"Until now, you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, that your joy may be made full" (John 16:24)

In "The Joy of the Lord" (Sunday Sermon 7/22/01 – www.fridaystudy.org) we saw that George Mueller knew the joy of the Lord, which is sought by so many but found by so few. You can have that joy ---

• GIVE yourself utterly to the Lord Jesus Christ
• TRUST in Him
• SEE His will for your life (His will is all around and in your heart)
• ASK for His will to specifically be done
• RECEIVE His answers and His joy

Jesus said, "Until now, you have asked for nothing in My name; ASK and you will RECEIVE, that your JOY may be made full" (John 16:24). The disciples (apostles) were in His will, because they walked with Him who called them. He said "follow Me" (Matthew 4:19) and they did. Later, they were "all with one mind… continually devoting themselves to prayer" (Acts 1:14) and during that prayer, "they were all filled with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:4).

After the Resurrection, they "asked", they "received"; and their "joy (was indeed) made full." We know this from Acts 2:15, for we see that Peter had to defend them, by saying "these men are not drunk, as you suppose. . ." They were so filled with the joy of the Lord, that onlookers thought they were "full of sweet wine" (Acts 2:13) – "Drunk as skunks," as people used to say. But they weren’t drunk – they were all filled with His JOY!

I asked Pastor Dennis Broxton, "Do you have the joy of the Lord?" Pastor Broxton thought for a long moment, and then looked up and said, with a soft voice, "Yes, I do." To place his pause, and his answer into a proper context, you have to know that this man, this Pastor, has been paralyzed, in a hospital bed, since 1976. Not only a Pastor, but he was also a businessman, and the business did not survive the paralysis of its owner. His wife died in 1986; then he lost his son, and recently his leg was taken.

It’s obvious from a human perspective, that he has no ground for happiness as we know it. Dennis told us that happiness is one thing, but joy is another. The one is conditional on events in this world. If I get what I want, I’ll be happy. If I fail to receive something I feel is "due me" in life, then happiness will fly away and depression will likely follow. Pastor Broxton looks to Jesus and when he does not understand, he TRUSTS in our Lord.

Joy is special and delicate. You and I can avoid the will of God for our lives, and joy will elude us. The real source of joy is in the character and person of God Himself, who is outside of our circumstances and is not subject to our failures. Though everything collapses (like the scaffolding that fell and put Dennis into the hospital) we can know the joy of the Lord right now.

Pastor Broxton said, "Happiness depends on the HAPPENINGS in your life. Joy is different – it’s from the Lord. No matter what the conditions, limitations and situations of your life are, you can still experience the joy of the Lord in the midst of trials." Dennis gave us Psalm 30:5: "Weeping may last for the night, but joy comes in the morning".

Another man of joy is named Jim Schorr. Pastor Jim is the worship leader at Parkcrest Christian Church, in Long Beach, California, and he’s simply JOY in action. Jim was the Pastor who presided at our recent marriage, and everybody said they liked him – a lot! Joy just bubbles out of him, and we feel good just being around this man of God.

Just like Dennis Broxton, Jim draws people. Pastor Dennis is like a magnet who draws orderlies, patients, nurses, and me – to his hospital bed. There’s a calm peace about him that is wonderful to behold. Both Dennis and Jim are like "people-magnets" that draw us to them.

I asked Jim Schorr the secret of his joy, and he replied "When Jesus is at the center, joy is easy to be found. It’s all about HIM (Jesus) and all that He has done." Jim continued "it’s easy to take our eyes off Him and then things get confusing. At such times," he commented, "I do not experience joy." Then he looks to Jesus and he’s made FULL of contagious joy.

Jim’s Scripture verse for joy is Nehemiah 8:10, "The joy of the Lord is your strength." In that Chapter, Ezra the scribe read the Law to the people, and they all began to weep. They were told, "Go, eat of the fat, drink of the sweet, and send portions to him who has nothing prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."

Deep inside, do you wonder, what’s the PURPOSE of your life? It’s intended that you will know the JOY of the Lord. You were made for RELATIONSHIP with our Lord Jesus Christ. If you completely look to Him, you’ll find that joy.

You may appear on a stage before thousands as Jim does, or remain in a hospital bed like Dennis, but if you seek our Lord with all your heart, He will give you joy. Don’t look at the circumstances except as an opportunity for prayer. Look to Him.

D. L. Moody observed "Joshua had tried God forty years in the brick kilns (of Egypt), forty years in the desert, and thirty years in the Promised Land, and this was his dying testimony: ‘Not one word of all the good words which the Lord your God spoke concerning you has failed; all have been fulfilled for you, not one of them has failed’ – Joshua 23:14." The nation followed God & He ANSWERED their need.

George Mueller, Dennis Broxton, Jim Schorr, and D. L. Moody have one great common denominator – They have TRUSTED in Christ and looked to Him. In this, they discovered His will for their lives, three on a stage and one in a bed – ALL found His joy: "Ask and you will receive, that your joy may be made full" (John 16:24). It isn’t circumstances – It’s HIM!

Lord Jesus, I come to You. I trust in You now. Let me see Your will for my life, that I may walk in Your will, and I ASK that Your will be done – in MY life; even in mine. Thank You, Lord, for the joy that is before me. In Jesus Name. Amen.

Ron Beckham, Pastor
Friday Study Ministries
www.fridaystudy.org
ron@fridaystudy.org

3-days before this sermon, Pastor Dennis Broxton went into ICU at the Long Beach, CA VA Hospital, with "pulmonary distress." Please pray for this pastor, this man of God.