Good Things In Store

There is a beautiful experience waiting for you, beloved friend. If you haven't already discovered it, as you read God's Word and meditate upon it and allow the indwelling Holy Spirit to speak to you, your heart will rejoice in the truth of God.


Scripture: John 15:11, Luke 10:21

Transcript

Alright, thank you very much. And hello again, radio friends. How in the world are you? Yes, that little greeting establishes the fact that this is your good friend, Bob Cook. And you and I are glad, aren’t we? That we can be in the world but not of the world, you don’t have to be tarred with the world’s brush. You can live clean in a dirty world. “You who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation,” says Peter. So that’s why we greet you with, “How in the world are you?” I trust everything’s going well at your house, and if it isn’t, some days are worse than others, aren’t they? [chuckle] Well, if you’ve struck a snag and things aren’t going too well, look up and say, “Lord Jesus, I’m yours. See me through this one.” And He will, for He hath said, “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.”

I must admit that sometimes in my life I’ve looked up, said, “God, what are you trying to do to me? You going to kill me or have you forgotten about me?” And then as I read my Bible I found that I was part of that larger company of Old Testament and New Testament people who themselves had times when they wondered what was up, and whether or not the Lord had forgotten about them. No, He doesn’t forget. “He that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.” He said, “I will guide thee with mine eye.” He keeps his eye on you. And God knows exactly what’s happening in your life today, beloved. Maybe rough, maybe somebody is weeping right now while I’m talking to you. You’re thinking, “Well, Cook doesn’t understand, he doesn’t know what I’m going through.” Of course that’s true, how can I know? I don’t live inside your skin, you do. But God knows. We have a high priest who can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. How often people have said to me, “You don’t know how I feel.” And of course they’re right, but our Lord Jesus Christ knows He can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. Why? Because he was in all points tested like as we are yet without sin, He knows. He knows.

He knows and He cares, casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you. Well, somebody needed that I guess is why I said it. Look, you and I are in the John Chapter 15 and we got talking about what it really means, what is involved in this concept of abiding in Christ. The idea of fruit-bearing, verses two, four and eight. The idea of answered prayer, verse seven and 16. The idea of Calvary love, John 3:16, kind of love in our lives poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Verses nine, 12 and 17, the idea of obedience. That’s what we talked about the last time we got together, obedience. Verse 10, “If ye keep my Commandments ye shall abide in my love even as I have kept my Father’s Commandments and abide in His love.” Disobedience short-circuits the switchboard of your soul. God doesn’t change, but you make it impossible for Him to get through to you, or for you, for that matter, to get through to Him. Start obeying God and see how your life is filled with His love, Jesus said that. “If you obey, you’ll abide in my love.” If you don’t obey, you short-circuit the whole matter and it’s hard for you then to sense His love in your life. Obedience.

Now we come to the concept of joy. Verse 11, “These things have I spoken unto you,” our Lord said, “That My joy might remain in you and that your joy might be full.” “That my joy might remain in you and that your joy might be full,” Christ’s joy. What does the scripture say about the joy he had? Do you know anything about that? Well, let’s look at some of the verses that specifically mentioned that the Lord Jesus was joyful. What about Luke 10:21? “In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: Even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight.” God’s method of revealing Himself simply directly to those who have no claim to erudition particularly. “God has chosen the weak things of this world, yea and things that are not,” says Paul, “to bring to not things that are.”

Remember that? “You see your calling, brethren,” this is first Corinthians 1:26, “Ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him,” that’s God, “are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.” The Lord Jesus Christ brings into your life and into my life all of the blessed realities of eternity because God has chosen to reveal them by faith. “Without faith it is impossible to please him: For he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Hebrews 11:6 says that.

So, it’s a process to people who have no pretension to understand the things of eternity but who receive by faith, just as you and I do, God’s mercy in salvation and God’s gracious outpouring of His Holy Spirit. And then, through the Lord Jesus, all of the great secrets of eternal life are poured out upon us and within us, and we can rejoice with our Lord. Now, that’s what made him happy, he said he rejoiced in spirit because God has reserved the secrets of eternity for simple faith, people who He designated as babes. That is by comparison with the wise and the mighty. Interesting, isn’t it? That Jesus should be glad that God reveals Himself directly to believing hearts. But He is, and oh, aren’t you glad? I am, I am. I can’t claim to be profound but I can claim Jesus is my Saviour and my Lord and the Holy Spirit of God to indwell me, and to teach me what I need to know day by day. And so indeed, may you.

“My joy,” said he, “Fulfilled in themselves.” There’s the joy of salvation when someone’s saved. “When He hath found the lost sheep,” it says “He layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.” That’s Luke Chapter 15, verse five. Story of the lost sheep. And the Lord Jesus, of course, was speaking of himself in that parable, you know that. His joy, the joy of bringing the lost back to the fold. He rejoices when somebody is brought back to the fold. I think of the reaction of church members that I’ve observed through the years. Some of them would say sourly, “Well, we’ll see how long he lasts.” [chuckle] That’s pitiful, isn’t it? Oh, Jesus is rejoicing when somebody gets right with God. “The joy and the presence of the angels over one sinner that repenteth,” our Lord says. His joy is the joy of salvation, restoration. Then of course he said, “These things have I’ve spoken unto you that my joy might remain in you and that your joy might be full,” that’s the verse we’re looking at. And if we go over to John 17 and he said in his prayer, “Now I come to thee, and these things I speak in the world that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.” There’s the joy of his Word. “His words I speak that they might have my joy.”

Do you know anything about this? Actually getting joy out of God’s Word to your heart? Many people read the Bible, it must be admitted, out of duty more than anything else. It’s like brushing your teeth, you gotta do it. No, there is a beautiful experience waiting for you, beloved friend. If you haven’t already discovered it, as you read God’s Word and meditate upon it and allow the indwelling Holy Spirit to speak to you, your heart will rejoice in the truth of God. You’ll actually rejoice over it, “Isn’t this wonderful!” You’ll say. [chuckle] Now, I can’t explain how it happens, I only know it does. And first of all, you confess your sins and get your heart right before God so that you’re not fighting God on anything, and then you stay in His Word until it says something directly to your heart. And then you pray it back to Him so that your own heart gets warm and tender with the message that God has given you. And then you share it with somebody else, and somewhere along the line in that process you just get delighted with the truth of God’s Word.

“These things have I’ve spoken,” he said, “That my joy might remain in you.” Aren’t you glad Jesus said some things that give us joy? Oh, I’m so glad and so thankful that that’s true. He said, “My joy.” Now, there was another joy that was His especially. “Who, for the joy that was set before him,” this is Hebrews 12:2, “Who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross despising the shame and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. The joy of his finished work of salvation.” Every time a sinner comes to God through faith in the Lord Jesus, there’s joy. Because the work of redemption was finished, the price was paid, and the Lord Jesus, even there as He hung on the cross and the unspeakable agony, not only the physical agony of crucifixion but the agony of having all of the sins of all of the world laid upon Him as God’s passover lie on him in that dark hour. Still, down in His heart, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the shame, despising the shame.

A lot depends on where you’re going and what the final outcome is going to be, doesn’t it? He didn’t have any pleasure in the cross but there was joy on ahead. Now, you and I will never approximate the suffering of our Lord on the cross but the lesson is there for us. What you’re going through today may not be pleasant. It may be heartbreaking, as a matter of brutal fact, but there’s joy on ahead. There’s joy on ahead. “Weeping may endure for a night,” the Bible says, “But joy cometh in the morning.” So, keep on trusting your blessed Lord. Keep on doing His will. Stick to the will of God no matter what, because you know that down there along the line there’s gonna be joy. Hope we get back to the rest of this concept the next time we get together.

Dear Father, in Jesus name, we pray that Thou wilt give us Thy joy today. Amen.

Till I meet you once again by way of radio, walk with the King today and be a blessing!



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