"The Fullness of Joy"

John 15:9-17

Pastor Tom Johnson, May 10, 2015

Jesus shares his strategic plan with us today in our Gospel reading. He connects the dots all the way from eternity’s past, his eternal love, his earthly life, death, resurrection, and the life and the joy of the believer far into the future. This is Jesus’ vision for our lives. This is his plan for you and me. This is his hope, prayer, and desire for each believer. “I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.” “I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last,” Jesus says. God wants us to experience joy—joy that will be full—joy that will last. The way Jesus describes this joy helps us understand what true joy is. True joy is rooted in God. True joy flows from his love. Joy is eternal: from the past, in the present, and into the future. Joy transcends time. Joy is contagious. We catch it when we encounter God. We are inoculated with the good news of Jesus Christ. Joy is poured into our lives. Joy fills us up. Joy overflows into the lives of those around us. The believer says, “My cup runneth over” and shares the joy with those around.

It might be helpful to distinguish this from happiness. Happiness comes and goes. Happiness depends on our immediate pleasure. Happiness is not rooted. It has a short life and a limited space. Happiness is temporal and limited. We should all be challenged to ask ourselves if we aren’t neglecting the joy that Jesus so clearly promises here. We don’t have to live our lives jaded. We don’t need be paralyzed by cynicism. It’s not God’s will that you or I be a constant source of negativity. We should not be held captive by our disappointment in ourselves or others. We don’t have to sit in judgment of those around us. We don’t need to be filled with criticism and infected by poisonous thoughts. Our negative spirits—our continuous addiction to judging those around us is really a prison. It is solitary confinement cut off from relationship, light, and the joy that Jesus has planned so long for, gave his life for, and prays that we will experience.

Fast bound in Satan’s chain’s I lay;
Death brooded darkly o’er me.
Sin was my torment night and day;
In sin my mother bore me.
But daily deeper still I fell;
My life became a living hell,
So firmly sin possessed me. 

But God had seen my wretched state
Before the world’s foundation,
And mindful of His mercies great,
He planned for my salvation.
He turned to me a father’s heart;
He did not choose the easy part
But gave His dearest treasure.

This is the economy of joy. This is the ecology of God’s joyful vineyard. “I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.” “I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last,” Jesus says. This is the picture of joy—a vine. And what a beautiful description it is. Look around you. It’s spring. I happen to have a grape vine in my back yard. Long before it grew from a seed, I always wanted one. Long before I picked it up from the nursery I planned where I would plant it and the fruit I desired. It is now deeply rooted. It has survived the death of winter. It is now coming back to life. Life flows from the roots to each little stem. To be a branch of this vine is to be tapped into the life-flow and joy of it’s fruit. To be plugged into the sap of the vine’s life is to have the assurance that you will survive deadly winter. You will survive drought. Your life—your joy will not depend on the day to day changes of this world. Your joy will transcend the storms of this life. Your joy is hidden in the wonder of the Vine, Jesus Christ.

Our joy is rooted in the eternal love and grace of God. We are accepted. Our sins have been forgiven. “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” God’s love for us through his Son is unparalleled. He gives us a future and a hope and the assurance of eternal life. “This is what I want for you,” Jesus says, “that you experience the fullness of joy—that my joy flow into your lives, fill you up, and overflow to those around you.” “This is my vision—that you be both recipients and conduits of joy. This is my plan—that you bear fruit of love and joy in the world around you—that you find sustainable joy—that you bring authentic and enduring joy to those around you.”

Dear Christians, one and all, rejoice,
With exultation springing,
And with united heart and voice
And holy rapture singing,
Proclaim the wonders God has done,
How his right arm the vict’ry won.
What price our ransom cost Him. (from hymn "Dear Christians, One and All Rejoice")

“Sing!” “Rejoice, and again I say rejoice!” Celebrate what God has accomplished. Relish in his eternal love. Your joy will be full. God will fill you. And he will use you to bring the fullness of joy to those around you.