Fruit of the Spirit - Joy
Galatians 5:22-23
April 15, 2018
I need to admit I’m kind of confused. I’m not really sure what’s going to make me happy! I was thinking about a new car. But I wasn’t sure. Maybe one of these would work!!
But then again, I thought I could change my wardrobe. You know, retool myself. Change my hairstyle. Get rid of the gray, add some hair, make myself a little taller - - - well I guess I can’t have everything.
Then again, I thought we could move to some tropical paradise. And have a really cool home. You know those programs that talk about finding that second home on some Carribean Island.
Maybe if we played the lottery that would get us there, and we’d be happy!
I don’t know about you, but I really want to be happy. I think I can buy my way into happiness. Isn’t that what life is supposed to be like? Remember that old song, Don’t worry, be happy. I guess I’m dating myself, but deep down, we think this is what we want. No worries, just plain happiness!
Peggy Noonan was a speech writer for President Reagan, she wrote an article entitled, "You'd Cry Too, if It Happened to You." This is part of her article ~
We weren't put here to be happy. Somewhere in the 70's or the 60's we started expecting to be happy. And we changed our lives, left town, left families, switched jobs, if we were not. And society strained and cracked in the storm … I think we have lost the old knowledge that happiness is over rated. We've lost somehow a sense of mystery about us, our purpose, our meaning, our role. We're the first generations that have actually expected to find happiness here on earth. And our search for it has caused such unhappiness. If you believe only in the flat material world around you, if you believe this is your only chance at happiness, if that is what you believe, then you are not disappointed when the world doesn't give you a good measure of its riches — you are despairing.
We expect to be happy. You may think I’m against being happy. That’s not the point, I want to be happy, but we have an addiction to making ourselves happy because we believe we deserve to be happy. It’s owed to us.
We’re made to believe we deserve this happiness. Watch any commercial and we seem to be promised that by changing toothpaste, you’ll have whiter teeth and more people wanting to date you. Mortgage the house to take that dream vacation. Drink the right whiskey and you’ll attract those women! Get a new job, a new house, a new wardrobe, a new spouse. We live in the . . . if only . . . world.
Most of us have played this game at some point in our lives. If my life was only different, than I would be happy. And sometimes, that search leads us into some pretty dark and sinful areas.
I read a story about a man who was traveling on an airplane, and the man sitting next to him ordered a special meal. The flight attendant brought the man his specially ordered meal. A few minutes later, they began to pass out the rest of the meals. And guess what? They all received the same meal. When the man realized everyone was getting his special meal, he complained, "I ordered a special meal." The flight attendant said, "You got a special meal. Is this not the meal you ordered?" "Yes, but everybody got the same thing I did."
Have you ever been perfectly satisfied with something - - until you looked across the fence to see that someone had something just a little better? Do you really believe that a change in your own circumstances would cause you to be happier?
Well, we’re in week 2 of looking at the Fruit of the Spirit. In Galatians 5:22-23, Paul lists these character virtues ~
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Today, we are looking at the second of the 9 virtues . . . JOY! What does it mean to have joy? I believe one of satans great tools is helping us believe we’re not happy, that we’re discontent. If we were content, there wouldn’t be this constant obsession and pursuit for happiness. Look at the story of Adam and Eve . . . because it started all the way in the beginning.
Eve was made to think God was holding out on her. She thought there was more out there. She was made to feel discontent. In Genesis 3 we read ~
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.
He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” – Genesis 3:1
Do you hear that question? He was and is pretty sly. He made her think there was something better. Did God really say that!?
So, Eve thought, WOW! I can be as wise as God. This is cool. I would lack nothing. So, we end up believing the lie, just like Eve. We are discontent and believe we deserve happiness. The world owes us. God owes us. My kids, my spouse, my parents, my friends . . . everyone owes me!
So where do we find this joy! And what does it mean when we hear the word joy. Biblically, the word JOY literally means to experience God's grace or favor; to be conscious and aware of His grace.
That means we have a deeper awareness of God’s presence in our lives. Now, I really like Bridge Mix candy and hot coffee. That makes me really happy! I can sit back, eat my candy and drink my coffee and let it melt in my mouth! It’s great! BUT - - - this does not bring me any joy.
Most of us strive for joy, thinking it’s happiness. Joy comes from God! That’s the nuts and bolts of it. Happiness comes from all of those externals. That new car, the vacation, the new wardrobe, a new tool or electronic gadget, a new hairdo. Those are externals. They will make you happy for a bit. But that fades when you get the credit card bill or when someone tells you they bought the same item for less money or you get that first scratch on the car . . . that list goes on.
True joy, real joy, comes from your relationship with God. Joy cannot be manufactured. Joy comes when we experience God’s presence in our lives. It’s when we are truly and powerfully aware of His grace, mercy, power, peace, love, strength. The more we stay connected to God, the more we experience His joy.
We talked about it a long time ago. And it was really the thesis for my doctorate. It comes from what Jesus told the people in John 15. He said ~
1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.
2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
4 Abide in Me, as I abide in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me.
5 I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing. – John 15:1-5
Jesus is the vine, we are the branches. If we want to grow spiritually, if we want to experience His love, His power, His Spirit, His JOY, then we must be connected to the vine. Our branch . . . our lives, our heart, spirit, mind and body - must be connected to the source of all life - - Jesus Christ. If not, we will try to manufacture all of our joy, which we call happiness. It doesn’t work that way - - and then we’re left wanting more of what we should already have in our hearts, because if you’re in Christ, then God has already poured His love into our hearts.
We don’t equate joy and suffering in the same breath. We struggle with that. Yet, so many of you have been there and maybe are there right now. You’ve dealt with death, illness, family issues, job situations, financial struggles . . . Yet, there is a sense of joy about you. That’s what Paul is talking about. Your situations are not always going to be what you want them to be. Sometimes life seems totally unfair . . . yet, we are still called to have joy.
When you think about what Christ endured for us, consider this passage from Hebrews 12 ~
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight,
and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
2 looking 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. – Hebrews 12:1-2
Think about the end of that verse. Look at it as a whole ~
2 ... 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. – Hebrews 12:2
The joy set before Jesus as He endured the cross. Joy and the cross don’t seem to go together. If we want a greater example, we’re not going to find one. We see human examples of joy in the midst of suffering. Yet, here is Jesus about to endure the cross and there is joy!
There was nothing to be happy about, but the joy Jesus could experience was because He was about to bring salvation to those who place their hope in Him. Jesus was about to reconcile you and I with God. Our sinfulness could finally be fully forgiven. No more sacrifices and offerings.
Was Jesus all excited about going to the cross for us? NO!! He was overwhelmed to be point of blood, sweat and tears. But He followed the Father’s plan. And Jesus brought hope to a world desperately in need of hope.
It goes back to what Jesus said in John 15. He said ~
2 Every branch that does bear fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. – John 15:2
Sometimes we’re going to be pruned. If you garden, you know what that’s like. You have to cut off the flowers to promote new growth. There are times when we have grown, we’ve done well. Yet suffering comes and we don’t like it. But God tells us He will not fail us, He will not forsake us. He will be with us through the storms of life. Sometimes the pain is to cause us to grow. We don’t like to experience pain to grow. We’d like to take the easy way. That’s normal. But if we could seek God in the midst of those storms and seek to grow, we will find new fruit and growth in our lives.
There are too many joyless Christ followers. And honestly, when we go out into the world, we are demonstrating who Christ is in our lives. We’re showing He’s impotent, powerless to make a real difference in our lives. We’ve disconnected ourselves from our power source. Oh, we show up at church every week, we sing the songs, we listen to the messages, we smile when we need to . . . yet we walk away empty. It’s not the fault of the church . . . it’s the fact that we’ve tried to solve our problems on our own. We’ve pulled away from God so we can take care of our business.
Yet, as the writer of Hebrews told us ~
1 let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith,
It means put away your sinfulness, put away all that is holding you back. Put away those sins which weigh you down, and run with all you have the race called life. Endure it all and LOOK TO JESUS . . . He is the founder . . . He is the perfecter, the perfect one of your faith and mine.
He endured the cross so you can experience joy! That’s what Jesus did for you and I. Jesus’ joy was knowing that He would welcome us into heaven. He would do it scarred and bruised! Yet, He did it with joy because He was so connected to the Father.
When we go through the trials of life, we can experience and show His joy. Why? Because we too are connected to the life source . . . Jesus.
I need Jesus. You need Jesus. He’s all we’ve ever needed and He’s all we will ever need.
