Opening illustration: During an earthquake some years ago, the inhabitants of a small village were generally very much alarmed, but they were at the same time surprised at the calmness and apparent joy of an old woman whom they all knew. At length one of them, addressing the old woman, said, “Mother, are you not afraid?” “No,” said the woman, “I rejoice to know that I have a God who can shake the world.”
Let us look into ‘God’s Word’ and see the purpose of this Joy that we should have through the Holy Spirit.
Introduction: In the OT, joy was an expression of excitement that was experienced with personal triumph, or celebrating a good harvest or military victory. Often feasting, the offering of sacrifices or blessings and dancing were tied with joy (Deut 12:12; 1 Sam 18:6; Ps 31:7; 96: 11; Isa. 56:7; 60:15; 61:3 ff; Joel 1:16;). In the NT, Joy comes from the Holy Spirit. It is associated with receiving or the telling of God’s redemptive love. It also is associated with the enjoyment of life such as eating, drinking, feasting and even suffering (Matt 5:11-12; Luke 12:19; Acts 7:41; Gal 5:22; 1 Peter 1:6).
Today the problem is that we’ve confused joy with happiness. Happiness is dependent on happenings. Circumstances in your life dictate whether or not you are happy. Joy, on the other hand, is a gift from God - a fruit of the Spirit that transcends whatever is happening in your life. Joy allows you to rise - even to soar - above difficult circumstances, challenges, and heartaches. Joy comes from knowing Who is in control and that He has a plan to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11) We do not draw our strength from the great feeling we get when things go right; if we did, we would be powerless when hard times and adversity hit, and we would all be easy pickings for the devil. No, it is the joy of the Lord that is our strength!
Background: This passage is figurative of all that a believer will go through before the coming of Christ. We see that Jesus knows the scriptures; He knew these pictures; they were in His mind and in His memory. And now He was saying to His disciples: “I am leaving you; but I am coming back; the day will come when my reign will begin and My Kingdom will come; but before that you will have to go through terrible things, with pain like birth-pangs upon you. But, if you faithfully endure, and go through that terrible time, the blessings will be very precious.” Then Jesus went on to outline the life of the Christian who endures.
Purpose of the ‘Joy of the Spirit’ ~
1. Sorrow will turn to JOY (v. 20):-
One of the most popular passages in the Bible is Nehemiah 8:10: "Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."
Why is joy important? Because the "joy of the Lord is your strength!" Joy produces strength. And strength is needed to fight. You are called to "fight the good fight of faith" (1 Timothy 6:12). I sense in my spirit that many people in the body of Christ are tired of fighting the good fight of faith. They are struggling to fight because they have lost their joy.
Perhaps you are tired of fighting for your marriage. You are fed up with your spouse. You think that he doesn’t love you any more, so why fight for his love. You are ready to throw in the towel. Maybe you’re sick and tired of being sick and tired. You have been sick for so long that you don’t remember what it’s like to be healthy. At one time, you battled this sickness, but the sickness seems to be winning. So you think, What’s the use, I might as well accept this sickness and learn to live with it. I’m never going to get well.
Possibly you once waged war against your financial debts. But things haven’t changed much, and you’re beginning to get discouraged. You think that you are never going to get out from under all your bills. You might be having trouble with your children. You wonder if they are ever going to straighten up. You are exhausted from their rebellion. Is God ever going to change them? you wonder.
There may be a time when it looks as if to be a Christian brings nothing but sorrow, and to be of the world brings nothing but joy. But the day comes when the roles are reversed. The world’s careless joy will turn to sorrow; and the Christian’s apparent sorrow will turn to joy. The Christian must always remember, when his faith costs him dear, that this is not the end of things that after the sorrow there comes the joy. [Light at the other end of the tunnel]
Entering into the joy of our Lord often is best realized when circumstances are the worst. Where you see prosperity in this world, it is often accompanied by spiritual famine. You seldom see a man prospering greatly in the world and spiritually as well. ISA 54:10 says, "For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, says the LORD that hath mercy on thee." The things of this life will all be removed. When circumstances are the most trying, the peace of God is the most precious. During the worst circumstances we are able to give it all into His hands.
Illustration: Author Leo Buscaglia tells this story about his mother and their "misery dinner." It was the night after his father came home and said it looked as if he would have to go into bankruptcy because his partner had absconded with their firm’s funds. His mother went out and sold some jewelry to buy food for a sumptuous feast. Other members of the family scolded her for it. But she told them that "the time for joy is now, when we need it most, not next week." Her courageous act rallied the family.
2. Two precious things about this Christian JOY (vs. 22 & 24):-
(a) It will never be taken away ~ It will be independent of the chances and the changes of the world. It will be untouchable by any of the activities and assaults of men. It is the simple fact that in every generation people who were suffering terribly have spoken of sweet times with Christ. The joy the world gives is at the mercy of the world. The joy which Christ gives is independent of anything the world can do. It does not depend on what the world gives and takes away, because it is dependent only on the presence of Christ, and it is grounded only in God.
(b) It will be full (complete) ~ It is characteristic of life that in life’s greatest joy there is always some element of incompleteness. There is always something lacking. It may be that somehow there lingers in it some regret; that there is the feeling that there may be a cloud no bigger than a man’s hand to mar it; that the memory that it cannot last is always at the back of our minds. In the Christian joy, the joy of the presence of Christ and of the life lived with Him, there is no alloy, no tinge of imperfection. It is perfect and complete.
3. Christian JOY ~ the pain that went before is forgotten (v. 22):-
The mother forgets the pain in the wonder of the child. The martyr forgets the agony in the glory of heaven. If a man’s fidelity costs him much, he will forget the cost in the joy of being for ever with Christ, and in the simple joy of having proved himself. The joy of the world at their not seeing Him seems to show that His removal from them by death was what He meant; and in that case, their joy at again seeing Him points to their transport at His reappearance amongst them on His Resurrection, when they could no longer doubt His identity. At the same time the sorrow of the widowed Church in the absence of her Lord in the heavens, and her transport at His personal return, are certainly here expressed.
Philippians 4:4 says, "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" How often are you to rejoice? You know the answer, Always! You are to rejoice always, because "joy" is the easiest fruit to lose. You can’t live off of the joy you had yesterday. Joy can give you strength only when you possess it.
If you had joy last week, that joy will not give you strength today. Joy can only give you strength today, if you have it today. This is why you must rejoice always. You might say, "I don’t feel like rejoicing." God didn’t say, "Rejoice, only if you feel like it." No! He said, "Rejoice always." Obviously, God knows that you don’t feel like rejoicing always. Yet you need to rejoice always because if you don’t then you lose the strength to fight.
James 1:2 says, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds." Pure joy is not happiness. "Happiness" comes from the word "happen." Happiness, therefore, is based on what is happening. If something good is happening, then you are happy. However, God says that pure joy occurs even in the midst of trials - even when the car breaks down, or when the kids get sick, or when the boss cuts your hours, or when your spouse is in a bad mood, etc.
Why is James telling us to count it pure joy whenever we face trials? Because joy gives you strength to fight your trials, and if you’ll fight the trials, you will overcome. James continues, "Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything" (v. 4). You see, James has in mind "victory over trials", not "acceptance of his trials." So by rejoicing, you overcome your trials.
Illustration: Tony Campolo tells a story about being in a church in Oregon where he was asked to pray for a man who had cancer. Campolo prayed boldly for the man’s healing. That next week he got a telephone call from the man’s wife. She said, "You prayed for my husband. He had cancer." Campolo thought when he heard her use the past tense verb that his cancer had been eradicated! But before he could think much about it she said, "He died." Compolo felt terrible. But she continued, "Don’t feel bad. When he came into that church that Sunday he was filled with anger. He knew he was going to be dead in a short period of time, and he hated God. He was 58 years old, and he wanted to see his children and grandchildren grow up. He was angry that this all-powerful God didn’t take away his sickness and heal him. He would lie in bed and curse God. The more his anger grew towards God, the more miserable he was to everybody around him. It was an awful thing to be in his presence. But the lady told Campolo, "After you prayed for him, a peace had come over him and a joy had come into him. Tony, the last three days have been the best days of our lives. We’ve sung. We’ve laughed. We’ve read Scripture. We prayed. Oh, they’ve been wonderful days. And I called to thank you for laying your hands on him and praying for healing." And then she said something incredibly profound. She said, "He wasn’t cured, but he was healed."
4. New relationship with God (v. 23):-
When we really and truly know God we are able to go to Him and ask Him for anything. We know that the door is open; we know that His name is Father; we know that His heart is love. We are like children who never doubt that their Father delights to see them, and that they can talk to Him as they wish. In that relationship Jesus says we will ask for anything. But let us think of it in human terms – the only terms we have and can comprehend. When a child loves and trusts his Father, he knows quite well that sometimes his Father will say NO because his Father’s knowledge and his Father’s love know best. We can become so intimate with God that we can take everything with us to Him, but always we end by saying: “Thy will be done.”
Joy helps us see that life and purpose is all about who God is, and not who I am (Psalm 15; 101; 2 Thess. 1:12; Titus 2:13; 2 Peter 1:1). Joy is indispensable for sharing love, it is being confident in our faith. It is not just what you know; it is Who you know. He is Christ. Your love of Jesus is the picture other people need to see so they can better see Him (Joshua 1:8-9; 2 Cor. 1:24)! When we know we have the Good News, we will know Jesus, not just as a Savior, but as LORD (Luke 6:46)! He is to be all things to us. Is He Lord of your life, too? Joy helps us understand God’s perspective and gives us the confidence and patience to endure anything! This realization impacts and fuels us to endure the toughness of life and to proclaim Jesus to others. Because we are confident in His power and impact, we will live in Him and show Christ to others. I know that in my life, my effectiveness is directly correlated to my walk and my prayer life. How much I trust and obey becomes the power that helps me get though life when it seems dark and foreboding and Joy will help you too.
5. New relationship is only possible through Christ (v. 24):-
It exists in His name. It is because of who Jesus is and what Jesus did that our joy is indestructible and perfect, that our knowledge is complete, that the new way to the heart of God is open to us. All that we have ~ joy of eternal life, came to us through Jesus Christ. It is in His name that we ask and receive, that we approach and are welcomed.
The key is for us to look to Christ, not to our situation, and declare our circumstances as joy. We are to be content and satisfied, to face them, and then learn and grow from them. This does not mean to give up and do nothing; it means to refocus our energies into productivity and faith - not questions and bitterness. It is to have our convictions and fulfillment in Christ, not circumstances. So, when something very difficult comes upon us, we will have the great comfort that God is in control and will not allow us to carry more than we can tolerate. Our joy and purpose in life is Christ, and our relationship in Him! Will you allow yourself to become less, and Him to become more (John 3:30)? If not, what is in the way?
Illustration: Joseph Stowell tells of having dinner with Billy Graham at a dinner for the staff and board of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Billy was eighty at the time and Dr. Stowell asked him a question: “Of all your experiences in ministry, what have you enjoyed most?” “Was it you time spent with presidents and heads of state? Or was it….” Before he could finish his next sentence Billy Graham responded: “None of that, by far the greatest joy of my life has been my fellowship with Jesus. Hearing Him speak to me, having Him guide me, sensing His presence with me and His power through me. This has been the highest pleasure of my life!”
Conclusion: You may be tormented with fear, worry and depression. However, you can draw the water called "sound mind" - through joy! Don’t get down. Don’t get discouraged. The devil may be able to attack you (after all, he is the god of this age) but he has no power to steal your joy. Joy is a spiritual force inside your human spirit. Satan can touch your body, finances and family as the book of Job teaches, but he can’t touch your spirit. Your spirit is off limits to the devil. And since he can’t touch your spirit, he can’t rob you of your joy. Because Joy is from the ‘Fruit of the Spirit.’ Satan can not steal your joy since it is spiritual. If you lost your joy it is because you gave it away. However, if you will keep your joy, Satan has to release your blessings.
When my flesh rears its ugly head and the temptation to somehow or other put creation above the Creator leads me to feel weak, wondering how I can possibly muster up the strength to be a “good Christian,” what I need to remember is that strength doesn’t come from inside me, it comes from the joy I have in the Lord. How cool is that? When I need strength, I can rely on the joy the Spirit produces in me. When my affections are all focused on God, temptation seems to lose its power.
