Sweet note from our student friend Marissa…
Many people today are walking around without joy or with what I call roller-coaster joy. I always seem to experience this roller-coaster joy; it peaks one moment before plummeting to the newest low. Why is it that most everyone lacks a fullness of joy and how can we get it?
To find some insight into these questions, I performed a search on blb.org, searching for the words “joy” and “full” together. There were three requirements for this fullness of joy. Interestingly, all three of these criteria come from John the disciple.
Joy comes from strong unwaivering faith in God. We must firmly believe in God’s Word. Aside from trust in God’s truth as the anchor for our life, we can never have lasting joy.
I John 1: 4 “And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.”
Joy comes when we know our prayers are heard and answered. We must pray in Jesus’ name. Seven times Jesus commands his disciples to ask the Father their requests in His name. These seven verses all have the same Greek phrase for “in my name” and are found in Matthew 18:20; John 14:13,14; 15:16; 16:23,24,26. Right before Jesus’ crucifixion, he wanted his disciples to understand that they were no longer going to be able to talk with Him face to face. They would lose the privilege of receiving whatever they requested from Him in person. Six times in three chapters (John 14-16) Jesus reiterates that they must begin to pray “in my name”. He said “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name [because they had no need to do this- they could simply ask Jesus Himself]: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. (John 16:23b-24)
Joy comes when we have a clear conscious. We must keep God’s commandments. Our joy comes when he is joyful over us. Obviously, God cannot be joyful over our sin, so He is joyful rather when we obey Him. This is a result of constantly dwelling in His presence whether it be by praying, fellowshipping, listening, studying, reading, or doing whatever task is required (by the Spirit’s strength of course). There is an old adage that states, “Praying lets us leave sinning, and sinning lets us leave praying”. I might add, “Praying lets us leave sinning, and sinning lets us leave praying and joy.”
John 15: 9-11: “As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. 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.”
So why don’t all Christians have a constant fullness of joy? Mainly because we are constantly battling against our flesh which is naturally bitter, unhappy, and anything but joyful. But it is also because we disobey God which affects His joy in us. When God is disappointed in us, our joy should rightly be curtailed, though not abolished because there is always joy in the hope of forgiveness. It is only when we are right with God again that our joy can regain its fullness. This is because God’s joy is complete once again in us. This principle is similar to that of a parent’s experience with their child. When a child has disobeyed their parent, the parent is disappointed and his or her joy in that child is temporarily subdued. Usually a child can sense their parent’s dissatisfaction and becomes likewise discontent and unjoyful. Finally, the child’s discomfort would usually lead him or her to mend the situation so joy can be once again restored.
Note: It is possible to have partial joy. Partial joy results in dissatisfaction and is what everyone experiences. What I am outlining, however, and what the Bible demands we have, is full joy – something largely lacking among Christians and especially us teens.
To summarize:
1. Joy starts with our certainty that God’s Word is truth. (I John 1:3)
2. Joy is compounded when we pray in “Jesus name” because we will see the result of our prayer. (John 16:24)
3. Joy’s ultimate abiding comes from dwelling in God’s presence and obeying His commands. (John 15:9-11)
Call to action: If you feel a lack of joy and don’t understand why, check yourself on these questions which all result in a suppression of joy if answered wrongly. Are you truly certain of God’s Word? You know what is in the Bible and believe with conviction that it is true? Do you pray in Jesus’ name? Are you in sin and unwilling to change your ways? Are you willing to change your behavior to be filled with joy? Are you in need of simply spending time in God’s presence for rejuvenation?
Rom 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.
I enjoy what William Newell writes in his commentary of Romans…
“The eighth chapter of Romans is the instinctive goal of the Christian. Whether or not he can tell why-Whether or not he can give the great doctrinal facts that give him comfort here, he is, nevertheless, like a storm-tossed mariner who has arrived at his home port, and has cast anchor, when he has come to Romans eight!
A believer in Jesus finds himself again in the hands of the blessed comforter, the Holy Spirit who has taken residence bringing us again to the life of abundance and peace. We are reminded of the great divine purpose that God has for us which is to be conformed into the image of Christ. We find ourselves again as His beloved and never separated from that love!
Isa 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool
Reminded of how fruit is a byproduct of that which is planted, watered, and nourished before the harvest is taken. Just had a sweet drop-in visitation from a father whose son attended our Men’s day pig roast a few weeks back. I had the opportunity to visit and challenge this young man. It was apparent that he was a sharp and well-read student. He explained that he didn’t want to just adopt his father’s faith in God until he did his own research. To that I commended him. But I challenged him to not get caught up in searching and seeking all things that are of counterfeit and invaluable. I encouraged him to settle who Jesus was. Our triune God, the Father, and the Holy Spirit, put all their stock in Jesus. You have to settle who Jesus is. Love the simple and profound question proposed by C.S. Lewis and carried through by Josh McDowell. Jesus had to be one of the three, The Lord like He said He was, a lunatic, or a liar. Religions and secular history cannot displace that Jesus was on the earth. His visitations were a profound impact on our world then and still affected by them today. Some just announce Jesus as a prophet. Others describe Him as a good teacher. But these associations would only conclude that Jesus were a lunatic or a liar, because Jesus came and proclaimed without any uncertainly that He was the Lord!
With just a week away before we head down to the Life Ministries Castle in PA for our annual Teen Retreat, the Lord has proven to be so faithful to us. He continues to meet with us in a special way. In the spring, we had the privilege to take a small team of students from Calvary Chapel Macedon, CC Rochester, and CC Finger Lakes to pioneer a rope course that will be used by church and youth groups for God’s Glory. Here is a video to help wet your appetite and to foster prayer for our week to come…
Our Lord is once again stirring my heart and reminding us that we have a distinct and purposeful calling to fulfill the Great Commission, I am in awe by the complexity of emotions as a young couple exchange vows. Reminded of how our Lord likens us, His church, as His bride…
“A beautiful bride-that’s the key to evangelism. Brides bypass intellects and capture hearts. Tough, calloused, hardened; men are known to weep in their presence. Men of steel melt and their wives get misty-eyed. Ideally, a bride is the epitome of all that is right and beautiful. She’s a symbol of purity, hope, purpose, trust, beauty, and wholeness in a world pockmarked with ugliness. The bride motif, found in both testaments, is used by God to illustrate his strategy for attacking mankind to his life-changing grace.”
–Joe Aldrich
God’s promise to Abraham was based on the principle of faith, not law or works.
For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect, because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression. Romans 4:13-15
All of God’s dealings with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob happened before the giving of the Mosaic Law. Their righteousness or right-ness with God was not based on the law or their good deeds. Their right-ness was based on God’s declaration of Abraham’s righteousness through faith.
“Faith is the ground of God’s blessing. Abraham was a blessed man, indeed, but he became heir of the world on another principle entirely - simple faith.” (Newell)
1 Samuel 17:36 Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.
This is often how the Lord prepares us. He desires us to be faithful in the things set before us. Even if they may seem small today, so we can prove faithful, knowing that He will entrust us with greater things in the days to come. First, it was caring for the sheep. Then, it was protecting them from the lion and the bear. Despite his youth, it was time to glorify the Lord and deliver the nation from the hand of the enemy. Stay encouraged my friends. God is always at work! I love what Spurgeon writes on the matter…
“When David was young in years he was old in experience, because he had watched the hand of the Lord in its dealings with him. He had not been an idler among the hills, but a worshipper, a worker, a student, a practical, living man of God . . . thus he gained his experience by the active discharge of his duty as a shepherd. He did what he was called upon to do with holy daring, and in so doing he learned the faithfulness of God. Many men have lions and bears, but no experience.” (Spurgeon)
We took a team of about twenty students to the Life Ministries castle in Franklin PA for a long weekend to create and assemble five low ropes course stations with a little under a mile of hiking trail to connect. We are amazed by what was accomplished. The volume of work that got done in two days and the quality of it truly glorifies the Lord. The key to our victory was certainly not natural talent…
But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.
When our Lord calls and equips us to task, it is not based on our natural talent, but by our heart. In fact we are often invited to task because of the Christ-like potential of our heart and not on its current state. That we may bring Him Glory.
Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matt 5:3.
We are Poor because of the spiritual poverty of a rebelliousness of a sinful heart. We will be blessed and our needs met as we ask of our precious Lord to be filled with His grace. We will be blessed and others will be blessed by His and only by His grace. Grace is an unearned gift. This is our only way we can genuinely imitate the beautiful character of our lord. Are you poor in spirit today? Ask of our Heavenly Father who is able.
The Apostle Paul, desiring to transfer the mind of Christ to his student in the Lord, Titus, he exhorts, “Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded.” Tts 2:6.
While reading through “Thoughts for Young Men,” by J.C. Ryle, the author warns us of some of the particular traits of young men. The first being pride. I admit, one of the first mistakes that many of us make whether in home or in the ministry as a young man, is to think we know the better way. Better than our parents, our teachers, our pastors. Consider this quote from J.C. Ryle…
“Young men, take to heart the Scriptures just quoted. Do not be too confident in your own judgment. Stop being so sure that you are always right, and others wrong. Don’t trust your own opinion, when you find it contrary to that of older men, and especially to that of your own parents. Age gives experience, and therefore deserves respect. ”
It is important that we stay in tune with the Spirit of God, stepping out in new ventures by His leading, but the balance is to remember the old paths…
Jer 6:16 Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where [is] the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk [therein].
This past week hundreds of students from and around Rochester, NY participated in The Flower City Work Camp. Students reached out to the city of Rochester by working on homes and sharing the love of Christ with kids through sidewalk clubs and basketball camps. Teams went on prayer walks, and prayed for a lot of people who they just happened to come into contact with while on the street.
I have participated in Flower City for three years and this was my last as a student. In past years I have been extremely blessed by Worshiping God with hundreds of students, but this year was different for me. As a senior I have many things on my mind and these often distract me when I am worshiping. But regardless, I struggled to worship with all of my heart, mind, and strength. I did not feel “into it.” This was quite frustrating. As I kept my heart clean and prayed, I just didn’t understand what was wrong. Then, on Thursday, as my team was leaving our sidewalk club location, one of my friends reminded me that Worship is not about how I feel. It’s not about the music being good or the people’s voices being on key or any of that. It’s about Jesus! It’s us singing to the Creator of the universe! Later that night, the speaker said essentially the same thing. Doing what God has called us to do is NOT ABOUT HOW WE FEEL! It’s about giving God everything we are and are not and letting Him use us. And obeying Him! Because He is worthy! He has saved us! The Bible calls it our “reasonable service.” We were challenged to worship God with everything we had. To “sing and dance till we were so sweaty that our friends told us we stank.” So at that moment I made up my mind to do that. To worship God with everything I had, even though I did not feel like it. And we did! God’s presence filled the room and we ended up singing the line “Holy, Holy, are You Lord God Almighty, Worthy is the Lamb, Worthy is the Lamb, You are Holy” for an hour! I couldn’t help but think about how in the book of Revelation the beasts sing “Holy, Holy, Holy, Holy, Worthy, Worthy, Worthy is the lamb that was slain.” I believe that night I got a small taste of what eternity will be like in Heaven. So, all this is to basically say, worship God with everything that you have and don’t let your feelings hold you back! And don’t just worship Him when you sing at church. Worship Him with your life!
