HOW TO HAVE

FULLNESS OF JOY
Preaching and Teaching Resources

ADRIAN ROGERS
SERMON OVERVIEW, OUTLINE, AND TRANSCRIPT

How to Have Fullness of Joy

ADRIAN ROGERS

We are grateful for the opportunity to provide this transcript produced from a live sermon preached
by Adrian Rogers while serving as pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee. This
transcript is intended for your personal, non-commercial use.

Note: Though it has been transcribed from a version used for broadcast, it may contain stutters,
stammers, and other authentic remarks as would be common in a live setting.

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Copyright © 2022 Love Worth Finding Ministries, Inc.

Transcripts are used by permission of the Rogers Family Trust.

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 SERMON OVERVIEW

How to Have Fullness of Joy

SERMON REFER E N C E : John 15:11
LWF SERMON N UMB E R: #2488

The life of a Christian is to be a life of continual, contagious joy; Adrian Rogers says, “Joy is not a nicety in the
Christian life; it is an absolute necessity.” The fullness of joy is essential to winning the lost to Jesus Christ and
bearing life’s burdens. The joy of the Lord is our strength. It is how we are able to face the heartaches and trials
of life.

John 15:11 says, “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be
full.”

The joy of Jesus Christ is abounding and supernatural.

When we put our faith in Him, we don’t just get a cheap imitation of His joy—we get all of it. Remember, joy
is not happiness; it does not depend on outward circumstances, but on Jesus Christ, who never changes. Joy
does not remove the pain, but it helps us bear it.

Adrian Rogers says, “Joy is not the subtraction of problems from life; joy is the addition of power to meet those
problems.”

Second, the joy of Jesus is an abiding joy; it doesn’t come and go—it stays.

We are able to rejoice always, as Scripture implores us to, because the joy of the Lord will not leave in the dark
times. This joy is steadfast in sorrow, triumphant in tribulation, lasting in losses, and abundant in affliction.

The joy of Jesus is abundant joy.

John 15:5 reveals the secret to joy is abiding in Jesus, living a life of surrender and dependence upon Him. Like
a branch relies on a vine for its life and fruit, we rely on Jesus for this joy. John 15:9 says, “As the Father loved
Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.”

The joy of the Lord is a life of restfulness and obedience.

We can rest in knowing that His love and His power are continuous. And when we obey Him, our obedience
will be made manifest by the fruit we bear.

Finally, it is a life of rejoicing.

The joy of Jesus gives our lives meaning. When we abide in Him, we experience the fullness of joy.

Life Application
Do you abide in the Lord Jesus Christ? Do you rely on and rest in Him? Consider the joy in your heart today; is
it evidence of a life of obedience?

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 SERMON OUTLINE

How to Have Fullness of Joy

SERMON REFER E N C E : John 15:11
LWF SERMON N UMB E R: #2488

1) INTRODUCTION
a) Everyone wants to have joy in their life.
b) The reason many people do not have joy is that they are looking for it in the wrong place.
c) Joy is not a nicety in the Christian life; it is an absolute necessity.
d) If we are right with God, then we ought to have continual, conspicuous, and contagious joy.
i) We should have “joy unspeakable and full of glory.”
(1) 1 Peter 1:8
e) A Christian without joy is a contradiction in terms.
i) It would be like speaking about a Heavenly devil.
f) Many Christians have lost their joy.
g) Why is joy so important?
i) Joy is important in winning the lost to Jesus Christ.
(1) A Christian’s best advertisement is the joy of the Lord.
(2) King David loved God with all of his heart, but he lost his joy.
(a) Psalm 51:12-13
(i) He had not lost his salvation, but he had lost his joy.
(3) Someone who is not a joyful Christian is not an effective soul sinner.
ii) Joy is essential in bearing life’s burdens and to live the Christian life.
(1) We need strength to live the Christian life.
(a) “The joy of the Lord is our strength.”
(i) Nehemiah 8:10
(b) The joy of the Lord Jesus will energize us and give us strength.
(2) We need joy because of the heartaches and trials of life.
(a) The joy of the Lord is how we overcome heartaches and trials.
(3) Joy is the lubricant of life.
(4) The joy of the Lord will take the weariness out of work and will remove burdens from the
heart.
h) John 15:11
i) In this passage, Jesus Christ was speaking.
ii) As Jesus is facing dark Gethsemane and bloody Calvary, and He tells us how to have fullness
of joy.
i) In today’s message, we will think about three things as we discuss the joy of the Lord.
i) We are not to have joy “like” His; it is His joy.
(1) “That My joy might be in you.”
(a) John 15:11

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How to Have Fullness of Joy | John 15:11 | #2488

2) THE JOY OF JESUS IS ABOUNDING JOY

a) John 15:11
b) Hebrews 1:9
i) In this verse, the word “gladness” is another word for “joy.”
(1) It is translated in Jude 24 as “exceeding joy.”
(2) It literally means “joy that leaps and dances.”
(a) That is the kind of joy that Jesus has.
(b) It is not half-hearted joy, not maybe-so joy, but joy that is abounding and
supernatural.
c) If we don’t see Jesus as the joyful Jesus, then we have not seen Jesus.
i) Don’t think of Jesus as some pale, sanctimonious, religious recluse with ice water for blood.
ii) Jesus had a life of abounding joy.
(1) One of the ways that we know this is because little children loved Jesus.
(a) They wanted to come and crowd around Him and sit on His lap.
(b) Jesus said to let the little children come to Him.
(i) Luke 18:16
d) The joy that we are talking about is not a cheap imitation of Jesus’ joy.
i) It is His joy.
(1) John 17:13
(2) Philippians 4:4
(a) The only way we can rejoice always is to rejoice in the Lord.
(b) John 11:35, “Jesus wept.” is the shortest verse in the English Bible but not in the Greek
language.
(c) In the Greek language, Philippians 4:4, “Rejoice in the Lord always,” is the shortest
verse, but it speaks of the longest time.
e) The difference between joy (that gives meaning to life) and happiness (that may only put a smile
on your face):
i) Happiness depends upon what happens.
(1) That is why we call it happiness.
(2) If that is what we are waiting for and what we depend on, then we are going to be
prisoners of circumstances.
(a) There are going to come times when our “hap” is bad.
(i) This is the time when we are going to need joy.
ii) Joy depends upon the Lord.
(1) Philippians 4:4
(a) The only way that we can rejoice always is to rejoice in the Lord because He never
changes.
iii) Happiness is a cosmetic, but joy goes beyond the outward person to the inward character.
iv) Happiness can help us to meet surface needs, but joy will help us to meet our deepest need.
v) Happiness is like a thermometer; it registers conditions.
vi) Joy is like a thermostat; it controls conditions.
vii) Joy is inward; happiness is outward.

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viii) Happiness evaporates in times of trouble.

(1) When trouble comes, happiness goes; but joy will be intensified.
f) It is wonderful when joy and happiness work together.
i) We all have had those times when the happy times are here, and the joy of the Lord is in our
heart.
(1) What a wonderful combination that is.
ii) But when happiness goes, we need the joy all the more.
(1) And joy can be intensified.
g) Joy is not there to remove the pain, but to help us to bear the pain.
i) If someone is going through pain, then that is all the more reason that they need the joy of
the Lord.
h) Joy is not the subtraction of problems from life.
i) Joy is the addition of power to meet those problems.
i) The joy that we have in the Lord Jesus Christ is abounding joy.
i) “Abounding” means “fullness.”

3) THE JOY OF JESUS IS ABIDING JOY

a) John 15:11
b) It is not joy that comes and goes.
i) It is joy in the good times and the bad times.
ii) It is joy on rainy days and sunny days.
iii) It is joy in times of tragedy.
(1) Joy is still there.
iv) We are to rejoice in the Lord always.
(1) Philippians 4:4
v) Jesus was facing dark Gethsemane and bloody Calvary, and He speaks of His joy.
(1) Jesus was not a morose person, even when facing the cross.
(a) Yes, He had tears.
(b) Yes, He had pain.
(c) Yes, He had agony.
(i) But still He had joy in His heart.
c) It is steadfast in sorrow.
i) John 16:20
(1) God will turn our sorrow to joy.
d) It is triumphant in tribulation.
i) John 16:33
(1) Even as believers, we are not going to escape without tribulation.
ii) 2 Corinthians 7:4
(1) Joyful in tribulation.
iii) Paul and Silas were in prison at midnight, and they sang praises to the Lord.
(1) Acts 16:25
(2) We cannot sing praises to the Lord triumphantly unless we have joy in our hearts.

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e) It is lasting in losses.
i) Have you lost something?
ii) Have things that you need or want been taken from you?
(1) This happened to the Hebrew people.
(a) Hebrews 10:34 tells us that they took joyfully the spoiling of their goods.
iii) If your goods go and you lose your joy, then you were getting your joy in the wrong place.
(1) Your joy was in your circumstances and what you had, rather than in who He is.
f) It is abundant in affliction.
i) 1 Thessalonians 1:6
(1) Affliction is linked with joy.

4) THE JOY OF JESUS IS ABUNDANT JOY

a) John 15:11
i) When we go back and see what Jesus spoke, there we will find a recipe for joy.
b) Jesus speaks of Himself as a vine, and He speaks of us as the branches.
i) John 15:1-11
ii) The branch is to abide in the vine.
(1) When the branch abides in the vine, there is joy.
c) How to abide in Jesus:
i) Surrender
(1) John 15:4-5
(a) The vine is the Lord Jesus.
(b) The branch is us.
(2) A branch exists for one reason: the vine.
(3) The branch makes a full surrender to the vine.
(4) We must totally and completely abide in the vine.
(a) If we don’t, then we are not going to have joy.
(5) We abide by a full surrender.
(a) Have you ever made a full surrender?
(b) Surrender everything to Jesus Christ.
ii) Dependence
(1) The joy of Jesus is given when we depend upon the Lord.
(2) John 15:5
(a) Without Him, we can do nothing.
(3) A branch can do nothing without a vine.
(a) The branch makes a full surrender.
(i) That full surrender turns to an absolute dependence upon the Lord.
(4) When we think that we are something, then God is not everything.
(a) God cannot be everything until we become nothing.
(5) God specializes in making something out of nothing when we abide in the Lord.
iii) Rest

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(1) John 15:9

(2) We are to rest in His love.
(3) God loves you.
(a) That is not rhetoric; that is rock-ribbed truth.
(b) Let Him love you, and that will give you rest.
(c) We are the object of His love.
(4) All of our concerns should be reduced to one, and that is to abide in the vine.
(a) Once we do that, worry has to go.
(i) When it is summertime and the branch needs a drink of water, it does not worry
about where the water comes from.
1. That is the vine’s business.
2. The branch abides in the vine.
3. The vine puts His roots down into the ground and brings up moisture for the
branch’s wilted leaves.
(ii) When it’s springtime and the branch needs buds, it does not worry about where
the buds are going to come from.
1. The branch abides in the vine.
(iii) When the time of harvest comes, the branch does not worry about the grapes.
1. It doesn’t worry about how big, how few, or how sweet the grapes will be.
2. It is not the branch’s business; the branch does not produce the fruit.
a. Galatians 5:22
i. The fruit of the Spirit is joy.
ii. We cannot create that joy.
iii. We are to abide.
b. The grapes (the fruit) are His; they are not ours.
i. We don’t produce them; we simply bear them.
iv) Obedience
(1) John 15:11
(a) Jesus spoke of obedience.
(2) John 15:10
(a) Jesus spoke of His joy because He kept the commandments of the Father.
(3) John 14:15
(4) John 14:21
(5) The manifestation of God’s presence in our hearts is joy.
(a) It is joy unspeakable and full of glory as we obey the Lord.
v) Rejoicing
(1) John 15:11
(2) We all have problems and heartaches.
(a) This is why we need joy.
(3) Luke 10:20
(a) We are to rejoice because our name is written in Heaven.
(b) Is your name written in Heaven?

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(i) All of this will do you no good unless your name is written in Heaven.
(ii) You can have your name written in Heaven and go to Heaven second-class
without joy.
(iii) If your name is written in Heaven, then you can know that come what may, you
are Heaven-born and Heaven-bound.
1. And you can rejoice that your name is written in Heaven.

5) CONCLUSION
a) Without genuine joy, life is meaningless.
b) Joy is only found in Jesus.
i) John 15:11
(1) Not joy “like” His, but the supernatural joy of Jesus Christ.
c) If you are saved and have let the devil take the joy out of your life, then repent of it and surrender
to Jesus.
i) Depend upon the Lord Jesus, and rest in Him.
ii) Obey the Lord Jesus, and let joy be renewed in your heart and in your life.
(1) This is called abiding in Jesus.
d) If you have never received Jesus, then all of this is impossible to you until you take the first step.
i) When you give your heart to Jesus Christ, God puts your name in His book in Heaven.
ii) The devil will whisper to you not to do it, but the devil is a liar.
(1) He didn’t suffer on a cross for you.
(2) He didn’t sweat blood in Gethsemane for you.
e) Jesus says, “Come unto Me.”
i) Matthew 11:28
f) Do you know Jesus personally? If not, you can pray to Him today by asking Him to come into
your life.
g) Call upon Jesus today. Repent (turn) from your sins, and turn to Jesus. Ask Him to forgive you of
your sins, and acknowledge Him as Lord of your life.
i) Romans 3:23
ii) Romans 10:9-10
iii) Romans 10:13
iv) Acts 16:31
v) John 3:16

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 SERMON TRANSCRIPT

How to Have Fullness of Joy

SERMON REFER E N C E : John 15:11
LWF SERMON N UMB E R: #2488

Take your Bibles and find John chapter 15. And while you’re finding it, let me say something to you. I don’t
know a lot about you. I certainly don’t know everything about you, but I know one thing about every
mother’s child today. May I tell you what it is? You want joy in your life. Now don’t deny it; you do. You want
joy in your life. And I want to talk to you today about how to have fullness of joy.
A woman lost her car keys. Have you ever done that? She lost her car keys; she went through the
house; she went here, there, opened every drawer. Finally she looked in her purse and there were her
keys. Do you know why she didn’t find them at first? She was looking in the wrong place. Now the reason
people don’t have joy, many of them, is they are looking for joy in the wrong place. Friend, joy is not a
nicety in the Christian life; it is an absolute necessity. You ought to have in your life, if you’re right with God,
continual joy, conspicuous joy, contagious joy; joy unspeakable and full of glory. And a Christian without
joy is a contradiction in terms. It’d be like speaking about a heavenly devil, as a Christian without joy. But I
can tell you beyond the shadow of any doubt or peradventure, there’re many who’ve lost their joy.
Let me tell you why joy is so important. Number one: it is important in winning the lost to Jesus
Christ. And you know, our best advertisement, is the joy of the Lord. King David loved God with all of his
heart, but he lost his joy, and he prayed this in Psalm 51 verse 12 and 13, “Restore unto me the joy of Thy
salvation.” He hadn’t lost his salvation, but he lost his joy. “Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation, and
uphold me with Thy free spirit. And then,” listen to it, “and then will I teach transgressors Thy ways, and
sinners shall be converted unto Thee.” Now if you’re not a joyful Christian, you’re not an effective soul
winner, if you’re going around with a Bible under one arm and a tombstone under the other, and saying,
“Don’t you want to be like I am?” He said, “No thank you, I’ve got enough troubles already.” No! Listen, it is
so essential in winning the lost.
I’ll tell you something else, the joy of the Lord is essential in bearing life’s burdens and living the
strength of the Lord in living the Christian life. How are you going to live the Christian life? Well you
need strength. Where are you going to get that strength? The joy of the Lord is your strength. The joy of
the Lord Jesus will energize you and give you strength.
Another reason you need joy is because of the heartaches and trials of life. You have heartaches; I have
heartaches. We have difficulties. We have obstacles. How’re we going to overcome them? The joy of the
Lord is the way that we can overcome them. Joy is the lubricant of life. And the joy of the Lord will take the
weariness out of work. And the joy of the Lord will remove the burdens from the heart.
So let’s think a little bit about how to have fullness of joy. Now look if you will in John 15 and verse 11.
Jesus Christ is speaking, and the setting is this: He’s just facing dark Gethsemane and bloody Calvary, and
here’s what He says, “These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your
joy might be full.” Now Jesus said, “I’m telling you how to have fullness of joy.”
There’re three things I want you to think about when we think about the joy of the Lord, my joy. First
of all, we’re not to have joy like His. It is His joy, “That My joy might be in you.” What is the joy of Jesus?

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Number one: it is abounding joy; write it down. The joy of Jesus is abounding joy. He says in John 15:11,
“That My joy might be in you, that your joy might be full.”
Do you know over in the book of Hebrews in chapter 1 and verse 9, the Bible says of the Lord Jesus that
God the Father has anointed Him with joy, with the oil of gladness, above His fellows? The word “gladness”
there is another word for joy. It is translated there in the book of Jude verse 24 as “exceeding joy.” What
it literally means is, “joy that leaps and dances.” Can you imagine Jesus leaping and dancing? That’s the
kind of joy He has. It is abounding joy. Not half-hearted joy, not maybe-so joy, but joy that is abounding
and supernatural.
I don’t know what your concept of Jesus Christ is, but if you don’t see Jesus as the joyful Jesus, you’ve
not seen Jesus. Don’t think of Jesus as some pale, sanctimonious, religious recluse with ice water for
blood. Jesus had a life of abounding joy. You know one of the ways I know that? Little children loved Him.
Now listen, if you’re a sour puss and little children don’t like you, you’ve got problems. Little children loved
Jesus. They wanted to come and crowd around Him and sit in His lap. And these old disciples said, “Get
the kids away,” but Jesus said, “No, let them come to Me.” Jesus had a life of abounding joy.
Now, I want to give you a couple more verses that teach what I’m talking about that the joy that
we’re talking about is not a cheap, tin imitation of Jesus’ joy; it is His joy. Jot down John 17 verse 13. There
He speaks, “That they might have My joy fulfilled in them.” Jot down Philippians 4:4, “Rejoice in the Lord
always, and again I say, rejoice.” Now the only way that you can rejoice always is to rejoice in the Lord.
You know, some of us when we were young were asked to give a memory verse. We love that verse
over there in John 11 verse 35, “Jesus wept.” You remember that one? Tried to pull that? “Jesus wept.” Now,
some people say that’s the shortest verse in the Bible. It’s really not the shortest verse. Now it, that is, it
is in the English Bible, but not in the Greek language. In the Greek language, this verse, Philippians 4:4,
“Rejoice in the Lord evermore,” is really the shortest verse. Now, it speaks of the longest time, “Rejoice in
the Lord always.” It is the shortest verse with the longest time. “Rejoice in the Lord evermore.”
Now, when I’m talking about joy, you need to learn the difference between joy and happiness;
difference between joy that gives meaning to life and happiness that may only put a smile on your face.
Now you look better with a smile, but you don’t always have to have a smile on your face. It’d be a relief
to know that we don’t have to go around with a goony grin all the time, to have the joy of the Lord Jesus
Christ. What is this joy? What is the difference between this joy, this abounding joy, and happiness?
Now, if you’re happy, I’m glad. If you remember, Thumper in the film Bambi said, “If it makes you
happy to be happy, go ahead and be happy.” And if you have happiness, that’s good. But as I’ve told you,
happiness depends upon what happens, and that’s why we call it happiness. And, if that’s what you’re
waiting for and that’s what you depend on, then I can tell you clearly and plainly you’re going to be a
prisoner of circumstances, because there’re going to come some times when your hap is bad, B-A-D, bad.
That’s the time you’re going to need joy. Happiness depends on what happens; joy depends upon what?
The Lord. “Rejoice in, in the Lord always.” And the only way that you can rejoice always is to rejoice in the
Lord because He never changes.
Now, again, happiness is a cosmetic. And lot of people look good in cosmetics. And I’m not saying
don’t be happy. But joy goes beyond the outward person to the inward character. Happiness can help you

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to meet surface needs, and we all have those, and God knows that we have them. But joy will help you to
meet your deepest need. That’s why I’m saying that you need joy.
You see, happiness is like a thermometer. It registers conditions. Joy is like a thermostat that controls
conditions. Joy is inward; happiness is outward. Happiness, listen, evaporates in the time of trouble. When
trouble comes, happiness goes; but joy will be intensified. Now when joy and happiness work together,
that is wonderful! We all have had those times when the happy times are here and the joy of the Lord is
in our heart, what a wonderful combination that is. But friend, when happiness goes, you need the joy all
the more, and joy can be intensified.
Joy is not there to remove the pain, but to help you to bear the pain. And if you’re going through pain,
that’s all the more reason that you need the joy of the Lord. And let me tell you what joy is. Joy is not the
subtraction of problems from life; joy is the addition of power to meet those problems. You’re going to
have problems, beyond the shadow of any doubt. And I want to tell you that the joy that we have in the
Lord Jesus Christ is abounding joy. I chose that word carefully because abounding means fullness.
Now here’s the second thing I want you to see about this joy from John chapter 15 verse 11. Not only is
it abounding joy, but it is abiding joy. Now look at that verse again. He says, “That My joy might remain in
you.” It’s not joy that comes and goes. It is joy in the good times, the bad times, the nighttime, the daytime,
the rainy day, the sunny day; joy in a time of tragedy. It is still there. We’re to rejoice in the Lord always,
always.
Now listen to me, precious friend. You may be saying, “Adrian, the reason you’re saying that is you’re
not going through the problems that I’m going through right now. You don’t know the heartaches. You
don’t know the tears. You don’t know the fears. You don’t know the sickness. You don’t know the pain. You
don’t know how I’ve been treated. You don’t know the finances that I’m facing. If you did, you wouldn’t say
that.” Friend, I’m only quoting the words of Jesus. And what was Jesus’ situation at this time? Jesus was
facing dark Gethsemane and bloody Calvary, okay? Dark Gethsemane and bloody Calvary. And He says,
speaking of His joy. Now, He was not a morose person, even facing the cross. Yes, He had tears. Yes, He had
pain. Yes, He had agony. But still He had that joy in His heart.
Now let me tell you about this abiding joy. Number one, and I want to give you some verses, number
one: it is steadfast in sorrow. John chapter 16 verse 20, “Your sorrow shall be turned into joy.” You have
sorrow? God will turn your sorrow to joy.
Number two: it is triumphant in tribulation. Do you have tribulation? Jesus said in John 16:33, “In
this world you shall have tribulation.” You’re not going to escape without tribulation. But listen to this
verse, Paul says in Second Corinthians 7 verse 4, “I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation.” Joyful in
tribulation. Paul and Silas in that prison at midnight were singing praises to the Lord. And you cannot sing
praises to the Lord triumphantly unless you have joy in your heart.
I’ll tell you something else: this joy is lasting in losses. Have you lost something? Have things gone
upside down on you? Things that you need, things that you want, they’re taken from you? That happened
to the Hebrews to whom; I believe it was Paul who wrote the book of Hebrews. Scholars still debate it, but
I think Paul wrote Hebrews. But that’s beside the point right now. Hebrews chapter 10 verse 34, “And you
took joyfully the spoiling of your goods.”

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Now what if you came home from church today and everything’s gone? Your house is burned, or else
thieves came in and took everything from you, or you read and find out that some conniving shyster has
cheated you out of everything, and now you don’t have anything. Your goods have been spoiled. Should
you lose your joy? Absolutely not! “You took joyfully the spoiling of your goods.” If your goods go and you
lose your joy, you were getting your joy in the wrong place. You’re getting your joy in the wrong place. Your
joy was in your circumstances and what you have rather than who He is. The joy of the Lord is lasting in
losses.
And the joy of the Lord is abundant in affliction. Put this down, First Thessalonians chapter 1 and verse
6, “You have received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost.” Affliction? Yes. Sickness? Yes.
Pain? Yes. Trouble? Yes. Joy? Yes! Affliction, he says; but he links affliction with joy.
Now, the joy of Jesus is abounding joy. The joy of Jesus is abiding joy, John 15:11, “That My joy might
remain in you.” And finally, the joy of Jesus is abundant joy. There is a lot of it. “That your joy might be
full,” might be full. Now, you say, “Pastor, that’s fine, but you haven’t told me how to have it. How can I have
joy?” Well I’m glad you asked. I want you to look again at John 15 verse 11, “These things have I spoken unto
you.” Well it only makes sense to see what He’s just spoken. You go back and see what He spoke and there
you will have a recipe for joy. Now I don’t want you to miss the rest of the message. If your mind’s been
wandering a little bit, tighten the focus now, because I’m talking to you about now how to have fullness,
abundant joy.
Now Jesus said in John 15 verse 11, “These things,” look, “have I spoken unto you, that you might have
joy, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.” Well, just back up and see what
Jesus has spoken to them. In John chapter 15 verses 1 through 11, Jesus speaks of Himself as a vine, and
He speaks of us as branches. And then He tells us that the branch is to abide in the vine. And what Jesus
is saying is that when the branch abides in the vine, ipso facto, there is joy. “Well,” you say, “Pastor, that
sounds good, but ‘abide’ is a word I don’t use a whole lot; and it’s kind of a religious word. Could you tell
me in plain English what it means to ‘abide in Jesus’ and therefore have abounding joy? Therefore having
lasting, abiding joy, and therefore having abundant joy. What does it mean to abide?”
All right, I want you to write down these words, and first of all, it means surrender. Did you write it
down? Look if you will in John 15 verse 4, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself,
except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me.” Verse 5, “I am the vine and ye are the
branches. He that abideth in Me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without Me, you can
do nothing.” Now, now think about this. Just imagine a vine; that’s the Lord Jesus Christ. And imagine a
branch; that’s you. Now don’t miss this point. A branch exists for one reason: the vine. Not two reasons, not
one and a half reasons. One reason: the vine. It makes a full surrender to the vine. You say, “But, Pastor, I’ve
got a family, I’ve got a job, I’ve got this, I’ve got that. How can I just have one issue?” Well, you must totally,
completely abide in the vine. Now if you don’t do that, you’re not going to have joy. And how do you abide?
By a full surrender. Have you ever made a full surrender?
A great English preacher of yesteryear was Dr. F.B. Meyer; we still read his devotional books. In one of
his books, Dr. Meyer told how he got joy that I’m speaking about. He said he’d been burdened for a long
time in living the Christian life, that he did not have the joy that he ought to have. And he said one time in
a meeting there was a young man who seemed to have learned the secret of abundant joy. And he said, “I

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went to him after the service. I’d heard him speak. And I said, ‘Sir, can you tell me how to have the joy that
you have? It seems that you have something that I do not have. Can you tell me how?’”
And F.B. Meyer, this famous preacher, said, “That young man looked at me and said, ‘Have you
surrendered everything to Jesus Christ?’” Meyer said, “Well, in a general way, I have.” The young man said,
“That’s not good enough. Go alone, tonight, and get it settled.” Meyer decided he would do that. He went
to his bedroom and locked the door and got on his knees and said, “Lord, I am going to get this settled
tonight.” And he says, “Lord, I’m going to surrender everything to You.” And he said, “It seemed like that I
had a big bunch of keys, and I held them up to the Lord. And I said, ‘Lord, here are the keys to my life. Take
them.’” The Lord said to him, “Are they all there?” He said, “Well, they’re all, except one little key. I’ve kept
that back.” The Lord said, “You must give Me that key.” And Satan said, “Don’t do it! Don’t do it! If you give
Him everything, no telling what He will ask of you!” And Meyer was going through a struggle, and he said
to the Lord, “Lord, I don’t have the strength to give You this last key. But, Lord, would You take it?”
He said the Lord opened his fingers and got that little key and went to a cupboard and opened it,
and inside was vileness and wickedness and sin. He’d never seen the import of what he was holding
back from the Lord. And he repudiated that sin and turned from it. And he said, “That night, the desire
for that died in my heart.” He said, “I went to sleep expecting to wake up in the morning with hallelujahs
and praises.” But he said, “No, instead, I just had a quiet confidence, and I found myself all day long saying,
‘I’m His! I’m His! I’m His! I am completely His!’” Now, a vine and a branch are connected together. But now
listen. It must be a life of surrender. Did you write down the word “surrender?”
All right, now, here’s the second word I want you to write down. Not only surrender, but dependence.
The joy of Jesus is given when you depend upon the Lord. Now look at the Scripture here when he says
in John 15 verse 5, the last part of that, “Without Me, you can do nothing.” You say, “Now wait a minute,
Pastor. I might do a little bit.” Well, may I say that’s your opinion! I’d rather take the word of Jesus, “Without
Me you can do nothing.” Well, use common sense. What can a branch do without a vine? Nothing! That’s
a zero with the edges trimmed off. Nothing! Well you say, “I think it’s something.” Well in eternity it will
be nothing. The branch makes a full surrender, and that full surrender turns to an absolute dependence
upon the Lord. Now, when you think you’re something, then God is not everything. And God cannot be
everything until you become nothing. But don’t worry about it. God specializes in making something out
of nothing when you abide in the Lord.
Now here’s a third word I want you to write down. Surrender, dependence, third one is rest. Now look
in John 15 verse 9, if you will. He says, “As the Father hath loved Me, so have I loved you; continue ye in My
love.” Rest in His love. He loves you. That’s not rhetoric. That is rock-ribbed truth. He loves you. He loves you.
But you must abide in His love. Let Him love you, and that’ll give you rest. I mean, when you see yourself
as the object of His love, you’ll say, “He loves me.”
Just imagine that a human being could have a conversation with a branch. And the branch would say
to the human being, “Now, you human beings think you’re so intelligent, but you always seem frustrated
to me, rushing around, knocking things over; no rest, no peace.” And the man says to the branch, “Well,
you seem to have peace. How do you do it?” He says, “I’ve reduced all my concerns to one, and that is to
abide in the vine. And once I do that, worry has to go. When its summertime and I need a drink of water,
I don’t worry about where it comes from. That’s the vine’s business. I abide in the vine, and the vine puts
his roots down into the ground and brings up that moisture for my wilted leaves. And then when it’s

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springtime and I need buds, I don’t worry about where those buds are going to come from. I abide in the
vine. And when the time of vintage and harvest comes, I don’t worry about the grapes: how big, how few,
how sweet. It’s none of my business. I don’t produce the fruit.”
You see the Bible tells us in the book of Galatians chapter 5 verse 22, “The fruit of the Spirit is joy.” The
fruit of the Spirit is joy. You’re not going to create that joy. You’re not going to clench your fist today and
grit your teeth and say, “I’m going to have joy if it kills me.” You can’t do that. You abide. And the branch
says, “Sir, I just abide in the vine, and the grapes are His, not mine. I don’t produce them. I simply bear
them.”
Now, let me give you another word I want you to write down, and it’s the fourth word. You won’t like
this one, but it’s obedience. Now what we’re doing is talking about how to abide. Jesus is saying, “Look,
I want you to have joy.” “These things have I spoken unto you that you might have joy.” Now what did He
speak? He spoke of obedience. Look in John 15 verse 10, “If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide
in My love.” “If you keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love, even as I have kept My Father’s
commandments, and abide in His love.” And Jesus spoke of His joy because He kept the commandments
of the Father. Now, there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.
If I were to ask you, “How many of you today love Jesus?” I suppose we’d all lift our hands, some just
because we didn’t want to be seen with our hands down. We’d all lift our hands. But Jesus said in John 14
verse 15, “If you love Me, keep My word.” John 14:21, “He that hath My commandments and keepeth them,
he it is that loves Me. And he that loves Me shall be loved of my Father,” now watch this, “and I will manifest
Myself to him.” How’s God going to manifest Himself to you? The manifestation of His presence in your
heart is joy, joy unspeakable and full of glory as you, friend, obey the Lord.
Now last of all, write down the word rejoicing, and we’ve come full circle. Now we come back to john 15
verse 11 where we started. What He says here, “These things have I spoken unto you,” He spoke about the
vine and the branches. “These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that
your joy will be full.” I know you’ve got problems. I know you have heartaches, and that’s why you need
joy. Our Lord said this in Luke 10:20, “Don’t rejoice because the demons are subject to you.” If they are, I’m
glad. But Jesus said, listen, “Rejoice, rejoice that your name is written in Heaven.” Is your name written in
Heaven? All of this that I’ve said will do you absolutely no good unless your name is written in Heaven.
Now you can have your name written in Heaven and go to Heaven second-class without joy. But if your
name is written in Heaven, you know, come what may, weal or woe, heartache, tears, I am Heaven-born,
I’m Heaven-bound, I’m going to Heaven, and I rejoice that my name is written in Heaven.
Friend, without genuine joy, your life is meaningless. That too big a statement? Absolutely not.
Without genuine joy your life is meaningless. And joy is only found in Jesus. “That my joy might remain in
you.” Not joy like His, the supernatural joy of Jesus Christ.
Bow your heads in prayer. Heads are bowed and eyes are closed. Those of you who are saved, have
you let the devil take the joy out of your life? Repent of it. Come and surrender to Jesus. Depend upon the
Lord Jesus. Rest in the Lord Jesus. Do it, do it. Obey the Lord Jesus, and let that joy be renewed in your
heart and in your life. It’s called abiding in Jesus. And those of you who’ve never, ever received Jesus, all
of the rest of this is impossible to you until you take the first step, and rejoice that your name is written in

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Heaven. When you give your heart to Jesus Christ, there’s a book in Heaven, and God puts your name in
it. What a thrill that is.
Would you pray this prayer with me if you’re not certain that you’re saved? Would you pray, “Lord
Jesus,” that’s right, just speak to Him, “I need You and I want You. I want Your life in me. I want to know that
my sin is forgiven. I want to know that I have fellowship with You. I want the joy that only You alone can
give. I don’t want to go to Hell; I want to go to Heaven. But on the way to Heaven, I want joy. Come into my
heart. Forgive my sin. Thank You for paying for my sin with Your shed blood on the cross. I love You for that.
Forgive me and cleanse me, and come into my life right now, right now, right now and begin to make me
the person You want me to be. And help me never to be ashamed of You. Give me the courage to make
it public. In Your name, Amen.”

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