The True Source of Joy

Romans 5:11; Romans 15:13; 1 John 1:1-4
God doesn’t ask us to rejoice over nothing; He gives us ground for our joy. What would you think of a man who seemed very happy today and full of joy, and couldn’t tell you what made him so? Suppose I should meet a man on the street, and he was so full of joy that he should get hold of both my hands and say:
“Bless the Lord, I am so full of joy!”
“What makes you so full of joy?”
“Well, I don’t know.”
“You don’t know!”
“No, I don’t; but I am so joyful that I just want to get out of the flesh.”
“What makes you feel so joyful?”
“Well, I don’t know.”
Would we not think such a person unreasonable? But there are a great many people who want to feel that they are Christians before they are Christians; they want the Christian’s experience before they become Christians; they want to have the joy of the Lord before they receive Jesus Christ. But this is not the Gospel order. He brings joy when He comes, and we cannot have joy apart from Him. He is the author of it, and we find our joy in Him.