Steps to Joy
Notes
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Introduction
Introduction
Jesus could have waited to pray unto He ascended to heaven but He chose to speak His prayer in the hearing of the disciples so that they might be encouraged by it.
“But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves.
Exhort — To build up; strongly encourage someone to action
Jesus intended His pray to encourage them so they might fully experience His joy.
Joy of the Lord — Jesus wants them to know He is praying for them the necessary steps to a life fully engaged in His purpose for their life…this is the joy of the Lord
Jesus wants them to know He is praying for them the things necessary so they might live a life fully engaged in accomplishing God’s purposes for their life. It is as they cooperate with Christ’s mission to save the world that they will experience true joy
It is as we experience relationship with God and cooperate with His mission to love and save the world that we experience true joy.
More probably Jesus means that he had the joy of living the completely fruitful life and he wants the joy that he already has to be in them too as they live fruitfully
That is what this prayer of Jesus is about and subsequently what this sermon is about…that we might experience the fullness of God’s joy by living His mission or purpose for our life.
Morris, L. (1995). The Gospel according to John (p. 598). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
Christian Joy — Gladness, happiness at the possession of something God has given or the assurance of what He has promised to give.
We see two things in this passage that God has given His disciples which brings real, genuine, unshakeable joy: relationship with Him (through the revelation Jesus brings to them) and the opportunity to be a part of what He is doing in the world.
We can have real joy in the experience of knowing God and following His plan for our life. That plan…is to be a part fo what He is doing around us…be a part of things which bring glory to Him…a part of things which lead others to saving faith. Jesus wanted this for His disciples in the first century and He wants it for us now as well. His prayers are meant to be an encouragement to that end.
Jesus wanted this for His disciples in the first century and He wants it for us now as well. His prayers are meant to be an encouragement to that end.
This begs the question — Are you experiencing the joy of the Lord? Is your life defined by your relationship with God and cooperation with His mission in the world? Is this what gives you contentment, happiness and joy? If not there is more to life than what you are experiencing.
Verse 14-15
Verse 14-15
God’s first step on the path to the joy of Jesus: God’s reveals Himself
“I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
First things first! We have to be saved! The only people in this world who can experience supernatural joy that only Jesus gives are those who have placed faith in Him for their salvation from sin and new life.
“I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
“I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.
The Word — Jesus had given these disciples the word...The revelation of the Father. They received this revelation and placed faith in Jesus. They had come to believe in Jesus’ message, origin and mission. They were no longer the same…they were born again.
The first step to a life of joy is God’s revelation of Himself in Jesus
"You are angry," said a Negro fellow-traveler to Dan Crawford, at the end of a fifteen-mile trek in the tall grass of Central Africa. "Why do you say so?" "Because you are silent," was the reply. "Tell me more about it." "In our language," answered the black man, "we say that if a man is silent, he is angry. This is why we know God is angry—because He is silent. God is silent" The intrepid missionary was cut to the heart. He opened his pocket Testament and read to the man the first verse of the Epistle to the Hebrews. Much more, he went to work at translating the New Testament into the language of his Central African brother, and in building schoolhouses in which the people might be taught to read the Word which God had spoken in Jesus Christ nearly two thousand years before. God was not silent. But the messengers to whom He had committed His Good News had been slow to tell it as He had bidden them, unto the ends of the earth.
God has given us His Word…we should be careful stewards of it
Thank God for this new life…we have moved …from lies to the truth…from darkness to the light…from death to life.
This new life marked them as different. They were no longer the same as those living apart from Christ. Their faith made them a new person.
“I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
“I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
“I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.
Once we become born again we are no longer of the world anymore than Jesus Himself is of the world. Our new life in Him removes us from theological, philosophical and moral alignment with the natural man.
A lot of believers struggle at this point. They struggle when disliked, hated or ridiculed for their differentness. Being different on the basis of our belief and trust in Christ is an absolute for the genuine Christian. If you are not different because of your relationship with Christ you have to ask yourself the question, “Do I genuinely have a relationship with Christ.”
Being different on the basis of our belief and trust in Christ is an absolute
If you look, sound, think and act like the world you are of the world. If it looks, sounds and quacks like a duck…its a duck.
I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.
The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.
Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.
The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.
I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.
The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.
“The followers of Jesus are permitted neither the luxury of compromise with a ‘world’ (cf. notes on 1:9) that is intrinsically evil and under the devil’s power, nor the safety of disengagement. But if the Christian pilgrimage is inherently perilous, the safety that only God himself can provide is assured, as certainly as the prayers of God’s own dear Son will be answered.” Carson, D. A. (1991).
The followers of Jesus are permitted neither the luxury of compromise with a ‘world’ (cf. notes on 1:9) that is intrinsically evil and under the devil’s power, nor the safety of disengagement. But if the Christian pilgrimage is inherently perilous, the safety that only God himself can provide is assured, as certainly as the prayers of God’s own dear Son will be answered.
Carson, D. A. (1991). The Gospel according to John (p. 565). Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; W.B. Eerdmans.
If you are of the world you will love the things of the world…you will love sin. And if you are of Christ you will love the things of Christ and hate sin.
An Englishman who boasted that he did not believe in God once visited the Fiji Islands. As he saw the natives going to church with Bibles in their hands, he exclaimed, "The Bible is no good. Your religion about Christ is false." To this a simple native teacher answered, "It is a good thing for you that we left our heathenism and cannibalism and took to our Bibles and Christianity, else you would be clubbed, cooked in a native oven, and eaten."
To this a simple native teacher answered, "It is a good thing for you that we left our heathenism and cannibalism and took to our Bibles and Christianity, else you would be clubbed, cooked in a native oven, and eaten."
“The followers of Jesus are permitted neither the luxury of compromise with a ‘world’ (cf. notes on 1:9) that is intrinsically evil and under the devil’s power, nor the safety of disengagement. But if the Christian pilgrimage is inherently perilous, the safety that only God himself can provide is assured, as certainly as the prayers of God’s own dear Son will be answered.” Carson, D. A. (1991).
The test of salvation is simple…what or whom do you love?
These men loved God and belonged to Him. They were not of the world…and the world hated them for it.
God’s second step on the path to the joy of Jesus: Leave us in the world
The Second step to a life full of joy in Christ is to trust
“I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.
“I do not ask you to take them out of the world” — We want to protect our children and remove them from all danger. Our Father should want the same shouldn’t He? Should He not want to remove us from all pain, suffering and the fellowship of those who hate us and even seek to kill us because of our faith in Him? Jesus has other plans…
Jesus wants us in the world…not of the world…but in the world…so we might minister His Gospel…so we might have the joy of being a part of what He is doing to save the world.
If Jesus took us out of the world it would remove us from all opportunities to be a part of His saving work here on earth…and there is joy in that! Real joy…a joy missed by many because so few of us regularly share Jesus with the lost.
105 people die every minute…many of these have never heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We have been granted the privilege of being God’s plan to reach the ones still living who are soon to die separated from Christ.
So He makes provision for us to do just that…be in the world, not of it and about His the works He is doing around us...
How Jesus Makes a Way
How Jesus Makes a Way
God’s third step on the path to the joy of Jesus: Protect us from the evil one
“Protect them from the evil one” — The devil would be defeated in the soon to come Cross…Jesus would no longer be on the earth…the full force of the enemy’s attack would come to bear upon believers in Christ.
“The followers of Jesus are permitted neither the luxury of compromise with a ‘world’ (cf. notes on 1:9) that is intrinsically evil and under the devil’s power, nor the safety of disengagement. But if the Christian pilgrimage is inherently perilous, the safety that only God himself can provide is assured, as certainly as the prayers of God’s own dear Son will be answered.” Carson, D. A. (1991).
Specifically these men would each assuredly receive a visit from Satan himself! Jesus is praying a prayer of spiritual warfare on their behalf…protect them from Satan’s desire to destroy them. Jesus prays the same for us today.
Specifically these men would each assuredly receive a visit from Satan himself! Jesus is praying a prayer of spiritual warfare on their behalf…protect them from Satan’s desire to destroy them.
We are in a hostile world, in enemy territory. Satan is the ruler of this world 1 John 5:19
We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
We are in a hostile world, in the land of the enemy. Satan is the ruler of this world The enemy is coming for us and we need the prayers of Jesus on our behalf just as the disciples did in His day.
The enemy is coming for us and we need the prayers of Jesus on our behalf just as the disciples did in His day. Thankfully He is interceding for us in just such a way in the heavenlies right now.
We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
Thankfully He is interceding for us in just such a way in the heavenlies right now.
Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
If it were not for the prayers of Jesus we would be lost both physically and spiritually. Jesus intercedes for us and keeps us saved in every way.
A little boy was once asked by his father why he thought the lions could not touch Daniel, and he made answer "Because the Lion of the Tribe of Judah was with him."
If it were not for the prayers of Jesus we would be lost both physically and spiritually. Jesus intercedes for us and keeps us saved in every way.
God’s fourth step on the path to the joy of Jesus: He Sanctifies us by His Truth
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.
The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
There came a man sent from God, whose name was John.
He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him.
He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.
There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.
He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.
He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,
who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’ ”
For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.
For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.
No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.
This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”
And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”
They asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”
Then they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”
He said, “I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”
Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.
They asked him, and said to him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
John answered them saying, “I baptize in water, but among you stands One whom you do not know.
“It is He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.”
These things took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
“This is He on behalf of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’
“I did not recognize Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water.”
John testified saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him.
“I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’
“I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.”
Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples,
and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”
The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.
And Jesus turned and saw them following, and said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?”
He said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they came and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.
One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.
He found first his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which translated means Christ).
He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).
The next day He purposed to go into Galilee, and He found Philip. And Jesus said to him, “Follow Me.”
Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter.
Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
Nathanael said to him, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!”
Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”
Nathanael answered Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.”
Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.”
And He said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
“Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.
“Sanctify them in the truth” — To be sanctified is to be set apart for God’s use. If someone is set apart for God and God’s purposes alone, that person will do only what God wants, and hate all that God hates. That is what it means to be holy, as God is holy.” Carson, D. A. (1991).
The moral overtones in our English words ‘holy’ and ‘sanctification’ emerge only at that point: i.e. ideally if someone is set apart for God and God’s purposes alone, that person will do only what God wants, and hate all that God hates. That is what it means to be holy, as God is holy
Carson, D. A. (1991).
The means by which the disciples are set apart is their immersion in the truth revealed to them through Jesus.
A British vessel landed Mr. and Mrs. Paton on an island under armed guard and stood by while the crew built the missionaries a house in which to dwell. Then they sailed away, convinced that they would never see the courageous couple again.What followed constitutes one of the greatest and most thrilling romances of all time. The people with whom the Patons worked were brutal and cruel almost beyond hope. After a short time Mrs. Paton died of a tropical disease that was swift and deadly. Her husband buried her, and so low were the standards of the natives that they demanded her body for their feast. John Paton had to lie upon her grave, musket in hand, ten days and nights, aided only by his dog. This was the only way he could preserve his wife's body. When he was sure that the dear form was corrupted so as to be inedible, he retired to his lonely house and began the translation of the Bible into the native tongue. For thirty years he laboured with those people. Then a commission of the British Government visited the Islands and published an official document of congratulation, saying that the `cannibals' of the New Hebrides had now become the most advanced and cultured of all the native tribes who lived under the British flag. In those thirty years a race had been transformed and redeemed by the cultural power of the wonderful Word
Beautiful flaming reds, bright golds, silvers that resemble bright, shiny chrome. Even the beetle hater finds jewel scarabs dazzling and beautiful!But the jewel scarab’s beauty doesn’t come automatically. Every scarab has modest, even ugly beginnings. The scarab starts life as a soft, mushy, grey-white grub growing inside a rotting tree stump. They spend their life like this for around a year, until finally, when the rainy season arrives, the adult scarabs emerge soft bodied and pale. The within hours, their bodies harden and their splendid colours show. They only live for another three months, but what a glorious existence it is.
But the jewel scarab’s beauty doesn’t come automatically. Every scarab has modest, even ugly beginnings. The scarab starts life as a soft, mushy, grey-white grub growing inside a rotting tree stump. They spend their life like this for around a year, until finally, when the rainy season arrives, the adult scarabs emerge soft bodied and pale. The within hours, their bodies harden and their splendid colours show. They only live for another three months, but what a glorious existence it is.
People are just like scarabs. We may not feel terribly beautiful and attractive. In fact there may be parts of you that feel distinctly ugly – and I’m not talking just about your body, but about your sprit, your mind, your thought life, your character. But it’s the work of the Spirit of God to make us beautiful. It may seem to take a lifetime, but as the Spirit works on us, we will emerge as beautiful, dazzling, shining creatures gloriously bearing the image of our Creator.
What followed constitutes one of the greatest and most thrilling romances of all time. The people with whom the Patons worked were brutal and cruel almost beyond hope. After a short time Mrs. Paton died of a tropical disease that was swift and deadly. Her husband buried her, and so low were the standards of the natives that they demanded her body for their feast. John Paton had to lie upon her grave, musket in hand, ten days and nights, aided only by his dog. This was the only way he could preserve his wife's body. When he was sure that the dear form was corrupted so as to be inedible, he retired to his lonely house and began the translation of the Bible into the native tongue. For thirty years he laboured with those people. Then a commission of the British Government visited the Islands and published an official document of congratulation, saying that the `cannibals' of the New Hebrides had now become the most advanced and cultured of all the native tribes who lived under the British flag. In those thirty years a race had been transformed and redeemed by the cultural power of the wonderful Word
People are just like scarabs. We may not feel terribly beautiful and attractive. In fact there may be parts of you that feel distinctly ugly – and I’m not talking just about your body, but about your sprit, your mind, your thought life, your character. But it’s the work of the Spirit of God to make us beautiful. It may seem to take a lifetime, but as the Spirit works on us, we will emerge as beautiful, dazzling, shining creatures gloriously bearing the image of our Creator.
Jesus changes us when we are saved…and then His Spirit goes about the work of transforming us…moment by moment we become more like Christ. The Holy Spirit immerses us in the message of Jesus and transforms us, setting us more and more apart from the world.
The Holy Spirit immerses us in the message of Jesus and transforms us, setting us more and more apart from the world.
The more our time with Jesus, the greater our love of Him and this love will be demonstrated in our obedience to His way of doing things…the more striking our differences with the world.
This practically happens for us today a we immerse ourselves in our relationship with God and His word…the Bible.
The truth of God is revealed to us in this day through the Bible; it is in the Bible that we learn God’s heart…His idea of right and wrong…know His will, plans, purpose and heart.
As we become more and more immersed in God’s thoughts and our lives conform to His will, we grow in sanctification…we become the man or woman consumed with God, His way of doing things and the good works He has prepared for us to do with Him. In short…we become less consumed with ourselves and more consumed with God…we take up our cross, die to self and begin to live in Him.
God’s fifth step for making our joy complete in Him…Send us on mission
God’s fifth step on the path to the joy of Jesus: Send us on mission
“As you sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world” — Jesus was sent on mission to save us from our sins. We have been sent to carry the message and work of Jesus to the ears and hearts of those who have not heard of what He came to do for them.
“As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.
“As you sent me into the world, I also have sent them” — Jesus was sent from heaven to earth with a mission…to live a perfect life and die as a substitutionary atonement for our sins…to put it another way…Jesus came to die on the cross to pay for our sins and save us from them.
Jesus was sent by the Father and we have been sent by Jesus. Jesus had a mission…to obey the Father’s will even to death on a cross. We have a mission as well…to take up our cross and live for the truth…for Jesus and His mission…no matter the cost.
Just as Jesus was born into this world with a mission…We have been born again into this world with a mission…to cooperate with what He is doing to love and save the world.
We can never experience the fullness of the joy of life in Christ if we are living for our own plans instead of His. Jesus never intended for us to live for temporal, mundane, self centered purpose…He intend that we experience the exhilarating joy of life bound up in what He is doing.
God’s sixth step on the path to the joy of Jesus: The Cross
“For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.
It is as though Jesus is finishing up His prayer with the one thing that makes everything else possible in the first place…without the Cross there can be no relationship with God and no mission with Him…He must finish His mission so that we can embark upon our life in Him and out own.
“I sanctify myself that they may be” — Jesus sends us on mission but before we are sent out He accomplished and finished His own mission. He set Himself apart and went to the cross so that we might be set apart and take up our own cross as well.
“For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.
Jesus set His own life apart for the Father’s plan…even to the cross…it is in the cross that the possibility arises for us to be saved and set apart for God’s purposes…If Jesus had not sanctified Himself and obeyed the Father’s plan…we would have no opportunity to follow Him by faith and live a life full of joy.
“For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.
“That they may all be one” — Here Jesus prays that we all be one in Him…that we might be preserved in our faith in the truth of the Father which Jesus has given us. That we won’t fall away and that our unity with one another might be on the basis of our faith in Him.
This unity with the Father and one another presents a witness to the world…it makes much of Him…It shows the world God is real, powerful and doing wonderful things in the life of those who have faith in Him.
Conclusion
Conclusion
“I do not ask on behalf of these alone” — This prayer is for us as well!
Jesus came to give us eternal life. He was sent by the Father on a mission to save us from our sin, make us completely new people and give us an invaluable purpose.
Some of us have the first half of the life of joy but are missing the second. You have experienced salvation but are struggling to live out God’s plan for your time on earth. The prayer of Jesus is a window into how you can step out into a new way of living.
“That they may all be one” — Here Jesus prays that we all be one in Him…that we might be preserved in our faith in the truth of the Father which Jesus has given us. That we won’t fall away and that our unity with one another might be on the basis of our faith in Him.
This unity with the Father and one another presents a witness to the world…it makes much of Him…It shows the world God is real, powerful and doing wonderful things in the life of those who have faith in Him.
All of these steps can be summarized into a simple sentence: God has revealed Himself to us so we might have faith to live a new life under His protection, in His truth and on mission with Him.
Has there been a time when you placed faith in Jesus? Do you have faith in Him to deliver you from satan, temptation and sin? Are you spending time with Him in His word so that He might transform your mind? Are you living on mission with Him?
Are you living in the fullness of the joy meant for a life in Christ? There is more to life if not.
