May 3, 3030 - A Joy Worth Pursuing
Notes
Transcript
Last week, we heard Jesus Christ encouraging His disciples - to better help them understand that WHILE JESUS was going to LEAVING them...
due to being crucified...
THAT they still weren’t going to BE ALONE!
That THE HELPER was going to come…and as Jesus called Him last week - the Spirit of Truth
See Jesus is trying to LIFT the spirits of the disciples...
He’s been telling them that He’s going to be “LEAVING”...
And they DON’T WANT TO HEAR THAT!
They don’t UNDERSTAND Him...
They’re CONFUSED by this...
And Jesus COMFORTS them by telling them - the Spirit of Truth will COME to them...
That He will DWELL with them…IN them...
And GUIDE them INTO ALL THE TRUTH!
See - as we walked through last week - TRUTH will set us free!
We should WANT to pursue what is TRUE in life...
And we walked through some scenarios that PROVED the benefit of TRUTH in our lives...
Well - we also SAW last week that Jesus HIMSELF is - THE Truth!
And the Holy Spirit - the Spirit of Truth - would help the disciples…in that...
He would ILLUMINATE the Truth of God
That it’s by HIS power that we can even UNDERSTAND the truth of God...
Not only that, but we saw that the Spirit of Truth - Equips us for BATTLE!
He provides us with GIFTS - that we might use these GIFTS to edify the church...
And advance the Kingdom of God...
NOW - Jesus explained these things to the Disciples....
But NO DOUBT - they were still scratching their heads...
They still didn’t get it…and we’ll hear that today in our passage...
But what we’ll see today - is something that IMPACTS EVERYONE who has ever lived, and who WILL ever live...
And so what we’ll see today - is MASSIVELY important
If you remember, Jesus is actually MOMENTS away from being ARRESTED...
and HOURS away from being crucified...
AND so KEEP that in your MIND as we walk through WHAT JESUS is TRYING to TEACH the disciples during this PARTICULAR time...
What He’s trying to TEACH the disciples while He Himself is on the doorstep of death...
AND - while they themselves are facing the same fate...
Let’s get to it:
16 “A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.”
17 So some of his disciples said to one another, “What is this that he says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’; and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?”
18 So they were saying, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.”
19 Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’?
20 Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.
21 When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.
22 So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.
23 In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.
24 Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
There is an obvious theme that runs throughout this passage today...
And it’s something that EVERY human being can RELATE to...
Each of us - LIVES out PURSUING what Jesus is HIGHLIGHTING here...
At first Jesus is EXPLAINING to the disciples that He’s going to be LEAVING them soon...
BUT - that SOON after that - they would SEE Him again!
He’s speaking of His death...
And His burial...
BUT ALSO of what - His resurrection and his APPEARING to them...
He’s saying - Listen, I’ll be going away soon...
And I’ll be GOING AWAY in such a way - that ALL of you will KNOW IT...
“But DON’T WORRY....I’ll see you again!
And of COURSE - from Jesus saying this -
what’s the result of this in regards to the disciples!??
They’re UTTERLY confused!
And we SHOULDN’T be shocked by this - at this point...
18 So they were saying, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.”
AGAIN - they’re confused....scared...
And so what does Jesus do?
He just repeats Himself....repeats what He’s BEEN saying - that’s He’s going away, but then He begins to EXPOUND of what the disciples can EXPECT...
19 Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’?
20 Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.
And here’s where we need to camp out a bit…We need to LINGER here
The BACKGROUND of what Jesus is saying here is this...
“You will SEE me die...
your WORLD - will be shattered...
Everything you thought - SEEMINGLY - hopeless
What you THOUGHT was TRUE - will - SEEMINGLY come crashing down INTO a heep
Your world - in PIECES
Your FAITH - in PIECES
Your FUTURE - in PIECES
Your HOPE - in PIECES
You will WEEP
You will LAMENT (mourn)
BUT...
Read the end of the verse!
Your SORROW - will TURN to JOY!
See - JOY is what Christ is pointing to!
He wants THAT - listen - PARTICULAR JOY - to sustain these men THRU the PAIN that is coming for them!
Remember - a few weeks ago (our time) - just moments before this (THEIR time) - Jesus said to them...
“the HOUR IS COMING - when whoever KILLS YOU....thinks they are offering a service to God”
PAIN is coming for these men!
And Jesus is pointing to A PARTICULAR JOY here....saying - JOY is COMING...
Yes, you’ll be sorrowful....you will WEEP when I depart...
BUT - JOY is just around the bend!
NOW - let’s DIVE into this PARTICULAR joy!
What does the verse say? (read it)
“Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but - - the world will REJOICE...”
Let’s look at this DICHOTOMY!
Jesus DIES…and the DISCIPLES will - WEEP - MOURN...
The world will - REJOICE....have - JOY
Do you see how the JOY of the world is ROOTED in something different than the JOY of the Christian?
Let’s first look at JOY - rooted in the World
SLIDE: Joy Rooted in the World: Weak, Temporary, Leads to Eternal Death
Joy Rooted in the World
Joy Rooted in the World
Let’s walk thru each of these...
HOW is joy rooted in the world WEAK?
I’m obviously in a suburb of Cleveland OHIO right now, so this question is RELEVANT...
How long did we Cleveland sports fans have to wait till we finally got a Championship here in Cleveland with the Cavaliers in 2016?
Answer = 52 years
52 years of - OH SO CLOSE!!
52 years of blood, sweat - and TEARS
And then - in 2016 - the IMPOSSIBLE happened!
Not only did we WIN - but we did WHAT NO OTHER team had done before...
come back from a 3-1 deficit.
WE WON!!
That was in 2016 - - 4 YEARS AGO....only 4 YEARS AGO!!
The Championship - was the UNICORN in cleveland for SO long!!
But then we ATTAINED the prize!!
Just 4 years ago!!
SLIDE: Question
How many of you wake up every morning, consumed with uncontrollable joy in our 2016 NBA Championship?
NO ONE?
WAIT - you guys remember that night don’t you?
Of COURSE you do!
so it’s NOT like you’ve FORGOTTEN about it...
We remember SCREAMING with JOY!!
We remember people RUNNING out of their houses into the streets - CRYING tears of JOY!!
Well - then what happened?
We don’t wake up every morning - with tears of JOY streaming down our faces because of the 2016 Championship??
Do you know WHY we don’t even think about it anymore?
Because what we’ve all experienced - is the WEAKNESS of that JOY
SLIDE: 2016 NBA Championship
The joy of the 2016 NBA Championship is too weak to hold our worship
That JOY - has been exposed for what it TRULY is… weak
But think about this - Even NOW - as we contemplate the WEAKNESS of this JOY - we all STILL - SO BADLY desire - what?
The Browns to WIN the Superbowl!
We’ll CONVINCE ourselves that - THAT JOY - will last - FOREVER!!
Yet - we KNOW - we’re fooling ourselves…it’s TOO WEAK to HOLD our worship...
Listen to this verse...
13 for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.
We TURN from God....and INSTEAD use our BROKEN CISTERNS that can bring no - SATISFACTION...
They can HOLD - NO WATER!
Too weak!! - and God calls this - EVIL
But THIS JOY - rooted in the world…it’s NOT ONLY too WEAK...
SLIDE: Joy Rooted in the World: Temporary
Joy Rooted in the World
Joy Rooted in the World
It’s also TEMPORARY!!
And we all KNOW this - we experience this - every single day
How many of you LOVE to eat?
wow - i REALLY love to eat...
*you ever make plans days in advance to go to your favorite restaurant...
How is the anticipation leading up to that day?
OH man! You can feel it building up!!
Getting EXCITED!!
And then - YOU SIT DOWN and THAT favorite meal is set down before you…(your kids are with your parents, so it’s just you and your spouse!) - WOW
SOO GOOD!!
But then - you wake up that next morning…and you hear your stomach growl...
You’re STARVING!!
And then for whatever reason - you CAN’T EAT breakfast…and then you CAN’T EAT lunch...
And by dinner time - YOU.ARE.HANGRY!!
Well - what happened to ALL THAT JOY??
Answer = Temporary!! - We KNOW this!!
EVERYTHING…IN THIS WORLD....can ONLY satisfy for a - BRIEF MOMENT!!!
It’s NOT JUST FOOD...
Food - we KNOW this is true
Money - we KNOW this is true
SEX - we KNOW this is true
POWER - we KNOW this is true
INFLUENCE
STATUS
CONTROL
POSSESSIONS
THIS - JOY - is but TEMPORARY!
And the fact that these things ARE true...
the fact that THIS JOY - IS weak....IS temporary...
It’s POINTING to a greater reality!! A greater TRUTH...
SLIDE: Joy Rooted in the World: Leads to Eternal Death
Joy Rooted in the World
Joy Rooted in the World
You might be thinking - WHAT?
My AFFECTIONS matter in life?
YES!
You mean - life isn’t just about DOING “good” things and avoiding “bad” things?
NO -
24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
What does this mean?
You CANNOT serve TWO masters...
FOR...
you will either HATE (Affectional word) the one...
and LOVE (affectional word) the other...
OR
You will be DEVOTED (Love) the one...
and DESPISE (hate) the other...
You CANNOT serve God and money!
You cannot LOVE God - AND LOVE - Money
OK - well what does it mean - TO LOVE??
Here’s what we do with THINGS we LOVE...
We EITHER...
Put our PRIDE IN THE things we LOVE because we OWN THEM
OR
We CRAVE the things we LOVE because we DON’T OWN them but WANT TO!
SLIDE: repeat LOVE
We put our pride in the things we love because we own them, or we crave the things we love because we don’t own them but want to.
Think thru this - THE Bible teaches us that we cannot LOVE the WORLD and LOVE God...
4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
The Bible teaches us that to pursue FRIENDSHIP with the world is to pursue REBELLION against God...
To be a FRIEND of the world EQUATES to being an ENEMY of God!
It’s an IMPOSSIBILITY to LOVE the world and LOVE God...
And we have to understand that the world can KILL us in TWO ways...
It can GIVE it self to us...
meaning I have MANY possessions and I’m PROUD of those possessions...
they’re ALL I talk about
They’re ALL i live for...
And I have PRIDE IN them
OR
The world can WITHHOLD itself from me...
MEANING - I’m NOT rich....
I don’t HAVE many possessions - BUT I - CRAVE THEM
I WANT to be RICH!!
That WANTING is DESTRUCTIVE....it LEADS to Spiritual DEATH
9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.
It’s the DESIRE that POINTS to your TRUE belief!!!
Your AFFECTIONS MATTER!
Do you SEE how the WORLD is the ENEMY of God?
Which brings us RIGHT back to our point...
SLIDE: Joy Rooted in the World: Weak, Temporary, Leads to Eternal Death
Joy Rooted in the World
Joy Rooted in the World
And so when Jesus was murdered…the WORLD REJOICED...
They REJOICED
Their JOY was rooted in that which would eternally damn them…the World
But Jesus told the disciples…that while they WOULD MOURN his departure...
Their SORROW would TURN to - JOY
A DIFFERENT kind of JOY.
A JOY - rooted in Jesus Himself!
When Jesus was WITH THEM - they REJOICED...
When He left - they would - MOURN
Their JOY was rooted in JESUS...
SLIDE: Joy Rooted in Jesus: Strong, Eternal, Leads to Eternal Life
Joy Rooted in Jesus
Joy Rooted in Jesus
Instead of being WEAK, Temporary, and leading to eternal death...
THIS JOY...
Joy IN Jesus - is strong, temporary, and leads to eternal life!
How is it STRONG?
Remember - we ALL experience the WEAKNESS of Joy in the world!
We as HUMANS were MADE to WORSHIP God....
AND YET...
We know that the WORLD isn’t strong enough to hold our worship!
The Grand Canyon isn’t strong enough to hold our gaze!
Just ask the locals who live there…it’s OLD news
The biggest bank accounts aren’t strong enough to hold our contentment!
Just ask those who were once rich and yet gambled it all away
Just ask those who ARE rich yet it’s NOT ENOUGH
And the best of times aren’t strong enough to comfort our death beds!
If MY JOY is ROOTED in my possessions, then WHAT HAPPENS when those possessions are taken from me??
What happens to my JOY?
AND yet - in Scripture we read about A PARTICULAR JOY that - IS Strong enough!
Jesus HIMSELF - could testify to this joy...
2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
What SUSTAINED the Man Jesus Christ on the cross?
The JOY set before Him!!
THIS Joy IS strong enough!
And the APOSTLE PAUL KNEW - it was strong enough!!
24 Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, for you stand firm in your faith.
Paul was in the business of INCREASING peoples’ - JOY IN GOD...
Because THAT Particular JOY - can sustain us and IS Strong enough!!
HOW STRONG?
Strong enough to BREAK free from the JOY of the WORLD??
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
What did he sell??
ALL that the world TOLD HIM to PURSUE in LIFE!!
ALL the best the world can offer us!
THIS MAN - who was NOW FACED with a GREATER REWARD....
SELLS ALL that he has - and buys that field! That’s how VALUABLE heaven is...
It TRUMPS ALL that this world can offer...
And JOY ROOTED in Jesus - SHATTERS the Joy that is rooted in this world!
THAT STRONG!
BUT still -
OKAY - It’s Strong enough to HOLD our WORSHIP....YES...
But for HOW LONG?
SLIDE: Joy Rooted in Jesus: Eternal
Joy Rooted in Jesus
Joy Rooted in Jesus
Remember what our text said today!
What did Jesus say?
22 So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.
…NO ONE will take your JOY from you!
Those whose JOY is ROOTED in Jesus Christ...
WILL carry that JOY throughout ETERNITY....never to wain from boredom...
NEVER to wain from weariness
NEVER to wain from LACK of satisfaction!
14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
The JOY that is ROOTED in Jesus Christ will NEVER be found WANTING...
This JOY is an ETERNAL JOY....
WHICH is why....
SLIDE: Joy Rooted in Jesus: Leads to Eternal Life
Joy Rooted in Jesus
Joy Rooted in Jesus
40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.
Those who HAVE FAITH in Jesus - receive ETERNAL LIFE...
And Paul said - we don’t LORD it over your FAITH, but we work with you Christian, for your JOY!!
THINK of the APOSTLE PAUL...
Before God saved him...
The mission of Paul’s life was to - PERSECUTE Christians! To KILL Christians!
BUT AFTER God showed up and saved him...
Paul’s DESIRES changed!
Where once he desired to KILL Christians...
NOW - he desired to DEFEND Christians…and DIE himself - trying to PROCLAIM it!!
NEW JOY!!
Think of Missionary Jim Elliot:
How does Jim Elliot refuse to pick up his gun, and use it on his attackers?
Use it on those who are about to kill him?
You want to know how?
For the joy set before him.
Jim Elliot’s joy was rooted in the proclamation of Jesus Christ, in the saving of lost souls…
NOT in seeing sunsets,
not in talking to friends,
or eating great food,
or watching sports,
or holding his family.
His joy was rooted in the advancement of the gospel…
SEE - People pursue what they value, what they take joy in, ...and people will do what it takes to experience that joy.
As John Piper has said, “Christianity is a fight for joy…a joy in God!”
When the apostle Paul chose to go into cities, ...knowing that a beating was awaiting him, he went anyway…why?
Joy in the Lord.
When David, contemplating his sin before a Holy God, cried out for a remedy to his plight,....what did he say?
“Restore to me the JOY of Your salvation.” Why?
Because he had lost it, and when THAT JOY FADES…sin happens.
See, God does not want our begrudging obedience.
He’s after our hearts, ...and He’s after our joy.
SLIDE:
God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him
SUMMARY:
Joy Rooted in Jesus Christ
Eternally Strong
Eternal
Leads to Eternal Life
JOY in Jesus Christ is the ONLY joy worth pursuing!
Will we pursue Joy in Him…?
Let’s Pray