Fruit of the Spirit: Joy

Intro

When Jesus came to earth, he came to rescue us.

• We were sinners

• Our character was corrupt

NIV

The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.

• Simply stated - If you are a living breathing human being you were born into an undefeatable sinful state.

• CONGRATULATIONS - YOUR ONLY HUMAN!

Last Week

Last week we started a series on the fruit of the Spirit and we talked about the first fruit - love. We talked about how God so love the world that he gave his only son so that we should not perish but have ever-lasting life.

We talked about God’s love for us which provided a way for us to be born again. When that happened the Holy Spirit cam to reside in each and every one of us. (This is not the baptism of the Holy Spirit - that’s a different thing.) But through His Spirit Jesus resides in our hearts. He made us a NEW creation OLD thing are gone.

One of the things that we talked about concerning the fruit is that it comes about by our getting close to Him and being filled with the Spirit. It is a result of being in His presence. As a result, for us it becomes a litmus test for us. If the fruit is not presenting in our lives it should throw up red flags that we need to get close to Him.

So we talked about love and asked some questions...

Do we love God as exhibited by our desire to place our lives in His hands and trust Him even when it’s inconvenient for us? If not we need to draw closer to Him and be filled with His Spirit

Do we love our friends and family? That’s typically and easy one but if not, it becomes a litmus test for us. If the fruit is not presenting in our lives it should throw up red flags that we need to get close to Him.

Do we love the acquaintances and strangers enought that we are concerned for their eternity and willing to do something about it? If not we need to draw closer to Him and be filled with His Spirit\

Do we love our enemies enough to let go of bitterness for things they might have actually done with intent to harm us or those around us? Do we love them enough to forgive them enough to bring restoration should the opportunity arise? If not, we need to draw closer to him and be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Do we have enough love that when people look at you in your day to day life they see the love of God shining through? If not, we need to draw closer to Him and be filled with the Holy Spirit.

So there.. those questions are enough to leave us squirming in our seat. And here’s why. We are only human if we have any success it’s because of the miraculous transformation He offers to all of us. Often it’s not all at one time or I think we might explode. It’s a process.. so hopefullt we are better this year than we were 20 years ago, or 10 years, or 5, or 1, or maybe even yesterday.

To be honest, If you told me God restored your sight, I would be grateful for the kindness He showed you, but when I see His fruit presenting itself in ways I haven’t seen before.... that’s incredible.

Today we move on to the second fruit… knowing He is the source and is the only one who can produce it in our lives… Joy.

The Nature of the Fruit

As a young preacher I would hear how we are to simply start loving, start having joy, start having peace. Anything less is sin. People would couple it with

Matthew 7:15–20 ESV

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.

Matthew 17:15–20 ESV

said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he has seizures and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him.” And Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.” And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”

If you put those verses together you might find yourself in trouble.

What if I am having trouble loving so and so? What if I am having trouble being happy in this circumstance? Am I a Christian at all if I find myself getting to angry? Maybe I am a false prophet.

We get discouraged and disheartened. Especially if we struggle for extended periods of time.

Don’t give up.

Paul wrote

Philippians 3:12 ESV

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.

We look at that bar and I think if the Spirit of Christ is in you, you want to be loving all the time. You definitely want Joy all the time. You definitely want peace all the time (except for when you want to slap that person …) but being perfect in all that is just soooooooo difficult.

Relax.. if Paul can recognized that this is a process and a journey, so can we. Not only that.. recognize it in those people around you that are “supposed to be Christians.” We are only human. We all struggle. We all need a miracle to produce the kind of fruit Christ wants to draw out of us.

You are not off the hook.

This is not to give excuse for being hateful. Sin is sin is sin. And when we have a bad attitude, you we to adjust it.

Paul pressed on so should we.

“Fake it til you make it.”

When you find your self falling short… remember… get close to Jesus and be filled with the Holy Spirit.

In a Nutshell

Fruit is not something we can simply pick off a tree and say “now i have it”

You see He is the vine we are the branches.

So if we are the branches, fruit is something that needs to be produced in us through the source of Christ.

What the Fruit of Joy is Not

Joy is not Happiness.

Etymology - Happiness comes from the word happenstance. It is a result of an external stimulus.

Marianne - Hummingbird.

Joy is not based on our circumstances

It is based on an inner reality.

While happy and joyful are often used to describe Christians at a given moment when all is well, they are not synonymous.

Hilarious happiness is not wrong, but we should not make the mistake of considering it joy.

Joy comes from the Holy Spirit abiding within, peace that flows from a right relationship with the Father through Christ and a sense of His presence and the hand of favor on your life— this comes from being filled with the Holy Spirit.

Laughter may come and go like shifting shadows, and weeping also comes to our lives sometimes, but it is only passing through.... Joy abides.

Psalm 30:1–5 ESV

I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up and have not let my foes rejoice over me. O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me. O Lord, you have brought up my soul from Sheol; you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit. Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name. For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.

Psalm 30

How Can We Promote Growth of the Fruit?

is not the place to go.

It does tell us to be filled with the Spirit (which we will pray for in just a couple minutes) but there are some practicle things we can do to line up with the process.

gives us a list that I will read but I want us to meditate on it this week.

Philippians 4:4–9 ESV

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

phil 4:4-9

I want us to remember this passage when Joy is a struggle… Im going to go through it QUICKLY but as individuals we need to take this passage and really chew on it. Meditate on it. May God help our minds drift to His word and help us apply it to our daily lives. And when it’s difficult mah the Holy Spirit bring His teaching to remembrance.

Rejoice - take joy.

Reasonableness - gentleness (it’s a peaceful contentment rather than a strong belly laugh.)

It come from knowing the Lord is near

If He is near we do not have to be anxious.

If we are anxious we pray through it.

Prayer - we communicate with him about it.

We make our request understanding that He is the giver.

We give thanksgiving knowing that whatever the answer is - He knows best.

When we practice that level of trust, it becomes easy to rejoice.

That’s why it surpasses understanding - because Christians know that no matter how bad it may seem..... JOY comes in the morning.

2 Stories

When I worked as a chef it was the most chaotic thing I think you can do..... I’d sing .. sometimes out loud… Amazing grace… and this peace would come over me.

There was a time in my life after I became a Christian that I thought my life was over. Someone did something so bad to me that all my hopes and dreams seem destroyed. I became so depressed that my friend (who gave me a 22 rifle to defend myself if needed) took it away for fear that I might do something stupid to myself or someone else. And I gave it to him because I thought I might do something stupid to myself or someone else. I remember being so filled with anguish one night that I couldn’t bear it but God reminded me He was there. I remember praying 3 words.. “Here you go.” The next morning I went to church and during worship the Holy Spirit dropped a thought into my mind. He told me, “You win.” It instantly struck me as hilarious that the enemy could try as hard as he wanted, but in the end.... JOY comes in the morning.” In that moment joy and happiness slammed into each other and I was filled with laughter.

Now I’ll tell you, I’ve had worse circumstances than that… some at my own hand. But heres the thing - I’ve never been so racked with pain or guilt over a temporary circumstance that He hasn’t been able to come in and give me His joy.

Conclusion

So in conclusion that’s what I want you to pray about.

I want you to stand and pray with me about this Joy as a fruit thing. I don’t know where you are, but I know where I am. I want more. So I’m going to ask you to stand if you can and pray just a couple things quietly to yourself.

Confess to Him anything that you know is separating you and Him. Maybe it’s something you are doing that you ought not to do or it’s something you are not doing that you know you ought to do. And don’t just confess… ask forgiveness… and let Him take it from you.

As he takes it from you, as for him to fill you with His Spirit. Tell him you want to bear His fruit. Not just for your sake, but for His.

We’ll do this for a couple minutes and then I’ll close us in prayer.