In a few weeks gardeners here in central Alberta will head out into their backyards and community gardens to prepare the soil for this year’s planting. If you’re one of these gardeners, will any of you plant pineapple? That sounds ridiculous doesn’t it? Pineapples grow in places like hot Hawaii not arctic Alberta. And yet according to one gardening website, the pineapple is a fruit that can grow well just about anywhere because it does well indoors in tubs and pots. Pineapples are incredibly low-maintenance as they need little water and soil and can grow in full sun or partial shade. What’s more, pineapple plants multiply quickly, which means you can grow a lot of fruit with minimal effort. Intrigued? Simply place the top of a store-bought pineapple in a hole you’ve made in a pot of soil. Arrange the soil to support the top. Water it and the rest will take care of itself, or so this website promises.
Just as pineapple can grow well anywhere, so can joy, the fruit of the Spirit we want to consider today in our continuing sermon series: Fruit That Is Always In Season. But doesn’t it seem impossible that you can have joy no matter what the climate of your life? Can you be joyful when you’re struggling to make ends meet? Can you be joyful when you’re separated from loved ones, or having problems at school? Yes, even in situations like those you can be joyful because joy is something the Holy Spirit produces—not something you yourself have to conjure like a $20 bill you dig out of your purse to pay for a movie ticket.
Listen to our text from Hebrews 12:2, 3. “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” (Hebrews 12:2, 3).
Let’s get one thing straight. Joy is not the same as happiness. One devotional writer observed that ? is circumstantial. It winks on and off like a fire-fly’s backside. Hitting green lights all the way to work makes us happy. Getting rear-ended in the parking lot makes us unhappy. A compliment from a teacher makes us happy. Being criticized by friends makes us unhappy. Happiness hangs out at backyard BBQ’s and waterparks. But it’s an infrequent guest at funerals and in ER waiting rooms. (Sarah Habben)
Joy is different. Joy isn’t a feeling. It’s more of a knowing. What did the author of our text say? “For the joy set before him [Jesus] endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2). Jesus’ joy came from knowing he was about to make peace between sinful humanity and our holy God. Did he feel happy when he anticipated the agony of the cross, abandonment by his Father, the weight of our sins, and death? No—he was overwhelmed with sorrow! He was so sorrowful that he sweat drops of blood in Gethsemane when he thought about what lay before him. But even in sorrow he knew the joy of doing his Father’s will: presenting the world with the forgiveness we could never earn. (Sarah Habben) By allowing himself to be mounted on the cross, the Son of God turned that instrument of torture into a giant sewing needle, and with the red thread of his blood he mended the tear that our sins had caused between heaven and earth.
The pain of the cross brought Jesus joy because it was pain with a purpose, like the pain of childbirth. And it’s also here at the cross that we find the source of our joy. For if we can find God on the gallows, then we can find him everywhere—even where everything is painful and makes no sense. (Paul Wendland) They say you can see God’s hand in creation. And that’s true. Soon our gardens and our trees will be budding with beautiful blossoms. Warm sunshine will fill the air and the long evenings will call to us to come outside and to behold God’s beauty. But if you want to see God’s heart, then you need to go to the cross. (Paul Wendland) For there you not only see his love for sinners, you see his absolute dedication to us sinners. For if God gave up his Son so that you and I have eternal life, he will also give us everything else we need until we’re enjoying the glories of heaven. The Apostle Paul put it like this in Romans 8. “If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?”
That changes the way I look at my troubles. The pain I feel isn’t evidence of God’s abandonment. It’s a reminder that I’m not in heaven yet…but with Jesus I am going there! And that’s a reason for joy. So our struggles are not just something to be endured, we can rejoice in them because God uses them to refine our faith. When we have this proper perspective we can find joy no matter the situation. So no, we don’t like having to deal with physical weaknesses, but God gives them because they help us from being conceited. We don’t like just barely making it financially, but that reality helps us focus on God’s promises to continue to provide. We don’t like being thrust in situations where we don’t know the outcomes, but this forces us to trust God’s promises that he has the future in hand, and that future looks eternally bright for you and me who are in Christ Jesus.
Try this when troubles and pain come your way and you wonder where the joy is. “Baptize” those troubles. What do I mean by that? Well through baptism you were adopted into God’s family and given a new name. You’re no longer despised, but loved. You’re no longer defined by the labels the world might give like depressing, loner, addict, pathetic; you’re a child of God. Through baptism we have been changed. Baptism also changes how we see our burdens. We see them not as overwhelming killjoys, but challenges through which God wants to reveal his love more thoroughly—like how you turn down the lights so you can better see the movie on the projector screen.
But many Christians are living without much joy in their life. Why is that? We lose joy when we focus on our problems rather than on God’s power. But what did our text encourage? It encouraged us to fix our eyes on Jesus. To fix your eyes on Jesus means to give him more than a passing glance. Isn’t that what you do when you want a new gadget like a tablet? You fix your eyes on it, seeking the best deal. Then after you’ve made your purchase you read the user manual from cover to cover. No? You don’t do that? Well you’re probably not enjoying the full potential of your new toy then. Likewise if we only ever throw glances at Jesus and his Word, we will never fully enjoy all the blessings he has in store for us. And as a result we will lose joy.
Another thing that kills joy is selfishness. Think of the older son in the Parable of the Prodigal Son. He wasn’t overjoyed to see his younger brother return. In his conversation with his father, it became clear that he had never really found joy in working for his father. He had only stuck around hoping he would get something for his troubles. Likewise if I clean the house and take the dog for a walk hoping that someone will thank me for it, I’m going to be disappointed when they don’t thank me and I won’t find joy in those tasks.
But look at Jesus. Why did he find joy in dying on the cross? Not because of what it would do for him, but because of what it would do for us: give us heaven. We too then will find joy when we do things to serve others. But what if people don’t notice and thank us for what we have done? That kind of sucks the joy out of serving doesn’t it? It will, if you’re serving to get thanks instead of to give thanks. And that’s why we want to fix our eyes on Jesus who scorned the shame of the cross, who let himself be hung out to dry (for that is what crucifixion really was) so that we would be gathered into God’s arms and into his family.
You know, I am curious to see if it really is that easy to grow a pineapple, even here in Alberta. Those of you who have a green thumb may be able to do it, but I’m not sure I’d succeed. Thankfully none of us has to feel that way about the fruit of the Spirit, joy. Because no matter what the climate of your life, the Holy Spirit can and will produce joy when he turns your gaze to Jesus.
I know he can do this because he did it for the Apostle Paul. Just read Paul’s letter to the Philippians and count how many times he expresses joy. Then be amazed that he wrote that letter while in prison, not while on a Carnival Cruise! You too may feel imprisoned by your circumstances, but look to the cross. See God’s heart for you there and you will find joy which you can then display to the rest of the world.
Let me close by reading our text again with a different translation. “Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God” (Hebrews 12:2, 3 Message Translation).
Like Jesus, you too can put up with anything and have joy as you do it because you’ve also been promised a place of honor alongside of God in heaven, thanks to Jesus. Amen.
SERMON NOTES
How is joy different from happiness? List at least two ways.
Explain: By allowing himself to be mounted on the cross, the Son of God turned that instrument of torture into a giant sewing needle.
Explain: If we can find God on the gallows, then we can find him everywhere—even where everything is painful and makes no sense.
A believer can “baptize” his troubles to handle them better. What does that mean?
We lose our joy when we don’t fix our eyes on Jesus. What will you do THIS week to better fix your eyes on Jesus?
How does selfishness kill joy?
What’s one thought from today’s sermon that you can share with a friend?
