Joy

Recap on previous week: Agape Love

Read Core Text: Galatians 5:22-25

So, let’s look at our text that we will be expounding upon. 

We are going to do something different, that I usually don’t do, but I think it will help us when handling this text. Instead of reading John 15:1-11, let’s start at verse 11, then read 1-10. 

Read John 15:11 > Jesus tells us the equation for us to have full or complete joy. Let’s read these things now:

Read John 15:1-10

We start out here with an analogy or parable that Jesus is giving so that we may have great joy. 

V1-2

Starting in V1, Jesus is painting us a picture. Jesus is the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener.

We are the branches, and every branch that does not produce fruit, the Father cuts off. This is exactly the point Pastor Steve was making this past Sunday. The dead wood are the ones claiming to be Christians, yet bear no fruit. But the one that produces fruit, those of us that are saved, he prunes, so that we will produce even more fruit. What does prune mean? It essentially means that God removes all things in our lives that could and would hinder our Spiritual walk or something that deters us from bearing fruit. For those in farming, this is exactly what the farmer does when anything deters their crops from bringing maximum fruit/crops. 

V4:

Jumping down to verse 4, now we can understand that Jesus is talking to us & he gives us a direct command: “Abide in Me and I in you.” Some of you may wonder what the word Abide means? When looking at the Greek, it simply means, “remain; stay; reside”. Then Jesus so clearly states what happens when we do not abide or remain in Christ: The branch cannot bear fruit from itself… Meaning, if we try to attempt to do anything on our own accord, it is for nothing, as we cannot do anything without Christ. 

V5:

Then verse 5 states what happens when you Remain in Christ: “He bears much fruit”.

V6:

In verse 6, he then again addresses what happens when you have never abided in Christ. For those who never abide in Christ, ultimately was never made alive in Christ or even like Pastor Steve talked about this past Sunday again, those which seed fell on rocky soil, never bear fruit. Although they may have been green for a season, it was false and of their own, henceforth they dried up and the result is they are cast into the fire and are burned. 

V7:

Back to those who Remain in Christ, those who are truly saved, that whatever you ask or wish, it will be done for you. Now, this does not mean that if you do what God says, he will reward you with a Lamborghini or a million dollars. No, for those who Abide in Christ, or walk in step in the Spirit, our desires are not fleshly or worldly desires, but the vital sap of the Holy Spirit, which enables us to bear fruit. 

V8:

Additionally, when we Abide or Remain in Christ, our Father in Heaven is glorified & ultimately show that you were part of the good soil, proving to be Christ follower.

V9-10:

Like we learned last week, God’s love for us is immense, unfathomable, and incomprehensible, but only to those who abide/remain in His love. But how do we Abide/Remain in His love? If we keep His commandments. 

V11:

So, let’s wrap this passage up with the key verse. Everything we have just talked about, Jesus told us those these things on purpose. Then He explains why: That MY joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. Jesus tells us these things, so that we do not lack any joy or we are not searching for anything or one, but that His joy may be in us and we are completely satisfied. 

Now, you may ask, how in the world does this apply to having Joy. Well, Jesus laid it out so simple. He gave us the formula for having joy. And Jesus could have picked any other word, but He chose joy.

And if we do what He says, we will not just have a little joy, but COMPLETE joy! Now of course it’s easy to have Joy when things are going well. But the Bible talks about instances where things are not going well. 

Read James 1:2-3

So let’s make sure we know what trials mean. Trials are something that test us spiritually or say, bad circumstances. So when we have that come up in our life, which I guarantee you will, we are instructed in this verse to consider it joy. Now, it is very normal or natural for the human response to trials is not to rejoice or be glad, or even count it all joy… But, the passage we read and went through taught us how to have complete joy. And that is, if we are remaining or abiding in Christ and His love, we should know that it’s for a purpose & like we learned last week, nothing happens outside of Christ’s love. 

Read Habakkuk 3:17-19 

Just to look at a different passage, this verse again shares where our joy comes from:

Read Psalm 16:11

Now for people who say, yeah, I consider myself to be a joyful person, and which that maybe true from an outward appearance. But I would like us to explore the difference between joy and happiness. 

Has anyone ever heard that there is a difference?

Lets first look at Happiness:

Happiness is usually connected to things or people around you, which could come from good circumstances, which examples would be success, fun moments in life, or even that relationships are going well.

However, happiness is known to be temporary, it rises and falls depending on the seasons of life. 

Examples could be that you get great news, win a sports game, or things go the way you want them too.

But when we look at Joy:

It’s different than being temporary; it’s a settled confidence.

It’s rooted in who God is, rather than our circumstances 

That root would be anchored in our Salvation, Hope, and relationship with Christ!

Joy is not pretending that things are ok, or derived off emotion, but it’s trusting in God that things are good even when they feel they aren’t. 

Here is a simple way to differentiate the two:

Happiness is based on happenings  

Joy is based on Jesus, who He is, and clinging to His Divine Attributes every single day. 

Discussion Questions 

• Can you think of a time you were joyful even when life wasn’t great?

• How can someone tell if joy is coming from God or circumstances?