Fruit Of The Spirit # 2b

He wants them to wipe off their grim looks, put smiles on their faces, and let laughter flow from their lips.

As we learned in the previous sermon:

• The world can give us happiness because happiness comes from WITHOUT.

• Only God can give us JOY because joy comes from WITHIN.

When the lost world attends the house of God, they should be able to see something that the world cannot provide.

Illus: William Treadwell said, “If we can convince people that we are onto something that's full of joy, they'll stampede one another to follow us.” (William Treadwell, Leadership, Vol. 1, no. 3.)

WHY DON’T CHRISTIANS REFLECT THE JOY OF THE LORD? Some Christians are convinced that God never intended for the church to be full of joy.

No church will ever be effective in reaching the lost until they have the JOY OF THEIR SALVATION.

Illus: C.H. Spurgeon said to a young group of preachers, “There are more flies caught with honey than with vinegar, and there will be more souls led to heaven by a man who wears heaven in his face than by one who bears death in his looks."

Illus: A Princeton Seminary professor made a study of great preachers across the past centuries that have made a difference. He asked the question, "What do these outstanding pulpiteers all have in common besides their faith?"

After several years of searching he found the answer. IT WAS THEIR CHEERFULNESS.

Listen, the joy I am talking about is not generated by …

• Coming together and giving each other the high-five

• Cutting cartwheels down the aisles

IT IS SIMPLY AN INNER JOY that comes from within and is reflected in the faces of God’s People, whether they are in church or out of church.

Illus: A Hindu trader in India once asked a missionary, "What do you put on your face to make it shine?"

With surprise, the man of God answered, "I don't put anything on it!”

His questioner began to lose patience and said emphatically, "Yes, you do! All of you who believe in Jesus seem to have it. I've seen it in the towns of Agra and Surat, and even in the city of Bombay."

Suddenly the Christian understood, and his face glowed even more as he said; "Now I know what you mean, and I will tell you the secret. It's not something we put on from the outside but something that comes from within. It's the reflection of the light of God in our hearts.”

This morning we looked at some JOY BUSTERS that Satan has used to rob us of that joy, but also let’s look at-

II. SOME JOY BUILDERS

Illus: A Christian was praying aloud at the altar and he was praying, “God when I got saved I had such wonderful joy, restore unto me the joy of the Lord.”

Another man heard him praying this prayer and he prayed, “God don’t answer that prayer, because he will just let it leak out again!”

Many Christians seem to have a hole in their bucket of joy -- it keeps leaking out! God wants to build lasting joy into our lives so that we don’t have any leaks in our salvation.

God’s Word gives us ways to experience this JOY FROM WITHIN. How? We need to-

A. RECOGNIZE GOD AS JOYFUL

Many have unscriptural views of God. That is, they think of God as sitting on His throne with a frown on his face and ready to destroy anyone that crosses Him.

Illus: That reminds me of a man who says that one particular event cured him of being obnoxious in a restaurant. He had ordered a steak well done. When they brought it to him and he cut into it, it was rare. It was still bleeding.

So he waved at the waitress and said, “Come here, come here.” She came and he said, “This steak is too rare.” So she took it to be cooked some more.

When she brought it back, he cut into it again, but they had overcooked it. Again he waved for the waitress, “Come here. Look, it’s almost burned to a crisp.” So she took the steak, and brought him another one!

He started cutting it, and then waving once again for the waitress, he complained, “It’s too tough. I can’t eat it. Take it back.” So she took it back and brought him yet another one.

With the waitress standing there, he cut into that steak and it was just right. She walked away.

Then he cut into his baked potato, and it had a black spot in it. Turning to the waitress, he said, “Look at this potato. It’s a bad potato.”

Then she picked the potato up (Spanking it as she said) “Bad potato! Bad potato!” and placed it back on his plate and said “If you have any more trouble with that potato, just let me know,” and she walked off. He said that was the last time he ever complained in a restaurant.