## Laughter

## Ecclesiastes 3:4

(Eccl 3:1-4) "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: {2} A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; {3} A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; {4} A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;"

If you have been around me very much, you will know that I have a good sense of humor. Sometimes, it gets me into trouble. More than once I have been asked the question, "What are you laughing about?" I enjoy a good laugh from time to time. As a matter of fact, I often enjoy it over and over again as I share it with others. Last week Eric told me of the little boy in church who just couldn't sit still. I am still enjoying that one.

The word "laugh," in its various forms, is given thirty-eight times in the Bible. Sometimes laughter is right and sometime it's wrong. This morning let's look at four kinds of laughter that we find in the Scripture.

I. First, there is the laughter of unbelief.

A. Sarah's laughter. Ge. 18:1-15

1. God visited Abraham.

2. Three messengers or angels came to he and Sarah's camp.

3. The messengers came to deliver God's promise of a son.

4. Sarah laughed when she heard this.

B. Sarah's laughed because of unbelief.

1. This unbelief in the power of God has been seen in the hearts of people throughout history.

2. Many men and women are like Sarah today.

3. There are some here this morning who laugh at the power of God.

4. When I tell you that Christ can save your soul and give you a better life you laugh.

5. When I tell you that there is a Heaven you can go to if you get saved, and a Hell that you should avoid going to, you laugh in scorn and unbelief.

6. And when I tell you that Jesus Christ has the power to totally change your life, you laugh in unbelief, just as Sarah did.

C. The account of Jairus and his daughter.

1. One day a man named Jairus came to Jesus.

2. He fell down at His feet and begged Him to come to his house and heal his little daughter who was twelve years old, and lay in her bed dying.

3. When Jesus got to the house, there was a crowd of people weeping and wailing outside because the girl was already dead.

4. But Jesus said, "Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth" (Luke 8:52).

5. Then the Bible says, "They laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was dead" (Luke 8:53).

6. They knew that the girl was dead.

7. They laughed at the Son of God when He told them she would live.

8. They were filled with unbelief - and their lack of faith made them laugh at Jesus - just as Sarah laughed at the power of God.

(Luke 8:54-56) "And he put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, Maid, arise. {55} And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway: and he commanded to give her meat. {56} And her parents were astonished: but he charged them that they should tell no man what was done."

D. Without God, we are as dead as that little girl.

1. But if we will come to Christ…

2. He and He alone can bring us to life.

3. It will change everything!

4. It will amaze our families and friends.

(Eph 2:1) "And you hath he quickened (or made alive), who were dead in trespasses and sins:"

II. The Laughter of the Fool.

(Psa 14:1) "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good."

(Eccl 7:6) "For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool: this also is vanity."

A. The picture presented.

1. This verse pictures a pot hanging over a fire, with thorns burning under it, making a crackling noise.

2. The thorns crackle as they burn, then they are consumed, and there is nothing left but ashes and silence.

3. The laughter of a fool is like that.

4. He is miserable even while he's laughing.

5. After his fun and laughter is over, he is empty and dead.

6. Is something is missing in your life?

B. The emptiness of a life without God.

1. Illustration: Campus debate.

2. It is the 'here and now' that drives people to drugs and alcohol looking for an escape from reality!

3. The loneliest person in the world is the one who doesn't know Jesus.

a. When your friends leave, there is no one to talk to you and comfort you.

b. When problems happen, there is no one to help you.

c. When death strikes suddenly there is no one to go with you through the chilly waters.

d. When judgment falls there is no one to stand up for you and defend you.

e. The laughter of a fool does not last.

f. Depression, despair, and loneliness haunt such people throughout life.

"Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful; and the end of that mirth [or joy] is heaviness" (Proverbs 14:13).

C. Note the illustration of Grimaldi.

One evening a skinny, grey, sad-faced man entered the office of Dr. James Hamilton in Manchester, England. The doctor noticed the depressed look on the man's face. He said,

"Are you sick?" "Yes, doctor, I am sick with a deadly disease." "What disease?" "I am depressed by life. I can't find happiness anywhere. Nothing makes me laugh. I have nothing to live for. Doctor, if you can't help me, I will kill myself."

The doctor said, "The sickness won't kill you. You only need a change of pace. You need to laugh, and get some pleasure." "What shall I do?" said the man. "Go to the circus tonight to see Grimaldi, the clown. Grimaldi is the funniest man alive. I saw him a couple of nights ago, and I'm still laughing. Go and see Grimaldi the clown. He will cure you." A flash of pain crossed the man's face, and he said, "Doctor, don't joke with me. I am Grimaldi the clown!"

III. The Laughter of God.

"He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision" (Psalm 2:4).

A. Why does God laugh?

1. We have to read the first three verses of the Psalm to understand that.

"Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision" (Ps 2:1-4).

2. The Soviet Union is a great illustration.

a. For over 70 years the communists ruled over the Soviet Union.

b. They were the enemies of Christianity.

c. They persecuted and murdered those who would dare to acknowledge their faith in Jesus Christ.

d. Right now it is a field that is ripe unto the harvest…God must be laughing!

B. God is not callous or cold.

(2 Pet 3:9) "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."

1. God loves all people, and He wants them to be saved.

2. In His great love He sent His Son, Jesus, to die on the Cross that our sins could be forgiven.

3. But people reject the love of Jesus and the love of God.

4. They say, "I can get along without God." I don't need to go to church every Sunday! What do I need that for? I don't need God in my life."

5. Then calamity strikes that person.

"Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; but ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity" (Proverbs 1:24-26).

IV. The Laughter of Salvation.

(Luke 6:21) "Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh."

"Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning" (Psalm 30:5).

A. In the here and now.

1. Knowing that our sins are forgiven and that heaven is our home will bring a smile to our faces and put a spring in our step.

(2 Cor 5:17) "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."

2. The Lord replaces our sadness with gladness.

3. He replaces our fear with faith.

4. He gives a reason to live and a new appreciation for life.

5. Even if heaven wasn't promised to the believer, the Christian life would be the best life in the world!

6. But He has promised us an eternal home.

B. In the hereafter.

1. It will be a laughter of congratulation.

a. When we meet our friends in heaven, we shall laugh and congratulate each other.

b. We'll say to one, "The last time I saw you, cancer was eating away your body.

c. Now you have a new body and you'll never be sick again. Congratulations."

d. To another we'll say, "The last time I saw you, arthritis had crippled you. Now you can run as a messenger of the king. Congratulations."

e. To another we'll say, "The last time I saw you, you were burdened with sorrow. Now you have peace and comfort. Congratulations."

2. It will be a laughter of reunion.

a. Down here we enjoy having a family reunion.

b. We see loved ones that we haven't seen for a while and we laugh as we catch up on old times.

c. Can you begin to imagine what it will be like when we have our reunion in heaven?

d. Talk about laughter and rejoicing!

3. It will be a laughter of forgetfulness.

a. We have our difficulties and our differences down here.

b. In heaven we'll forget all of these.

c. There we shall all love one another and rejoice with one another.

4. It will be a laughter of victory and triumph.

a. Last Sunday's super bowl provided a great deal of joy and laughter for at least one of our church members.

b. Satan often [gives us trouble] here, but at last we'll gain the victory over him.

c. He'll be in hell where he belongs and he can never tempt us again.

d. We will enjoy our victory for all eternity.

- What are you laughing about?
- Is it the laughter of unbelief, of fools, or of salvation?
- Will you come to Christ today?
- Accept His payment on Calvary for your sins and receive the gift of eternal life right now!
- God has given us all we need to enjoy our lives we don't have to look any further.