How to Have Joy When You Have No Joy
Key Passage: John 15:10
Date: June 7, 2024
Turn your Bible, if you would, to John 15, John 15 of God’s Word, John chapter number 15. And how to have joy when you have no joy, how to have joy when you have no joy. We’ll learn that tonight. It’s going to be a little different. You know, most Baptist preachers just have three points with a bunch of subpoints, 25 subpoints underneath it. Everyone, you know, this is just 11 points. You’re like, oh no, oh no. But not many subpoints. We’re just going to go pretty quick through these points tonight, and we’re going to go and get some food and have real joy. I mean, a little bit here when we have the food.
But John chapter number 15, and these are some of the last words of our Savior, really on the way to the garden. Remember the garden praying, and then Judas and the soldiers come and take Him in that night, and then the crucifixion the next morning, next day.
See, some of His last words to His apostles there as He’s kind of going to the garden there, all right? These are these words here. We won’t have time to get all of John 15. John 15, the first maybe 10 and 11 verses, just wonderful about He’s the vine and we’re the branch and so on and abiding in Him. Just wonderful truths all in John 15. We’re going to be at verse number 10. John 15, verse number 10.
God’s Word tonight, would you please stand together if you’re able to, just to show respect to the Word of God? John 15 and verse number 10 of God’s Word. I look around, I just appreciate everybody being involved around here. Brother Gregory was in junior church this morning, filling in. Brother Adam was in teen class this morning, filling in. And Ms. Teresa was in primary church filling in. Sometimes you just have a Sunday weekend where you’ve got all kind of holes everywhere here. And people filling in is always a blessing. I appreciate those just doing so much around here to make things happen. And Brother Adam on the bus doing one bus route too. All just everybody doing, filling in around here. What a blessing that is. Thank you so very much. That’s a great blessing. John 15, verse number 10, if you would please. Verse number 10.
“If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love, even as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.” And just for a little bit tonight, we’re going to talk this subject of joy.
I’ll be honest with you. I think sometimes us preachers, ourselves, from time to time, kind of misrepresent a little bit about this thing of joy. I’m going to try to be very frank, very biblical with you, and just kind of not following the normal pattern, if you will, but trying to follow the biblical pattern of this thing of joy a little bit tonight. Won’t be long, I don’t think—11 points. We’ll go quickly through them. You don’t believe me on this quick amen? We’ll see what happens.
All right, let’s pray. Would you pray that God would use it in our hearts and our lives? Father, help us to see joy as You see it, just understand what You mean there, Lord. And Father, would You use just these truths from Your Word? Help me to rightly divide it, and may You have Your will and Your way in our hearts and our lives. Feed these precious people through Your Word tonight.
And Father, we’ll thank You for what You do. We’re asking for this in the name of Jesus. We’re asking in faith, Father, and amen. Thank you so much for standing. You may be seated. Number one, only got 11 to go. Amen.
Number one, number one: There are levels of joy. Did you notice that little phrase in the bottom there, that your joy might be full? So your joy will not always be full. There are levels, if you will, to joy. You’ll find that phrase many times in the Bible. And these things, right, we read that your joy might be full. You’re there in 15. Look over in chapter 16 of John, verse number 24: “Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name. Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.” There’s a level of joy.
I think about the verse mentioned this morning: “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.” There are levels to joy. Can I say this? We have different capacities for joy. You may have a one-gallon bucket, two-gallon, three-gallon, four, five-gallon bucket. Sometimes, in different stages of life, you have different capacities for joy. It may be you’re going through a time of grieving or mourning. That’s not a bad thing—blessed are they that mourn—but your capacity for joy at that time might not be as great. So it’s not always the same standard. We sometimes think, “Well, don’t I have as much joy as I do?” Well, okay, all right, whatever, but it might be a little different time in their life, you know. Personalities or different backgrounds or different stages of life are different. So there are levels of joy. There are different capacities of joy for joy. Let me say this: your joy is not always going to be full.
And that’s okay.
You remember what He says over in Philippians 4:4? What does it say? “Rejoice in the Lord always; and again I say, rejoice.” Now, here’s the key about that. Rejoice. You will not have to do it. God said rejoice if your joy was always, boom, up here. Because rejoicing—you’re working at it. Your joy has dropped a little bit, if you will, and I got to get it back up. “Rejoice in the Lord always; and again I say, rejoice.” I go back to that verse, “I have no greater joy.” That means sometimes you don’t have that great joy. “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.” So sometimes you don’t have that greater joy. There are some lower joys, if you will. Are you with me out there? And it’s okay. Don’t let the devil guilt trip you because your joy is not here. It might not be the time in your life to be right there. You with me out there?
Number three, you’re going to be shocked. I think about this. This goes against what I have traditionally heard, but I think it’s very biblical, and we’ll show it to you. Circumstances of life do affect your joy. And that’s okay. The verse—I keep referring back to that—“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children…” Does? So the circumstances of life give you this greater joy or not? Yeah. What’s the circumstance that you hear? Not your children. So it affects your joy. That’s in the Bible, right? John the Baptist, he’s a forerunner of Jesus Christ. There are so many examples we can use, but he’s a forerunner of Jesus Christ, John the Baptist is. He was prepared the way. John says over in John 3:29, “He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend”—speaking of himself, I believe—“but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.” John said, “My joy is fulfilled.” Why? Because the circumstance happened. He hears the voice of the bridegroom, Jesus, and He has come. He has prepared the way, He has come. From a circumstance, he said, “Man, my joy is fulfilled.” Do you know what about that? So many times in the Bible, we just read it, John 16:24: “Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name. Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.” So answers to prayer affect your joy. That’s the circumstances of life.
I had a lot more, but I said we’re going to try to be quick, so we won’t get all those. But, but, but, friends, circumstances do affect it. And we’ve got to be honest about that. And that’s biblical.
Now, number four, only got—only got—what, about nine more? We’re moving along, folks. I’ll tell you what, number four, number four: We are always, always to be rejoicing. We’re always to be working at it, even when our joy is very low. Maybe you got a five-gallon bucket, you only got an ounce in there, wherever you’re at, you’re always to be rejoicing. Can I put it this way? No pity parties. No going in the corner sucking your thumbs and saying, “I don’t have any joy. My life is bad. Everything’s horrible.” No, none of that. Always rejoicing. I’m always working at that. “And again I say, rejoice.”
You know, we often tease about Bible memorization when that comes around. We wanted to quote John 11:35, the shortest verse in the Bible: “Jesus wept.” Then you get in Bible college and you learn Greek-wise, that’s not the shortest verse in the Bible. I’m like, well, we live in America, man, not in Greece, you know what I mean? Shortest verse in the Bible, Greek-wise, is “Rejoice evermore.”
Now look for it. By the way, there’s a correlation there: Jesus wept, so we rejoice evermore, you know. Interesting. But I’m always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always supposed to be working, rejoicing. Always. Always. No matter where my level of joy, no pity. By the way, when I go in the corner and have a pity party, Satan pounces on you, man. He’s waiting. He’s walking about seeking whom he may devour, and he sees you in that corner of darkness over there by yourself, and he says, “Woo-hoo, man, I got them now!” Because we’re not rejoicing in the Lord always. “And again I say, rejoice.” I’m to always rejoice.
Number five, number five.
In verse number 11, go back to verse number 11, if you would, please, John 15, verse number 11. In verse number 11, there are two joys. Look at it, would you please? “These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy…” Help me out. Whose joy is that right there? Jesus’ joy. Jesus’ joy. Jesus’ joy, “that My joy might remain in you, that Your joy might be full.” So there are two different joys there: one is Jesus’ joy, and one is your joy. Two different joys.
Number six, number six: Your joy will run low at times. And that’s okay.
Tuesday, I had the privilege of preaching the funeral for Mr. Whitby. I can’t remember how old he was, but he had been married to his wife for 65 years. Yeah, that’s what I say. Now, friend, can I just be real with you? It’s all right if her joy wasn’t full that day. That’s okay. On those days, probably your capacity and your joy is not going to be full. And that’s all right. You’re not a bad Christian if you don’t have joy like that on that day. Don’t let Satan or a misguided Christian make you think that. There’s going to be days that your joy is low. That’s all right. You’re going to be there from time to time.
Now, that leads to number seven. Number seven—well, we’re moving on tonight. I’ll tell you what. Number six: Your joy will run low at times. Number seven: Jesus’ joy never runs low.
Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” His joy never runs low. It doesn’t matter where the economy is; Jesus’ joy never runs low. It doesn’t matter who wins the election; Jesus’ joy never runs low. It doesn’t matter what a lot of the newspapers and these things show you—Jesus’ joy never runs low. That’s a wonderful thing, for His joy is never… it’s never below just not even a sixteenth; it’s never below four. He’s always got full joy.
At least to number eight, you’re probably getting there already: You can have joy when you have no joy if you learn to draw from His joy.
Friend, it’s nothing super technical or hard to understand. Verse number 11, go back there, verse number 11 there. “These things are spoken to you, that My joy might remain in you, that your joy may be full.” So on the times when your joy is running low in your bucket, you say, “Joy? I got no joy. I didn’t even want to get out this morning.” Anybody ever there? “Joy? What are you talking about joy? I haven’t seen that in a while.” When your bucket runs low, hey, just go to Him. He wants to share His joy with you. He’s glad—He’s the most generous person, if you will, God. He’s so generous in Him, and He’ll give you His joy.
Friend, there’s going to be times that your joy is low. And that’s such an important time that you say, “Lord, my joy is low. Would You share some of Your joy with me?” It’s amazing. It’s shocking what you get for asking sometimes. Just ask. “Asking, ye shall receive.” Asking for joy: “Lord, I’m running low on joy. I need joy.”
I know you’ve seen—I’m sure every person here in this room has seen these jets, a lot of times military jets, they’ll be flying. And then a large jet, you know, more like a container jet, if you will, a cargo jet, if you will. And in mid-air, that big jet will refuel the little jet, the fighter jet. That’s awesome. Fly along, and they see that big old arm come down there, and they’re refueling that jet in mid-air. And Jesus can come along and He can stretch that arm out, if you will, and He can refuel your joy in mid-flight. It’s amazing how He can do that. And He never runs out of joy. Never does. And He’s willing to share and give you His joy. It’s just so important when you’re… It’s all right to acknowledge that, “I’m really low on joy.” It’s all right. That’s the time. “Hey, Lord, I’m really low on joy. Would You refuel me?” He’s capable. He’s glad to help. He’s the greatest servant there ever has been. Go to Him. It’s a little humbling, if you will, to say, “Hey, my joy is really low.” Hey, He gives grace to the humble. “Lord, my joy, I’m just… it’s not there.” And that’s all right. That’s not a sin. That’s why He says it’s a sin not to rejoice all the time, but it’s not a sin—sometimes I think, “Well, Christians always got to be smiling.” That’s not reality, friend. Let’s be honest about it. But I am supposed to be always rejoicing. When I run low on joy, He can give you joy. He can give you the joy that you need.
Now, number nine, number nine: Abiding in His love allows His joy to remain in you.
Now, I’ll be honest with you, because we don’t all abide in His love perfectly, because we are all sinners, we all have leaky joy tanks. They all leak. I mean, unless you can walk on water—and if you can, I like to see it, amen! You know, I mean, I like to see that one for sure. Your tank is going to leak. My tank leaks. And your tank leaks. But when I abide in His love, it kind of plugs that hole up where it’s not leaking quite as much. And as I abide, if I can get to where I’m just abiding in His love, my tank’s not leaking like it was. It can remain. That’s what it’s talking about there in verse number 11. When He says right there, He says, “These things have I spoken… that My joy might remain.” Now, we’ll talk with you just a minute about some of the things He spoke to them, but it might remain. What? If you’re abiding in His love? That’s what it’s talking about, verse number 10: abiding in His love. And if you abide in His love, you say, “All right, and I need to go back.” Let me explain a little bit more. Verse number 11: “that My joy might remain in you.” These things have I spoken. What’s the thing? We’ll go back to verse number 10.
Verse number 10: “If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love, even as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you.” It’ll plug up the leaking tank, if you will. If you abide in—that’s why I think we mentioned this morning—it is so important that you focus on His love for you. So vital. I mean, in your prayer time, in your prayer closet, you shut the door, you ought to think about that every day. Man, God—think about God looking down at you at that moment, saying, “I love you.” Think about that, dwell on that. Abide in that. Everlasting love, never-ending love. If you battle that, I’d encourage you, Psalm 139 is a great chapter maybe to go through and meditate on that. But abide in His love. It’s so very, very important. You abide in His love, and that will plug up that leaky joy tank. So vital, very, very important.
Now, we’re to number 10. Number 10. Man, goodness, we only got two more to go. We’re moving along tonight. Number 10: You cannot abide in His love with unconfessed sins.
Verse number 10 right there. Go back to verse number 10, if you would, please. It starts off with that very big, short, two-letter word, “If”: “If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love,” and so on and so on. Now, here’s the thing. You say, “Well, nobody can keep His commandments all the time,” and you’re right. So what do we do? Look over in 1 John. Keep your finger there; we’ll go back, I think, one more time. Look over in 1 John, chapter number one. He’s talking to his children in 1st John. First John is very much about the family of God. We sang a lot tonight about the family of God. And 1st John is about the family of God. He uses this Greek word teknon. It has to do with my dear little children. He uses that word in this book of the Bible here. And he teaches us how we can fellowship or abide in Him over here in 1 John. We’re sinners. Verse number eight says, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” Verse number 10 says you’re going to sin. But it tells us how we are going to have fellowship or abide in Him. Look in verse number six. First John 1, verse number six: “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth.” Well, I’m abiding in His love, and yet you’re living a sinful life? No, you’re fooling yourself. You’re fooling you, and your joy is not going to be full. His joy is not going to remain in you. No, no, no, no. So what do I do? We all mess up. We all do. Verse number seven tells us…
“But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth us from all sin.” That’s how you abide in Him.
I mean, was it Charles Tensley? That great preacher years gone by, God used him in a great, great way. He started off as the son of a slave, and he grew in the Lord, got saved, and became a church janitor for—I mean, an ancient pastor of a great church in Philadelphia, I think it was. Boy, just thousands and thousands. God blessed him in such a great way. And someone came and said, “Hey, what’s the secret to your success?” And he said, “Every time, every time something happens, my job is to make sure there’s nothing between me and God.” He said, “That’s the key. I just always make sure.” And he’s the one who pinned that soul, “Nothing between my soul and the Savior.” Yeah. And that’s how you abide in Him because you’re going to sin, for it—I’m not endorsing this that goes sin big time—but I’m just saying you got blood flowing through your veins, and it’s from Adam.
Praise the Lord, Spirit. So we’re born again. You still got that flesh. And you abide in Him by keeping the avenue clear between you and God. Just moment by moment sometimes. Martin Luther said, “Keep short accounts with God.” Boom, you sin? Hey, man, get things right with God. Your prayer closet, man, you get thoroughly… you clean. You know, ladies, you’ll understand this better than I understand this, but my wife tells me about this. You know, there’s cleaning every day, but every spring or every fall or whatever, you do deep cleaning, you know. I mean, and that’s husbands, let me tell you, you better be careful when you come in and they say, “Did you notice anything different?” And you say, “Well, what’s going on?” You know? And they clean in the kitchen drawers, you know, back there where all the spoons and everything are. And you better get it right, husband, you don’t talk about it. Is this right, ladies, or not? Come on, is that good preaching? You’re right. That’s your prayer closet. You do deep cleaning. I think that’s why He doesn’t really talk about confessing your sin over the Model Prayer of the Lord’s Prayer till the end. Because after you spend time alone with God, boy, I tell you what, you’re really getting in the light, and it reveals things you never dreamed about. But you abide in Him as you get things right, and you walk hand in hand with Him. You’re close to Him. And you abide in Him, that His joy might remain in you. And it can. But it’s always, by the way, when you get things right, that’s when you get that plane flying over and it refuels your joy.
Number 11, we’re done. Number 11: In order to have fullness of joy—the Bible mentions that phrase so much—in order to have fullness of joy, you must enter into His presence. I’m talking about fullness of joy. He mentioned that verse, beloved, right there, verse… “These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, that your joy might be full,” abiding in Him. “If ye keep My commandments, and abide in My love.” Let me read for you a couple of Bible verses, if you would, very quickly here. First John 1:3. Well, if you’re in 1 John 1:3, maybe you’re still there. Look at verse number 3 right there. 1 John 1:3: “That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with the Son Jesus Christ.” And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. You abide, your fellowship—you’re entering in His presence. Acts 2:28: “Thou wilt make me full of joy with Thy countenance.” Psalm 16:11: “In Thy presence is fullness of joy.”
Man, you get a good glimpse of Him. I mean, you just get alone. Man, you can feel His presence, and God’s working, and you’re, man, you’re just enjoying sweet fellowship with Him. And it’s just like instantaneously your joy takes—it’s full, about to burst. Fine, you got a good glimpse of Him. To really have fullness of joy, that’s the only way to do it. The world, they can have some measure, some of that, but fullness of joy? No, no, no, no. It’s when you enter in His presence. Fullness of joy.
I love this. Someone said, “Joy is the flag that is flown from the castle of the heart when the king is in residence there.” That’s a good one. I don’t know. Repeat it. Joy is a flag which is flown from the castle of the heart when the king is in residence there. This old world needs Christians that have great joy. Man, that means something to them, and that stands out.
When I was a boy, I was—I don’t know—18 years old, and I worked there in the summertime during college also, but I worked at Sampson Metal and Machine in Lakeland, Florida. I was typically in the back fabrication shop, but up in front in the machine shop sometimes there. But there was a machinist there, and he just always seemed like he was a Christian, and he was open about it, a pretty good Christian, had a good testimony around the shop, but he always had joy. And as an 18-year-old boy, it spoke to my heart. Thirty-five years later, I still remember that. Can I be honest? I don’t know how much Bible he knows. I’m not even sure how he lived his life, but man, I knew he had joy. And it made an impression on me 35 years later. I still remember that. That’s what the world needs to see.
There was a preacher that was flying, and just happened to be an 11-year-old boy sitting beside him in the seat beside him in the plane. And man, some turbulence came up. And it was several years back, and maybe the plane wasn’t quite as good as nowadays. And they said it got rough. I mean, just a lot of up and down and bouncing around and all that. And the preacher had flown a lot, and he was fine with it. He wasn’t scared. He’d been through it so many times, you know. The little boy looked over at the preacher and he said, “Are you afraid?” That little boy was scared to death, by the way. Scared stiff. You know, this plane’s shaking all over. And the preacher, he smiled. And he said, “No, it’s real fun.” And the preacher said that boy just kind of relaxed, and he had fun with it too. Man, what a blessing when you look over and you see a Christian that has real joy. I can help a whole lot of people. And He says, “Hey, My joy to remain in you, that your joy may be full.”
Would you bow your heads and close your eyes please? Heads bowed, eyes are closed. You said, “Preacher, I need to work at this thing of rejoicing always.” I need to work at this thing of rejoicing always. God spoke to my heart. I need to work at this thing of rejoicing always. I need to work at this thing of rejoicing always. Matthew, and not sleep in the preacher, man, I need to work at this thing of rejoicing always. Me too, me too. God bless you. God bless you. Amen. Amen. Rejoice always. Good, wonderful, wonderful. Can I ask you this? You say, “Preacher, when my joy gets low, I’m going to add a new prayer in. I’m going to ask Him for His joy.” I mean, I’m just going to do my best to remember this truth from God’s Word: When my joy is low, I’m going to ask Him, “Would You give me some of Your joy?” I’m going to do that. Would you slip your hand up for you? I’m going to do that. When my joy is low, I’m going to ask You for Your joy. Oh, it’s good. He likes that. His joy never runs low. He can supply the need of the world. Amen. Amen. Thank you. Maybe here tonight I’m going to ask one more question. You say, “I need to get some things right so I can abide in His love. If ye keep My commandments, if I walk in the light, and there are some things I know I need to get right so I can abide in His love and that His joy might remain.” And I’m pretty sure there’s maybe something I never dreamed, but there are some things, maybe it’s a little thing, I need to get right so I can abide in His love. God spoke to my heart about that tonight. That’s you? Not slip your hand in the church. That’s me. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. Wonderful. Wonderful. Thank you. God bless you. Wonderful. Wonderful.
Would you please stand? We’re going to have a word of prayer. And let’s just draw from His joy tonight. Would you do that? Lord, thank You. You’ve got all the joy we need. I run so low sometimes. Thank You when we rejoice, we come to You. You’ve got all Your joy, and Lord, we want Your joy to remain in us. Lord, grow us for these truths. Thank You, Lord, for having joy available for Your people. Lord, help us to draw from it now. Jesus, then we pray. Amen.
Would you come? Just spend some time drawing from His joy. He’s got all the joy you need. He’s got it available. Would you do so? As your answer is prayed. Boy, it’s so encouraging to me to know I don’t have to muster up all this joy. He’s got joy available. I can just come draw from the never-ending, infinite joy supply through Jesus. It’s available for you. Let’s just draw from it tonight.
Amen. Glad you’re here on a Sunday night. Praise the Lord for that. Just your faithfulness. Amen, I am. Man, praise the Lord for people just day in, day out faithful. That’s just awesome. I appreciate it so very, very much. What a blessing it is. And that’s the key of the Christian life. Good to have everybody out tonight. And be praying all week, every day, at least some prayer. Bless Family Harvest Days. Change Life’s Family Harvest Days. Let somebody figure out Brother Gregory’s magic tricks, family heart. Don’t know, pray that the Lord will bless you and use Family Harvest Days. Would you do that in a great, great way? That’d be awesome. Brother Mark Hardy back there, would you dismiss with a word of prayer, please, sir?
Original File: Pastor Paul Chisgar - - How to Have Joy When You Have No Joy - Sunday PM 10092022