Be the Light pt 2- Joy

Tosha talked last week about how these fruits, these gifts, of the Spirit are something that comes from God. They are not traits we can generate in and of ourselves. They are ways of being that are supernatural.

They also build on one another.

When Paul gives this list- sometimes called a virtue list in ANE writings, he is using a technique that indicates how one of these gifts leads to the next- in some ways this list is a picture of salvation.

And the more we are built the brighter our light shines.

That makes a lot of sense when you think about it, that starting with love we are built up to experience and embody the next of these fruits- joy.

Joy is probably the most misunderstood word in our language. We throw it around pretty casually. Connecting it to moments in life, people, experiences. And we do it accidentally in many cases, not meaning anything by it.

Joy is confused with happiness or exhilaration or any number of emotions or feelings connected to experiences.

And we live in a joy starved culture. One where genuine, enduring joy is suspect.

But I want to tell you a secret today. Joy is not found in experiences. It is found in a Person and it is a state that can exist despite any outward circumstances you face.

So this morning, I want to show you that truth in scripture and share with you how we can be taught to experience ongoing joy, even when we are not happy or in pleasant moments of our lives. Joy can endure.

So turn with me first to Habakkuk 3:17-19.

This obscure prophet paints a very tough picture in these verses. All sustenance is cut off. The circumstances are bleak and survival is not assured.

You been there?

Maybe after a job loss or a season after a bad marriage? Or worse, you wished you could die after a brutal loss or an unexpected tragedy.

Those moments when all hope seems lost.

Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah 5. Habakkuk’s Confidence in the Lord (3:17–19)

The outer world with its evil conduct and rapacious warfare remains the same. God’s people remain in time of lamentation. The prophet, however, turns to praise. Why? He has heard God’s voice and seen God’s vision. He knows the ultimate outcome of history

Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah 5. Habakkuk’s Confidence in the Lord (3:17–19)

The loss of any of these individually might be survived. Together, the losses spelled economic disaster and devastating loss of hope—loss of their daily provisions, loss of their economic strength, loss of the Lord’s blessing due to their sin (

Verse 18 sounds crazy. “Yet I will rejoice…I will take joy in the God of my salvation…”

Joy comes from God and knowing you are in His hands…not your own.

Joy comes from confidence in someone outside yourself who cannot fail.

Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah 5. Habakkuk’s Confidence in the Lord (3:17–19)

Though he might lose everything in this world which normally brings life and joy, Habakkuk vowed to rejoice in the Lord and to joy in God.

More than “toughing it out” or “hanging in there” Habakkuk would be “joyful” in the God of his salvation (cf.

That’s the starting point of joy- when we have been loved by God and saved by Him and we begin to grow in confidence that we are not only not alone, but we are not in control.

Look at verse 19- joy comes from deliverance.

Joy is peace and contentment and confidence despite or in spite of present circumstances. It is a looking to the horizon assured that just over the place where we can see deliverance is already arriving just beyond our vision.

Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah 5. Habakkuk’s Confidence in the Lord (3:17–19)

Habakkuk acknowledged the protection of God in every experience of life. “Surefooted, untiring, bounding with energy, the Lord’s people may expect to ascend the heights of victory despite their many severe setbacks. The heights of the earth, the places of conquest and domain, shall be the ultimate possession of God’s people

The NT gives us a similar picture in 1 Peter 1:8-9. Peter writes to a group of believers who have fled their homes and live under threat of persecution. And in his intro he says to them, you can’t see Him right now, but you rest in full assurance that He is coming. And that brings you joy.

1, 2 Peter, Jude (2) Result: Joy in Suffering (1:6–9)

The first phrase (“though you have not seen him”) relates to the past, indicating that Peter’s readers located in Asia Minor never laid their eyes on the historical Jesus. Nonetheless, they “love him.” The verb “love” (agapate) should be construed as an indicative rather than an imperative. Peter was not exhorting the churches but commending them here. Their sufferings have not made them morose and miserable. They are filled with love for Jesus Christ. He is precious and lovely to them

1, 2 Peter, Jude (2) Result: Joy in Suffering (1:6–9)

They love Jesus Christ and rejoice in him, even though they have never seen him and do not see him now. Their lives are characterized by a hope that fills the present with love and joy.

So what happens to joy? How does it fade?

All through scripture, joy is connected to one thing- nearness to God.

Why is this? If joy is not connected to circumstances shouldn’t it just BE?

That is a common misconception. Kind of like grace and earning vs effort. Joy is not circumstantial, but that does not mean it does not have to be maintained.

And that’s because it flows from a source- and that source is not us. We cannot manufacture joy, we have to live in it. And that comes, over and over again in scripture, from proximity to the source.

Jesus told His disciples this in John 15:9-11.

To do this we do 2 things:

Abide- live in the love of God- be at home in it- trust it be secure in it

Keep- out of that abiding comes obedience- we have joy when we are close to the Father

John 12–21 (1) The Mashal of the Vine and the Branches: A Portrait of Discipleship (15:1–11)

The only natural conclusion from these virtually reversible statements, therefore, is that they are so interrelated and inseparable that you cannot have one without the other

Look at verse 11- “your joy may be full”

Our tank is filled by being with Jesus and obeying what He says.

John 12–21 (1) The Mashal of the Vine and the Branches: A Portrait of Discipleship (15:1–11)

As this core mashal comes to its final stage, it focuses our attention on a wonderful capstone promise of joy. Obedience, love, fruit bearing, being pruned could all be viewed as rather painful and demanding ideas that scarcely suggest excitement or desirability. But that is hardly the goal of the mashal. The purpose of abiding in the vine is to provide the sense of delight to those who are authentic disciples of Jesus, even though they may face pain or persecution

David experienced this. In Psalm 19:7-9 he also connects joy (verse 8) with God’s commands. And he says why- they are the best way to live life:

Perfect

Reviving

Sure

Right

Pure

Clean

True

And each of them has the effect of making us more like God and less like us, and the more we are leaving our old ways behind, the more we are abiding, and the more joy we experience.

Psalms 1–72: An Introduction and Commentary The Clarity of Scripture (19:7–14)

Together, these terms show the practical purpose of revelation, to bring God’s will to bear on the hearer and evoke intelligent reverence, well-founded trust, detailed obedience

That’s because nearness to God inspires us to worship. Look at Psalm 16:7-10.

Verse 7 says we bless the Lord- we worship Him

And in that we have nearness to Him- so close He is always at hand.

And we are not shaken- we have security.

Out of this pours joy.

And church, let me tell you, when you have joy in your life others take notice.

Joy attracts curiosity and longing. And that gives us an opportunity- to be light.

When others see us with joy, even in the midst of the worst days, they can’t help but wonder why.

God gives us these gifts, produces these fruits, so that the Gospel can be proclaimed.

A city on a hill that offers hope to a dark world.