Message - Like a Child (Joy)

I'm really excited about the message this morning.

Last Sunday we started a little mini-series leading up to what we're going to be doing in a few weeks, which is jumping back into the book of Romans.

If you're new to his hands, if you're watching from home for the first time, we love to just open up scripture and look at it and say, what does this say?

What does this actually say?

What is God trying to teach us through it?

And then trust God and the Holy Spirit to help us connect the dots to how this applies to our everyday lives.

I have this conviction personally where I don't want to be someone who teaches with scripture, which is fine, but I want to teach from scripture because what do I know?

Like the best I can observe, uh the best I can do is observe life, but God is more than observation, uh, he's revelation.

He can show us things about ourselves, things about the world that we could never observe on our own.

And so if we start from Scripture, things always go really well.

So we've been going through the book of Romans, which if you're familiar with the Bible, it is a very in-depth book.

It's very in-depth in terms of what it tells us about who we are, who Jesus is, what he's done, what he's changed.

It might be the most comprehensive explanation of our faith that we have in all of the New Testament.

And we're going through it bit by bit.

The section we're about to get to in a couple of weeks is all about being a child of God.

Being God's child.

That is something that it's so easy for us to say and believe, like, yeah, oh yeah, I'm a child of God, but but never actually let that penetrate and transform you the way that it's meant to.

So we're gonna explore that.

But to do that, we decided we'd spend a few weeks learning how to kind of approach God like a child.

And so we started that last week talking about wonder.

And today we're gonna talk about joy.

Kids are kind of experts at joy, if you've ever noticed that.

Fun is like a language to children, they're all fluent, right?

And so we're gonna talk about joy this morning, and uh, and by we, I mainly mean Fred.

Uh, if you don't know Fred, Fred has been like a spiritual mentor in my life for many years.

He's like a spiritual dad in my life, and so it's Father's Day, and what better thing to do on Father's Day than to give someone who's been a father figure a lot to do?

And so um I asked Fred if he would speak this morning.

And Fred, you want to make your way out?

If you guys wouldn't mind giving Fred a big round of applause as always, Fred, it it uh it needs to be good.

So just all right.

Yes, sir.

Top be good.

God bless you.

Love you, man.

Love you too.

Good morning, church.

And yes, guys, whether you're a natural father or just enjoying the role of being a male today, happy Father's Day.

Happy Father's Day.

I um I gotta admit I woke up early, it was still dark, our dog was ready to go, as I was, and I'm already thinking about the message.

And Jill surprised me when she said, Happy Father's Day.

I went, Oh, yeah, it is.

That's right.

And after we hugged and kissed, I went downstairs and there by the coffee pot where I make the coffee each morning, there was a card and it said, Happy 40th Father's Day.

And I went, oh my goodness, 40 years of being a father.

And immediately, all guys, all sorts of images came through my mind.

I remembered those years.

We we were six years before we had our first son.

And so that the Father's Days were that finally it became a reality, and you're holding your own child.

And the wonder of all of that the mystery and all of it, crazy.

And then they grow up, and and we have three sons, so I never knew what it was to have a creative daughter, although I now know that with granddaughters.

But sons aren't very good at art, so they don't want to do anything for Father's Day, and mom made that so I went through those years that some of you are in now where where mom makes sure that the kids do something.

And then, of course, the wonder is trying to figure out what it is they've actually drawn, and how long do you have to have it stuck to either the refrigerator or in your office or your bedroom until such time as you can take it down.

I you know, so I went through that stage.

And then there's the stage as teenagers where they're too busy to think about Father's Day, and then all of a sudden they're in a household where mom is getting excited about Father's Day, and you get the word, Oh yeah, Dad, I'll get you something.

And then you wonder how long that will take to get something.

Yeah, sometimes it didn't happen until next year, and then the promises continued.

But then they grow up and they go away to college, and mom calls them and reminds them that Father's Day is coming up, and they go, Oh yeah.

Um, but then they have children of their own.

And all of a sudden it's a whole new identity.

You know?

So, so yes, I do want us to first connect with, guys, connect with the the mystery of wonder that Justin so brilliantly spoke about last week.

And and while Jill and I now travel to a lot of different churches, increasingly his hands is becoming our home.

So most of the time we're we're listening to the message, even if we're not with you.

I just need you to know that.

And I was sitting there listening to the message that Justin preached last week and went, he's describing my life.

To come into a place of wonder and to become like a child and risk believing that God really is our holy father.

There's nothing like that.

And it if you haven't given yourself permission to go there, then go there.

Because our God is an amazing God, a powerful God, a very personal God.

I have to admit, an event that I often come back to as I reflect on my life.

I was a teenager, and now this is over 50 years ago.

And I even then, as I do now, I loved cross-country running.

My folks had recently purchased a small cottage on a lake up in western Massachusetts, and up there, there's small lakes, you know, but it was a lake, and we did some fishing there and a little bit of boating.

Well, one Saturday morning I got up real early and went off running.

I came back panting and sat down on the little bit of lawn we had there and and just looked at the sun rising up over the lake, and it hit me.

I looked at these beautiful trees on the hills uh opposite me.

The sun was warming the water, so the mist was kind of rising up.

The fish were starting to jump, getting their breakfast, and some ducks flew by and landed.

And I I just sat there.

I was like a kid.

And I looked around and nobody else was seeing what I was seeing.

I was the only human being in sight.

I was going, this can't be an accident.

God's gotta be real.

He's gotta be.

And at that point I couldn't have explained Father, Son, Holy Spirit, although I was taken to church all the time and heard those terms.

I didn't get it.

But I got it sitting there watching that sunrise.

And I went real deep.

Real deep.

The wonder, the beauty of life.

And though I've traveled much of the uh world for the Lord, I I continually trip over the wonder of it all.

The sheer wonder, and that He loves us?

Seriously?

He cares for us?

Really?

So when I got into ministry and uh before coming to Cherokee County, I was responsible for traveling the country and teaching uh church conferences.

And I had the pretty much freedom to design conferences, but a lot of it was feedback from other pastors.

And uh and I had a boss who I worked with, and he was giving me directions as well.

But uh, we found over the years that the most powerful and most requested conference was the empowered Christian.

And it was my responsibility to teach people who gathered for a weekend conference uh the whole mystery of how to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit on a daily basis.

Okay?

That's what I did.

Travel for five years, going to airports and ending up somewhere in this country.

But the second most popular conference surprised me.

And we titled it The Greatest Story Ever Told.

And it started just where Justin was yet last week.

It started with me just showing pictures on Friday night of the wonders of the universe.

And the purpose was to invite people to enter into a place of awe.

And yes, we went into the microscopic as well, the subatomic stuff and all those mysteries.

Because we knew if they wanted to get into the deeper walk with God, they had to start with wonder.

We all have to stop thinking we can figure it all out.

And we have to just risk believing that there's one who knows what he's doing, and he even knows what he's doing with us.

And so it would start with wonder, and I have to admit it, this was a long time ago now, 25 years or so years ago.

I remember going to a church, the entire congregation attended this conference, and it got to Saturday, and then the mystery of the cross, and the mystery of God's love for us.

And when I invited anybody who wanted to recommit their lives to the Lord to just stand, every single person stood up, including the senior pastor and his assistant.

You see, when you risk getting into a place of wonder and awe, and just stop trying to think the world revolves around ourselves, then it opens up a whole nother possibility for life, doesn't it?

And what what I find is if you're willing to go through that door of awe and wonder, then you get to a place of childlike joy.

Something is really deep going on in the mystery of God and his wonder, his love, the peace he has, that that joy that just is there and and that lingers for a whole long time.

I I really have come to believe that that's probably why the Lord gives us children, not just to harass us, not just to drive us crazy, and not just to not go to bed on time.

But have you ever noticed how just sheer joy-filled they are at so many things?

We have a four-year-old grandson, and when he when he finds out we're coming over to visit him, and he only lives in Woodstock, so we're not a long drive.

And he parks himself on the front step or by the front door.

And when he sees us pull in, he's running out there with his arms.

You know, I've I never had an adult do that for me.

And when I try to do that for my guests, they say, What's your problem, Fred?

You know, children seem to love life, they love relationships.

Um, our our grandkids love coming over our house because my wife Jill has an amazing garden, and right now it's blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries.

And those kids go out there and picking berries for them is the greatest thing on the planet.

And I have to be careful to remember that, because I went out in the humidity yesterday morning to pick blueberries, feeling guilty that I hadn't been out there for a couple days.

And as I'm there in a soaked shirt picking berries, I'm going, Lord, give me the joy.

Give me the joy that the kids have.

And you know what I found?

The joy.

I found that there is a way of life, of living, that is filled with joy.

Not necessarily when you have a stand that won't stay up.

I may be 5'8, but I need a little higher than that.

Okay.

Um and I've also found in this journey of faith that if you're waiting for the the difficulties of life to pass before you find your joy, you'll never get there, will you?

You know, let's be honest.

We're going to be talking about joy today and yes, a few other things today.

But but joy isn't happiness.

Happiness is a result of the circumstances you find yourself.

Joy is much, much deeper.

Joy is what gives you the strength to get through the hard times.

There are many times when life is hard.

Life sucks, let's be honest.

Many times it does.

But but the reason for that is because the Lord is preparing us for an eternity with him.

So we need to have our faith tested, and we need to discover that we're able to be strong in the times of testing because he gives us something within, because he's with us, and that's Jesus' joy.

Even Nehemiah, five centuries before Jesus, said, The joy of the Lord is our strength.

Let me just pause for a moment.

Nehemiah, you've got to be kidding me.

He was the cupbearer to the Persian king.

He got permission to go back to Jerusalem because he heard that the city of his fathers was in ruins.

He got permission to go back as the governor to rebuild the walls.

He was such an extraordinarily anointed leader.

He convinced everybody it's time to become the people of God again.

Got all the city, the city, the entire city walls rebuilt in 52 days.

Even though there were enemies on the outside and the inside that wanted to destroy him and stop the construction.

He cared for the poor.

He reinstated reinstituted religious worship.

And in the midst of all those struggles, he said, the joy of the Lord is our strength.

Not the knowledge of the Lord, not being good enough so God will notice.

The joy of the Lord is our strength.

Holy cow! That's amazing.

Can you imagine how Jesus started his ministry?

Just think about that for a moment.

He goes to John the Baptist to start his ministry, to get the anointing in baptism as the Messiah, and he hears the Father say, You are my son whom I love.

With you I'm well pleased.

Can you imagine the joy that he had before he went out to face Satan?

And then face all those people that were going to harass him and eventually kill him.

Now, I hope, and I think I may have mentioned it before, I hope you all have heard that from your Heavenly Father.

Because if you've been baptized, you've had that spoken over you in the Spirit.

Because when we accept salvation, when we accept that we're sinners and broken and we we need someone to redeem us, well, the reality of Jesus' relationship with the Father is transferred to us.

So the Father speaks over us.

You're my son, you're my daughter, whom I love.

With you I'm well pleased.

And at our baptism, we might say, but I haven't done anything yet.

And he says, Yes, you have.

You've accepted my greatest gift to you.

See, there's some mystery that God wants us to live in joy.

Or how about what we we learn in in Hebrews?

Holy cow! I didn't give this one to you.

I'm just gonna want to read it out of the book of Hebrews.

This is New Testament.

And the brilliant writer there writes this.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and sin which cling so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

My brothers and sisters, do you get it?

What got Jesus through all that he had to bear, all of our sins, all of the torment, all of the suffering of the cross?

He looked forward to the joy.

Now, do you think that maybe the Lord gave him glimpses of what the future would be because he'd be faithful?

I just thought of that this morning.

Do you think he had a glimpse of us gathered here in his name?

And that joy kept him going.

All the ridicule, all the mocking, all the pain, all the heaviness of all of our sins, but he kept his eyes focused on the joy.

He knew the joy of the Father.

Wow.

So that's what we're supposed to do?

We're not meant to lament and complain about our lives, but we're supposed to live in joy.

Is that the mystery that we American Christians have forgotten?

I tell you what, I I I hope you have a chance to go with me to Kenya sometime with serve once the country reopens.

And just experience what worship is like in a place that has nothing.

Where people are living in barefoot and sandals in the desert, making homes out of sticks, praying for their next meal, and yet when they worship, they worship with a joy that is unspeakable.

It is extraordinary, absolutely extraordinary.

There's something about becoming a child of God and letting us recognize that when we walk with him, when we just humble ourselves and surrender and stop telling God what he should do and start trusting that he is already doing it, all sorts of things open up.

So while it is true, there are over 200 places in Scripture where joy or rejoicing are mentioned.

As a matter of fact, of the 150 Psalms, 40 of them mention the importance of joy.

How's that for priority?

But where I'd like to take you today in just considering this mystery of how to live life, turn with me to the upper room.

And I've got these verses for you to go on the screen.

I should say Alex and team have the verses for you to go up on the screen, because this is an amazing time in the teachings of Jesus, and the only place we find it is in the Gospel of John.

So let me explain a little bit of what's going on.

Jesus is about to die.

This is the night before his crucifixion.

He is in the upper room with the disciples, and we know that for a lot of reasons of what were significant in that time.

That's when he told us we must love one another as he loves us.

A whole new standard.

You do get that, don't you?

The Ten Commandments were the rules how to live with a boundary of living with God.

The summary of the law was given the two, love the Lord your God with all your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself.

We still end up being the standard.

Did you hear that?

But on the last night, gathered with his disciples, and this teaching is occurring only with the eleven, Judas has already left.

He says, Love one another as I love you.

That's your standard.

And yes, that's the night he gave us the Last Supper.

That's the night he told us that he is the way and the truth and the life, and no one comes to the Father but by him.

That was inside language to us.

That's when he tells us he is the vine, we are the branches.

That's the night he tells us, I and the Father are one.

You see, he's he's teaching this intimate last night of teaching with those who were committed to him.

You see, the stakes are high.

This is like the the last words of their master.

You know, I still remember the last words that my dad spoke to Jill and me before he was called home.

Those are significant times, don't you think?

And of all the things that Jesus talked about in John chapter 13 through John chapter 16, and then on to his prayer with the Father, he comes back again, over and over again, to two realities.

John 13 · chapter mention John 16 · chapter mention

One is to understand the Holy Spirit.

The other is the importance of joy.

Now think about that.

He isn't, he doesn't talk about peace, though he does say it's a peace he's going to give us.

He doesn't come back and forth to that over and over.

He doesn't come back and forth to love a lot.

He doesn't come back and forth to being good.

He doesn't come back and forth to anything other than joy.

He wants us to dwell in joy.

Listen to John chapter 15, verse 11.

John 15:11

Again, he's talking to the disciples in the upper room on the last night.

He's talking about having that we need to abide in him and he in us.

Then he says, These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

Now some translations translate that Greek word, completed, that your joy may be completed.

That is, the task of Jesus in bringing us forgiveness and new life is not so we can get baptized and say, Whew, that's done, but that we can enter into a life where our joy is full and completed according to Jesus.

Isn't that amazing?

How many times do we think if we can just get another uh advance on our salary, then we can get.

Or if I get a new car, that would be, or if, you know, a bigger TV would really be.

And that happiness lasts for what, maybe two or three weeks, maybe, if you're lucky.

Jesus says, I want to complete my joy in you.

That's what he wants for us.

The joy that the Father had for Jesus, he wants us to have.

It's like there's a big reservoir that the Father has for his son Jesus.

And it's just a reservoir of love and joy.

And Jesus says, I want to open the floodgates for that for you all of you.

So you don't live like everybody else does who doesn't know that there's forgiveness available.

And when you accept what I've done for you, I'm going to flood all this joy into your life.

Whoa.

And what's interesting, he doesn't stop there.

He goes on to, uh we see it in John chapter 16.

John 16 · chapter mention

He says, Truly, truly, I say to you, verse 20, you will reap and lament, but the world will rejoice.

You'll be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy.

So he acknowledges that they're going to be broken when Jesus is taken from them.

And in that way, he acknowledges that we're going to experience sorrow a lot.

But it's going to be turned to joy.

You get that in life, don't you?

When we're in the midst of the hard times, and we're in the midst of the suffering, and we're in the midst of the tears, God's right there with us.

Reminding us, whispering to us, My joy is here, my presence is here, and I'm going to bring you to a new place.

And one day you're going to realize the old is gone, the new has come.

One day you're going to realize I've redeemed even this crisis you're in right now.

Your sorrows will turn to joy.

Isn't that a great way to live?

It means nothing can overwhelm us.

Yeah, I know.

There's some scary things out there, things like cancer.

Things like replaced hips and brain aneurysms.

There's scary stuff out there.

There's all sorts of craziness in the world.

But the Lord already knows that.

He knows that, and he wants us to have joy of knowing we can endure that because he's with us.

Isn't that amazing?

The joy?

Wow.

He goes on and gives us an example.

Verse 21.

When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come.

But when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish.

For joy that a human being has been born into the world.

Wow.

So, Lord, this is like a woman giving birth.

And the sorrow is gone for the joy?

Really?

I walked through a birth in a rather profound way.

It was very scary birth.

It wasn't our own.

In the days when people still mostly called me Father Fred, I am an Anglican priest and I was wearing a collar in those days.

I got a call one day from a frantic mother who said, Father Fred, come quick to the hospital.

I said, What's the matter?

She said, They've scheduled an emergency C-section.

And I replied, But aren't you in about your fourth month?

She said, Yeah, but they're afraid I'm gonna lose the baby.

I want you there in the operating room.

My first thought was, who can I call to take my place?

So I went to the hospital, stood there with the dad as they performed a C-section on a woman in her fourth month.

The doctor said, Father, I want you close.

I don't expect the baby will make it.

Out came this two-pound baby.

He said, Father, would you bless the baby?

And I reached my hand up over the curtain, like I would for anyone else to pronounce the blessing on the forehead and realized the baby was this big.

And the only thing that would fit would be my finger.

I said, in the name of Jesus, life.

He's a 40-year-old now.

When he was growing up, we weren't in that church anymore, when he was growing up, we heard he loved trains.

No signs of anything wrong.

The miracle of medicine, or the miracle of God in the midst of that medicine.

And you know what?

I never heard a mom once talk about her sorrow or her pain or her fears.

Overwhelmed in the joy.

Jesus says, it's going to be like that for all of us.

There's going to be sorrow, but it's going to turn to joy.

This week, this past week, got a call that one of my old and dear friends, 20 years, had passed.

He was in his 80s, we knew it would come.

Had had quite a few transplants.

We all joked that he had had at least nine lives, if not 14 or 15.

But we knew his time would come, it did.

So I was called on Wednesday and said, Fred, we we want you to do the service.

I said, Fine, when?

And they said, Friday.

And I said, This Friday?

So I'm standing before a very large crowd gathered to say their last goodbyes to our dear friend.

And I mentioned the old nature that he had.

He had been in Special Forces for 42 years.

Air Force, Marines, Black Ops.

He had had a rough life.

But I had the privilege of baptizing him 20 years ago.

And yes, as I mentioned at the start of the service, I was the guy who took him under the water, but I kept him there for a while.

Because I knew he needed that.

I think I started counting 10.

It may have been 20.

People were starting to gasp and holler at me at that moment as I we were in a swimming pool, and I pulled him up.

And this guy was in love with Jesus.

He was a new creation, and he lived in the joy I'm talking about.

And all those people gathered in the midst of our tears, and we all acknowledged.

We're sorry to see him go, and we can't wait for him to hug us once more.

He was the guy who taught me one day when we were having worship that I heard him offer prayer, and it was a little bit unusual with my formal background.

He was praying to Brother Jesus.

My first thought was, Can you do that?

Do I have to correct him?

And I went over to him after the service and I said, Who are you praying to?

He said, Brother Jesus.

And I said, Why Brother Jesus?

And he said, Well, afraid you've taught us that we're part of the family of God, right?

I said, Well, of course.

That we should be childlike?

And I said, Absolutely.

He says, Well, he is our oldest brother, isn't he?

I said, Okay, I'll try it.

I think I tried it three times, and it was over.

But but there's something else again.

He says in verse 22, so also you have sorrow now, but I'll see you again.

Your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.

Whoa! Now, what I have found through the journey, we sometimes give up our joy, don't we?

And we give it up far too quickly.

But nobody can take that from you.

Not Jesus' joy.

Not the joy that comes from our Heavenly Father through Jesus to us.

That's the permanent mark.

As a matter of fact, the only thing that we're told in Scripture that we get and no one can take from us is the Holy Spirit.

The guarantee that one day we're going home.

Jesus here says, one day you're going to know the joy is completed.

He wants us to know it now, but one day it will be.

My brothers and sisters, one day it will be.

I don't know if I've told you this, but I have seen my passing.

I know what happens, and it is glorious.

Because we will see him face to face.

And then we'll know all that joy that he promised is real and it's real now.

Joy.

Do you live in that joy?

No, no, speak at once.

Just let it flow off your tongue.

Do you live in that joy?

Do you want to live in that joy?

It comes from your walk with God.

It is not from the stuff of this world.

It's a whole nother standard, it's a whole nother way of living.

But he goes on.

So I can't go after lunch?

Okay, so I have to be done before lunch.

Okay.

So look at what he says in verse 24.

Until now you have asked nothing in my name.

Ask and you will receive it that your joy may be full.

Your joy may be full if we just ask him.

Uh oh, so so let me be clear about that.

Justin cannot give you joy.

He does a lot of things.

No one in this church can get they can create an environment.

I'll get to that in a minute.

I can't give you joy.

Your spouse cannot give you joy.

She can't even make you helpful.

How happy.

Guys, you cannot give joy to your wife, even though she wants you to.

The only one who can give you joy is Jesus.

People can make you happy.

I really got some nice Father Day gifts today already.

That makes me happy.

But joy.

Jesus.

How do we get it?

We pray.

Let me give you an example.

Jill and I prayed for years that I would have a best friend.

You know, I've had a different ministry than most.

And when you're in ministry and you're traveling or you're in ministry and you're in some leadership, you have a whole lot of people that know you, but you don't have a best friend.

We prayed.

I have a best friend.

And it's it's it's a place of joy.

We do all sorts of crazy things together.

We cut down trees with chainsaws and we do tiling and we do work, woodworking.

We do all sorts of fun stuff together.

And he even comes where I'm preaching, if he can, and just to heckle.

He told me this morning before I came up, don't trip on the stairs.

I smiled and said, There's a ramp in the back for us old guys.

He's teaching me how to how to how to how to carve wood on a lathe with this humongous tool.

You know, the the blade's about this long and and the wood is back, you know.

And he told me how to angle it and all the rest is this this piece of wood is flying along at 1,100 RPMs, and I'm there, you know, going at it.

And he said, Fred, pick up your butt a little bit.

I'm only 5'8.

So I squeezed my butt and raised my feet.

He says, No, no, the tool.

I didn't know.

And you know what?

We're like that all the time.

It's always joy.

You know what's remarkable?

He loves Jesus.

I love Jesus.

We don't take much seriously.

I don't take him seriously, and he doesn't take me seriously, and he doesn't let me take myself too seriously.

That's a wonderful relationship, don't you think?

Pray.

The Lord will give you joy in the perfect time.

Maybe it's for a best friend.

Maybe it's to bring joy back in your marriage.

Maybe it's to have your child respect you.

Who knows?

Only you do, and God does.

And he wants you to have joy.

How about the joy that we have here at his hands?

Isn't it amazing?

I got a picture to show you.

Um you just get out of the car and all of a sudden kids are showing us what's important.

These are two of my grandsons who came on that Friday night movie.

If you don't come on the Friday night movie, you're missing it.

Talk about joy.

You even get a Jesus perspective from Madison.

I mean, it's just, whew.

They love coming here.

And the four-year-old even said, as the movie finished and it's after nine, and we're ready to get them in bed so we can.

And he said, Can we go to the playground now?

No, or another time, maybe on a Sunday morning.

But they wanted to hug Jesus.

So isn't that what it's just the reminder that Jesus is there, the bronze Jesus, with his arms out for all of us, saying, Come on in.

And then we come in and we're actually greeted with people who smile.

They act like they actually are glad to see us.

Doesn't that bring you joy?

You know, Jill and I, as I say, we go to a lot of churches and people may smile, they may even wave from a distance.

But these greeters, wow, what a ministry they have, isn't it amazing?

And then you have, we have coffee again?

This is the only church I know that gives us gives coffee when you come in.

And all those call that that team that comes in early, just so we can have a cup of coffee?

Isn't that joyful?

Don't they create an environment?

I mean, it's just amazing.

And then and then we come in and we have these creative and hysterical videos with Madison and Maya teaching us everything that we should be paying attention to.

And you can't help but laugh.

Aren't they amazing?

And they do that every week for us.

And then Matt has this amazing team who take us into the presence of the Lord.

Why do we keep coming back here when we can?

Because we find the joy of Jesus right here.

And then Justin gets up and blows us away.

You see a whole environment of joy right here.

If you're willing to let that joy get in deep and really feel it overflowing.

Joy, Jesus joy right here.

Lord, from the Father through Jesus, Lord, that's that's how I want to live.

Do you know there's so much joy around here?

I think you might make it two or three days.

But if you don't, there's always prayer.

There's always the word, there's always serving somebody else.

There's a lot of ways the Lord wants to bring us joy if we just kind of get out of ourselves for a while.

Don't you think?

Yeah.

But listen, just so just to bring home the point of how important it is to Jesus, the final prayer of Jesus, most positioned, it's probably in the Garden of Gethsemane by this point.

It's called the Lord's Prayer or the High Priestly Prayer.

You know, many people refer to the Lord's Prayer as our Father who are in heaven, but that's actually our prayer, the believer's prayer.

That's what he teaches us to pray.

His prayer is in John 17.

And though he prays for many things, and that we would keep the word and that we'd be one, he does say this, verse 13.

I found verse 12.

I haven't found verse 13.

But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.

So here is Jesus, having the weight of all of our sins placed upon him.

You may recall in the garden, that's when when he starts sweating blood.

Most of us believe it's because the weight of our sin, his blood is already being poured out.

He's about to be abandoned by the disciples, put into the pit, mocked, beaten, and crucified.

And he's praying, Father, give them the joy you've given me.

Fulfill my joy in them.

He doesn't talk about all the things he expects us to do.

He talks about us understanding the joy that can be ours and the joy that is ours in Christ.

Woke up during the night and asked the Lord what he wanted me to think about and prepare and insert into the message.

And I found it fascinating.

I told this to Justin earlier this morning.

Um in my dream that followed for those few minutes before I got up, I was in India doing a mission trip.

Some of you guys were with me.

And we kept finding ourselves bringing the name of Jesus to people who thought that their relationship with God was about doing everything right, and they lived in fear.

They lived expecting punishment if they did wrong.

But we worship the God who loves us, who says, I want you to be in awe and wonder about that, and when you do, I'll give you joy.

Joy.

When was the last time you lived in joy with God?

Or you enjoyed that time with God?

Was it this morning?

Was it having a cup of coffee with your spouse and praying together like mine was?

Or is it here now?

Being reminded it's a gift from God.

Joy.

That's what God wants for us.

To be childlike and to seek that joy.

But before I finish, let me shift a little bit, men, and let's talk about what it is to be a father.

Because this is stuff I didn't get for quite a while.

I I've come to believe that if we really are godly, sanctified, holy, set apart fathers or in fatherly roles, then our responsibility is to not only be in joy, but to create a joyful environment for those that we're caring for.

Do you hear me?

And as I say, I didn't get that.

When I was in national ministry, I loved the ministry.

Guys, I loved my job.

Uh most every weekend I would go to the airport, get on a plane, fly somewhere in the country, and teach people about Jesus.

And they loved it.

And then I'd fly back and go to work during the week, and I'd go back on another weekend somewhere else.

I loved meeting new people.

I loved sharing the life of Jesus.

I loved uh all the opportunities and the excitement and being treated like it was something special.

And guess what I had made a priority in my life?

It wasn't my family that was neglected, that my wife was a single parent caring for everybody.

I was having too much fun serving Jesus.

Yeah, it happens even with pastors.

We got so wrapped up in what we do that we think that's all that important.

Got a lot of job offers.

But realized, no, it's not about the job, it's about the family.

And hon, as you know, I'm really sorry.

For those years I didn't get it.

And our family paid a price when dad wasn't there.

But I came back.

More commitment than ever.

I wanted to create, and I still do, an environment for my kids and my grandkids.

And yes, the kids I coach in track and cross country, and yes, the pastors I coach, and yes, the people I minister to, and the people I serve at serve, I want to be a fatherly figure to them so that they get it.

It's not about working harder, it's certainly not about making money, but living in the joy, receiving that oil from above, washing away that weariness and that pain, looking at the struggles we're in the midst of, and saying, I'm gonna face them with Jesus because I'm gonna seek his joy each day.

And then for us men, and I say men in some really profound ways, women get it easier than we do men, so I'm gonna say men today on Father's Day.

It's creating an environment where others experience a father figure, loving them like God, loving them like Jesus.

Let me close with a story about Timothy Harrison.

Uh there's a picture I've got of Timothy that's gonna come up on the screen.

Uh Timothy is that guy in the um graduation outfit, a young man in Alabama who uh wanted to go to his high school graduation, but he found in his fatherless household that his mom really didn't have the money to afford the cap and gown.

And she couldn't get off of work anyways.

She was a daycare worker and they wouldn't give the mom or the graduate the day off.

So he thought, well, mom's not going.

We don't have the money anyways.

So although he already turned in his notice to his manager at the Waffle House that he wouldn't be in that day because of graduation, he showed up anyways at 7 a.m.

just in the hopes that the manager would say, Oh, you're already here, okay, come on in.

But instead, the manager, that's the manager there's name is Um.

Something like that.

uh Hampton, uh he um said, What are you doing here?

This is your graduation day.

And he said, no, no, I didn't have the money and mom can't go, so um, it's okay.

And he said, no, it isn't.

Now this manager of his is only in his 30s.

He said, no, it isn't.

We're gonna change this right now.

He talked to the employees even as they're working.

And he said, you get to the hospital, take him to the or sorry, to the to the high school, you take him to the high school and you get you you go get the cap and gown and pay for the ticket.

Here's the money for the ticket.

You go to Target, get him some jeans, get him some nice notes, some nice pants, get a get him a shirt, get him some shoes.

And let's all rally here.

They had a couple hours to go.

The graduation was in the afternoon.

Let's make sure this the high school knows that he's going to be at graduation.

The assistant manager heard what they were doing.

She came in for the day to help.

Customers, seeing what the manager was doing, said, hey, here's some extra money.

Hopefully this will help.

They paid for his ticket, got the cap and gown at school, got him to the to the stadium in his new clothes so he could graduate.

None of the employees could get inside because of COVID.

So they stayed out in the parking lot to greet him as his new family.

Because as the as his manager said everybody deserves to graduate.

The story doesn't end there.

The local community college heard about him and said that's the kind of student we want somebody who's willing to even miss graduation and go to work.

That's the kind of incentive we want.

They offered him a full scholarship.

Why did this happen?

Because a man in his 30s said I will be a father figure to a man who doesn't have a father.

And that guy had worked at Waffle House four weeks.

He hardly knew the manager.

The manager went with him to walk the college and to assure him they're going to stay with him through the journey.

When he graduated he said I feel like I'm a president.

I couldn't be happier and he said I never had a dream but now I can dream I'm going to college men you have no idea the impact you can have if you realize that the next generations are looking to us to be a godly father figure.

In a household that needs another godly father figure or one that doesn't have a godly father or one that doesn't have a father these kids that are here the teens that we meet young people around the world that we need to sponsor whatever the cause whatever the call we have a father who loves us who loves us so much that he sent his one and only begotten son to us and to all in the world that we could be forgiven that we could be loved and yes that we could then experience that joy from heaven from our heavenly Father through Jesus to each of us so his plans and purposes would be completed and that his joy would be full in us what a God what a love I think it's probably time to pray don't you think all right let's bow our heads blessed and holy father we thank you for holy time and Lord that which is just of me just just wash away because Lord what we really like is to know at a deeper level the joy that is ours in Jesus.

So as you promised in your word Lord that we are asking you now to complete your joy in us make us more childlike as we enter into wonder as we enter into joy as we realize how much you love us.

And then Lord let us all create environments where others can understand the Heavenly Father's love in Jesus' name.

Amen