Presence

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Continue in my love. If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love, even as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in His love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.

Father, we ask as we come before Your word today that this time in Your word would be just as worshipful as the time singing praise to You. We pray that You, by Your Spirit, would direct us, just as You promised Jesus, that You would give the Spirit of truth who would guide us in all truth and teach us all things. We pray for that here, right now, that You would do that. That we would know You more fully, that we would magnify You in a greater capacity. Work in us, Your church, to be willing to do Your good pleasure today. We pray this in Jesus' name, and all God's people agreed, saying, Amen. You can be seated.

The 17th-century philosopher, mathematician, and theologian Blaise Pascal said, "The will never takes the least step but to this object. This is the motive of every action of every man, even of those who hang themselves." It's a pretty powerful statement. As I observe the body of Christ and the church, I am convinced that there are many Christians in churches all over the country, even at this very moment, who have this terrible tension within them that goes something like this.

I want to be happy. All men seek happiness, but I also want to serve God because I know that I'm supposed to serve Him. The Bible says to serve God, so I should serve Him. The Bible also says that I need to deny myself, take up my cross, and follow Him. I am going to do it dutifully because that will glorify Him, even if it means I won't be happy.

I think there's a lot of Christians who have that tension of serving God and being happy, as if these things are mutually exclusive. This was reconfirmed to me several times just this last week as I interacted with various people within our church over the message I gave last week on happiness versus joy. Immediately following the third service, I spoke with a brother in our fellowship, one of the lead worshipers here at our church, about the message. He said to me, "The first thing I thought when I came up to you was that you didn't go the direction with that message that I thought you were going to go." That response intrigued me, so I asked him, "What direction did you think I was going to go?"

As we talked, we communicated more fully over email. This last week, he wrote to me, "I struggle with the idea that I have as much fun as I have serving the Lord. I struggle with the right response when someone pays me a compliment. In that context, I ask myself, is this of the flesh or of the spirit? I struggle when I spend God's resources on a piece of equipment. I know some great players and songwriters who have spiritualized themselves right out of serving in any capacity that involves using their God-given gifts because serving the Lord can't be fun."

Another brother expressed it this way: "I've been blessed with so many things, and I feel guilty for having these things when many other people in the world don't have them. I have a hard time enjoying them because of the feeling of guilt."

Now, please let me make very clear that there are times when guilt stems from a God-given conviction, and we need to prayerfully confront guilt and recognize, "Could this be the Lord convicting me?" However, I think there are other times when Christians default to a lifestyle of ingratitude as a result of misplaced guilt. When we should be thanking God for what He has blessed us with, we are either using such blessings improperly or feeling guilty over having them in the first place.

And so the thought becomes,

For God to be pleased, He must want me to or need me to get rid of this or sacrifice it. The Christian finds himself neither joyful nor thankful, but guilt-filled and irresponsible, not using what has been given to them in a way that could be honoring.

A sister in the fellowship expressed to me her confusion over the message last week. As I bumped into her this week, she said, "I thought I am supposed to deny myself." I responded, "Yes, you are; we are." The Bible does say to deny ourselves and take up our cross, but that's not the end of the story. That self-denial is the process or the doorway through which we apprehend greater joy. At least that's what we see in the Scriptures.

I expected, and even anticipated, these reactions to these messages and many others because they highlight the pervasiveness of the thought that self-denial and the abolition of joy and happiness are the focal points of our Christian faith. Now, if that is the case, if the whole point of Christianity is self-denial and the abolition of all happiness, then Christianity is incredibly similar to Hinduism and Buddhism, which highlight that sort of asceticism as the focal point of their work and religion.

There is a death to self in Christianity. The Bible is very clear that we are to die to ourselves, but that is not the focus or the end of our faith. The end of our faith is Christ and the salvation that He has given to us. Just as Pascal observed, we, at our core, long for and desire happiness. However, there is also a recognition in this desire for happiness that our carnality, our earthliness, this physical part of us that is only concerned with or only sees or recognizes earthly things, is convinced that such happiness is found in the things of this earthly existence.

We long to find happiness in the things of this world, which the Bible says will not ultimately bring satisfaction. Our pop culture recognizes this truth: the things of this world will not ultimately bring satisfaction. Thus, setting our affections upon temporal, earthly things is misguided.

As the source of our happiness, we often exchange the glory of God for the glory of creation. This is idolatry. God spoke to the children of Israel through the prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah 2:13, and He said that the epitome of evil is to depart from the true source and to seek happiness, joy, satisfaction, and contentment in things that ultimately will not bring true joy or satisfaction because they are broken cisterns.

This is exactly what the Apostle Paul identified in Romans 1:23. He said that people in the world have changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man, and then to birds, four-footed beasts, and creeping things. Therefore, because of this, God also gave them up to uncleanness through the desires and lusts of their own hearts to dishonor their own bodies between themselves. They changed the truth of God into a lie and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

The Bible makes it very clear: if we become enamored with the gifts we have been blessed with and think that ultimate joy, satisfaction, and happiness are found in those gifts, then those gifts become idols. However, if we recognize that these blessings are gifts given from God as tools or instruments to bless and glorify Him, our focus shifts from those things to Him. Through the proper use of those gifts for the giver, we can experience great joy—ultimate joy.

The lie of this world is that ultimate joy is found in things and gifts. As a result of that lie, we seek things and gifts, believing that the more gifts we acquire, the more joy we will have. Yet, on an experiential level, we recognize that this is simply not true. There is a desire within us for things, a desire that often leads us astray.

Things come out, and the world is full of just things upon which we can spend our desire. We have a desire for a new iPad, a car, a new job, a promotion in a job, a relationship, a vacation, or a degree. We think that if we just get these things, then we will be happy. This is very clearly seen in our culture, where we have the liberty to pursue our happiness. When you look at our culture, you would expect that happiness is found in things. Why? Because we're spending our liberty capital, if you will, on trying to get more things, whatever those things may be.

But what have we experienced in the seeking of those things? The new iPad is shortly replaced by an even newer iPad, which leaves you dissatisfied with your current iPad because you don't have the new one. Perhaps I'm confessing here; I don't know. The promotion gained at work induces a longing for something greater, something bigger. The relationship is realized only to recognize that it does not bring ultimate fulfillment. The pleasures of this world do not ultimately please.

A few years ago, a huge blockbuster film came out, the first "Pirates of the Caribbean." In that feature film was a quote from Captain Barbosa: "The drink would not satisfy. Food turned to ash in our mouths. And all the pleasurable company of this world could not slake our lust." It could not diminish our desire. By fulfilling it with all these things in this world, it couldn't diminish our desire.

So what does that express? It expresses that our culture recognizes this very truth. Throughout pop culture, we hear, "I cannot get no satisfaction," coming from someone you would expect to be at least somewhat satisfied because he had so many things. This desire of our soul is expressed in our pop culture. We just see it.

This is also expressed in the Christian experience, this tension. I want to be happy. All men seek happiness. But I want to serve God because God has given me a desire to serve Him. The Bible says...

It's good to serve God. So, I'm going to have to deny myself my desire to be happy, to have joy, because the Bible says to deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Him daily. I will worship and serve God dutifully. I'm going to do it out of duty because that will glorify Him, even if it means I won't be happy.

But is God glorified in mere dutiful, joyful service? I suggest to you that He is not. I will illustrate this with an example that I shamelessly borrowed from someone else because it's a good illustration.

If I leave here today around 2 o'clock, driving home, and I realize I need to pick up a few things, I might stop at Bonds down the street. While I'm there, I see a beautiful bouquet of red roses, and I think, "I'll buy those for Andrea." I take them home, and instead of parking in the garage like I normally do, I decide to park in the driveway. I plan to knock on the door and surprise her with the flowers.

When she comes to the door, I have the flowers behind my back. She looks at me and asks, "Why are you coming to the door? You live here." I then reveal the flowers and say, "These are for you." Tears fill her eyes, and a smile spreads across her face. She asks, "Why are you getting these for me?" I respond, "It's my duty as your husband."

At this point, the reaction changes. Duty is not a bad thing; many of us here today have served in the military and fulfilled our duty. We recognize that duty can be good. However, in this situation, it is not a good thing. As soon as I say, "It's my duty," all the books on being a husband come to mind, and I realize I am simply following a checklist. When I tell her it's my duty to do this, she does not feel honored by my action. The motivation behind my action is not love, kindness, or joy.

There is something about dutiful service and worship towards God that does not honor the one being served or worshipped. However, if she opens the door and I pull out those flowers, and she asks, "Oh, why did you do this for me?" and I say, "It is my joy to buy these for you," the reaction is entirely different.

It's my joy. I love to do these kinds of things for you. I just couldn't help myself. Now, it's my joy. I love doing these things. I couldn't help myself. Would she respond, "How selfish of you? You're just concerned about your joy. All you care about is how happy you will be." She wouldn't respond like that. Why? My joy is maximized in her joy, and our joy is full.

Doing something out of duty is less glorifying for the object of our glory than when we do so out of joyful delight. In fact, God in the Old Testament judges His people for that kind of service. In Isaiah 29, verse 13, He says, "This is the people that draw near to Me with their mouths, honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me." He says, "You only serve Me because you're told to serve Me. You're doing it out of duty." He expresses that He doesn't want that. In Isaiah chapter 1, He says, "Your incense is an abomination to Me. Your sacrifices, My soul hates. I don't want those things." It's just dutiful service. There's no love behind it at all. There's no joy in it. You're just doing it because you're told you need to do this. God recognizes that He doesn't want that.

Now, someone will argue, "Does that mean that when I don't want to do something that is a good thing unto the Lord, I shouldn't do it because then I'd be duty-bound?" No, there are times when the first step is the recognition that God has called me to do this. I'm going to do this. I'm going to go through this. But what we find is that when we take that first step, we're immediately met with fullness of joy. Amen.

Religious service out of sacrificial duty only is nothing. Remember, just a few months ago, we were in 1 Corinthians chapter 13, where Paul says in verse 3, "Though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor and though I give my body to be burned and have not love, it profits me nothing." The interesting thing about that verse is that just doing it for the sake of doing it out of duty is not profitable. Notice that Paul says it profits me nothing, which is interesting because God reveals through that that He is concerned about our profit in doing these things, that we should be joyful in the midst of it. There are commands in the Scriptures: "Delight yourself in the Lord." That's a command from God. Delight in Him.

How does this change? How do we move from desiring things and delighting in those things to delighting in the One who gives those things while delighting in the joyful use of those things for His glory?

Now, there are some, and you can find books by Christian ethicists—those who study ethics—that will say that what we really need to do is do away with desire. They argue that desire is ultimately the bad thing that needs to die. They suggest that we should not do anything that we want to do because our wants and desires are inherently bad. Therefore, we should crucify any and all thoughts that tend toward our desire for happiness, as the highest virtue is love. According to 1 Corinthians 13:5, love seeks not its own.

The question is, is that true? Should we kill desire? Is desire the wicked part? Is that the bad thing? Remember, Blaise Pascal said that all men seek happiness; this is without exception. The will never takes the least step but to this object. This is the motive for every action of every man. God created us; He engineered us as little desire factories, constantly desiring this and that. I mean, all the time, all day long, from the time we wake up to the time we go to sleep, desire is just coming out of us.

Then we have these people—Christian ethicists and other Bible teachers—saying that we need to kill that desire, which is the same thing that Buddhism teaches. The second noble truth of Buddhism states that suffering comes through desire; therefore, if you get rid of desire, you'll get rid of suffering. Is that true? Is that what God is looking for? Was Buddha right?

Billy Graham said that people are little creatures with big capacities, finite beings with infinite desires, deserving nothing but demanding all. God made people with this huge capacity and desire. So, if God created us this way, is desire sin?

Let me answer this by saying that the Bible reveals God has desires. He is not willing that any should perish. There are numerous verses throughout the Scriptures that support this.

That speak about God's desires. I think we can deduce from that that God, who is not sinful, accounts that desire is not, in and of itself, sin. However, there is a view that desire is sinful, and therefore all desire needs to die. I am going to argue that desire is not the biggest problem. In reality, we don't have a desire problem; we have a belief problem.

A belief problem. Do we believe that what the Bible says is true about those things that we desire or not? The Bible says that those things do not bring ultimate joy or fullness of joy. If we can come to the place where we believe that, trust that, and see that as true, we can address the belief problem. Then, addressing the sin problem of idolatry—trying to find happiness in those things—is no issue at all.

If we can come to the place where we truly believe what the Bible says about where ultimate happiness and joy are found, then we can be released with total liberty to pursue ultimate happiness. In that release, we should fully seek ultimate happiness. I would say that should be our endeavor as Christians: to seek ultimate happiness.

You might say, "Well, that sounds very me-centered." Not if ultimate happiness is found in God, and He is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him. Let me read Billy Graham's full quote because I didn't finish it: "People are little creatures with big capacities, finite beings with infinite desires, deserving nothing but demanding all." God made people with this huge capacity and desire in order that He might come in and completely satisfy that desire.

God made the human heart so big that only He can fill it. He made the demand so great that only He can supply its demand. So then, if our ultimate joy is found in God—and I said last week that Jesus is the key to unlocking joy—does it then follow that we have to get rid of all earthly things to find ultimate happiness? Because then He is the seed of it. I would answer that, no, but we need to recognize that those earthly things...

Do themselves not bring ultimate happiness. The things of this world will not fully satisfy and will not bring fullness of joy that never ends. They are God-given gifts that He has given to us to be used for the glorification of God, the edification of us, the body of Christ, and the evangelization of the lost. In the proper use of them, we experience exceedingly great joy. This is what God desires in us.

Jesus is the key to unlocking the opportunity for maximal joy in our lives. We began this morning reading John chapter 15, verse 11. I want to read this to you again, and I want you to take note of the usage of the word "might." These things have I spoken unto you that my joy might remain in you and that your joy might be full. Do you see the uncertainty there? It doesn't sound very certain that you're going to have fullness of joy.

So the door is opened. Jesus has opened the door to the opportunity of true joy. It is a great door and potentially very effective. Remember, just two weeks ago, we finished 1 Corinthians chapter 16, where Paul says a great door and an effective door has been opened unto me, and there are many adversaries.

What makes a door an effective door? Well, it's only effective if you go through it. The door is open, and it becomes effectual when we go through it, but the Bible says there are many adversaries standing against us going through it. So what are the adversaries? The Bible reveals three of them: the world, the flesh, and the devil.

Our earthly, carnal nature, our flesh, desires fleshly things, and the world is filled with fleshly things. We also have an enemy, the devil, whom the Bible describes as one who loves to use those earthly things. He dangles them in front of us and says, "You want this; you'll find happiness in this; come and get this." He would love nothing more than to rob us of maximal joy by giving us marginal joy. In robbing us of maximal joy, he robs God of the full glory that He could get from our lives. The enemy does this constantly.

By distracting us with all these things that we're convinced, in our flesh, will make us happy, we experientially recognize that they do not. You get the new thing, and then it comes out that you want the next one. You get it, and you ding it when you're backing out of your driveway, and you think, "Oh man, now I don't have joy in it anymore." My joy is broken; there's a dent in it.

We recognize the truth existentially that those things are not satisfying, but we've been brainwashed by the enemy. This whole world is under the sway of the wicked one, leading us to think that all we need to do is get a little bit more. If we just get more and more, then we'll be happy. Is that not what we observe in American culture in the 21st century? It is clearly seen.

Our flesh, our earthliness, is enamored with worldly things, which Satan would love nothing more than to use to rob us of maximal joy and rob God of glory. That's what he does. How does the enemy do that? I suggest a couple of ways. First, he has us believe that joy and happiness are found in those things. Second, he feeds us the continual thought that our desire for happiness is sinful. We shouldn't want that.

But all men want happiness. Within the church, there is a mindset that suggests we must not want happiness; wanting is bad. We should get rid of desire. In trying to kill desire, we only inflame it. It makes us want it all the more.

So, how do we deal with what I say is actually a belief problem and not a desire problem? How do we address any belief problem? What does the Bible say? Romans chapter 10, verse 17 states, "So then, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. That word "faith," or "belief," indicates that we have a belief problem.

What's going to change that? The Word of God. Wrong belief is corrected by right theology. Sound, biblically-based doctrine will help us move from the place of having joy, full joy, to fullness of joy.

So, what does the Bible say about where fullness of joy comes from? Turn in your Bibles to Psalm 16, a Psalm of David. Open almost exactly to the middle of your Bible and turn a little bit to the left. You'll probably be right there. Psalm 16.

In the last verse of the Psalm, King David, speaking of God, says, "You, God, will show me the path of life; in your presence is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore." This verse shows us the first step to full and enduring joy. David says, "God, you will show me the path of life," meaning you will show me the way into this life.

Which is what? Well, John 14, verse 6, tells us that Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me." So, Jesus is the key to unlocking joy. He opens the door to the path of life. He shows us the way of salvation, the way of joy, the way into this fullness of joy.

David also says, "In your presence is fullness of joy." Is that truth proved or supported elsewhere in the Bible? Let's turn in our Bibles to the Gospel of Luke and see if it is supported that in His presence is fullness of joy.

In Luke 1, an angel comes to Mary and says to her, "You're going to conceive and bear a child even though you've never known a man. You're a virgin." God miraculously brings about the conception of a child, Jesus. Just before that, a man by the name of Zacharias, a priest serving God in the temple, has an encounter with an angel in the temple. The angel says to him, "Hey, you've been trying to have kids for a long time; you're old."

Your wife is old; she's barren and can't have kids, yet you're going to have a child. He says, "Nah, come on." So, he says, "Okay, you don't believe me; you're going to be mute for the next nine months. You won't be able to speak." His wife is pregnant, even in her old age, when she was not supposed to be able to conceive.

Now, that lady, Elizabeth, who gets pregnant, has a niece named Mary. Mary goes to visit her Aunt Elizabeth, and when she comes into Elizabeth's home, this is what it says in Luke 1:41: "It came to pass, when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, she heard Mary say, 'Hello, I'm here,' the baby leapt in her womb." Who is that baby in Elizabeth's womb? John the Baptist. He leapt in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

In verse 44, Elizabeth says to Mary, "Lo, as soon as your voice was heard, your salutation sounded in my ears, the baby leapt in my womb for joy." In your presence is fullness of joy. Here is John the Baptist in the womb, a little baby not even born yet, who can't see, can't smell, can't hear—nothing. But when Mary comes in, Jesus is there; the presence of Jesus is there. And he leaps for joy.

Now, turn from there to John chapter 16. In your presence is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. So, we find full and enduring joy in Jesus.

In John 16, Jesus is preparing his disciples for his death and departure. Shortly after this, he will be arrested, condemned to die, and crucified. He will raise again, but after that, he will ascend into heaven. He tells his disciples, "I'm going away," and they are bummed out about this. They are not sure they are happy about him going away.

Jesus says in John 16:22, "And you now therefore have sorrow. You're sorrowful because I'm going away. But I will see you again. When I see you again," the implication is, "your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man takes from you." So, in my presence, you're going to have unending joy. No one will be able to take that away from you.

To take it away, now turn back from John 16 to John 3. In John 3, we find a short word from John the Baptist. In verse 29, John the Baptist says, "He that has the bride is the bridegroom." He is speaking about Jesus, indicating that Jesus is the groom and the church is His bride. John continues, "He that has the bride, he's the groom."

But then he adds, "The friend of the bridegroom, which stands and hears him," referring to himself, "I'm the friend of the bridegroom. When I stand by him and I hear him, I rejoice greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. This, my joy, therefore, is full." John expresses that he is in the presence of Jesus, the groom, and his joy is complete.

Now, let’s look at one more verse, Jude 1:24. There is only one chapter in Jude, and it is located at the very end of your Bible, just before Revelation. You can turn there as if you are an authority on Scripture. Jude 1:24 contains a great benediction, his closing words: "Now, unto him, Jesus, who is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy."

To God be the glory, for He will bring you into His presence, and there you will experience exceeding joy. We could go on; there are dozens and dozens of verses like this in the Bible that prove this point. In His presence is fullness of joy; at His right hand are pleasures forevermore. He has shown us the way into abundant life, and in His presence is full and enduring joy.

The world tells us that happiness is found in the things we can acquire, the possessions we can amass, and the pleasures we can experience. There is a very clear difference between what the Bible says and what the world says. One of them is wrong, and experientially, we know which one that is. Why? Because we have sought after what the world claims to offer.

We're going to find joy in what we have not found. I still haven't found what I'm looking for. Thank you, Bono. Again, pop culture confirms this over and over again. What songs hit the top of the charts? Oftentimes, they're the ones that reveal this cry of our soul is real; we just can't find it.

Here's the problem: people come to churches all over the country where they just say, "Happy, happy, joy, joy." That's all it is—happy, happy, joy, joy. No loss, no pain, no difficulty. Why are people vacating churches? Because they feel disconnected. It's not true. I like to listen to secondary music. Why? Because it expresses what I'm thinking. Meanwhile, the message from some churches is that everything's fine. Christians don't ever have pain, Christians never suffer, Christians are never sick. We all know that's not true. If it were, none of us would be Christians.

There’s a difference. Then we're told, "Well, the problem is your desire. If you could just kill your desires, then you wouldn't have a problem. Just get rid of desire." But that doesn't work. God created us as beings filled with desires; we're little desire factories. As I read last week, C.S. Lewis is right. He says in The Weight of Glory, "The Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures fooling about with drink, sex, and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, just like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in the slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by an offer of a holiday by the sea. We are far too easily pleased."

He just nails it. We're far too easily pleased with things that ultimately don't satisfy. So the issue is belief, not desire. Do we believe the wisdom of the world or the wisdom of God? I do not deny, as I said last week, that there are pleasurable experiences or happy things in this world. All I'm submitting to you is that those things are not the greatest form of joy and pleasure, which can only be found in His presence.

Is fullness of joy. Another evangelist said it this way: Why does the cow stand at the barbed wire fence, chewing the stubby grass along the roadside, striving for it when there is a whole pasture of green grass within its fence line? Why does the Christian stand at the border of morality, seeking satisfaction when a river of pleasure is found in Christ? Why? Because we bought the lie of our flesh, the world, and the devil—that in those things we are going to find fullness of joy. And it's just not reality. It's just not true.

Any of you ever read Homer's "Odyssey"? Not Homer Simpson, but Homer, the Greek author. In the "Odyssey," we read the story of Odysseus and his men when they skirted the island of the Sirens. Circe instructed me, says Odysseus, to plug all the ears of my crewmen and to have them tie me to the mast, as the beauteous melodies that came from the Sirens cast a spell over all who hear it. Their tunes caused men to thrust themselves overboard into the sea and ultimately to their death. I vowed to myself that I would not let that be the fate of me or my crew. I obeyed Circe's advice and filled all my crewmen's ears with wax. Then they bound me tightly to the mast, and I instructed them to keep me tied up even if I begged and pleaded with them to untie me.

The Sirens weren't going to get another ship. So we sailed by, and I became desperate to lunge into the sea, but my crew obeyed my previous orders and pulled me tighter to the mast. As we sailed away, the music became fainter. I gave them the signal to untie me and unseal their ears, and we conquered the Sirens. That desire was in me, but I bound it. I cut it off, and they couldn't get me.

There's another story about the island of the Sirens in Greek mythology. Jason and the Argonauts also journeyed by the island of the Sirens. They came close to it and didn't realize they were there. They were seeking the Golden Fleece, and Jason and his crew heard the sound of the Sirens. It overcame them, this desire, and they started to steer the ship, the Argo, towards the island of the Sirens and towards certain doom. Then one of the crewmen, who was not overtaken by the sound of the Sirens, stood up. His name was Orpheus.

He took his lyre and began to play on his instrument, and his tune was better. The men of the ship found that the seduction of the sirens was cut, and they escaped unscathed. Jason's crew avoided the demise of the sirens because they heard a more beautiful song. Odysseus escaped as well, but for the rest of his life, he longed for the song of the sirens. It pained him that he didn't get it.

There are many Christians who bind their desires, sealing them up and fighting against them. They think, "I'll just cut it off, and then it will go away," but it doesn't go away. Sin deceitfully promises us enduring happiness apart from Christ. The only way to sever that root of sin is by a superior tune, a better promise, and the fullness of joy that is found in Christ. At least, that's what the Bible describes: in His presence is fullness of joy. Therefore, anything that hinders or distracts us from His presence is hindering and distracting us from the fullness of joy and enduring joy that can be found in Him.

Whatever it is that stands between us and keeps us from coming to Him is keeping us from His joy. However, if those things can aid in our enjoyment of His presence, then we should enjoy those things. If they are a hindrance or a distraction, why would you want to be distracted by marginal joy when maximal joy is offered?

Let me illustrate this as we begin to close. You do know that when a pastor says "begin to close," it means nothing, but I'm working on it. Nielsen Media Research found in 2010 that the average U.S. household watched an average of 5 hours and 33 minutes of TV a day. Why does the average American household spend 40 hours a week and 160 hours a month consuming television? Because...

We account that there is a measurable amount of joy found in that, something pleasurable about it. The people who advertise on TV know this. If it wasn't enjoyable or pleasurable, you simply wouldn't watch it, and it wouldn't be the best and most expensive place to advertise. There is a measurable amount of happiness, joy, pleasure, and contentment that can come from the interaction with 160 hours a month of TV.

The real question is: Is it Uber joy, or is it a hindrance and distraction from a greater measure of joy that could be found elsewhere? Is it possible that TV is akin to making mud pies in the slums while a greater offer of a holiday by the sea is presented to us? There are dozens of such examples. TV is probably the easiest one to pick on, but there are tons of them.

I am convinced that each of us has little mud pies in our lives all around us. These are trifles of delight that distract us from joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, as Peter speaks of in 1 Peter 5:1-8. Many times, we struggle and strive unsuccessfully against desire, trying to kill it. We think, "I just have to get rid of desire." So, we cut off the TV, take the cable away, or smash the TV with a sledgehammer. There is a little bit of joy that comes from that, and we feel like we have killed desire.

But then we realize that desire is still there, isn't it? Now, it's a desire that can't find something to attach to because we killed our cable and broke our TV. Then someone comes in and says, "Oh, did you see that show the other day?" and we respond, "I didn't see it. I wanted to see it, but I couldn't. Don't tell me about it. I don't have TV. I just want to." We cut it off, but the desire is still there, inflamed. It just pours fuel on it.

Perhaps the issue is not the death of desire at all, but rather the nourishment of desire. I know this is going to freak some people out; I received emails on this last week. It is about nourishing desire with whatever will produce the fullest and most enduring satisfaction of it.

I can say that because I know there's only one place where there's full and enduring satisfaction. There's only one well. It may sound like the craziest thing you've ever heard, but I'm going to tell you to seek your full and enduring pleasure. What? It's radical. What will produce such full and enduring satisfaction? You, God, will show me the path of life. In Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

There are two paths: the path of life, as mentioned in Psalm 16:11, which leads to enduring joy and fullness of joy, and the trifles of this world that do not quench what seems to be an insatiable appetite for pure joy. I'm not going to say the desire is not there; the desire is there. However, it is not satisfied by anything being offered in this world.

We are confronted with a belief problem. I think the enemy has done a really good job of consuming us in this cycle of desire. The awesome thing is that when you're satisfied, that desire goes away. It departs. The question is, do we believe it? Will the door that is opened unto us become effectual? That is a question we each deal with today before the Lord.

Let's stand and pray. Amen. Father, in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. I am certain, Lord, that at this very moment, there may be many in this room questioning whether or not that is really true. The vain, empty philosophy of this world, as stated in Colossians 3, tells us that it is spoiling our faith, our confidence, and our trust in You as the source of eternal joy. Lord, would You correct our wrong thinking by Your Word, just as the father of the demon-possessed child did in Matthew 17?

Said, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief." Lord, help our unbelief. While we're in an attitude of prayer, I know that there are some people here today who have been satisfied with mud pies in the slums. God's Word reveals that Christ offers a greater promise both in this life and forever.

Now, that promise and call does mean loss, but it is the loss of things that don't ultimately satisfy. Experientially, we know that to be true. You know that you've unsuccessfully sought satisfaction in things that do not provide it. King David said in Psalm 34, verse 8, "O taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed, or O how happy is the man that trusts him."

So, I call you this day to put your trust and your faith in Jesus and taste and see that He is good. Taste and experience the blessedness of putting your confidence in Him. This is conversion—shifting from putting your confidence in things that don't satisfy in the world to things that do: Jesus.

You know that the Lord is ministering to you right now, and I call you to put your trust in Him. Wherever you're at, if that's you, I'm asking you right now to step out from where you are. Come up. These pastors are here in front to pray with you. Wherever you're at, you come right now. You know that's been you.

Perhaps you are in a place where you believe, "I believe in Jesus," but you're saying, "Help my unbelief." If you need to come, I'll give you a moment while we're in an attitude of prayer. The call is a call to loss for great gain. Jesus is the treasure in a field that warrants the willful and joyful loss of all things to gain Him.

As I quoted last week, Paul said in Philippians 3, "But what things were gained to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yes, indeed, I count all things loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things. I do count them as rubbish that I may win Him." Why? Because He is greater.

So, wherever you are, you know God is speaking to you. Don't leave here. Come up here, talk with one of the pastors, and pray with them. In just a minute, I'm going to close in prayer, but I want to share two...

Verses as to why we're going through this series include 3rd John, verse 4. John says, "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth." I'm going to be honest with you right here: I'm teaching this because my joy is full in you walking in the truth.

Secondly, 2nd Corinthians 1:24 says that the servants of the Lord, the leaders within the church, are workers together with you for joy. God desires that our joy would be full in Him because He is most glorified in us when we're most satisfied in Him.

Father, thank You for the work that You're doing here in this place. We pray that it would be a work that spreads into all areas of our lives. Lord, transform us by the renewing of our minds as we see what Your Word says. It transforms us and makes us think differently. New thoughts lead us in new directions.

Lord, would You be glorified in us as we satisfy ourselves upon You and find pleasure in You. In Jesus' name, Amen.