INTRODUCTION — CHILDREN’S SONG
I want to begin tonight with something simple—
something every one of us learned before we could spell “theology.”
A children’s song.
We didn’t realize it at the time,
but that little song was preaching to us long before we understood it:
“I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy
Down in my heart.”
And every child, in every church, in every generation, would shout:
“Where?!”
And we would answer—louder and prouder:
“Down in my heart!”
We sang it with a smile.
We sang it with motions.
We sang it with innocence.
But God was planting something.
Because the older you get, the more you discover:
joy is not something floating on the surface of your life.
Joy is not something fragile, temporary, or circumstantial.
Joy is not something tied to good days, good news, or good luck.
Joy—real, gospel joy—
lives in a place deeper than trouble,
deeper than grief,
deeper than pressure,
deeper than fear.
Joy settles down in the heart.
Joy is not an emotion—
joy is a location.
And that children’s song wasn’t teaching us to feel something;
it was teaching us where God puts His greatest gifts.
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JOY’S BEAUTIFUL AUDACITY
Have you noticed joy’s audacity?
Joy shows up in hospital rooms.
Joy appears in funerals.
Joy whispers during heartbreak.
Joy visits prison cells.
Joy speaks in seasons where nothing “out there” explains why there is peace “in here.”
Joy refuses to wait for better circumstances.
Joy refuses to bow to the storm.
Joy refuses to surrender the heart.
Because joy isn’t anchored to the weather around you—
joy is anchored to the Jesus within you.
“Where is it?”
Down in my heart.
And once joy settles there…
it refuses to stay quiet.
Joy begins to rise.
Joy begins to breathe.
Joy begins to speak.
Joy begins to influence.
Joy begins to shape the choices you make.
Joy becomes the atmosphere of a transformed life.
Not the replacement for obedience—
but the atmosphere in which obedience grows.
Joy doesn’t compete with holiness—
joy perfumes holiness.
Joy doesn’t replace righteousness—
joy accompanies righteousness.
Joy doesn’t erase obedience—
joy makes obedience possible.
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PAUL’S WORD: WE ARE “THE SWEET AROMA OF CHRIST”
It was the apostle Paul who gave us one of Scripture’s most beautiful images of Christian life.
He said:
> “Thanks be to God,
who always leads us in triumph in Christ
and through us spreads everywhere
the fragrance of the knowledge of Him.
For we are to God
the sweet aroma of Christ.”
— 2 Corinthians 2:14–15
Think about that.
Paul doesn’t say we are the “achievements of Christ.”
He doesn’t say we are the “projects of Christ.”
He doesn’t say we are the “employees of Christ.”
He says we are the aroma of Christ.
A scent.
A fragrance.
A presence.
Something people sense before they understand.
Something people experience before they analyze.
Something people feel before they can articulate.
A Christian is not just someone who “tries harder.”
A Christian is someone who carries Christ.
And when Christ has gone deep into the heart,
His presence begins to give off a smell—
a spiritual aroma,
a gospel fragrance,
a quiet evidence of His inner work.
Joy becomes the scent.
Joy becomes the atmosphere.
Joy becomes the unmistakable sign that Christ is not just visiting the life—
He is dwelling in the heart.
And when Christ dwells in the heart,
obedience stops being a burden
and begins to become a joy.
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WHAT GOD PLANTS AS JOY, HE GROWS INTO OBEDIENCE
This is the moment the message turns.
You see, joy doesn’t sit still.
Joy doesn’t remain silent.
Joy doesn’t confine itself to the soul.
Joy begins to rise into your habits.
It presses upward into your decisions.
It seeps into the way you handle temptation.
It shapes the way you speak,
the way you forgive,
the way you respond under pressure.
What God plants as joy,
He grows into obedience.
Joy doesn’t replace obedience—
joy transforms obedience.
Joy doesn’t weaken obedience—
joy strengthens obedience.
Joy doesn’t distract from obedience—
joy reveals whether obedience has reached the heart.
Because obedience without joy is compliance.
Obedience with joy is transformation.
Obedience from fear is slavery.
Obedience from joy is freedom.
Which leads us to the question that cuts to the center of the Christian life—
a question more searching than,
“Am I doing better?”
or
“Am I trying harder?”
Here is the real question:
**“Has the gospel touched me deeply enough
that obedience is becoming my joy?”**
Not my dread.
Not my limitation.
Not my duty.
Not my burden.
My joy.
Because when obedience becomes joy,
it means something profound has happened inside you.
It means the Spirit has done more than convict you—
He has changed you.
It means grace has done more than forgive you—
it has re-shaped you.
It means Jesus has done more than save you—
He has sanctified you.
It means you don’t obey because you’re afraid—
you obey because you’re alive.
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THE GOSPEL BEGINS WITH CHRIST
And here is where we must begin the teaching portion.
Obedience does not begin in your will.
Obedience begins in the gospel.
The gospel is not:
“Try harder for God.”
The gospel is:
“See what God has done for you.”
The gospel is not:
“Earn God’s approval.”
The gospel is:
“God has embraced you in Christ.”
The gospel does not say:
“Perform for Me.”
It says:
“It is finished.”
The gospel does not point to your efforts—
it points to His cross.
His righteousness.
His resurrection.
His victory.
Obedience is not the cause of the gospel—
obedience is the effect of the gospel.
Obedience is not what we bring to God—
obedience is what God brings to life in us.
The gospel begins with:
God’s achievement.
God’s mercy.
God’s grace.
God’s righteousness.
God’s Spirit.
Then produces:
our transformation.
our obedience.
our holiness.
our joy.
The gospel is not a demand—
the gospel is a power.
The law points out the path—
the gospel gives you the feet.
The law commands—
the gospel enables.
The law says “walk this way”—
the gospel says “I will walk in you.”
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THE HEART OF OBEDIENCE: NOT EFFORT, BUT INDWELLING
This is the first major pillar you must understand:
The Christian life is not you trying to behave like Jesus.
The Christian life is Jesus living in you.
That is why joy appears.
That is why fragrance spreads.
That is why obedience grows.
You do not obey to get Christ into your heart.
You obey because Christ is already in your heart.
You do not obey to earn identity.
You obey from identity.
You do not obey to impress heaven.
You obey because heaven has already embraced you.
Obedience is not the price.
Obedience is the promise.
Obedience is not the qualification.
Obedience is the consequence.
Obedience is not how we reach God.
Obedience is what God reaches in us.
That is why our question is not:
“Am I disciplined enough?”
Our question is:
“Has Jesus gone deep enough?”
Because when the gospel truly touches the heart—
obedience becomes joy.
Not perfection.
Not flawlessness.
Not sinlessness.
But joyfulness.
A soul that says:
“I want what God wants.
I desire what Christ desires.
I love what Heaven loves.”
A heart where joy rises up like a fragrance
to the God who delights in His children.
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WHEN OBEDIENCE STOPS STARTS FEELING LIKE A BLESSING
There comes a moment in the Christian life when obedience shifts.
Not because life gets easier.
Not because temptation disappears.
Not because your personality becomes disciplined overnight.
Obedience shifts because your desires change.
The miracle of grace is not that God forces you to obey—
it’s that God makes you want to obey.
Not perfectly.
Not without struggle.
But genuinely.
There are moments when you realize
that the things that once tempted you
now trouble you.
Things that once attracted you
now grieve you.
Places where you once felt comfortable
now feel foreign.
What is that?
It’s the fruit of the gospel.
It’s the work of the Spirit.
It’s the fragrance of Christ rising from your life.
It’s joy growing into obedience.
Obedience is no longer a battle
between what you want and what God wants.
Obedience becomes the discovery
that you and God are finally wanting the same thing.
That’s transformation.
That’s sanctification.
That’s gospel.
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TRUE OBEDIENCE IS NOT PERFECTION — IT IS DIRECTION
We must pause and clarify something essential:
Obedience is not perfection.
Obedience is direction.
You can stumble on the path—
but you’re still on the path.
You can fall—
but you fall forward.
You can fail—
but you fail into grace.
If you find yourself saying:
“I want to obey, even though I struggle,”
that desire is the evidence of a heart touched by Christ.
If you find yourself praying:
“Lord, help me obey,”
that prayer is the fragrance of Jesus in you.
If you find yourself convicted after you sin—
conviction is not condemnation,
conviction is confirmation
that the Spirit is inside you.
The devil condemns.
The Spirit convicts.
Conviction is the sign you belong to God.
Perfection is not the proof of salvation.
Desire is.
Direction is.
Transformation is.
Joy is.
Joy that you want what God wants.
Joy that obedience is no longer your enemy.
Joy that holiness is no longer your fear.
Joy that righteousness is starting to feel like home.
That joy is the fragrance Paul described—
the sweet aroma of Christ
wafting through a redeemed life.
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THE GREAT COMMISSION
Jesus Himself gave the clearest gospel order:
1. Make disciples — salvation.
2. Baptize them — identity.
3. Teach them to obey — transformation.
Obedience is third, not first.
Obedience is fruit, not root.
Obedience is proof, not purchase.
Obedience is outcome, not entrance.
Jesus did not say:
“Teach them to obey so they may become My disciples.”
He said:
“Because they are disciples,
teach them obedience.”
This is why obedience can become joy—
because it follows salvation,
not precedes it.
Obedience is not the door you walk through to meet Christ.
Obedience is the hallway you walk down
after He has already embraced you.
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JESUS DOESN’T ASK YOU TO DO ANYTHING HE HASN’T DONE
And now we come to the center of this entire message.
When obedience becomes joy,
it’s because you are obeying the same way Jesus obeyed.
Not out of fear.
Not out of pressure.
Not out of insecurity.
Not to earn acceptance.
Jesus obeyed the Father
because Jesus delighted in the Father.
Psalm 40:8 prophetically gives us His heart:
> “I delight to do Your will, O my God.”
Delight.
Joy.
Pleasure.
Obedience for Jesus was worship.
Obedience was joy.
And when His Spirit lives in you,
His delight becomes your delight.
You obey because Christ obeyed in you.
You love because Christ loved in you.
You serve because Christ serves through you.
You forgive because Christ forgave through you.
This is why obedience becomes joy—
because obedience becomes union.
Not merely your obedience—
Christ’s obedience living inside you.
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JOY AS A WITNESS
People can argue with your theology.
They can debate your doctrine.
They can disagree with your positions.
But they cannot argue with your fragrance.
A joyful obedience
is the loudest quiet sermon you’ll ever preach.
People know when religion is forced.
People know when you’re pretending.
People know when your holiness is taped on.
But joy…
joy is unmistakable.
Joy is what the world cannot counterfeit.
Joy is what the devil cannot steal.
Joy is what circumstances cannot cancel.
Joy is what suffering cannot silence.
Joy is the evidence that the gospel went deeper than behavior
and reached the heart.
You can fake good behavior—
but you cannot fake joy.
Not gospel joy.
Not Spirit joy.
Not Jesus joy.
Joy is the aroma.
Obedience is the fruit.
Christ is the source.
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THE MOMENT OF SURRENDER — YOUR HEART’S CHOICE
This brings us to the personal moment—
the reason God brought you into this message:
Has the gospel touched you deeply enough
that obedience is becoming your joy?
Not:
“Are you good enough?”
“Are you perfect?”
“Are you flawless?”
But:
Is something changing?
Is there a new fragrance in your life?
Is obedience no longer a threat—but a desire?
Is holiness no longer a burden—but a joy?
Is Jesus no longer a duty—but a delight?
Because obedience is not a test of your strength—
obedience is a testimony of His presence.
You cannot make yourself love God’s will.
But when you fall in love with God Himself,
you find yourself wanting His will.
That’s joy.
That’s aroma.
That’s obedience born from grace.
And that is the work of the gospel.
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THE FINAL WORD — WHEN JOY BECOMES THE SIGN OF YOUR SALVATION
Joy is not a feeling you protect.
Joy is a presence you carry.
Joy is not the reward of obedience—
joy is the companion of obedience.
Joy is not the icing on Christianity—
joy is the atmosphere of Christianity.
Joy is not a perk—
joy is proof.
Proof that the Spirit is inside you.
Proof that the gospel has reached you.
Proof that Jesus is forming you.
Proof that obedience is becoming not what you fear—
but what you want.
And so the question remains:
Has the gospel touched you deeply enough
that obedience is becoming your joy?
If the answer is yes—
even partially, even imperfectly—
rejoice.
If the answer is “Not yet, but I want it,”
then the Spirit is already working.
If the answer is “I don't feel joy,”
don’t despair.
Joy grows.
Joy rises.
Joy deepens.
Joy strengthens.
Joy is the atmosphere of a heart
where Jesus is making Himself at home.
And wherever Jesus takes residence—
obedience becomes joy,
and joy becomes the fragrance of your transformed life.
