INTRODUCTION
• SLIDE #1
• Have you ever been around a person who no matter what is going on around them, seem to be calm and peaceful?
• These people seem to have something that is special about them.
• As you look at them, you wish that you could deal with life’s problems with the same attitude.
• We run around in a panic or we get angry at every little thing that goes wrong, yet we see them not get upset about it.
• How many times have you been in the midst of a great day only to have one little thing happen that seems to steal the day from you, you go from having a wonderful day to having a terrible day in an instant.
• How would you like to be able to handle anything that comes at you without falling apart or getting upset? How would you like to have that special something that other people around you seem to have?
• As we started looking at Galatians 5:22-23, we started out with the fruit of love.
• The fruit comes as a result of the Spirit working in the life of an immersed believer.
• As we grow and mature in Christ, these gifts become more and more evident in our lives.
• Today we are going to look at the second fruit of the Spirit, joy!
• This is such a tasty fruit that once we taste it, we will never get enough of it.
SLIDE #2
Let us start off by looking at:
SERMON
I. WHAT IS THE FRUIT OF JOY?
• Have you ever gone to the store with your shopping list and walked through the fruit section and saw some fruit of which you had no idea what it was? You had to read the sign to figure out what it was.
• When you think of the word “joy” what comes to mind? What is it, and what does it look like? Do you think of watching your children or grandchildren do something that makes you proud?
• When you think of joy, do you think of good things that happen in life?
• SLIDE #3
1. Joy defined
• Joy is the inward peace that is not affected by circumstances.
• When you posses the fruit of joy in your life, circumstances do not dictate whether you have it or not.
• Look at a couple of verses of scripture with me.
• SLIDE #4
• James 1:2 ( ESV ) 2Count it all joy, my brothers,£ when you meet trials of various kinds,
• James tells us we are to consider it all joy when we face various trials.
• Does this make sense to you? How can we possibly do this?
• Since joy is not dependent on circumstances, we can possess it in the midst of trials.
• Why can we possess joy in the midst of trials?
• SLIDE #5
• James 1:3-4 ( ESV ) 3for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
• We can have joy when we face difficulties because we know the difficulties will produce some good things in our lives. We know that God will work things out for us
• We trust Him!
• Let us look at another passage.
• SLIDE #6
• Hebrews 10:34 ( ESV ) 34For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.
• The people were able to have joy because they knew something better was coming.
• Their lives were not centered on the here and now.
• Here is something for us to consider.
• SLIDE #7
2. Isn’t happiness what God wants for us?
• Do you notice something when you looked at Galatians 5:22-23, or did you see something missing?
• There is no mention of happiness.
• Many people think that God just wants them to be happy so they will avoid difficult situations or they will run from a problem in life because the problem does not make them happy.
• Happiness is a circumstance related emotion. When things are going well, we are happy.
• How many of us are happy when difficult times beset us? How many times are you happy when things are not pleasant?
• You generally cannot be happy unless the circumstances are right.
• When you root for a team, if you are a die-hard fan, you are not happy when your team loses. You are hurt and upset by the loss. You walk away from the game sad and upset and you go home and kick your dog because you are not happy.
• Too many of us put happiness over what god really wants from us.
• There is nothing wrong with being happy, but that should not be the drive our life because if it is, we will flee as soon as we are not happy.
• If you go into marriage looking to be happy, you will fail because marriage is not always happy. Marriage is wonderful, but sometimes it does get tough.
• God wants us to seek joy. We can have joy no matter what is going on in our lives because it is an inward peace that is not affected by circumstances.
• I see a lot of people who live life with no joy, they have marriages with no joy, and they allow life to defeat them, they have no joy in their salvation.
• People look for joy in the wrong places and we tend to seek happiness over joy.
• This leads us to the next questions concerning joy.
• SLIDE #8
II. WHERE IS THE JOY ORCHARD FOUND?
• If you want to possess this wonderful fruit in your life, where do you find it? Where is the orchard from which you can pick this fruit?
• Here are a couple of things to understand.
• SLIDE #9
1. It is a fruit of the Spirit.
• This statement seems obvious, but we need to understand this concept because we cannot sustain joy outside of the Holy Spirit working within us.
• It is called a fruit of the Spirit because joy is one of the by-products of having the Spirit living within us.
• The more Spirit you have controlling you, the more joy you will experience. The more you push the Spirit out of control of your life, the less joy you will experience.
• Think about it, do you really think you can experience true joy when you are in the midst of terrible circumstances on your own? Don’t you think it will take some help from the Holy Spirit who resides in you?
• SLIDE #10
2. It is found in the Lord’s orchard.
• The only place from which you will be able to pick the fruit of joy from is the Lord’s orchard.
• Look at a couple of passages with me.
• SLIDE #11
• Nehemiah 8:10 ( ESV ) 10Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”
• Nehemiah was trying to encourage the people reminding them that the joy of the Lord was their strength.
• The Lord should also be our strength.
• SLIDE #12
• Philippians 3:1 ( ESV ) 1Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.
• Too many people look for joy and happiness in by trying to focus on self.
• You will never find true joy in serving yourself, it will only be found in God.
• There is a little word picture we can paint with the word JOY. You may have heard this before.
• SLIDE #13
• J-esus O-thers Y-ou
• When we decide to get our priorities right, we will start to experience joy, joy is not centered on ourselves, it is centered on serving Jesus and then serving others.
• John MacArthur Jr. in his commentary on Galatians states: Joy is the deep-down sense of well-being that abides in the heart of the person who knows all is well between himself and the Lord. It is not an experience that comes from favorable circumstances or even a human emotion that is divinely stimulated. It is God’s gift to believers.
• When we know we have a great relationship, one that is exciting and growing with God, we will experience great joy!
• SLIDE #14
• Romans 5:2 ( ESV ) 2Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
• SLIDE #15
• 1 Peter 1:8 ( ESV ) 8Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,
• This is why we can have JOY no matter what.
• SLIDE #16
III. WHY THE FRUIT OF JOY TASTES SO GOOD!
• Have you noticed how good fruit tastes, what is it that makes joy taste so good?
• SLIDE #17
1. Joy is not dependent on circumstances.
• This is something we spoke of earlier, but we need to let this thought sink in.
• We can experience joy no matter what is happening around us.
• I want us to consider something that happened in Acts 5:41.
• The apostles had been arrested for preaching about Jesus in the streets of Jerusalem. The religious leaders were jealous because many people were following the Apostles now. They arrested them and God broke them out of jail.
• The Apostles went right back out and started preaching again.
• The council warned them not to do it again. But Peter and the others told them they would obey God, not men, so this made the Jewish leaders mad to the point of wanting to kill them.
• Instead of killing them, they had them beaten.
• SLIDE #18
• Acts 5:41 ( ESV ) 41Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.
• WOW! I do not know if I could experience joy over a beating.
• The proof of the power of joy is found in the fact that you can possess it in the midst of sadness, suffering, and affliction!
• Joy motivated Jesus to be able to endure the suffering He faced.
• SLIDE #19
• Hebrews 12:2 ( ESV ) 2looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
• Jesus KNEW the blessed result of His suffering.
• SLIDE #20
2. Joy is meant to be shared.
• Joy is a gift that is meant to be shared. There are so many people who need to experience joy in their lives, we need to share this gift with others.
• Joy is one of the fruits that will attract others to want to come to Jesus, the fruit tastes so good that others will want it for themselves.
CONCLUSION
• Are you tired of allowing circumstances to dictate how you are feeling, and how you treat other people?
• Maybe you need a fruit basket full of joy!
• If you always seem to get upset over everything, you need to start to allow God’s Spirit within you to grow the fruit of joy within you.
• A joyful person will be a happy person. A joyful person will be a loving person who is willing to put Jesus and others ahead of themselves and they will not be upset about it.
• Do you need some real joy in your life? Come to Jesus today and start tasting what you can have in Him!
