Living in Jesus, Abiding in Him (34)

 

“These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be [“abide” in Greek] in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:11 NASB).

 

“But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves.” (John 17:13 NASB).

 

The joy of Jesus is not dependent upon outside circumstances. The same is true for His peace. “Peace I leave with you; My peace do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful” (John 14:27). Jesus speaks of His peace when He will soon be betrayed, tortured, and crucified.

 

When Jesus approached the Cross, He was so focused on “the joy set before Him” that He “despised the shame” of the Cross (Heb. 12:20). The joy and the peace of Jesus make no sense to the natural man. How can a person be peaceful and joyful amid suffering and reversal and grief and loss? This is beyond understanding.

 

Peter terms our joy “inexpressible and full of glory” (1 Pt. 1:8). Paul writes that the peace of God “surpasses all comprehension” (Phil. 4:7). Suffering for Christ and the glory and joy of Christ are themes of 1 Peter. Suffering for Christ and rejoicing and peace in Christ are themes of Philippians, written from prison.

 

Our joy and peace in Christ Jesus are not outwardly oriented. Paul and Silas sang praises to God in prison (Acts 16:25). Do we want to teach people Biblical joy in Jesus Christ, or do we want to make people dependent on their feelings and outward expressions? What is the foundation of our teaching and practice? Upon what are we building?

 

If our joy and peace are in Jesus Christ, then all is well; but if Jesus is simply a mascot, if He is akin to Colonel Sanders, if He represents a lifestyle, if He is our therapist or motivational speaker, if He is our public spokesman – then we have a problem. Jesus is God and He calls us to a way of life that requires self-sacrifice and obedience to Him. As Bonhoeffer wrote, “When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die.”

 

“Rejoice then in the Giver and his goodness, be happy in him, O my heart, and in nothing but God, for whatever a man trusts in, from that he expects happiness.

 

“He who is the ground of thy faith should be the substance of thy joy.” The Valley of Vision, page 278.

 

Is my faith in Jesus, or is it in a way of doing “church”? Is my faith in Jesus, or is it in a certain way of having a Sunday morning “experience”?

 

If our churches were closed next week (and why should they be for we are hardly a threat to anyone), would we still gather? Would we still gather to worship and to edify one another, whether in small groups or larger assemblies? If our power grid collapsed so we could no longer have amplified speaking and music, would we still gather? If our pastors and lead musicians and singers were no longer available, would we gather to worship and share His Word? Would we have joy?

 

When things are tough at work, at school, in society, in family – do we worship, do we know His joy and His peace?

 

Jesus desires that His joy be perfected within us – this is a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit that surpasses circumstances and our surroundings. The joy of Jesus is grounded in koinonia with Him and with one another, it is a Way of Life, it is His Way of Life in the Father.

 

Now I’m sure I’ve been misunderstood in what I’ve written. I deeply believe in the organic expression of the Body of Christ, and I love music that emanates from His Body. I think that it would probably be good for quiet churches to learn to let loose now and then, and I think it would be good for churches accustomed to exuberant expression to just be quiet occasionally. There is a lot we can learn from one another. I have a tambourine that I love to play when I can, and I have danced in church a time or two and I have found that a good shout of “glory!” and “hallelujah” to our Lord is wonderful. I also know what it is to be so overwhelmed by the Holy Spirit that to speak seems like profaning the moment.

 

So to remind us, if we think that “worship” is what happens when we have a band play during our gatherings, if we confine our thinking of worship to that particular part of the service, then we have departed from the Biblical view of worship. Of course worship ought to occur when we engage in singing and music – but Biblical worship is so much more, it ought to encompass all that we do when we gather, it ought to encompass all of life in Christ.

 

In our worship, we will know joy; in our joy we will know worship.

 

In both we will know Jesus.