Joy
Notes
Transcript
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
This word HOPE - it means ‘to wait for with eager expectation’.
Not the same as wordly hope. Worldly hope is ‘desiring to see a particular outcome happen’. It’s based on possibilities, and randomness, and our desires.
Hope in Jesus is so completely different. It’s ‘eager expectation’. Hope fills us, fuels us.
THE ROAD FROM JOY TO HOPE
Joy is born from the presence of the Spirit
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
We forget exactly what this list is. It’s the fruit of the spirit. IE - the spirit planted in our hearts produces this as his ‘fruit’.
Our Joy is Rooted in Having Christ Near
The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete.
Our Joy Looks Forward to Eternity
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you,
God’s Joy is rooted in having us back
I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
This is an extremely encouraging fact. That the Lord of heaven, the God over all creation - he actually REJOICES when we turn to him.
Joy Leads to Hoope
If Joy is knowing that God is here, he’s always here, and he has amazing things for us, then it naturally leads to hope. Because hope is eagerly awaiting those things.