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