139. Joy Fulfilled
John 17:13 And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.
Jesus has lots of joy, but His joy is not really fulfilled until His joy fills everyone else. In other words, if we are not happy, Jesus is not happy.We complete the joy of Jesus when His joy reaches into us and fills us up. God smiles and Jesus’ face brightens up when we have His joy within.
The result of the preached Gospel (“things I speak in the world”) is joy. It doesn’t get more joyful for us than having His joy in us; in comes to us when Jesus speaks. The hint implied in this promise is that it would be a good thing to listen to Jesus. The more we hear the Gospel the happier we will be. If that promise is true it would certainly be a good idea to hear Jesus speak as often as possible. Listen to the things Jesus is speaking in the world: “I love you; I forgive you; I give you life; you are mine; I am with you; fear not; do not be anxious.”
For this reason we want to be in the Word to know the things Jesus speaks and to let the Holy Spirit bring them to our remembrance. For this reason we are “reading the red” and looking for and appropriating the promises of Jesus. The reason: we have a promise that His joy will be fulfilled in us. Jesus is happy when we are happy; we are happy when He is happy. Our inner desire is to please Jesus and make Him happy and not to grieve the Holy Spirit. The desire and ability to actually live a better life comes from the source of joy within, which is Jesus in us. The Joy of Jesus is not only the source of a better life, but it is also the result of living a better life. The Gospel is the power. Repent and believe the Gospel for the Kingdom is near.