Sermon Tone Analysis

*The Gospel of John XVIII: *

*God’s Pure Joy*

*John 10:10*

*/November 9, 2008/*

 

 

*Prep: *

·         Sermons: Sin as slavery, wine that glorified God, Glorify God. 

·         Context in John

·         Piper: Passion for...pt 2

·         Grudem: Satan (p.

412ff)

·         Listen to lecture 8 of Teaching Co. (-11:30)

 

 

*Opening *

 

Some of us voted for McCain and some for Obama.

Whatever your feelings about the election, your duty now turns to praying for the president-elect.

*Prayer:*

 

·         Pray for president-elect.

·         Give us a better glimpse of who you are.

*WHo’s more fun?*

Q   Which word do you associate with “*party*,” holiness or sin?

Q   Who do you associate more with “*fun*,” God or Satan?

In this sermon, I want to paint a picture of *Satan* as a *miserly*, *miserable* creature who *hates* *joy*, *happiness*, and *pleasure*, and craving to *spread* his *misery* across the universe.

I want us to see God not just as the source of love of joy, but *happiness*, *pleasure*, and *life*, as *life* of the *party*, seeking to *spread* *joy* through the universe.

Is this stuff we all *know*?

Sure.

But I am not certain that we *feel* it, that at our core we really believe that God is the *ultimate* *fulfillment* of everything we *truly* *want*.

There will be time for Q & A.

 

My basis for this sermon is found in John:

 

*John 10:10 * 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.

I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

*The arch-thief*

 

The thief was reference to false messiahs and misguided leaders, such as the Pharisees, but more than that, it is the *power* *behind* all the thieves, The Thief, Satan.

We live in an age that *doesn’t* *believe* in him or else is *too* *interested* in him, either of which he is *glad* to *encourage*.

In contrast, the Bible presents him and his demons as *real* entities, with real, though *limited* *power*.

·         The Bible forbids either *fear* or *flippancy*.

We’re not told a lot about who he is or where he came from, but we know that he does what ever he can to hinder God’s work: *Tempting*, *deceiving*, *accusing*, bringing *fear* and *confusion*.

*John 10:10*  The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.

These three things can be simply summed up as “he is up to *no* *good*,” which I mean in the most *literal* sense, there is not a *hint* of goodness in his motives or actions.

*Absolute zero*

 

Q   Satan can come across as a *caricature*: What is his motive for being so bad?

 

·         He is the demonstration of what happens when a *great good* is completely *corrupted*.

By *thrusting* himself fully *away* from *God*, he’s distanced himself from every *possibility* of *good*, *joy* or *happiness*, for these flow from God. He’s the great *negative*, *evil* at its *worst*.

·         Yet, there is a *limit* to evil, like “*Absolutes Zero*” (-459 F).

Conversely, there is *no* *limit* to *goodness*.

We know Absolute Zero, but we don’t know whether or not this is a hottest hot.

·         That is why we must never think of Satan as *God’s opposite*.

In order to distance ourselves from *cartoonish* images of *horns* and *pitchforks*, it’s helpful to look a some literary version:

 

·         Voldemort (Harry Potter), *joyless* and driven by *fear *of death.

·         Sauron (Lord of the Rings), sometimes simply called “The Great *Malice*,” without *personality* or body, only pride and hatred.

·         The Whitewitch, (Lion, Witch, and Wardrobe) who hates *joy*.

Seeing a feast she ask, “What is the meaning of this *gluttony*, this *waste*, this *self-indulgence*?”

Ä  More than most, C. S. Lewis clearly understood the *joyless* nature of *Satan* and *evil*.

*Satan hates fun*

 

Satan *hates* *joy*, and he *hates* *pleasure*.

But doesn’t he *tempt* us with pleasure?

Didn’t I say in another sermon that *sin* is fun?

 

Yes, sin is fun, and the enemy uses pleasure as the *hook* to capture us.

But it is always *tainted* and *poisoned* happiness.

Sin can be fun, but *trouble* is always *added* to it.

Think of a time that sin was fun.

Given enough time, you will see the trouble that is added to it.

In *sixth* *grade*, I was a nerd, but for a few glorious weeks I was accepted by the bullies.

It *felt* so *good* to be *accepted*.

But in order to be accepted I rejected by only real friend at the school, which remains one of my few regrets in life.

Ä  In utter contrast to that is the joy God gives:

 

 

*God of pure joy*

 

*Proverbs 10:22 * 22 The blessing of the LORD brings wealth, and he adds no trouble to it.

God gives *joy*, *acceptance*, *happiness*, all without sorrow added to it.

Hell has no pleasure of its own; all it can do is *corrupt* *Heaven’s* joys.

·         Every good and perfect gift comes from the Father of lights.

This is something that C. S. Lewis keenly understood, that all joys are God’s (in the words of the tempter demon Screwtape):

 

[God] is a hedonist at heart.

All those fasts and vigils and stakes and crosses are only a façade.

Or like the foam on the seashore.

Out at sea, out in His sea, there is pleasure, and more pleasure.

He makes no secret of it; at His right hand are ‘pleasures for evermore.’

[Ps.

18:11]...

He has filled his world full of pleasures.

There are things for humans to do all day long without his minding in the least – sleeping, washing, eating, drinking, making love, playing, praying, working.

Everything has to be twisted before it is any use to us.

/Screwtape Letters, letter XXII./

And so the enemy gives us a *little* pleasure as *possible* in order to trap us in *addictions* and *bondage*, but God would give it to us *endlessly* and *without* *regret*.

*John 10:10 * 10 I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

Don’t think “life” simply means heaven – it is also an earthly promise.

And “*abundantly*” means “*excessive*.”

Q   Is this what we think of when we and world think of when they think of Christians?

Joy?

In the same way it *pains* me that Christians are known for *judgmentalism* rather than joy, it pains me that we are known more for being *kill*-*joys* than *joy*-*bearers*.

·         Some of this *cannot* be *avoided* because the *world’s* idea of joy has been so *tainted* that they can’t imagine joy without sin.

*Christian Hedonism *

 

In contrast to this, John Piper referred to “*Christian* *Hedonism*,” by which he means that the *proper* *motivation* for Christian living is to seek *happiness* and *joy*.

Q   Does that strike you as odd?

Our problem isn’t we are pursuing your *pleasure* when we ought to be doing your *duty*.

The problem is we *settle* for *too little*.

We are half-hearted creatures, fooling around with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea.

We are far too easily pleased.

/C. S. Lewis, Weight of Glory/

 

I have known and used this quote for many years, but I feel like I am only *just* *beginning* to understand it.

Sure, I knew that *heaven* was going to be *great*, but more feels likes it will be *good* for me than *fun*.

·         It was like hoping Jesus wouldn’t come back before my *Disneyland vacation*.

Now I am starting to internalize that the *joys* of *earth* are *reflections* of God’s joy.