Fullness of Joy | Sunday, December 12, 2021

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Open up the gates; heaven come to earth. A host of angels sing, a Savior here to dwell, the King of every king, our Emmanuel. Hosanna! Hosanna! Hosanna!

Worthy is the Lamb; He has come to save. He freely gave His life.

Those of you who know me or have spent...

Any length of time listening to me teach, you know that I consume a lot of information. I listen to a lot of podcasts, lectures, talks, teachings, and sermons. I read and listen to a variety of different books, and I'm constantly reading news articles, periodicals, and research studies. I realize that I'm not the only one who consumes a lot of information. We are constantly bombarded, you and I, by a flow of new information that comes at us at an almost overwhelming pace.

We live in an information age, and we are people who are inundated with information incessantly. As a result of this inundation, we experience something akin to selection pressure, which compels us to quickly triage and arbitrage the information that flows toward us. We have to categorize it and decide whether it is useful, interesting, or helpful. A lot of the things that come at us simply scroll past, falling into the trash can of our brains.

Even when we are watching or listening to a talk, like you are listening to me right now, much of what I am saying may not be deeply engaged with. You might be listening casually. I hope that you will be gripped by the things I'm saying, but I realize that a lot of what comes at us is filtered through very quickly.

As we open up the Scriptures this morning, I want to direct your attention to a passage that I ask you to really focus on. These words were written nearly 3,000 years ago by King David of Israel, who is considered the great psalmist. He writes these words in Psalm 16, beginning at verse 7:

"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. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; my flesh also will rest in hope. For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will You allow Your Holy One 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.

It is clear that this passage of Scripture in Psalm 16, especially verses 10 through 11, has a focus on the Messiah, on Christ, and the resurrection of Jesus. However, I think there is more to it than just that. Several weeks ago, a man who attends our church emailed me a question. Unfortunately, he had to email me a couple of times to get me to respond because I had been bombarded by a number of things I was juggling over the last several weeks. This past Sunday night, I finally was able to sit down and put a response together.

His question had to do with death and heaven. He was reading about the second coming of Christ in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. There is a line in that passage where Paul says, "And the dead in Christ will rise first." In the chronology of what the Apostle Paul is writing about in 1 Thessalonians, the rising of the dead in Christ seems to come right before or at the time that Jesus is returning at His second coming. This is something that the church has been looking forward to and hoping for over centuries. We still look forward to that second coming.

Paul talks about the dead in Christ rising first just at the time that Christ is returning. So, when we die, the question that this individual sent to me was basically, "When we die, do we immediately go to be with the Lord, or do we not rise to be with the Lord until His second coming?" That is a really good question and an important thing to wade through and think about. I apologize for leaving this guy hanging without an answer for several weeks.

One of the verses I gave him in my answer was from this passage in Psalm 16. King David says, "My heart is glad, and I rejoice; my flesh is at rest and at peace in this hope that I have." Those are the very topics we have been discussing over the last several weeks as we are in this season of Advent. We have talked about peace and hope. David says, "My heart is glad; I rejoice; my flesh is at rest and peace in this hope because You, O God, will not leave my soul in the grave among the dead, nor will You allow me to rot in the grave. You will show me the path of life. In Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."

This Advent season, we are talking about the common topics that Christians have been focusing on for a very long time.

At this season, every single year, and every Christmas at Cross Connection Church, we circle back and talk about these things as well. We have talked about hope, and we have talked about peace. In this passage, David is discussing those concepts. It can be distressing to think about death; I know that it's something many people don't like to consider because death is near the top of the list of things that people fear.

The man who sent me the question several weeks ago, which I finally answered last Sunday night, was clearly distressed about the uncertainties surrounding death. However, three thousand years ago, David said, "I have peace and I have hope," which gives me gladness and rejoicing because I'm not going to rot in the grave. I’m going to walk on the path of life, and I’m going to come into God's presence, where there will be fullness of joy forever. Those words have always been a real encouragement to me. They are hope-filled, peace-producing words.

When we join those words together with what Christ says in John chapter 14, my hope and my peace in God only increase. We looked at this last week. In John chapter 14, we read, "Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were 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. And where I go, you know, and the way you know."

Now, Thomas, one of Jesus's disciples, said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going, and how can we know the way?" Jesus answered with these very famous words: "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

Three thousand years ago, King David said, "God, I trust that you will show me the path of life, that you will show me the way to come into your presence." Because I know that you're going to do that, because I have faith that you will do that, I have rest, I have hope, and I have peace. About a thousand years after David wrote those words, a descendant of David, the Son of David, Jesus, said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through me."

So, let not your heart be troubled, Jesus says. Don't be troubled when you're thinking about future things.

About the distress of death, He says, "Trust in Me and do not be troubled." Now, all of that is kind of a long, meandering way to get to this: David, in that passage in Psalm 16, verse 11, says, "You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy, and at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore." I absolutely love those words: "In Your presence is fullness of joy."

On this third Sunday in Advent 2021, I want to ask you a couple of questions. The first question is simply this: What would fullness of joy look like or be like? I've been thinking about that question for quite a bit this last week, kind of meditating, if you will, on that question. What would fullness of joy look like, or what would it be like?

If each of us took time to write down some answers to that question, the odds are that we would come up with different answers. There would be a number of different things that we would write. However, after a while, when we brought all of the answers together, we would begin to see that there were some common themes in answering that question.

I think some of the common themes would be that fullness of joy would be connected to being close to and united with people that we love. That would be an aspect of fullness of joy. Fullness of joy would also be connected to having safety and security. It would be connected to not having to worry about provision or protection.

Additionally, it would be connected to being free of guilt and shame, and being free of worry and anxiety. I'm sure that we could come up with a whole bunch of other things about what fullness of joy would look like or be like, but these things really encapsulate a lot of it.

Fullness of joy is the fullness of connectedness and relationship. I don't think that we can have fullness of joy and not be connected to those that we love or be in relationship with them. Fullness of joy is the fullness of rest and provision, having our needs taken care of, and not having to worry about those things.

Fullness of joy is the completeness of forgiveness and salvation, where I'm not worried or anxious about all the things that I've done.

Gripped by shame or guilt, the fullness of joy is the fullness of peace and hope. So, what would fullness of joy look like? It looks like all of those things: peace, hope, salvation, forgiveness, provision, rest, connectedness, and relationship.

This brings us to the second question. Remember, I told you there were two questions. The first one was, what would fullness of joy look like or be like? The second question is, how many of you would want to have fullness of joy? In asking that question, I don't think there's anybody who would say they don't want to have fullness of joy. Who wouldn't want fullness of joy? You would have to be a complete fool to not want to have fullness of joy.

However, I do think that some people resist the idea of fullness of joy because they just don't think that it's possible. But I want to show you today, as we go through the Scriptures on this third Sunday in Advent, that Christ's arrival makes fullness of joy accessible.

How do I know that? Because He is the way, the truth, and the life. He is the path into the Father's presence, and in God's presence is fullness of joy. So, Christ's arrival makes fullness of joy accessible to us; it makes it available to you and to me. This is the promise that we have from the prophet Isaiah, which we've looked at over the last couple of weeks.

The passage associated with Christmas is found in Isaiah chapter 9, where we read about the child and the son that is given to us, the one who brings great joy. Going back to Isaiah chapter 9, we read this in verse 2: "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined." The prophet says, "You have multiplied the nation and increased its joy. They, the nation, rejoices before you according to the joy of the harvest, or as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. For you have broken the yoke of his burden and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian. For every warrior's sandal from the noisy battle and the garments rolled in blood will be used for burning and fuel for fire. 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."

His kingdom will be ordered and established with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. The promised Son of Isaiah 9:6 is the one who is called the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. He is the source and the bringer of great joy.

We see this described in the passage where the prophet talks about those who sat in darkness having seen a great light. When this great light comes and shines upon them, it will bring great joy. The prophet describes this joy as being like the joy of bringing in the harvest. If we were to update that to 21st-century language, it would be like the joy of receiving a huge end-of-the-year bonus. It is also like the joy of those who are dividing the spoil. The old saying goes, "To the victors go the spoils."

What kind of joy would you experience if you were the winner of a battle or the Super Bowl? What kind of joy do they feel when they win the big game? Isaiah says there is this great joy that is going to come. What is the source of this great joy? Who is the bringer of this great joy? He says, "Unto us a Son is given; unto us a child is born." This one is going to bring this great joy.

We find in the New Testament, at the annunciation to the shepherds in the Nativity story, a reflection of this joy. Hopefully, you have heard the Nativity story before or read the opening chapters of Luke's Gospel or Matthew's Gospel, so you know the story a little bit. You may remember that there were shepherds in the field when the angel came to them.

In Luke 2:10, it says, "The angel of the Lord said to them, 'Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring to 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.'" Notice that the angel said to the shepherds, "I bring you good tidings of great joy." The coming of Christ into this world is the bringing of this great joy.

In Isaiah 7, we read another prophetic Advent verse, which you will find on many Christmas cards this time of year. In Isaiah 7:14, we read, "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and you shall call His name Emmanuel." That word "Emmanuel" means "God with us."

What does that mean as it relates to joy and the access to fullness of joy? Well, again, King David wrote, "In His presence is fullness of joy." This is because God is joy; He is the embodiment of joy. When Christ comes into the world, He doesn't just make the fullness of joy available or accessible to us; Jesus is the fullness of joy embodied. This means that when you come into Christ's presence and receive Christ into your life, you are in the presence of the fullness of joy, and you are receiving His joy into your life.

In John chapter 14, Jesus opens that passage by saying, "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. 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." That is the ultimate promise. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and He is the path into the eternal presence of God. Not only into the eternal presence of God, but into a joy that is increasing and everlasting.

In His presence and in His ultimate kingdom, Revelation chapter 21 says there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, nor pain. So if you're a Christian today, that's what you have to look forward to. That is the hope I have as a Christian. I have a sure and steadfast hope that I will be with the Lord in His presence because Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. He makes it possible for me and for you, as you trust in Him, to come into the presence of Almighty God, and in His presence is fullness of joy.

So that's what we look forward to. We look forward to a time when there will be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, nor pain. We will be in the presence of the Lord, and we will experience pleasures forevermore. But that leaves kind of a question: What about now? Is my hope for fullness of joy something that I have to wait and hope for only in heaven? If it is only in the next life that we have hope of eternal joy...

Where sadness, sorrow, and pain are gone, if that's the only hope we have, then I would say it's kind of a sad state to be in. Is the hope for joy only something that will be satisfied when we die and go into the next life? I don't think so. I believe that we can begin to experience joy in Christ right now. By faith in Christ, we receive joy that is increasing unto abundance for eternity.

While I was thinking about the topic of joy this last week and searching around for various things on the internet, I came upon some pastor's website. I don't even know who this guy is, but he was talking about this topic of joy, and he wrote these words. I found myself agreeing with him as I read it: 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 my control. That has absolutely been my experience, and it's been my observation as I look at other people who walk with the Lord.

So, in thinking about that, the question is: how can we lay hold of this experience of genuine peace and joy, even in difficult circumstances? There are a couple of different ways that I want to answer that. First, we need to receive the saving grace of Christ. When we receive the saving grace of Christ, it brings peace with God, as we talked about last week, and it brings hope from God, as we discussed two weeks ago. But it also brings to us the ultimate joy of God in eternity.

We have looked at this over the last couple of weeks when we talked about peace and hope from Paul in Romans chapter 5. This is where peace, hope, and joy come from. Romans chapter 5, verse 1 states: "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 we rejoice." There's that joy in hope of the glory of God.

Not only that, but we also glory or rejoice in tribulations, 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 is given to us. So, there in that passage in Romans...

In chapter 5, we see all of these themes that we have been talking about. We discussed hope in God, a sure and steadfast hope that does not disappoint. A couple of weeks ago, we talked about peace from God, peace with God, and the peace of God. This last week, we focused on joy.

So, where do these Advent topics—hope, peace, and joy—come from? They come as we are justified by faith. When we trust in Christ Jesus, we immediately have peace with God, and that peace gives us hope for eternity. We can rejoice in the midst of any circumstance we go through, even through tribulations and difficult situations. Paul talks about this in the passage, emphasizing that we can have hope, peace, and joy.

In addition to having these things in eternity, how can we grow now in our experience of increasing joy unto abundance for eternity after we have received salvation through Jesus Christ? That is an important question. How can we begin to lay hold of this joy now, even in difficult circumstances?

One of the best answers to that question comes from Jesus in the Gospel of John, specifically in John chapter 15. Right after Jesus, in John chapter 14, said, "Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in Me," He continues to guide His disciples through a challenging period of time.

In John chapter 15, we read some famous words from Jesus. In verse 1, He says, "I am the true 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, and I in you. As a branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in Me. 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 is withered; and 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 shall be done for you. By this, My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; and so you will be My disciples. As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you. Abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love.

Now note this in verse 11: these things...

I have spoken to you about abiding in the vine, that my joy may remain in you and that your joy may be full. So there are those words again: fullness of joy. All of these things Jesus says, "I've spoken to you that my joy may remain in you and that your joy may be full." The fruit of fullness of joy in my life is the result of abiding in Christ.

The Apostle Paul, in Galatians chapter 5, tells us that joy is among those things that are listed as the fruit of the Spirit. Paul says, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace." There's that peace again: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. The fruit of the Spirit is among all those things; one of the fruits of the Spirit is joy.

Just as we considered in our two previous messages, we have a sure and steadfast hope in God by the saving power of Christ. We have peace from God, peace with God, and peace in God by the same saving power and also through prayer, as we saw last week. Now we see that we experience joy even in difficult and trying circumstances. We experience a joy that is increasing unto abundance for eternity as we abide in Christ.

That brings up the obvious question: how do we abide in Christ? We abide in Christ by abiding in His Word and allowing His Word to abide in us. That's what Jesus said in John chapter 15.

So how do we abide in Christ's Word and allow His Word to abide in us? One of the ways we do that is by going through the teaching of the Scriptures together, as we do here at Cross Connection Church every single week or on our website, like you're doing right now. You are abiding in Christ's Word, but then you need His Word to abide in you.

How do you let the Word of God abide in you richly? By spending time reading it every single day, by thinking about it, meditating upon it, memorizing it, and just consuming it. Studying it in all those different ways allows us to abide in His Word and for His Word to abide in us.

As we abide in God's Word, we allow His Word to abide in us. We are abiding in Christ, and as we abide in Christ, we increase in joy. Another way that we abide in Him is as we believe what His Word says and do what His Word teaches. We take God's Word into our hearts so that we would believe those things and do those things. You are abiding in the Lord as you keep His commandments. If you keep my commandments...

You will abide in my love, says John chapter 15, verse 10. We abide in the Lord as we abide in His Word, and His Word abides in us. We abide in the Lord as we believe and do what His Word teaches. We abide in Him as we remain in and engage with His body, the Church. We are plugged into the vine, and Jesus is the vine. All of us, His body, His Church, are branches. As we abide in the Church, in His body, we are abiding in the Lord.

There really is so much more that I could say about abiding in Christ. There are entire books written on the subject of abiding in Christ, but we can really boil all this down to this: the experience of increasing joy is ours as we abide in Christ. As we remain in Him, connected to Him, connected to His people, and connected to His Word, we begin to increase in joy.

Now, that doesn't mean that as you abide in Christ and have His joy in your life, you will never have difficult times or unhappy circumstances. You will go through challenging things, just as Paul talked about in Romans chapter 5, where we have joy in rejoicing even when we go through tribulations. We will experience difficult circumstances and unhappy situations, but even in the midst of those trying circumstances, you can lay hold of this deep inner peace and the joy Paul wrote about—being exceedingly joyful in tribulation. That is a reality for those who abide in Christ.

He wrote to the Church at Corinth in Second Corinthians chapter 8, and he talked about the Christians in Philippi. He said that in a great trial of affliction, they experienced an abundance of joy. In Colossians, Paul linked suffering and joy together. Jesus, in Hebrews chapter 12, was compelled to endure and suffer the horrors of the cross for the joy that was set before Him.

So, we see in the Scriptures that joy can even be found in really challenging and difficult suffering. James says in James chapter 1, "Count it all joy when you fall into various trials." How is any of this possible? It is possible because joy is the result of faith and trust in God. It is the byproduct of salvation. David talks about the joy of salvation. It is the fruit of abiding in Christ, and it is available because the King has...

Come, and that's why we, every single year at Christmas, sing those words: "Joy to the world, the Lord has come." It is my hope that you are experiencing an increasing joy in your life as you abide in Christ. As we abide in the vine, and we abide in His Word, and His Word abides in us, we are connected to one another within the body of Christ. Then we begin to have God's joy in us, and our joy begins to increase unto abundance that will extend into eternity.

I realize that right now, some of you may be watching this at the very time that it goes live on the internet, the third Sunday in Advent, or maybe you are watching it months or years from now. I don't know when you'll be watching this, but God knows where you are at in this very moment. Maybe you find yourself in a place where you don't have hope, you don't have peace, and you are lacking in joy. I want you to know that these things are found in Christ Jesus. In and by Christ Jesus, we can have a hope that is sure and steadfast, that does not disappoint—a hope that is an anchor for our soul, even when we go through challenging, difficult circumstances.

In the midst of whatever circumstance we are going through, as we have this kind of hope, we can have peace and rest—a peace that surpasses understanding. Even when everything seems to be falling apart around us, and other people are wondering how you can possibly have peace in the midst of this situation, you can have a peace from God that surpasses understanding. Because of that, you can have joy, an inner gladness, an inner peace because of all that Christ has done in and for you. I hope you know that all of this is accessible to you as you put your trust in Jesus Christ.

If you are a Christian today and you've already trusted in Christ but are lacking in this fullness of joy, remember that the fruit of fullness of joy in my life is the result of abiding in Christ. I want to encourage you this holiday season to remain in and plug into Jesus. Connect with His Word, connect with God in prayer, and connect with others within the body of Christ. See if your joy does not begin to increase.

I also think it's important to recognize that sometimes there needs to be some pruning in our lives. Remember what Jesus said in that passage in John chapter 14: "Every branch in me that does not bear fruit is cut off."

I know that there can, from time to time, be unfruitful branches in my life—things that are not producing fruit but are really producing stress, anxiety, and the loss of joy. A lot of times, those things are connected to social media or the corporate news media. Sometimes, I just need to cut those things off so that I can plug into God and His Word. I want to encourage you to do that if you are finding that you're lacking joy right now.

I also want to pray for you. Even though we're not physically present with one another right now, God works by prayer, and He wants to work in your life to bring about hope, peace, and joy in abundance. Jesus is the source of all these things; He is the embodiment of hope, peace, and joy. When we celebrate Christmas, we are celebrating the Advent—the coming of hope, peace, and joy into this world.

God, I pray for anyone who might be tuning into this broadcast, whether it's the day that we launch it or weeks, months, or years from now. Lord, You know where those people are right now as they hear these words. I pray that You draw by Your Spirit those who are hearing these words to draw near to You. In drawing near to You, they might experience Your hope—a hope that is sure and steadfast, an anchor for our soul that makes it possible for us to endure whatever difficult thing we go through.

I pray that they might have peace. Jesus, You said, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." I pray for that restless person who might be watching this right now. Draw them to You so that they would come to You and experience Your peace and Your rest. As they connect with You and Your Word, and begin to connect with other brothers and sisters within the church, I pray that they would experience a joy that is increasing unto abundance forever—forevermore.

Ultimately, Lord, we have a hope that we will be with You in Your presence when this body is no more. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, we will be with You because to be absent from the body is to be present with You, Lord. There, in Your presence, we will experience fullness of joy forever; pleasures forevermore. Though we're not in that place yet, I pray that we can begin to experience Your joy right now.

I also pray for Your church—those who have already experienced Your peace, hope, and joy. I pray that this holiday season, this Christmas season, we would be able to share those things with other people.

Because there are a lot of people that we interact with on a regular basis who are lacking peace, they’re restless, and they’re lacking hope and joy. I pray that we would be able to give those gifts as we share the good news of Your grace with them. For we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

He brings glory to the newborn King. Hosanna! Heal the heaven-born Prince of Peace. Hail the Son of Righteousness! He brings glory to the newborn King. Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna, hosanna in the highest! Hosanna in the highest!

Thanks for joining us for our online service today. As we close, we would love to invite you to our on-campus service here at Cross Connection Church at 8:30 and 10:30 a.m. every Sunday.

Also, if you'd like more information about Cross Connection Church, make sure you check it out online.

Hello, Cross Connection Church! I just wanted to let you know that our Christmas Eve Eve service is coming up. It will be at 5:00 and 6:30 p.m., so we will have two services. Invite somebody and bring a friend; it's going to be a great time!