Well, good morning, my friends, and welcome to the Heritage Hour. I’m Mark Gonzalez, your pastoral encourager here in southwest Florida. I’m so delighted to be with you on air, online, and in the media ministry for 35 years now.

So thank you for sitting with me at the feet of the Lord to listen for his heart to touch our hearts. And if you’ve been with us, you know that we are having a nice, slow journey through the Passion Week Portraits of God. I started it back in the Easter season, Easter month, but we’re going to go all spring looking at the Passion Week Portraits of God. and we’re in message number five will probably be 10 of these as we continue this nice stroll through these marvelous passages in the gospel of John and just a quick reminder that we started covering the portraits that we see on Palm Sunday the day of the triumphal entry that we now call Palm Sunday how he’s our humble king celebrated king rejected king and even anguished king, depending on whose perspective, whose eyes you’re viewing the Lord Jesus through. And then we saw how he is our thorough teacher on what I call Teacher Tuesday as he was sharing parables and insights, woes and blessings and prophecies and promises.

He is our thorough teacher to be sure. And then we saw how he was our betrayed master, which happened on what I call Woeful Wednesday when Judas Iscariot cut a deal with the religious leaders of the day. The last couple of broadcasts, actually, I think three of them cover Maundy Thursday, and that’s where we’re in right now. This is, by the way, started in John 12.

And so when we get to the Lord’s Supper, it’s John 13, the Lord’s Supper in John 13. He is our Lord’s Supper. That’s the portrait we saw there. We also saw how he was our foot washing Messiah.

What a stunning act of humble service and God style leadership he portrayed that day. He’s also our portrayed lover. And that was the day that Judas Iscariot did go and portray the Lord Jesus Christ. John 14 gives us a marvelous portrait of how he is our comforting betrothed.

We went into a deep dive in that day when he said, Let not your heart be troubled. Believe or trust in God. Believe or trust also in me. and then last time in John 15 we talked about how the Lord is our fruitful vine abiding in him to bear much fruit And we going to pick it up there because there a shift There’s a transition that he makes there to a new portrait that I see in my journey and walk and intimacy with the Lord. How we have a new portrait emerging that I call he is our eternal joy.

He is our eternal joy. What does that look like? When does it start? How can we experience that on a daily basis?

You know, and so that’s what we’re going to talk about today. Can’t wait to unpack these. I tell you, I love all of these portraits of God. I see portraits of God throughout all the scripture.

It’s how we see his heart, his character, his ways. And as we get ready to talk about how he is our eternal joy, as we will pick it up in John chapter 15, verse six, and then go through chapter 16. of that theme, that portrait, let’s just go before the Lord and ask him to speak. And as you’re making your way there and be prepared to pray, just a quick reminder, all of these messages are archived on my website at markpg.org. I call it Helping You Hear God.

That’s markpg.org. On that landing page full of options, click on the broadcast box. And then on the next page, click on Portraits of God. And that’s that simple.

Two clicks and then you have the list of all of these archived messages.

So 27 minutes long and you can catch up if you’ve missed some. You can listen to them again. If they were a blessing to you, you can share them with others as well.

So it’s markpg.org where my heart is just to help you hear God. And toward that end, let’s just go before the Lord and ask him to speak, shall we? lord i love sitting at your feet i love doing that individually i love doing it with my wife i love doing it with friends i love doing it with family i love doing it with my friends over the airways as we do have that unmistakable sense of just sitting at your feet gauging in your eyes and let you speak to us heart to heart and lord you know we’re living in very tumultuous times now. And I guess the world has always been in tumultuous times. You did say you will have tribulation.

And also we indeed are experiencing that. All kinds of ways, personally, locally, nationally, culturally, globally. And yet in the midst of it, you are our eternal joy that we can abide in that we can experience even in the midst of trials and tribulations So Lord I pray I be able to share this in a way that will be treasured in our hearts That we can draw on it. Draw on you.

Experience you as our eternal joy. Oh, thank you, Lord. We love you, Lord. And we pray this in the powerful name of the Lord Jesus Christ. by his precious cleansing and healing, transforming, empowering, and forgiving blood.

Amen, amen, and amen. All right, my friends. Well, just a reminder that we covered John chapter 15, verses one through eight, about abiding in him to bear much fruit, because apart from me, he says, you can do nothing. And it’s as simple as being rooted in the ground or rooted into the trunk or bind trunk as we are the branches.

And the more you’re connected, the more you will bear much fruit. And we talked all about that. Abiding in him, soaking him in, rooted in him, marinating in him. There’s so many metaphors we could use, but the more you just soak in Jesus, it doesn’t matter how the world squeezes you.

Jesus will squirt out. Is that just cool or what? man i just love that so he builds on that he goes even deeper to say now to really understand this let’s pick it up in verse 9 we have the general abiding in him to bear much fruit he is our fruitful vine as we said last time but now let’s look at how this eternal joy works how his he is our eternal joy picking it up in verse 9 he says now as a father has loved me, I also loved you. Abide in my love. Stop there a moment.

I said this at the tail end of the last broadcast. He’s talking about abiding in me, abiding in me, abiding in me.

But then he says, now abide in me in my love. That is the focal point. Abide in my love because that saturates you in a way that enables you to bear much fruit and also experience his joy look what he says here he says if you keep my commandments you will remain in my love or abide in my love just as i have kept my father’s commandments and remain in his love the idea there is you don’t obey commands in order to be loved you don’t obey his commands in order to get love you don’t obey the command of the lord and then to remain in his love it not that it the reverse to the degree you abide in him and abide in his love guess what the byproduct will be obedience and obedience brings more love for you to him not him to you he already loves you he already crazy about you in fact that why he says in verse 11 watch this i have spoken these things what things about abiding in me abiding in my love and then the fruit will come the love and joy and peace and patience and kindness and goodness and faithfulness gentleness and self-control the good works, the mission heartedness, all of these things will be byproducts to the degree you abide in me and abide in my love and how I love you more than you can possibly imagine. It is a trustworthy love.

It is an eternal love. He says here in verse 11, in John chapter 15, I have spoken these things so that you may, so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. Whoa! Did you get a hold of that?

Soak in that for a minute. He says, look, this whole thing about abiding in me and abiding in my love, the reason I’m selling you this is so that my joy, my joy, not the world’s joy, not a happy-go-lucky, getting this rah-rah, pep rally kind of joy something far deeper than that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete what he’s saying you can have complete joy in me right now in the midst of tumultuous times tragic circumstances frustrating times confusing times agitated times angry in the midst of anything you’re going through, you can have a peace and love based joy that’s way better than any happy getting this rah-rah kind of thing you try to muster up, my friend. Is that just cool or what? Listen, I’ll just tell you right now in our journey here at home, my beloved wife and She’s going to some really, really tumultuous times medically with two pending surgeries and a week long stay in the hospital and all kinds of doctor’s appointments.

And there’s been glitch after glitch and scheduling problem after scheduling problem.

And some of her key doctors have suddenly find out they’re on a leave of absence and that delays this and that and the other. And are there times when I’m just going, are you serious? Is this this is just nuts? And the Lord said, wait, wait, wait.

Calm down. I got you son. I got this. It’s okay. it’s okay.

And we’re going to see how this plays out in the passage. And he reminds me, my joy is in him. Abide in me in all of this, not in the circumstances, not in the craziness that’s going on. If you’re depending on circumstances to make you, quote, happy or even joyful, you’re going to be frequently disappointed because the world does not work that way, does it, my friend?

Oh, you figured it out. Yeah, I don’t know what kind of tumultuous things are going on in your personal life and family. Could be financial, could be marital, could be parenting, could be job, could be church, could be neighborhood, could be relatives. I mean, we all have things that are deep and multi-layered and difficult and currently unresolved and may never be resolved until we go home to glory.

Jesus will talk about this when he says you will have tribulations. but see in the midst of it we can have eternal joy starting today and into eternity if we abide in him regularly to bear that kind of fruit bearing the fruit of the spirit love is first then what? joy there is the joy joy is based on love love, joy then peace it’s also based on peace and then it goes on Unkindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, bipartisanism, all that, self-control, faith. This is where the joy is. In him, abiding in him, abiding in his love so that our joy may be made complete because since he abides in us, he brings his joy to our hearts that we can tap into. Just soak in his love.

Soak in him.

So let’s see how it gets out, gets expressed more and more as we go along.

Now, I just said here in verse 11 of John 15, Jesus said, I’ve spoken these things to you so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.

Now, this is my commandment to love one another just as I’ve loved you. All right. This is once again, his joy, the joy is based on his love, our love. That’s what it is.

This is my commandment, love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this than someone would lay down his life for his friends You are my friends And you do what I commanded you And I do not call you slaves anymore because a slave doesn know what his master is doing By the way obedience is not the obedience of a master towards a harsh, I mean, a servant toward a harsh master. You better obey or I’m going to blast you. I’m going to do something to you.

I’m going to punish you. You’ll pay the price if you don’t obey if you don’t do my commands that’s not the kind of obedience the lord wants he wants it of a son a daughter he wants it of a loving wife toward her husband i want to i don’t have to i get to you see the difference it’s huge i don’t call you a slave anymore. And if you want some joy, check this out. Verse 16.

You did not choose me, but I chose you. What? Yeah, keep going. And I appointed you that you should go out and produce fruit and that your fruit should remain so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give you.

This is what I command you. Love one another. All right. This circle, this whole section right here, my friends.

You want joy? Start savoring the fact that the Lord chose you somehow in the mystery of his ways. In eternity past, he created you and chose you and draws you into himself. And those of us that are in Christ, it’s not so much because we chose him, though we have to.

It starts with how he chose us. Hey, I’ve chosen you. Remember when you were kids in the playground and they were picking sides for a softball game or a kickball game or whatever it was. And most of us dread it.

Oh, what if we’re not picked? Or what if we’re picked towards the last? This would be so embarrassing, so humiliating. On the other hand, what if you’re the first one picked? or one of the first one picks.

Man, does that make you feel cool or what? Well, guess what? This is no kickball game or softball game you’re being picked for. This is eternal life.

And somehow, someway, the mystery of God’s sovereignty, he has chosen you to become one with him and to bear much fruit. He’s designed you and prepared you to live in a way that will honor him and bless others with unique heart wiring and gifting. He appointed you that you should go out and produce or bear fruit by abiding in him and that it should remain Is that awesome You are handpicked by God some way And we realize that once we respond to his, basically his invitation, it’s like a bridegroom to be asking a young lady to marry him. He wants me.

He’s picked me. Oh, man, what a privilege. Yes, yes, a thousand times. Yes.

And in our culture, you’re engaged. And that culture, as we talked about a couple of times ago, you’re betrothed, which is halfway between engagement and marriage. And then you do get married and become one. That’s us.

You were chosen. You want to have joy? You get discouraged, overwhelmed, feel like God has forgotten you. This Christian life is way too hard.

Wait, wait, wait, wait, stop. Take a deep breath. wait i was chosen by the lord i said yes to his proposal to marry him a covenant with him and we are one wow wow yeah absolutely absolutely and then he gives us something else we can chew on let me take you to the end of the chapter there verse 26 because he’s been telling them hey now i’m going to go away and they were very saddened and he’s been saying hey let not your heart be troubled believe in god believe also in me and my father are many dwelling or abiding places and i go to prepare a place for you and if i go to prepare a place for you i’ll bring you to myself to where i am there you may be also that’s all betrothal language that’s they knew that and jesus was using that as a metaphor when they were so upset that he was leaving. He said, I’m not really leaving forever. It’s just going to be for a little while.

In fact, let me put it to you this way. I’m going to go to prepare a place for you or mine. We’re betrothed now. What happened that day?

They go off the, now the betrothed fiance male would go off to build an abiding place. Could take up to a year. Things are expensive. It takes time to build something.

She’s being trained by mom and dad at home, but then he says, look, I’m going to come at the right time when my father says it’s time. And bring it to myself. Our eternal joy though. Starts the day.

You enter that covenant betrothal. Of Jesus Christ. And he can already give you. His eternal joy.

Even while we’re still on this earth. And of course once we’re beyond. This earth. Is that just cruel or what?

And while we are here. Before that coming. When we all will be with him. Forever and ever in glory Verse 26 says about the Holy Spirit look when the comforter or other translations say counselor the Holy Spirit is talking about comes The one I will send you to from the father, the spirit of truth who proceeds for the father, he will testify about me.

And you also will testify because you’ve been with me from the beginning. In other words, he’s saying, I’m sending you a comforter, man. You’re not going to be alone. I’m sending something, someone internally, internally, abiding in you and you and me.

We’re all one. Holy Spirit, Son, the Father. Look at verse five.

Now I’m going the way that is the Son to him, the Father who sent me. And not one of you asked me, where are you going? Yet because I have spoken these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.

Now, nevertheless, I’m telling you the truth. It is for your benefit that I go away.

Because if I do not go away, the comforter or the counselor will not come to you to reside in you, not just walk beside you even deeper to be inside of you. Is that cool or what? That’s a joy. He’s there to stay and he’ll never leave us or forsake us.

Praise God. No matter what you’re going through, he’s right there. and he says continually there in verse 7 if I go I will send him to you and when he comes he will convict the world about sin righteousness and judgment about sin because they do not believe in me but then he’s going on to say but you do you do and then he says this verse 12 oh and this has given me so much comfort, so much internal joy in the midst of difficult circumstances that I don’t understand or that I’m frustrated about and I can’t see the next step clearly yet and I’m not sure what’s happening long haul. Do you ever get that way or am I the only one? Do you ever get to that place where you say, Lord, what in the world’s going on here?

I don’t get this. We’ve done this and this and that and this happens. Hello? Are you there? and sometimes we hear him give us a glimpse of what’s happening sometimes he says just trust me and in fact jesus put it this way in verse 12 here in john 16 i love this i have many more things to tell you but you cannot bear them now wow My friends, we’re on a need to know basis.

We think that we can have more faith if you’ll just give us more of the details, give us a printout of what he’s going to do, give us a foreshadowed picture of everything that’s clear and we absolutely know. Well, then we’d have faith in his plan or faith in the outcome and not in him. Instead, he gives us sometimes a fuzzy picture, a little glimpse.

Sometimes he doesn’t say anything at all. Why? I have many, many things to tell you, but you could not bear them now. I am so glad the Lord didn’t tell me all the things he has to clean up and heal in me the day I got saved.

I couldn’t have, I couldn’t handle it. I’m glad he didn’t tell us all the things that were going to happen when Lindy and I got married and have kids. All the accidents, all the sicknesses, all of the heartbreak things, the stuff that will come with multiple generations mixed in with incredible blessings, to be sure.

But you know what? I just soon be on a need to know day basis as we go along. There’s joy in that because it’s a reminder just to hear the Lord saying, just trust me. I got this.

I got you. I’ve got the map. I know what I’m doing. Relax.

Take a deep breath. I have many more things to tell you. You can’t bear the map. Lord, thank you that you don’t tell me stuff that I won’t be able to handle Classic story of a young girl in the Nazi era Jewish Corrie Ten Boom on a train 10 years old and she with her dad and they arriving at a station And she happens to ask her dad in that discussion a question about something that she’d been hearing and didn’t understand.

And she said, oh, daddy, what does rape mean? Well, as the train came to a stop at that particular moment, the dad didn’t answer. and he said, honey, would you just pick up the trunk for us and let’s get off the train? Oh, dad, I can’t pick up that trunk. It’s heavy for me.

So is the answer to your question right now?

But there will be a time when you’re old enough and strong enough to hear that answer. Just trust me. I love that. I thank the Lord.

He doesn’t tell me the things that I can’t handle right now. I trust him. In fact, we had a series of glitches about her surgery being postponed and the physician of hers that’s now on a leave of absence and can’t give the, you know, approvals that he needs to. We got to get to another physician.

Anyway, I won’t get into the details.

But the point is I started to get you know oh man are you serious What are these guys doing This medical Oh no no no The verse said don go there You don think I have this It okay Take a deep breath And my sweetie and I just sat there and I said, you know what, honey? I don’t need to know why all this is happening. It is. We’ll make the adjustment.

We’ll ride this rogue wave that’s coming in our surfing here through these medical issues. and I’m trusting the Lord in his timing and always. And a joy, a peace, a rest comes.

Because it is true. He has many things to tell us, but we cannot bear them. Then he says, as this is winding down, how our sorrow gets turned to joy. In verse 16, a little while you will no longer see me.

And he talks about that and they’re wondering about it. In verse 20, he says, you will become sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy. Why?

Because I will work this out and you will see it unfold very, very gradually. He says in verse 22, I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice and no one will rob you of your joy. Is that cool or what And at the end of the chapter verse 33 he says I told you these things so that in me you may have peace along with that joy You will have in this world you will have tribulation But take courage. I have conquered the world.

And there it is. He didn’t promise to take away all those circumstances. He promises to be with you in the circumstances and that he will resolve it in his time, in his way. or on a need-to-know basis, just hear him say, let not your heart be troubled. Trust me.

Trust me. I know what I’m doing. I’m unfolding things in a way that will bless you far more than you can imagine, but you couldn’t understand them when I told you now.

So just abide in me. Abide in my love. That my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. He is our eternal. joy.

Wow. Thank you, Lord, for this. We receive it. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Well, I’m Mark Gonzalez, and I hope you’ll check out my website at markpg.org for more. Oh, until next time, fall in love with Jesus, our eternal joy.