Joy - A Fruit Of Companionship

Joy is a fruit of companionship with God the Holy Spirit. (Not a gift of the Holy Spirit)

Luke 2:9-12 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 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. 12 "And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger."

On that first Christmas – the good tidings of great joy were not simply that a king was born. It was that he was born for all people and then specifically “born to you.” Please let that sink in. Jesus came over 2000 years ago to have a relationship with YOU and with me. That should blow all of our minds – it is a hallmark of Christianity that God would love us enough to leave His rightful place of glory so that He could have a relationship with you! I hope that you will be able to join us or if traveling another Bible believing fellowship to celebrate the great truth of the Coming of Christ.

For today though, let’s realize that it is out of that relationship that we can experience the fruit of Joy.

Joy is listed among the fruit of the Spirit in Gal 5.

Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

24 And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

It is worth noting that joy and the other they are fruit and not “gifts”.

Fruit must be cultivated – a gift does not. Someone can be saved (receive the gift) but not experience the Joy of that salvation if it is not cultivated. The need for cultivation is seen in verse 25 – if we live in the Spirit then we are to walk in the Spirit. That is to move through our lives in the power and presence of God’s Holy Spirit. If you are walking around with someone everywhere you go, that person is likely a close friend or companion. The more you walk with them, the closer that companionship is. If we want spiritual fruit – we don’t pursue the fruit – we walk in the Spirit.

David understood the relationship between being close to the Lord and experiencing the fruit of joy. In writing Psalm 16 expressing his trust in the Lord, David closes with

Psa 16:11 You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

According to the psalmist, joy is found in the Presence of the Lord. Are you spending time in God’s presence. It is that time that we spend in prayer, the study of the word, general contemplation of the things of God, worship in song, looking for him in our daily events, meditating on his word and his person and presence. As we grow in Christ and consider him in these areas through the power of the Spirit – we are cultivating joy.

Let’s now look at three aspects of this fruit- though there are many more.

1. Joy is cultivated when centered/focused on the Lord

This is directly related to the over-arching premise that the Christian’s joy begins with a relationship with God – it is the fruit of companionship with God the Holy Spirit. In light of that relationship we must be vigilant in our focus on the Lord.

The same holds true in human relations. Imagine getting married to someone and then living your life without focusing energies on that person and relationship – that marriage is not going to last long.

Joke/Illus: It is Christmas time and we purchase presents for our spouses. I read some advice on presentsyou’re your wife. It said, don’t get her jewelry or clothing that she will forget. If you want to get something your wife will remember and remind you of year after year, buy a mop.

When we come to Christ, we must focus on the Lord and rejoice in Him.

Phil 3:1 Command to rejoice in the Lord

Phil 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always

Psa 21:1 To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. The king shall have joy in Your strength, O LORD; And in Your salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!

2. Cultivation of Joy is independent of circumstances