Fullness of Joy

Well, please take your Bibles and open them up this morning to the book of Psalms.

The book of Psalms.

And our passage this morning is just one verse, mercifully short for you this morning.

Psalm 1611.

But don't get any ideas.

I promise a full-length sermon for you.

We will walk through the entire Psalm, but focus in on Psalm 16, verse 11.

Psalms 16:11

And so when you found that, let's stand in honor of the reading of God's Word this morning.

Psalm 16, verse 11.

Psalms 16:11

David writes,

You make known to me the path of life.

In your presence there is fullness of joy.

At your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Let's pray.

Father, we thank you, God, that this verse is true.

Lord, we thank you that there is endless joy and endless pleasure to be had in your presence.

And so we pray now, as we've already asked God, that you would move our hearts to seek it in you.

And we pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

You may be seated.

We're here in the month of January.

We spend a little bit of time focusing in on our mission and our vision as a church.

Who are we?

What do we exist for?

What are we up to here at Seawee Bay?

Our mission as a church,

we exist to magnify the glory of God in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Treg showed us this mission last week from Revelation chapter 5,

Revelation 5 · chapter mention

this grand gospel plan.

God's mission, we believe, in all of human history,

God's mission is God's glory.

And so because this is God's mission,

this is also our mission.

Our mission as a church is to magnify the glory of God.

Our mission is God's glory.

But that raises an important question,

and it's a question that every church has to answer

and every individual Christian has to answer.

It's a question that really ought to shape the way that we live

and the way that we approach our plans

and our hopes for the coming year.

And that question is how?

And so for the next three weeks,

we're going to answer that question.

How do we as a church plan to magnify the glory of God?

What are we going to do?

What's on the agenda for Seawee Bay in 2026?

And we could answer that question in a lot of ways, couldn't we?

I think it's a temptation for all of us,

even especially me in leadership, the pastors here,

to start off a new year thinking and dreaming

of all the big things that we might want to do for God this year.

All the good things even, right?

We want to give generously this year.

We want to support the church in Ghana this year

with our partner, Yvonne, over there in Navrongo.

We want to share the gospel with our friends

and our family members this year.

We want to read our Bible all the way through this year.

We want to, you fill in the blank

with whatever that might be for you.

But we need to back up

because there is one foundational answer

that all of us have to give first.

Here it is.

Before we go and do anything else,

this is primary,

we must seek to enjoy God this year.

We exist to magnify the glory of God

in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

How?

Answer number one,

by enjoying Him.

So here's my argument this morning,

and I think that we'll see it all through Psalm 16 here.

Delight in God is key to glorifying God.

Delight in God is key to truly honoring God.

In other words,

to truly honor Him,

you must truly enjoy Him.

And if joy is absent,

then do all the good things you want,

but at the end of the day,

it's ultimately empty and meaningless

unless enjoyment of God is right at the center.

So let's see it in our psalm this morning.

I want to ask the question this morning,

why enjoy?

Of all the things that we could say,

of all the things that we could emphasize as a church,

why do we say that we want to enjoy God?

Why do we want to make that such a big deal?

Why is this one of our three answers

for how we magnify the glory of God?

Why should you, individual Christian,

why should you pursue joy in the Lord this year?

I'm glad you asked.

I have seven answers.

Seven reasons why,

here from Psalm 16.

Seven reasons why,

and then we'll get practical,

and we'll ask how.

How?

So first, seven reasons why we pursue joy in the Lord.

First, enjoy Him

because we were created to enjoy Him.

Reason number one,

enjoy Him because we were created to enjoy Him.

Jonathan Edwards preached a sermon in 1728

called Safety, Fullness, and Sweet Refreshment in Christ.

You know, sermon titles were better back then.

And he opened up by asking the question,

what is it that the soul of every man

naturally and necessarily craves?

And he answers his own question,

and he says,

the soul of every man necessarily craves happiness.

This is universal.

All of us crave happiness.

And so then the answer becomes,

well, where do we find it?

Where do we seek it?

Where do we look to be truly satisfied and happy?

David, here in Psalm 16,

he seems to have found the answer, doesn't he?

Look there to verse 2.

He says,

I say to you, Lord,

you are my Lord.

I have no good apart from you.

In other words,

he believes that God is His greatest and His highest good.

He delights in Him.

And so he says again, verse 11,

in your presence, God,

is fullness of joy.

Now your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

This whole psalm from beginning to end

is just bursting at the seams with this theme,

this expression of joy in the Lord, isn't it?

David truly believes that God is the source of all true,

full, endless, perfect joy.

This is the joy that we crave.

Why?

Because we were created for it.

And when we enjoy God as we were created to do,

guess what happens?

When we enjoy Him as we were made to enjoy Him,

we then glorify Him

as we were made to glorify Him.

The Westminster Shorter Catechism,

it asks the question,

what is the chief end of man?

Anybody know the answer?

Man's chief end is,

help me out.

Yeah, y'all are good.

Y'all nailed it.

Man's chief end,

his ultimate purpose,

his reason for existing

is to glorify God

and to enjoy Him forever.

You see, these two things are bound up together.

God's glory and our joy.

John Piper famously puts his own spin

on that answer to say

that man's chief end

is to glorify God

by enjoying Him forever.

In other words, as he says,

God is most glorified in us

when we are most satisfied in Him.

As you delight in Him more and more and more,

as you taste fullness of joy in His presence

more and more and more,

you are aligning with your God-given purpose,

your reason for existing,

and you bring God more and more and more glory.

So, reason number one

why we make such a big deal out of this,

you were made for it.

And the chief end of your life,

the chief end of this church,

is to glorify God

by enjoying Him forever.

Second reason.

Enjoy Him

because this is how you bulletproof your faith.

This is how you bulletproof your faith.

You all know what I mean by bulletproofing.

There's a lot of talk

in the world of fitness

about bulletproofing your knees.

And when I hear that,

my ears perk up

because I got bad knees.

Or bulletproofing your shoulders, right?

Those are areas that are prone to injury,

dick.

Amen?

And so there are whole fitness regiments

that are built around protecting

those sensitive areas of your body

and building up the muscle groups

so that when the tension comes,

when the issue comes,

when stress is applied

to that part of your body,

you are ready for it.

Or think about it like this.

I know that some of y'all

are doomsday preppers, right?

Be honest.

Front row.

I'm looking right here.

I know who I'm talking to.

Your bunker is ready.

The food supply is set.

Guns and ammo are loaded up,

ready to go.

The generator is fueled up

and ready to go.

You are ready in the event of danger,

aren't you?

We need to ask ourselves

if we prepare our soul

in the very same way.

Are you prepared for

when the trial comes your way?

When, not if.

Look there to verse 1.

The trial has come to David.

We don't know exactly what this trial is,

but if you were to just throw a dart

at any of the Psalms

and you just said,

I think the Psalm

is about David being in trouble,

you would probably be right.

He cries out to the Lord

in verse 1,

preserve me, O God.

Help me.

Save me.

Keep me alive.

Why can he call out like this?

Preserve me,

for in you I take refuge.

Preserve me,

for you are my God.

Preserve me,

for you are my only good.

Do you see the order here?

He delights in God,

and this delight in God

anchors his faith

when the trouble comes.

And this is what he says in verse 8.

Look there.

He says,

I've set the Lord always before me

because he is at my right hand.

I shall not be shaken.

How do you bulletproof your faith?

For when the trials come,

friend,

you pursue delight in the Lord right now.

I'll give you one more example

from our own church.

On Christmas Eve,

I talked with the Kennys,

and they shared with me

about how hard it is for them

around Christmas

to be separated from their son.

And here's what Scott said to me.

He said,

yes, it is hard,

but when I focus on what I do have

and pursue joy in Him,

who I do have

and make Him the focus of my heart

rather than what I'm missing,

then I'm okay.

And I thought,

man, that's it, isn't it?

That's the type of bulletproof faith

I want all of us to have.

Number three,

third reason to pursue joy in the Lord.

Enjoy Him

because that is how we love others.

Look there to verse 3.

David moves straight

from this vertical delight in God,

Him and God vertically,

individually,

to horizontal delight in God's people.

Look at what he says,

verse 3.

He says,

as for the saints in the land,

they are the excellent ones.

He's praising them

in whom is all my delight.

And you read that

and it almost seems contradictory,

doesn't it?

He was just saying,

all of His good is in God.

All His delight is in God.

I thought that all your delight

was in the Lord, David.

But now,

He says,

all His delight is in God's people.

The truth is,

that's not contradictory at all.

That's exactly how it ought to be.

There is an unbreakable connection

between enjoying God

and enjoying God's people.

When you love God

and enjoy God,

you begin to love what God loves

and enjoy what God enjoys.

And there is no doubt,

is there?

God loves and enjoys His people.

God, from eternity past,

planned for His people

to be with Him

for all of eternity.

Let me tell you something.

You don't want to spend all eternity

with someone you don't enjoy.

Jesus came,

died for His church.

She is the bride of Christ.

She is His own body.

Jesus delights in the church.

He loves His people.

Do we love the church

like Christ loves the church?

Do you love and enjoy

what God loves and enjoys?

It's become somewhat popular

to say something like,

I love Jesus,

but I'm not so sure about His people.

Have you heard that?

I'm good with Jesus,

but it's His followers

that I don't want anything to do with.

Or even,

I'm okay with my individual walk with Jesus.

I don't need anybody else

to be a part of that.

And to be honest,

sometimes I get that, okay?

I understand the sentiment.

But the Bible really doesn't give us

that option, does it?

Love for God

necessarily

overflows

into love for God's people.

Delight in God

necessarily

overflows

into delight

in God's people.

So much so

that John tells us

one of the primary ways

the world knows

that we belong to Him

is our love

for one another.

If we have trouble

with this,

if we view the church

just as an optional

add-on to your walk

with Christ,

something you just

got to put up with,

if you need to grow

in your love

for one another,

how do you do it?

It starts with growing

in your delight

in Him.

And then out of that,

you love what He loves.

Fourth.

Fourth reason.

Enjoy Him

because counterfeits

are constantly

competing with Him.

Enjoy Him

because counterfeits

are constantly

competing with Him

for our heart's affections.

We were created for joy.

Remember that?

Point number one.

We were made for joy.

We're hardwired

to seek happiness.

So we will seek it

and we will find

some form of it

either in God

or in a counterfeit.

Think of it like this.

You seek food.

You probably woke up

this morning

seeking food.

Your body needs

a certain amount

of calories

in order for it

to keep going.

But the difference

for your body

between 500 calories

of chicken

and rice

and veggies

and 500 calories

of a big bowl

of chocolate ice cream

is night and day

different, isn't it?

And if you make

an entire diet

out of ice cream,

it might taste good

for a little bit,

but that type of diet,

eventually,

hopefully this is

no surprise to you,

eventually that type

of diet

will kill you.

See, the devil,

our enemy,

wants you

to fill up

on spiritual

junk food.

In our culture,

every single day,

all the time,

every hour,

every minute,

it offers it to us

every single day.

It just lures us

and entices us

to come

and fill up

on junk

that looks good,

looks appealing,

tastes good

for a minute,

but truly does not

ultimately satisfy.

And when you snack

on that,

you have no appetite

for what's truly

nourishing

and satisfying

for your soul.

David sees this issue

and he calls our attention

to it here in verse 4.

He says,

the sorrows of those

who run after

another God

shall multiply.

Do you see

two paths here?

one path

ends in

multiplication

of sorrows

and the other

ends in

fullness of joy.

One

promises

satisfaction

but never

delivers.

The other

promises

satisfaction

and gives it

in full.

One is

spiritual junk food,

the other is

a feast

of spiritual

joy.

David sees

these two categories

of people

and he makes it clear

he is not

one of those

who run after

false gods.

He won't even

speak of them.

He says,

their drink offerings

of blood

I will not

pour out

or take their

names on my

lips.

He understands

false gods

threaten

real joy.

John Calvin

says it like this

about those

who run after

false gods.

He says,

ultimately

they leave them

unsatisfied,

famished,

and disappointed.

They may

intoxicate

and glut

themselves

with pleasures

to the

greatest excess

but instead

of being

satisfied

they rather

become

wearied of

them through

loathing

and besides

the pleasures

of this world

vanish away

like dreams.

Have you ever

experienced this?

I know I have.

He goes on

and says

the true

and solid

joy

in which

the minds

of men

may rest

will never

be found

anywhere else

but in

God

and therefore

none but

the faithful

who are

contented with

his grace

alone

can be

truly

and

perfectly

happy.

Do you

want to be

happy?

Of course

you do.

Don't let

counterfeits

steal away

your joy.

Seek to

delight the

Lord

in his

presence.

There is

fullness

joy.

But also

fifth

quickly

here

fifth

reason

enjoy

him

because

that's

how we

rightly

enjoy

his

gifts.

Enjoy

him

because

that is

how we

rightly

enjoy

his

gifts.

I just

want to

quickly

address

this

because

I do

want

to be

clear

that

many

of

the

things

that

we

try

to

find

ultimate

satisfaction

in

are

not

necessarily

bad

things

in and

of

themselves

are

they?

What is

an

idol?

What is

an

idol?

Idols

are

usually

good

things

that

we

elevate

to

be

God

things.

Family

is a

wonderful

gift.

Food

is a

wonderful

gift.

Money

is a

wonderful

gift.

Provision

of our

needs

is a

wonderful

gift.

But

only

when we

first

delight

in

him

are

we

able

to

rightly

enjoy

all

of

his

good

gifts.

It

puts

it

all

into

perspective

here.

Delight

in

God

brings

contentment

with

all

of

God's

gifts

whether

it's

in

much

or

in

little.

Look

there

to

verse

five.

David

says

the

Lord

is

my

chosen

portion

and

my

cup.

You

hold

my

lot.

In

other

words

everything

I

have

comes

from

you.

You're

the

giver

of

every

good

gift.

But

at

the

end

of

the

day

David

says

you

are

the

gift.

You

are

my

portion.

And

whatever

else

you

give

to

me

that's

just

icing

on

the

cake.

Remember

David

is

in

trouble

here

near

the

point

of

death

and

he's

saying

this.

He

says

in

verse

six

the

lines

have

fallen

for

me

in

pleasant

places.

He's

almost

dead.

Indeed

!

I

have

a

beautiful

inheritance.

Ask

yourself

with

all

of

your

!

thoughts

!

some

goals

for

the

new

year!

All

of

your

ambition!

Ask

yourself

are

you

satisfied

with

what

you

have?

It's

not

wrong

to

desire

things,

bigger

house,

better

job,

a

raise,

better

health,

that is

all

fine.

But

is

your

heart

content

to

know

that

in

him

you

have

a

beautiful

inheritance?

Can

you say

with

David

that the

lines

have

fallen

for

you

in

pleasant

places,

that

you've

given

me

above

and

beyond

what

I

need

because

my

joy

is

in

you.

And

not

just

for

a

moment.

For

in

the

good

news

of

the

gospel

is

that

all

who

enjoy

him

now

truly,

you

get

to

enjoy

him

in

fullness

of

joy

for

the

rest

of

eternity.

This

is

reason

number

six.

Reason

number

six.

Enjoy

him

because

those

who

do

will

do

so

for

the

rest

of

eternity.

Now

that's

shocking,

isn't

it?

Because

where

else

can

you

find

this?

For

everything

else,

the grave

is the

end

of your

joy.

If

your

joy

is

ultimately

in

money

or

in

relationships,

in

any

sort

of

worldly

gain,

worldly

pleasure,

it

will

be

in

the

span

of

eternity,

short

lived,

death

will

be

the

end

of

it

for

you.

But

if

your

joy

is

in

the

Lord,

David

says

he

believes

that

that

joy

continues

even

beyond

the

grave.

Look

there

to

verse

nine.

David

says,

therefore

my heart

is glad

and my

whole

being

rejoices.

My

flesh

also

dwells

secure

for

you

will

not

abandon

my

soul

to

Sheol

or

let

your

holy

one

see

corruption.

How can

he say

this?

Because

David,

he doesn't

know he

might actually

die because

of this

trial,

whatever it

is.

He

doesn't

know how

this is

going to

turn out

for him,

but he

believes

and he

rejoices

with his

whole

being

because he

believes

that even

the grave

won't steal

his

joy.

He

believes

that his

delight in

God

will last

even

beyond

the grave.

It's the

only eternal

joy there

is.

If you

want

eternal

joy,

it must

be attached

to an

eternal

good.

David

knows

this and

he believes

that his

joy in

his eternal

God will

last into

eternity.

What he

didn't know

most likely

was that he

was speaking

prophetically

not just

about him

and his

security,

but ultimately

about the

coming Messiah,

Jesus Christ.

This is what

Peter says

in Acts

Acts 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2.

He stands

up and he

quotes this

psalm,

Psalm 16,

and he

says in

Acts

Acts 2:25

chapter 2

verse 25,

he says

David wrote

all of

this,

he said

all of

this ultimately

about

Jesus.

He says

brothers I

may say

to you

with confidence

about the

patriarch David

that he

both died

and was

buried.

His tomb

is with

us to

this day.

Being

therefore a

prophet and

knowing that

God had

sworn with

an oath to

him that

he would

set one

of his

descendants

on his

throne,

he foresaw

and spoke

about the

resurrection

of Christ

that he

was not

abandoned to

Hades,

nor did

his flesh

see corruption.

This

Jesus

God

raised up

and of

that we

are all

witnesses.

This

psalm,

like all

the psalms,

are ultimately

fulfilled,

they're ultimately

about Christ.

Christ

Jesus of

all people

knew what

it was to

live a life

enjoying God.

Christ

Jesus of

all people

lived a

life of

fullness of

joy.

He lived a

life of

joy in

God that

overflowed in

love for

people.

He lived a

life of

joy in

God that

overflowed in

obedience to

the Lord.

A life of

joy in

God that

overflowed into

worship.

Jesus of

all people

truly delighted

in God.

And so

when he

went to

the grave

for us

and like

David cried

out to

the Lord,

what happened?

God did

not abandon

his soul

to the

grave or

let his

holy one

see

corruption.

Jesus,

the one

who truly

delighted in

God,

triumphed over

the grave

so that

now all

who come

to him

in faith,

all who

delight in

him,

share his

victory over

the grave.

Now all

who come to

him in

faith will

enjoy fullness

of joy in

his presence

for the rest

of eternity.

So,

number seven,

here's our

summary verse.

Enjoy him

because in

him alone

can we find

real lasting

joy.

Verse 11,

in your

presence

there is

fullness of

joy.

At your

right hand

are pleasures

forever

more.

Church,

do you

believe this?

do you

live as if

it were

really true?

That you

have access

to fullness

of joy

in God

through Christ?

Is our

church marked

by joy?

Jonathan

Edwards preached

another sermon,

he did that

a lot,

called

The Christian

Pilgrim.

And he

says this,

he says,

God is the

highest good

of the

reasonable

creature.

And the

enjoyment

of him

is the

only

happiness

with which

our souls

can be

satisfied.

To go

to heaven

fully to

enjoy God

is infinitely

better than

the most

pleasant

accommodations

here.

Fathers

and mothers,

husbands,

wives,

or children,

the company

of earthly

friends are

but shadows.

But the

enjoyment of

God is the

substance.

These are

but scattered

beams,

but God

is the

sun.

These are

but streams,

but God

is the

fountain.

These are

but drops,

but God

is the

ocean.

Therefore,

it becomes

us to

spend this

life only

as a

journey

towards

heaven,

as it

becomes

us to

make the

seeking of

our highest

end and

proper good

the work

of our

lives,

to which

we should

subordinate

all other

concerns

of life.

Does this

add up

with your

own heart

this morning?

Does it

line up

with your

goals for

the year?

Does it

line up

with your

expectations

for what

you think

this church

ought to be

and ought

to do?

Friend,

I believe

with all my

heart that

there is

nothing more

important for

us to do

than to

delight

ourselves

in

him.

So that

is why.

Now,

let's finish

by asking

how.

I want

to just

get practical

here.

How do

we enjoy

him?

And we'll

start

individually

and then

we'll move

out from

there.

First of

all,

if you

are not

a Christian,

if you're

hearing this

for the

first time,

if you've

been putting

this off,

listen,

your new

life starts

right here.

Not with

you doing

something for

God,

but with

you delighting

in God.

before you

pass go

and think

about what

you must

do and

all the

things that

you can

go do

for God.

Here is

your call

right here

at the

start of

the year

to look

to the

cross of

Christ

and see

God as

infinitely

satisfying

for your

soul.

Here's

the call,

friend,

to turn

from

counterfeit

gods

that offer

satisfaction

but never

deliver,

put your

faith in

Christ.

In his

presence

there is

fullness of

joy.

At his

right hand

are pleasures

forevermore.

Come to

Christ and

say with

David,

you are

my

Lord,

you are

my

only

good.

And

then,

and only

then,

let's ask

together,

how do

we pursue

enjoyment

of God

as an

individual

Christian?

And the

answer,

it really

is simple.

it's not

flashy,

it's not

complicated.

God has

given what

we call

the ordinary

means of

grace to

this very

end.

Primarily,

a regular

steady diet

of the

word of

God and

a regular

constant

conversation

with him

in prayer.

these are

the means

God has

given us

to know

him and

enjoy him

and glorify

him forever.

Share another

story with

you.

George

Mueller,

I know

I've talked

about him

before.

He ran

an orphanage

for over

10,000

children

throughout

his lifetime.

He wrote

in his

journal about

an important

discovery he

made one

day in

1854,

and here's

what he

said.

He said,

the first

great and

primary

business to

which I

ought to

attend every

day is

to have

my soul

happy in

the Lord.

The first

thing to be

concerned about

was not

how much I

might go

serve the

Lord,

how much

I might

glorify the

Lord,

but how I

might get

my soul

into a

happy

state,

and how

my inner

man might

be nourished,

for I

might seek

to set

the truth

before the

unconverted,

I might

seek to

benefit

believers,

I might

seek to

relieve the

distressed,

I might

in other

ways seek

to behave

myself as

it becomes

the child

of God

in this

world,

and yet

not being

happy in

the Lord,

and not

being nourished

and strengthened

in my inner

man day

by day,

all this

might not

be attended

to in the

right spirit.

Do you

hear the

priority

here?

Get my

soul happy

in the

Lord.

He ended

that note

saying how

different when

the soul is

refreshed and

made happy early

in the morning

from what it is

when without

spiritual preparation,

the service,

the trials,

the temptations

of the day

come upon me.

A first

order,

first thing,

get my

soul happy

in the

Lord.

How did

he do

it?

His

practice

was to

get up

early

and read

and meditate

on the

word of

God,

and then to

let that

turn into

spill over

into prayer,

and then off

to the rest

of his day.

Now,

you can figure

out the best

rhythm for

you,

okay?

I know

everybody's

schedule's

different.

Some of

you all

wake up

at the

crack of

dawn,

get in

the car,

go to

work.

Moms,

young moms,

some of

you have

obligations,

responsibilities

tugging at

you almost

constantly every

moment.

The rhythm,

you figure that

out for

yourself,

okay?

But here's

my suggestion.

Make a

plan to

get your

soul satisfied

in God

every single

day.

How?

By coming

to the

word of

God,

and then by

responding to

him in

prayer.

Do you

have a

plan for

this?

When will

you read

the word

this year?

And why

not take

the afternoon

this afternoon

and make

a plan for

the rest

of the

week if

you haven't

done so

already?

When will

I meet

with God

to get

my soul

happy in

him?

Go ahead

and make

a plan

for the

month.

That's

okay.

Plan

out for

the whole

year.

If you

miss a

day or

two,

that's

okay.

When

will

you

read?

When

will

you

spend

time

with

the

Lord?

When

will

you

feed

your

inner

man?

Plan

for

prayer.

Make

an

appointment

with

God

and

don't

blow

him

off.

Set

time

aside

with

him

for

the

purpose

of

enjoying

him.

But

it's

not

just

individuals,

is it?

Broaden

that circle

out.

And your

families,

do you

have a

plan

for

your

family

and

for how

you

will

delight

in

him

together?