HAVING THE JOY OF CHRIST

Good Morning

Living in a small town brings lots of joyful opportunities. Here in Millsboro they seem to be in great supply.

Like when you are at Atkins field watching your child or grandchild play ball; especially when they make that spectacular play.

Or maybe you enjoy going out to the DQ on Thursdays and looking at the classic cars, talking to the owners and looking under the hood.

Or gathering on the Square at Christmas time and partaking of all the festivities.

Moments like this fill us with gladness, with hope and with joy.

But these moments fade and the joy passes. Life happens, right?

Today we want to look at a Joy greater than anything you have ever experienced. And a Joy that we can never lose.

Turn to John 15:9-12

In this passage, we enter the upper room of the home that was prepared for what would be the Last Passover.

Tomorrow, Jesus will be crucified. Tomorrow, He will finish His work here on earth and make possible the redemption of all those who, from the beginning of mankind to end, will look to Him as their Lord and Savior.

But, before He leaves His disciples, He wants to impart to them some final, immeasurably important truths so that they will be able to continue on with the work He has given them.

And these truths apply to us today just as they did when the church began. Because we are to continue that work.

This morning, we want to focus in on just one of those immeasurable truths. How to share in the Joy of Christ!

Read Passage...

Let’s consider this passage as 3 separate thoughts that integrate into one fantastic truth.

In v.9 Jesus tells us to abide in His love. That’s one thought.

In v.10 we learn that we must keep His commandments. That’s another thought

In v.11, there is the sharing of His Joy. The third thought

How these 3 thoughts work together is the key to understanding this passage

The cliff notes version is this…in order to share in His Joy, we must abide in His love by keeping His commandments.

That’s the 10,000 foot overview.

I want take it down closer to ground level and unpack each of these thoughts.

When we read v.11, we see that Jesus desires that we share in His Joy. AND, that this Joy be made full in us.

The words “made full”, in the original Greek, mean to be complete or accomplished. It speaks to an increased spiritual maturity.

In Christ, we are made complete!

These words were written in the Aorist tense and passive voice.

Here is the beauty of that…it is Christ who is active in the giving of His joy, not us. And He does so continually; never-ending.

Oh to have that Joy! To be given a new state of being that rejoices in all occasions. In good times and in bad.

You see, joy is not happiness. Happiness is an emotion that ebbs and flows depending on our circumstances. We feel happy when things go well, don’t we?

But when you get that phone call that your child was in an accident, or your father is in the hospital, or the bill collector is about to turn you over to the attorney, happiness is quickly replaced with sadness or fear.

But Joy is not an emotion, it is not a feeling. Joy is a state of being.

It is the Greek word “chara” which brings through the sense of “calm delight” and “exceeding gladness”

In the Proverbs we read “Be still and know that I am God.”

So this Joy is not equal to excitement. Rather it is an internal peace and comfort.

We can rejoice in the bad times because we have the confidence that God is greater than any struggle we may endure.

And in that confidence, we can face the trial because we know that God is in control and He will use our circumstances for His glory.

Can there be any greater Joy than to be in the care and love of an all powerful God?

And everyone here this morning has access to this Joy.

If you are here this morning as a child of God, having accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, that Joy is available to you right now.

And we will see in a minute how you can access it.

If you are here this morning and have not yet accepted Christ as your Savior, that Joy is also available to you!

You need only to accept that you are separated from God because of your sin.

And believe that the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, that His sacrifice on your behalf, takes your sins away.

As far as the East is from the West, that is how far Christ removes our sin from us. Never to be remembered again.

And once that happens, you have access to the throne. And you can stand in the presence of God.

Then you too will have access to the Joy of Christ!

And that brings us to the heart of it. How do we have access to this Joy?

Well, let’s consider our second thought, abiding in His love. What does it mean to abide?

The Greek word here in vv.9-10 is “meno”. It means to reside.

It gives us the sense of living with Christ, sharing a dwelling place.

In Ps 90 we read, “Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations”

So as Christians, we live with Jesus. Can you think of a better place to live?

When the Apostle John wrote “abide”, here, he placed it in the active voice which puts the responsibility on us to act.

And he wrote it in the future tense, which implies that this responsibility is ongoing.

Unlike the moment of your salvation, which occurred once and never has to occur again; abiding requires constant and continuing action.

But what action? What is it that we must do?

In v.10 we read that abiding means to keep His commandments. Our third thought.

We do not have time to fully unpack what it means to keep His commandments.

But let’s look specifically at the emphasis that Jesus gives us. Read v.12…

Two chapters back Jesus introduces us to this idea when He says, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you…”

The Apostle Paul reinforces this in Gal 5 when he writes that “The WHOLE Law is fulfilled in the statement ‘you shall love your neighbor as yourself”

So loving one another is the new commandment, which satisfies all commandments.

For, in truly loving God and truly loving others, then the intent of the rest is met.

Because you will not do the things that the law forbids if you have true love for one another.

Next week we will take a deep dive into what this love looks like in action.

And we will glory in the love that is shared with us in v.9

Jesus loves us Just as the Father loves Him. Contemplate on that this week, spend time considering the love between the Father and the Son. And how we are loved in that same way!

So then, since we are loved with such an inexhaustible and enduring love, we are commanded to love our brothers and sisters in that same way.

Overlooking any wrong. Forgiving any hurt. Sacrificially loving.

When we do, we abide in Christ. He becomes our dwelling place.

When we abide in Christ, He fills us up to overflowing with His Joy.

And in that Joy, we can live the victorious life in confidence!

In the good moments, we have an even greater appreciation. In the hard moments, we have assurance that He is with us.

We can face any trial, handle any adversity, stand tall in the midst of any single threat that this world or Satan himself can throw at us…

Because we know whom we have believed and we are convinced that He is able to guard that which we have entrusted to Him… (2Tim 1:12b)

And if He is for us, who can be against us? (Rm 8:31b)

Let’s pray