Fullness of Joy

Intro

Merry Christmas! My name is Shawn, I am the pastor here at First Grace. If you have your Bibles, please turn to Psalm 16. While you are turning there, I would like to take a moment to pray for our community and for some of the teachers of West Fork.

Our Father in Heaven, I thank you for your grace and your mercy. You have shown us the paths of life through your Son and in your presence there is fullness of joy. I pray you pour out your grace on this community. Call them to yourself with echos and longings for joy. I pray you teach us what it means to live with joy and that it shines forth the light of your love as a lamp on a stand.

Father, I pray you be with the teachers and administrators of West Fork. Help them in the troubles and guide them to you that they might find the joy of their salvation through Jesus Christ our savior. If there are any needs with which we might help, I pray you make those known to us. I pray special blessings on:

Ashley Sears

James Todd

Emily Trewin

Stacey Ubben

Emily Weeks

Bless them and their family, make straight their paths and guide them toward a knowledge of you and of your Son Jesus Christ. I thank you and praise your most holy name. It is in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord I pray these things, AMEN.

Title: “Fullness of Joy”

Big Idea: In the presence of Christ there is fullness of joy

Lead up:

G.K. Chesterton once said, “Joy is the gigantic secret of the Christian.”

It is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, something he brings because we have put our faith in Jesus Christ. Yet, if you are anything like me, it can be difficult to remember to live with joy. It is almost like a half forgotten dream. Recently, we talked about joy when we were in 2 Corinthians 8. At that time we said this, “Joy overflows when we abide in Christ, then by his will give ourselves in love to one another.” Today we are going to focus on the first part. In the presence of Christ there is fullness of joy. I want to make the case that we cannot simply chase after joy, instead it comes from dwelling in the presence of the Lord. It comes out of our faith, our hope, and our love of the Lord our God these together produce not only our love for one another, but also the ability to live the joyful life no matter what our circumstances are.

Joy is the gigantic secret of Christianity, but even Christians sometimes miss it. I know I have. Even this week, I found myself constantly tempted to look to my circumstances as the determiner of my joy, instead of looking in faith, hope and love to God and to my savior Jesus Christ.

Now, with this in mind, lets look to our passage. Psalm 16:

1Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. 2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.” 3 As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight. 4 The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips. 5 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. 6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. 7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. 8 I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. 9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. 10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. 11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Lets Pray: Our Father in Heaven, you truly are our refuge, you are our strength and courage, our ever present help in times of need. You see us, you hear us, you know us, and you love us. In our savior Jesus Christ you have giving us a beautiful inheritance, which you sealed with your Holy Spirit. In him you have made for us a way of salvation and have given us a living hope. In him we have put our faith, our confidence, that because we have believed in the only begotten son of God, we will dwell eternally in the house of the Lord our God. You have made known to us the path of life and in your presence there is fullness of joy. Father, by your wisdom and love, help us see. Help us see where true joy is to be found. Help us to stop looking around ourselves to our circumstances to find the joy only you can provide. Thank you for your grace and mercy. It is in the precious name of Jesus I pray, AMEN.

Big Idea: In the presence of Christ there is fullness of joy

I have 3 points: First, Our God is our Refuge; second, we have a beautiful inheritance; Third, He makes known to us the path of life

Our God is our Refuge

1Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. 2I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.” 3As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.

Our God is our Refuge

This Psalm is an unusual one. In English the start reads like a plea, “Preserve me,” but in reality it is a more like a confession, an expression of confidence and hope in God. It is in him the writer takes refuge. He is his strong fortress. This the the trust that recognizes that even though he may walk through the valley of the shadow of death, he will not fear because the Lord will preserve him and he is his refuge. He continues confessing, the Lord is his ultimate and ever-present good. Apart from him he has no good.

God is the author and source of all that is good, literally, apart from him there would be none. At the same time, it is also hyperbole, we experience many things that may be good and yet do not seem to be connected to God directly. The point is this, we may experience many good things, but they ultimately find their source of goodness in him. Additionally, if we know God and delight in him, we can more fully see and understand the good things in this life. We cannot fully see the good if we do not know God.

It is like looking at a painting where the colors have been drained away and all we can see are the different values (the shades of light and dark). When you look at two colors, even opposites like red and green, and they are of the same value, if you strip away the color they would look identical. This is why those with color blindness cannot tell them apart. They look the same.

This is how it is for those who do not take refuge in God. They cannot see the good, even when it is before their very eyes. They cannot live with joy. Even for Christians, it is a choice we make. In all of my struggles and trials, this is a lesson I have learned only recently, and with great difficulty. Yes joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, but this does not eliminate the necessity of our action in cultivating that fruit. This is why self-discipline is also a fruit of the Spirit. Joy, cannot be attained by reaching for it directly, instead, it comes as we discipline ourselves to cultivate the virtues of hope, faith, and love. We have already seen hope and faith expressed in verses 1 and 2.

Verse 3 shows us the first expression of love and it is for the holy ones, the mighty ones. The ESV translates them as the saints, the excellent ones. It is unclear what this means, whether they are two groups of people or just one described two ways. Regardless, he is looking around and seeing the good in others around him. He is delighting in the holiness and the excellence of others. Because he knows God and has made his home, his refuge in him, he can love, he can look and delight in what is excellent in his brothers and sisters.

This is important. Joy is a choice and a discipline as well as a fruit of the Spirit. Joy comes from abiding in him. I realize I have been saying this on repeat, but as I have been reading and studying over the past several months, this has been a repetitive and resounding theme. ABIDE IN HIM. It is in him we hope, it is in him we have put our faith and our confidence, it is him who has loved us sacrificially, courageously, drawing us in that we may know him. All of this coalesces and produces joy in us, even as we turn and according to his will love one another.

Just as Love is closely related to affection, so is joy closely related to a sense of happiness, or delight. However, as happiness is so often connected to our circumstances, in fact the word comes from the same root as “Happenstance.” This word carries with it a measure of random chance. Joy is not based upon randomness, but has God as its object. The one whom is our Hope, the one on whom our confidence rests, the one whom we love with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Here is the thing, while joy is a discipline, it cannot be achieved by our direct pursuit. It comes from our pursuit of the good found only in God. It comes from living in Faith, hope, and love in the only one who can produce true and abiding joy in us.

C.S. Lewis said this,

“Joy is never in our power and pleasure often is.”

When we chase after joy we often find pleasure, or happiness if you will, but it is temporary and fleeting. However, it is also a bit numbing, the same experience repeated doesn’t produce the same sense of pleasure.

He also said this (C.S. Lewis):

“Joy bursts in our lives when we go about doing the good at hand and not trying to manipulate things and times to achieve joy.”

So then, what do we do? Joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. It comes from the source, God. We will find joy, not by pursuing it, but by faith remembering our hope in Jesus Christ and the love he has shown us and the love we in turn have for him. In light of his redemption, how small everything else seems, even our problems.

In the presence of Christ there is fullness of joy

First, Our God is our Refuge

Second, We have a beautiful inheritance,

4The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips. 5The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. 6The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

We have a beautiful inheritance

In Verse 4 the author looks to those who do not know his God. They are attached to lesser gods and as a result they have no refuge and their sorrows will continue to mount. They offer up blood to these demons and false gods, but the author says he will not partake in them, nor will he utter even the names of these dark deities. Instead, the Lord himself is his chosen portion and cup. He has bet it all on the Lord and on no other. As a result the lines have fallen for him in pleasant places, meaning the inheritance of land was in pleasant places. It was good land for good growth and a good harvest.

There are many who chase lesser gods. Human beings who have been blinded to the truth by our ancient enemy. Yet, for those who reject the petty gods of this world for the Lord will be granted an imperishable inheritance, eternal life, abundant, full and everlasting joy.

“Joy is the gigantic secret of the Christian.”

Yet this does not make it easy. We, as human beings and even Christians struggle with it. We live in a world steeped in sin, bitterness, and misery. Added to this, is our understanding that we live in such a state

C. S. Lewis said it this way: Part of every misery is, so to speak, the misery’s shadow or reflection: the fact that you don’t merely suffer but have to keep on thinking about the fact that you suffer. I not only live each endless day in grief, but live each day thinking about living each day in grief.

Yet we are told in James to count it all joy when we meet trials of various kinds. How do we do this? Is it just a “Poof-magic” and I am joyful even though everything I touch seems to turn to ash?

Here is the thing, the path of life and of joy is in the presence of God. Only those who know him, who are close to him, who make their home, their refuge in God through Jesus Christ will know this joy.

I don’t want to overdo it, but again C.S. Lewis said best, “If you want to get warm you must stand near the fire: if you want to be wet you must get into the water. If you want joy, power, peace, eternal life, you must get close to, or even into, the thing that has them. They are not a sort of prize which God could, if He chose, just hand out to anyone.”

True and abounding joy is found through faith in Jesus Christ. Our faith is built upon the certain hope that even though I am a sinner, broken and miserable, God, who is rich in mercy because of the great love with with he loved us made us alive together with Christ, it is by grace we are saved. Christ (The eternal Word), according to the Father’s plan, was born a truly human being and was named Jesus (Merry Christmas!). From the moment of his birth he lived the life we should live, then when the time was right he died the death we all deserve. He did this as an act of perfect sacrificial love that we might be brought near and know the love of God which surpasses all knowledge that we might also be filled with all the fullness of God.

Now, salvation is offered to all who put their full confidence, their faith in Jesus Christ. It is by grace we are saved through faith, it is a gift of God, not a result of works so that no one can boast. Yet, if we would put our faith fully in him, we must abandon who we once were, we let go of our sin and the slavery of our former bondage and take up our cross and follow him. You cannot earn your salvation by works, but there is necessarily a cost. The old man, the old life, has passed away, but in Christ we are born again to a new and living hope, in this there is much joy.

If anyone here would put your faith in Jesus Christ, I encourage you to choose him today. He loves you and wants you to know him. He will make known to you the path of life, in his presence there is fullness of joy.

Christians, remember. Remember the hope you have. The Lord is your chosen portion and your cup. Relax, be content, the lines have fallen for you in pleasant places and you have been granted a beautiful and eternal inheritance.

In the presence of Christ there is fullness of joy

First, Our God is our Refuge; Second, We have a beautiful inheritance,

Third, He makes known to us the path of life

7I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. 8I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. 9Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. 10For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. 11You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

He makes known to us the path of life

Given everything, the author blesses the Lord. He expresses a deep appreciation for the one who is there when the night is long and dark. He is there when the heart needs counsel. He is there to instruct him when the whispers of the enemy lead his heart into turmoil. So he sets the Lord always before himself, and because the Lord is there at his right hand, he will not be shaken. He can stand firm because the Lord his God is holding him up.

Because he dwells so secure in the refuge that is the Lord, his heart is glad and his whole being rejoices and his flesh dwells secure. He is comforted in his heart and his spirit; in his mind and body. He is utterly confident that the Lord his God will not abandon him, even into the grave, nor will he let his holy one see decay.

The Lord has made known to him the path of life and in his presence there is fullness of joy, at his right hand there are pleasures forevermore.

The Lord is the one who helps us in the dark moments of the heart, when we lay there and cannot stop our minds from running to the darkest places. Our Lord, by his Spirit is there to instruct our hearts and guide us, leading us back. Yet, even though he is our refuge in whom we ought to abide, it does not mean there is no effort on our part. The author says he sets the lord always before him. Because he has done this, the Lord is at his right hand and he therefore will not be shaken.

Verse 10, was written for the author. He was writing for himself, confident the Lord will not abandon him to Sheol, that is the grave, nor will he let him see decay. No doubt he meant this as a metaphor, but the Spirit meant something greater. This is also a prophesy of the Holy one, Jesus, who was not abandoned to the grave, nor was he allowed to see corruption, that is the decay of his flesh. Instead, he was raised from the dead and ascended to the right hand of God interceding for us as our great high priest. This is also true for all who have put their faith in Jesus. Our bodies will die, but we are not abandoned by God to the grave, but will be resurrected in the last day.

John 16:20–24 says this: 20 Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. 21 When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. 22 So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. 23 In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. 24 Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.

As we await the return of our Lord, he makes known to us, by his Spirit, the path of life. In his presence there is fullness of joy and at his right hand are pleasures forevermore.Do you want joy? Abide in him and ask for it.

This is something we need to recognize. He is all we need. We must make our home, our refuge, in him. We need to trust in the Lord with all our heart and lean not on our own understanding, in all our ways know him, and he will make our path straight. He will make known to us the path of life.

Remember the hope of our salvation, continue to put your confidence in him, and love him. Dwell in the presence of your wonderful savior, because that is where to find fullness of joy. In him we can walk through anything. It is only in Jesus we can count even our trials as joy.

In the presence of Christ there is fullness of joy

Conclusion

Our joy is only to be found in Christ. He, Our God, is our Refuge. We ought to fixate on abiding in him. When we have put our hope and faith in Jesus Christ, loving him, we have a beautiful inheritance, established by Christ according to the plan of the Father and guaranteed by the Holy Spirit. The lines have fallen for us in pleasant places. This has nothing to do with your current circumstances or mine. It has everything to do with the rock of our salvation. We might lose it all, we might encounter danger or even face death, but need not fear because our beautiful inheritance is sure. So, if we would walk this path of life with fullness of Joy, we ought to dwell in the presence of our savior.

Lets Pray:

Our Lord Jesus, you are our joy and salvation. You are our refuge and our strength. You are the rock on which we have built our faith and our lives. Forgive us for allowing trivialities lead us away from you. Forgive us for living on the rock as if were on the sand. That way is the way of fear and there is no fear in love. Instead, may your perfect love cast our our fear, teach us the path of life and show us that in you presence is fullness of joy and in your right hand are pleasures forevermore. It is in your name I pray these things, AMEN

Announcements

Lottie Moon Christmas Offering!

Youth Ministry!

Moving to Sunday Nights in the New Year! 6:30 PM to 8

Focusing on outreach, we have students from age 8 to 14 coming right now in numbers from 8 to 15. There is space to begin developing something for younger students. If anyone is interested in helping do that, come talk to me. This is the most significant outreach we are doing and has the greatest opportunity to affect the community in time. Please consider helping!

New Years Eve Party! 7-Midnight.

Sunday School

Sunday will resume the first Sunday of the New Year. I want to take this opportunity to thank all of our teachers for stepping up and serving our children and families. Everyone, please thank our teachers when you have a chance.