by Terry Wane Benton<\/p>\n
Jesus prayed that those who would become His disciples would have a joy<\/em> that is full<\/em> (John 17:13; 15:11-13; 16:22). It would come through knowing the truth of the apostle’s eyewitness testimony of Jesus which provided the basis for the conviction that Jesus addresses our need of a cleansed and cleared conscience from sin. He gives us a purpose for living and a hope that is literally out of this world. With the past forgiven, a present that is well supplied, and a glorious future, how could we not have a fullness of joy?<\/p>\n Jesus wanted us to have a joy that “no man can take from you<\/em>” (John 16:22), and indeed, the apostles had this joy so that not even threats and persecution could override and prevail over this joy (Acts 4:32; 5:40-42). They rejoiced that they were “counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.” That joy was so full that there was no room for feeling sorry for themselves. That is the joy Jesus prayed that we would all come to possess.<\/p>\n Jesus’ prayer was further realized in disciples who were not eyewitnesses of Jesus but knew the certainty of the apostle’s testimony (I Peter 1:6-8). They had never seen Jesus but still had “joy inexpressible and full of glory.<\/em>” That is the joy that prevails over hardship and trial. That joy develops as a fruit of walking closely with the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-22). No matter the storms or trials we may face, we need to have a treasure<\/em> inside that is deeper and stronger (II Corinthians 4:4-16) than the unpleasant things that may happen to us. It needs to be like the children’s song, “I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart to stay” and “I know the devil doesn’t like it, but it’s down in my heart…down in my heart to stay”. “I’ve got the wonderful love of my blessed redeemer way down in the depths of my heart to stay.” This is the joy Jesus wanted us to discover and realize in a full way.<\/p>\n Can we have something so excellent (Philippians 3:8) that gives us reason to “rejoice in the Lord always?<\/em>” (Philippians 4:4). Or have we settled on a measure not so full that people can easily take from us? Pour into our hearts the treasures of wisdom and knowledge in Christ that leave no room for darker thoughts, fears, anger, and anxiety. Get focused on Jesus and the fullness of joy He is praying for you to have and enjoy! Others obtained it, and we can have it in the same way and in the same measure. Go for it!<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Terry Wane Benton Jesus prayed that those who would become His disciples would have a joy that is full (John 17:13; 15:11-13; 16:22). It would come through knowing the truth of the apostle’s eyewitness testimony of Jesus which provided the basis for the conviction that Jesus addresses our need of a cleansed and cleared…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[374,1287],"class_list":["post-66835","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-happiness","tag-joy"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":63715,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-thomas-missed\/","url_meta":{"origin":66835,"position":0},"title":"What Thomas Missed","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 29, 2003","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: John 20:19-29 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We aren\u2019t told why, but when the disciples gathered after Jesus\u2019 death, Thomas wasn\u2019t there at a very notable time. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0What was it that Thomas missed by not being there? II.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0What did Thomas miss? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0He missed the joy of seeing the Lord\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":65702,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/righteousness-peace-and-joy-in-jesus-kingdom\/","url_meta":{"origin":66835,"position":1},"title":"Righteousness, Peace, and Joy in Jesus’ Kingdom","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 12, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton \"For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit\" (Romans 14:17). The kingdom should feature an emphasis on righteousness. Living by righteous standards is what the kingdom is about. Dietary laws of the Old Testament\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":63273,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/sowing-in-tears-reaping-in-joy\/","url_meta":{"origin":66835,"position":2},"title":"Sowing in Tears, Reaping in Joy","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 15, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Psalm 126 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Psalm 126 is one of a series of psalms devoted to the return of the Israelites from captivity. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The sadness of the captivity made the joy of return to freedom so much greater. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It is the end of this psalm which captures\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":93912,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/harvesting-the-fruit-of-his-spirit\/","url_meta":{"origin":66835,"position":3},"title":"Harvesting the Fruit of His Spirit","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 13, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Randall Caselman When Jesus genuinely, truly comes into our lives, things change. Opening our hearts to His presence means we'll never be the same. Go with me to a well outside the city of Sychar. Jesus, tired from the journey, sat down by the well. A Samaritan woman came.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":86718,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/joy-in-christ\/","url_meta":{"origin":66835,"position":4},"title":"Joy in Christ","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 20, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Raymond Warfel Download Audio","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":83268,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-joys-of-involvement\/","url_meta":{"origin":66835,"position":5},"title":"The Joys of Involvement","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 16, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by David Gibson Have you noticed? The happiest Christians are highly involved in the Lord's work. Why is this so? There is joy in using our God-given talents as He intended for the good of others. \"As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66835","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66835"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66835\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66835"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66835"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66835"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}