Joyful Life

Good morning, Sir Pauls. I join you live from the living room of the rectory.

Well, actually, it's not live. This was filmed last week.

Right now, James and I are in Indianapolis for the Gospel Coalition National Conference.

We met with the brothers and sisters at Mosaic Church in Little Rock, Arkansas, yesterday

to look at what they do as a multi-ethnic church.

So we send you our love from the United States, and we're praying for you

that you're having a great morning of fellowship as you gather

and discovering joy in the Lord.

That may not also be the case because there was an article in the Sydney Morning Herald

a couple of years ago that was just titled, Cheer Up Sydney.

The article suggested that we Sydneysiders possess a legendary preference for complaint.

Whether it's property prices, Saturday morning traffic, or the cost of living,

few things appear to escape the gloomy outlook through which we as citizens see the world.

A recent survey concluded that Sydney is not only unhappy with present circumstances,

but quite cynical about the future.

Things like the cost of living and traffic and housing affordability were the most pressing concerns,

and yet nearly one-third suggested it was just a general frustration with the pace and the stress of life

when you've got things like laundry and children to raise.

Ironically, Sydney, however, is ranked as among the ten most liveable cities in the world

by a whole range of different organisations.

There's a lot to love about our city.

There are more jobs and higher wages and good education opportunities and strong support services.

And then there's the cultural bounty.

Maybe not quite as much as Melbourne, but we've got festivals and beaches and parks and sport.

It is, in fact, objectively Australia's number one city.

Psychologist Susie Green, who's the CEO of the Positivity Institute,

says that Sydneysiders have plenty of reasons to cheer up, and she put it really simply.

She says, we live in one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

We're not living in a war-torn country.

So it can be a little confusing that we live in one of the top ten liveable cities in the world,

yet we appear to be pretty much a miserable bunch of people.

What about you?

Is your life characterised by joy?

If circumstances are the issue, that's how we get joy,

then we should be, frankly, happier than most,

and yet the reality is we're not.

And I'm pretty sure this morning that no matter where you are on the joy scale,

none of us would complain about getting a little bit more joy in our life.

I'm pretty sure all of us would be keen to increase in some level of joy.

So we'll see in John 16 today

that encountering the resurrected Jesus guarantees joy.

In chapters 14, 16, and 17 of John,

Jesus is repeatedly telling his disciples that he has a joy to give them.

Now, this is just before his execution, and he knows it's coming.

And this is when his disciples are distraught with the news that Jesus is leaving them.

So this is a profound joy in the midst of dark circumstances.

So this morning, there are three things that I want us to see from John 16.

Firstly, the promise and reality of joy.

Secondly, the nature of joy.

And thirdly, how is it possible that we might be growing in joy?

So firstly, the promise and reality of joy.

And I've got these outlines in your St. Paul's app, if you can open that up now.

Jesus Christ says that if you meet me and come to know me,

you'll have a joy that is deep and powerful and is now.

He says that joy is inevitable when you meet him.

Notice in the text, in verses 16 to 19, we have this phrase,

in a little while.

It's repeated a number of times.

And it's all to do with what Jesus says in verse 16.

In a little while, you will see me no more.

And then after a little while, you will see me again.

Now, there's a few different layers of meaning here.

But essentially, Jesus is talking to his disciples about his death,

his burial in a tomb, and resurrection on the third day.

He's saying, I'm going to die, and you're going to be distraught.

But when you see me again as the resurrected Lord,

you will rejoice.

All of them.

Not just the more emotional ones of them,

or the ones with the better lives.

But all of them will rejoice.

Let me just emphasize something here.

Just bear with me for a little bit.

Jesus isn't saying that you rejoice at my second coming,

although they will.

He isn't saying when you die and you go to heaven,

you will then rejoice,

although they will.

Jesus is saying when you see me resurrected,

you will rejoice.

This is not just a promise for the first disciples.

This is for us now, today.

This is so essential.

Just indulge me just a little bit more.

You may not be aware of this,

but to this day,

no one knows the location of the tomb

where Jesus was laid for three days after his crucifixion.

No one.

There's a few guesses.

By 120 AD,

Christians were not even sure where it was anymore.

Why is that?

Why is it when the tombs of every religious founder and prophet

have been venerated and turned into a shrine,

that is,

they are places of pilgrimage to this day,

why is it that we don't know Jesus?

When Osama bin Laden was finally found and killed,

he was immediately buried at sea

because the United States government

didn't want his burial location

turned into a shrine,

a pilgrimage place

for radical Islamists.

So how come the Christians forgot about the tomb of Jesus?

The reason is,

when you have Jesus,

you don't need his tomb.

In the same way that

when I have my daughters,

their rooms,

their things,

their artwork,

and it's just,

it's not as important.

If I've got my daughters,

their shoes and their clothing and their toys

and their exercise books

are just not as important.

If, however,

one of my daughters goes away

or leaves for a very long time

or dies,

then all of a sudden

their scribblings become important.

The photos,

the exercise books,

the letters,

their favourite toys,

all of a sudden

they take on

a great more meaning

because it's all I've got left.

The reason the tomb

didn't matter to the early Christians

is because they had Jesus.

Real Christianity

is to meet

the risen,

reigning Lord Jesus.

Friends,

we don't need a relic

because we have him.

There is an alive

and active relationship

with Jesus now

available to everyone.

See,

Christianity doesn't just promise

incredible joy at the end,

pie in the sky if you like.

It promises it now.

When you meet the risen Lord,

you rejoice.

This is as true for us now

as it was for the first disciples.

In fact,

the illustration of the woman

giving birth

in the middle of the text

declares it too.

Jesus says,

Joy is like a woman in labour.

When the time has come,

she has the child.

Now,

I've watched a woman

give birth

on three separate occasions.

It's Natalie,

just in case I need

to clarify that.

Now,

one thing I do know

about childbirth

is that when it's time,

it's time.

There's no stopping it.

Now,

and I'm pretty sure

that I would have suffered

physical violence

if I had said,

can you just hold on,

honey,

until tomorrow?

You know,

like I'm looking

for an early night tonight.

Just,

you know,

put it off until tomorrow.

The reality,

you can't even hold it

for five minutes.

I remember running to cars

and running through hospitals.

When it's time,

it's time.

And what Jesus is saying here

is that if you meet him,

you will have joy.

It's inevitable.

It's got to be there.

We are not Christians

without this joy.

I wonder

whether,

if you've ever noticed

how much the Bible,

in fact,

speaks of joy.

Here's a,

here's a sample.

I won't give you

all the references,

but here's just a sample.

Rejoice in the Lord always.

And again,

I say,

rejoice.

The statues of the Lord

are right,

rejoicing the heart.

Serve the Lord

with gladness.

You shall go out with joy

and be led forth with peace.

The Lord will rejoice

in doing you good.

Rejoice,

for your names

are written in heaven.

I bring news

of great joy.

These things I speak,

that your joy

might be full.

The disciples

were filled with joy

and the Spirit.

Rejoice in hope.

We rejoice

in our sufferings.

The joy of the Lord

is your strength.

The fruit of the Spirit

is joy.

What is the essence

of Christianity?

What does it mean

to be part

of God's kingdom?

Paul tells us

in Romans 14,

Romans 14:17

verse 17,

what the mark

of being

in the kingdom

of God are.

It's,

strangely,

not what you eat,

it's not how you dress,

not rules you keep.

He says,

the kingdom of God

is not a matter

of eating

and drinking,

but of righteousness,

peace,

and joy

in the Holy Spirit.

So Jesus says

to his disciples

in verse 20,

you will grieve,

but your grief

will turn to joy.

Joy is the inevitable

when we meet

the resurrected Jesus

who is alive

and reigning

now.

Jesus promises

joy.

It's real.

If joy,

therefore,

is inevitable

for the Christian,

how can it be

that so many Christians

are just morose?

Remember in Luke 1

when the pregnant Mary

and the pregnant Elizabeth

come together

and at the sound

of Mary's voice,

the baby John

the Baptist

in Elizabeth's womb,

it says,

jumped for joy.

Just at the sound

of her voice.

Psalm 96

says that when

Jesus Christ

comes back,

the trees of the forest

will sing for joy.

So if the trees

and the babies

in the womb

and anything else

that gets near Jesus

leap and sing

for joy,

then why aren't we?

joy is like a tree.

The Bible

isn't commanding us

to have a feeling here.

It isn't calling us

to force our feelings.

The Bible's not saying

two plus two

equals five.

The Bible is,

however,

searching us.

Is there something

that we are doing

that's stopping joy

in our life?

There are certainly

times of grief.

But joy is like a tree.

It's not always green.

It's not always flourishing.

Joy can grow

in the drought

in the same way

a tree can grow

in the drought.

But is there something

that is stopping you

from seeing

what you have

in Jesus?

Is there a

comparatively

small thing

causing you

to be upset

and stopping you

to see

what you have

in Jesus?

is something

else

more important

than Jesus

to you?

This leads me

to the second point.

What is the nature

of Christian joy?

Have a look

at what Jesus

says about Christian

joy in verse 21

of John 16.

A woman

giving birth

to a child

has pain

because her time

has come.

But when her baby

is born,

she forgets

the anguish

because of her joy

that a child

is born

into the world.

It doesn't say

that the anguish

is gone.

When the child

is born,

the pain

isn't gone.

It hasn't just

all of a sudden

stopped.

It hasn't just

disappeared.

It says here

she remembers

the pain

no more.

It's similar.

In Isaiah

Isaiah 43:25

43 verse

25,

God says,

I,

even I,

am he who

blots out

your transgressions

and for my

own sake

and remembers

your sins

no more.

What does it

mean that God

isn't aware

of our sin?

Has God

got some sort

of divine

amnesia

and just

momentarily

forgotten it?

No,

he is fully

aware of my

sin and yours

but my

sin and yours

doesn't control

the way he

reacts to

me and to

you.

Love has

captured his

heart,

not my

sin.

So here is

this woman

who has

given birth,

she's all

beaten up,

but she

isn't in

denial.

She isn't

saying,

ah doctor,

I'm fine,

don't need

any painkillers,

you know,

don't feel a

thing,

it's all,

pain's all

gone.

Instead,

she is

furiously

and lovingly

looking at

the child

and she

forgets her

pain.

She's not

denying it,

she's still

hurting,

but she

isn't being

controlled by

the pain.

The pain

can't get

her down

and it

can't keep

her down.

You see,

the nature

of Christian

joy is

that you've

located your

greatest beauty

and joy

in God.

He is

your beauty

He is

the greatest

source of

joy,

more so

than anything

else in

life.

And so

Christian

joy

coexists

with

suffering

and sorrow.

The

Christian

is very

realistic

about

suffering

and grief

and sorrow,

but it

doesn't

control

them.

Worldly

joy

has to

avoid

suffering

and

hardship

or

alternatively

deny it

altogether.

Christian

joy

coexists

with

suffering

and is

in fact

enhanced

by it

because

it helps

us to

see

where

true

joy

can

actually

be

found.

When

our

joy

is

located

in

the

resurrected

Jesus,

circumstances

can't

even

touch

it.

Verse

22,

now is

your time

of grief,

but I

will see

you again

and you

will rejoice

and no

one

will take

away

your

joy.

On a

supper,

this is

why I

think

Christians

should be

the least

sentimental

people in

the world.

Christians

should never

be denying

their own

pain.

They should

never be

denying

what the

world is

painful.

They should

never really

be super

stoic.

And Christians

should never

be afraid

of getting

empathetic

and involved

with people

who are

suffering.

Why?

Because

Christian

joy

coexists

with

suffering.

Christians

have a

joy that

goes deeper

with sorrow.

Christian

joy

grows

brighter

when things

are darkest.

So hopefully

by now

you're wanting

to know

how is it

possible to

get such

joy,

especially when

I'm living

in such a

miserable

place like

Sydney.

Try visiting

Arkansas.

Maybe you're

thinking you

can't do

this.

Maybe you've

been miserable

for 40 years

and you're

settled with

it and you're

just given

up trying.

The good

news is

it's not a

matter of

trying.

When Jesus

is telling us

about this

woman giving

birth in

verse 21,

who is she?

Who does

she represent?

Let me

just show

you.

Verse 21

says,

A woman

giving birth

to a child

has pain

because her

time has

come.

Now there

is a deeper

meaning in

the words

her time.

The word

in the

original

language is

her hour.

This woman

is in all

this pain

because her

hour has

come.

That little

word hour

is very

important in

John's

gospel.

It has a

very specific

meaning in

chapter 7

verse 30,

820,

1223 and

27,

131 and

171.

Even in

chapter 2,

when Mary

tells Jesus

that they

need more

wine at the

wedding of

Cana,

Jesus says

to her,

it's not

my hour.

So what is

the hour

referring to

in John's

gospel?

it's the

hour when

darkness

descended on

the cross

and Jesus

Christ calls

out from

the cross,

my God,

my God,

why have

you forsaken

me?

Friends,

in those

days,

first century

Palestine,

when women

gave birth,

this is before

gas and

epidurals and

other

anesthetics,

and every

woman who

gave birth

was not

only in

incredible

agony,

but also on

the verge of

losing her

own life,

and many

did in the

process of

giving birth.

Jesus is

saying here

that this

woman in

labor is

illustrating

him.

The pain

and the

agony of

the cross

was his

hour,

and there

was no

stopping it.

The time

had come.

It was the

will of the

Father.

His agony

was the

spiritual agony

of carrying

the sin of

the world.

His agony

was facing

the judgment

of God

in our

place.

The only

way for a

woman to

give birth,

give birth,

a baby

the joy

of life,

is to

lose her

own joy

momentarily.

She has

to give

away her

joy and

suffer,

and at

times she

even gives

away her

own life

in order

to bring

life to

a child.

And Jesus

says,

he's

departing,

his disciples

will be

filled with

grief,

but so

will he.

They will

momentarily

lose their

joy.

He is

surrendering

his.

He will

lose his

life to

bring joy

to them

and many.

You see,

Jesus

eternally

existed in

perfect joy

with the

Father and

the Son

and the

Holy Spirit.

As the

Son with

the Holy

Spirit and

the Father.

And together

they created

the world

and humanity

to participate

in their

perfect joy

relationship.

They made

us to

share their

joy,

but we

rebelled

and we

rejected it.

And so

Jesus

lost his

so that we

could be

brought back

into it.

Hebrews 12

2 says

that for the

joy that

was before

him,

he,

Jesus,

endured the

cross.

What was the

joy he was

looking forward

to?

What was the

woman's joy

in John

16?

The baby

was the

joy.

New life.

What Jesus

got out of

the incredible

agony of

his death

and losing

his joy

on the

cross was

us and

us being

included in

his joy.

We were the

only thing

that he

didn't have.

He had

everything

else.

He didn't

have us.

In Isaiah

53 we are

told that the

result of his

suffering is

that he will

see and be

satisfied.

He has

linked his

heart to

us.

He has

made us

his treasure.

American

theologian

Jonathan Edwards

wrote this a

couple hundred

years ago.

Christ has

his delight

most truly

and properly

in obtaining

our salvation.

Not merely

as a means

conducive to

his joy and

delight but

as what he

actually rejoices

in and is

satisfied in

directly and

properly.

As the

bridegroom

rejoices over

the bride,

so shall

our God

rejoice over

thee.

We are

his jewels,

we are

his treasure.

Our joy

grows simply

by seeing

what Jesus

did and

that he

did it to

make us

his joy

and that

will change

you.

When we

see him

locating his

joy in

us,

ultimately

it melts

us.

He will

become all

that we

want.

You see,

it's not

Jesus plus

health,

it's not

Jesus plus

a good

life,

it's not

Jesus plus

wealth,

it's not

Jesus plus

anything.

In him we

have

everything.

Samuel

Rutherford was

a Scottish

minister who

was born

around 1600,

became

Presbyterian

minister in

a little town

in 1627 and

when the

Anglicans

gained the

power over

the Scottish

church,

Rutherford was

imprisoned for

two years in

Aberdeen for

nonconformity.

He survived

to preach

again and

to serve on

the council

that ultimately

wrote the

famous Westminster

Confession of

Faith.

But while he

was in prison

in Aberdeen,

he wrote

lots of

letters and

about 220

of those

letters are

preserved from

those two

years.

And the

spirit of

them is

just radiant

with the

glory of

God and

the all

supremacy of

Christ and

joy.

On his

way to

prison,

he had

said,

I go to

my king's

palace at

Aberdeen.

Tongue,

pen and

wit cannot

express my

total joy.

Wow,

this is a

joy that

just overflowed.

One person

said that

Rutherford was

impatient of

earth,

intolerant of

his sin,

wrapped in

the continual

contemplation of

one unseen

face and

finding his

joy in

that face's

returning smile.

his joy

flowed out

of his

absorption

in Christ

the

resurrected

Jesus

and

Jesus

promises

us

when we

see him

we will

rejoice.

Jesus

He