God
Gives Joy
1
John 1:3-7
Introduction: The service was just beginning at
As the sermon progressed, he
listened with great interest. Then the preacher declared: Now how many of you are not saved, but you would like to be, and you
want us to pray for you? Will you raise your hand? The man threw his hand up,
waved it back and forth until he was recognized, and then darted to the altar.
There, he stood stiff and
erect. The preacher asked, Sir, do you
believe that Christ died to save sinners? Yes, Sir, I do just that, he said proudly. He was then baptized. He
came up out of the water clapping his hands and shouting, Hot dog, hot dog, hot dog.
The people roared with
laughter. But, the preacher asked for silence and explained that the man had
not been around the church and didnt know about Amen, Praise the Lord, and Hallelujah. His word was Hot dog.[1]
John tells us: God gives joy. The passage names
that joy, describes it and reveals its cause.
Joy is Named: The
joy that God gives is the joy of participation in Gods life. You heard
last week that Jesus is life. If any human is to have life, it must be through
participation in the life of God, for all else is death.
But, there are at least two
ways we can view participation: Participation can be akin to being connected
like the two parts of this hi-liter. The individual pieces are together in such
a way that they are connected, but they can be easily separated. They are
connected but they are not united.
On the other hand,
participation in the life of God is akin to the union of water with water. The
two are truly united; we in Christ and Christ in us. Yet, through participation
in Gods life, not only are we united with God, but we are also united with
every other child of God in the world: no matter whom they are, where they are
from, what language they speak or what color they are. That is why John wrote,
that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too
may have [partnership] with us; and indeed our [partnership] is with the Father
and with his Son Jesus Christ.
To claim Jesus Christ as Lord
is to proclaim with the 18th century preacher, George Whitefield: The partition wall has for some time been
broken down out of my heart, and I can truly say whoever loves the Lord Jesus,
the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.[2]
Can you say that today? Are you truly united with God and, by necessity, united
with all
of Gods children?
So, where does the joy come in?
The joy of participation in the life of God comes from this union. As believers
on Jesus Christ, and thus as participants in the life of God, we are so united
with Gods life that we die only if God dies. And God is eternal. Jesus said in
John 11, he who believes in me will live
even though he dies and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.
We never become gods, but we are so united with God that we realize all the
riches of the life of God.
When Haydn, the great musician,
was asked why his church music was so cheerful, he replied: When I think upon
God, my heart is so full of joy that the notes dance and leap, as it were, from
my pen
.[3]
Dr. Walter Wilson says that he
was visiting in a home when the members of the family were asked to quote Bible
verses. One little girl quoted John 3:16 saying: For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish but have internal life.[4]
That is the joy of
participation in the life of God: it is internal life now because it is also
eternal
life.
The
Appearance of Participation: So,
what do participants in the life of God look like? Simply stated; they act as
we see God acting as Jesus Christ.
A Sunday school teacher once
asked a class what was meant by the word repentance. A little boy put up his
hand and said, It is being sorry for your sins. A little girl raised
her hand and said, Please, it is being sorry enough to quit.[5]
Not only have some who fill the
pews in todays church not quit, they have grown very comfortable with the
darkness of sin. I would like to tell you that the person united with God never
sins: that he never walks in darkness. I want to say that because, for some,
unless they hear that, they will continue to minimize the seriousness of sin.
But, to be true to scripture, I cannot. And, as you will hear later, that is
cause for joy.
The church has many who accept
anything for the sake of the status quo. They allow their children not to
worship simply because it causes conflict to demand it. They tell them through their
own actions that the family get-together, the job, the afternoon meal, the
vacation is more important than the worship of God. They accept sexual
immorality in their homes and in their families in order to avoid conflict. The
church has, in some ways, come to stand for nothing and, therefore, will fall
for anything.
After cataloging a long list of sins,
Paul says in Romans 1:32, Though they
know Gods decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not
only do them but give approval to those who practice
them.[6]
The Apostle John
says, God is
light, and in him is no darkness at all. One cannot be a participant in the life of God
and habitually embrace darkness. Participants in Gods life live the way God
lives and stands against the things God rejects.
It is not enough to feel sorry
for our sins. The person who participates in the life of God hates everything
that pertains to darkness whether in himself or in others. Only the person who walks
in the light, as he is in the light has fellowship with God and with one
another.
The Cause
of Participation: So, I
ask again, Where is the joy? Does it give you joy to know that true participants in the life of God necessarily
stop sinning and oppose the
sin of others? I have known several very strong Christians in my time, but I
have never known one who did not sin at one time or another or at some other
time embrace the sin of others.
How can we have joy when we are
all sinners who actually sin? Here is where the joy becomes evident. Here is
where the love and grace of God flashes like neon signs in the night. Here - the
good news hits the marquis: Purity is not
what unites us with God and with each other.
John writes,
and
the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. The
Greek word for "cleanses conveys
a continuous action. In other words, all of Gods children need and receive continuing
forgiveness of sin. It is that truth alone, which unites us and keeps us united
to God. Theres the joy! Hot dog, hot
dog, hot dog.
In
Purity is not what unites us
with God. But, purity is the evidence that one is being cleansed by the blood
of Jesus. Purity is evidence of on-going forgiveness. Purity is evidence that
one is a true participant in the life
of God.
A preacher was speaking from the
text, The blood of Jesus Christ his Son
cleanses us from all sin. Suddenly he was interrupted by an atheist who
asked, How can blood cleanse sin?
For a moment the preacher was silent; then he countered, How can water quench thirst? I
do not know, replied the atheist, but
I know that it does. Neither do I
know how the blood of Jesus cleanses sin, answered the preacher, but I know that it does.[8] True
participants know that they are accepted by God through the blood of Christ. Therein
is indescribable joy!
Conclusion: In
conclusion: As a third-century man was anticipating death, he penned these last
words to a friend: "It's a bad
world, an incredibly bad world. But I have discovered in the midst of it a
quiet and holy people who have learned a great secret. They have found a joy
which is a thousand times better than any pleasure of our sinful life. They are
despised and persecuted, but they care not. They are masters of their souls.
They have overcome the world. These people are the Christians - and I am one of
them."[9]
When you think of what God has done for you as Jesus Christ
do you say to inwardly if not outwardly, Amen,
Praise the Lord, or Hallelujah? Oh, what am I thinking? I forgot for a
moment that there is a reason that we are known as Gods chosen frozen.
But, in truth, evidence that you and I know the joy of
participation is not found in our words, only in lives lived for the glory of
God. For the life lived in harmony with the life of God and Gods people
declares to all around us: Hot dog!
What does it mean to you this morning to know that God gives
joy? Do you know the joy of participation in the life of God?
[1]
Hot
dog, hot dog, hot dog... - Attributed to "Tom Wallace" in "Tan,
P. L. (1996, c1979). Encyclopedia of 7700 illustrations : [a treasury of
illustrations, anecdotes, facts and quotations for pastors, teachers and
Christian workers].
[2]
George Whitefield quote - Attributed to "Raymond W. Settle"
in "Tan, P. L
under "Fellowship".
[3] When
Haydn, the great musician
- Found under "Joy" in
"Tan, P. L
Adapted.
[4]
should not perish but have internal life. - Found in "Tan, P. L.
under
"Fellowship".
[5]
it
is being sorry enough to quit. - Attributed to "Donald Grey
Barnhouse" in Tan, P. L
[6]The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001 (Ro
[7]
Abraham
Lincolns substitute
- Found in Tan,
P. L
under Salvation
[8]
How can blood
cleanse sin?
- Attributed to Sunday School Times under the blood in Tan, P. L.
[9] Attributed to Today In The Word,
June, 1988, p. 18 at eSermons.com