383: That His Joy May Be In You! | +Quigg Lawrence

Introduction

So we are in John chapter 15. If you have a Bible, also if my stole ever goes one way or the other, would you let me know? In every picture where I am like being a bishop and confirming people, it does this and I have no idea and you're all like what's wrong with the dudes?

So, my wife, honey, you got the signal? It's leaning left. Okay. Feel better. Okay. So, here's a signal. This means, this is my left side. Okay? You have that straight. Okay. If it's leaning left, just do this for me. If it's leaning right, you go one finger. So, okay. Right. Left or right? Okay. Well, that was pretty confusing. Thank you for your incredible help there.

Today, is a passage and kind of the bottom line upfront is, Jesus says, the joy that I have, I want you guys to have it. The joy, like not just happiness, laughter, yuck, yuck, yuck, but the joy that I have. I want you guys to have that. And so we're going to see how to get there.

But first, I want to kind of know like, what do you expect of your children and grandchildren? What do you expect? So, kind of this is what I had in mind when I first got married. Go like this. If I say jump, how high? If I say go left, go left. I say go right, go right. If I say brush your teeth, I mean it. I don't mean next week. I just expect that. Order, order, order.

But you know what I found out, especially as I got older? I love obedience, I really do. I really don't like disobedience, but even more than that, I honestly want a relationship with my children, and my grandchildren, and even some of your children. I really want a relationship with them.

And so, I had some pictures I pulled, just wanted you to see. Okay, Mary Winn is going to kill me. That's Mary Winn probably, well, she's like 31. So, maybe twenty-nine years ago. That's her. But do you see like the relationship going on there? At that moment, I don't care whether she made her bed or not. I really honestly could care less. I don't care if she got an A in preschool, whatever. I don't care. I just want to jump up in my lap and hug her and let me hug her and know each other. Next picture, please.

Okay. So, the goofy guy on the far right, that's me and that's Sage. She's been living most of her life in Japan and she is just such a little love bug. You'll meet her. She's amazing. Next picture. Again, Mary Winn.

So, do you guys know what her nickname was? Well, she had a couple nicknames but her main nickname, do you know what it was? Quig and a wig. And I'm sure there are moments where she's like, oh gosh, I look like my dad, my, you know, whatever. But, and Rowie, and Rowie looks so much like her. So, it's the genetic thing's working. But, do you see that there? Like that, that's winning. That's winning. Like, that is even more important to me than if she makes her bed, okay?

Next one. There's honey. There's the queen. There's the queen and there's Sage again. Do you see the joy there? Like, that's what Jesus wants. He wants joy. Like, you can have rule followers and again, we like obedience. Obedience is a beautiful thing but we want the love to Jesus's love. Do you ever, Jesus said, let the little children come to me, hinder them not for such belongs the kingdom of God and we've seen the paintings, you know, of Jesus just like hugging and loving on the kids. He wants you to experience that joy.

Do we have one more? Oh, there he is. Quig and the wig three point oh. Do you know how much fun we had, you guys? Like, the cool thing about being a grandparent is, we've been told we're not allowed to discipline. There are times I like to, but it's not our job. Our job is to love on these little chaps, and they love on us. And honestly, you guys, they're like our best friends. We adore them.

Is there one last one of okay, oh, there's another one. That's very good looking of me there. And you see Rowie, young Rowie in the back, and then Campbell Grace, camp, you see camp there in the gray shirt and that's Sage and there's Emmy. She's our oldest living grandchild. We had Eva Grace before her but that's our oldest one and we just love them so much.

Are we having fun? Yeah. I think there's one more. He's the young prince. So, all the way from Adam down to me, there was a line, unbroken. You know, like apostolic succession or whatever. All the way from Adam and Eve and we came and my son is a helicopter pilot and they're around, I think it's radar on ships and apparently, like eighty-five percent of the babies born to helicopter and jet pilots are females. Certainly for helicopter pilots. That's the stat I've been given. And so I'm like, Fleet, could you just come off the ship for a while? Get a land-based job because I need an heir. I don't, I mean, it was, I didn't want the Lawrence line to die and and whatever. You know, we needed an heir and so, we prayed and this little buddy was born and his heart was beating two sixty-five beats a minute. It's like Satan was trying to take him out, but no, no, no, no. God saved him. He's living a happy life. We're so grateful.

Is there a next picture? Are we done? Oh, okay, cool.

The Heart of the Message

So, I've shown you some visuals of kind of the joy. What do we want from our kids and grandkids? And as I read John 15, there's parts of it I really liked, I'm the vine, you're the branches. But honestly, as I started to read it, there was a lot in John 15. I'm like, I don't I don't really like this. In fact, I was reading all these commentaries because they're really smart people because they have PhDs, you know, and I'm reading it and they're all trying to evade the basic thing where Jesus goes, if you obey my commandments, you're my friends and so I'm thinking like, so if I disobey or miss the mark, then I'm not his friend and I'm smart enough to realize that I often miss the mark and so, if you just took that one verse, just ripped it out, we'd all be in despair.

But what I discovered is I, you know, my friend Charles Wilson always says, context is king. Context is king. So, I started reading John thirteen fourteen and I found a lot of little happy things. A lot of, I call 'em the 10 gospel truths because you gotta know when Jesus says, if you love me, you're gonna obey my commands. He says, abide in my love and it's feeling maybe like a little bit like rules. What I want to tell you is, he's establishing before we get to this, that they're already his kids. They're already clean. They're already his and he's going to go away, and he's going to send the Holy Spirit.

And then in a while, he says, you're going to follow me. Because I live, you're going to live like forever. So he's laying context. So I'm just going to machine gun a matchup. John thirteen two, Jesus was at the last supper with his followers and they ate and then after dinner, he got up and he picked up a bowl and he picked up a towel and he did the unthinkable. The rabbi, the teacher, washed their feet.

I don't know about you, but like my version of hell is to be like a podiatrist or shoe salesman. Like really? Yuck. But Jesus washed their feet because that's because he loved them. That's context.

John thirteen ten, Jesus pronounces to everyone at the table, I think he did mean Judas, but all the rest of y'all, he goes, y'all are clean. You guys that are following me, you're clean already. So, that's been done, okay. It's been done really before the foundation of the earth.

John thirteen thirty three, Jesus uses a name for his disciples, and no, it wasn't knuckleheads, though he could have used that. What's a tender phrase that he used? Little children. I mean, we're fishermen, okay? But he said little children. He had such a tender love for his followers and so, it's not like they're trying to earn his approval. They already got it.

John thirteen thirty six, Jesus says, I'm going away and you can't come where I'm going right now but you will. You're going to follow me afterward. You don't say that to enemies, you say that to children. Children of the most high.

John fourteen four, some similarly, Jesus promises, I'm going to prepare a place for you in heaven and I'm going to return so that where I am, there you will be also. It's not condition, there's no conditions there. He's saying, this is truth.

Next one, Jesus says, I'm gonna ask the Father and while I'm away from you, I'm gonna be away for a while but I'm gonna send the helper, the Spirit of truth who will live inside of you. He's gonna encourage you. He's gonna teach you. He's gonna be God present with you. You don't say that to people who are trying to earn their way. You say that to people who've already been made children of God. Do you see the context?

Maybe a couple more. John fourteen nineteen, Jesus promises, because I live, you also will live even after death, you're gonna live. You don't say that to pagans, you say that to children of God.

Jesus says in John fourteen twenty seven, and I don't know about you, but sometimes I got to turn off the news. I actually went off Facebook for nine months. I'm a promoter, I mean, by nature, I am a promoter, I'm an influencer, but I just couldn't take it anymore. And so now, like I'll post stuff on Facebook, but I hardly ever look on Facebook. If you post a cute picture of your kid or grandkid or your dog, just know it's not that I don't love you or your dog or your kid, I just don't spend time on Facebook anymore.

I'll post, you know, a picture, a church thing to Instagram that goes to Facebook but I still spend time there. Jesus says, I want you to have my shalom, my peace. I actually think one of the greatest evangelistic tools would be, if we sat in the Lord's presence and experience his peace, we wouldn't have to live on an experience that is 25 or 50 years old. We'd actually know the peace of the Lord and that would change everything. Greatest evangelistic tool in the world.

Last one, Jesus repeats himself in John fifteen three. He goes, you guys are already clean. And so do you see the context? I've given you ten examples. Like he's talking to those he's already purchased. Those who've been redeemed, born again. Okay, those who belong to him. He says, I'll never leave you nor forsake you. Nothing's going to separate you from the love of God that's in Christ Jesus. And so, with that background, then, we can go to the hard sayings and not have apoplexy.

The Heart of the Message

Okay. So, turn your Bibles. We're in John fifteen, nine. It starts out. Honestly, we could have done a sermon on one verse. John fifteen, nine says this, Jesus says, as the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.

The incredible love that the Father has for me, that's the same love with which I'm loving you.

See, the reason, Miss Annette, sometimes I say, quick, you just by nature, a pretty loving person, not, you know, not always but most of the time, I'm pretty loving and why is that? Is that just because I'm nice? No, I ain't that nice. It's because the Lord has loved me. My mama loved me. I know what it is to be loved.

And it is so amazing. Like, when you have the Father's love, it's just so freeing. Like, I can risk loving other people knowing that they may not love me back. And you know what? It's okay because I know I'm loved, I'm secure.

And so Jesus says, with the same love the Father's love me, I'm gonna love you. Would you guys, would you guys stay in that love? Why would you ever want to get off the road? Why would you want to go to the left or the right? Just just stay, abide, make your house, make your camp, make everything about you. I want you to stay in my love.

And he used the illustration, I'm the vine, you're the branches, apart from me, you can do nothing. And so, what love, an amazing love the Lord has for us.

Abide in His Love

Verse 10, Jesus says, if you keep my commandments, you will abide, you're going to remain or abide in my love, just as I have kept my father's commandments and abide in his love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love.

Well, that seems like a little rules oriented to me and I, believe it or not, I am not a rule follower. Do you know this about me? But and so when he says, if you keep my commandments, you're going to abide in my love. It sounds conditional. It sounds quid pro quo and then that's why I read all these really smart guys who write commentaries and what I saw is every one of them dodged it. They all explain in a way blah blah blah and I wrote this amazing sermon using all their blah blah blah. And I read it, and I'm like, this is awful.

Let's, let's just see, let's take it another way. Let's reframe it. Here's the thing, I used to go fishing with my granddad. He was a great fisherman. I remember seeing him as a kid. He caught a 12-pound, two-ounce bass, and you know, for this part of Virginia, they ain't too shabby, okay? He had it swimming in his bathtub, which is weird. But I got to see a 12-something bass swimming in his bathtub.

My granddad was the worst driver. The last time he drove, he took out seven cars and we finally had to take his keys, but maybe a year or so before that and many years before that, actually, I go fishing with him and it was like, not not growing up with a dad like it was super super fun to go with your granddad and go in this pond where they had really big fish and there's my grandmother make a picnic thing and we'd eat well and we laugh and I felt loved.

And if my granddad said, hey, son, would you grab the battery to put it in the boat? Oh, yes, sir. Hey, quick. They're not biting on the right side. So, cast out on the left side. Okay. Hey, quick. Blah blah blah. Whatever he said, I would happily do it cause I didn't see it as a rule or a burden. I just heard words from a man that loved me and he was because he loved me, he wanted me to catch fish and so he was giving me instruction and I was like, sir, yes, sir. Happily, happily.

So, we go to verse 11. Jesus says, these things I have spoken to you. Like, Jesus is not wasting his voice. Like, I can talk to paint off the wall and I got some kids and grandkids that are pretty not far behind. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I never met a word I didn't like. Jesus doesn't waste his words. Think of the ten commandments. There are only ten words. Ten words. That's it. And so, Jesus says, this is my command. I want to just want to be super clear. This is my commandment that you love one another. Not like each other, not be nice, not tolerate. See, that's what I do when I don't like somebody. I'm like, I'm a Christian. I gotta love 'em but I don't. So, I'll just be nice to 'em. That's not what the command is. Jesus because he loves you and he's trying to guard your heart from becoming hard. He says, you know that love that I got from the Father that I pour into you, poured, pour, and will pour? That same love, I want you to pour it out to others. Be a be a tube. Let my love come through you to others.

And so, this is my commandment that you love one another. Ain't that what we want? Like, what's the alternative? That we hate and we fight and we bicker and because I just want you guys to love each other. Greater love has no one than this that he laid down his life for his friends.

And Jesus, Jesus in verse 14, says something amazing because he's he's the king. You know, like, before creation happened, he was there. He was the one that spoke all things into existence. He's the one that the Father's given final judgment. He's a big deal and he says, you know what? You're not just servants of mine. You are my friends. You're my friends.

Jesus’ Friendship and Commandments

Do you struggle with self-worth? Hey, man. Read the scriptures. What does Jesus say about you? If you're in him. Are you just a bond servant? Are you just a slave? No. You're a friend. You're his friend. He loves you. He loves you a lot more than anyone.

And he says, verse 15, no longer do I call you servants, for the servant doesn't know what the master's doing, but I call you friends. And so the main point of verse 14 is this, you are my friends if you do what I command.

You are my friends if you do what I command. That sounds a little bit, again, a little rules oriented, a little legalistic, that's what I'm hearing, you know, except for the fact that it's not legalistic if it's true.

Now, if you're a duck, what do ducks do? Wow, y'all are city people. A duck, what sound does a duck make? Good. Good. What's what what sound does a dog make? Roof. Roof. Roof. Right. Right. So if you're if you're a duck, you're gonna quack. If you're a dog, you're gonna bark. If you're a pig, you're going to do that and you're going roll in mud because you're a pig and that's what pigs do. If you're a crow, you're going to do this. Right? Was there one more? Oh, yeah. Well, if you're a Christian, you you may not quack, and you may not bark, but Christians, it's like they can't help it because God the Holy Spirit lives in them. So, it's not about you being good and saying, I'm going to be good but the Spirit of God working through you will lead you to want to obey your Father because you love him.

Just like I love my grandkids and and and the few times, the very few times I'm like, hey, don't don't don't stick your finger in that light socket. Hey, it's probably not a good idea to throw a rock at your sister. You know, when I, the few times I give them commands, it's not like I'm trying to ruin their day or be heavy handed. I really want to bless them. I don't want the other one to get hit in the head with a rock. I don't want them to get shocked.

So, occasionally, I'll give them commands. The commands are not burdensome. The scripture says, they're our very life. So, we reframe it. Commands are not like, do this and I love you. No, you're already loved. You're already clean. You're already friends. But his commands like he means for us to obey him. He really does. He really does. Because he knows that that's a place of freedom.

The Purpose and the Joy

Oh, what verse were we on, y'all? Was it 16? Okay. So, everybody that grew up Presbyterian will love this. If you grew up in an Anabaptist tradition, you will hate this. But whether whatever you are, the Bible's the Bible. Bow before it. This is truth.

Jesus says, you didn't choose me. You know, all that old bumper sticker, I found him or Billy Graham says, it's your choice and I love Billy Graham. He's dead now. But he say, at these big things, it's your choice. They'll wait. Come on down and what I want to say is Billy, I love you.

It's not their choice. Ultimately, the only way we can ever choose God is if he pulls the scales off our eyes, changes our heart, and bends us to accept his love.

It's his choice. That's what scripture says. It says, you, Jesus said, you did not choose me but I chose you. I don't know about your self-worth. I don't know about, you know, you've, my life's terrible. Nobody likes me going to the garden to eat worms. But do you know that if you're in Christ, you're a friend of his? Do you know that if you're in Christ, if you're in Christ, he loves you so much and he actually chose you? He chose you. That's a big deal.

Christ chose you and not only did he choose you to be on the team, he actually has something for you to do for him. Again, not to earn his love, it's already there. Not to earn his friendship, it's already there. Not to be clean because if you're a Christian, you're already clean. But like Ephesians 2:10 says, before the foundation of the earth, he appointed good works for you to walk in.

He, see, verses 2 and 8 are talking about how do you become a Christian? It's by grace through faith. It's a gift, not of yourself but verse 10 says, hey, the good news is, I'm not going to leave you on the couch until you go to heaven. I'm actually going to use you. Is that cool? That's cool. God wants to use you. And so, not only did God choose you, but He appointed you. He appointed you to do what? That you should go and bear fruit.

Do you have a picture of a fruit tree somewhere? Like that's what God wants in your life. And so often, this is what a lot of Christians look like. Next slide. Like that. Go back to the full one. You want to be a tree like that? Yeah. Or do you want to be like the next one?

Jesus wants us to bear fruit in his name. So, let me ask you a question. Jesus has already said this. He said, I've loved you as my Father's loved me. Abide in my love. And you know what? Keep my commandments, and you're gonna remain in my love because my commands are not burdensome. They're your very life.

Verse 11 is like the key verse. He goes, I've spoken these things to you that my joy may be in you. I think a lot of us need his joy. You know, everybody can go, how you doing? How you doing? Lane, how you doing this morning? That's what I always say too. Could be like the worst day in the world. Just had a fight, you know, a disagreement with the queen and I go out and I'm just, I got a stinking spirit. Someone goes, how you doing? I'm like, fine. I'm fine but actually, I'm not because I've sinned against my wife. I've been grumpy with her. God wants you to obey his commands because he loves you because you're a kid, you're not a pagan. You're his child, you're not a foreigner.

As I often say, I never disciplined my neighbor's dog. Well, once or twice I did, but I shouldn't have. God disciplines those he loves. And when he gives the commands, I just want you to reframe it. They're not burdensome. They're not burdensome. You know what's burdensome? Living as your own god is burdensome. You know, it'd be like working in an ice cream store. I'm thinking like the greatest job in the world. Well, clearly, it's not to be a shoe salesman or do pedicures, okay? But the greatest job in the world would be working in an ice cream store. Man, I would eat the heck out of chocolate ice cream all day long.

My twin sister worked in an ice cream store for a while. She said the first two days were awesome. She said, after that, I didn't eat ice cream. Like, I'd never wanted ice cream again. The Lord wants us to be his kids, to obey his commandments, not because he's a rule guy. He said, so that my joy will be in you and that your joy will be full.

And so my prayer today is that we would accept the joy of the Lord, and we would see his commands not as a burden, but as wise instruction from a God who was and is and ever shall be, from a God who knows what's ahead, and he cares so much about you, like he does care how you walk. No, he's a good God. He loves you, you're his kids, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, amen.