When I was listening to that song, My Time to Die, I hope that's something we're all aware of. The time is coming when we will die. And then the one thing that will be needed will be understood more clearly then than any other time. I've entitled the message His Joy and My Joy. His joy. The joy of Jesus Christ. And my joy.

John chapter 15, verse 11. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you. and that your joy might be full. I don't even know how to describe the joy of Jesus Christ. What joy he has in his relationship with his father. And think about the joy of Jesus Christ. Just for a moment, don't think about whether or not you feel joy. Think about His joy before His Father. Jesus Christ is God the Son, the uncreated Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, who before creation was in the presence of his Father with fullness of joy.

Now he says, I'm saying these things to you that my joy, the joy that I have, might remain in you, continue in you, abide in you, stay in you, that your joy might be full, complete, that nothing can be added to it.

Now, before we go on, why did not the Lord use the word happy? This is important. He didn't say that my happiness might be fulfilled. or remain in you that your happiness might be full. Now understand this, happiness and joy are two totally different things. You see, happiness is based upon circumstances. If my circumstances are good, I'm happy. I was happy when UK won last night. I really was. The first few minutes, I was distressed. I thought, here we go again. And then when they played that good game, I was happy. Happiness based upon circumstances. I like being happy. Don't get me wrong. I like being happy.

But joy is internal. You can have bad circumstances and have fullness of joy. This is what I'm interested in, having this joy. When people are happy, things are going their way. When they're unhappy, things are not going their way. Somebody says, I'm not happy, watch out. Heads are getting ready to roll. I'm gonna do what it takes to make sure I am happy. Somebody once said to Walter Groover, the missionary that was in Mexico for so many years, and we're still supporting the preachers down there every month that were raised up under his preaching. But somebody said to him one time, Walter, are you happy? His reply, what's that got to do with anything? I like being happy. but that can be taken away so quickly.

But joy, joy. I want to know something about joy. While the Lord walked on this earth, he was described as a man of sorrows and acquainted, deeply acquainted with grief. but he always had a deep sense of joy. And he prayed that his joy might remain in his disciples. He knew of the joy of the Father. He said in the 16th Psalm, in thy presence is fullness of joy. Thy right hand hath pleasures evermore. He said of himself before the world began, then I was by him and I was daily his delight, always rejoicing before him. He said in John chapter 17, verse 13, and now I come to thee And these things I speak in the world that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves."

Now, do you hear that? Christ says, I'm saying these things that my joy might be fulfilled in themselves. The joy of Jesus Christ. I love the passage of scripture in Hebrews chapter 12, verse two, where it says, looking unto Jesus, The author and the finisher of our faith. If you have faith, he's the author of it. And if you continue in it, he's the finisher of it. Don't you know that so? He's the author, he's the finisher of our faith. Who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross. despising the shame and is set down at the right hand of the Father.

And notice for the joy that was set before him, he endured the cross despising the shame. Now, what does that mean? When Christ was on the cross, the sins of God's elect were made his sins, so that he felt the shame of them. He felt the guilt of them. He felt the separation that sin brings. He was forsaken by the Father. He felt cut off because he was cut off. He felt the separation.

Now all the horror of being made sin that he felt, he counted it nothing for the joy that was set before him. The joy of completely glorifying his father by going to the cross. You see the reason Jesus Christ was nailed to a cross, ultimately it was the eternal purpose of God. And what joy he received by glorifying his father, by going to the cross. This is the reason the universe was created.

of the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, when Christ went to the cross, he revealed the character of the Father. That's what the cross is about. It's about who God is. I cannot know who God is apart from Jesus Christ being nailed to a cross.

Now, how can that be? Every attribute of God is made known in Jesus Christ being nailed to that cross. We see that his purpose and his will is always going to be done because he was there according to the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God. We see God's absolute justice, how sin will never go unpunished. When Christ was made sin, He was punished by His Father because God's just. He's absolutely just.

I know I say this a lot, but I'm gonna say it again. If there was a judge here in this county, Fayette County, and he would just let criminals go free, put them back out on the street, we'd get rid of him. He's not a just judge. God is a just judge. All sin will be punished. No sin will go unpunished. either in you or in the substitute. And we see God's absolute justice. We see God's wisdom, how he's made a way to be just. And yet justify somebody like me when I know in and of myself, I have some idea of how sinful I am, just a little bit. But God made a way to be absolutely just and righteous and declare me to be absolutely just by what Christ did on the cross.

Christ going to the cross, that's the ultimate act of obedience. He became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. He willingly went to the cross in obedience to his Father's will. He wasn't a victim. He was doing his Father's will. The cross is the most God-like thing God ever did. The joy of saving me. My name was on His heart. If you're a believer, your name was on His heart when He went to the cross. Your name. He was thinking of you. Saving you. Putting away your sins. Making you to be without guilt. Oh, the joy of the Lord Jesus Christ. That He counted all this joyous, even though it was so painful and miserable.

Because of the joy that was said before him, the joy of glorifying his father, the joy of obeying his father, the joy of saving his people from their sins. Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame.

Now, he's got the joy of knowing he's glorified his father perfectly. He's got the joy of knowing he saved his people from their sins. He's got the joy of perfect obedience. And he says, my joy is to be fulfilled and remain in you. Oh, the joy of Jesus Christ. The psalmist said in Psalm 100 verses one and two, make a joyful noise unto the Lord. ye land, serve the Lord with gladness, come before his presence with singing, enter into his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise. That your joy, that your joy might be full.

The joy spoken of is the fruit of the Holy Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering. This joy is not found in a natural man. If I'm not a believer, I can't experience this joy. I know nothing of it. This is the joy that only the believer in the Lord Jesus Christ has.

Now would you turn with me to Romans chapter 14? Verse 17, Romans chapter 14, verse 17. For the kingdom of God is, now that catches my attention, doesn't it here? What is the kingdom of God? He first tells us what it's not. You know a lot of times in the Bible that's the way it works. He tells us what it's not before he tells us what it is. It's not meat. and drink. It's not rules and regulations. What you can eat, what you can't eat. What you can drink, what you can't drink. That's not what the kingdom of God is about. It's not meat and drink. It's not touch not, taste not, handle not. It's not all the man-made rules and regulation of what's okay and what's not okay. Where you get this checkbox of this list of rules, check that, I'm okay here. Well, I need to shore up, no. That's not what the kingdom of God is about. It's not all these man-made rules and regulations. Religion is so offensive. It's just offensive. It's just not true. That's not what the kingdom of God is about.

Here's what it's about. Righteousness. And somebody's thinking, well, don't I need to do things to be righteous? You're missing the point. The kingdom of God is not meat and drink. It's righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. What's this mean? The kingdom of God is righteousness. Well, what the gospel teaches is that the righteousness of Jesus Christ that he worked out when he walked upon this earth, perfect righteousness, he never sinned, he never thought of sin, he never had a sinful motive, he kept God's law perfectly, he loved God with all of his heart and his neighbors himself, he never lied, he never had a sinful thought, he never had a lustful thought, He never had a covetous thought. Perfect righteousness.

The righteousness of Jesus Christ is the believer's personal righteousness. That's my righteousness before God. Not what I did. What he did. That is my righteousness before God. Now somebody says, how can that be? Because he took my sin. in his own body on the tree. That's what the scripture says. Who his own self bear our sins in his own body on the tree. And what did he do with those sins? He put them away. He purged them. He made them not to be and he takes his righteousness just as he took my sin to himself, he takes his righteousness and gives it to me so that it is my personal righteousness. What could be better than that? To have his righteousness as your personal righteousness before God. That's what he accomplished on Calvary's tree. He made it to where I am righteous before God, that I've never sinned, that I stand before God without guilt.

The kingdom of God is righteousness. What comes out of that? Peace. Peace. If all God requires, I have in Christ Jesus. You know what that makes me feel? Peace. Peace with God. He was delivered for our offenses. He was raised again for our justification. Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God. You know what gives me peace? To know that the only righteousness I have is Jesus Christ and the whole sin issue has been settled. I stand before God without guilt, without sin. That gives me peace.

The kingdom of God is righteousness and peace and what? Joy. Joy in the Holy Ghost by God, the Holy Spirit. The gospel makes me to have joy, that all God requires of me, I have in Christ Jesus, and that can't be taken away. You see, your circumstances can change. They have. They will again. Up today, down tomorrow, back up the next day. Circumstances change. but the cause of joy never changes. I have the righteousness of Jesus Christ as my personal righteousness before God. What peace, what joy.

In Romans chapter 15, verse 13, we read of the joy and the peace of believing. Now think of that statement, the joy, and the peace of believing. Now, do you remember when the Ethiopian eunuch said to Philip, see, here's water. What hinders me from being baptized? I want to know if there's a reason why I shouldn't. And Philip said, if you believe with all your heart, you may. And his reply, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And Philip baptized him after that. And you know what the scripture says of him? He went on his way rejoicing. Rejoicing. Oh, all of his rejoicing is who Jesus Christ is.

What about the Philippian jailer? He comes to Paul and Silas. Sirs, what must I do to be saved? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Now I hope everyone hears that. What must I do to be saved? I can't save myself, I'm convinced of that. What must I do to be saved? Believe. Don't wait for a feeling. Don't wait till you get better. Don't wait until you improve. Don't wait until you understand more. Believe right now. That's a command. Well, maybe I'm too young to believe. No, you're not. Maybe I'm too old to believe. No, you're not. Believe right now on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. And the scripture says after that, he went on his way rejoicing. He rejoiced, believing in God with all of his heart.

Zacchaeus. Scripture says he sought to see Jesus who he was. In experience, that's when salvation begins. When you want to know who Jesus Christ is, all the other stuff's fluff. He sought to see Jesus who he was. One thing he knew is he didn't know who he was, and he wanted to. That's a good place. He sought to see Jesus who he was. So he runs up and climbs up into a sycamore tree. I love to think of that. You know, he was very short of stature. I think of him as a Danny DeVito type of person. And everybody hated him. He gets up in the tree. Watch the Lord walk that way. And as the Lord's passing through Jericho, all of a sudden he stops and looks up. Zacchaeus, make haste. Don't wait. Come down. For today I must abide in thy house. And the scripture says he made haste. He came down and he received him joyfully. Joyfully. If you look at Christ as all you have and all you want and all you need, you receive him joyfully.

Paul said, we joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. the reconciliation. If you see God's reconciled to you, completely reconciled, He's not mad at you. You're accepted in the beloved. You're perfect in Christ Jesus. He's not looking for anything else. That's what the atonement of Christ accomplished. And we join God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we've received the atonement.

When Paul is closing His epistle to the Philippians, he says, finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. Rejoice, not be glum and sad. Rejoice in the Lord. Now rejoicing is meaningless without some understanding of in the Lord.

Rejoice in the Lord. Turn with me to Ephesians chapter one. Verse three, blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed us. Not he will bless us if he hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame before him. in love, having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted."

Where? In the Beloved. In Christ. We rejoice in Christ. All God requires of me, I have in Christ. He's not looking for anything else. I have it all in Christ. In whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins. Ephesians 3.12 says, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of Him. 1 Corinthians 1.30 says, of Him are you in Christ Jesus? If you're in Christ Jesus, you know why you're there. God put you there. When did that take place? It didn't. You've been there eternally. How do you explain that? I can't. I can't. But of Him are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness, sanctification and redemption.

We glory in the Lord. As it's written, he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. 2 Corinthians 1.20 says all the promises of God in him are yea and amen. Colossians 2.10 says you are complete in him. 1 John 3.5 says he was manifested to take away our sins. In him is no sin. That means, my dear friends, if I'm in him, if you're in him, we have Sin, He put it away. This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. What joy there is in abiding in Him. Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, Rejoice.

Listen to this scripture, Romans chapter 12, verse eight, Paul speaks of rejoicing in hope. Hope. What is hope? Well, Paul says, it's not something you can see. If you could see it, you don't need to hope for it. Hope is something that you cannot see. Now, I have a hope. It's not something I can see. I can't look within my heart and say, yep, I see you're justified. I see you're without sin. Because I see my sin. That's what I see. I see my sin. But I have a hope that I'm without sin. That Jesus Christ is my righteousness before God. I have a hope that everything that's taking place in my life is working together for my good and the glory of God. Can I see any of that? No, I can't. But I rejoice in the hope of it.

Faith is the evidence of things hoped for, the substance of things not seen. You know, the disciples, you can read about this in Luke chapter 10, but they came to the Lord, the scripture says, rejoicing and said, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us. They were rejoicing in this. You know what the Lord said to them? Don't rejoice in that. Rather rejoice that your names are written in heaven. You see the rejoicing of the devils is circumstantial. Right now, even the devils are subject to us. Well, we feel good about ourselves. Look at the way you blessed us. Why? We even command demons and they do what we say. Don't rejoice in this. Rejoice rather that your names are written in heaven. That's something, you see, you're rejoicing in something that doesn't have anything to do with your works. You're rejoicing in what he has done.

And at that time, the scripture says, Jesus rejoiced in spirit. You know, this is the only time that's ever said of him. Now I'm sure he rejoiced all the time, but we also know that that was before his father. He was also a man of sorrows acquainted with grief, but this is the only time it ever says, Jesus rejoiced in spirit. Aren't you interested in that?

At that time, Jesus rejoiced in spirit and said, father, I thank you that you've hid these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them unto babes, even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight. God's character is such that whatever he does, is good in his sight, and it's good in our sight too, because he did it. That's how we trust his character.

Somebody says, I don't understand what's going on. Neither do I. But I trust the character of God. And whatever he does is right. So the Lord says to his disciples when they're thinking, oh, things are great. Demons are subject to us. Don't even rejoice in that. Rejoice that your names are written in heaven.

Turn with me to Matthew chapter five. This is the last beatitude. If you want to know what a Christian is, read the Beatitudes. That's what a Christian is. That's what a true believer is. The Lord defines them that way. And he says in verse 10, this is the last beatitude, blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake. Does that mean somebody's persecuted because of their right living? Well, that's not what the Lord's talking about. He's talking about the righteousness of Jesus Christ being the only righteousness there is. And you believe that. And you're resting in his righteousness.

Now, if you really believe that and stand for it, you will be persecuted for righteousness sake. People will say, you're the enemy of good works. You're the enemy of holiness. You're saying his righteousness is the only righteousness there is. Why this will promote all kinds of Sinful behavior. That's what that's talking about. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when men shall revile you and persecute you and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely. For my sake, rejoice. Rejoice. and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven. For so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

Turn to Acts chapter 20. This is the final scripture I'm gonna look at. That my joy might remain in you. That your joy might be full. This is Paul's farewell address to the Ephesian elders. Verse 17, and from Miletus, he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church. Acts chapter 20. And when they were come to him, he said unto them, you know, from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I've been with you at all seasons. serving the Lord.

And the only way you can serve the Lord is with all humility of mind. And with many tears and temptations, which befell me by the lying weight of the Jews. You see, if you serve the Lord, you will become the enemy of religion. And he says in verse 20, how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you. but have showed you and taught you publicly and from house to house. My message in the pulpit was about the same in your living room. Testifying both to the Jews, also to the Greeks, repentance toward God. A complete change of your mind with regard to God. That's what repentance is. Do you know that the Bible never uses the term repent of your sins? Now I want to have a change of mind with regard to my sins. Don't get me wrong. But repentance with regard to sin comes from repentance toward God, his character.

Repentance toward God and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith are two sides of the same coin, where you got one, you got the other. If you have faith in Christ, you have repentance toward God. If you have repentance toward God, here's the result. Here's the evidence, faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Verse 22, and now behold, I go bound in the Spirit into Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there, save that the Holy Ghost witnesses in every city. saying that both bonds and afflictions are waiting on me. And Paul tells us, I know wherever I go, I'm either going to get tied to a pole and beat, or I'm going to be thrown into prison. Can you imagine? Now put yourself in that place. He knows when I go and preach the gospel, I know what's going to happen.

Verse 24, but none of these things move me. Neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy. I don't count my life dear to myself. that I might finish my course, my race that God has given me to run. You have a course to run. I have a course to run. That I might finish my course with joy and the ministry which I've received of the Lord Jesus to testify the gospel of the grace of God.

Now, I don't count my life dear to myself. I know that wherever I go, I'm going to get beat up, whipped, thrown into jail. And that literally happened with Paul. I'm so thankful it's not that way today, that there's laws protecting us. I'm thankful for that, but maybe it'd do us some good if some of us got thrown in jail or beat. The disciples counted it a privilege when they were allowed to suffer shame for his name. But Paul says, this is what gives me joy, not to count my life dear to myself, but to finish my course that the Lord's given me to testify the gospel of the grace of God.

My job and your job. is to testify the gospel of the grace of God. Now, first, grace is not my job. Grace is what saves me. It's who saves me. If you're saved, it's by grace. It's not by your works. If you're saved, it's because of his electing grace. He chose you before time began to be saved. If you're saved, it's because of his justified grace. He justified you and made you to be without guilt by what his son did. If you're saved, it's by his redeeming grace. He redeemed you on Calvary's tree and put away your sin. If you're saved, it's because of his life-giving grace. He gave you life. He birthed you into the kingdom of heaven. If you're saved, it's because of his preserving grace. The reason you still believe is because he causes you to. And he has preserved you up to this point. And if you stand in heaven, it'll be because of his glorifying grace. He glorified you.

Now, the only thing that'll give me joy is to be enabled by God to testify the gospel of the grace of God. The Lord said, these things have I spoken unto you that my joy His joy might remain in you, and then your joy will be full. John said in the first epistle of John, these things have I written unto you, that your joy might be full.

Let's pray. Lord, how we thank you for the joy of thy son. His joy in obeying you, his joy in glorifying you, his joy in saving us from our sins. That he counted the cross something to endure because of the joy he would receive from it. Lord, I ask in Christ's name that everybody in this room might be made to know the joy of thy son. and that we might all have the joy and peace of believing. Lord, faith is above the strength and energy of this flesh. It's your gift. We ask in Christ's name that you'd give it to everybody here according to your will. Bless your word for Christ's sake. In his name we pray, amen.