and we are preparing to try to put a new face on the faith of religions around the world.

We want that face to have a smile. Almost 30 years ago when we first went on television, people began to refer to us as the "smiling church." We called this televised church service the Hour of Power, and people started talking about the power of the smile.

We planned this series of messages about joy, because we consider joy to be the one thing every human being wants. Believe it or not, joy is the hub of this whole wheel called Christian faith. The hub of Christianity is joy and everything leads to that.

When Jesus was born, the angels made the announcement to the shepherds saying, "Do not be afraid. For today there is born to you a Savior" (Luke 2:10). And we sing, "Joy to the world, the Lord is come. Let earth receive Him King." The angels said, "I bring good tidings of great joy" (Luke 2:10). That is the way this Christian faith started.

When Jesus was preparing to walk to the cross, hours before He knew that nails would go through His palms where, He had His great high priestly prayer with His disciples. And what was His final will and estate that He wished for them? Think of it, a young man only 33 years old and He knew He was going to be crucified.

According to the words in John 15:11, this is how He summed it up: "These thing that I have spoken to you. That my JOY might remain in you, and that your JOY might be full." Christianity needs to turn from gloom, doom, despair, animosity and violence to joy.

When I do my daily Bible readings, you won't believe where I do it sometimes. I get in my car and drive myself to this very church where I don't need to carry the book with me because I read my Bible right here on the ground, carved in granite on the sidewalks of these acres, in what is called The Walk of Faith.

This week I was reading from Hebrews 11:40: "God promised something better for us." The names on that stone are Robert and Janice Atkins of Lebanon, Pennsylvania. Then there's another Bible verse from Matthew 25:21: "Well done good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord." The name on that stone is Howard Penner, who many of you knew.

Another stone is in memory of Marie Callender, many of you have heard of Marie Callender restaurants. She was a wonderful member of this church and is buried here in our Cathedral Gardens. Her Bible verse is from Isaiah 55.2: "Listen to me and eat what is good. And yet let your soul delight."

I love this other one, it's Job 9:27: "I will forget my complaints and I will put off my sad face and wear a smile." The names on the stone are Gene and Helen Murschauser from Fountain Valley, California.

Ralph and Madonna Perine of Columbus, Ohio, chose the Bible verse from Psalm 126, verse 5: "Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy."

And another stepping stone with the name Anna Orcutt Hoyt, Short Hills, New Jersey, says: "I know there is nothing better than to be happy and good" (Ecclesiastes 3:12).

Joy! Sometimes you alone can come to this place and all alone walk the sidewalk of this Walk of Faith for nearly a mile of Bible verses.

I was back at Ephasus a few weeks ago. I have been there before, and the apostle Paul was there too. He actually lived there for three years. The main street is a mile long, sloping downhill and is all paved with white marble and tall white columns on each side. The sidewalks are 8 feet wide and they are mosaics. These are the most beautiful and elegant sidewalks ever created in the world. The Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, is located there too.

In all his writings, Paul never found fault or criticized people for spending so much money on art and architecture. He knew what a great poet in England said years later, "A thing of beauty is joy forever."

Many years ago when we first opened this church, the Bible verse, "You shall go out with Joy," was etched on a stone wall so that everyone leaving the grounds could see it.

All entering the grounds can see another Bible verse, "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving." Next year we will celebrate the 45th anniversary of this church. And what are we all about? A sanctified conspiracy of joy!

Why a conspiracy? Because a lot of people would be turned off by it; they have too much anger inside. Joy is positive and sends us emotionally healthy messages. Ministries can be very threatening to sick people. One must act cool and calm when approaching them.

We have been receiving gifts of beautiful Biblical characters translated into bronze or marble statues. One of these pieces is the first statue ever done of Jesus wearing a smile on His face. This statue is called "The Smiling Jesus," and was created by John Soderberg of Sedona, Arizona, and was a gift of Frank and Evelyn Freed.

The statue of the "Holy Family" by J. Seward Johnson shows the child Jesus at the age of two, and He is smiling too. This statue is the gift of the artist?s sister and a friend of this ministry, Mrs. Elaine Wold.

The one thing that dominates this church in its art collection; in its architecture; in its music; in its choice of words; in its landscaping; in its psychology; in its theology; and in its focus on the Bible is joy. Walk the mile of Bible verses carved in granite here and look around and you?ll feel good. You?ll feel the joy. Wow!

Joy! Joy! Joy! Why? Now you see why every Sunday morning, without exception, I announce what is going to happen. We come to church to do what? To have our joy renewed!

"This is the day that God has made, let us rejoyce? and be glad in it." Spell it R-E-J-O-Y-C-E. Get your joy "re-joyed," renewed, re-inspired. Does it happen? You bet it does!

I call upon the churches of the world, of whatever faith, to bring people together once a week to have their joy renewed. We go through a lot every week that would be enough to take the joy out of life. Come and let's have fun in the presence of God with His people. Come let us rejoice.

Until the rise of international secularism about a hundred years ago, there was nothing called psychiatry or psychology. That was something invented by an atheist who departed from his Jewish faith. His name was Sigmund Freud. If you take positive religion out of the human family, you have to invent something to give emotional health.

We can find emotional health in faith. We simply need to target the world to find religion again and to find it in Jesus Christ.

One of the members of our choir, Mary Hayes Bridges, recently made it up to the top of Pikes Peak in Colorado! Incredible and awesome because it wasn?t too long ago that the doctors had told Mary she would never walk. Mary has called me her coach because I have been praying for her and with her through her treatment and recovery. She has been smiling through almost 60 surgeries in 23 years. She has the first titanium spine in her back. This has made it possible for her to walk even though she can't feel a lot of things. Mary is a joyous person and she is always smiling!

Then there is Meta McDonald. She attends school here at the Crystal Cathedral and also sings in the Children?s Choir. I first met her when she was in Children?s Hospital here in Orange. I was called to come to see her. She had a brain tumor and was not expected to live. I prayed for her, and others prayed for her, her classmates prayed for her, and an amazing thing happened. She recovered!

Now Meta's cancer has returned and has spread. Many of you have seen here; she's the only child in the Children's Choir wearing a hat because she lost her hair from cancer treatments. During her ordeal with chemotherapy, Meta never missed a rehearsal and she always has a smile on her face.

There?s a new experimental drug that has only been used on animals so far, and now the doctors are going to try it on Meta. She'll smile going in and she'll smile coming out. And I'll tell you why? She has Jesus in her heart. Do you?

The joy of beginning, what is it? When you begin to pick up faith, it can put a smile on your face. You get that kind of faith when you follow Jesus Christ. No other religious leader in history was ever welcomed with joy, died with joy and given us that joy.

Let us pray.

Thank You, Jesus, for coming into this world, bringing a joyful faith, and giving us joy. Amen.