JOYFUL DISCIPLES

JOHN 15:7-11

January 28, 1996

 

The distinguishing characteristic of a true believer through the centuries has been joy.  Now, I realize that love distinguishes us also.  But love is an action in biblical terms rather than simply an affection as we think of it in the 20th century.  The world will know we are Christians by our love, which is the affirmation that our faith is genuine.  Joy, on the other hand, is not so much an action as it is a whole attitude and demeanor of life.  It shows up in our countenance.  It shows up in our voice.  It shows in our eyes.  It pulsates through our daily attitude.  While love acts, joy radiates; this is how I would distinguish them.  Both are important traits for the Christian.  You cannot think of having one without the other.  Love confirms that your joy is real.

 

Many can mask the religious practices of Christians by singing the hymns, offering the prayers, preaching the sermons, speaking the right words.  But true joy in the Lord cannot be masked!  It is an exuberance in Christ that explodes beyond the soul to affect the entire person.  It cannot be hidden by dire circumstances.  It cannot be duplicated by clever formulas.  It knows no boundaries.  Joy in Christ has been seen in the poorest hovels in this world and in the finest palaces.  It is at home on every continent.  It testifies constantly of the atoning work of Christ.

 

The joy evidenced in Paul and Silas while singing and worshipping in a dingy Philippian jail humbled a proud jailer.  Joy in the Lord marked the testimonies of countless Christians who died at the hand of executioners throughout pre-and-post-Reformation Europe.  Unfettered joy in knowing and abiding in Christ set believers apart during the days of the first and second Great Awakenings.

 

Joy is a redemptive gift of Christ, a facet of the Spirit's fruit, a promise guaranteed by our Lord.  In the practice of Christian joy we demonstrate the characteristics of real disciples.   Christian joy is both a present possession and a growing experience.

 

When we summarize our text, we are forced to consider verse 11:  "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full."  The "these things" has a reference to what has already been spoken, the truths of abiding in Christ, particularly the practical applications of abiding found in verses 7-10.

 

What is the big deal about joy?  It is one of those terms, like love, that defies a simple definition, but you know it if you experience it.  Joy is chiefly experiential.  It comes as a result of knowing that you have been forgiven of your sins and that your eternal debt due to your sin has been forever paid by Jesus Christ.  How can we not rejoice and be filled with joy at the knowledge of our sins being forgiven?  A joyless Christian is really an oxymoron!

 

When we look at Jesus Christ and see what price He paid for us so that we might enjoy the glories of our God forever, there is an overflow of joy.  When we look beyond this world and think of what lies ahead for us, there is unfettered joy.

 

The assurance of our salvation brings joy.  To have the seal of the Spirit in assurance and the witness of the Spirit confirming our salvation can only produce joy in our lives.

 

To grow in holiness, that is, to continue on in sanctification causes joy in the believer.  Thomas Watson wrote, "The more holiness any man has, the more he shall enjoy him, in whose presence is fulness of joy, Ps. 16:11; and the more any man enjoys the presence of God with his spirit, the greater will be his heaven of joy in this world....Divine joy ebbs and flows as holiness ebbs and flows" (Works, vol. 4, 353).

 

Our text points out two truths concerning joy which we need to see as we approach this subject of joyful Christians.  First, the joy of Jesus Christ is the present reality of the true believer.  "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you...."  Go back to the truth of the Vine and the branches, which is our context.  All that is in the Vine flows into the branches.  All of the life, strength, energy, power, and, yes, joy, that is necessary to live the Christian life, to obey the demands of God, to fulfill the purpose of the redeemed comes from the Vine--our Lord Jesus Christ.  Stop and consider for a moment, the joy of Jesus Christ, the very joy that originates in Him, the joy that He knows from obeying the Father, the joy of His fulness, this same joy is yours in Christ!  Charles Ross expressed it like this:

What is the joy of which he here speaks?  It is not merely the joy that he would produce in them--the joy of which he is the author; neither is it the joy, which he feels on their account; but it is the joy which he experiences in knowing himself to be the object of his Father's love.  (The Inner Sanctuary, 131)


Sometimes we have a mental picture of Jesus Christ as being sullen or perhaps having an almost starched frown of seriousness on His face.  But the Christ of Scripture is totally different from this.  He is full of joy.  His times with the disciples were joyful times.  His time of ministering to the multitudes were joyful.  Even as He faced the agony of the cross, He prayed in His High Priestly prayer, "But now I come to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy made full in themselves" (John 17:13).  How could He even be thinking of joy at such a time of great burden and sorrow?...because joy was part of His nature, a constant characteristic of His life.  It is that joy that He has given to us through His great redeeming love.

 

Second, Jesus said that He wanted His joy to be so real in our lives, that our joy might be made full.  This is so important for us to see.  In this statement our Lord unveils the fact that joy is something that can grow and increase in our lives, or 'ebb and flow' as Thomas Watson put it.  As our joy increases, so does our assurance, so does our testimony, so does our ministry, so does our comfort in this world, so does our anticipation of heaven.  It is the second aspect of our Lord's statement on joy that we want to focus our attention.  The joy is present in the believer because Christ is our Vine.  But the joy can grow and develop in greater fullness as we put into application these truths of abiding found in our text. In this sense, joy is a glorious by-product of abiding in Christ.

 

Do you know the joy of Jesus Christ?  Does His joy show forth in your life?  My friend, if there is no joy then you need to reconsider your spiritual condition.  If the joy is occasional or intermittent, then learn the simple truths of our text.

 

As we abide in Christ, we discover...

 

I.  Joy in asking

 

After explaining the relationship of the Vine and branches, as well as instructing on the reality of true and false branches, the first thing our Lord commands us to do is to pray.     I have heard it put that 'prayer is the life-breath of the Christian'.  And indeed, a prayerless Christian is a false Christian, for prayer is the evidence of our relationship to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Those who have no need to pray, nor have any interest in prayer are those who do not have a relationship with the Father through the Son.

 

In this verse, "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you," we have three aspects to the life of prayer.

 

1.  Condition of prayer

 

Yes, there are conditions to prayer.  Our text points out two simple, but essential conditions to genuine prayer.  First, Jesus says, "If you abide in Me," then the second condition, "and My words abide in you."  It is when these conditions are fulfilled that we are ready to pray.

 

Prayer is a popular item in our day.  I heard on the news a few weeks back that studies have been done by the medical profession that shows that prayer is a good therapy for a patient's mental and physical health.  Even unbelieving physicians are telling their patients to pray.

 

But is this the kind of prayer that our Lord speaks of?  I propose to you that the kind of prayer that is popular in our day is nothing more than a sort-of self-hypnosis or an emotional catharsis--cleansing.  A person can call upon a "higher power" with his troubles, bemoan his guilt, and with a false faith think that he is okay.  He feels better because he has done something that is quite religious--pray.  He knows, by virtue of the conscience God has put in man, that there is Someone greater than him and that he must acknowledge Him, so he prays.  But the focus of his prayers are self-centered rather than God-centered.  True praying focuses on God and His glory rather than selfish indulgence.

 

We must remember that Muslims pray to Allah, Buddhists pray and chant, Hindus pray, yet none prays in truth or for the glory of God.  I noticed on one occasion a prayer in the classified section of the Commercial Appeal that illustrates the idea of using prayer as if it was a lucky rabbit's foot.

PRAYER TO ST. JUDE...May the sacred heart of Jesus be adored, glorified, loved and preserved throughout the world now & forever.  Sacred Heart of Jesus pray for us.  St. Jude, Worker of Miracles, pray for us.  St. Jude Help for the Hopeless, pray for us.  Say this prayer 9 times a day for 9 days, then publish.  Your Prayer will be answered.  It has never been known to fail.  Thank you St. Jude for our favors received.


Is this biblical praying or pure superstition?  Obviously, though this person may be quite earnest and sincere, he is showing superstition and a false understanding of the work of prayer.  Prayer is not a talisman for getting our way.  Prayer is the heart abiding in Christ with Christ's words abiding in him, uttering the soul's needs before the Father.  

 

Look at the conditions for prayer.  If you abide in Me, our Lord states as the first condition for prayer.  We have already seen that this refers to a true relationship to Christ, one of being vitally in union with Jesus Christ as the Vine.  It is a relationship of faith in which you have trusted Christ and His merits for you alone for your salvation.  Your confidence is not in your works of righteousness, but in the righteousness of Christ.  Your dependence is found in knowing Him.  You can honestly say, He is my life, my joy, my everything.  

 

Notice also that our Lord stated a second condition, and My words abide in you, for prayer to be effective.  We have seen already in verse 3 where Christ told the disciples they were clean because of the "word" which He spoke to them.  This word (logos) refers to the whole of the Gospel applied in the life of the believer.  It is the totality of the saving work of Christ which we proclaim concerning Him.  But in verse 7 He uses a different word for word (rhemata).  This refers to specific teachings of Christ.  W.E. Vine distinguishes between these two Greek words by referring to Ephesians 6:17, "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word (rhema) of God."

The significance of rhema (as distinct from logos) is exemplified in the injunction to take "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God," Eph. 6:17; here the reference is not to the whole Bible as such, but to the individual scripture which the Spirit brings to our remembrance for use in time of need, a prerequisite being the regular storing of the mind with Scripture.  [Vines Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, 1253)


This statement is an exhortation for us to understand the specifics of Christ's teachings, as well as that of the Scripture as a whole.  As we read and meditate upon the Word, we find ourselves digesting the Word as part of our lives, so that we are urged to pray.  These truths which bring us to prayer are now promises for which we humbly make our claim before the Father.  This is why Spurgeon said, "Only the prayer which comes from God can go to God" (Sifted Silver, Blanchard, 226). You cannot separate our relationship to the Word of God and prayer.  They go together.  Do you see this truth, my Christian friend?  If you are to be effective in prayer, fill your mind with the truths of God's Word.  Let these divine utterances flow forth in your prayers.  Pray the promises of God with confidence that God hears and answers.

 

2.  Command to pray

 

We are told, upon abiding in Christ and His words abiding in us, to pray.  The Greek of the verb is an aorist middle imperative.  What this means is that prayer is to be part of our lives; it is to be something which we ourselves do; it is something which we must do regularly as Christians.  You can pray for me, but you cannot do my praying.  Prayer must go forth daily between the child of God and his heavenly Father.  Let me illustrate it like this:  one of my children can speak to me on behalf of another of my children, but that does not replace the conversation and relationship I desire to have with that child as his father.

 

It is interesting to see the line of thought before Christ commands us to pray.  He affirms that our relationship to Him must be sure and that His specific truths must be abiding in us, then we are ready to pray.  The "willy-nilly" spirit of treating prayer like a retail catalogue is held in check by the qualifier:  "and My words abide in you."  It is when the specific teachings of Scripture are embraced and believed that the believer is ready to pray.  His desires will be restricted by the Scripture lest he pray amiss.  And his spiritual desires will be liberated by the Scripture so that the believer will trust God for the impossible.

 

What do you ask for when you pray?  Perhaps I first need to ask, do you pray regularly?  Is prayer part of your daily life, something you cannot do without, something that overflows in your relationship to the Lord?  As Christians, we cannot live without prayer!  Iain Murray has stated, "Prayer is not some mystic reasoning after the unknown; it is response to the God who speaks in Scripture, the God who personally acts in the lives of his people" (Sifted Silver, by John Blanchard, 225).  Do you give time daily to prayer?

 

If you do pray, then for what do you ask?  Asking is part of prayer.  J.C. Ryle comments, "A prayer which only contains thanksgiving and profession, and asks nothing, is essentially defective.  It may be suitable for an angel, but it is not suitable for a sinner" (Sifted Silver, 225).  We are needy people, so our Heavenly Father bids us to come to Him bringing our needs and our deepest desires that have been sanctified by His Word.

 

As we look at the context of this command to pray, we must be struck by the fact that the whole issue is on our progression as Christians, our constant abiding in Christ.  Does it not seem logical that much of our praying should center around this whole matter of our abiding in Christ?  Judging from the next verse (15:8), it seems that the very issue of our bearing fruit for God's glory should be part of our praying.  Perhaps we have been guilty of limiting prayer to physical matters to the gross neglect of the spiritual matters of life.  Should we pray about our physical needs?  Certainly we should do this, but as Christians we ought to be cognizant of the fact that the spiritual life has priority over the physical.  The physical is temporal, the spiritual is eternal.  Give more time and attention to that which endures for eternity.

 

Maybe a good way to get an idea of the right kind of praying is to look at some of the prayers in the Bible.  You may want to pay particular attention to the prayers of God's people as you read through the Scriptures this year.  A good Old Testament sample is found in Nehemiah 1:5-11, as Nehemiah is informed of the ruins of Jerusalem and its needs.  Notice how his prayer contains elements of praise and adoration, confession of sin, acknowledging of the promises of God, then the specific request for God's intervention that Nehemiah might fulfill the word of the Lord.

And I said, "I beseech Thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who preserves the covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, let Thine ear now be attentive and Thine eyes open to hear the prayer of Thy servant which I am praying before Thee now, day and night, on behalf of the sons of Israel Thy servants, confessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have sinned against Thee; I and my father's house have sinned.  We have acted very corruptly against Thee and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances which Thou didst command Thy servant Moses. Remember the word which Thou didst command Thy servant Moses, saying, 'If you are unfaithful I will scatter you among the peoples; but if you return to Me and keep My commandments and do them, though those of you who have been scattered were in the most remote part of the heavens, I will gather them from there and will bring them to the place where I have chosen to cause My name to dwell.' And they are Thy servants and Thy people whom Thou didst redeem by Thy great power and by Thy strong hand. O Lord, I beseech Thee, may Thine ear be attentive to the prayer of Thy servant and the prayer of Thy servants who delight to revere Thy name, and make Thy servant successful today, and grant him compassion before this man."


In a few months we will take a close look at our Lord's High Priestly prayer in John 17 which offers clear instruction on the nature of prayer.  But for the time being, let's glance at the Apostle Paul's prayer in Colossians 1:9-12.  Though this is more of an explanation of the content of his prayer than the actual prayer, it illustrates how our praying must be chiefly concerned with a person's spiritual life.

For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;  strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.


Knowledge..., wisdom..., understanding..., walk worthy of the Lord..., please Him..., bearing fruit..., increasing in the knowledge of God..., strengthened with all power..., attaining all steadfastness and patience..., joyously giving thanks to the Father--these are the elements of praying for one another's spiritual life as well as our own!

 

Practically speaking, will you take the time to think through more clearly about what you are praying, both for yourself and others?  Do pray for those physical and mundane needs, but give greater attention to the spiritual life, to the believer's fruitfulness, to the quality of abiding in Christ, to the character of Christ being evident in those for whom you pray.  Rather than "Bless John" prayers, let the word of Christ richly dwell within you so that you pray the truths of Scripture which you know are the will of God.  Pray as one who is living in dependence upon Jesus Christ.  Pray with the fervor of one who knows the life-giving power of the Vine.  Pray with a confidence that the Father hears and answers.

 

3.  Consequence of praying

 

Jesus gives the condition, abide in Him and His words abide in you; then makes the command, "Ask whatever you wish;" now He promises the consequence of such praying, "And it shall be done for you."  The Greek is literally, 'and it shall be'.  What a promise we have from our Lord!

 

Stop to consider that the Lord of heaven and earth, the Creator of the universe, the Savior who is seated at the right hand of the Father, bids you to pray, then promises to answer your prayers.  "And it shall be done for you," that's the blessing of abiding, that brings joy in the heart of a disciple of Jesus Christ.

 

If prayer was simply a laborious exercise without any promise of an answer, it would rob of us of any joy we might have.  I cannot help but think of the devotees of Hare Krishna.  They spend hours and hours each day chanting their prayers before Lord Krishna, but they have no answers, no promises to rest upon.  They go about with glazed eyes, mumbling incoherent thoughts, with a countenance of one who has never known joy.  The devout Muslim faces Mecca on his knees with his face to the ground five times a day and prays to Allah.  But he has no answers to his mechanistic prayers.  What Muslim radiates with joy?  Instead, his heart is filled with fears, hatred, bitterness, resentment.

 

But it is different when you are a child of God!  The Psalmist expressed it like this, "Thou wilt make known to me the path of life; In Thy presence is fulness of joy; In Thy right hand there are pleasures forever" (16:11).  Is this not the heart of one who comes before the Lord in prayer and has the assurance that God hears and answers?  The whole psalm is a prayer that ends with the confession of joy by being in the Lord's presence and knowing that the right hand of God responds to the heart-cry of His children.

 

So often we pray rather mechanically because we believe it is our duty to pray, but expect no answer to our prayers.  Abide in Christ, let His truth abide in you, then pray, believe, and expect that it shall be done.  

 

These are days when we need more than ever to be a people of prayer.  The enemy assaults us on all sides.  The pressures of the world and temptations about us threaten us constantly.  The devil tries to confuse, intimidate, and dampen our spiritual fervor.  Oh, we must pray!  We must believe!  We must expect our Father to answer!

 

During the 16th century, Queen Mary ravaged the evangelical community in Scotland with her savage killing of scores of men and women of faith.  It seemed that nothing could stop this tyrannical woman, that she feared no one.  Yet Queen Mary said that she feared the prayers of John Knox, the Scottish Reformer, more than an army of twenty thousand men.  Knox understood that we are to abide in Christ, we are to drink deeply of His word and let that word flow forth in our praying, and we are to pray with expectancy.

 

Conclusion

 

Do you want to know the joy of Jesus Christ in its fulness?  Then commit yourself to the kind of prayer our text speaks of.  

 

Are you abiding in Christ?  Can you honestly say that you have trusted Christ alone for your eternal salvation and that He has committed Himself to you in saving power?

 

Are His words abiding in you?  Do you drink deeply of the truth of God's Word so that His truth forms the thoughts of your prayer life?  You cannot separate the Word of God and prayer.  If you desire to pray effectively, then dig deeply into God's Word, meditate upon it, saturate yourself in its eternal truth.  Let your prayers reflect the passionate heart of one who loves and knows the Word of God.

 

Do you pray regularly, consistently, fervently?  It is time to get down to the business of believing prayer.  Make sure that you are part of the workforce of prayer.

 

[Message outline for next week--continuation of Joyful Disciples]

II.  Joy in being   v. 8

 

III.  Joy in resting   v. 9

 

IV.  Joy in doing   v. 10

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