Reading: John 16:16-33
Focus Text: John 16:24

“Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full”

INTRODUCTION

In the previous part of this CyberSermon I spoke about the cost of discipleship, involving coming to him, forsaking all, bearing His cross and following him. In the second part, I want to speak about another important aspect of what it means to be a disciple of Christ. It is an aspect which makes all the difficult costs of discipleship feel so worthwhile. It is the other side of the Christian coin of discipleship.

What I want to speak to you about is Christian joy.

I wouldn’t want to put anyone off becoming a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ by making them think that it was all doom and gloom because of all these costs to being a disciple (although, to be fair, the genuine disciple would count it all joy to be serving as a disciple at all). For alongside of the cost of discipleship there is this undergirding factor of joy.

So if you’re seeking spiritual truth as you read all this, and you want to find out how you can be saved — if you are serious about getting to the bottom of the REAL questions of life — if that is why you’re reading this today, I want you to know that as well as there being a cost, there is great and deep joy.

Yes… JOY!

That may surprise even some of the believers reading this message! Whatever happened to your Christian Joy? Why do so many people in churches these days wander around stirring up trouble and undermining the happiness of believers? Why do so many Christians almost seem to revel in disputing, complaining and even in exuding despair? How can you find real joy in this life? And — having done so — how can you hold onto it? Or, if you have lost it, how can you recover it?

When I speak about joy here I’m not talking about the kind of fleeting happiness which is induced by a change in one’s life circumstances (e.g. that delusional hormonal explosion known as “falling in love” or the rush of winning the lottery). I’m not speaking about joviality or ribaldry or carousing (two good old-fashioned but expressive English words). When I speak about joy, I’m referring to a glorious state of mind and heart which is based on objective eternal reality: Spiritual joy of the profoundest kind.

In order to open up this subject, I want to ask four questions: 1) What is the difference between worldly joy and spiritual joy? 2) Where does Christian joy come from? 3) How does one lose Christian joy in one’s life? 4) Why should a Christian be joyful? Then I want to finish by posing a number of the kind of questions which people may have as to why they cannot experience joy.

So, the first question is:

I. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WORLDLY JOY AND SPIRITUAL JOY?

We must distinguish between the joy of the world and Christian joy. There is a vast difference between the joy sought after and experienced by the world and that which is enjoyed by the disciple of Christ. What are the chief differences?

Well, let’s have a look at the joy of the world first:

1. The Joy of the World is Rooted Solely in Worldly Experience

Such joy is not Christian joy but the joy offered by worldly experiences. We find an example of this in Ecclesiastes 2:10: “Anything my eyes desired, I did not deny myself. I refused my heart no pleasure. For my heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor”. Yes, there is much of a certain kind of joy to be had in the pleasures of the world — some good and some not so good, especially when it is just being used as a superficial distraction from what we should really be considering in life.

You can watch a TV comedy special and laugh your head off for hours — that’s worldly joy. It may stimulate your endorphins, but it is of no spiritual value. You could get stoned out of your brain, as they say, on alcohol or cannabis, get the “munchies” and laugh uncontrollably and imagine yourself to be having a joyful experience. That worldly sort of joy is really a whitewash, a cover-up for the fact that every human being born into this world is dangling by a thread over a pit awaiting the astonishingly awful moment when the thread is snapped and their life is undone all at once.

The joy of the world is rooted solely in worldly experience. While the Christian can laugh at a clean comedian, there is generally no spiritual content to it and therefore he or she must not get hung up on it. We must therefore also say that:

2. The Joy of the World is Only Temporary

“Do you not know that from antiquity, since man was placed on the earth, the triumph of the wicked has been brief and the joy of the godless momentary? Though his arrogance reaches the heavens, and his head touches the clouds, he will perish forever, like his own dung; those who had seen him will ask, ‘Where is he?’” (Job 20:4-7).

We see here that even though joy is able to be experienced by the unbeliever — including the superficially “good” unbeliever — anyone who does not come to Christ is essentially a hypocrite with his head held up in worthless pride. Any allegedly joyful experience of such a person is merely transitory — a passing flight of fancy.

The harsh reality is, as Matthew Henry observed: “For the unbeliever death is the end of all joys; but for the believer death is the end of all griefs”.

This temporary sort of joy is possible even in a “Christian” setting:

“The seed sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he remains for only a season. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away [literally, he is scandalized!]” (Matthew 13:20-21).

That joy too is merely worldly joy — rooted in worldly experience and only of a temporary nature. People can get a kick out of hearing the Gospel message yet still not be saved. It’s called “Easy Believism”. It abounds massively today; and it is positively encouraged by many irresponsible pastors who (desperate for what they call “revival” are only concerned about the quantity of converts they can claim to have made themselves rather than the quality of converts which God has made through their ministry.

So the joy of the world is both rooted in worldly experience and it is only temporary.

However,

3. The Joy of the Genuine Christian is Found in Heavenly Blessings

The joy of the Christian, on the other hand, is from a very different source and for a very different purpose. As a matter of fact, the Christian is a person who is profoundly dissatisfied with worldly joy. Very often it is precisely because of such dissatisfaction that people come to Christ in the first place.

However, even though it is “God who gives us richly all things to enjoy” (1 Timothy 6:17c), and therefore we do not need to feel guilty or unspiritual in taking enjoyment in the good, unsinful delights of life in this world, the fact remains that we are not to put our “trust in uncertain riches but in the living God” (1 Timothy 6:17b). This is the key. The joy which we take in worldly things has to dissolve at some stage and be transformed into that uniquely Christian joy if we are to be disciples of Christ.

This is what is meant in James’ exhortation: “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn, and weep. Turn your laughter to mourning, and your joy to gloom” (James 4:8-9). James is not commending us to become miserable moaners. The background to his exhortation is in the idea of “friendship with the world” being “enmity with God” which was mentioned a few verses earlier in that chapter (James 4:4). There comes a point — if one wants to be a genuine disciple of Christ — when one has to make the transition from finding temporal “joy” only in worldly things to finding lasting joy in spiritual things (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).

However, before one can do that, one has to go through the trough of repentance. “Grieve, mourn, and weep. Turn your laughter to mourning, and your joy to gloom”. We have to repent deeply before we can come into an experience of uniquely Christian joy.

Let us now go into this in more depth:

II. WHERE DOES CHRISTIAN JOY COME FROM?

Uniquely Christian joy comes from (at least) six sources:

1. Christian Joy Comes from the Certain Knowledge that We are Saved

The Gospel, remember, is good tidings of great joy, as the angels said (Luke 2:10). Consider the truth about the Lord Jesus Christ:

“Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and rejoice with an inexpressible and glorious joy, now that you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls” (1 Peter 1:8-9).

This joy is said to be “inexpressible” — it cannot be put adequately into words — and “full of glory”. It is full of glory because it is really something which is of heavenly origin.

In truth, our experience in this world is a trial and can often make us feel miserable because we are square pegs in round holes so long as we are alive on this earth. We are not really at home here because we are actually already citizens of heaven. However, when we become disciples of Christ, we are heaven-bound people and can take our real joy in the certain knowledge that we are saved. You “rejoice with an inexpressible and glorious joy, now that you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls”. This is the inner joy of assurance of salvation, which is so necessary in the life of the believer.

Many try and get assurance through wacky experiences in churches which generate an emotional or psychological catharsis. But there is no substitute for the real thing. I remember hearing the preacher, Sinclair Ferguson, speaking about what he called his “Edinburgh Blessing” (a play upon words borrowed from the idea of the evil “Toronto Blessing”). No, he had not been zapped by a touch on the forehead from a snake oil preacher. He had been listening to a sermon about what Christ had done on the cross and he suddenly realised in all its fullness what that meant in terms of his own eternal life. He could not stifle the joy he felt and he immediately left the church and went skipping down the road with tears streaming down his face. His “Edinburgh Blessing” — Christian joy.

Actually, I experienced something very similar myself, also in Scotland! It was in a field behind where I was living in an apartment block above the Coop supermarket on the High Street in Haddington in 1989. I was walking along, mulling over something that I had just read and I was suddenly vitally infused with the reality of what had happened on the cross and how it impinged on my life. I found myself weeping with joy and saying over and over again: “It’s all true! It’s all true!”

Christian joy comes from the certain knowledge that we are saved. And I mean certain. There is certainty about salvation in the life of the believer. There is no real room for doubting — although God knows that there is everywhere pressure on us to doubt it from Satan and from the unbelieving world.

Christian joy is derived from our knowledge that we have the certain forgiveness of sins and the imputed righteousness of Christ. “For [God] made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). That’s the beautiful exchange. He took our sins on Himself and imputed His righteousness to us. That’s the deal. Being covered by the blood of Christ brings joy:

“I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, my soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with garments of salvation and wrapped me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom wears a priestly headdress, as a bride adorns herself with her jewels” (Isaiah 61:10).

Tell me something: How can you KNOW real joy unless you KNOW that you are saved? That’s why Peter says “Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election…” (2 Peter 1:10). He is not saying that we can improve our chances of being called and chosen by God. He is telling us to ensure that we become certain in our own minds of the fact that it has happened. He even gives us a checklist of the kind of things which will manifest in our lives if we are saved: Faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love (2 Peter 1:5-8). Those are the kind of qualities in which the true Christian takes joy, for the presence of such characteristics demonstrate to us that we are saved. This is how we can confirm our calling and election.

Christian joy comes from the certain knowledge that we are saved. That is why Jude gives us that doxology which says: “Now to Him who is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy…” (Jude 24). You see there that our Christian joy is really a heavenly joy… which leads nicely to the next source of Christian joy:

2. Christian Joy Comes from the Certain Knowledge that we are Heaven-Bound

You’d better not doubt this for a moment. The true believer has faith in the words of the Lord Jesus when He says: “In My Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?” (John 14:2). The genuine disciple believes passionately the fact that “Jesus our forerunner has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever in the order of Melchizedek” (Hebrews 6:20). How much more proof do we need?

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.” (Romans 5:1-2).

After all, as the Lord Jesus showed in the parable of the talents: “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master’” (Matthew 25:21).

That is what lies in store for us in the future. But faith — which makes hoped-for things become as if they were substantial right now and gives us hard evidence of things which we have not yet seen (Hebrews 11:1) — enables us to take hold of our future heavenly glory and realise it now in our hearts as a reality and thereby ‘enter into the joy of our Master’, the Lord Jesus who, “for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2).

It is for this reason that when Paul says, in that famous “golden chain of redemption”: “Those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified” (Rom.8:30), he used the same past tense in each verb, even though, technically speaking, the glorification is in the future. In the Lord’s eye, it is already an accomplished fact. Does that not fill you with joy? Peter thought it should. After having revealed the following glorious facts about our spiritual life, He states:

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, reserved in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in various trials…” (1 Peter 1:3-6).

“In this you greatly rejoice…”. Truly, Christian joy comes from the certain knowledge that we are heaven-bound.

Thirdly,

3. Christian Joy Comes from Seeing our Prayers Answered

Joy is intimately connected with faith. The more superficial our faith is, the less will be our joy. The deeper our faith, the greater our joy. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”. What a great confirmation it is of “things not seen” when our prayers are wondrously answered.

The Lord Jesus confirmed this when He said: “Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full” (John 16:24). Obviously, not everything we pray for has the outcome we want, as it is all according to His will. But we are those who see many prayers answered in surprising ways. The reason all that is joyful is not merely because the prayer has been answered but because one’s faith is bolstered when one realises that the Lord really is there and is responding. We are not calling out into the darkness.

Fourthly,

4. Christian Joy Comes from Watching the Success of the Gospel

We know very well that there is rejoicing among the angels over every person who receives Christ and becomes His disciple: “Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10). But should that not also be a source of joy to us? It certainly was in the early church:

“Sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, recounting the conversion of the Gentiles and bringing great joy to all the brothers” (Acts 15:3).

“When the Gentiles heard this, they rejoiced and glorified the word of the Lord, and all who were appointed for eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord spread throughout that region.. … And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 13:48-49,52).

This is why it is important to find out about real situations where hearts are genuinely changed. If the angels are joyful over even one sinner who repents, can we not share in that joy too? How do you feel when you hear of a soul being saved, or of the success of the Gospel? Joy should be the response.

Fifthly,

5. Christian Joy Comes from Watching People Blossom in the Knowledge of the Truth

This is an experience had by all diligent pastors. They see people grow through their ministry and it is a joyful, faith-increasing aspect of their lives.

Let us not forget that the intensity and level of faith can fluctuate in genuine believers. It cannot be extinguished, but it can fluctuate. This is why the disciples asked the Lord Jesus to increase their faith (Luke 17:5). This is why the father of the boy with the mute spirit could say: “Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24). This is why Paul could say to the believers at Thessalonica “your faith grows exceedingly” (2 Thessalonians 1:3). Faith grows like a flower or tree the more it is nourished and exposed to the light. This is why we should seek to experience those things which can increase our faith. One of those things is seeing people blossom in the truth. So, John could say ”I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth” (3 John 4).

There can be no room for jealousy or sibling rivalry in the church. It should be a thing of great joy and an inspiration when we see someone grow — no matter how much more they grow than us! There are some who become jealous when they see the growth of others. I have even seen people who are growing fast being “put in their place” by others who neglect their spiritual lives. But spiritual pigmies (who are likely to be impostors) have no right to cut comparatively spiritual giants down to size. Instead, they should find them an inspiration and do all they can to emulate them.

We can even take joy in watching ourselves grow too. Our own growth in grace and a knowledge of the truth is also a matter of joy. Think back to how you were when you first came to Christ. Think how much you have grown. Some grow at a faster rate; some at a slower rate. Sometimes growth comes in spurts, followed by times of quietness. However it happens, we can all partake in Christian joy by watching ourselves and others blossom in the truth.

Sixthly,

6. Christian Joy Comes from the Security we have in Times of Persecution and Affliction

Ironically and paradoxically, suffering for Christ’s sake can bring Christian joy into our lives (see Colossians 1:24; 2 Corinthians 6:10; cf. 1 Peter 4:13; Hebrews 10:34, etc.). Peter confirms this:

“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial that has come upon you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed at the revelation of His glory” (1 Peter 4:12-13).

So does James say something similar: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” (James 1:2-3). Paul also connects joy with affliction:

“And you became imitators of us and of the Lord when you welcomed the message with the joy of the Holy Spirit, in spite of your great suffering. As a result, you have become an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia” (1 Thessalonians 1:6-7).

This is the heart of our faith — that Christ has paved the way to heaven for us, but this does not prevent us from suffering in the meantime. However, even in the midst of any suffering, we can rejoice in the fact that the time will come when all the gruelling experiences of this life will pale into insignificance as we see Christ in all His glory and know that His glory is ours. This is why Paul could describe his experiences thus: “…unknown, yet well-known; dying, and yet we live on; punished, yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything” (2 Corinthians 6:9-10). These are the spiritual riches which are invisible to the unbelieving world. We may look like a bunch of no-hopers but we have far more to hope for and infinitely more spiritual possessions than any of them!

In Colossians 1:11, Paul speak of us as having “full endurance and patience, and joyfully”. Grouping these three together is so important. For the Christian life is like smiling through tears. The road is so hard, and the battle so intense. Yet, behind it all there is that uniquely Christian joy, which comes to fruition in the maturing believer who knows the golden threesome of endurance, patience and joy.

The Lord Jesus said: “I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world!” (John 16:33). The Greek word which is translated there as “take courage” is θαρσέω, tharseow, which means to have confidence and firmness of purpose in the face of danger or testing — “to be confident, to be courageous, to be bold, to have confidence in someone, to be able to depend on someone” [Arndt, Bauer & Gingrich, Greek-English Lexicon]. Our joy involves taking courage and having confidence in our future because we can depend on those promises we have received in Christ.

We have joy in the midst of affliction because we can contemplate the future faithfully. We can:

“run with endurance the race set out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1-2)

If He counted it all as joy to endure the Cross for us, then we can be joyful in the midst of even the greatest affliction, knowing that He is our forerunner — that he has gone where we can follow Him.

III. HOW DO WE LOSE CHRISTIAN JOY IN OUR LIVES?

1. Christian Joy is Drained by the Presence of Unrepented Sin in One’s Life

Sometimes, the believer can be neglectful about repentance. It is not natural to be so, but if we keep the wrong company, we can be dragged down and then backslide. When this happens, we should read the Psalms, where we will see: “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and uphold me by Your generous Spirit” (Psalm 51:12).

We have to recultivate a spirit of repentance and say: “Joy has left our hearts; our dancing has turned to mourning. The crown has fallen from our head. Woe to us, for we have sinned!” (Lamentations 5:15-16).

Such devotion and repentance will restore our joy when it has been drained in this way. The Christian life is essentially one of repentance. We are the people of repentance. It didn’t stop when we first repented at the time of our conversion. For us, repentance is a way of life. Not in an obsessive manner; but we must keep a watchful eye on ourselves, repent when necessary, then move on. When we neglect that kind of life, our joy will be drained. When we live it properly, our joy will be full.

Secondly,

2. Christian Joy is Drained when we Focus on Ourselves and our Problems, Instead of Christ and His Glory

Believers should always avoid being self-centred. It is one of the greatest snares into which we (or, indeed, anyone) can fall. To be self-centred is the diametrical opposite of the Christian mindset. Like John the Baptist, we should always be saying about Christ, “He must increase; I must decrease” (John 3:30). Self-aggrandisement is an Adamic posture, so unfitting for a believer.

However, if we do fall into such a frame of mind, it will drain our Christian joy. No self-centred person can remain joyful. This was the problem with the guy who was so hung up on his possessions that he would even eschew heavenly treasure:

“Jesus told him, ‘If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me’. When the young man heard this, he went away in sorrow, because he had great wealth” (Matthew 19:21-22).

Here was a man who wasn’t a believer. He was seeker though. I believe that he was a genuine seeker who needed to learn a valuable lesson before he could come to Christ aright. It is very often like that with those who come to Christ. They aren’t quite ready and need to deal with something first. (No “Easy Believism” in the Lord Jesus’s evangelism! Most modern preachers would have bagged this guy with a five second prayer!). A strong reason I think that he was a genuine seeker is because Mark makes the following observation: ”Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack… etc.” (Mark 19:21). It would not be recorded that Jesus loved a hypocrite. He loved this man because he was a genuine seeker who needed to deal with something before he came to Christ. I strongly suspect that he was a “believer-in-waiting”. He must have been genuine because he not only ran to Christ (which rulers would not normally do) but he also came to him during the day (unlike Nicodemus, who came secretly, “at night”) and in full sight of everyone. No pride there. But he had another problem. He was attached to his possessions. He was focused on himself and his personal stash. Thus, it was hardly surprising that he “went away sorrowful”. Imagine his joy if he had followed the Lord’s command, which he may well have done at a later stage.

The fact is that “the humble also shall increase their joy in the Lord” (Isaiah 29:19), while the opposite is true that the proud and self-centred shall decrease in joy. The saint can say to the Lord: “In Your presence is fullness of joy” (Psalm 16:11), whereas the less one is in the Lord’s presence, the less there will be joy. If we increase our selves, the Lord will decrease in our lives and sorrow will result.

Maintaining joy through repentance and humility is, in fact, a Christian duty.

IV. WHY SHOULD A CHRISTIAN BE JOYFUL?

A Christian should be joyful because it is God’s purpose that he or she should be joyful! Do you need this proving to you? “Rejoice at all times. Pray without ceasing. Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:16,18). “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4).

Once you have followed the command to “Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom” (James 4:9), you will find that the Lord has given you “beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning” (Isaiah 61:3). The Lord Jesus continually wanted His disciples to know this joy: These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11). Indeed, such joy is a fruit of the Spirit, the natural outcome of having the indwelling Holy Spirit. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy…etc.” (Galatians 5:22).

Christian joy is not a hilarious, wacky sort of joy. It is like smiling profoundly through tears. It has depth, profundity. “For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17).

SOME PASTORAL CONSIDERATIONS: Questions which might mitigate our joy (along with my responses to those questions)

1) “How can I feel joy when there are so many people going to hell?”

This is a case of misplaced compassion. There will be no injustice in God’s judgement, therefore we do not need to place ourselves on a higher ethical level than the Lord. He knows what is best. We have to let God be God. We have to realise that there will not be a single person in hell who would rather be in heaven. Not a one!

It is right to feel tremendous compassion for the mass of people and a sorrow that hell even has to exist in the first place. But do not let such a thing diminish your own spiritual joy. For your joy does not depend on the destiny of those who deliberately refuse salvation but on the objective fact that you have been saved by grace for all eternity.

2) “I’m so weighed down by thinking about predestination that I can’t feel any joy”

Then you need to get out a bit more. If that’s what predestination does for you, then forget it. You’re into the wrong subject. Ditto the answer to the above question. Let God be God and forget the heavy stuff if you can’t take it. Your joy is more important than getting into a state of spiritual confusion over something that you are not ready to grapple with. In actual fact, the subject of predestination is one of the most joyful subjects possible because predestination is all about love, divine love, electing love, and that is a joyful subject indeed for the believing child of God.

3) “I’m too much into theology to be joyful!”

Well the Pharisees would be proud of you! If theology is dimming your joy (when it should really do the absolute opposite), then maybe you should go and be an evangelist for a while, then you will not be such an ‘Eeyore’!

4) “I’m too worried about the Endtimes or the Great Tribulation to be joyful”

Now let me tell you something here. First read Luke 21:10-19. Go on… get out that dusty old Bible (if you can find it) and read that passage slowly and carefully. I’ll wait for you to finish.

I’m not going anywhere for the moment. [Pause].

Now what did you see in that passage? First, note that the whole thing is in His hands. Did you see that? Not yours, but His! So don’t panic already. He controls the whole show.

Secondly, notice that whatever bad thing happens to you, the Lord turns it into something good for you and Him. See verse 13 of that passage, where even after being dragged before the authorities, it’s just a curtain call for you to be an evangelist and convert souls for the Lord. And He’ll make you so winsome that you won’t even have to work out a speech beforehand (vv.14-15).

Then, when the whole wretched world (and even your beloved parents and friends) hates your guts, you will still be okay. As He says: “Not a hair of your head shall be lost” (v.18). This doesn’t mean that you won’t be tortured or killed, for you may. It simply means that, in real terms, the Christian cannot be destroyed, for even after death you will be preserved — ultimately resurrected and brought into glory.

The key here is in those last words: “By your patient endurance you will gain your souls” (v.19). Keep a grip on yourself. Don’t let fear get to you. Even death itself is just a question of passing over a river to another bank where things are extravagantly rich and you can never stumble or die again.

5) “There are too many problems in our church for me to be joyful”

Yeah, well you’re just adding to them by thinking like that and remaining in it! If your church takes away your joy, it ain’t no church. The church should be “the suburbs of heaven” (William Perkins). If it is not living up to that, there is something seriously wrong. If you cannot change it, then don’t stay there or it will suck you down its black hole. Find some other folks with whom to fellowship. Replenish your joy in their presence.

6) “I’ve always been a depressive kind of person… and now I’m just a depressive kind of Christian”

I can understand where you’re coming from. There’s a lot to be depressed about in this world. But you need to understand that the phrase ”a depressive kind of Christian” is a contradiction in terms. One can feel deeply about the suffering and degeneration in the world, and the apostasy in the visible church, but if it all just makes you depressed then you really need to concentrate on getting in touch with the promises of joy to the believer as outlined above. Set aside time to do a special study on the subject. Find some mature friends with whom to share that joy. Then you will see that there are two streams in the Christian life — a stream of compassion (not depression) for the suffering and injustice in the world, and a stream of joy for the spiritual reality which lies behind all things. Neither of those two streams is debilitating. In fact, they are uplifting. If you suffer from clinical depression, then my heart goes out to you. There are some dear and faithful disciples who do not seem to be able to shake off deep forebodings about being in this world (C.H. Spurgeon was one such), and it is quite possible that the Lord will ‘gift’ someone with that affliction. I say “gift” because it has some good sides to it: 1) It will keep you humble; 2) It will help you to be compassionate; 3) It will help you to empathise; 4) It will teach you things which you would never otherwise have known.

7) “I’ve got too many kids to be joyful!”

How many have you got? 36? Hmm… Okay then. I can understand that.😉 Seriously, whatever we have in this life, we have it within the bounds of the will of God. It is all in His hands. If He gave you a pile of difficult children, He will give you the grace to handle it ultimately (even though it is very stressful). If you have hardship of any kind, He will show you the way to deal with it if you depend on Him; and He will never give you more than you are able to withstand: “No testing has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tested beyond what you can bear. But when you are tested, He will also provide an escape, so that you can stand up under it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). [Please read my article, entitled “Tested by Fire”, to understand this whole process of suffering more fully. It is available here: https://diakrisis-project.com/2023/03/18/tested-by-fire-the-origin-purposes-of-suffering-evil/  ]. I do very much sympathise with your position, especially if you are handling all that by yourself. But reach out to others to be friends, for they can be helpful. Find a good company of believers who can maybe help your load be lighter. Anything to recover your joy.

CONCLUSION

Experiencing Christian joy does not mean that we will go round continually with a huge grin or some kind of smug smile on our faces. The Christian life is a serious business, with many hazards and pitfalls. But the joy is always within, bubbling up to a greater or lesser degree. We may have to begin to release it by familiarising ourselves with those six points above about the origins of Christian joy. Sometimes it needs a kickstart to get going. But the overall reality is that the Lord has given us a wellspring of joy which we need to tap into in order to discover what lies behind the harsh experience of believers in this world.

The same promise which was made to the disciples who were present in Jesus’s time is relevant to us today: “So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy” (John 16:22). They were at a disadvantage to us, for when their Master was crucified they had very poorly formed ideas about the reason and purpose for the event. We, on the other hand, know so much more about the atonement and ascension of Christ than they did at that time.

Just rest assured that no one can take your joy from you. They could make you miserable with pain for a time. Satan can buffet you with his pesky suggestions and influence, if we have not been meticulous in keeping him at bay. They can even put you to death. But…

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: ‘For Your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered’. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:35-39).

 Now if that doesn’t fill you with joy, then I don’t know what will!

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© Copyright, Alan Morrison, 2026
[The copyright on my works is merely to protect them from any wanton plagiarism which could result in undesirable changes (as has actually happened!). Readers are free to reproduce my work, so long as it is in the same format and with the exact same content and its origin is acknowledged]

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