WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:00.800 Joy is this. 00:00:01.040 --> 00:00:04.559 Joy is the look on someone's face when they're happy to see you. 00:00:06.000 --> 00:00:11.679 Joy is primarily communicated through the face and secondarily through your tone of voice. 00:00:12.800 --> 00:00:16.719 You'd be surprised how much I have to work on this around my family and my kids. 00:00:17.039 --> 00:00:23.760 I want my home to be a loving, joyful place, and sometimes I realize that is the last thing I am communicating. 00:00:24.000 --> 00:00:31.359 Because I have not spent enough time abiding in love and allowing God's joy to be complete in me so that it can overflow to other people. 00:00:31.600 --> 00:00:35.039 Joy is relational, it does not exist outside of relationship. 00:00:35.200 --> 00:00:36.880 Joy is important to God and us. 00:00:37.119 --> 00:00:39.840 He designed our brains to run at the speed of joy. 00:00:40.079 --> 00:00:42.159 Scripture verses, if you would like them. 00:00:42.479 --> 00:00:49.280 May God be gracious to you and bless you, and cause his face to shine mightily upon you. 00:00:50.240 --> 00:00:51.840 His face-to-face. 00:00:52.479 --> 00:00:56.079 I am happy to be with you, and you are happy to be with me. 00:00:57.359 --> 00:01:04.560 This podcast is brought to you by Grand Parquet Baptist Church, helping people to know, enjoy, and glorify God. 00:01:04.799 --> 00:01:10.400 For more information about Grand Parkway, visit our website at grandparkway.org. 00:01:11.200 --> 00:01:22.719 I want to confess all the ways this week that we've abided in fear and anxiety and guilt and shame and not enoughness and insecurity and abdicated some of our responsibilities. 00:01:22.799 --> 00:01:32.400 So this morning we come again, fresh and new, as your bride, saying your name, that you make dead things come alive. 00:01:33.120 --> 00:01:35.760 So where our joy's been killed, would you resurrect it? 00:01:35.840 --> 00:01:39.760 Where our love has died on the vine, would you bring it back to life? 00:01:41.120 --> 00:01:51.760 And would you, with the power of your Holy Spirit, sit with us, enjoy us, and motivate us and animate us to abundant life. 00:01:52.000 --> 00:01:54.319 In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 00:01:54.480 --> 00:01:57.200 And all God's people said, Amen. 00:01:57.280 --> 00:01:58.640 You can have a seat. 00:01:59.519 --> 00:02:01.200 Well, good morning, church. 00:02:02.159 --> 00:02:03.519 It's good to be back with you guys. 00:02:03.599 --> 00:02:07.280 Thanks so much for being a warm, welcoming presence in my life. 00:02:08.560 --> 00:02:10.159 My family's praying for you. 00:02:10.960 --> 00:02:17.439 If I sound a little bit funny, I just got over the crud this week, and right before I got on the plane to come here, my wife went down for the count. 00:02:17.680 --> 00:02:24.240 But she is praying for us, my kids are praying for us, and I talked to my mom in the airport, and she's praying for you. 00:02:24.400 --> 00:02:30.719 So expect revival this morning if Joyce Brooks is praying for you, because here's the evidence that it works. 00:02:31.360 --> 00:02:34.560 You guys have been journeying through the book of Matthew. 00:02:34.639 --> 00:02:37.680 Um, and man, you guys are hitting some hard stuff. 00:02:37.759 --> 00:02:58.639 I want to remind you when you started uh a few weeks back that the purpose of Matthew was written one, so that you could tell the story of Jesus, two, apologetic and evangelistic, three, was to experience the reality of kingdom, and four was to teach the truth of Christianity and its ethical implications. 00:02:58.800 --> 00:03:00.800 And you guys have been running full onto that, right? 00:03:00.879 --> 00:03:05.280 You just guys just got done talking about Jesus going, you've heard it said, but I say, right? 00:03:05.439 --> 00:03:11.520 He's got not going over murder, he's going after anger, he's not just going after adultery, he's going after lust. 00:03:11.680 --> 00:03:31.120 And what I want to do this morning, when you guys jump back in next week, I want to make sure I increase your capacity and your desire to abide in love and joy so that you can live out the ethical implications of the kingdom of God in your closest relationships. 00:03:31.360 --> 00:03:41.759 Because I'm going to submit to you a statement that we'll get to towards the end, that your spiritual maturity is directly tied to your relational maturity. 00:03:42.560 --> 00:03:47.039 Turn with me in your Bibles to John chapter 15, uh, we'll be in 5 through 11. 00:03:47.199 --> 00:03:48.960 John chapter 15, 5 through 11. 00:03:49.039 --> 00:03:51.919 While you're turning there, let me say a prayer over the reading of God's word. 00:03:52.479 --> 00:03:55.840 Holy Spirit, would you give us eyes to see and ears to hear? 00:03:57.039 --> 00:04:00.240 Jesus, would you go before us in this text and make a way? 00:04:01.199 --> 00:04:04.479 And together we say the words that ravage your heart. 00:04:04.800 --> 00:04:05.840 Speak, Lord. 00:04:06.080 --> 00:04:07.680 Your servants are listening. 00:04:07.919 --> 00:04:08.560 Amen. 00:04:09.599 --> 00:04:11.599 John 15, starting verse 5. 00:04:11.759 --> 00:04:14.400 I am the vine, you are the branches. 00:04:14.879 --> 00:04:19.439 Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit. 00:04:19.759 --> 00:04:23.519 For apart from me you can do nothing. 00:04:24.560 --> 00:04:33.040 If anyone does not abide in me, he is thrown away like a branch and withers, and the branches are gathered and thrown into the fire and burned. 00:04:33.519 --> 00:04:41.439 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 00:04:41.839 --> 00:04:49.120 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples. 00:04:49.600 --> 00:04:53.279 As the Father has loved me, so I loved you. 00:04:53.600 --> 00:04:57.759 Abide in my love. 00:04:59.120 --> 00:05:06.480 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love. 00:05:07.439 --> 00:05:14.959 Just as I have kept the Father's commandments and abide in his love. 00:05:15.920 --> 00:05:26.319 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. 00:05:26.560 --> 00:05:29.120 I'll say the word of the Lord if you'll say thanks be to God. 00:05:29.279 --> 00:05:30.079 The word of the Lord. 00:05:31.920 --> 00:05:35.759 There's some pretty important words in there that I just want us to marinate in, right? 00:05:36.000 --> 00:05:39.040 Abide in love, joy full. 00:05:39.199 --> 00:05:43.920 That iambic pantameter of a relationship in rhythm with Jesus. 00:05:44.319 --> 00:05:45.519 I think words are important. 00:05:45.680 --> 00:05:47.600 I think words kind of create worlds. 00:05:57.040 --> 00:06:02.879 And then when I look out inside the world, I want to see the words that are shaping our perspective in culture. 00:06:03.279 --> 00:06:12.560 Did you guys know that every year the Oxford English Dictionary adds a word to its vocabulary or to the English language? 00:06:12.800 --> 00:06:14.000 I don't know what it looks like. 00:06:14.160 --> 00:06:21.439 I picture like snooty British people in tweeds smoking pipes and going, hmm, let's put this word in the Queen's English. 00:06:21.680 --> 00:06:29.439 But every year they they vote and they look at a word that's risen in popularity and they add it to our vernacular. 00:06:29.680 --> 00:06:38.800 In 2025 of this year, they voted for a word that they saw a 230% increase in usage. 00:06:39.120 --> 00:06:40.240 Would you like to know what it is? 00:06:40.399 --> 00:06:41.839 Drumroll, please. 00:06:42.319 --> 00:06:43.439 Brain rot. 00:06:46.240 --> 00:06:47.680 Hello, students. 00:06:49.120 --> 00:07:01.839 Just for those of you who are unfamiliar like I am, brain rot, this is their definition, is the worry that consuming the internet's endless waves of means and video clips, especially on social media, might be causing brain damage. 00:07:03.120 --> 00:07:04.079 In fact, it is. 00:07:39.680 --> 00:07:45.279 And I quote, I uh by the way, I don't understand half the things I'm saying, just so we're clear. 00:07:46.240 --> 00:07:53.199 Social media is low-key draining our vibes, turning us into joyless, basic Christians who can't grow or get on the same page. 00:07:53.360 --> 00:07:57.920 It's like we're stuck in a loop of endless scrolling, losing our spark and depth. 00:07:58.240 --> 00:08:09.199 So, it literally spelled out, so like everything, your phone, your thoughts, your vibe is either straight up shaping you or straight up wrecking you spiritually. 00:08:09.519 --> 00:08:11.680 Skibbity toilet 67, you're welcome. 00:08:11.759 --> 00:08:12.399 Any other things? 00:08:12.560 --> 00:08:13.439 I don't. 00:08:15.839 --> 00:08:23.199 For those of you who were like me who have no idea what that meant, let me summarize it for you. 00:08:24.639 --> 00:08:30.720 Everything in your life right now is either spiritually forming you or deforming you. 00:08:34.559 --> 00:08:51.919 Every relationship, your relationship to your phone, your finances, your spouse, your children, your coworkers, your finances, yourself, is either making you more like Christ, or in the words of John, more like Antichrist. 00:08:53.840 --> 00:09:20.639 So we want to figure out how we can be the kind of people who know, enjoy, and glorify God and step into a culture that's creating thoughtless, brainless, courageous Christians, and actually be people of consequence and consideration about how we reflect the love and the joy that's available to us through Christ Jesus our Lord. 00:09:20.799 --> 00:09:22.000 So, good news this morning. 00:09:22.080 --> 00:09:33.039 Whether you got brain rot, whether you got character rot, whether you got relationship rot, whether you got financial rot, or whether you straight up just got rotten fruit of the Spirit in your life, I believe this. 00:09:33.200 --> 00:09:35.759 The gospel still has the power to transform. 00:09:36.399 --> 00:09:39.440 The Holy Spirit still has the power to transcend. 00:09:39.679 --> 00:09:56.480 And when the church of God gets together underneath the word of God as the people of God, we can still be transformed from one degree of glory to the next, bearing the image of Christ in a lost and broken world, setting down the kingdom in such a way that people go, ooh, I'd like some more of that, please. 00:09:57.440 --> 00:09:58.879 So I just want to walk through that. 00:09:59.039 --> 00:10:01.679 Abide in love, joyful. 00:10:02.080 --> 00:10:06.320 In uh Greek, it sounds like this Mano agape, hurrah pleureu. 00:10:06.480 --> 00:10:10.320 The reason I do that, one, is because I spend a ridiculous amount of time studying those languages. 00:10:10.799 --> 00:10:16.240 And through two, it feels kind of like a praying in tongues starter kit whenever I speak in Greek and Hebrew. 00:10:17.840 --> 00:10:19.519 That makes my heart happy. 00:10:19.840 --> 00:10:23.919 So Mano agape, hurrah pleureu for all you charismatics. 00:10:24.000 --> 00:10:25.360 And there is an interpretation. 00:10:25.600 --> 00:10:29.600 It means abide in love, joyful. 00:10:29.840 --> 00:10:39.519 So, first of all, abide, it simply means remain, dwell, continue to be present, to be held, to be kept, to make your home. 00:10:40.559 --> 00:10:46.080 Abide in my love, and you will produce much fruit. 00:10:46.399 --> 00:10:48.159 Apart from me, you can do. 00:10:49.200 --> 00:10:54.159 Jesus not only gave us a promise, he gave us a practice to abide in his love. 00:10:54.320 --> 00:10:58.480 Now, people have called this abiding, lots of different things throughout the centuries, right? 00:10:58.559 --> 00:11:01.440 I would say the Apostle Paul calls it praying without ceasing. 00:11:01.679 --> 00:11:04.159 Saint John of the Cross called it silent love. 00:11:04.320 --> 00:11:06.480 The Quakers call it centering down. 00:11:06.720 --> 00:11:06.879 A. 00:11:07.039 --> 00:11:07.120 W. 00:11:07.360 --> 00:11:11.279 Tozer would call it a habitual, conscious communion. 00:11:11.519 --> 00:11:18.080 Dallas Willard would call it simply the with God life, abiding in his love. 00:11:18.320 --> 00:11:19.840 Here's another quote from Willard. 00:11:20.000 --> 00:11:26.159 The first and most basic thing we can and must do is keep God before our minds. 00:11:26.879 --> 00:11:30.159 This is the fundamental secret of caring for our souls. 00:11:30.480 --> 00:11:39.200 Our part in this practicing the presence of God is to direct and redirect our minds constantly to Him. 00:11:39.759 --> 00:11:42.639 Mano, remain in my love. 00:11:42.799 --> 00:11:44.080 Constantly come back. 00:11:44.240 --> 00:11:46.080 Invite me in on the conversation. 00:11:46.399 --> 00:11:48.720 Make your home at my love. 00:11:49.120 --> 00:11:55.120 Hey, I flew in last night, and your church pushes me up at the courtyard, and it's awesome. 00:11:55.279 --> 00:11:56.000 Thank you. 00:11:56.159 --> 00:12:00.000 I mean, I gotta be honest with you, that bed's nicer than my bed at home. 00:12:00.320 --> 00:12:03.440 Do you ever just walk into a hotel and you're like, oh, thank you, Jesus? 00:12:03.919 --> 00:12:09.519 Sheets are clean, someone's made it, the thread count's probably like in the 9,000s. 00:12:09.679 --> 00:12:12.159 You get on this mattress and you're like, what is that? 00:12:12.399 --> 00:12:17.279 And there's just all these feathered pillows, and I laid down and just said, Thank you, Lord, for this bed. 00:12:17.440 --> 00:12:24.960 But here's what I realized: it doesn't matter how nice the bed is or how good the hotel is, eventually I want to be in my bed at home. 00:12:25.360 --> 00:12:27.840 And there's something about being in your bed. 00:12:28.960 --> 00:12:30.960 What would it look like, church? 00:12:31.519 --> 00:12:40.559 If our quiet times and prayer and communion with God every single morning, we long for that the way we long for our own bed. 00:12:42.000 --> 00:12:48.000 What would it look like if gathering with the church and with our small group was no longer optional but essential? 00:12:48.080 --> 00:12:51.759 And if we missed it, all of a sudden, I'm homesick. 00:12:52.720 --> 00:12:54.639 I haven't been home in a while. 00:12:54.879 --> 00:12:56.639 I haven't been with my people. 00:12:56.960 --> 00:13:04.159 I haven't been abiding in their presence where I consistently and constantly experience the goodness of God. 00:13:04.799 --> 00:13:06.240 Abide in his love. 00:13:06.399 --> 00:13:08.720 Here's what Willer goes on to say about abiding. 00:13:08.799 --> 00:13:18.159 In the early time of practicing this, trying to constantly redirect our thoughts to him, we may be challenged by burdensome habits of dwelling on things less than God. 00:13:18.320 --> 00:13:21.200 That is, we'll constantly be distracted by a million different things. 00:13:21.440 --> 00:13:22.159 Monkey brain. 00:13:22.240 --> 00:13:26.799 You ever sit down to pray and the most obtrusive thoughts come in and you give up, you're like, oh, it's not worth it. 00:13:26.879 --> 00:13:27.440 No, no, no. 00:13:27.519 --> 00:13:28.399 This is what he says. 00:13:28.639 --> 00:13:30.799 These are habits, not the law of gravity. 00:13:30.960 --> 00:13:32.240 It can be broken. 00:13:32.399 --> 00:13:39.200 A new grace-filled habit will replace the former ones as we take intentional steps toward keeping God before us. 00:13:39.440 --> 00:13:47.200 Soon our minds will return to God as the needle of a compass constantly returns north. 00:13:47.919 --> 00:13:49.279 Oh, I want that in my life. 00:13:49.440 --> 00:13:54.240 Question I have for you this morning is where does your heart and mind abide the most these days? 00:13:54.799 --> 00:13:57.679 Where does your mind make its home? 00:13:58.879 --> 00:14:01.600 And who or what is your heart resting in? 00:14:02.320 --> 00:14:05.360 I want us to understand those things and then maybe just give us a practice. 00:14:05.519 --> 00:14:09.279 One thing that I've started doing, adding into my time with the Lord in the morning, right? 00:14:09.519 --> 00:14:11.039 Find a place and be present. 00:14:11.120 --> 00:14:21.279 And before I jump into the scriptures or journaling or writing out some of my prayers, I've just started setting a seven-minute timer on my phone and trying to sit and abide in love. 00:14:22.159 --> 00:14:23.919 Just constantly redirect my mind to him. 00:14:24.080 --> 00:14:25.200 It's contemplation, right? 00:14:25.279 --> 00:14:26.320 And you can do whatever you want. 00:14:26.399 --> 00:14:29.759 Like sometimes I'll inhale Abba, exhale, I belong to you. 00:14:29.919 --> 00:14:32.960 Or I'll just say the name Jesus over and over again. 00:14:33.120 --> 00:14:34.559 Or I'll just say draw near. 00:14:34.720 --> 00:14:38.960 This morning I woke up and I was doing it and worried about like, hey, is this gonna be okay? 00:14:39.039 --> 00:14:40.240 How's this talk gonna go? 00:14:40.320 --> 00:14:43.840 And in just seven minutes, just abide in love. 00:14:44.799 --> 00:14:46.399 Abide in love. 00:14:46.879 --> 00:14:47.200 Why? 00:14:47.360 --> 00:14:54.399 Because I know I'm about to go out and I'm gonna have to live a day where I need to be a source of love and a non-anxious presence for the people that I love and steward. 00:14:54.639 --> 00:14:58.159 And so if I'm gonna be a source of love, I need a source of love. 00:14:59.120 --> 00:15:01.360 Abide in love. 00:15:01.919 --> 00:15:04.799 Love here's agape in Hebrew detested. 00:15:05.039 --> 00:15:10.080 It says covenant love, his loyal, steadfast, never giving up, always and forever love. 00:15:10.240 --> 00:15:13.759 No greater love than this, and a man laid down his life for his brother. 00:15:13.919 --> 00:15:16.720 Perfect love that casts out all fear. 00:15:16.879 --> 00:15:20.480 It is the love God, love your neighbor as yourself. 00:15:20.639 --> 00:15:26.080 But my question is, how do we know if we are abiding in God's love? 00:15:26.720 --> 00:15:31.440 Kind of got the concept, I kind of got the practice, but how what's the litmus test? 00:15:31.519 --> 00:15:33.120 It's a good thing the text answers it. 00:15:33.279 --> 00:15:35.279 It says if we're keeping his commandments. 00:15:35.519 --> 00:15:37.120 We're abiding in his love. 00:15:37.279 --> 00:15:55.600 If we surrender and submit the totality of our life to the loving lordship of Jesus Christ, and when we stumble and we mess up, we repent, restore, repair those attachments to God and to one another so that we're continuing to be sanctified in his presence. 00:15:56.480 --> 00:16:04.000 Gretchen Staffels wrote a book called The Well Watered Woman, because there's a theme about us men making sure we're not only giving you male authors. 00:16:04.080 --> 00:16:06.000 So I stole this one from my wife. 00:16:06.240 --> 00:16:11.519 Um she's got all these good books, and this one, she just came up with a great anachronym for abide. 00:16:11.679 --> 00:16:14.000 I'm like, ooh, well done. 00:16:14.320 --> 00:16:23.600 It's simply this abide, accept pruning, believe in his word, identify false finds, delight in Jesus, and endure with joy. 00:16:23.919 --> 00:16:25.519 There's some great small group questions. 00:16:25.600 --> 00:16:26.799 Just go through that list. 00:16:27.120 --> 00:16:28.639 Hey, which one am I doing good at? 00:16:28.720 --> 00:16:29.679 Which one am I avoiding? 00:16:29.840 --> 00:16:31.840 Which one is the Lord calling me to next? 00:16:32.159 --> 00:16:34.720 Do we all want to identify our false fines? 00:16:35.120 --> 00:16:36.240 Buckle up. 00:16:36.559 --> 00:16:43.120 It's the last two that I really think will move us into what we're gonna talk about next, delighting in Jesus and enduring with joy. 00:16:43.279 --> 00:16:45.360 But I do want you to hear this very clearly. 00:16:45.600 --> 00:16:55.600 Abiding in Christ and being joyful is not a spiritual technique designed to give, make sure God gives you a problem-free life. 00:16:56.080 --> 00:17:07.039 It is a skill that we can develop that allows us to address the promises, uh problems in our life while remaining relationally attached and remaining ourselves. 00:17:08.319 --> 00:17:15.839 About a month ago, I got back from a pastor's retreat at a place called Refuge in Wyoming. 00:17:15.920 --> 00:17:22.240 Um, and it's all that like cowboy stuff that you think that you go fly fishing, you go hiking, ride horses. 00:17:22.400 --> 00:17:25.759 I think their mission statement is to keep Christian leaders in the game, which was great. 00:17:25.839 --> 00:17:28.559 So I went there with some pastors and some church leaders. 00:17:28.640 --> 00:17:30.720 Uh, and they did horseback riding. 00:17:30.799 --> 00:17:38.079 Uh, it filled up too quick, I didn't get to go, but that night we were processing at the dinner table how how people had experienced their days. 00:17:38.240 --> 00:17:43.440 And one of the guys came back and says, Uh, I did horseback riding and I had a profound experience. 00:17:43.519 --> 00:17:44.880 And we're like, Yeah, what's up? 00:17:45.119 --> 00:17:55.599 We went down there and the horse trainer said, Hey, we're gonna ask you a couple questions, but we pride ourselves on being able to match personalities with certain horses. 00:17:56.000 --> 00:17:58.319 And so he's like, Oh my gosh, this is so dumb. 00:17:58.480 --> 00:17:58.720 Whatever. 00:17:58.880 --> 00:18:03.599 He answers a bunch of questions and they say, All right, you're matched with Bob, the horse over there. 00:18:03.839 --> 00:18:07.200 So he goes over to Bob and they're like, Hey, just try to make a connection with your horse. 00:18:07.359 --> 00:18:14.480 And so he's brushing the horse's mane out, telling him he's nice, and hey, we're gonna go for a ride, don't kill me, all that fun stuff. 00:18:14.720 --> 00:18:17.599 And one of the trainers walked by and said, Oh, you got Bob? 00:18:17.680 --> 00:18:19.039 And he's like, Yeah, is that bad? 00:18:19.200 --> 00:18:21.359 He said, Just don't expect much from Bob. 00:18:21.519 --> 00:18:22.880 We got him recently. 00:18:23.039 --> 00:18:30.400 He was a rented horse, and so that means people just hired him out for jobs, and then he just went to the next place and the next place and the next place. 00:18:30.559 --> 00:18:33.599 He's not really good at receiving or giving love. 00:18:35.839 --> 00:18:46.240 So the guy got on the horse, did the ride, came back, and I don't know why that stuck with him, but he stayed afterwards for a half an hour brushing Bob, telling him how much he appreciated that. 00:18:46.319 --> 00:18:50.559 And when he went to walk away, the horse turned and caught an eye with him. 00:18:51.039 --> 00:18:53.440 And the trainer said, That's progress. 00:18:53.920 --> 00:18:55.759 He's made a connection with you. 00:18:56.880 --> 00:19:05.440 And this man who was on it confessed that he had worked for a Christian organization for 25 years and they restructured and got rid of his position. 00:19:06.400 --> 00:19:09.200 And said, I'm learning I feel just like a rented horse. 00:19:09.839 --> 00:19:13.839 That I'm only loved or valued by what I produce, not for who I am. 00:19:14.799 --> 00:19:24.160 And I wonder for many of us, if we're going to abide in love, if we want to be a source of love, we need to learn how to receive that from our Heavenly Father. 00:19:24.720 --> 00:19:26.799 That's our ownership and that's our identity. 00:19:27.039 --> 00:19:31.039 Therefore, our behavior doesn't become effort, it becomes reflex. 00:19:31.279 --> 00:19:34.400 So, a question I have for you this morning: who loves you well? 00:19:36.000 --> 00:19:38.079 And who has shown you how to love better? 00:19:38.799 --> 00:19:40.640 So I think we all need examples. 00:19:40.799 --> 00:19:45.920 We need to stop apologizing for the fact that we need life-giving relationships and connections in our life. 00:19:46.160 --> 00:19:51.519 We need to stop isolating and going to false vines and false idols to get our needs met. 00:19:52.079 --> 00:19:54.400 Who loves you better when the answer becomes Jesus? 00:19:54.559 --> 00:19:58.400 Then you're abiding in his love, and here comes the sweet, sweet return. 00:19:58.720 --> 00:20:02.960 My joy will be in you, and your joy will be full. 00:20:03.119 --> 00:20:08.960 Joy that's not just a fleeting emotion, but a deep-seated strength that sustains us through life's challenges. 00:20:09.119 --> 00:20:12.160 Joy is hurrah, cheerfulness, gladness, delight. 00:20:15.279 --> 00:20:17.359 It's overflowing, it's incredible. 00:20:17.440 --> 00:20:19.200 It just bubbles up, right? 00:20:20.319 --> 00:20:23.359 I don't know if you have the same look on your face that I did. 00:20:23.599 --> 00:20:29.440 Um, but I I've spent probably the past five or six years really working hard on joy. 00:20:30.640 --> 00:20:32.079 Here's a confession to you. 00:20:32.240 --> 00:20:34.799 I struggle with some huge depressive swings. 00:20:35.200 --> 00:20:42.400 Um, and I'm also, I I I like it when we get into the raw, vulnerable, difficult stuff of life. 00:20:42.720 --> 00:20:49.200 When you present as joyful, I used to think it's either fake or you're hiding something. 00:20:50.799 --> 00:20:55.279 So when I talk about joy, I'm not talking about like fake Christian joy. 00:20:55.440 --> 00:21:05.200 I'm literally talking about someone who knows how to abide in love and that in their presence you feel loved, welcome, and celebrated. 00:21:06.000 --> 00:21:07.519 So, how do we work in joy? 00:21:07.599 --> 00:21:16.960 And I'm talking also about I had to go back to a biblical definition of joy, which is not just suppressing all the bad things and pretending everything's gonna be okay, it'll all work out. 00:21:17.119 --> 00:21:21.599 No, here's what the Bible says about joy the joy of the Lord is our strength. 00:21:23.359 --> 00:21:30.160 Psalm 16, 11, you make known to me the path of life, you fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. 00:21:30.319 --> 00:21:32.160 Isaiah 35, 10. 00:21:32.480 --> 00:21:45.519 The ransom of the Lord shall return, come to Zion with singing, with everlasting joy on their heads, they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. 00:21:45.599 --> 00:21:49.359 And then this little zinger hiding out in Psalm 94 19. 00:21:50.799 --> 00:21:59.440 When anxiety was great within me, your consolation. 00:22:00.799 --> 00:22:02.799 Brought me joy. 00:22:04.240 --> 00:22:07.359 Question I have for you this morning is what fills up your joy? 00:22:08.480 --> 00:22:10.799 What robs you of joy quickest? 00:22:11.279 --> 00:22:22.720 And where's a place maybe in your story where anxiety was great within you, and God's comfort brought you joy, and that joy will be strength to someone else. 00:22:23.680 --> 00:22:28.319 Audrey and I stepped back into marriage counseling shortly before we planted local church. 00:22:28.480 --> 00:22:29.119 Things were good. 00:22:29.200 --> 00:22:30.240 I just wanted to get a checkup. 00:22:30.319 --> 00:22:32.559 I knew we were gonna plant a church, I knew we're just gonna be a lot of strain. 00:22:32.720 --> 00:22:38.240 We have gone through a difficult season of parenting, and you know me, I just like deep, hard internal work. 00:22:38.559 --> 00:22:39.359 She's like, What? 00:22:39.440 --> 00:22:40.160 Nothing's broken. 00:22:40.240 --> 00:22:40.799 What are we doing? 00:22:40.880 --> 00:22:43.440 I'm like, let's just go make sure we're like, yeah. 00:22:44.799 --> 00:22:56.960 So one of the first things our counselor does is he gives us a book and he says, Hey, we're gonna uh really deep do a deep dive into some of your dysfunctional uh dancing around conflict. 00:22:57.119 --> 00:23:01.279 Um, Chris, I noticed that when you talk about arguments, you shut down. 00:23:01.359 --> 00:23:05.759 Um, Audrey, I know that you pursue with control, so we're gonna work through some of that stuff. 00:23:05.920 --> 00:23:13.920 But what I want you to do first is every night, here's a notebook, and I want you to write down one thing about your spouse that brings you joy. 00:23:14.799 --> 00:23:16.240 What was he doing? 00:23:16.480 --> 00:23:24.079 He knew if we were going to do difficult emotional work and stay relationally connected, he needed to get our joy levels up. 00:23:24.799 --> 00:23:27.359 Because the joy of the Lord is our strength. 00:23:27.599 --> 00:23:33.680 It's reminding ourselves who I am in someone else's eyes and that they are happy to be with me. 00:23:34.079 --> 00:23:37.359 Abide in love, joyful. 00:23:38.319 --> 00:23:44.880 Now, I came across a book called The Other Half of the Church, written by Marcus Warner and a guy named Jim Wilder. 00:23:45.119 --> 00:23:49.279 And this they really started combining these two themes, love and joy. 00:23:49.519 --> 00:23:53.119 Marcus was a director of spiritual formation at a large church. 00:23:53.279 --> 00:24:00.000 He came up with like a curriculum for like Christianity and Christ-likeness, and it went like gangbusters and a lot of success. 00:24:00.160 --> 00:24:01.839 People were really, really happy about it. 00:24:02.000 --> 00:24:06.559 But he's kind of like this nerdy, I go back and I want qualitative data. 00:24:06.799 --> 00:24:14.799 And when he went back, the people who had gone through the groups, about 80% of them said that I experienced life transformation and character growth. 00:24:15.039 --> 00:24:17.920 It was the other 20% he became obsessed with. 00:24:18.319 --> 00:24:25.039 And so he would invite them in and he would think, okay, maybe it's just the teacher, maybe it was the environment, maybe you, maybe you skip chapter three. 00:24:25.200 --> 00:24:36.799 Um, but what he came to find out was if a man or a woman did not have sufficient levels of love or joy in their life, it did not matter how much information they got. 00:24:37.039 --> 00:24:39.119 They could not go to transformation. 00:24:40.160 --> 00:24:50.000 And so he goes back and Jim Wilder picks up on this, and he's what, like I would say, Neil says a lot of times, he's a counselor who is biblically based and clinically informed. 00:24:50.319 --> 00:24:52.960 He calls himself a neurotheologian. 00:24:53.200 --> 00:24:59.680 So he takes some of the brain science research that's coming out, because we've got a guy from UCLA, Dr. 00:24:59.759 --> 00:25:09.359 Alan Schur, who's not a believer but just did uh MRI mapping, and he says two things have to happen in the brain in order for it to develop in a healthy way. 00:25:09.680 --> 00:25:11.119 Attachment and joy. 00:25:11.359 --> 00:25:13.359 Attachment is his word for love. 00:25:14.799 --> 00:25:17.839 Abide in love, joyful. 00:25:18.640 --> 00:25:24.000 So, how do we become the kind of Christians who know how to abide in love and be joyful? 00:25:24.160 --> 00:25:26.720 They came up with this list, I think, that's really healthy. 00:25:26.960 --> 00:25:35.119 Says you need four essential soils in any group, any church, any family system in order for us to be transformed and into the image of Christ. 00:25:35.359 --> 00:25:40.160 Hested love, shared joy, group identity, and healthy correction. 00:25:40.400 --> 00:25:43.440 We can talk about group identity and healthy correction later, right? 00:25:43.599 --> 00:25:46.240 Group identity is once you go, hey, I'm a child of God. 00:25:46.400 --> 00:25:50.319 This is my church, these are my people, this is how I behave. 00:25:50.559 --> 00:25:53.680 Healthy correction is, oops, I forgot who I am. 00:25:53.839 --> 00:25:55.440 Let me remind you who you are. 00:25:55.599 --> 00:25:57.680 This is how we behave in the kingdom of God. 00:25:57.839 --> 00:25:58.319 Awesome. 00:25:58.559 --> 00:26:03.440 A lot of times we start there rather than with Hesed love and shared joy. 00:26:03.599 --> 00:26:07.839 So, real quickly, hesed love, brain scientists would call this attachment. 00:26:08.079 --> 00:26:13.839 It is something that can handle the difficulties and conflicts in life while remaining loving. 00:26:14.480 --> 00:26:19.519 Our identity and our behavior is anchored to our deepest attachments. 00:26:19.920 --> 00:26:26.319 Jesus said that it's to his Father's glory that we bear much fruit, showing ourselves to be his disciples. 00:26:26.559 --> 00:26:28.720 Abiding in love equals attachment. 00:26:28.880 --> 00:26:30.960 No attachment, no fruit. 00:26:32.160 --> 00:26:34.400 Abide in love. 00:26:35.119 --> 00:26:36.000 This led Dr. 00:26:36.160 --> 00:26:38.640 Marcus Warner to make this powerful statement. 00:26:38.880 --> 00:26:46.559 Until we restore our loving attachments to God and each other, we're wasting our time doing ministry church or anything else for that matter. 00:26:47.839 --> 00:26:48.319 Why? 00:26:48.480 --> 00:26:56.240 Because what you're gonna do is you're gonna produce the kind of people who know about God's love but struggle to experience it on a daily life. 00:26:56.559 --> 00:27:06.160 We're getting lots of information, but there's no transformation because there's such unhealthy levels of love and joy and attachment in their life. 00:27:06.319 --> 00:27:14.400 I think this is why the Apostle Paul answers his own question when it comes to abiding in love and attachment to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 00:27:14.559 --> 00:27:16.640 What shall separate us from the love of God? 00:27:16.799 --> 00:27:18.960 That's in Christ Jesus our Lord. 00:27:19.279 --> 00:27:21.680 Nothing and no one. 00:27:22.319 --> 00:27:24.480 So that's Hested love and then share joy. 00:27:24.559 --> 00:27:28.960 This has been my favorite, a big, big uh emphasis for me this past couple years. 00:27:29.119 --> 00:27:34.319 They define joy as this joy is the look on someone's face when they're happy to see you. 00:27:35.680 --> 00:27:41.440 Joy is primarily communicated through the face and secondarily through your tone of voice. 00:27:42.559 --> 00:27:46.480 You'd be surprised how much I have to work on this around my family and my kids. 00:27:46.799 --> 00:27:53.519 I want my home to be a loving, joyful place, and sometimes I realize that is the last thing I am communicating. 00:27:53.759 --> 00:28:01.119 Because I have not spent enough time abiding in love and allowing God's joy to be complete in me so that it can overflow to other people. 00:28:01.359 --> 00:28:04.799 Joy is relational, it does not exist outside of relationship. 00:28:04.960 --> 00:28:06.640 Joy is important to God and us. 00:28:06.880 --> 00:28:09.599 He designed our brains to run at the speed of joy. 00:28:09.839 --> 00:28:11.839 Scripture verses, if you would like them. 00:28:12.240 --> 00:28:18.960 May God be gracious to you and bless you, and cause his face to shine mightily upon you. 00:28:20.079 --> 00:28:21.519 His face to face. 00:28:30.400 --> 00:28:37.680 If you literally translate this word for word from the Hebrew, it says, Happy with the joy with your face. 00:28:41.519 --> 00:28:43.359 Our children get this, don't they? 00:28:45.440 --> 00:28:46.480 We need this. 00:28:46.720 --> 00:28:48.480 We need this from a loving father. 00:28:48.720 --> 00:28:56.079 And then we've been reading through the epistles of John, and John says it um it is a second one to the lady that he's writing to. 00:29:06.960 --> 00:29:13.680 Share joy with God, and one another allows us to do the hard work of character transformation. 00:29:14.160 --> 00:29:20.240 Joy does not replace unpleasant emotions, it allows you to metabolize them. 00:29:21.440 --> 00:29:26.559 Joy and sadness are not polar opposites, they're dancing partners. 00:29:27.599 --> 00:29:33.759 The joy of the Lord is our strength, and our spiritual maturity then is directly related to our relational maturity. 00:29:34.079 --> 00:29:37.839 So here's my invitation to you guys this morning. 00:29:38.000 --> 00:29:50.480 I wanted to bring you a simple word of abiding in love and being joyful in the context of relationship as you continue to know, enjoy, and glorify God. 00:29:51.279 --> 00:29:52.559 So this is your invitation. 00:29:52.640 --> 00:30:25.920 If you're tired of being tired, if joy for you this morning feels fake at best or a cruel joke at worst, and I'm inviting you to abide in love and allow the joy of the Lord, the face of the Lord, to come shine upon you and give you peace, and to assess your relational soil, and where is it that I need to strengthen my attachments to God and to one another? 00:30:26.160 --> 00:30:27.200 Because if C.S. 00:30:27.279 --> 00:30:34.960 Lewis said was true, joy is the serious business of heaven, then welcome to the family business. 00:30:35.519 --> 00:30:42.480 Let your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 00:30:43.599 --> 00:30:49.759 And just so we're clear, Jesus isn't asking you to do anything that he didn't do. 00:30:50.160 --> 00:30:53.599 He abided in his father's love while he was here on planet earth. 00:30:54.160 --> 00:31:05.279 And then for some reason, he was able to endure the most difficult emotions and physical pain and remain attached in himself. 00:31:06.400 --> 00:31:13.599 He was beaten, tortured, betrayed, abandoned, and rejected. 00:31:14.319 --> 00:31:23.119 And yet he remained in a loving attachment, and while he was dying, he was able to look out and say, Father, forgive them, but they know not what they do. 00:31:23.839 --> 00:31:25.119 How is that possible? 00:31:25.599 --> 00:31:27.920 I think the author of Hebrews gives us a clue. 00:31:28.720 --> 00:31:34.480 For the joy set before him, he endured the cross, scorning its shame. 00:31:36.000 --> 00:31:40.319 Let the joy of the Lord be our strength once again. 00:31:40.880 --> 00:31:43.839 The Father is happy to see you, and so am I. 00:31:44.160 --> 00:31:44.799 Amen. 00:31:45.279 --> 00:31:48.960 So we want to preach the Bible clearly and give your soul some space to respond. 00:31:49.039 --> 00:31:56.720 So we'll just have some questions for thoughtful reflection that pop up here, and you listen and go where the Lord wants you to go. 00:32:02.000 --> 00:32:07.279 Father, thank you for the simplicity and the beauty and the authority and the power that comes from your word. 00:32:09.119 --> 00:32:14.400 Lord, cause us to think today about things that we've chosen to avoid or ignore. 00:32:14.880 --> 00:32:19.759 Things like the relationship between our spiritual maturity and our relational maturity. 00:32:20.799 --> 00:32:27.680 Lord, some of us are looking hard in our experiences for what can only be found in relationships. 00:32:28.319 --> 00:32:34.720 And so, Lord, help us to understand the connection between spiritual maturity and relational maturity. 00:32:35.119 --> 00:32:42.240 Let that cause us to uh let it show up in the way we relate to people and value the relationships and friendships that we have. 00:32:43.519 --> 00:32:46.559 Thank you, Lord, that your word is always thought-provoking. 00:32:46.799 --> 00:32:50.319 It's enjoyable, but it's always thought-provoking. 00:32:50.480 --> 00:32:58.559 And so, Holy Spirit, do not leave us alone the rest of today as we think about what we've heard and we think about it on a deeper level. 00:32:59.039 --> 00:33:00.079 Thank you for your word. 00:33:00.400 --> 00:33:01.359 Thank you for Chris. 00:33:01.440 --> 00:33:02.880 We're grateful for both of us today. 00:33:02.960 --> 00:33:04.960 So we say thank you in Jesus' name. 00:33:05.039 --> 00:33:09.440 And all God's people said, Amen, amen, amen. 00:33:10.000 --> 00:33:12.000 Thank you for listening to this message. 00:33:12.240 --> 00:33:17.759 Be sure to give us a five star rating in review and subscribe wherever you listen to your podcasts. 00:33:18.000 --> 00:33:28.880 If you'd like to go deeper with our sermon content, you can hear more on our circling back with Neil McClendon podcast at Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and wherever you listen to podcasts.