Traits of a Spirit-Controlled Life: Joy

22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

Introduction:

illustration:

if there is one country on earth where people should be happy, it is the United States of America. But depression affects more than 19% of American adults, and anxiety disorders affect more than 40 million, or 18% of the population.[1] The 2016 federal data analysis found that suicide rates in America had surged to their highest level in 30 years, rising in that. By 63% among middle-aged women and 43% among men of the same age.[2]

Worldwide study of 90,000 people showed the 10 richest countries in the world also had the highest rates of depression. United States had the second-highest right, exceeded only by France.[3] This tells us that joy and happiness are not dependent on wealth and circumstances. Those who have the most reason to be joyful are often the most depressed.

“We Americans are obsessed with being happy,” says theologian and philosopher J. P. Moreland. “But we are also terribly confused about what happiness is. As a result, we seldom find happiness that lasts. But because “The Pursuit of Happyness” is promised to us as a right in the founding document of our nation, the Declaration of Independence, we have a sense of entitlement. We think that we deserve happiness and if we do not find what we consider to be happiness, we are likely to develop what Alexis de Tocqueville cold a strange melancholy in the midst of abundance.”[4]

[2] Sabrina Tavernise, “U.S. Suicide Rates Surges to a 30-Year High,” New York Times, April 22, 2016, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/22/health/us-suicide-rate-surges-to-a-30-year-high.html.

[3] McMillen, “Richer Countries Have Higher Depression Rates.”

[4] J.P. Moreland and Klaus Issler, The Lost Virtue of Happiness. (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2006), 14-15.

if there is one country on earth where people should be happy, it is the United States of America. But depression affects more than 19% of American adults, and anxiety disorders affect more than 40 million, or 18% of the population. The 2016 federal data analysis found that suicide rates in America had surged to their highest level in 30 years, rising in that. By 63% among middle-aged women and 43% among men of the same age.

How would you rate your Christian walk in the area of joy? Are you daily experiencing the kind of joyful life that Peter described in when he said, “...you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy.”?

you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy.

Worldwide study of 90,000 people showed the 10 richest countries in the world also had the highest rates of depression. United States had the second-highest right, exceeded only by France. This tells us that joy and happiness are not dependent on wealth and circumstances. Those who have the most reason to be joyful are often the most depressed.

It is the will of the father that your walk in the spirit the one that is filled with joy. In the listing of the fruit born in the life of those who walk in the Spirit God says, “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control.

3 questions often come up when speaking of Christian joy:

(1) What is joy?

(2) Why am I not experiencing joy?

(3) How can I have joy?

T.S.: The word of God has the answers to all three of these questions. Let us take a look at the answers given in Scripture.

I- What is joy?

A- Joy defined:

1- Joy (χαρά) = a state of joy and gladness.

(χαρά

a state of joy and gladness

2- “Joy is a delight of the mind arising from consideration of a present, or assured possession of a future good.” (Unger’s Bible dictionary, page 613).

3- Joy is lasting: it is an abiding quality in the life of one who is walking in constant surrender to the Holy Spirit.

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Ephesians 5:18–19 HCSB

And don’t get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless actions, but be filled by the Spirit: speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music from your heart to the Lord,

Ephesians 5:18–19 HCSB

Ephesians 5:18–19 NLT

Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts.

Ephesians 5:18–19 HCSB

a. We experienced joy only if we are continually walking under the control of the Holy Spirit of God.

b. This joy can be experienced in spite of circumstances.

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Acts 13:52 HCSB

And the disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.

Acts 13:52 NLT

And the believers were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

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Acts 16:25 NLT

25 Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening.

B- Joy and happiness are not the same:

1- happiness is linked to circumstances.

2- Joy is not linked to circumstances.

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1 Peter 1:6–7 NLT

6 So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. 7 These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.

*Happiness is about what happens to you; and, to an extent, is dependent on your circumstances, your behaviors, and your attitudes. But the joy of Christ is much, much bigger. The joy of Christ is about a relationship with a person. It is something you have access to, but it is also something you must choose.

C- Joy can be present in the midst of trials.

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Luke 6:22–23 NLT

22 What blessings await you when people hate you and exclude you and mock you and curse you as evil because you follow the Son of Man. 23 When that happens, be happy! Yes, leap for joy! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, their ancestors treated the ancient prophets that same way.

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1 Thessalonians 1:6 NLT

6 So you received the message with joy from the Holy Spirit in spite of the severe suffering it brought you. In this way, you imitated both us and the Lord.

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James 1:2 NLT

2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.

Illustration:

Christian joy is so complete and lasting that it stays with us even when we are dying.

Tony Snow was one of America's most successful and respected news men and commentators. He rose from an op – id writer and editor for a small newspaper to become a voice on ABC's good morning America and other network shows. His career took off when he moved to Fox News as a host of his own show and was a frequent commentator on others. In 2006, Pres. George W. Bush appointed Snow to be as White House press secretary. The popular, knowledgeable, and highly articulate, he was forced to resign less than two years later when he was diagnosed with terminal colon cancer. He died the following year at 53 years of age.

Tony Snow could have died a bitter man, angry at how his brilliant career was cut short at its peak and how cancer deprived him of life with his wife and 3 children. But Tony was a devout Christian. Far from being angry at God, he found joy in the unexpected blessing his illness brought him. He communicated this joy eloquently in an article published a few months before his death.[5]

*Author Bruce Larson wrote: "joy is the surest sign of the presence of God."

*Grimness is not a Christian virtue.

William Barclay said "the Christian is the man of joy. The Christian is the laughing Cavalier of Christ. A gloomy Christian is a contradiction in terms, and nothing in all religious history has done Christianity more harm than its black clothes and long faces."

D- It is Jesus’ intention that we have joy. ().

John 15:11 NLT

11 I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!

II- Why am I not experiencing joy?

There are several possible reasons…

A- No assurance of salvation

1- Constant reference is made to the contrast in the lives of the saved and unsaved in the Scriptures.

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Proverbs 10:28 NLT

28 The hopes of the godly result in happiness, but the expectations of the wicked come to nothing.

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Proverbs 13:9 NLT

9 The life of the godly is full of light and joy, but the light of the wicked will be snuffed out.

B- Unconfessed sin

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Psalm 51:8 NLT

8 Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me— now let me rejoice.

Psalm 51:12 NLT

12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.

1- David, who was known as God’s servant, was robbed of the joy of your salvation through sin.

a. Notice David’s description of his own personal emotions that resulted from his sin.

2- Instead of joy, pain and sorrow come as we yield to sin.

a.David’s sin affected Bathsheba, Uriah, David’s household, and a whole nation.

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Galatians 6:7–8 NLT

7 Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. 8 Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.

C- Failure to spend time in worship and intimacy with Christ.

1- You were created and saved to become one with Christ.

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John 15:4–5 NLT

4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. 5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.

a. Without an intimate relationship with him, there is no purpose or joy in life.

D- Broken fellowship with other believers.

1- The fellowship of believers is to be marked with unity.

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John 17:21 NLT

21 I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.

2- When fellowship is broken, discord, division, and life are robbed of its joy.

a. Example of the elder brother ().

Luke 15:11–32 NLT

11 To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. 12 The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons. 13 “A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. 14 About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. 15 He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. 16 The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything. 17 “When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! 18 I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, 19 and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.” ’ 20 “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. 21 His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’ 22 “But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. 23 And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, 24 for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began. 25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house, 26 and he asked one of the servants what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of his safe return.’ 28 “The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him, 29 but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. 30 Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’ 31 “His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. 32 We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’ ”

III- How can I have joy? ().

A- Make sure of your relationship with God.

1- Joy begins as you enter into a personal relationship with Christ.

*C. S. Lewis described his joy 65 years ago in terms that make just as much sense today: "the car is made to run on petrol, and it would not run properly on anything else. Now God designed the human machine to run on himself. He himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other. That is why it is just no good asking God to make us happy in our own way without bothering about religion. God cannot give us happiness and peace apart from himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.[6]

in our own way without bothering about religion. God cannot give us happiness and peace apart from himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.

a- You are born into God’s family

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1 Peter 1:3 NLT

3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation,

b- You are kept by the power of God

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1 Peter 1:5 NLT

5 And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.

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Luke 10:20 NLT

20 But don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven.”

No matter what happens here on earth, your name will still be written down in heaven!

B- Spend time alone with Christ in personal worship-developing a love relationship with him.

1- The best way is to begin the morning following the advice of the psalmist

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Psalm 118:24 NLT

24 This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.

2- Beginning and continuing to live each day in the awareness of His presence brings joy.

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Psalm 16:11 NLT

11 You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.

C- Live out your love for Jesus. (, ).

1 Peter 1:8 NLT

8 You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy.

1 Peter 1:13–16 NLT

13 So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. 14 So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. 15 But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. 16 For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”

1- Show your love through obedience.

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John 14:15 NLT

15 “If you love me, obey my commandments.

a- we know our lives are pleasing to him brings us joy.

As a child, nothing gave me more joy than for my father to say, “son, I am proud of you.”

D- Trust completely in the Lord ().

1 Peter 1:8b NLT

8 You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy.

1- Leaning completely on his trustworthiness is a source of tremendous joy.

a- Confident that he will provide my every need.

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Philippians 4:19 NLT

19 And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.

b- Confident that he is my strength to accomplish what he desires for me to do.

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Philippians 4:13 NLT

13 For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.

When I have the realization that his ableness is enabling me, service becomes full of joy!

E- Allow the Holy Spirit to fill your life – controlling it. ().

Ephesians 5:18–19 NLT

18 Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, 19 singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts.

1- The disciples learned the source of joy – When filled with the spirit, their joy overflowed.

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Acts 13:52 NLT

52 And the believers were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

a- To have that filling, simply asked the Lord to cleanse away your sins, and assume total control of your life through his Holy Spirit.

(). ().

Acts 4:24–32 NLT

24 When they heard the report, all the believers lifted their voices together in prayer to God: “O Sovereign Lord, Creator of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them— 25 you spoke long ago by the Holy Spirit through our ancestor David, your servant, saying, ‘Why were the nations so angry? Why did they waste their time with futile plans? 26 The kings of the earth prepared for battle; the rulers gathered together against the Lord and against his Messiah.’ 27 “In fact, this has happened here in this very city! For Herod Antipas, Pontius Pilate the governor, the Gentiles, and the people of Israel were all united against Jesus, your holy servant, whom you anointed. 28 But everything they did was determined beforehand according to your will. 29 And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word. 30 Stretch out your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 31 After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness. 32 All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had.

Romans 12:1–2 NLT

1 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Conclusion:

The Word of God tells us,

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Romans 14:17 NLT

17 For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

The Bible is God's handbook on joy, so take time to read it. The Bible contains more than 400 references to joy, joyful, joyfully, joyous, rejoice, and rejoicing. No matter where you begin reading the Bible you will bump into joy before you read very far.

The theme of the book of Philippians is joy. What was the source of Paul's joy? It was his relationship with Jesus Christ. Philippians begins and ends with the name of Jesus, and Paul mentions Jesus 40 times in the 4 short chapters of his letter.

God’s desire is that you experience joy. I urge you to surrender your whole life to Jesus; and allow him to feel with you with his joy.

[1] Matt McMillen, “Richer Countries have Higher Depression Rates,” WebMD, July 26, 2011, http://www.webmd.com/depression/news/20110726/richer-countries-have-higher-depression-rates#1.

[2] Sabrina Tavernise, “U.S. Suicide Rates Surges to a 30-Year High,” New York Times, April 22, 2016, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/22/health/us-suicide-rate-surges-to-a-30-year-high.html.

[3] McMillen, “Richer Countries Have Higher Depression Rates.”

[4] J.P. Moreland and Klaus Issler, The Lost Virtue of Happiness. (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2006), 14-15.

[5] Tony Snow, “Cancer’s Unexpected Blessings,” Christianity Today, July 20, 2007, http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/july/25.30.html.

[6] C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity. (New York:HarperCollins, 1980), 84.

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