#2 LIFE ON THE VINE: CULTIVATING JOY. 2. Jesus told His disciples that by being in the Vine, they would bear much fruit to the glory of the Father.

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1 #2 LIFE ON THE VINE: CULTIVATING JOY 2. Jesus told His disciples that by being in the Vine, they would bear much fruit to the glory of the Father. John 15:3-11 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, & 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. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, & I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch & is withered; & they gather them & throw them into the fire, & they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, & My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, & it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. 9 As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. 10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments & abide in His love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, & that your joy may be full. B. The fruit He has reference to in verse 8 is the fruit of the Spirit, which is produced as we walk in the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23). 1. The fruit of love, joy, peace, longsuffering (patience), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness & self control. A. Christians are connected to Jesus Christ as branches are connected to a vine; it is a safe & nurturing place. 2. The first fruit that is born by one who is walking in the Spirit is love. 1. In a vine you can find new growth, the newly formed branches that have sprung to life, AND, the branches that have a long connection to the Vine. a. Love cannot be demonstrated by avoiding people; Love is not just a kind gesture or a handshake. 1

2 b. Love has to be demonstrated as Jesus Christ did in this world of hate & self service. c. And when we keep His commandments, we not only abide in His love (15:10), but we will find the fullness of joy. d. The problem is that people (brethren) don t often open themselves up to be loved, or we get too wrapped up in our lives to take the time (maybe the hours) necessary to show our love. e. When that happens, we lose the chance to truly experience joy, or the kind of joy that Jesus was talking about (the true joy, the only joy that really matters). [That s been our theme for Finding our joy in the Lord, & learning to rejoice in that blessed of all relationships. When Jesus explained joy, He stated that if we re going to have it we must obey Him] I. JESUS EXPLAINED JOY A. Joy Begins With Obedience (John 15:10) 1. Boy that s a broad subject. But we can narrow down His meaning to one aspect of obedience (15:12). 2. In the previous verse, Jesus said WHEN His joy is IN US then our joy can be complete. 2

3 3. His joy came by doing His Father s will (15:10) & by demonstrating His love for those 12 men that followed Him everywhere He went. 4. He didn t look for something, someone or some circumstance to bring Him joy. 8. Joy is the result of taking delight in our obedience to the Father in Heaven & His Son. 9. Entertainment may bring us pleasure, & we may find joy in pleasure, but Christians experience joy in something far, far greater (1 Jn 2:15-17). 5. His joy began the very moment He chose to do His Father s will, which began by pulling together 12 precious souls upon which He could bestow His love. 6. So when we have that kind of relationship to the Father & to one another THEN & ONLY THEN can we can possess His joy. [Jesus further explained ] B. Joy Grows Through Trials. 1. Jesus said the branches in the vine are pruned that we may bear more fruit (15:2) Joy, as a fruit of the Spirit, is NOT something we can search for in the world. 2. To be pruned is to be subjected to difficulties that test our faith. Why would God allow that? Joy!!!!

4 Jas 1:2-4 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience [endurance]. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect & complete, lacking nothing. 3. Endurance is what you have when you finish that last lap in a race that you really want to drop out of. 4. Endurance is what it takes to grow older & maintain the strength of your convictions in Truth. 5. Joy WILL NOT come - CANNOT come - into our lives if everything has always been rosy. [So joy, as we have been saying all along this year, shouldn t be confused with the pleasure that comes from getting to do what you want to do, or living the lifestyle you want to live. The Christian s joy is full or complete (John 15:11) by means of his or her obedience to Jesus Christ, but only after that joy has faced the trials of faith. A joy that comes any other way is not the joy that Christ was talking about; a joy that will remain in His people. After you plant the seed of joy through obedience, joy, like a seed in the ground must be cultivated if it s going to survive. The first step in cultivating joy.] 6. Joy grows out of harsh conditions, but then it yields a refreshing fruit (Heb 12:3-11; cf. 2 Cor 8:1-2). II. CULTIVATING JOY A. Find Joy Where God Put It: 4

5 Luke 2:10-12 Then the angel said to them [shepherds], Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Luke 10:20 Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven. 1 Pet 1:8-10 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible & full of glory, 9 receiving the end of your faith--the salvation of your souls. 1. The joy of the average person is tied up in the day-byday experiences in his life, which makes his joy very unpredictable & unreliable. 2. But our joy is entirely based on our Savior & the salvation He offers to us. B. Find Joy Despite The Circumstances. 1. The English word happiness is from the same root word as happening. a. In other words, earthly joy or happiness is affected by things that happen. b. You may feel on top of the world; that is until you get some bad news. 2. But the Christian s joy is unaffected by the things that happen: personal experiences. [A second way to cultivate joy.] 5 a. Because the object of our joy (our Savior, & salvation) doesn t change.

6 b. Even though we may find ourselves in a very distressing place in life, we are still in possession of joy we just need to realize it. [A third way to cultivate joy. ] C. Find Joy In Serving Your Spiritual Family. James 1:2, 12 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials 12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. (1 Pet 1:3-9 joy inexpressible & full of glory the salvation of your soul ). 3. Joy, for the Christian, is a promise, not in a package of circumstances that have fallen into place. 4. Joy is not about everything go right. 5. Joy is about believing what is right, doing what is right & knowing that you are right with God. 1. This contradicts commonly accepted ideas about how to find joy through self-gratification (accomplishing career goals, living the life of leisure). 2. And frankly, there are few Christians who will test the Lord on this point, sticking with the earthly pleasure as the joy they count on in life. John 13:12-18 So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, & sat down again, He said to them, Do you know what I have done to you? 13 You call me Teacher & Lord, & you say well, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord & Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. 16 Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed [happy & joyful] are you if you do them. 6

7 Booker T. Washington (was a former slave who became an educator, author, orator, and advisor to U.S. Presidents.) Just after he become the president of Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, he was walking through a wealthy part of town when a white woman who didn t recognize him said, Hey buddy, would you like to make a few extra dollars chopping some wood? He had some time on his hands so he rolled up his sleeves & said, Sure maam, went into her back yard, chopped the wood, put it into a pile, carried it into her house, thanked her & went on his way. Her daughter recognized the famous scholar & educator & said; Mom do you know who you just asked to chop wood for you? That was Booker T. Washington, one of the most famous scientists in the world. She was appalled & embarrassed, so the next day she went to his office & profusely apologized for embarrassing him. He just reached across the desk, shook her hand & said, Maam, a little manual labor never hurt anybody. And besides, it s always nice to do something kind for a friend. 3. Remember the acronym J-O-Y: Jesus, Others, & You. a. When that becomes our common practice, THEN we will understand how very true it is -- that joy can only result by putting the Lord & others before us. b. Have you been on the receiving end of someone s joy of service? It is a blessing! But we should be even more anxious to experience the joy of serving. [A fourth way to cultivate joy.] D. Find Joy In The Worship Of God. Do you know what made him a great man? He never got too big to learn the secret of joy, which is helping & being kind to others. 7 Psa 95:1-2 Oh come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. 2 Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.

8 Psa 100 Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands! 2 Serve the LORD with gladness; come before His presence with singing. 3 Know that the LORD, He is God; it is He who has made us, & not we ourselves; we are His people & the sheep of His pasture. 4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, & into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, & bless His name. 5 For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, & His truth endures to all generations. Deut 28:47-48 Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy & gladness of heart, for the abundance of everything, 48 therefore you shall serve your enemies, Phil 3:3 For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, & have no confidence in the flesh 3. Not only were those times of joy for those of us who attended, but those who arranged for those times were blessed with joy above all others. [A fifth way to cultivate joy.] E. Make Joy A Constant Choice. 1. Nothing lifts the spirit in joy more that being with brethren who yearn to worship (Jn 4:24). 1. Joy will never be a fruit of the Spirit in our lives until we choose to produce it (Phil 4:4). 2. Some of our most treasured memories are of the numerous times we gathered in someone s home to sing praises until late into the evening. a. Joy doesn t just grow on its own without any effort on our part, any more than love, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness & self-control will grow without any effort. 8

9 2. I don t believe what people say about joy, that it s only a matter of the heart; the Scripture indicates that joy, when a Christian has it, will be written all over his or her face. [Hmmm. I wonder what their faces looked like.] CLOSING Matt 28:8 So they [the two Mary s] went out quickly from the tomb with fear & great joy, & ran to bring His disciples word. Luke 24:51-52 Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them & carried up into heaven. 52 And they worshiped Him, & returned to Jerusalem with great joy, Acts 5:41 (The apostles) So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. Acts 8:39 Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; & he went on his way rejoicing. Acts 15:3 So, [Paul & Barabas] being sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia & Samaria, describing the conversion of the Gentiles; & they caused great joy to all the brethren. Philem 7 For we have great joy & consolation in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother. A. Most people are pursuing happiness instead of joy, and that s understandable since one cannot find true joy until he is in the true Vine, Jesus Christ the Lord. 1. Most people are simply pursuing a diversion from their despair, a certain fearful expectation of judgment, & fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries (Heb 10:27). 3. They re chasing after the artificial sweeteners that will not last or satisfy. 4. But a branch in the True Vine will have the fullness of joy in this life that God intended. 5. Are you in that Vine, in Jesus Christ? 6. Song # 473 When He Comes In Glory By And By 9