"JOY" A FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT
10And Nehemiah£ continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be grieved or depressed (sad), for the joy of the LORD is your strength!” (Nehemiah 8:10
A. That is one of the reasons that Satan tries so hard to steal our joy as Christians.
B. It is why so many of us struggle with Christian depression and anxiety disorders.
God has given us His joy to be our strength.
A. In the Greek, the original word they used for strength in that verse meant defense, force,
fortress, strength, stronghold, and rock!
1. Christian joy is supposed to be all of those things for me on a daily basis.
B. If Satan can get me to live a life without joy, it will inevitably be a life without the power to fight
the good fight of faith.
C. The other key part that I’m seeing here is that true joy comes from the Lord. It says that the
joy of the Lord is my strength.
D. Any joy that I try to create within myself is always going to be fleeting.
E. I need to depend on my Heavenly Father to be my source of joy.
1. This means I don’t have to beat myself up for not having joy.
2. I need to stop and turn my eyes to God, seek His face, and receive a fresh infilling of His
Holy Spirit and His joy.
F. This also emphasizes the importance of joy.
1. Of all things, Christian joy is what God says is my strength.
2. When I am denying myself the opportunity to enjoy my life, I am actually disarming myself
against the enemy’s attacks.
3. I am robbing myself of my ability to fight back by draining my “strength reserves.”
Of course, life can not be all fun and games, but there is definitely a such thing as balance!
Questions it brought to my mind…
1. Why, of all things, does the Bible say joy is our strength?
2. How exactly does “JOY” strengthen us?
3. How can I safeguard myself to make sure I do not fall back into the trap of denying myself
any joy and being totally out of balance?
Galatians 5:22-25 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
INTRODUCTION:
What does "Fruit of the Spirit mean?"
Do you ever wonder about the "Fruits of the Spirit" and their meaning?
There is a lot of wonderful teachings in these various blessings of the Spirit. When we accept Jesus as our Savior, the "Holy Spirit" begins the work of changing our sin led lives into "God led" lives. We are transformed by the renewing of our minds. Salvation is for anyone who shall call upon the name of the Lord Jesus (John 3:16).
Jesus said to Nicodemus, "Be born again!"
A. It doesn't matter what special church you go to or what rituals you perform, Jesus said this
and it is from the Holy Bible.
B. If you are born again, you will see Heaven because you believe. The Holy Spirit comes to you
and starts leading you down the path of righteousness.
C. The Holy Spirit brings about a change in people with their Ambitions, Attitudes, Actions,
Affections and Emotions.
D. Every area of our lives begin to change when we "sincerely" follow the Lord.
Let's Consider one of the Fruits of the Spirit, "Joy" as we pray for Godly wisdom and knowledge. Richly leading of our lives into a deeper spiritual growth.
I. "GAL. 5:22 BUT THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT IS..."JOY." GOD DESIRES US TO WALK IN JOY NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS!
A. God desires us to have JOY in our lives even when circumstances become like "Job" in the
Bible full of Sorrow.
1. Job was a prosperous farmer living in Uz
a. He raised camels, sheep and other livestock
b. He had many servants in the home as well as herdsmen
c. His family consisted of a number of child
2. Satan was allowed by God to come in and destroy Job as
a testing of his faithfulness.
a. Job lost his possessions that made him
rich.
b. Job lost his servants because the work was
gone.
c. Job lost his children
1. Children were inheritance to the
future.
2. Among the Jewish people, children
were an asset that made you rich.
d. Job lost his health which removed him from his ability to work.
3. Why was Job tested?
a. Job was tested and lost material possessions yet he still trusted
the Lord.
b. Job was tested when his body developed painful boils and sores.
c. Job was tested when his wife told him that he would have relief
if he cursed God and died.
d. Job was tested when his friends told him to confess his sins when
he was innocent.
4. Job had a solid foundation of faith to keep the JOY in him.
a. Job built his life on trusting the Lord no matter what happened.
b. Job knew that he could rebuild his life with the Lord's help.
c. Job knew that his real and lasting joy would come from the Lord.
d. Job prayed for his friends and the Lord restored his life to full joy
and blessings.
B. When times are hard we still can have JOY. Psalms 30:5 “For his anger endureth but a
moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
“
1. Suffering and trials like Paul and Silas. Acts 16:24-25 Who, having received such a charge,
thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. And at midnight
Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.
a. They sang praises to the Lord because the were happy in spite of their circumstances.
b. They trusted the Lord to take care of them and to help them get through the trials.
c. Because they trusted the Lord the soul of The Jailer and his family were saved.
d. Sickness like Job or Paul with the thorn in the flesh didn't stop their JOY (Cor. II 12:9-10
(RSV) 9but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect
in weakness.” I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of
Christ may rest upon me. 10For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with
weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities; for when I am weak,
then I am strong.
a. They knew that God had a plan for their lives.
b. They knew that people who are born again will suffer along
with the sinners.
c. They walked confident trusting in the Lord.
II..GOD DESIRES US TO HAVE JOY BUT CAN WE LOOSE IT FROM OUR
LIVES? "GALATIONS 5:22 BUT THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT IS... "JOY."
A. Our "JOY" can be lost by our own sinful values and lack of spiritual walk.
1. Sin of Selfishness. Thinking me, me, me and not looking at others through the eyes of
Jesus with love and compassion.
2. Sinful Spiritual Pride can make us loose our joy. Instead of helping people with an attitude
of humbleness, one can become conceited and arrogant making the other person feel
unimportant and hurt.
3. Sin of Anger and having a fighting spirit can take away joy from one's heart and life.
4. Sin of Judging and being critical of others takes away joy and peace of mind.
Fault finding can create a feeling of Dissatisfaction in one's life. It will destroy joy!
B. Our "JOY" can be lost by not making an effort to spiritually grow.
1. By not reading and studying the Bible will take our joy away.
2. By not taking everything to God in prayer can take our joy away.
3..By not looking at others through the loving eyes of Jesus with love and compassion.
4..By not following and trusting the Lord to help get one through life. In other words leaning upon
one's own power and understanding instead of God's.
III..GOD GAVE US A WONDERFUL REASON TO HAVE JOY IN OUR LIVES
NO MATTER WHAT TRIALS FACE
"GALATIONS 5:22 BUT THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT IS..."JOY."
A. The glorious birth of Jesus brought joy to the world. The Bible even speaks of this joy in:
Luke 10-11 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of
great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David
a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.
B. The precious life of Jesus brought joy as He healed the sick, and made the spiritually blind
to see that they can have Salvation by having faith in Him.
C. The blessed sacrifice that Jesus made for us by dying on the cross for our sins. This brought
believers eternal and everlasting joy to our lives.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
D. The resurrection of Jesus alive again brought us joy. He proved by that special miracle act He
truly is the Son of God.
John 14:19-21 19“A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me.
Because I live, you will live also.
20At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.
21He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves
Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”
"GALATIONS 5:22 BUT THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT IS..."JOY."
E. We can have real joy in knowing that He loves us and is coming back for us.
F. No matter what problems that we have throughout our day, we can have real joy in the comfort
of His love. What is the foundation that are you letting yourself be built up with?
Jesus or the trials and problems of this world?
G. Are you putting your whole body and soul (mind, will and emotions) into serving the Lord?
Is true Spiritual " JOY", a part of your everyday life?
Yes? No? If it is not, it can be.
H. What happens when a forest mighty trees burns down? It starts the regrowth process
doesn't it?
IV.. GRIEF AND SADNESS IS ONLY FOR A SEASON WHEN YOU PUT YOUR LIFE INTO
PROPER PERSPECTVE.
A. If we allow it, the seeds of tears can grow into new spiritual growth.
B. Our tragedies of life can become a learning experience if we patiently wait upon the Lord to
help us fly again.
Psalms 126:5-6 5Those who sow in tears Shall reap in joy. 6He who continually goes forth weeping, Bearing seed for sowing, Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, Bringing his sheaves with him
Think of it this way, "If you start your day praising the Lord and end it praising
the Lord then you have had a good day. There may have been problems and
heartache. You may have even cried but if you end the day always remembering
to praise the Lord, than you had a good day.
"That's Real Joy!"—And REMEMBER, “The Joy of the Lord is my strength!”
C. "The ability to stand and cope with the problems of life, depends upon the spiritual foundation
a person has learned to develop. Following Jesus' teachings throughout one's lifetime helps
builds a solid foundation to have real JOY!"
LET'S PRAY THANKING THE LORD FOR WHAT HE HAS TAUGHT US THIS DAY ABOUT ONE OF THE "FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT,....." JOY."
KJV BIBLE VERSES
Create in me a clean heart, O God;
and renew a right spirit within me.
IN JESUS' WONDERFUL NAME I PRAY, LORD HELP ME TO HEAR Your "JOY AND GLADNESS" IN MY HEART!
