That Your Joy May Be Full
By Pastor Mitch
December 06, 2018
THAT YOUR JOY MAY BE FULL
Joy is something that is meant to last. It was not meant to be a momentary thing. If we truly understand what it means to have a close and personal relationship with the Lord Jesus, this joy that we can find in Him will remain in us and it would grow to its fullness. This was a principle that He taught His disciples.
“These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you and that your joy may be full.” John 15:11
The Lord had a tremendous sense of purpose in teaching His disciples. It was through His teachings and the adherence to it that His kind of joy would be in them. The phrase “may remain” is called a stative verb in Greek. It is a state of being that we all can have. Furthermore, this joy that is from the Lord can be possessed by us. It can be personally ours. And it can grow to the level of fullness. However, whether we have the fullness of the Lord’s joy in our life is dependent on our part.
THESE THINGS I HAVE SPOKEN TO YOU
“These things I have spoken to you…” John 15:11
The things spoken by the Lord Jesus were meant to have a profound impact on the disciples. What were these things that the Lord had spoken to the disciples?
- Cleansing
“You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.” John 15:3
There is the cleansing that comes through the teaching of His word. The Lord Jesus had taught much to His disciples. What He had taught brought cleansing to their heart. The Lord Jesus spoke of how the disciples were already clean because of the word that was preached to them. When they took heed to His word, there was the cleansing of their sins. This is the work that the Lord God can do in our life too. He can bring about a work of cleansing when we obey His word.
- Abiding
“He who abides in Me, and I in him bears much fruit,…” John 15:5
“If you abide in Me and My words abide in you,…” John 15:7
“As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.” John 15:9
The cleansing work must take place first before we can really abide in the Lord. The Lord’s challenge to the disciples was to abide. The word “abide” in Greek means to “remain”. It is to stay and continue with what the Lord has challenged them to do. Firstly, they were to abide in the Lord. They were meant to have a deep connection with the Lord Jesus. They were meant to constantly abide in the Lord and He would abide with them. It is only through abiding in the Lord that we can bear much fruit. Secondly, they were to abide in His word. They were to remember the word taught by the Lord and to practise them in their life. They were to let His word dwell deeply in them. When they abide in the Lord and in His word, they will pray and the Lord would respond according to His will. Thirdly, the disciples were to abide in His love. They were to practise the Lord’s kind of love. If they were to love in the same way as the Lord loved, they will experience great joy in Him. His joy would remain in them and their joy would be full. Even as Youth Conference ends, let’s abide in all that we have learnt. Let’s abide in the Lord that we may learn to have fullness of joy.
