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Sermon #1171

True Christian Joy

A Sermon on John 4:13-14

Originally preached May 28, 1967

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Scripture

John 4:13-14 ESV KJV
Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” …

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Sermon Description

How can one know God? This is one of the most important questions to ask. Some say that people must look to themselves and others say that human reason will reveal God. But in this sermon from John 4:13–14 titled “True Christian Joy,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones argues that these are wrong. The only sure way to know God is through revelation. God through His Holy Spirit not only reveals His words to His apostles and prophets, but He inspires their very writings of this revelation. This has immense significance for all Christians because by this they have assurance of who God is and what He has done. They are not left without a word from God. By looking to God’s word, one can know that they have been forgiven and made children of God. This ensures the true joy that comes from knowing Christ. All false religions tell to look to the self for happiness and peace, but it is only Christianity that shows that peace comes from outside the self. This should encourage all those suffering from depression and sorrow because it tells that God is the true source of peace and not the self; one must simply look to God.

Sermon Breakdown

  1. The sermon text comes from John 4:13-14. Jesus tells the Samaritan woman that whoever drinks the water he gives will never thirst.

  2. Jesus is offering full satisfaction and everlasting life. The question is whether we have experienced this.

  3. The Christian life should be one of assurance and joy. Miserable Christian is a contradiction. Early Christians were filled with joy.

  4. The sermon will look at whether Christianity provides satisfaction for the heart and emotions. The Holy Spirit provides joy, directly through visitations and indirectly by producing spiritual fruit.

  5. The Holy Spirit also provides joy through Scripture. Scripture was written so our joy may be full and so we may know we have eternal life.

  6. To understand Scripture, we need the Holy Spirit's illumination. Natural men cannot understand spiritual things.

  7. The Holy Spirit inspired the writing of Scripture like he inspired its revelation. Scripture is the result of men being taken hold of by the Spirit.

  8. The purpose of Scripture is to give assurance and joy. John wrote his epistle so his readers' joy would be full.

  9. Do we know we have eternal life? Do we have the joy of living water springing up to everlasting life? This gives full satisfaction.

  10. Joy comes through the Holy Spirit, directly and through Scripture. We should never read Scripture without praying for illumination.

  11. The Christian's joy is meant to be full and solid, not superficial. It is based on understanding, not passing emotions.

  12. Joy should not be sought as an end in itself. It is a byproduct of our relationship with the Lord. We rejoice in the Lord.

  13. What we are in Christ is more important than what we feel or what happens to us. Our joy depends on our relationship to Christ, not circumstances.

  14. Scripture unfolds Christ and what he has done. This is how it gives joy. John wrote about Christ so his readers' joy would be full.

  15. To have joy, look to Christ, not yourself or your circumstances. Consider who he is and what he has done. He gives living water.

The Book of John

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.