Joy is a fruit of companionship with God the Holy Spirit. (Not a gift of the Holy Spirit)
Luke 2:9-12 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10 Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 "For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 "And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger."
On that first Christmas – the good tidings of great joy were not simply that a king was born. It was that he was born for all people and then specifically “born to you.” Please let that sink in. Jesus came over 2000 years ago to have a relationship with YOU and with me. That should blow all of our minds – it is a hallmark of Christianity that God would love us enough to leave His rightful place of glory so that He could have a relationship with you! I hope that you will be able to join us or if traveling another Bible believing fellowship to celebrate the great truth of the Coming of Christ.
For today though, let’s realize that it is out of that relationship that we can experience the fruit of Joy.
Joy is listed among the fruit of the Spirit in Gal 5.
Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
24 And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
It is worth noting that joy and the other they are fruit and not “gifts”.
Fruit must be cultivated – a gift does not. Someone can be saved (receive the gift) but not experience the Joy of that salvation if it is not cultivated. The need for cultivation is seen in verse 25 – if we live in the Spirit then we are to walk in the Spirit. That is to move through our lives in the power and presence of God’s Holy Spirit. If you are walking around with someone everywhere you go, that person is likely a close friend or companion. The more you walk with them, the closer that companionship is. If we want spiritual fruit – we don’t pursue the fruit – we walk in the Spirit.
David understood the relationship between being close to the Lord and experiencing the fruit of joy. In writing Psalm 16 expressing his trust in the Lord, David closes with
Psa 16:11 You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
According to the psalmist, joy is found in the Presence of the Lord. Are you spending time in God’s presence. It is that time that we spend in prayer, the study of the word, general contemplation of the things of God, worship in song, looking for him in our daily events, meditating on his word and his person and presence. As we grow in Christ and consider him in these areas through the power of the Spirit – we are cultivating joy.
Let’s now look at three aspects of this fruit- though there are many more.
1. Joy is cultivated when centered/focused on the Lord
This is directly related to the over-arching premise that the Christian’s joy begins with a relationship with God – it is the fruit of companionship with God the Holy Spirit. In light of that relationship we must be vigilant in our focus on the Lord.
The same holds true in human relations. Imagine getting married to someone and then living your life without focusing energies on that person and relationship – that marriage is not going to last long.
Joke/Illus: It is Christmas time and we purchase presents for our spouses. I read some advice on presentsyou’re your wife. It said, don’t get her jewelry or clothing that she will forget. If you want to get something your wife will remember and remind you of year after year, buy a mop.
When we come to Christ, we must focus on the Lord and rejoice in Him.
Phil 3:1 Command to rejoice in the Lord
Phil 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always
Psa 21:1 To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. The king shall have joy in Your strength, O LORD; And in Your salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!
2. Cultivation of Joy is independent of circumstances
This is probably the most challenging aspect of the fruit of Joy. Like the farmer who still takes care of the crop during a drought, we must cultivate joy even when the circumstances make that difficult.
Often joy and happiness are used almost synonymously. Yet I think that we know there are subtle differences. Happiness is often an outgrowth of positive circumstances. We can be “happy” to get a new job. It is more difficult to be “happy” if we are fired from a job or if we lose a job through a variety of challenging circumstances. We can still experience the Joy of the Lord – in his presence though as we seek His face. We may not know why we face this trial, but the presence of God brings joy in the midst of everything. That is not to say that Joy is not difficult when times are tough – but joy as a fruit of the spirit is not dependent upon those circumstances but upon companionship with our God who loves us and came to earth for us.
You may remember the 2006 book and film starring Will Smith, “The Pursuit of Happyness”. The film relays the true story of Chris Garner, a homeless salesman who invests all of his money in the sale of portable bone scanners. It takes longer than expected to sell the scanners he purchased in due to financial stress, his wife leaves and Garner finds himself homeless with his 5 year old son. He ultimately succeeds in an internship and becomes a paid stock broker. The heartfelt story is well done but the title says a lot about US rights of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”. Garner’s happiness is dependent upon his ability to get out of his impoverished circumstances. He not only gets out, but becomes the owner of a multi-million dollar brokerage. I think most of us would agree that it is tough to be “happy” in those kinds of circumstances but that is not the same as God’s call to bear the fruit of Joy which is not dependent upon circumstances. We can still be joyful. In spite of circumstances we are not happy enduring. In Acts 13, Paul and his companions are persecuted for the sake of the Gospel in Pisidian Antioch.
Acts 13:49-52 49 And the word of the Lord was being spread throughout all the region. 50 But the Jews stirred up the devout and prominent women and the chief men of the city, raised up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region. 51 But they shook off the dust from their feet against them, and came to Iconium. 52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
David acknowledges that Joy is tough when circumstances are difficult. In Psalm 30 we have a Psalm at the dedication of the house of David. His circumstances are changing from having been chased by Saul and living on the run to now he has a house. In this dedication he writes:
Psalm 30:3-5 3 O LORD, You brought my soul up from the grave; You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. 4 Sing praise to the LORD, You saints of His, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name. 5 For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.
In what may seem like a claim that prosperity produces joy, David takes the time in this dedication to remind us that in trusting the Lord, we must live in hope of the joy yet to come – the joy comes in the morning.
In 2 Cor 7:4 Paul expresses great joy in the midst of tribulation because of the encouragement and support of the Corinthian church.
2 Cor 7:4-7 Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my boasting on your behalf. I am filled with comfort. I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation. 5 For indeed, when we came to Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were troubled on every side. Outside were conflicts, inside were fears. 6 Nevertheless God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, 7 and not only by his coming, but also by the consolation with which he was comforted in you, when he told us of your earnest desire, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced even more.
Paul is not happy about his circumstances. He admits to external conflicts and internal fears – I think we can all relate to those. If you are having conflicts and fears, remember the God who as Paul says, “comforts the downcast”. The Corinthians were able to help him and Paul was able to be joyful in all of his tribulations through their work, but his credit ultimately rests with God. Remember in John 15, Jesus said that it was for THEIR Advantage that he goes away that He might send who, “the counselor/helper/comforter – that is the Holy Spirit. As we cultivate the fruit of Joy in our lives, we must take our eyes off of the circumstances to see the Hand of God moving in the lives of others to come to our aid even as Paul did with the Corinthian Church.
3. Joy flourishes in the works of God
When we cultivate something, we love to see it grow and flourish. We had a friend stay with us after he sold his house and his wife moved to Florida in anticipation of his pending retirement. While there he had a plant that he left behind – a dieffenbachia. I am not a plant guy, but I decided to try and help this thing. It had two small leaves and a rather ugly, stringy stem. I bought some indoor plant food, transplanted it to a larger pot and began to water it. It has now been a year and the plant is doing great! I love to see it flourishing.
We often have involvement in the ministry – but Joy can not just survive, but can flourish when we take joy in what God is doing.
a. Look at the attitude of John the Baptist at the ministry of Jesus
John 3:29 – John the Baptists Joy in Jesus ministry
b. In what is often called the Epistile of joy, Paul likewise rejoiced in God’s ministry among the Philipians:
1:3-4 Paul’s prayers are with joy – because of their partnership in the Gospel.
1:18 Paul rejoices that the Gospel is preached as an outgrowth of His imprisonment – even if from false motives by some.
2:1 Paul’s joy in the loving unity of believers
c. Perhaps the greatest joy in the works of God is in Jesus Christ Himself. Look at Hebrews 12:2
Heb 12:2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
We are celebrating Christmas and when we look at His ministry, we see that Jesus came both to have a relationship with us and also with an eye on the Cross – to die for our sins and he did that with Joy. His Joy in the Father’s works was a motivation for His service and ultimate sacrifice for you and me.
Is there some ministry that may be difficult that God is calling you to do – look not at the difficulty but the joy of the service.
Perhaps it is reaching out to co-workers with the message of Christ
Perhaps it is seeing other serve and get accolades that perhaps you thought you deserved
Perhaps it is your service to the Lord that seem unrecognized by others.
Look at how God is working in those who we love and who may not know the Lord – pray and rejoice as God works – even though it may be painful and difficult.
If we want joy to flourish in our lives it:
1. Begins with a relationship with God Himself – it comes as a fruit of Companionship with the Holy Spirit. From that basis we know we can
a. Cultivate fruit of joy by focusing on the Lord
b. Cultivation of joy is independent of circumstances
c. Joy flourishes in the works of God
Today we want to celebrate and express our Joy in the work of God through the celebration of Communion….
BENEDICTION: Rom 15:13 13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
