Rev. Jim O’Neal, Senior Pastor

Sun Lakes United Methodist Church

9248 E. Riggs Road, Sun Lakes, Arizona 85248

(480) 895-8766

John 15:11-15 NRSV

¹¹“I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. ¹²This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. ¹³No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. ¹⁴You are my friends if you do what I command you. ¹⁵I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father.”

A. Introduction

1. Peanuts Comic Strip

a. In the Peanuts Comic Strip, Lucy is speaking to Charlie Brown. She asks, “Charlie Brown, have you ever known anybody who was really happy?” Just then Snoopy the beagle comes dancing around them on tiptoes with his nose high in the air. In joyous abandon, Snoopy dances through two more frames of the comic strip. In the last panel Lucy asks, “Charlie Brown, have you ever known anybody who was really happy, and was still in their right mind?”

b. My answer would be, “Yes! They call such people Christians.” People who truly have Jesus in their heart are the happiest people on the planet. People who abide in the Lord’s love have a deep inward joy!

2. Today’s Scripture: John 15:11-15

a. And that is what Jesus promises us in today’s Scripture lesson. In the first part of the fifteenth Chapter of John, Jesus talks about abiding in Him and His love. Then the Lord in verse eleven says, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” (John 15:11 NIV)

b. Those who have Jesus in their heart know true joy. This is because of the great joys that Jesus gives to us. Today, I begin a two part series sharing four of the joys that Jesus gives to each and every believer. Today, I share two joys of Jesus:

B. Forgiveness

1. Sin First!

a. Mrs. Brown had just finished a wonderful Sunday School lesson on forgiveness. So to make sure the boys and girls understood she asked a question: “Can anyone tell me what you must first do before you can obtain forgiveness of your sin?” Billy quickly replied, “You gotta sin first.”

b. Billy, the sad truth is that we all accomplish that “first” step. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23 NIV) Everyone needs forgiveness. No one on their own merits a relationship with God here and certainly not in Heaven forever.

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B. Forgiveness… continued

2. Pompeii

a. The Roman city of Pompeii was destroyed by the volcano Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. Archaeologists have found the remains of many people under the now hardened ash that fell upon the city of Pompeii. Sometimes they tell more than simply someone died here. One couple was found embraced in death with one of the man’s hands over the face of the woman. They, also, found four prisoners with their feet still locked in stocks. One can only imagine their horror. They heard the explosion of the volcano. They could hear the “rain” of rocks, molten lava, and volcanic ash. They cried for help, but it did not come. Release almost came. The door to their cell was found open wide, just as the keeper had left it. And a set of keys was there! The key that unlocked the stocks among them was just inside the door where the jailer had tossed them. In his own panic to escape the jailer had not tossed them far enough. The keys were just out of reach of the prisoners’ desperate fingers. The evidence is there. The four prisoners fought and shrieked and tore their own flesh in madness, until the toxic fumes of the volcano reached their cell and put an end to it all.

b. The consequences of your sins and my sins are just as sure. God is holy, and any sin no matter how “small” it may be, is abominable to God. Thus, we do not deserve to be a part of God’s family. We do not deserve to be in relationship with the Almighty. We deserve death… But wait. This same God who is perfectly holy is, also, perfect love. God cares for us too much to simply let us perish. God offers us a key to the shackles of our sins. And that key is not out of reach. The key is faith in Jesus Christ.

3. Substitute at Auschwitz

a. In October of 1972, a crowd of 150,000 people gathered on the grounds of the Auschwitz concentration camp. They gathered between the barracks and the crematories to honor a man who gave his life to save a fellow prisoner. The martyr was the Rev. Maximillian Kolbe, a Franciscan priest, who stepped forward to take the place of Sergeant Franciszek Gajowniczek. It happened in July 1941. A prisoner had escaped, so the Nazis picked ten prisoners at random to die in the starvation box. Gajowniczek was one of the men randomly pulled out of line. He pleaded for his life. He had a wife and children. It was at that moment that the Rev. Kolbe offered to take the man’s place. He had no family and was willing to die in place of the other man. Kolbe and nine other men were crammed into the starvation box. Usually the men went stark raving mad, and attacked each other. This time because of Rev. Kolbe they were heard praying and singing hymns. The Nazis could not stand this and so killed the men with poison. Franciszek Gajowniczek survived his ordeal in Auschwitz and was reunited with his family at the end of World War II. At the 1972 ceremony surrounded by sixty family members he thanked the Rev. Kolbe for taking his place, and giving him the gift of life.

b. Franciszek Gajowniczek did not deserve to be put to death in the concentration camp. He was guilty of no crime. When it comes to sin it is a different matter, and all deserve death. However, God’s perfect Son offers His life as a substitute for our sins. And He offers us His righteousness, which makes us worthy to be called again the children of God. There is no greater gift than this! Your soul does not die forever. Because of Jesus you are forgiven! Because of this forgiveness you have the joy of a relationship with God now and forevermore!

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C. Friendship

1. Silly gooses

a. A man in Alaska married, and he and his wife had a little boy. In time the wife could not take life in the wild and she ran off to live with a man in the lower 48. She left her husband to raise the boy alone. Bitter especially toward women he moved far out into the wilderness. He never told his boy about the opposite sex, and the boy never saw any girls. Dad always made the trip into town alone for supplies. Despite the boy’s protests father forbid his son ever going to town. “I don’t want you corrupted by the evils of civilization,” he said. One day in his teens the boy followed Pa to town and watched from a distance. The boy became fascinated by his first look at women. Dad saw him and scolded the boy for coming to town. Pa then felt bad and so they talked. The boy had many questions and dad answered honestly until the lad pointed at some women and asked, “Pa what are those?” Father still bitter replied, “Just some silly gooses.” Dad then said, “If you promise never to come back to town again, I’ll buy you anything you want.” The boy said, “How ‘bout one of them silly gooses?”

b. You can stop groaning now! I share the story because it reminds us that we need to be in relationships with others. People need friends and family. We need to be in loving relationships. This frontier boy knew that something was missing from his life. He may not have been able to put it into words, but he like many desired a relationship with someone of the opposite gender. I hope no one here is missing an important loving relationship for their life’s well being. Today, I want to talk about the most important relationship and friendship of them all. It is the friendship of God that we have through Jesus.

2. Lighthouse

a. Off the coast of Scituate, Massachusetts there is a lighthouse called Minot’s Light. This light has cheered the hearts of many sailors. Its flashing light spells out in Morse code the words: “I love you.” A while back the Coast Guard decided to replace the old equipment. The new equipment would not flash out the “I love you” message. It would now flash in a more typical way. There was a great outcry and the Coast Guard agreed to either leave the old equipment or modify any new equipment to spell out the “love” message. And so the lighthouse still tells folks at sea, “I love you.”

b. People approaching the Massachusetts’ coast may think of a number of things when they see this light. Some may think of a person they love. But most looking at the beauty of this coast must think of God, and God’s care for each of us. One of the great joys of Jesus is that in and through Him we have God’s friendship. Clearly to begin with, because God sent Jesus for us, we know that God cares. But through our new life in Jesus we are now able to be in a forever relationship with God the greatest friend any person could ever have. Each and every day, each and every moment, Jesus says, “You are my friends.” (John 15:14 NRSV) He is there to help you!

3. Hymn: “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” (#526 in the present hymnal)

a. The words of an old hymn sum it up well: “What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and grief to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!”

b. My friends there is no greater friend than God in Jesus. And my friends there is no greater joy than letting the love of this friend Jesus abide in your heart!

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D. Conclusion: Recap

1. There are people in this world who are really happy, and in their right mind. They are called Christians. They abide in Christ, and Jesus’ Spirit abides in them. They know the joys that Jesus gives! They know His forgiveness of their sins, and they know His friendship.

2. Next Sunday we will talk about two more joys. They are the freedom the Lord gives and the gift of a forever after life!

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John 15:11-15 NRSV

^{11 “}I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. ¹²This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. ¹³No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. ¹⁴You are my friends if you do what I command you. ¹⁵I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father.^”

Joys That

Jesus Gives!

1. Forgiveness!

2. Friendship!

3. Freedom!

4. Forever after life!

John 15:11-15 (NIV)

¹¹I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. ¹²My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. ¹³Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. ¹⁴You are my friends if you do what I command. ¹⁵I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.