Joy Complete (John 15:9-13)
What are some things that attack our joy?
1. Church culture: In the church a few generations ago, there was a rise of stoics, those who thought the best practice of Christianity was to lead a stoic life. Some of this attitude remains today.
2. The enemy: Of course, satan loves to attack our joy, because joy is a gift from God.
• John Piper in his book Desiring God says, “Satan’s number-one objective is to destroy our joy of faith.”
3. Entitlement thinking: This completely removes any sense of thanksgiving and acknowledgment of God.
John 15:9 Context: The context of this passage is right after Jesus teaches on the vine.
• Then Jesus transitions into talking about love and joy.
Verse 9 The origin of Joy is the Father’s love.
• We must look to the Father and His love for Jesus and us, as the source of joy, not the world around us.
Verse 10 He begins this verse by telling us how to remain in His love, obey His commands.
• If I don’t believe in the goodness of God, then I don’t believe his commands are in my best interest.
o Obeying His commands keep us close to Him and His love – joy.
• We also remain in love by spending time with Him
o If you are low on joy, ask yourself how much time have you spent with Him lately?
Verse 11 Jesus gives the reason why He is giving these instructions.
• So that His Joy may be in us, and that our Joy may be complete.
o The word completer means full measure.
Verse 12 Jesus explains what one of His commandments is – love each other.
• So, in simple terms joy is also tied to how we love others.
o The joy you have when you no strings attached love on someone else.
Verse 13 Jesus goes on to say that this love can be sacrificial. He is of course referring to His own sacrifice.
• But he is also inviting us into this kind of sacrificial love, for the sake of joy.
From the Jesus’s perspective: Think about what steals our joy
o The unexpected, things we can’t control, unmet expectations, loss, felt needs, disappointment
• But God the Father and Jesus are not affected by any of these.
o His expectations are met in Himself, and He controls everything and has no need nor suffers loss.
• And He is our daddy, who loves us, who delights in us.
o So our joy can be found in His love and in His sufficiency.
Hebrews 12:2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame
• Fix our eyes on Jesus and see things from His perspective, a perspective that even saw the cross as joy.
Romans 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Our joy comes to us through the Holy Spirit and cooperating with the Holy Spirit.
Joy Complete
