Fruit or Flesh: Joy
Fruit or Flesh • Sermon • Submitted
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Intro:
16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
8
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
:22-23
Last Sunday we began a series on the Fruit of the Spirit entitled, [Flesh or Fruit]. The subject of today’s message is [Joy].
When I was in the fifth grade, my teacher, Mr. Gray, instilled in me a love of history, especially American History. He made us memorize parts of the Declaration of Independence and the Preamble to the Constitution.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
Ingrained in our nation’s DNA is the thought that we have a right to be happy. The American Dream espouses the idea, we can choose our own path, manage our own money, make our own decisions, and do what we feel makes us happy.
On the surface, the United States should be one the happiest country. We feel entitled to be happy people. However, a worldwide study of 90,000 people showed that the ten richest countries in the world had the highest rates of depression.
The United States was second on the list, right behind France. But many believe the myth that if we have what we want, work where we want, marry who we want, and live the way we want we will be happy.
Billy Graham wrote in his autobiography that he and his wife Ruth were in a Caribbean nation where they visited one on the wealthiest men on the island.
As they lunched with this man, he began to share, I can go anywhere I want. I have a private plane, my helicopters. I have everything to make my life happy, but I am miserable.”
Later that day a pastor told Brother Graham, I do not have two dollars to rub together, but I am the happiest man alive.
What is the difference between the two people? One sought happiness through things of the flesh. The other had true joy knowing he was in relationship with Jesus.
To understand the second fruit of the Spirit, we need to realize the differences between happiness and joy.
Happiness- is about what happens to us. It is dependent on our circumstances, behaviors, and attitude.
Joy- is an inward hope of exuberance in spite of outward circumstances.
Happiness comes from the outside in, while Joy comes from the inside out.
When we focus on THINGS or PEOPLE to make us happy, we may obtain it, but it will be short lived. However, true joy is letting Jesus work through us and develop us into who He wants to be.
When we focus on THINGS or PEOPLE to make us happy, we may obtain it, but it will be short lived. However, true joy is letting Jesus work through us and develop us into who He wants to be.
Should I trust in what I have or what I do to have joy, I will be disappointed. When I trust in who I am in Christ, I can have a constant flow of joy.
The words joy, joyful, joyous, or rejoice are found over 400 times in scripture. The words happy or happiness are found twenty-nine times.
As Christians, God wants us to have joy! One might think, if that is the case, I have not done a very good job lately. How can I have joy in everything I face?
Does God want me to walk around with a fake smile, acting delirious with an emotion that seems unrealistic?
Remember, joy comes from the inside! It comes from the inner knowing of who God is in our lives and who we are in Him.
Yet they have expressed that their greatest joy is their children.
Each week as we look at a new Fruit of the Spirit, I want us to see how the fruit can operate in our lives by looking at the greatest example, Jesus.
Jesus epitomizes joy. Today we will look at how the joy of the Lord was evident in His life, but we will notice how Jesus maintained consistent joy even when His circumstances were difficult.
As God in the flesh, He was not focused on happiness, but He did display true, Godly joy. Happiness if a product of the flesh, but Joy is a Fruit of the Spirit!
Let’s look at how Joy surrounded Jesus on earth. I have three points, [Born with Joy], [Died with Joy], and [Resurrected with Joy].
Let’s begin
1. Born with Joy
1. Born with Joy
34 Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” 35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.
At the end of every year we hear the story of Jesus’ birth. We have heard it so many times we could recite it if we wanted. Imagine how they felt when it happened.
Mary, a teenager, was told by the angel Gabriel, she was going to give birth to the Savior of the World. She thought she knew what Savior meant.
She was a part of the Jewish remnant that looked to God to deliver them and restore their national prominence once again. She couldn’t figure out how this would happen.
Gabriel promised, the Holy Spirit will come upon you! Once Gabriel gave her peace, she was filled with joy. So much so she went to see her cousin Elizabeth.
Elizabeth was pregnant with John the Baptist. When Mary entered the room, John the Baptist leapt in his mothers womb, and she was filled with the Holy Spirit.
She then told Elizabeth what was to happen:
44 For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
Luke 1:3
44 For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
After nine months, Mary and Joseph went to the town of Nazareth for a census. They couldn’t find a place to stay so they ended up in a stable. There, Mary gave birth to Jesus.
At the same time some shepherds were tending their flock. Listen to what happened.
10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.
The message of the birth of Jesus was a message of joy. Why? Because through His birth, God began the process of saving humanity from the grip of sin.
The message caused the shepherds to go Bethlehem to see the baby. No doubt they rejoiced with great joy on the way there, while they were there, and as they left the baby Jesus.
Some time after Jesus’ birth, there were wise men. The Lord showed them they followed the star that led them to Jesus.
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.
Why was their such joy around the birth of Jesus. Truthfully, the circumstances do not warrant joy:
Joseph and Mary were unwed
They had to travel in the last trimester to another country
Herod wanted to kill Jesus
Joseph and Mary had to take Jesus as an infant to Egypt to avoid the plot to kill Jesus
How could they have joy with these terrible problems? Because true joy does not come from the outside, it starts on the inside.
Deep within their spirits they knew God’s promises, they were in communication with the Father, and they knew that the Lord would fulfill His purpose through the baby Jesus! He was born with Joy!
2. Died with Joy
2. Died with Joy
19 Now Jesus knew that they desired to ask Him, and He said to them, “Are you inquiring among yourselves about what I said, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’? 20 Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy. 21 A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. 22 Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you. 23 “And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. 24 Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
As I mentioned last Sunday, depicts the conversation Jesus had with His disciples the night before His death. But this point, Judas left the room to betray Jesus.
The Lord knew that in a few hours, Judas would seal his betrayal with a kiss. By the end of the next day, He would face the agony of the cross.
The disciples noticed something different in Jesus. He kept talking about the future and what would happen to them. He informed very soon:
The world will hate them
They will be kicked out of their synagogues
People will kill them thinking they did God a favor
And all of this would happen because Jesus was going to leave.
Questions filled their minds. Why will He leave and what will happen when He does? Jesus answer was simple, when He leaves, they will weep, cry, and lament, but it will be okay, for soon their sorrow will turn to JOY!
The crucifixion, which was an inhumane and gruesome way to die, would one day be a source of hope and joy for the disciples!
Questions filled their hearts and Jesus could not give all the answers at that time. But Jesus knew His death and resurrection would give humanity and opportunity to speak to the Father, pray, and ask whatever they needed.
Knowing what His death would bring, He emphasized to them very soon they would have joy. How could they have joy knowing everything around them would soon get worse?
Jesus knew their joy would not come from the outside, but from the inside when He saved them from sin and the Holy Spirit took residence!
Years after Jesus’ death, the writer of Hebrews tells us:
1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Remember my question in my introduction, how can I have joy in everything I face?
Here is the answer, LOOK AT WHAT JESUS DID! We are told that through the entire ordeal of the cross, Jesus had joy. Does that mean Jesus was happy?
NO, remember happiness is based on outside influences, but joy comes from inside.
How could Jesus have joy knowing He would be betrayed, denied, falsely accused, beaten beyond recognition, nailed to a cross with a crown of thorns on His head?
How could He have joy knowing He would eventually suffocate to death because He would not have the physical strength to push Himself up, getting splinters in His bloody back, for one more breath of air?
He had joy because deep on the inside He knew that His death would bring… the salvation of humanity!
Because true joy does not come from the outside, it starts on the inside.
The shear thought of sheer thought of being in relationship with us gave Jesus the joy to persevere the hard times. The cross was ugly, but the hope of hearing our prayers, praise, and seeing us become faithful to Him kept Him persevering with joy to fulfill His assignment.
Jesus was born with joy, He died with joy, but I saved the best for last...
3. Resurrected with Joy
3. Resurrected with Joy
36 Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, “Peace to you.” 37 But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit. 38 And He said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.” 40 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. 41 But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, “Have you any food here?” 42 So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb. 43 And He took it and ate in their presence.
The events of the resurrection of Christ started early in the morning. The stone was moved, not for Jesus to get out of the grave, but for us to see the grave was empty.
After seeing the women first, they quickly returned to tell the disciples. John and Peter got their first and found the grave was empty.
They were worried, unsure of what this meant. Sorrow still filled their heart. They were still in disbelief of this miraculous event! That evening they were huddled in a home trying to figure out what this meant.
They have heard Jesus is alive, they see His tomb is empty, but they have yet to see Him. Suddenly there He was. He spoke peace to their hearts.
He showed them His hands and His side. They began to feel a sense of joy, but they still couldn’t believe all that happened in the matter of three days.
When did it finally make sense? When did their sorrow turn to true joy, the kind that is not based on circumstances, but built on what is in our hearts?
John tells the same story, but he includes a detail Luke did not:
22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
John 21:
Perhaps Luke did not include because he was not there. But John, one of the twelve, was present. He remembered the fear, the worry, the confusion.
But he also remembered when that all disappeared. Jesus breathed on them and when the Holy Spirit came in, the sorrow was turned into joy!
I’d say Jesus’ peculiar conversation He had that previous Thursday started to make sense. Through the work of the Holy Spirit, the sorrow left, their heart rejoiced, and they had a joy no one could take away from them!
For forty days they had the joy of learning from Jesus. But it was time for Him to ascend to heaven. Interestingly enough, they were not consumed with sorrow, even though Jesus left for an undefined period of time.
Luke 24:
50 And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. 51 Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven. 52 And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53 and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen.
They watched their resurrected Christ ascend to heaven, and joy consumed them. How could they have joy now that Jesus was gone?
They understood true joy does not come from the outside, it starts on the inside.
Close:
Jesus was born with joy, He died with joy, and He was resurrected with Joy.
Some might think, well Daniel, this is great for Jesus, but I am not Jesus, how does God expect me to have this type of Joy?
13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.
15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
Hebrews 4:1
Jesus wants our lives to mirror His.
When we are saved or BORN AGAIN, there is great joy:
7 I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.
We die to the things of this earth and live this life with joy, deep down in our souls, knowing that even should death come, we have joy awaiting us in heaven!
And there will come a day when the dead and Christ rise and the rest of us ascend to meet with the Lord, talk about a day of joy and rejoicing!
How then does God expect us to have this type of Joy? Remember it is a FRUIT of the SPIRIT.
If we try to have joy solely through the flesh, we might find happiness, but we will not find true joy. However, if we will look Jesus, He will send the Holy Spirit to give a joy that no one can take away!
When we look to Jesus, we find the source of our strength. We realize that what I face right now, thought it might not make me happy, it will not steal my JOY, for I know who is on the inside, and He has given me a joy that this world cannot take away.
Something supernatural happens when we get close to God, He gives us a joy that unexplainable. I mentioned earlier joy or rejoicing is found over 400 times in scripture.
Let’s look at the testimony of those who had joy and see how it can operate in our lives!
10 Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
22 Strength dwells in his neck, And sorrow dances before him.
6 And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.
5 For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.
12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.
3 Therefore with joy you will draw water From the wells of salvation.
10 And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, And come to Zion with singing, With everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, And sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
3 To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”
18 Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
8 And there was great joy in that city.
52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
3 So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, describing the conversion of the Gentiles; and they caused great joy to all the brethren.
17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Romans
13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,
6 And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit,
9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.
8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,
13 but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.
4 And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.
24 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, 25 To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen.
Can you feel the Joy! The joy of the Lord truly is my strenght! It makes me want to clap, to sing, to shout, and to dance!
Jude 22
Am we happy with EVERYTHING in our lives right now, not necessarily, but we can have joy deep within my heart that keeps us moving forward, looking to Jesus, who will send His Spirit to give us the JOY to make it until He comes!