Until now you have not asked for anything in My name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.- John 16:24

January 24, 2008 Floyd Ray Gage

Jesus refers back to the previous things He has been talking about: asking things within the realm of His Name and will and our joy being complete. He is bringing the two ideas together in this verse and it reinforces a proper understanding of both concepts.

We have already discussed that our joy is based on Jesus and our relationship with Him. We have also discussed that asking things in Jesus�?name means asking for things that will bring glory to Jesus and honor to His name. Jesus now tells us that when we are asking in this way and seeking the deepest fellowship with Him, our joy is complete and a wonderful cycle begins.

We start by seeking the closest relationship with Christ that we can. We commune with Him through prayer and through Bible Study. We seek Him in corporate worship and in private contemplation. As we do these things, we notice that our heart begins to change. We are no longer brought down by the everyday, mundane things. We look at things with a different perspective. We are more positive and have a brighter outlook.

As we look into the face and being of Christ, we are transformed from the inside out. We are changed by our daily encounter with the Lord of Peace and Love. We start to see things as He sees them and we can begin to see the potential in things and in people. We see that all is created by God and serves the higher purpose of God.

As we see this, we start to strive to line up our life with the will and doings of God. We also start to seek ways to help others line up with the will and ways of God, because we know this is best for them and will bring them the greatest joy. As we help others in the name of Christ our joy is made even greater.

Honestly, there are setbacks at times and we are discouraged, but that is because we take our eyes off of Christ and place them on other people or on circumstances. We may even place our eyes on our own self and our undeserved ness. We must place our eyes on Jesus and His will.

His Will is to make us into children of God. Nothing is going to dissuade Him from this purpose. It is true that we sometimes make the process harder than it needs to be for Him, but Jesus is never going to give up on His children. This is the root of our joy. We see that in the cross and the tomb we were purchased for all time and we are His and He is ours.

Once we are grounded in this joy, then we can go forth and do the will of Christ without reservation. We are no longer seeking the approval of men. The approval of Christ is enough. We are no longer seeking the things of this world. The eternal things of Christ far outweigh these. We start to feed on the food that Jesus told the disciples they did not know of at that time when He was ministering to the woman at the well. We start to drink of that water that Jesus told the woman at the well He could give her and she would thirst no more. We start to tap into the love and joy of Christ which knows no bounds.

It is truly sad that so many Christians do not live in this joy. They let the world or their circumstances hold them back. They let their religion tie them into rituals without reason or purpose. They substitute the form for the relationship. They start to try and get God to give them earthly blessings instead of seeking the kingdom and His righteousness. They become self absorbed in health and wealth instead of in Christ and His glory.