The Gospel of John: John 15.9-17

Read and meditate on John 15.11.
People think that happiness is the greatest good in life. It’s not. Joy is. And Jesus has got the joy.

            ¹¹“These things I make known to you that
My joy may always dwell in you, and that
your joy may be complete.”

- John 15.11

Reflect
1.  Let’s see if we can differentiate between happiness and joy. Happiness, as the word suggests, is dependent on hap or circumstances. Given the right circumstances, we will feel happy. Happiness is not a bad thing. Explain. But happiness is not joy. Happiness can be fleeting and elusive. Why? What about joy? Complete this prayer: Lord, in Your presences is fullness of joy, and this makes me happy regardless of…

2.  Joy is a more permanent and powerful affection than happiness, because it does not depend on changeable or fleeting, temporal ormaterial circumstances. Meditate on Habakkuk 3.17-19. Would the circumstances described here conduce to one’s being happy? Why not? On the other hand, what is the source of the prophet’s joy? Does that ever change? Why should we seek joy rather than happiness? How should we seek it? Thank You, Lord, that I can know joy because…

3.  With this much as backdrop, let’s look at Jesus’ astonishing statement in John 15.11. Remember our discussion about abiding or continuing. Jesus wants His joy to abide in us! What is Jesus’ joy? How strong is the joy Jesus knew (cf. Heb. 12.1, 2)? What makes His joy more to be desired than mere happiness? How does He want us to experience His joy? How do you expect that to happen in your life? Lord, since it is possible for Your joy to abide in me…

4.  Jesus communicates His joy to us through His Word. How does that happen? How do the words of Jesus – which are all the words of Scripture – tap us into the joy of Jesus? How does understanding this counsel us to read Scripture? What should we be seeking as we read Scripture? How can we tap into the joy of Jesus in our time of reading His words, and how should this affect us throughout the rest of our day? Lord, I don’t always experience Your joy, but only because…

5. Jesus wants our joy to be full. How do you feel when you feel joyful? How do you act? How does feeling joyful lead you to relate to others? What are the greatest hindrances to our knowing the joy of Jesus in all its fullness? How can we overcome these? Bring together into one prayer the prayers you wrote from questions 1-4.

Summary
“And what else is Christ’s joy in us except that he is pleased to rejoice over us? And what is this joy of ours that he says is to be made full, but our having fellowship with him?… His joy, therefore, in us is the grace he has bestowed on us, and that is also our joy. But he rejoiced over this joy even from eternity when he chose us before the foundation of the world. Nor can we rightly say that his joy was not full. For God’s joy was never at any time imperfect. But that joy of his was not in us. For we, in whom that joy could exist, had as yet no existence. And even when our existence commenced, it began not to be in him. But in him it always was, who in the infallible truth of his own foreknowledge rejoiced that we should yet be his own. Accordingly, he had a joy over us that was already full when he rejoiced in foreknowing and foreordaining us. And there could hardly be any fear intermingling in that joy of his that might imply a possible failure in what he foreknew would be done by himself.” Augustine 354-430 AD)

The Christian life is a life of joy. This does not mean that Christians never know disappointment, shame, sorrow, grief, or a sense of loss. It simply means that, in the midst of all these and more, Christians can know joy, because Jesus has got the joy, and He gives it to us by His words. Would you describe yourself as a bringer of joy to your world? Explain.

Closing Prayer
As the deer pants for the water brooks,
So pants my soul for You, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?
My tears have been my food day and night,
While they continually say to me,
“Where is your God?”
When I remember these things,
I pour out my soul within me.
For I used to go with the multitude;
I went with them to the house of God,
With the voice of joy and praise,
With a multitude that kept a pilgrim feast.
Why are you cast down, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him
For the help of His countenance.

Psalm 42.1-5

Psalm 42.1-5 (Nettleton: Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing)
As the deer pants for fresh water let my soul, Lord, pant for You!
Let my soul thirst as it ought to for the Savior, ever true!
Tears by day have been my portion, tears by night have been my food,
While my foes add to my sorrow, saying, “Where now is your God?”

Now I pour my soul out in me as these thoughts come to my mind.
And I long to once again be where true worship I might find.
Oh my soul, be not despairing!  Hope in God, and praise His Name!
For the Lord, your burden bearing, will restore your peace again.T. M. Moore

Are you a bringer of joy? Our book Joy to Your World!can get you on track for knowing and sharing the joy of Jesus. Order a copy for yourself and a friend by clicking here.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing adapted from The Ailbe Psalter. All quotations from Church Fathers from Ancient Christian Commentary Series IV a and b: John, edited by Joel C. Elowsky, General Editor Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006. Verse translation of John by T. M. Moore.