Joy

THE LAST PRAYER OF JESUS
JOY
DR. JIM DIXON
JOHN 17:13
MAY 24, 2009

Many of you have heard of Felix Mendelssohn and Charles Wesley. They were two of the most brilliant musical talents this world has ever known. It’s a little-known fact that they collaborated on one of the great hymns of the Christian faith. They collaborated without knowing it, however. Felix Mendelssohn lived in the 19th century, and he was a composer, conductor, and pianist. You’ve heard his music. Whether you know it or not, you’ve heard his music. When you go to weddings and you hear the Wedding March, “here comes the bride,” that’s Mendelssohn. That’s part of one of his masterpieces.

Felix Mendelssohn was the grandson of Moses Mendelssohn, and Moses Mendelssohn was a renowned Jewish-German philosopher. Felix Mendelssohn was Jewish, but he also was Christian, and he accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior and he wrote his masterpieces to the glory of Christ. He was the one who revived the world’s interest in Bach. Now, Mendelssohn did not live a long life. He married a woman he greatly loved and together they had five children, but he died at the age of 38 of an unknown illness. He died at the age of 38, but in his short life he experienced the joy of Christ. And so, he wrote an orchestral piece that he meant to communicate that joy to the world through. And so, he knew that someday someone would put lyrics to his music. He knew that someday someone would put words to that music, and his only request was that they be words of joy because this great music that he had written was meant to convey the joy of Christ.

After Mendelssohn’s death they did put words to the music, and they put the words of Charles Wesley, who had actually ministered in the 18th century. Charles Wesley was a graduate of Oxford, and along with his brother John, Charles Wesley established the Wesleyan movement and the Methodist Church. He was a scholar, a theologian, and a tremendous hymn writer. In fact, Charles Wesley wrote over 8,000 hymns in his lifetime. My favorite hymn, And Can It Be That I Should Gain, was written by Charles Wesley. Every Easter when we sing Christ the Lord is Risen Today, that was written by Charles Wesley. And so, they took lyrics, they took words written by Charles Wesley from the 18th century, combined them with the music of Mendelssohn in the 19th century, and they created this great Christian hymn.

And what is it? It is a Christmas carol, “Hark the herald angels sing, glory to the newborn king.” I told you that you had sung that song, and surely you have. And I think Mendelssohn would have been pleased. He would have been pleased at the words, the lyrics, and the way they communicated the joy of his music. “Hark the herald angels sing, glory to the newborn king.” No one brings joy like Jesus. “I bring you good news of great joy, which will come to all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord.” So, Christ brings joy, and in the Bible Jesus makes this statement: “I have come that you might have joy and that your joy might be full.” And in the high priestly prayer and the last prayer of Jesus Christ for his church he says, “Father, I am coming to thee, but these things I speak in the world, that those who believe in me, the church, might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.” So, his great prayer is that we would have joy.

Now, that kind of begs the question, “Why are so many Christians miserable?” And some are. We all have times, do we not, when we struggle with down times and we’re not immune to the hardships of the world and the tough things in life. And yet it is the prayer of Christ that we might have more joy, more joy than any other people in the world, that we would be known for our joy, that we would be known for our happiness. Now, I’ve rarely met a Christian who would say, “I have no joy.” I have had Christians acknowledge to me that they lack happiness. The argument goes something like this: “I know I’m not happy, but I do have joy. I don’t know what joy is, but whatever it is I have it.” I think that’s how Christians want to feel. They know they’re not always happy, but they think they have joy. They’re not sure what joy is. Somehow it is transcendent, and they just know they have it. Somehow, they have it.

But here’s the problem: in the Greek language, joy means happy. If someone has told you otherwise, they are simply wrong. In the Greek language, the word for joy is the word “chara,” and the word chara means happy. It means glad. It means merry. It has to do with laughter, with festive celebration, and we have countless writings from the time of Christ in the Greek language and we understand the Hellenized world and how they used the word chara. They used the word chara in association with eating and drinking. They used the word chara in association with the birth of a child. They used chara in association with financial prosperity and material wealth. They used chara in association with health, and they used chara in the sense of happy, merry, glad. And we’ve tried to spiritualize the word. But there is no getting around the fact Jesus expects those who love him and follow him to be inordinately merry, inordinately glad, inordinately happy. Yes, joyful.

This morning what I would like to do is just share a little prescription for happiness. And it is one teaching, and it involves one word. I believe that joy, chara, is tied to this other word that we find in the last prayer of Jesus for His church, and I believe the word is glory. Your happiness and mine is all tied to how we understand glory and to whom we ascribe glory. Look at the last prayer of Christ in John 17. Look at verse one. All through the prayer is glory. So, you look at 17:1, and here’s the words of Jesus: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify thy son that the son may glorify thee.” You come to 17:4, the words of Jesus: “Father, I have glorified thy name on Earth having accomplished the work which thou gavest me to do.” Verse 5, 17:5: “Now Father, glorify thou me with the glory which I shared with you before the world was made.” John 17:10, Jesus is praying for those who believe in him and he says, “I am glorified in them.” John 17:10, “I am glorified in the church.” Glory. 17:22, later in the prayer, Jesus said, “The glory which thou hast given to me, I have given to them.” Glory. 17:24, “Father, I desire that these also whom thou hast given me might be with me where I am to behold my glory, which thou hast given me, and thy love for me before the foundation of the world.” Glory, glory, glory, glory, as you go through this prayer.

Have you ever wondered as you read John 17 and you read this last prayer of Jesus for his people why he keeps talking about glory? This is so important. See, we live in a world, we live in a culture, that doesn’t understand glory. We live in a culture that glorifies all the wrong things. We give glory to all the wrong things. Now, the word in the Greek for glory is “doxa.” I am saying chara, joy, is tied to doxa, glory. Doxa has passed into our language in the form of the English word doxology. Doxology is doxa and “logos.” Logos means word, doxa means praise. Doxology means word of praise. Many churches sing the doxology. It’s a word of praise. Many churches today all over the world are singing the Gloria Patri, “Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost.” A word of praise. But you see, the world and the culture we live in, we give praise, we give glory and honor to all the wrong things. We give glory to men, to mankind. It’s not meant to be.

I was reading something just this past week about Kevin Bacon. You’ve all heard of Kevin Bacon the Hollywood actor and probably seen a few of his movies. Kevin Bacon was talking to his six-year-old-son. His six-year-old son had seen Footloose, which Kevin Bacon starred in some years ago, and his six-year-old son said, “Dad, as you hung from the rafters in that building in the movie, that was so cool! Dad, how’d you do that?” Kevin Bacon said, “Well, son, it was a stunt double. It was a stuntman.” His son said, “Well, what’s a stuntman?” Kevin Bacon said, “Well, it’s a guy who dresses like me and does what I cannot do.” His son kind of thinks, he said, “Well, Dad, in the movie where you’re on the bar and you swing around and around and around the bar and you just fly off and land perfectly on your feet. Dad, how’d you do that?” Kevin Bacon said, “Well, that was a gymnastic double.” His six-year-old said, “Well, what’s a gymnastic double?” Kevin Bacon said, “Well, it’s a guy who dresses like me and does what I cannot do.” And his son said, “Dad, what can you do?” And Kevin Bacon said, “I get all the glory.” I get all the glory. And that’s true in Hollywood. It is so true in many arenas of life there are people who get glory. They get praise. They get honor. And we need to be careful because we’re all fallen and we’re not worthy.

We don’t really know people, do we? Everybody has kind of a public persona. People who think they know you don’t really know you. People who think they know me don’t really know me. There are aspects to our life and behavior we might like to hide. We want to present a good side. We’re not worthy of glory. We’re not worthy of praise and honor.

I love Barb very much. And yet despite the fact that Barb and I love each other so much, we have the stupidest fights. We really do. Sometimes we argue over the dumbest things. Just two weeks ago we were having a barbeque on our back deck, just the two of us. We get in a big fight. You know, the propane went out. I went out to the garage, got another tank of propane, and I put it in there. Barb didn’t think I put it in right. There’s a little cabinet underneath the barbeque. You stick it in there, and just because the doors wouldn’t shut anymore she thought I didn’t put it in right. And the hose was all twisted and stuff, you know. And then it went on, we’re fighting, and she thinks I have too much red meat, so we went there. Finally, I just yelled something at her, and the moment I yell at her a couple, two of our best friends, come walking right past the back of the house. But you see, the truth is I’m not worthy of glory. I’m not worthy of glory.

Sometimes driving along I’ll see bumper stickers like this: My son/my daughter is an honor student at such-and-such a school. We’ve all seen bumper stickers like that. And I’m happy for your son. I’m happy for your daughter. I understand the bumper sticker, but sometimes I worry a little bit. I worry a little bit that sometimes we as parents are seeking to glorify our kids and they’re not worthy. I think sometimes as parents we’re almost seeking some kind of vicarious satisfaction through our kids, some kind of praise and honor to ourselves through our kids, and I feel like tragically it puts improper pressure on the kids. They weren’t meant to live for us. They can’t measure up. If you’re vesting honor in your kids and you’re seeking to glorify them, someday they are going to disappoint you. If they haven’t already, you live in a strange world. We just weren’t meant to glorify and honor that which doesn’t deserve glory and honor. We love our kids, we encourage them, compliment them appropriately, certainly hold them accountable, but we’re not to glorify them. It’s a strange culture we live in.

Glory belongs to Christ. As you read this prayer and as you go through the prayer, it’s glory to Christ. Christ even wants us someday to come and be where he is to see his glory. “Father, I desire that these also, who believe in me, whom thou hast given me, might be with me where I am to see my glory, which thou hast given me and thy love for me before the foundation of this world.” The disciples had glimpses. When they saw his glory, when they saw him transfigured on the holy mountain, his face radiating pure light. They had glimpses of his glory. And so, his prayer indicates that as we glorify him, we glorify the Father. As we glorify Jesus, we glorify the godhead and we find joy. See, we find joy by putting glory in the right place, by seeking to honor him, by praising him.

Living a life that praises him and honors him brings joy. You don’t have to worry about him failing you. He never fails or forsakes us. We’ve read the end of the book, and we know he’s going to win. He’s Lord of Lords and King of Kings. He will come in power and great glory, and he will judge the world. He’ll bring justice to the earth. He’ll tread the winepress of the wrath of the fury of the Lord God Almighty, and he’ll receive his people unto himself and take them home. Glory to him. And if you place your praise in him, you find joy in life. Everything else fails. Everything else fails. And so he is the one who has promised us that no matter what we’re going through, he’s working for good. He’s the who’s promised to forgive our sin and to wash us whiter than snow. He’s the one who’s promised salvation: a ticket to Heaven. He’s the one who has given us a Kingdom to live for, worth dying for. He is the giver of joy, and he gives the fruit of the spirit as joy.

Now there’s some joy in his church. Jesus says, “The glory that thou hast given to me I have given to them.” “I am glorified in them.” There is glory in the church, but it’s derivative. I read the story just recently of Agnita Wingstedt. Agnita Wingstedt is Swedish. A few years ago, she was walking very happy, very joyful, by the cliffs above the sea in Sweden. She’d just become engaged, and she was in love and the joy was great. She had her engagement ring on her hand, and she was looking at it as she walked by the cliffs. As she took the ring off her finger to look at it more closely, just as she was passing it from hand to hand a big gust of wind came up and the ring fell right over the cliff and into the sea. Her ring was gone. It’s kind of an amazing story because the ring went into the sea and it was gone.

The years passed and a guy named Peter Karlsen was fishing and actually seeking shellfish and as he was bringing shellfish aboard his boat, he opens one of the shellfish and what does he find? The ring. It has her name on it, and they returned the ring to her. And she’s married the guy now, but this is just so cool, and joy is renewed.

But I was thinking, in this high priestly prayer, Jesus says, “Father, I have given them thy name. The name which thou hast given to me, I have given to them.” He’s given his name to us. We bear his name. The church bears his name. And I was thinking, what’s so cool is, we can never be lost. The promise is given. We will be returned to him, and that’s glory in the church. That’s just part of the glory, but it’s his glory. It’s all his glory. We are the bride of Christ, but it’s all his glory.

In this world, you see, we tie our joy to strange wagons. We tie our joy to the wrong things. So many people in this world tie their joy to sports, to the world of athletics, television, and arenas. Joy is so transitory. The Denver Nuggets right now are in the Western Conference finals of the NBA. I’m excited for them and happy for them, and I hope they win it, although last night didn’t help. But you see, you can’t tie your joy to that. So many people (and sometimes myself) tie our joy to stupid things. We give glory to the wrong things. Praise and honor. And you tie your joy to the wrong things. Our team is so great. Somehow our city is aglow when our team does well. It’s glory to them, and there’s always joy, but it’s fleeting. In 1997-1998, the Broncos won the Super Bowl (the John Elway era). The whole city was filled with joy, happiness, gladness. The city was merry. Eleven years have passed. There’s not so much joy anymore. That’s the kind of world we live in, right? That’s the world we live in. The prayer of Jesus is that we would have his joy, but to have his joy, we’ve got to live for his glory and know where praise and honor are due.

So, we come to the table and give glory to him. We come to the table and its praise and honor to him. You should come to this table with joy because of him. Coming to this table you are remembering his death for you, but also the fact that death could not hold him. Remember the fact that your sins are forgiven and that through faith in him you have eternal life. You are remembering and celebrating the fact that you’ve been brought into a family of sons and daughters of God, and you have an eternal destiny.

This is called the Eucharist, the Lord’s Table, the communion table. It’s called the Eucharist from the Greek word “eucharistia.” Eucharistia is a compound word, prefix “eu-“ means good or well, and then “charistia.” Charistia means to be grateful. Good gratitude is communion and it’s thanksgiving. But understand this: when you look at eucharistia, it’s all built on a root word, a core word, and that word is chara. And what does chara mean? We’ve already seen what chara means. It means joy. It’s all about joy. You should come to the table with joy. We should be happier than any other people in the world, more merry, more glad no matter what we’re going through. Because we are his, and he is ours, and he’ll never let us go. Let’s close with a word of prayer.