Hang tight while we fetch the video data and transcripts. This only takes a moment.
Connecting to YouTube player…
Fetching transcript data…
We’ll display the transcript, summary, and all view options as soon as everything loads.
Next steps
Loading transcript tools…
David Jeremiah: 3 Things Keeping You From Living the ABUNDANT Life That God Has for You | TBN | TBN | YouTubeToText
YouTube Transcript: David Jeremiah: 3 Things Keeping You From Living the ABUNDANT Life That God Has for You | TBN
Skip watching entire videos - get the full transcript, search for keywords, and copy with one click.
Share:
Video Transcript
What is happening to us that this
abundant life that Jesus died for so
that we could have it seems to always be
at the end of our fingers but not quite
in our grasp. If you're sitting back
waiting, you're going to miss what God
has for you. God wants his joy to be our
joy. He wants the experience of joy that
he has in heaven to be our experience of
joy while we're on this earth. And the
Bible describes that as his own joy. [Music]
[Music]
What kind of people do we need to be to
live in this culture that is so messed
up and hard to define and we don't know
where it's going and it always ends up
where we didn't think it would be.
The fruit of the spirit is love, joy,
peace, longsuffering, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
self-control.
So in response to the question, what
kind of people should we be at such a
time in history as this? Here is God's
answer. He calls us to be people of love
and joy and peace. He wants us to have
endurance in our lives. He He wants us
to have compassion for those who who
need our help. We should be people of generosity.
generosity.
This is God's ideal person. And believe
it or not, we can become like that. We
were meant to be like that. Could I just
say it this way? Christ died so that we
could be that kind of a person.
The Lord Jesus Christ said in John
10:10, "I have come that they might have
life and that they might have it more abundantly."
abundantly."
Sounds like life beyond amazing.
But there are some roadblocks that we
need to get out of the way if we're
going to get to the place we want to be.
If there's a gap between the promise of
what our Lord wants us to have and what
we're experiencing, what is causing it?
What is happening to us? That this
abundant life that Jesus died for so
that we could have it seems to always be
at the end of our fingers, but not quite
in our grasp. And I'd like to suggest to
you the three things that I've thought
of in preparation for this that might
help us understand this a little bit.
First of all, I think for many of us, we
misunderstand our salvation.
Most Christians today view salvation
strictly in the past tense.
Salvation is something that has happened
to us. It's history. Our salvation,
according to many Christians, is a done
thing. But the Bible doesn't view
salvation like that, men and women. The
Bible views salvation in three different tenses.
tenses.
The Bible views salvation like this. I
have been saved. If I've trusted Jesus
Christ as my savior, as many of you
have, you've become a Christian, then
you can say of yourself, I have been
saved. And you point to the day when you
trusted Christ. But the Bible also
teaches that once you're saved, you
continue being saved. You're saved
eternally. But it's true that once you
have been saved, as you go forward in
your life, you are being saved. And one
day, the scripture says you're going to
stand before the Lord and you're going
to be just like him. And then the Bible
says you will be ultimately saved. So
here's the way that works. You are saved
from your sin, from the very penalty of
sin. During your lifetime as a
Christian, you're gradually being saved
from the power of sin over your life.
And ultimately, one day, praise God,
we're all going to be saved from the
very presence of sin. There won't even
be any sin.
But please hear me, if you get stuck in
the past tense, you won't be the kind of
person who can have a life beyond
amazing. Because salvation is more than
just I have been saved. It's I am being
saved and I ultimately will be saved.
That's why Paul said to the Romans that
now is our salvation nearer than when we
believed. What was he talking about? Not
past salvation. That was already done.
Not present salvation. They were living
that the salvation of the future when
you stand before the Lord and you are
made like unto him.
Sometimes we miss what God wants for us
in the Christian experience because we
misapply the concept of works. Here's
the dilemma that people have. I'm
supposed to be saved, but it's not by works.
works.
But then I am saved. Now, what do I do?
So, let me help you with that. Two
passages of scripture that are very
clear. First of all, Ephesians 2:8 and9.
Notice, for by grace you have been saved
through faith, and that not of
yourselves. It is the gift of God. Now,
watch this. Not of works, lest any man
should boast.
Or try this one. Paul wrote to Titus,
his young prote. He said, "Not by works
of righteousness which we have done, but
according to his mercy, he saved us
through the washing of regeneration and
the renewing of the Holy Spirit." Paul
in both of these passages reminds us
clearly, indelibly, unconditionally,
there is no such thing as being saved by
works. You can't do enough works to
become a Christian. You were saved by
the grace of God apart from works.
Everybody got that? All right. Now,
don't stop here because after Ephesians
2:8-9 comes Ephesians 2:10. Have you
read that?
For we are his workmanship, created in
Christ Jesus for good works, which God
prepared beforehand that we should walk
in them.
Not saved by good works,
but you're saved for good works.
Same thing with with Titus chapter 3.
Here's verse 8. in same chapter. This is
even more powerful. This is a faithful
saying and these things I want you to
affirm constantly that those who have
believed in God should be careful to
maintain good works. These things are
good and profitable to men.
So sometimes we don't get what we should
get out of this life as Christians
because we misunderstand salvation and
we think it's already over that
everything has happened. Sometimes we
don't get it right because we
misunderstand how works are so
wonderfully commanded of us as believers.
believers.
And here's the third one, and this is a
little more mysterious, but you've been
around the church as long as I have,
you'll get this one in a hurry.
Sometimes it's mistaken idea of
spirituality. Here's what I know, men
and women, after all these years of
studying this, and I want to be very
clear about this. The New Testament
calls upon Christians to take action. It
does not tell us that the work of
sanctification is going to be done for
us. We are in the good fight of faith
and we have to do the fighting. But
thank God we're unable to do it. For the
moment we believe and are justified by
faith, we're born again by the spirit of
God. We get the ability. The New
Testament method of sanctification is to
remind us of that. Now, having been
reminded of it, let's go do it.
Let me hurry quickly to the road map of
a life beyond amazing. And I want you,
if you have your Bibles, to turn to the
second chapter of Philippians.
I love the book of Philippians. Do you
like Philippians? Yes. What a great book
this is. It seems like it speaks to so
many things, but I want to read to you
these verses. And having explained to
you what I've explained to you, you'll
sort of get this now in the way that I
hoped you will get it. Philippians 2:12
and 13. Therefore, my beloved, as you
have always obeyed,
not as in my presence only, but now much
more in my absence. Listen carefully.
Work out your own salvation with fear
and trembling. For it is God who works
in you both to will and to do for his
good pleasure. And you're going to say,
"Wait a minute. Didn't you just tell me
you don't have to work for your
salvation?" Yes, I did. Because that's
what the Bible says. And I'm not
contradicting it. you're just not
reading carefully.
It doesn't say work for your salvation.
It says work out your salvation. Uh some
of you are so opposed to work out you
In that same text, it says, "Work out
your own salvation with fear and
trembling be because it is God who works
in you."
So, we're to work out what God has
worked in.
God is giving us these things that we need.
need.
But that doesn't mean we just sit and
hold them.
What is really responsible for your
Christian walk, your Christian growth?
Is it just sit back and wait for the
Holy Spirit to zap you? How many of zapped?
zapped? No.
No.
And we wonder, why isn't this working?
Well, we're looking for the wrong thing.
Each generation of believers carries on
its own debate over this question. But
here's what I want you to know. The
Bible holds the tension between man's
role and God's role in perfect balance.
When you became a Christian, you got
everything you need for life and
godliness. How many of you believe that?
The Bible says it. We have to believe
it. He said God gave us. What did he do?
He put it in us like he puts ore in the
earth. He puts these things in us.
Not only that, the scripture says he
gives us precious promises. What is
that? That's the Bible, the guide book.
He gives us everything we need for life
and godliness. And then on top of that,
he gives us these precious promises to
help us.
Here in Philippians, remember it says,
"Work out your salvation with fear and
trembling, for it's God who works in you
both to will and to do of his good
purpose." What would that look like?
Well, let me just tell you what it would
look like. Verse 14 comes next. Do all
things without complaining and disputing.
disputing.
That's a good place to start. How many
of you could use a little help there?
You probably complained because you
couldn't find your parking place this
week. And I know some of you complain
cuz somebody sat in your seat when you
came to church this morning. So, y'all
need some work. That's what I'm telling
you. The the reason why we need to work
out what God has worked in is cuz it's
not all working.
Amen. Amen. And it goes on to say that
when we do this, we'll become blameless
and harmless children of God without
fault in the midst of a crooked and
perverse generation among whom you shine
as lights in this world. The Bible says
that the reason we're not making more of
an impact on the world, why we're not
shining his light, is because we haven't
taken seriously the opportunity we have
to take the things that God has given us
and max them out for his glory and for
our good.
And that's what he wants. He doesn't
want us to sit on our blessings.
He doesn't want us just to come to
church and count our blessings, name
them one by one.
And it seems like today in the Christian world
world
there's just a movement away from all
kind of personal discipline or
individual responsibility in the
Christian walk. Jerry Bridges who writes
for the Navigators put it this way. He
said, "We Christians, we're very
disciplined and industrious in our
business, our studies, our home, or even
in our ministry. But we tend to be lazy
when it comes to exercising our own
spiritual lives. We would rather pray,
"Lord, make me godly and expect him to
pour some godliness into our soul in
some mysterious way." God does in fact
work in mysterious ways, but he expects
us to train ourselves for godliness
sake. Jay Adams put it this way. You may
have sought and tried to obtain instant
godliness. There is no such thing.
We want somebody to give us three easy
steps to godliness and we'll take them
next Friday and we'll be godly. The
trouble is godliness doesn't come that way.
way.
When Paul wrote to young Timothy over in
1 Timothy 4:7, he said, "Reject profane
and old wives fables and exercise
yourself toward godliness." And I've
always loved this passage because I love
physical exercise. And here here the
word for exercise is the word in the
Greek language ginatio
from the word we get gymnasium.
And Paul said to Timothy,
go to the gymnasium and exercise
yourself for godliness. Does that sound
like it's all just coming to you without
any effort on your part? Doesn't sound
like that to me. In fact, here's an
interesting thought.
The last characteristic of the fruit of
the spirit is selfdisipline.
H here's what Aristotle said.
He's not an evangelical by the way.
He said just as we become builders by
building and liar players by playing the
liar, so we become just by doing just
acts. temperate by doing temperate acts.
Brave by doing brave acts. Virtue, that
is to say, it is not an emotion, but a
quality of character. And it is gained
by practice.
When I was a student at Dallas Seminary,
Tom Landry was the coach of the Cowboys.
That tells you how long ago that was.
I've told you before, I was addicted
back then.
Used to skip my Tuesday class to go to
the cowboy lunchon downtown.
He used to say this and he's he said it
in a number of books and I've heard him
say it I heard him say it personally
that the job of a football coach is to
make men do what they don't want to do
in order to achieve what they've always
wanted to be.
And he's in much the same way Christians
are called to make themselves do
something they would not naturally do
like pursue discipline in order to
become what they always wanted to be
that is like Jesus Christ. Discipline
yourself for godliness sake. That's what
it says.
Take the things that God has given you
and use them. Teach yourself how to do
these things. You're not going to just I
I don't know how to say this and I don't
want to I'm not I'm not in any way being
disrespectful of the Holy Spirit. The
Holy Spirit, we're going to have a whole
lesson on what it means to be filled
with the Holy Spirit and how he helps us
do this. But the Holy Spirit doesn't do
the things that you were called to do.
He helps you do them. He helps you build
these disciplines. But
if you're sitting back waiting, you're
going to miss what God has for you.
That's not the way it works. That's not
what the Bible teaches. We are not saved
by good works. We are saved for good
works. And in these things that we do to
develop these graces in our lives,
there's effort to be made on our part.
Now, let's go back where we as believers
have a job to do on ourselves to become
like Christ. to study the word of God
and the characteristics of the word of
God and ask God to give us the help we
need and and can completely give
ourselves to the Holy Spirit and and to
develop in our Some of you here today,
you're really loving people. That won't
be an issue for you. You can do this.
You people talk about you all the time.
She's the most loving person I've ever
been around. No matter what happens, she
just loves everybody. But some of you
aren't so patient.
And maybe that's where you're going to
have to do a little homework. Ask God to
help you learn what it means to be
patient. So what are we supposed to do
between conversion and heaven? The
bridge in question goes by many names,
but one of the most obvious names is
character. The transforming, shaping,
marking of a life and its habits. In the
last analysis, what matters after you
believe isn't rules or spontaneous
self-discovery. It's becoming more like
the one who saved you in the first
place. And we know about that. And we
know we can't do it in our own strength,
but we know it does take some of our
strength. We're not just going to sit
and wait for God to make us the people
that he's called us to be. The Bible
won't allow that. If you don't know
that, there's hundreds of other
scriptures I could bring to you that
call us to put on the new life, to take
off the old life, to walk in holiness.
These are commands. These are not suggestions.
suggestions.
So, what is character? What will we look
like if we develop this character in our
life? People of strong character are
usually people that are very
disciplined. They have fortitude,
integrity, ethical strength. These are
attributes that will distinguish you
from one another. These are the things
that make you shine as a light in the
darkness. You're a different kind of person.
person.
Character is an attitude that every
young person, every middle-aged person,
and every old person should have
embedded in their minds. Character is
returning extra change at the grocery
store. Character is keeping appointments
and being on time. Character is honoring
your commitments and honoring your word.
Character is choosing the harder right
instead of the easier wrong. Character
is setting priorities that honor God and
family and country. Character in
marriage is working through the tough
times rather than throwing in the towel
and looking for divorce. Character is
being committed to the well-being of
your family and friends, associates, and
others, even if it's personally costly.
And character is setting a good example.
A married person of character acts
married all the time. A person of
character is self-disciplined and
self-controlled. Character implies the
courage to stand for what is right if
necessary all alone to oppose what is
wrong and to make the effort to discern
the difference. Character is being
truthful in all things while being
sensitive to the fact that sometimes
truth hurts and needs not be spoken.
Character is being selfless rather than selfish.
selfish.
Remember, character is the only thing
that goes in the casket with you to the hereafter.
hereafter.
And believe it or not, it's the only
thing that people will remember about
you when you're gone.
And it should be something we
desperately want to develop in our
lives. Here's where I'm at, folks. I can
tell you, we used to talk about this
years ago. We used to talk about
character. We used to even teach it to
our children in school. Do you remember
that? We had courses in character. Not
now. We got characters in our school,
but we don't have any character in our school.
school.
But that doesn't mean we shouldn't do
it, does it? Because nobody's been doing
it recently. Would you say that one of
the great needs we have in our culture
is more people of character?
Don't you want to be a person of
character? I know I sure do. I want to
learn everything I can about what it
means to be a man of God and have
character because whether you like it or
not, at some point people whose opinion
matters will be paying a lot of
attention to you and to me. They'll be
watching what we do and how we react.
We might not even know it, but they'll
be looking at you for an example because
they need an example to follow. They'll
be looking for a leader. Maybe the
children will be looking for parents to
do the right thing. And each time you
enter a room, each time you go to a
practice or a meeting, every time you
involve yourself in the life of another
human being, you have the opportunity to
leave a positive legacy behind because
you're a person of character. Ladies and
gentlemen, what I've been talking about
is called sanctification.
And sanctification is best defined in
this word. Sanctification is becoming in
practice what you already are in position.
position.
Everything God calls us to be, we
already are in his mind. But he calls us
now to become every day what we already
are in heaven. You know, the greatest
illustration of what I've been talking
to you about today is this. Almighty God
has loved us before the foundation of
the world.
And that would be enough, would it not?
He loves us.
But God didn't leave it at that. He
loved us. And he sent us his own son to
prove it. God took action to demonstrate
his love to you and to me.
If there's a country on this earth where
people should be filled with joy,
one would certainly think it would be
the United States of America.
But most current polls show that only
about 35% of Americans are very happy.
Depression affects more than 19% of
American adults. Anxiety disorders
affect 40 million or 18% of the population.
population.
In 2016, a federal data analysis found
that suicide rates in America had surged
to their highest level in 30 years,
rising in that period by 64% among women
and 43% among men.
And a worldwide study of 90,000 people
showed that the 10 richest countries in
the world also had the highest rates of depression.
depression.
The United States had the second highest
rate exceeded only by that of France.
What this tells us is that joy and
happiness may not be necessarily
dependent on your circumstances.
And those who have the most reason to be
joyful often turn out to be the most
often depressed.
Theologian and philosopher JP Morland
helps us understand what's going on. He
wrote, "We Americans are obsessed with
being happy, but we're also terribly
confused about what happiness is. So, we
seldom find a happiness that lasts. But
because the pursuit of happiness is
promised to us as a right in the
founding documents of our nation, the
Declaration of Independence, we carry a
sense of entitlement.
We think we deserve happiness. And if we
don't find what we're considering to be
happiness, we're likely to develop what
a French demographer called a strange
melancholy in the midst of abundance. A
pretty good statement about America
right now. We have a strange melancholy
in the midst of abundance.
Something that a single mother wrote
processing all this dialogue about
happiness said, "What we have is never
enough. We always want more. If we're
hungry and the food bank is passing out
bread, we want two loaves instead of
just one. If the church is giving away
free coffee after Sunday service, we are
really irritated if it's not Starbucks.
If we are single, we want to be married.
If we're married, we want a better
spouse. We want to be thinner, prettier,
and richer. And we want a good job, and
then a better job, and then that job's
no longer the best job. So, we search
for the next job. And we're raising
children who are just as bad. They are
not sensitive to financial boundaries
because culture, that's us, permeates
the greed of more and more and more. And
the pursuit of that facade will never
make us happy or never make us fulfilled
or thankful.
And she's got it right. She's got it
pretty right.
So, let me begin this discussion about
joy with two profound statements that
comes to us straight from the Bible.
These may surprise you. They kind of
surprise me even though I've studied
this over the years. One of the first
things you need to understand about joy
in the Bible is that God experiences
joy. Isaiah 62:5 says, "As the
bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so
shall your God rejoice over you." The
Bible actually teaches us that God
enjoys us.
He looks down over humanity. He enjoys
some of us more than others, but he
enjoys us.
Isaiah 65:19 says, "I will rejoice in
Jerusalem and joy in my people." And
Zephaniah 3:17 says, "The Lord your God
in your midst, the mighty one will save.
He will rejoice over you with gladness.
He will quiet you with his love. He will
rejoice over you with singing." I don't
know if you've ever thought about that
before, but God in heaven is a joyful
person and he rejoices in us.
He likes us.
If you've been brought up in a culture
where so many have, where God is viewed
as a God of judgment, stern and angry
all of the time. Listen to the word of
God. God experiences joy.
And right on the heels of that, we need
to understand that God wants you to
experience joy. If he's a joyful God, he
wants his creatures to be joyful. For
those who believe the Bible, there is no
debate, no doubt about this. What God
desires for us, he provides for us.
Listen to the words of the Lord Jesus
from the Gospel of John. These things I
have spoken to you, he said, that my joy
may remain in you and that your joy may
be full. Later in the 17th chapter, he
said, "Now I come to you and these
things I speak in the world that they
may have my joy in themselves."
Almighty God wants his joy to be our
joy. He wants the experience of joy that
he has in heaven to be our experience of
joy while we're on this earth. And the
Bible describes that as his own joy. The
Bible tells us that God not only wants
you to be joyful, but see if you can
figure this one out. He commands you to
be joyful.
Here's what it says in Philippians 4.
Rejoice in the Lord always. And in case
you didn't get it the first time, again,
I say rejoice.
And maybe you're thinking, you just
can't walk up to somebody and say, start
being joyful.
You can't just command joy. But I would
say to you, why not? We're supposed to
be in charge of our attitudes.
When you read the New Testament, you
discover that the ministry of Jesus in
his lifetime was always surrounded by
joy. Jesus was a joyful person. And
wherever he went, he brought joy. When
he was born, that was the promise,
wasn't it? That he would bring joy. We
have a a word that we sing during the
Christmas season. Joy to the world. The
Lord has come.
And when you follow him in his ministry,
it's amazing how much joy he created
everywhere he went. And you don't even
get out of the second chapter in the
Gospel of John before you see Jesus
performing his first miracle
at a wedding.
Jesus went to a wedding. He went to a
wedding to perform a miracle that became
one of the sign miracles in the book of
John so that those who saw the miracle
would believe that he was indeed the son
of God. But if you go back to that
chapter in the book of John chapter 2
and you read the story of that wedding,
you see Jesus involved in the
celebration of a young couple making
their vows to one another. When they ran
out of wine, Jesus took care of the
problem. He was always around where joy
was happening.
I've been reading the Bible this week a
lot with the word joy in mind. And
everywhere I look, I find it. I've
discovered that joy is the atmosphere in
which our Christian lives are supposed
to be lived. When Paul was writing to
the believers in Thessalonica, he
settled it once and for all. He said,
"Rejoice always. Always."
Always."
And you know that joy is present in
every major event that we experience as
believers. Let me ask you a question,
class. How many of you remember the day
you were saved? Let me see your hands.
Was that a happy day? Amen. Oh happy
day. Oh happy day. When Jesus washed my
sin away.
The joy of salvation is the joy
realizing you're not guilty anymore.
That you've been forgiven. That God has
given you the gift of eternal life and
you're going to spend eternity with him.
Salvation is a joyous time. In fact, the
Bible says when a person is saved,
almighty God throws a party in heaven.
Did you know that? In Luke chapter 15
and in verse 10, we are told there is
joy in the presence of the angels of God
over one sinner who repents.
So every time you hear somebody give
their testimony of salvation when a
person comes to Christ, we should all
rejoice in that because that's a moment
of great joy. That's where it all
starts. And you know, the Bible tells us
this Christian joy is so unique, it even
shows up in times of difficulty and
trial. One of my favorite Bible stories,
probably one of yours, too, is the story
of Paul and Silas, recorded in the 16th
chapter of the book of Acts. And they're
put in prison. You remember that one?
And before they're put in prison,
they're taken to the stocks and they're beaten.
beaten.
And now they're in prison. And the Bible
says in verse 25 of Acts 16, "But at
midnight, Paul and Silas were praying
and singing hymns to God, and the
prisoners were listening to them."
Now, the kind of joy that can get you
happy in jail at midnight with your back
bleeding and your life in danger. That's
the kind of joy I want. I want that kind
of joy.
We may not be able to rejoice in our
load, but as we learn, we can rejoice in
our Lord.
And Christian joy is so incredible that
it even stays with us when we're dying.
I've been with Christian people through
the process of death and seen the smile
on their face. Some of them have told me
they've seen Jesus in the process and
they wouldn't come back here for anything.
anything.
When Paul was getting ready to finish
his journey, he said in Acts chap 20,
"None of these things move me." All the
things that were going on around him, he
said, "They don't bother me. These
things don't move me or they don't get
in my way. I don't even count my life
dear to myself
so that I can finish my race with joy.
Joy all the way to the end. So in the
15th chapter of the book of John, this
is all played out in a few words. And
I'm going to take you through these few
words, but if you don't have your
scriptures in front of you, you can
watch. We'll put them up on the screen.
Write the reference down.
Let's talk for a moment about the source
of joy in your life. We've already
established that this joy comes from
Jesus. Listen to his words in John
15:11. These things I have spoken to you
that my joy, said Jesus, my joy may
remain in you. Say that with me. My joy
and that your joy might be full. Jesus
says, I want your joy to be the result
of my joy.
This joy is Christ's joy. This joy is
the life of the Lord Jesus Christ being
lived out inside of you. Christian joy
is Christ's joy in the Christian.
Christian joy is letting Christ live his
life through you so that what he is you
become. Peter called it a joy
inexpressable and full of glory. This
joy has an inner source that makes it
perpetual. It's constantly being
renewed. Colossians 1:11 says that the
Lord God strengthens us with all might
according to his glorious power. Why
does he do that? So we will have all
patience and longsuffering with joy.
This joy isn't dependent on us. It's
dependent on him. And if we will trust
him, he produces that joy in our hearts.
And the characteristic of this joy is
that it was full joy.
This is not imperfect or incomplete. It
is not an almost joy or a sometimes joy.
This is an everyday 100% complete joy.
And the uniqueness of this joy is
captured in words that Peter wrote in
the first chapter of his first letter.
See if you can get your arms around this
one. Here's what he said.
Whom having not seen, you love. Though
now you do not see him, yet believing
you rejoice with joy inexpressable and
full of glory.
Let me pause for a moment and say if
you're looking for joy outside of Jesus,
you're wasting your time. But I'm here
to tell you, he's always open for business.
business.
He's always ready for you to come. And
if you want joy, real joy, wonderful
joy, you got to let Jesus come into your
heart. And if you've never done that, I
hope you will do that because all the
rest of this is not going to work for
you unless you have Jesus in your heart.
That's where it starts.
The Bible also tells us that this joy
that is my joy says Jesus and full joy,
this joy is continual joy. Friends, have
you ever discovered how simple it is for
your gladness of today to become your
sadness of tomorrow?
Have you ever noticed that your
sweetness of the morning can turn into
your bitterness at night? Or the friends
you thought were your friends yesterday
become your enemies today.
or the wisdom you thought was so cool
yesterday is now so foolish today. The
one thing that all of us share as we
take this journey together through
humanity is that nothing we get involved
with ever seems to last.
But the joy of Christ of which we speak
today is a continual neverending
absolutely constant lasting joy. This
joy is not hinged on happenings. It's
perfected in a person.
At one of the lowest times in the lives
of Jesus disciples, the days just before
he was taken away from them to go to the
cross, in the midst of their sorrow and
anxiety, Jesus comforted his disciples
with these words. John 16:22,
"Therefore you now have sorrow, but I
will see you again, and your heart will
rejoice." And this is the part I love.
And your joy no one will take from you.
So how do you get this joy? We've
already talked about the fact that you
have to surrender your life to the Lord
Jesus Christ.
You have to give Jesus Christ
first place in your life. I want to say
again, if you don't know Jesus Christ,
that's where joy starts. One of the
things you need to do if you want to
have joy in your life, you have to
submit your life totally to the spirit
of God. You see, joy is the fruit of the
spirit. When you're filled with the
spirit of God, you get that fruit. We're
talking about how you cultivate the
fruit, but you don't get it. You have to
trust the Lord Jesus Christ. And then
the spirit of God comes to live within
your heart. And if you want that joy to
be full and complete, you have to say to
the Lord Jesus and to the Holy Spirit,
"Here's my life. Do with it as you please.
please.
I may have told you years ago that when
I first uh understood the importance of
fully dedicating your life to the Lord,
I didn't want to do it because for some
reason in my mind, I thought God was
going to send me to Africa.
For some reason, I thought if I said,
"Lord Jesus, you can have my whole
life." I thought if I did that, I'd end
up on on a mission field in Africa. And
now I know that wouldn't been all that
bad because a lot of good things
happened there. But you see, until you
come to the place where it's not you
anymore, it's him. you're willing to
say, "Lord Jesus, here's my life.
You chart it. I'll sign at the bottom."
I faced that early in my life when I
believed God wanted to be a preacher. I
had been so totally involved in the in
the broadcast industry. I taken many
courses in broadcast industry and speech
and I was working in a couple of radio
stations because this is what I wanted
to do. And then God called me to preach.
And I thought the worst thing about that
was I was going to leave all that
broadcasting stuff away and I was going
to go be a preacher. But God was just
training me back here for what he knew
he wanted me to do out here. And I would
never have found that out if I hadn't
just said, "Lord, okay, whatever. You
want me to go to seminary and be a
preacher? Here I am."
And what I thought he took away from me,
he gave me back multiple times. The
Bible says, "Commit your way into the
Lord." And he what? Gives you the
desires of your heart. But it doesn't
start until you say yes. Until you say,
"Lord God, I want your joy. I know I'm
not going to get it my way. So here I
am. Here's the page of my life. I've
signed the bottom. You fill in the details."
details."
Thirdly, you got to study the word of
God. Do you know why? Because this is
God's handbook on joy. This is the book
that God gave us so that we would know
how to live the Christian life. And if
you want to know about joy, man, this is
it. You'll find joy everywhere in this book.
book.
Let me just tell you that if you want
really to have joy cultivated in your
life, you got to share your life with
others. That's really true. You're not
going to be happy by yourself. God
didn't intended you to be happy by
yourself. He created the church so that
we could be together. How many of you
know how hard it would be to live the
Christian life today if we didn't have
each other? If we didn't have the
church. Look at all the screwy mess
we're in right now in this country. Look
at all the craziness that's going on.
You know, the only kind of sanity you
ever feel is when you come to church on
Sunday. Then you have to go back into
that mixed up world. You got to have
other people in your life.
William Barkley said, "The Christian is
the man of joy. The Christian is the
laughing cavalier of Christ."
The gloomy Christian is a contradiction
in terms. And nothing in all religious
history has done Christianity more harm
than its black clothes and its long
faces. After I said that in the early
service, somebody reminded me our whole
choir is dressed in black. Uh,
but you understand what we're talking
about. The somber way people go about,
you know, Christianity is joyful. One of
the great things people tell me when
they visit our church, Dr. Jeremiah,
there's so much joy in your church.
Isn't that what should be here? If you
So, if you want to be a joyful person,
I've been learning this the hard way and
some of you know it already. If you want
to be joyful, hang out with joyful
people. You say, "How do I know the kind
of people to go and hang out with?" Find
those who are joyful because if a person
has authentic joy, you've just solved
your problem. You You got the right person.
person.
Find joyful people. Hang out with joyful
people with the joy of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Amen. [Applause]
[Applause]
In his autobiography,
Just as I am, Billy Graham tells about
being invited for lunch to the home of
one of the world's wealthiest men on the
island in the Caribbean.
Throughout lunch, this 75-year-old man
seemed close to tears.
Finally, he said to the Grams, "I'm the
most miserable man in the world. Out
there is my yacht. I can go anywhere I
want. I have a private airplane. I have helicopters.
helicopters.
I have everything I want to make my life
happy. And I am as miserable as hell.
That's what he told them.
The Grahams talked and prayed with the
man, doing their best to point him to
Christ, who alone would be able to give
him the meaning he was looking for. And
after leaving this beautiful house, the
Grahams returned to the small cottage
where they were staying on the island.
And that afternoon, the pastor of a
local church came to call on them. In
spite of his limited resources and
difficult situation, he was full of
enthusiasm and love for Christ. This is
what he told the Grahams. He said, "I
don't have two pounds to my name, but I
am the happiest man on this island."
After the pastor left, Billy Graham
turned to his wife and he said, 'Who do
you think is the richer man? Ruth Graham
didn't even need to reply. The answer to
the question was so obvious. What the
rich man was seeking was happiness, a
reason to laugh and forget his troubles.
What the pastor had already found was a
deep-seated joy based not on what he
possessed, but on who possessed him. And
that's what we have in the joy of Jesus
Click on any text or timestamp to jump to that moment in the video
Share:
Most transcripts ready in under 5 seconds
One-Click Copy125+ LanguagesSearch ContentJump to Timestamps
Paste YouTube URL
Enter any YouTube video link to get the full transcript
Transcript Extraction Form
Most transcripts ready in under 5 seconds
Get Our Chrome Extension
Get transcripts instantly without leaving YouTube. Install our Chrome extension for one-click access to any video's transcript directly on the watch page.
Chrome Extension