John 15:9,11 (NKJV) As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love …“These
things I have spoken to you, that My Joy may remain in you, and that your Joy may be full.
There is a huge difference between happiness and joy. Happiness is a fleeting emotion which comes from a positive or pleasing situation. Many people are pursuing different things to make them happy—money, fame, success, and more—but they will still be unhappy despite getting everything they wanted. Joy, by contrast, is a deep-seated inner gladness. In the New Testament, it is virtually always used to signify a feeling of delight that is based on spiritual realities; a depth of assurance and confidence that ignites a cheerful heart and godly behaviour, independent of what happens. Joy is not an experience that arises from favourable circumstances but rather is God’s gift to believers. Joy is a part of God’s very essence, and His Spirit manifests this supernatural rejoicing in His children.
Jesus said that He is the vine and we are the branches; apart from Him nobody can bear much fruit. Joy is an outflow of God from the depths of our hearts because we are quietly confident that He is able. It is also a kind of contentment that can only be found in the Lord in all circumstances. A mature Christian can be contented with just having Jesus in their life because the rest is temporal. This comes when someone truly appreciates the value of being saved and spending eternity with the Lord.
Knowing God is essential to experiencing the joy of the Lord. It is knowing Him as God and knowing His character as someone close to Him. It develops faith, absolute trust and confidence in God when we respond to the different challenges that we face in life. When we are aware that God is interested in every aspect of our lives and is doing what is best for us, we will have godly joy and a quiet confidence that everything will be alright because God is with us and for us. It belongs to those who know that all is well between themselves and the Lord.
If our faith is anchored in God and we allow the joy of the Lord to be our strength, even in the most dire of situations, there will be an inexplicable joy and peace in our hearts. The Christian life is not necessarily smooth sailing even when we are living out the will of God for our lives because we live in this fallen and broken world. And yet, within our struggles, God is right there with us. He may not remove us from the hard situation, but He will undoubtedly sustain us by infusing His supernatural joy throughout.
Sermon Series： Friends of God
做神朋友的喜乐
约翰福音15:9,11 我爱你们，正如父爱我一样。你们要常在我的爱里。…这些事我已经对你们说了，是要叫我的喜乐，存在你们心里，并叫你们的喜乐可以满足。
幸福和喜乐之间有着巨大的区别。幸福是一种短暂的情感，通常来源于某种积极或令人愉快的情境。许多人都在追求不同的东西来让自己快乐——金钱、名誉、成功等等——然而即使他们得到了所有渴望的东西，依然可能感到不快乐。相比之下，喜乐是一种来自内心深处的快乐。在新约中，喜乐几乎总是用来表示一种基于属灵的喜悦感；一种深度的确信和信心，它点燃了喜乐的心和敬虔的行为，无论外界发生什么。喜乐不是一种来自优越环境的经历，而是神赐给信徒的礼物。喜乐是神本质的一部分，而祂的圣灵在祂的儿女中显现出这种超自然的喜乐。
耶稣说祂是葡萄树，我们是枝子；离开了祂，没人能结出许多果子。喜乐是神从我们内心深处流出的泉源，因为我们心中安静地相信祂是有能力的。喜乐也是一种满足感，这种满足感只有在主里，才会在任何环境中得以体验。一个成熟的基督徒能够仅仅有耶稣在他们的生命中就可以满足，因为其余的都是暂时的。当一个人真正体会到得救的价值，并期待与主共度永恒时，这种满足感便会临到他。
认识神对于经历主的喜乐至关重要。这不仅是认识祂为神，更是了解祂的性格，像亲近祂的人一样认识祂。当我们回应生活中不同的挑战时，这种认识培养了我们的信心、完全的信任和对神的依赖。当我们意识到神关心我们生命的每一个方面，并且正在为我们做最好的事情时，我们就会拥有属神的喜乐和一种安静的信心，知道一切都会好，因为神与我们同在，并为我们而战。喜乐属于那些知道自己与主之间一切很好的人。
如果我们的信心扎根于神，并且让主的喜乐成为我们的力量，即使在最艰难的处境中，我们的心中也会有一种无法言喻的喜乐与平安。基督徒的生活并不总是风平浪静，即使我们在活出神对我们生命的旨意，因为我们生活在这个堕落破碎的世界中。然而，在我们的挣扎中，神与我们同在。祂可能不会将我们从困境中带走，但祂必定会通过将祂的超自然喜乐充满我们，坚定地支撑我们。
讲章系列：上帝的朋友
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