How To Be A Happy Christian (John 15:9-12)
In the previous sermon, we explored the encounter Jesus had with the Pharisees regarding the Sabbath.
Matthew 12 Case Study
The man with the withered hand was humbled, believed and submitted to the Lord. In contrast, the Pharisees were full of knowledge and proud, ultimately rejecting and defied Jesus. As a result, the man with the withered hand received rest, while the Pharisees received judgement.
Why is my walk not joy-full?
In our own lives, we may feel that we are not filled with the joy as described by Jesus in the Gospel of John (John 15:!1). This greatly depends on who is in the centre of our lives. If we place ourselves in the centre, we would end up dissatisfied, angry and frustrated. However, when Christ is in the centre of our lives, joy and love will flow. The fundamental difference is that by submitting to Christ, we will be joyful.
How do we achieve this state?
The ultimate goal is to achieve rest in Jesus. We can do this by:
- first, engaging the Holy Spirit though reading His Word and praying.
- Through this, we learn how great and good God is and how corrupt and wicked we are.
- Thus, we know God and our lowly place before Him.
- This would result in a humbled spirit.
- As a result, we would respond in faith and submit to God and others. Submitting to others means to love one another (John 15:12) and coming in to fulfil their needs.
- Hence, all these would eventually lead to rest in Jesus.
The Christian Design
As a Christian, our design in God is to abide in Christ and Him in us (John 15:5). That’s where our joy is to be sourced. That implies a submission to Christ through obeying His commandments (John 15:10).
Only through abiding in Christ, and His love, can our joy be full (John 15:11). That’s how God designed a Christian to be.
Fulfil your design: submit to Christ, abide in Him, and be happy!
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