Let me ask you a couple of important questions this evening. Are you ready? Here's the first question: "Are you a happy Christian this evening?" The second question is similar to the first. Here it is: "Can you rejoice in what God has done for you in the past, what He is doing for your now, and what you expectantly anticipate Him to do in the future?" God wants you to be a joyful and expectant Christian.

What does it mean to be filled with the Holy Spirit of God? That is the question we are trying to get a handle on as we look together at the characteristics of the Spirit-filled life. That filling may be manifested in many different ways. Some folk may get all excited, and feel like dancing in the aisle. Others are going to experience a peace that floods their soul even in the midst of difficult moments. Some will get a momentary rush of elation that confirms the Spirit’s presence in their life. And still others will experience the Spirit by the illumination of truth in the Scriptures that perhaps they never saw before. Those are all well and good, but the Apostle Paul asserts that the filling of the Spirit is also evidenced by the development of certain attributes in the believer’s life.

Our joy is a response to the same message that the Angel’s gave to the shepherds in the fields around Bethlehem: Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. As we sit here this evening, you and I are a part of the all people that the angels give good tidings to. It’s news that ought to fill our hearts and minds and souls with great joy: A Savior has come into the world who saves sinners. If we were to literally translate that phrase great joy it would read mega-gladness!

Let me ask you another question: Does the presence of Christ in your life bring you mega-gladness? Joy is one of the attributes of a Spirit-filled life!

I. REJOICE IN THE LORD ALWAYS!

Philippians 3:1 "Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord!"
Philippians 4:4 "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" NIV
1 Thessalonians 5:16 "Be joyful always;" NIV

God wants you to know joy
few things have done more harm to the cause of Christ and brought more disrepute to His Church than joyless Christians!

God wants you and I to experience a joyful heart and to have cheerful faces
the two are connected ...

Proverbs 15:13 "A glad heart makes a cheerful countenance,"
Proverbs 15:30 "A cheerful look brings joy to the heart,"
ILLUS. God has even designed us in such a way so that it is easier to exhibit cheerfulness then to exhibit sullenness. It takes 64 facial muscles to make a frown, but only thirteen to make a smile. I'll tell ya what folks: I see a lot of Christians who are working their faces too hard! Their attitude is (say with frown on face and crossed arms) "Yea, I'm a Christian. Hallelujah."

A. THE WORLD NEEDS TO SEE JOYFUL BELIEVERS

the non-Christians in our culture see too many mean-eyed furrowed-brow, locked-jaw, crossed-arm, petty-minded, unsmiling Christians

I don't mean any of your of course!

the world needs to see joyful believers who can praise the Lord no matter what their circumstances are or their lot in life may be

the Apostle Peter told the recipients of his first epistle that the Christian's joy is an inward grace that issues from the believer's faith despite trials and temptations

1 Peter 1:6-9 "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that your faith of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire – may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls."

joy is not merely a simplistic or sentimental way of dealing with life, but a way to meet life head on

according to the Apostle Peter in this passage, joy occurs even in the midst of grief caused by suffering through all kinds of trials

joy is an effectual, spiritual gift given by God to believers that helps to sustain us in difficult times and increases our happiness in good times

happiness is a feeling and usually is determined by outside events or circumstances
joy, on the other hand, is an attitude, a disposition, a mind-set that flows from a deep conviction that God is alive and real and in your life and in control

it enables you to meet the challenges of life and to wade into impossibilities with enthusiasm and expectancy
"rejoicing always" in the Lord enables you to let go of the frustration and pick up the broken pieces and start over again

B. REASONS BELIEVERS CAN REJOICE

FIRST, we can rejoice because of saving grace

" . . . an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:20-21, NIV)

Jesus said that being born again is like finding buried treasure

ILLUS. Most of us love stories of people finding buried treasure. In 2009, an amateur treasure hunter prowling English farmland with a metal detector stumbled upon the largest Anglo-Saxon treasure ever found. It was a massive seventh-century hoard of gold and silver sword decorations, crosses and other items. They call it the Staffordshire Hoard, and it consists of at least 650 items of gold and 530 silver objects, and thousands of other items of archeological value. Terry Herbert, who was unemployed when he found the items in a friends field stands to receive a tidy sum. The Government of England keeps all such treasure found, but has to pay the finder it’s estimated value of over $5 million dollars.
Matthew 13:44 "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field."

Jesus stresses two points in this simple little parable

first, that salvation is a great treasure and its gain requires a cost
secondly, and the point of this evening's message: that discovering God's treasure of salvation brings great joy

we can rejoice because of God's saving grace

SECOND, we can rejoice because of sustaining grace

Psalm 18:35 "You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great."

God does not save us only to leave us to our own strength

ILLUS. In the Lincoln Museum in Springfield, IL you will find, among other things, Lincoln's well-used Bible. In the flyleaf is a note he scribbled as he made his way by train to the capitol for his inauguration. Listen to his words as he asks for sustaining grace from God: "I go to assume a task more difficult than that which has devolved upon any other man since the days of Washington. He never would have succeeded but for the aid of Divine Providence, upon which he at all times relied. I feel that I cannot succeed without the same divine blessing which sustained him, and on the same Almighty Being I place my reliance for support. And I hope you, my friends, will all pray that I may receive the divine assistance, without which I cannot succeed, but with which success is certain."

we can rejoice because of sustaining grace

THIRD, we can rejoice because of glorifying grace

John 17:22 "Father, give them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one:"

the day is coming when all believers will hear the trumpet of God that signifies our Lord's Second coming
on that day all those who have given their hearts and lives to Jesus Christ are going home

Philippians 3:20-21 "But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body."
ILLUS. Henry C. Morrison was one of the great missionaries of the late 19th century. After serving for forty years on the African mission field, he headed home by boat. On that same trans-Atlantic steamer also rode President Theodore Roosevelt returning from one of his famous big-game trophy hunts. As they entered the harbor ship's horns blared and fire-fighting ships sprayed fountains of water into the air. As they docked, there was great fanfare as bands played and all kinds of dignitaries waited to greet the President and welcome him home. This dear missionary and his wife with their luggage in hand quietly made their way to the deck of the ship to exit. No one had come to welcome them back home. There were no bands playing or banners flying in their honor. Henry Morrison went to his hotel room with a rather heavy heart. As he sat there on the bed, he asked his wife, “Honey, for 40 years we poured our lives into ministry and service. And yet we come back to America and not a single soul comes to welcome us home!” His wife came and sat down next to her husband. She put her hand on his shoulder, and said to him, “Henry, you have forgotten something, you’re not home yet!”

we can rejoice because of glorifying grace

the Scriptures tell us in Isaiah: Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him

we are to rejoice in the Lord always

II. REJOICING IN THE LORD BREEDS ENTHUSIASM FOR THE THINGS OF GOD

one of the marks of authentic Christianity is that believers will have an enthusiasm for spiritual things which is noticeable to others

ILLUS. Eugene Peterson, in his best-selling book, A Long Obedience In the Same Direction, writes: “It is not difficult in our world to get a person interested in the message of the Gospel; it is terrifically difficult to sustain the interest. Millions of people in our culture make decisions for Christ, but there is a dreadful attrition rate. Many claim to have been born again, but the evidence for mature Christian discipleship is slim. In our kind of culture anything, even news about God, can be sold if it is packaged freshly; but when it loses its novelty, it goes on the garbage heap. There is a great market for religious experience in our world; there is little enthusiasm for the patient acquisition of virtue, little inclination to sign up for a long apprenticeship in what earlier generations of Christians called holiness.”

the Greek word for enthusiasm is a word that means "inspired by God"
the implication is that Christians will be excited over and rejoice in the things of God

but this is not always how it is in real life is it?
most believers know that they should be enthusiastic about spiritual things

deep down, you know that you should be enthusiastic about Bible study
deep down, you know that you should be enthusiastic about worship
deep down, you know that you should be enthusiastic about devotional time
deep down, you know that you should be enthusiastic about service and ministry

but let's be honest, we're not always as enthusiastic about these things as we know we should be

the fact is, family reunions, baseball games and trips to the lake offer infinitely more excitement to the average church-goer then does a typical day at church

have you ever wondered why this is true?

from God's viewpoint the answer it very simple
it is the result of a hardened heart that is no longer filled with an attitude of joy

A. JOY IS A FRUIT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT WHICH MUST BE CULTIVATED

Galatians 5:22-24 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires."

the Bible teaches that your ability to have joy and to rejoice in the things of God is tied to your filling with the Holy Spirit of God
joy is like a crop that must be properly cultivated and protected

but, according to Paul, our passions and desires war against the fruit of the Spirit
just as there are the fruits of the Spirit, there are also the fruits of the flesh

they include hate, sorrow, conflict, anxiety, malevolence, evil, disloyalty, cruelty, and self-indulgence

so, how do we go about cultivating joy in our lives?

III. RELEVANT THINGS YOU CAN DO TO EXPERIENCE THE JOY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

joy is a choice made by those who discipline their attitudes

joy is not automatic
it doesn’t seize you and force you under its will
you don’t catch it like a virus

to have authentic Christian joy in life requires work
there is no better place to go to discover the secrets to joy than Paul’s letter to the Philippians

written while he was chained in a Roman prison, Paul gives six clues to what enabled him to rejoice in literally any situation

A. FIRST, MAINTAIN A GRATEFUL HEART

Paul’s gratitude is reflected in every line of his letter to the Philippians

imprisoned and possibly facing death, the apostle still refuses to register even the slightest complaint
he writes to the Philippians: I thank my God every time I remember you

in every verse he seems to sing with thanksgiving, almost as though he were composing a psalm

he denies himself the option of focusing on the negative aspects of his imprisonment

Paul encouraged himself by thinking about how God was using his situation to bring the gospel to others

reflecting only on his own discomfort would have led to depression

if you want to experience joy, you’re going to have to sit down and count your blessings instead of listing your misfortunes

when you consider the ways in which you have seen God work, like Paul, include the blessings He has poured out on others through you

B. SECOND, FOCUS ON FUTURE HOPE

Paul labored and suffered with his future rest in mind

he wrote to the Philippians “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21)

Paul had a valiant, courageous confidence in Christ

he could see the good results of bad situations
but more important than that, he saw the final victory in Christ

in Philippians, Paul attempts to communicate his hope to us

he knows there will be a happy ending, and he wants us to remember that even in the worst of circumstances

ILLUS. The apostle cites Christ as an example of such hope. Jesus faced the Cross with a mind clearly focused on His goal. His suffering was of less importance when He considered the needs of mankind. He put aside self-pity and clothed Himself with compassion for men.

Paul tells us: “For the joy set before him [he] endured the cross” (Heb. 12:2)

hope is a winch by which we tie into Christ and hoist ourselves out of the muck of despair

if we’re going to have joy in life you need to think beyond the present

C. THIRD, PURSUE GODLY GOALS

Paul kept his spiritual goals clearly in mind

Phil. 3:8–11 “I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.”

Paul’s goal, to know Christ, meant following and imitating Christ, even in suffering and death

to know Him would be worth any price because of the final payoff – eternal life
Paul struggled toward those goals with every ounce of energy

Philippians 3:14 “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” NIV

when we are busy pursuing godly goals there is no time for anxiety, regret, or disappointment

instead of becoming desperate for worldly happiness we become desperate to follow Christ, and joy is our reward

D. FORTH, PRAY

the impulse to pray when we are in trouble is almost automatic

but prayer ought to be more than an appeal for deliverance
it is more than a toll-free order system by which we obtain or change circumstances to make us happy

as we make our appeal to God, we often feel it is our “right” to grumble and worry until He delivers us

not so, according to Paul

Philippians 4:6 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” NIV

according to Paul, it is our privilege in Christ to be free of anxiety and to rejoice in the Lord always

joy does not wait on the answer to prayer, but grows through prayer itself

to continue worrying is a breach of faith

E. FIFTH, THINK GODLY THOUGHTS

Paul writes to the Philippian believers:

Phil. 4:8–9 “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me – put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”

tragedies and difficult circumstances have a way of cutting off our fresh air

we become so engrossed in the painful moment that we see, hear, think, and feel little else
we begin choking on stale, cloudy thoughts

but Paul points out that we can choose what to think about

we can focus on gloom and doom
or on promises and praise

ILLUS.. In one of his letters to a young man in the ministry named Timothy, Paul told him to ‘stir up’ the gift of God that was in him. The Greek word of stir up means to rekindle as in getting a fire burning brightly agin. That requires some personal effort. One of the surest ways to rekindle the spirit of joy in your life is to take the "poker" of your memory and stir up some past occurrences in your life when God was at work. You need to recall the times that God intervened in your life and answered your prayers. Meditate upon your blessings. Throw the "logs" of praise, thankfulness and gratitude on the fire of God and see if the flame of the Holy Spirit does not burn more brightly in your life.

F. SIXTH, LEARN CONTENTMENT

Paul learned to be content in any situation

Philippians 4:11 “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.” NIV

when we worry over the things we don’t have instead of finding contentment in what we do have, joy shrivels and dies

ILLUS. John MacArthur tells the story of being on a trip to Mexico. At one stop, he observed Mexican women washing their clothes in a place where hot and cold springs bubbled side by side. They boiled their garments in the hot springs and rinsed them in the cold. MacArthur remarked to his guide, “I suppose the people think their God is generous to them.” “No sir” the guide replied, “just the opposite. There is grumbling because He does not supply soap.”

contentment is never found in amount, but in attitude

dissatisfaction breeds anxiety and frustration

contentment fosters joy

discontent blackens everything around it

contentment transforms turbulence into peace

and while discontent seems to occur naturally, contentment is grown through small, painful steps of cultivation

you don’t just decide to be content, the Apostle Paul says, you learn contentment

how is contentment learned?

by maintaining grateful hearts, focusing on future hope, praying pursuing Godly goals and thinking Godly thoughts
above all, contentment is learned by seeking first the Kingdom of God instead of seeking the things of this world

if you will learn to do these six things, you will begin to experience the real joy that God announced to the shepherds and want to give to us

Martin Luther said it best when he wrote; ". . . The Christian ought to be a living doxology." Doxology is a word that simply means A Praise to God. When joy of salvation is a part of your life and you find yourself rejoicing in the things of God, you will be a witness to the world and a "praise unto God."

Attributes of the Spirit-filled Life: Joy