Does God Want Me To Be Happy?

If you have your Bible with you, you can open it up to John chapter 15.

John 15 · chapter mention

We're continuing to plug away at this teaching of Jesus.

These words of Jesus were spoken to his disciples on the night of his betrayal.

And this is after the Last Supper, but before they get to the Garden of Gethsemane.

Jesus has been using this analogy of vine and branches and fruit to convey some really important truths to these men.

As we've seen so far, all of this is about relationship.

The relationship of the Father with his Son Jesus, gardener and vine.

And the relationship of the branches, those followers of Jesus with Jesus the vine.

And last week we considered the sober warnings of Jesus about just how important it is for all his followers to remain in him.

So that we might bear the fruit that God desires.

And we took comfort in the assurance of Jesus that he will remain in us and hold us.

Well, this morning we're going to move fairly quickly through a number of verses here.

And then we're going to camp a little bit on just one thought that Jesus said here in John chapter 15.

John 15 · chapter mention

So let's pick this up in verse 7.

Jesus said,

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you.

This could be a whole sermon right here, but I'm going to not do that.

Again, we heard this earlier.

Jesus promises to answer their prayers and give them the things that they ask for.

And again, it seems a lot like a blank check.

It's almost like he's just encouraging them.

You know, write whatever you want in that blank.

Ask and I will do it for you.

But then we notice again that there are some qualifications that go with that.

Requirements for this blank check of prayer to be cash, to be delivered on.

First, it requires that they remain in him.

That they are walking in relationship with him.

Continuing to trust and obey and follow.

And second, Jesus adds in something new.

He says,

If my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you.

If my words remain in you.

Over the years, I've had a Christian brother or two who I've asked this question to.

So what are you reading in your Bible these days?

And the answer has been,

Well, reading is not really my preferred method of relating to God.

It's not really my love language.

I feel closest to God when I'm just praying or out on a stroll in nature.

I'm always glad to hear that someone feels close to God.

And I'm always glad to hear that people are praying and enjoying the beauty of God's creation.

But according to Jesus, our relationship with him, our remaining in him, has to include his words.

Jesus gives us words.

And they're to be at the core of our relationship with him.

He gives us words of truth.

Words of encouragement.

Words of rebuke.

Words of promise.

Words of hope.

Words of instruction.

Commands.

All kinds of words.

And we have many of them right here in our Bibles.

And so this is one of the qualifications, the guarding statements to this whatever you wish.

Ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you.

If my words remain in you.

If you are holding on to the things that I say.

If we're not continually surrendering ourselves to these words of Jesus.

Obeying them.

Trusting them.

Then we don't have the assurance that Jesus will do for us whatever we ask.

This is God's way of kind of guarding that whatever.

That seeming blank check of prayer.

And ensuring that we don't just use prayer for our own selfish ambition.

Or to satisfy our own greed or pride.

If you remain in me and my words remain in you.

Ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you.

This is to my Father's glory.

That you bear much fruit.

Showing yourselves to be my disciples.

Notice the flow here.

The goal of asking in prayer is to bring glory to the Father.

The result of asking in prayer is that we might bear much fruit.

Think about this.

It's not just the words of Jesus that are indispensable to this relationship that we have with him.

It's also this prayerful asking.

How is the Father glorified?

How does this much fruit come in our lives?

It comes as we ask whatever we wish.

And receive it from God.

But sometimes I wonder if all too often we fall back into that faithless frame of mind.

Where we just, you know, decide not to pray.

Not to ask for things.

What's the point?

God will do what he will do.

But that's not what Jesus says here.

He says God is glorified.

We will bear much fruit as we ask for things and receive them from him.

One of the verses in the Bible that haunts me in a good way, I think,

is a statement made by James in James chapter 4 verse 2.

James 4:2

Now there's a context to that statement, but the statement's true either way.

However you look at it, at the end there, he says,

How many things do we not have simply because we have not asked God for them?

Now as I just mentioned, there are reasons why what we ask might not be given.

If we're not remaining in Jesus, if his words are not remaining in us,

and James will even go on here in this passage to give some more reasons.

If we're just asking to gratify ourselves or out of wrong motives,

we ought not to expect to receive what we ask for.

But those things aside, this is still true.

You do not have sometimes because you do not ask God.

How many things do we not have simply because we haven't asked God for them?

Because we don't believe he cares enough.

Or we don't believe that he can do something like that

because it just seems so hard or so impossible.

This is why prayer on Sunday mornings like we just did

and prayer this Thursday evening are so important.

God in his wisdom and sovereignty has decided

to give to those who ask.

To bring fruit from prayers that are prayed

and requests that are made.

Think back over some of those stories in the Old Testament.

How many times did God act and intervene in response

to the prayer of a man or woman?

Countless times.

Now sometimes he graciously acts even when we don't pray.

And that's a wonderful thing.

He is a gracious and compassionate God.

And he loves sinners.

But many times, often the pattern we see is that he acts

and he gives and he does things in response

to the humble prayers of his people.

Verse 8.

This is to my Father's glory

that you bear much fruit

showing yourselves to be my disciples.

Now we talked about this verse already

in a few messages,

but I just want to note one more thing from this verse.

God gets glory

when we show ourselves to be Jesus' disciples.

You know, sometimes we get worried

about what outsiders,

people who don't believe in Christ,

think of us and about our faith.

We worry that if we're too Christian,

we might offend them,

push them away.

And the temptation can sometimes run very strong

just to, you know, kind of hide our faith

and to live as an undercover follower of Christ.

But God wants you and me

to show ourselves to be disciples of Jesus.

He wants it to be known.

He wants it to be seen.

He wants it to be obvious

by the much good fruit in our lives,

which will include our conduct and our love,

but also our words,

our testimony to the King.

And so I want to encourage you this morning

don't let the fear of man intimidate you.

And don't let the praise of man allure you.

Jesus is the King.

And one day the whole world is going to see that

when He comes.

Verse 9.

As the Father has loved me,

so have I loved you.

Now remain in my love.

If you keep my commands,

you will remain in my love

just as I have kept my Father's commands

and remain in His love.

I have told you this

so that my joy may be in you

and so that your joy may be complete.

Love and obedience are the theme of these verses

and we're going to come back

and linger over them another day.

But for this morning,

let's focus in on what Jesus says

here in verse 11.

This is one of my favorite verses in the Bible.

I have told you this

so that my joy may be in you

and that your joy may be complete.

Do you know that Jesus wants you

to be happy?

And now I know that

many Christian teachers out there

have tried to make a distinction

between joy and happiness

and there's some truth to that.

There's some truth to how we use those words today.

Sometimes we do use that word happy

in a really fleeting and shallow way

like Happy Meals at McDonald's.

You know,

buy this meal for your kids

and it will make them happy.

But happy can still be used

to refer to joy

as a synonym for joy

like in the hymn,

Trust and Obey.

For there's no other way

to be happy in Jesus

than to trust and obey.

At their core,

happiness and joy

are synonyms.

They mean the same thing.

They both refer to

an inward delight,

an inward satisfaction,

an inward pleasure

that we come to have

or to feel.

The question is not so much

about which is the right word

but about what can make us

truly happy

or who.

Ever since the Garden of Eden

long ago,

the devil has been preaching

and one of his main messages

is this.

God wants you

to be miserable.

He wants you to go unfulfilled.

He wants you to be unsatisfied.

He wants you to have

less than the best.

He offers you no inward delight.

Come,

taste and see

this fruit from the tree

that he told you not to eat of.

This will bring you

great delight.

It's a lie.

probably referring back

to all that he said before.

All this talk

of remaining in Jesus

and his words

remaining in us

and remaining in his love.

Referring to all that,

Jesus says,

I have told you this

so that my joy

may be in you

and so that your joy

may be complete.

I want you

to be happy.

and embracing

this truth,

these core truths

about my relationship

with you,

that's where you're

going to find it.

Give yourselves to me.

Give yourselves

to my love.

Give yourselves

to my words,

to prayer.

This is what will make

your joy

complete.

Complete.

Not just a little bit

of joy.

Not just

some joy.

But complete.

Maximum.

Full.

The meter

to the top.

Do you know

that Jesus

wants that for you?

He doesn't want you

to be miserable.

How would that

bring glory to him?

How does that show

his matchless worth

and beauty?

No.

God wants you

to be the happiest

that you can be.

The challenge is

will we trust

that our life

in Christ

and our obedience

to Christ

and our relationship

with Christ

is the way

to that fullness

of joy?

Or

will we look

for that joy

instead

in lesser things?

Created things?

Now don't get me

wrong.

The things of earth

have been created

for our joy.

I don't want to

create a false

dichotomy here.

1 Timothy

1 Timothy 5:17

chapter 5

verse 17

Paul says

command those

who are rich

in this present

world

to put their

hope in God

who richly

provides us

with everything

for our

enjoyment.

And in

1 Timothy

1 Timothy 4:4

chapter 4

verse 4

everything

God created

is good

and nothing

is to be

rejected

if it is

received

with thanksgiving.

The things

of earth

have been

created

for our

joy.

But notice

that they're

meant to

give us

joy

like

gifts

give us

joy.

They are

good things

that we're

meant to

enjoy

as we

acknowledge

the one

who gave

them to

us

and the

love that

he has

in giving

them.

I love

the way

that C.S.

Lewis

captures this

in his

meditations

in a

tool shed.

And I

didn't have

time to

dig out

the exact

quotation

and I'm

taking some

major

liberalities

in my

quoting of

this but

hopefully the

gist is

enough to

get by

with here.

Imagine that

you're in a

dark tool shed

and you look

up and you

see this

little beam

of light

coming through

one of the

cracks in

the roof.

That little

ray,

that beam

of light,

it's such a

good thing

in the

darkness of

the tool shed.

It lets you

see a little

bit of what's

around you.

As you pass

your hand

through it,

you can feel

the warmth

on your skin.

It gives you

a measure of

happiness,

that little

ray of

light here

in the

darkness.

C.S.

Lewis said

that enjoying

the good

things of

earth is

like that.

God has

filled the

whole world

with all

kinds of

these little

rays of

light,

good things

that do

good for

us,

that we

can enjoy.

But we

need to

remember that

that little

beam shining

down in the

tool shed

does not

exist on

its own.

It has a

source and

you can look

up along

the beam

and trace

it back

to its

source,

something that's

even more

wonderful and

awesome,

the sun.

in the same

way, the

things of

earth, all

the good

created

things that

God has

given us,

they have

their source

and we

are meant

to trace

them back

up to the

source and

to receive

those things,

to enjoy

them as

gifts from

the God

who has

given them.

complete

and full

joy comes

from

relationship

with the

source,

with the

vine,

with Jesus,

with the

Father.

God does

want us

to be

happy,

but he

is the

source of

all joy

and happiness.

That's what

I want for

you, says

Jesus.

maximum

joy,

fullest of

happinesses,

and that's

why I'm

telling you

all this

stuff about

my relationship

with you

and how

you need

to remain

in me

and my

words

and prayer.

How could

this be,

you might

wonder?

How could

anyone be

truly happy

when someone

else is

telling them

what to

do?

This is a

question we

can all

sympathize with

because

the devil

has another

sermon that

he loves

to preach.

You can't

be happy

unless you

are the

boss,

unless you

are in

charge of

your own

life,

making the

decisions,

calling the

shots.

That's where

true satisfaction

and happiness

is found.

Freedom to

do whatever

I please.

this too

is a lie.

If we

just look

up one

verse

before this,

we read,

if you

keep my

commands,

you will

remain in

my love

just as I

have kept

my father's

commands and

remain in

his love.

love.

Even

Jesus,

the son

of God,

the word

who became

flesh,

even Jesus

lived as a

man under

authority.

He had the

father's

commands coming

to him.

He had God

the father

telling him

what to do.

Yes.

But what

does Jesus

say?

He says,

I remained

in,

I lived

in my

father's

love by

obeying

his commands.

Fullness

of joy

doesn't come

from having

this illusion

that we

are now

somehow free

to do

whatever we

want.

If Jesus

could so

deeply enjoy

his father's

love in

the place

of submission

and obedience

with his

father

telling him

what to

do,

so can

we.

Most of

you probably

know someone

in your

life who's

maybe a

little younger

than you,

a little less

experienced

than you

are.

Maybe you've

had a

conversation

with them

where you

see them

and how

they've

kind of

got their

sights

locked

on something.

And if I

can just

get this

thing,

I'll be

happy.

I'll be

set.

And this

is how

I'm going

to do

it.

And as

you listen

to them,

you think

back to

maybe how

you learned

that lesson

the hard

way when

you were

younger.

It might

be plain as

day to

you that

they just

aren't seeing

clearly.

This isn't

the thing

that will

make them

happy.

This won't

be a

blessing in

their lives.

And the

way that

they're prepared

to get it,

it might even

be damaging.

It might even

have lasting

consequences.

And so you

tell them,

don't do it.

do this

instead.

This is

going to be

much better

for you.

Is that

not what

Jesus is

doing when

he gives

his commands

to us?

Is he not

the one who

sees clearly

the consequences

and the

effects of

our decisions?

is it

possible that

all along

he only

commands us

to do

things because

he loves us

so much

and knows

what's best

for us,

what we

truly need,

what will

really make

us happy?

And so I

want to just

encourage all

of us simply

this morning,

surrender your

life to

Jesus,

the vine.

it's only

through him

that we

can have

this fullest

of joys.

Maybe you're

here and

you've never

done this.

If that's

you, I

want to

encourage you,

do it

today.

Maybe you're

here and

you do

believe,

but not

all the

way,

just kind

of part

way.

I want

to encourage

you,

surrender

your life

to Jesus,

be baptized,

make that

declaration that

he is the

king.

hand the

reins of

your life

over to

him

completely.

He is

the good

and gracious

king.

Maybe you're

here and

you've already

done that,

but the

joy just

isn't here.

Have you

drifted from

Jesus'

words?

From

prayer?

Draw near

to him

again,

and he

will draw

near to

you.

finally,

there is

a time

to weep

and mourn.

Even

Jesus

cried

and wept

at times.

We do

still live

in a

broken

world.

Sometimes

this joy

that Jesus

speaks of,

it has

to coexist

in our

hearts

with grief

and sorrow.

But there

is coming

a day,

Jesus

said,

when every

tear

will be

wiped

away.

A day

of no

more sorrow,

no more

pain,

no more

crying.

Jesus

will return,

he will

reign,

he will

defeat and

silence the

devil forever,

and God

will make

all things

new.

And this

fullest of

joys will

be all

that's left.

It will be

the only,

it will be

the always,

forever,

for all

who belong

to Jesus.

I'll end

with these

words of

Christ himself.

Look,

I am

coming soon.

And yes,

I am

coming soon.

Amen.

Come,

Lord Jesus.

Let's pray.

Father in

heaven,

work this

joy in

us,

we pray.

Draw us

closer into

fellowship with

you,

relationship with

you.

Take us

deeper than

we've ever

been with

you before,

and open

up this

fullness of

joy that

we all

long to

have.

Strengthen

us with

that joy,

we pray,

for your

glory.

In Jesus'

name,

amen.