Fullness of Joy | Sunday, December 10, 2023

Amen, amen! Praise God; He's so good. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Anthony. Good morning, Cross Connection! You can be seated. I am so glad to see all of you here this morning.

How many of you were here with us on Friday night for our Nativity night? Awesome! I’m so glad you guys came out, and I’m sure there may be some new people here who this is your first time at our church on a Sunday morning. Welcome! Maybe you came on Friday night; we’re glad that you are here. Praise God! It was a lot of fun, and we will definitely do that again.

I want to remind you that in two weeks it will be Christmas Eve. We have a couple more weeks in our Advent series here at the church, but Christmas Eve falls on a Sunday morning this year. Prior to COVID, if you can remember that far back, we did something here for a little while. We like to have fun at Cross Connection Church, and the last Sunday before Christmas, we call that the Fun Day. We’re inviting you to wear your loud Christmas clothing on that day, so come on out for Christmas Eve. It will be a family service, as Garrett announced in the announcements.

We are in our third week of our Advent series here at the church, and we are going through some of the common themes that surround this time of year. Advent means the arrival, and we are obviously celebrating the arrival of Jesus coming into this world. When Jesus came, it was not just the coming of Christ; it was the coming of God with us. As Jesus comes, He brings with Him all these wonderful things that are associated with His nature and character.

Last week, we considered one of the things that comes as a result of Jesus's coming to this world: hope. It is an absolute certain hope. It is not a blind optimism or wishful thinking; it is a sure and steadfast hope that is an anchor for our soul. The author of the book of Hebrews in the New Testament speaks to this.

Prior to that, we talked about peace. The Bible says that God gives us a peace that is His peace. He is called the God of Peace, and His peace surpasses our understanding. It is not something we can explain with our words. As Charles Spurgeon would say, it breaks the backs of words, which is a beautiful way to think about it. There is no way to fully articulate the peace that He brings and the rest that He gives. Jesus says, "Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." We desperately need peace, rest, and hope.

This week, we are continuing, and we are going to talk about the...

The theme of joy is something we discuss every year, and next week, we will talk about love, so make sure you're here. Each year, we focus on various topics during this time, and I discovered something new last week: nine tons of ice crushed into fake snow is an ingredient for happiness and joy. The kids had a blast, and it was a lot of fun to see all of that.

For those of you who have been around Cross Connection Church for any length of time or have gotten to know me, you might have noticed that I am something of an information junkie. For some reason, I can't help but constantly seek new information or understand various things. I listen to way too many podcasts; my poor wife and kids know this. I watch lectures, talks, teachings, and sermons, and I read all kinds of articles, news items on the internet, and books. This past year, I went through the list of everything I've read, and I've read about 55 books.

The problem is that when you're reading this much, you often forget where the information comes from. There's no point in trying to remember where you read something; I just remember reading it somewhere. However, there's simply too much information. It's not just me; I think many of us are constantly overwhelmed by the amount of information that bombards us in this information-rich society.

We carry little devices with us that send us notifications constantly. It's not always news stories or global events; sometimes, it's about things happening in our friends' or neighbors' lives. We receive updates about the crazy things happening on the Nextdoor app, which, if you've ever looked at it, is essentially a gossip app. It's not good, and gossip is actually forbidden in Scripture, so we should avoid that.

We live in this information age, and because so much information comes at us—often without us even seeking it out—we fall into a pattern where we have to triage or arbitrage the information. We quickly sift through it to determine whether it's something we need to know, want to know, or if it's helpful or useful. Much of the information that comes our way is not useful or helpful, so it tends to fall into the dustbin of our minds and fades away.

The environment we are in presents one of the challenges of constant information overload. Because so much is coming at us, we are not always sure whether what we are looking at is something we need to actually think about or examine. This can become a real danger, especially since it is my conviction that this book, which hopefully you have—if you don't, we have them free in the back of the room—contains the Bible. Many of you probably have a Bible or two, or even three or twenty.

If you have developed a pattern, as many have in our church, of spending time in the Scriptures—hopefully on a weekly basis, maybe even daily—one of the challenges we face when bombarded by information is that we can treat the Bible the same way we do with the news or social media. We might quickly skim or glance over it, especially when we come to a passage we feel we have read before. There are many passages in the Bible that we might think, "I've read this a dozen times," or "I've taught through it three or four times." As a result, we may not pay attention to what is actually there.

The danger in quickly going through information is that we can fall into the same pattern with the Living Word of God. It is my conviction, and this is what the Scriptures say, that this is God's revealed truth to us. It gives us understanding about His nature, His will, and our purpose in relation to Him. This truth is directly from God; it is living and powerful, and He wants to use it in our lives. However, we can easily fall into the habit of just skimming through it without really spending time thinking about it.

All that to say, I want you to turn in your Bibles this morning to a passage of Scripture that is important for the discussion of joy. It is found in the Psalms, so if you turn to about the middle of your Bible, you will likely find this large book of the Psalms. There are 150 of them, but go to Psalm 16. This Psalm was written 3,000 years ago by King David of Israel.

In Psalm 16, beginning at verse 7, we have some important words that I want you to see as I read through them. I encourage you to really consider them. As I mentioned, it is easy for us to fall into the dangerous pattern of quickly skimming over things without contemplating what is being said. However, there are some significant words here about an important topic. Just a few minutes ago, before I came up here, one of my friends at the church was sharing that the topic of joy is something many people need to hear right now, as he was interacting and praying with some individuals before the service.

Service, but Psalm 16. Look at verse 7. King David says this: "I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel; my heart also instructs me in the night seasons. I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved."

Now note this verse: "Therefore, because of this, my heart is glad; my glory rejoices." There's joy and gladness right there. "My flesh also rests in hope." We talked last week and the week before about peace and hope. Right there are those themes of rest, peace, and hope. So David says, "I have peace, and I have hope. I have rest, and I am glad and rejoicing."

Why? Verse 10: "For He’s praying to God here: You will not leave my soul in Sheol." Now that word "Sheol" is a Hebrew word that means the grave. "You’re not going to leave my soul in the grave, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. I'm not going to decompose and rot in the ground."

So this is David's hope. He says, "I have hope, and I have rest or peace, and I have joy and gladness when I think about death." That doesn't seem to go together. We don't like to think about death, and death is one of those things that we do as much as we can to distance ourselves from, especially in modern 21st-century Western culture. We try to hide the realities of death as far from us as we can.

In skilled nursing facilities, nursing homes, or hospitals, we don't like to be confronted with it. In many ways, we do a pretty good job of distancing ourselves from death until we're confronted with it in a big way. Whether it's through the news or something that's happening somewhere else, we see it, and we are grieved by it and upset by it. As you probably have been when you saw all the news coming out of Israel or the things that have been happening in Ukraine for the last two years. These things upset us rightly because we don't like death, but death is a very real part of life.

I know you come to church on a Sunday approaching Christmas and think, "Well, hopefully, the pastor's not going to talk about death," and here I am talking about death. As I've shared before many times, the statistics on death are discouraging, and they're pretty tragic: 10 out of 10 people die. We don't like to hear that, but it is the reality. Like I said, we try to distance ourselves from it because we don't want to think about it, but then we're affected by it because we see it in the news. But then it comes...

Close to home, a friend, family member, or loved one is ill and dies. Then we have to go, or get to go, to a memorial service and a funeral. I've done a lot of those over the years as a pastor—dozens and dozens of memorial services. I've also performed dozens and dozens of weddings. I've noticed that people are happier at weddings than at funerals. Oh well, Captain Obvious, right? You don't have to look very far to see that.

I've also noticed that typically, weddings are much more well-attended than funerals. We don't want to be confronted with the reality of death. But as life goes on, and the longer you live, you see more funerals than weddings. When you survey people about their greatest fears, death is usually number one or number two on the list. It often ranks alongside public speaking. I think it was Jerry Seinfeld, the comedian, who observed many years ago that because death and public speaking were at the top of the list of things people fear, many would rather be the person in the coffin than the person doing the eulogy.

We don't like death because it weighs upon us. If you think about it, anything that you're worried about and anxious about is probably something that you have contemplated to the point that you believe it will be your undoing or the death of someone you love. Most of our anxieties trace back to that. It's like, "This is going to kill me," and that's why I'm anxious about it. That's why I'm worried about it. It takes away your peace and your hope, and there's no possible way to have joy when you're thinking about these things.

Yet, David, 3,000 years ago, said, "I have hope, and I have rest, and I have gladness and rejoicing when I think about death." Why? Because he said, "You will not leave my soul in the grave, nor will you allow me to see corruption. You will show me the path of life; in your presence is fullness of joy, and at your right hand are pleasures forevermore." I have shared that passage of Scripture dozens of times at memorials and funeral services for the last 20-plus years. David says, "I have joy and rejoicing and hope," the themes of this time of year, Advent, because I know you will not leave my soul in the grave to see corruption. I know you will show me the path of life.

The fullness of joy and at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. I love this passage of Scripture. He had peace because he had a certainty; he knew he would die. We all have a certainty of that, although we don't like to think about it. But that is the reality. I know someone will probably send me an email. Don't, because I know you want to, but when I say ten out of ten people die, you'll send me an email and say, "Well, what about Elijah and Enoch? What about the people who don't die in a rapture?" Okay, fine, but the odds are pretty high—pretty high.

So, that's the reality, and it's stressful for us to think about. Even now, you're probably thinking, "Why did I come here this morning? How can I get out of here? I don't want to hear about death." But all of this leads us into this discussion of joy. David says, "I have hope, and I have rest, and I have joy because I know that You're not going to allow me to decompose in the grave. You're going to show me the path of life. In Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore." That is a hope-filled and peace-producing concept.

When you join those words to the words spoken by a descendant of David, Jesus, a thousand years after David, you see that Jesus spoke to His followers the night before He would be crucified. He was preparing them; He had foreknowledge about what was about to come. He had been telling them for weeks, "We're going to Jerusalem. I'm going to be betrayed into the hands of the chief priests, and I'm going to be crucified." To the point that one of His disciples, Peter, actually got in His face and rebuked Him, saying, "That's not going to happen."

In fact, at another point when He was talking about this, a couple of disciples showed Him their swords, saying, "We're going to take care of this." They didn't do a very good job, but we'll get to that at Easter. So, He was preparing them for His death, and I'm sure you can imagine that if you were there with His disciples at that moment, you would be bothered by this. They were bothered by it; they were severely distressed by it.

In the midst of that, in John chapter 14, it records His words of encouragement to them as He was preparing them for His death, just hours before He was going to be arrested, tried, condemned, and executed. He said, "Let not your heart be troubled. Don't be in turmoil over this. Don't be upset about this. Don't be troubled. You believe in God; you believe..."

Also in me, in my Father's house, are many mansions. Were it not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also. He encourages His disciples, saying, "You know the way; you know where I'm going."

One of His disciples, Thomas, objects. He says, "Hold on a second! We had no clue where you're going and how to get there." It's like needing GPS—the God Positioning System. That's right! So Jesus responds with words that are counted among some of His most famous sayings: "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6). He continues, "No one comes to the Father but by me."

David said a thousand years before that, "I have joy, I have peace, I have hope because I'm not going to see corruption, because you, God, will show me the path of life. In your presence is fullness of joy, and at your right hand are pleasures forevermore." Jesus says, "I am the way to life, to the Father. In His presence is fullness of joy, and at His right hand are pleasures forevermore."

These themes we've been discussing over the last few weeks—hope, peace, joy—are all present in this passage. There is the promise of the hope of fullness of joy forevermore. In your presence is fullness of joy, and at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

So, on this third Sunday of Advent 2023, I want to ask you two questions. First, what would fullness of joy look like? The concept of fullness of joy, even just the idea of it, is something we often struggle with. We've all been happy at some point or another. I hope that you're experiencing happiness now. Maybe you're not, and you remember a time when you were happy, but now you're not, and you wish you could get back to that happiness.

Yet, there's something in us that recognizes that even the greatest happiness we've experienced is still temporary. So, the idea of fullness of joy raises doubts. What would fullness of joy look like? That's the first question. What might it look like?

There are certainly people who think, and our culture tells us, that fullness of joy is going to be found if you just reach a certain level of net worth.

Two or three commas on it, and you're like, "Yeah, that would be happiness." Yet, we certainly have heard the testimonies. I don't know that anybody here has two or three commas in their net worth. If you do, God bless you; that's great. But you probably don't. We've heard from people who do, and what do they say? That it didn't bring happiness. In fact, it brings all kinds of other troubles.

We certainly see the people who have won or come into big wealth, whether through the lottery or other means, and how those things frequently do not help their lives at all but rather destroy them. So, maybe it's not so much in what our culture tells us happiness is going to be found in. Our culture has various things that it says will bring you happiness, whether it's possessions and wealth or pleasure and experiences. Whatever it is, all of those things end up being temporary.

We live in a culture that is founded upon the concept of the pursuit of happiness. If you look at the United States of America in 2023, going into 2024, you have all these different people, kind of like a Choose Your Own Adventure story, trying to figure out what will make them happy. Everyone is going in all these different directions, trying to figure it out.

The amazing thing is, if you go back and read the book of Ecclesiastes, you’ll find that a man tried this 3,000 years ago. His name was Solomon, and his conclusion was, "Emptiness, emptiness, all is emptiness." He tried it; that's what he says. The entire book is about this research study in existentialism from 3,000 years ago, before the word existentialism was even a thing. He says it didn't help; it didn't fix things.

So, what would fullness of joy look like? I've thought about this quite a bit, and I have some concepts and ideas that I think could be connected to it. I'll throw some out here. I think that fullness of joy would be connected to being close to and united with those whom you love. But there's a problem with that, isn't there? We realize that death is a very real part of life, and there will come a point when those we love either die before us or we die before them.

Fullness of joy would involve a sense of connectedness, being united with those we love. It would also have something to do with safety and security, where there is no concern, care, or worry about provision; you are fully taken care of and protected. It would be the freedom from guilt and shame. I know more than a few people, and I've even had some recent conversations with individuals, who find that the thing keeping them from experiencing joy in their lives is that even when they start to experience some happiness...

Some feeling or sense of joy comes with the reminder of all the failures that people have experienced. The shame and guilt can creep in. I think that the fullness of joy would be the removal of guilt and shame; it would be being free from worry and anxiety. I'm sure we could come up with all kinds of other things that would be included in what fullness of joy looks like, but these things are at least on the list.

Fullness of joy is the fullness of connectedness and relationship. It is the fullness of rest, security, and provision. Fullness of joy would be the completeness of salvation and total forgiveness—no more guilt or shame. Fullness of joy is the fullness of peace and hope.

Now, how many of you would like to have that kind of joy? I don't know why all of you didn't raise your hands, but okay. I mean, I hate to say it, but you'd have to be a complete fool or just not listening if you don't want your joy to be full. We all want our joy to be full, but it might be that you didn't raise your hand because you think it's just not possible. Is it vanity for me to even raise my hand? Is it a pipe dream to hope that it would even come? Relationships, even the greatest ones, are still temporary because life ends. The idea of total provision and being taken care of is something that nobody really experiences, so it's just not possible, or so the thought goes.

But I want to suggest to you this morning, point number one, if you're taking notes: Christ's arrival makes fullness of joy accessible. How do I know that? I can only base that upon what I find in the Scriptures, in the revealed truth of Scripture. David, 3,000 years ago, said, "In your presence is fullness of joy," and God's presence is fullness of joy and pleasure forevermore. That's what the Scriptures declare. David had this hope 3,000 years ago that God would show him the path to this life so that he could be in God's presence, where there is fullness of joy forevermore.

Jesus says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, and I am the path to the Father." So, that's where I'm basing this on: Christ's arrival makes fullness of joy accessible. When we celebrate Christmas, we're celebrating His arrival, His Advent.

We're also celebrating that fullness of joy is now accessible in Christ Jesus. This is the prophetic hope of ancient prophets that we read of in the Bible. This was their prophetic hope; this was Isaiah's prophetic hope that produced two verses you will probably see. I've said this before: you will probably see it on some Christmas cards this year, Isaiah 9:6 and 7.

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given." That whole passage in Isaiah is significant. In fact, if you have your Bible, turn to Isaiah chapter 9. It's right about the middle of your Bible. If you are in the Psalms, turn to the right, and you will find Isaiah. Isaiah chapter 9 is where that passage comes from.

As you're turning there, let me give you some context. Isaiah wrote that during a really dark time for himself and his nation. He lived in Jerusalem, and at that time, 2,800 years ago, Jerusalem was under siege or about to be under siege by their own brothers. The nation of Israel had been divided into two kingdoms: the northern kingdom called Israel and the southern kingdom called Judah.

In Isaiah's day, when he was in Jerusalem, their brothers in the northern kingdom of Israel had made an alliance with the nation of Syria. They had made an alliance with the Syrians to come and destroy their brothers in the south, to destroy Jerusalem. Isaiah was living in the city of Jerusalem at that time, and there was a king in Jerusalem, in Judah. His name was Ahaz, and he was an imbecilic leader. I know we know nothing about that, but he was an imbecilic leader, and he was leading the people in the wrong direction. The nation was reaping the consequences of him leading them astray.

Isaiah went to him and called him to repent and turn, but he wouldn't do it. Isaiah said, "If you will repent and turn, God will protect you," but he wouldn't believe it. God gives him a promise: "I will protect you." The promise is actually found in the passage where we get this other very famous Christmas verse in Isaiah 7:14: "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a child, and you shall call his name Emmanuel." Has anybody ever heard that verse or read that verse in a Christmas card? That came as a promise to Ahaz: if you will repent, God will protect you.

Then Isaiah 9 comes, and it's at this very dark period of time. Isaiah prophesies of a coming future where joy and hope are going to come. He says it like this in Isaiah 9:2: "The people who walked in darkness, they will see a great light; those who dwell in the land of the shadow of..."

Death has come upon them, but a light has shone. In this darkness, a great light is going to come. What will this great light bring to those who are in darkness? Verse three states, "You have multiplied the nation and increased its joy. They rejoice before you according to the joy of harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil."

Isaiah, in the context of great darkness, proclaims that for those who are in darkness, a great light is going to come, and this great light will bring immense joy. He attempts to explain what he means by "great joy," recognizing that sometimes words do not do justice to the idea. He describes this light as one that brings joy akin to that experienced during the harvest.

Now, I assume that not many of you here this morning are farmers, so you may not fully grasp that kind of joy. Let’s put it in 2023 terms. Imagine if tomorrow your boss calls you into the office and says, "You know what? You've done a really good job this year. We're going to give you a bonus." And it’s not just a small bonus; it’s a substantial one. They hand you a check for, let’s say, $250,000. That would certainly get your attention!

Do you think you might call your spouse right after that meeting? Perhaps you would even post a couple of joyful emojis on Instagram, sharing your mind-blowing good day with a hashtag. You would be happy about that! Isaiah describes this as the kind of joy that comes when you bring in the harvest or when men divide the spoil.

To the victor goes the spoil. The victor in war is the one who has won and is still alive. That is a joyful situation. You thought you would die, but you didn’t. You are still alive, and now you get to take in the spoils of war. This is the kind of joy Isaiah is referring to. He provides examples that the Jewish people of that time would understand, such as the war between Midian and the Jewish people, which we will discuss in the Book of Judges next year.

So, what is he saying? There is a dark shroud over people; they are under the shadow of death. The whole world is in need of this great light.

Because of sin, there is a light coming that will bring great joy. Isaiah speaks poetically, and it may seem a little ambiguous at the moment when he says this light will bring immense joy—joy like the harvest, the spoils of war. He then tells us where this joy is coming from. This is where verse six comes in: "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder. His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace, there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over his kingdom, to order and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this."

The people were under darkness, the shadow of death, but a light is coming that will bring great joy. What is that light? It is not a thing; it is a person. Unto us a child is born, a son is given—the Prince of Peace, the King of Kings. Jesus is the fulfillment of this prophecy. This was spoken 700 to 800 years before Jesus came, but Isaiah had this prophetic hope of a coming one who would bring great joy.

When Jesus comes on the scene, when He is born, there is an angelic announcement. We call it the Annunciation passage. The angels came and spoke to a group of shepherds who were tending their fields. You have heard the Christmas story; we played the Charlie Brown Christmas the other day. What did the angel say? In Luke chapter 2, the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born this day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord."

Isaiah had this prophetic hope of the coming one who would come to people in darkness, under the shadow of death, and bring light and joy—great joy. On the day that Jesus was born, the angels announced to the shepherds that the one who brings great joy to all people has been born. Why is He able to bring this great joy? Because Isaiah 7:14 says He is Emmanuel, which means God with us. God is at the core of His very nature.

He is not just that He has joy; He is joy. Just like the first letter of John in the New Testament says, "God is love." There are other things that you could fill in the blank with. You could say, "God is joy," and it would still be true. He is the embodiment of joy.

Point number two: Jesus is the fullness of joy embodied because He has the very nature of God. When you come into His presence and receive Christ into your life, which is the core focus of the Gospel, you have the presence of the fullness of joy coming into your life. You have the opportunity to begin to experience this kind of fullness of joy.

This is why Jesus would say to His disciples, who were in the midst of troubling circumstances, that we must recognize this fullness of joy does not mean there will never be troubling circumstances. Even in the midst of troubling circumstances, He says, "Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions. Were it not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you so that I might receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also." In His presence is fullness of joy. That is the ultimate promise He gives to us.

Ultimately, we see the rest of the story of the Bible. As you get to the very last book, the Book of Revelation, in Revelation chapter 21, you discover that eventually He is going to bring the fullness of His kingdom to this world. When He does, there will be no more sorrow, no more death, no more crying, and no more pain. Why? Because in His presence is fullness of joy. That is the expectation and hope that the Christian has.

It is not a wishful thinking hope; it is not a blind optimistic kind of hope. It is an absolute certainty that God will bring it to pass. That kind of hope is an anchor for our soul, which we talked about a couple of weeks ago. It gives us a peace that surpasses understanding. In whatever situation we go through, we can still be at rest. We can't explain why we're at rest, but we have this rest from God because He has given us this joy.

The obvious question is, okay, that sounds really good, Pastor. In the future, we're going to be with God in His presence, and there will be fullness of joy. But what about now? That should be the obvious question: What about today?

Only if in this life we have hope of ultimate joy in heaven, then it seems like, well, what about today? Isn't there something more for right now? Is hope only something that we have to look forward to in heaven? Is joy only something that we are hoping for in the next life? I don't think it is. I think that we can begin to experience this kind of joy now. Not fully, maybe, but we can begin to experience it.

Point number three, if you're taking notes: by faith in Christ, we receive joy that is increasing unto abundance for eternity. We receive a joy in Christ that is increasing unto abundance for eternity. While I was contemplating this a couple of years ago, I wish I had written down where I found it, but I came across a sermon that was preached by a different pastor. He said this on this passage: one of the greatest transformations I experienced upon becoming a Christian is the realization of genuine peace and joy, even when the circumstances around me swirl out of control. Who doesn't want that kind of joy? I think everybody wants that kind of joy.

How can we lay hold of and experience this kind of joy? How do we give this kind of joy that is increasing unto abundance for eternity? Well, the answer, just like last week when we talked about peace and hope, is amazing how Romans chapter 5 comes into play with this. Romans chapter 5, verse 1, says, "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we also have access by faith into this grace in which we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God." There are those three again: hope, peace, and joy.

Not only that, but we also glory or rejoice in tribulations. How do you have joy in tribulation? Knowing that tribulation produces perseverance, and perseverance, character, and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. All of the themes of Advent are there: hope, love, joy, peace—all of them right here in this passage.

So the first answer to the question, "Can we have this now?" is that we access this joy that is increasing unto abundance for eternity by receiving the gracious gift of God in Christ Jesus, which gives us the saving, forgiving grace of God, where we no longer stand in guilt.

And shame before a holy God is dealt with. You cannot have fullness of joy if you are carrying around grief, guilt, and shame. Jesus deals with that through His forgiveness, and then He makes it possible for us to be reconciled back to God. We now have a connection with God and a new connection that He builds with one another.

We lay hold of this initially through the saving power of the Gospel, but how do we begin to experience it now? Jesus gives us the answer in the Gospel of John. So, if you have your Bible open to the New Testament, the last third of your Bible begins with the Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

In John chapter 15, which is right after Jesus has just encouraged His disciples, He says, "Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in Me," in John 14. It's the same conversation; it's the same circumstances. Jesus is facing His crucifixion the next day, and He is talking with His disciples.

He says in John 15:1, "I am the vine, and My Father is the vine dresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you."

"Abide in Me," Jesus says. He is the vine, and we are the branches. He says, "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in Me." So, stay connected, abiding in Christ.

In verse 5, He states, "I am the vine, and you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me, you can do nothing." If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and withers. They gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.

"If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it will be done for you. By this, My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples." As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you. Abide in My love.

So, we have to abide in Him, abide in His word, and abide in His love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love. That's how we can tell you are doing these things: if you are doing what Jesus' word says. "If you abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love."

Now, here's the key verse.

These things I've spoken to you. What things? What we just read: abide in Jesus, abide in His word, abide in His love. These things I've spoken to you that my joy may be in you and your joy may be full. You say, "I want to experience fullness of joy." I do too! How do I experience fullness of joy?

Well, first, we receive Christ by the gospel, as stated in Romans 5. Then we begin to experience this joy that is increasing unto abundance and never stops for eternity. How do we do this? Jesus just said, "These things I have spoken to you that my joy might remain in you and your joy might be full."

Point number four: the fruit of fullness of joy in my life is the result of abiding in Christ. When we read that word "fruit" in John 15, if you've been around the Bible for any length of time, it might cause you to recall another passage of Scripture later in the New Testament in Galatians 5, where Paul talks about the fruit of the Spirit.

Now, what is the fruit of the Spirit? It is the evidence that God's Spirit produces in you as He is in your life. What is the fruit of the Spirit? Well, love, joy, peace, kindness, patience, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control—these are the goodness that make up the fruit of the Spirit. One of them is joy, and the fruit of the fullness of joy in my life is a result of abiding in Christ, His word, and His Spirit, with His life pervading my life.

We have a sure and steadfast hope in Christ Jesus. By the saving power of Jesus Christ, we have a sure and steadfast peace from God that surpasses understanding—the peace of God in our lives. By the same saving power, we can experience increasing joy in abundance for eternity through the gospel and by abiding in Christ.

How do we abide in Christ? Well, we abide in His word. That's what He says here: abide in me, abide in my word. We abide in His word by allowing it to become a part of our lives as we learn it, read it, memorize it, meditate upon it, and share it with other people.

Then we abide in His love. How do we abide in His love? By doing what His Word teaches, as He says in this passage. What does that look like? It looks like sharing with others, praying for others, caring for others, and doing unto others as we would have them do unto us. We are called to do what the Scripture teaches. As we begin to do these things, we start to experience fullness of joy. The experience of increasing joy is ours as we abide in Christ, as the Scriptures say.

Now, that does not mean that you'll never have another difficult day, because you will. But here's the amazing thing: even in the midst of difficulty, there's still joy. We see that throughout the Scriptures. I think of Paul in his second letter to the Corinthians. In 2 Corinthians 7:4, he says he was exceedingly joyful in our tribulation. Wait, what? Paul says he was exceedingly joyful in tribulation. Who is exceedingly joyful in tribulation or trouble? Those things don't seem to go together, and yet he says he was exceedingly joyful in tribulation.

In the very next chapter, in 2 Corinthians chapter 8, he talks about the Christians who were in the city of Philippi. They were experiencing a time of great affliction, and it says that in a great trial of affliction, they experienced an abundance of joy. How does a great trial of affliction go together with abundance and joy? It doesn't.

In this world, at this moment in our culture, we are seeing what is being referred to by many people as a crisis of meaning. It's all around us. As a result, we have seen, especially in the last 10 to 20 years, increasing deaths of despair. What are deaths of despair? Oftentimes, they are deaths that are brought about by an opioid overdose because a person is despairing due to chronic pain—mentally, physically, emotionally, whatever it may be. They have tried to deaden it and have gone too far. I know that pretty much everybody in this church knows somebody who has died because of an opioid overdose. I do. I certainly know of probably four or five people.

Why deaths of despair in arguably one of the most abundant, rich nations in the world? Why is that? Because we are having a crisis of meaning. Why? Because we have bought the lie that has been sold to us for a very long time: that joy is going to be found in "X"—fill in the blank with whatever it is around us. Those things don't satisfy or bring joy; there's just a compounding of meaninglessness. Only in Christ Jesus can we find true joy.

You have great joy in trial and affliction. James says to count it all joy when you fall into various trials. How is that even possible? Only by the joy that is found in Christ. Joy is the result of faith in God; it is the byproduct of salvation. It is the fruit of abiding in Christ, and it is available in Christ Jesus as we abide in Him.

Let me try to wrap this up really quickly. Everybody that you know is deeply desiring peace, hope, and joy. All of the people you work with, go to school with, live next door to, or are in your family are seeking this. You see it at your kids' soccer games, baseball games, volleyball games, or whatever it is. All around town, everybody you bump into at V's, Albertson's, Home Depot, or at the gas pump is deeply desirous of peace, hope, and joy. If you ask them, "Would you like to have fullness of joy?" they are going to say, "Yeah, I think I would."

Now, they may not be sure what that is going to be found in. They are trying to pursue something that they think will make them happy, but like the woman at the well, they will find that it is not satisfying. Everybody is seeking this. We all deeply desire peace, hope, and joy. I would say that it is existentially necessary.

What does that mean? It means that you cannot have psychological or physical wholeness. You can't have physical and psychological well-being without hope, peace, and joy. When you lose hope, peace, or joy, you have a meaning crisis. You cannot live without these things; life becomes meaningless and not worth living when you are lacking hope, peace, joy, and love, as we'll talk about next week.

So, if everybody wants fullness of joy, a hope that is sure and steadfast like an anchor for our souls, and peace that surpasses understanding, it's safe to assume that you want that as well. I won't ask you to raise your hand because either you're not listening and you won't raise your hand, or you're too afraid to raise your hand because someone else might not raise theirs, and then you would be embarrassed for raising your hand while they didn't. I just want to encourage you; I already know you want it and deeply desire it.

I challenge you to give yourself completely and wholly over to the pursuit of peace, hope, and joy. I want you, in 2024, to make it your total aim to pursue peace, hope, and joy. You might say, "Well, that sounds really selfish." No, I think it's actually right because in seeking and pursuing peace, hope, and joy, who will you be pursuing? There's only one possible answer: it is ultimately found in Christ.

If you pursue these things in something else, you will find yourself without peace, hope, and joy. I guarantee it. I have had numerous conversations with people who pursued those things for 20, 30, or even 40 years of their lives, only to find themselves devastated. Finally, they come to find it in Christ, and they always say the same thing to me: "I wish I would have done this sooner."

Now, either these words are true or they are not. If they are not true, there is no point in spending any time on this. But if they are true, then what we are told here is that peace, hope, joy, and love are found only in Christ Jesus. You should pursue those things because they are ultimately found in Him. He is the fullness of God in bodily form, as Colossians chapter 1 says. If you are pursuing these things, you will only ultimately find them in Jesus.

As you begin to apprehend them and they become a part of your life, here's the awesome thing: they will overflow to the point that other people around you will be jealous. They will say, "I want that." I want you to have the ministry of jealousy. Paul talked about this in the Book of Romans; he said he wanted to stir up his Jewish brothers with jealousy. I like that. Don't you want other people to think, "I wish I had what they had"? Yes, you do want that, but here's what you should have: joy, peace, hope, and love.

I want your testimony, the testimony of Cross Connection Church, to be that everybody who knows you thinks, "That person has something I don't have, and I can't quite put my finger on it, but they seem to have peace when everybody else is freaking out." And listen, next year is going to be a freak-out.

This year has been challenging for a lot of people. I'm just going to give two names: Joe Biden and Donald Trump. It's going to cause people to go absolutely aggro nuts. I hope it won't do that to you, but it will if you start feeding yourself with news from Fox News or MSNBC. If you're abiding in that, you're totally sunk. You will know you're in trouble because you'll experience anxiety and anger.

Every time I see a really anxious, angry person, I just think they have been watching too much news. You could do a simple test: if you're filled with anxiety and anger, if you're just on edge, it's likely because you're abiding in social media and corporate news media. It's true. Try it out. Actually, don't do that. Instead, try this: abide in the Word of God.

Paul said to the church at Colossae in Colossians 3, "If you've been raised with Christ," which means if you're a Christian and have trusted in Christ, "seek those things that are above. Set your mind on things above, not on the things of this Earth." If you want to experience joy that is increasing unto abundance for eternity, it is only found in Jesus Christ.

Christmas is all about these concepts of hope, peace, and joy. I know there's a lot of skepticism in your heart. Even if you've been a Christian for a long time, you might think, "I just don't think it's possible." You may have had a really bad year or a bad five years. I've had enough conversations with people in this room to know that for some, it has been a really bad decade.

So you're skeptical. You might think, "I just don't think it's even possible. I hope that I will have it in heaven, but I've given up on it here." Well, try it out. Taste and see that the Lord is good. You might be surprised. I can tell you with certainty that I have bad days and can be cranky—don't ask my wife; she has too many stories to tell. However, what I have seen in my life is an increasing joy over time because I know that ultimately, it's found in Christ.

I have found joy in Christ and in His Word. As I spend time with God, I know for a fact that every time I feel anxious or upset about something, I am lacking in my devotional time with Him, in prayer, and in His Word. When I prioritize these spiritual practices and habits, I experience joy, peace, and hope. I also find that I am kinder to people. God desires that this fruit would be abundant in my life, so I pray that He prunes away whatever is not producing that kind of fruit.

Amen. Let's stand and close in prayer.

Father God, I pray as we stand here before You today that You would come and remove, just as John 15 says, any branch in You that does not bear fruit. If there is any branch in my life that is not bearing the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control, would You cut it away? This is a frightening prayer to pray, because who knows what my life will look like after You cut it away?

But God, my desire for my life and for the lives of my brothers and sisters here is that we would bear much fruit. That is Your desire as well. So, God, do whatever You need to do to make us a fruitful church, fruitful in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. Make these qualities abound in our lives to Your glory, for we ask it in Jesus' name. And all those who agreed said, Amen.