Russian side: What prevents us from experiencing perfect joy? (Part 1)

I am always deeply moved when the children and young people solemnly sing to the Lord in church and thank Him for the mercy He showed to humanity on the cross of Golgotha. There is a beautiful passage in the Psalms that says: “Out of the mouths of children and infants You ordained a mighty thing because of Your enemies, to destroy the foe and the avenger.” (Psalm 8:3)

For when children praise the Lord, it touches not only our hearts, but also the heart of our Savior Jesus Christ. When we hear the solemn words, “Christ is risen!” during Passover, everyone stands and joyfully responds, “He is risen indeed!” When the preacher says, “Glory to God!” the listeners repeat, “Glory to God!” Sometimes, however, we say it only under duress, for there are times when our spirits are unable to solemnly exclaim, “He is risen indeed!”

I want to talk about what prevents us from sincerely serving the Lord and experiencing perfect joy in our lives.

When we consider the ministry of children and youth to the glory of the Lord, we find that there are people with varying abilities. However, I would like to say that God values a person's diligence more than their abilities. Of course, God also appreciates it when a capable person makes an extra effort. But when someone who is less capable strives to serve God, that is very valuable to Him.

 

A sacrifice to God

When I was a youth leader in 2000, I had a key to the church building where the piano was located. One day, I really wanted to sing the song "Jesus, I Need You So Much" during the service. Since I could only play a little guitar and didn't know how to read music, I decided to transfer the guitar chords to the piano. Nobody knew that I went to church in my free time and did this. I even thought it worked reasonably well…

The day came when I decided to sing this song in church. Accordingly, I handed over a note stating that there would be a poem and a song from the young people.

After the poem was recited, I went to the front—to the piano where the regent was sitting—and asked her to make room for me. She looked at me in astonishment (because no one knew I was preparing, but everyone knew I could only play the guitar), stood up, and looked at me so intently that I trembled. When I sat down at the instrument, I was very confused and started playing too soon, but then I pulled myself together and began to sing.

We had a very musically gifted sister in our church who often performed solo pieces, accompanying herself on the piano. She looked at me intently, apparently thinking that since I had come out, I must be a pianist. And when I began to play, she lowered her head to avoid laughing. I saw all this and felt people looking at me from the right, from the left, and from the balcony. I sensed the cheerful merriment in the hall, and it all made me so uncomfortable that I firmly resolved never to sing or play again.

But after the meeting, a sister approached me and said, “Brother, during the meeting you had a state of mind where you resolved never again to do anything, perhaps to sing or play…” – “Yes, sister, how do you know that?” – “God revealed it to me, but God also revealed something else to me. God said, ‘People did not accept this sacrifice, but I accepted it.’”

Dear brothers and sisters, dear children, and all those who are just beginning to play, sing, or write poetry today! God sees your efforts and your desire, and he will richly bless you. The Apostle Paul said that it was not important to him how people judged him, but that God was his judge.

The Apostle John writes to the young men that they are strong and have overcome the evil one because the word of God lives in them. Let us therefore turn to this word, which is a lamp for our feet and a light for our path. Through this word, we can crush every power of the enemy. The church of God lives by His word. I would like to use this same word to illuminate why God values diligence more than skill and why humankind cannot experience perfect joy.

Perfect joy

In our conversations, we don't use the word "perfect" very often because we are afraid of it. Even when we admire a beautiful temple, we hesitate to call it perfect, because we find some flaws and inaccuracies in its construction that reveal its imperfection.

Since the creator of this temple is man, and man is imperfect, he must strive for perfection. And everything we touch is imperfect. However, when we realize what true perfection means, we are ready to abide in that perfect joy and glorify our Lord.

 

The first reason why a person cannot have perfect joy is therefore the absence of the Redeemer Jesus Christ in his life.

A friend of mine recently bought a car and was very happy with it. He said, "I've never had a car like this before; it has features I never even dreamed of." Some time passed, and during a conversation with his relatives, when they started telling him what they didn't like about his car, his peace of mind was disturbed.

He said to me, "You know, I had so much joy in my heart when I bought this car. But now it's become so ordinary to me, just a means of transportation." ...that's how it is with all the things we acquire: they help us, we use them, but they will never give us complete joy.

Perfect joy lies in the recognition of the Lord's grace when a person accepts the Lord as their personal Savior and lets Him into their heart.

Let us remember the woman who had been bleeding continuously for twelve years. She was very sad because of her illness. She had spent all her money on doctors, but no one could help her. Her situation was hopeless, and she had nothing to be happy about.

We too have many weak people among us, but we have come to know the Lord. The Bible says that flesh and blood will not inherit the kingdom of God. So hold on to what God has given you. He has given us spiritual riches, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. And we recognize this today because Christ lives in us.

This woman, struggling with her problem, heard about Christ from others. She made a wise decision that began with perfect joy, saying to herself, “I will go to Jesus. If I only touch the hem of His garment, I will be healed.”

As Jesus passed by, she touched Him and was healed. He could have simply continued on her way, for the woman had already been healed. But Jesus stopped, for He saw her heart and knew that the healing of her body alone was not enough to attain eternal life and perfect joy. She had to confess that she was the one whom Christ had touched. Then Christ spoke to her heart: “Go in peace and be healed of your illness…” She received the peace of God and continued her journey in joy.

 

Who touched me?

Today, such a woman would be called a Christian because she encountered Christ. Peter said to Jesus, "Master, many people are crowding around you here, and anyone could have touched you." But Jesus Christ said, "Someone touched me."

It seems we can say "Glory to God" and pray, but sometimes these words only reach the ceiling. A personal encounter with Jesus Christ is necessary. Jesus Christ is asking you and me today, "Who has touched me?" He wants us to touch him with our whole heart and being, so that we can say to him, "Everything in me and everything I have belongs to you, Lord."

Let us consider another woman from the First Book of Kings named Anna. She was very troubled because she could not have children. She saw other women with children and was saddened by this. She prayed to God for a son, and when her prayer was answered, she sang a song to the Lord: “Wonderful and marvelous are Your works!” She praised God and said, “There is no one as holy as You.” She praised God in perfect joy because He had answered her request.

In the New Testament, we encounter another man, an Ethiopian, who had traveled to Jerusalem to worship and was now on his way back. When God said to Philip, “Go to that chariot,” Philip obeyed. Thus, the Lord spoke through him to the man’s heart, and he heard the living word of God. When they came to the water, the Ethiopian asked Philip, “What prevents me from being baptized?” Philip answered, “If you believe with all your heart, you can be baptized,” and taught him water baptism.

God immediately bestowed spiritual baptism upon the Ethiopian, and he continued on his way rejoicing. The Ethiopian didn't even notice that Philip was no longer with him, for he was united with the living God and experienced perfect joy.

Repent and live forever

Many examples could be cited to show that people can only experience perfect joy when Christ lives in their hearts. About a year and a half ago, a young man in a church in Paderborn, Germany, came to God. We met in a course we were taking together, and I invited him to the church. He began attending the services, and I saw that God was touching him. He was often troubled but, for some reason, didn't heed the call to repentance.

But one Sunday—it was the first of January, the first day of the new year—he asked me after the service: “Brother Ruslan, how can I repent? I really enjoy church; I feel comfortable here, especially when we pray to Jesus…” “Repenting means asking Jesus to forgive you for your whole life, to take all your sins upon himself, and to come into your heart,” I said. “For to those who have received him, who believe in his name, he has given the authority to be children of God.”

The people hadn't yet dispersed after the meeting when I approached them and said that my brother had something to share. He said, "I want to repent; I want to become a new person." After he repented, he felt very good, for he received that perfect joy which cannot be felt outside of church and in various forms of entertainment. Today, this young man is a member of the church. He praises God for his salvation and prays that his wife and parents will also come to God.

When I speak of perfect joy, I mean that one cannot have perfect joy even if one is a member of the church but does not experience peace, holiness, and unity with God. In the church, one seems to feel a glimpse of perfect joy, but when one leaves, one realizes it isn't there, as if it didn't exist at all.

This is because the grace of God is present in the Church. The Holy Spirit is at work here and even touches those who live in sin. However, when we leave the Church, we are alone. If we still have a "favorite sin," it's clear why we don't experience this perfect joy.

The Bible says, "Repent and live forever." You must repent and come to Jesus with all your burdens, infirmities, and weaknesses. He took all of that upon Himself two thousand years ago, was nailed to the cross, died for you, and rose again. If you believe this, He will justify you.

Ruslan Schwetz

Germany

 

To be continued. This text was translated with DeepL and only lightly proofread. We apologize for any inaccuracies in the text.