JOY 4

Hello Everyone,

The third thing that we want to look at that contributes to this fruit of joy is:

CHRISTIANS HAVE JOY BECAUSE OF THEIR PERSPECTIVE ON ETERNITY.

This life is not all there is. We are called to look ahead.

Joy is tied to hope, and hope always relates to the future.

Paul CHALLENGES Christians in Rome to be "rejoicing in hope" (Romans 12:12). The believer should look forward.

Jesus did this. The writer to the Hebrews encourages Christians to run the race, "fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:2).

This calculated, Christ-like perspective is critical.

It brings into focus and into feeling what is to be experienced in eternity.

This perspective brings with it the joy you will need to get you through the dark tunnels and death valleys of life.

One Writer said it this way:

“In a sense, we borrow from the beyond, the life to come in heaven, and radiate in earthly life the joy of Jesus who is physically with God the Father but spiritually present within us”.

Jesus said to His disciples, "Lo, I am with you always" (Matthew 28:20).

Stephen demonstrated such joy when he was stoned to death, we read about it in Acts 7:54–60. Stephen had an eternal perspective.

He felt the gnashing teeth and the pain caused by the stones, but he also experienced something else:

"Being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God" (verse 55).

The New Testament church had plenty of problems, yet the people were joyous believers.

When everything around us in this world today seems to be falling apart, Christians can grow in joy.

We know God is in control.

He knows the number of hairs on our heads.

He cares for each sparrow and for every human soul.

He is guiding our future.

What a joyous assurance we have. The words of the song say it best, "Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine. O what a foretaste of glory divine." The best is yet to come for the believer.

In 2 Corinthians 4:17,18, Paul says, "For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal."

Three things make the JOY of a Believer’s life unique:

(1) Our place in Christ;

(2) Our purpose in life; and

(3) Our perspective of eternity.

You can grow in what you know and how you feel in these three areas.

Joy is "feeling what you know."

The words of the chorus are true, "The joy of the Lord is my strength."

Thank God for this joy!

Let us go, glow, and grow in this fruit of the Spirit!

Greater Things Are Still To Come!              

JOY 3

Hello Everyone,

The second thing that contributes to this fruit of joy is:

 CHRISTIANS HAVE JOY BECAUSE OF THEIR PURPOSE IN LIFE.

God has not created people without a purpose.

We can know His plan and grow in our understanding of the meaning of the purpose He has for every one of us.

When we align our wills with the will of God, He gives us His joy.

The gospel of John emphasizes a "fullness of joy."

In chapter 15 we see that fruit-bearing involves abiding in Christ, keeping His commandments, and continuing in His love.

Jesus states the purpose of this teaching in verse 11:

“These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.

In chapter 16 Jesus encourages the disciples to pray in His name, and He promises they will receive, "that your joy may be made full" (verse 24).

In Romans 15:13 Paul prays, "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."

Joy does not stand alone. In this verse it is linked with believing, hope, and peace.

A believer’s purpose in life includes many qualities. But our focus today is mainly on joy.

Even in pain and suffering, Paul knew that a believer can have joy. He experienced disappointment and deep sorrow.

Still, he wrote, "sorrowful, yet always rejoicing" (2 Corinthians 6:l0).

In the next chapter Paul says, "I am overflowing with joy in all our affliction" (7:4).

In Acts 16 starting with verse 22, Luke described the occasion of Paul and Silas at Philippi.

As a result of proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ, they were disrobed, beaten with rods, and thrown into prison.

And their feet were fastened in the stocks.

Paul and Silas could have chosen to gripe. But they chose to grow-in joy.

·        Others may have decided to have a pity party, but they decided to pray.

·        Some may have decided to swear, but they chose to sing.

A harvest of joy is possible—even in prison.

The other prisoners were listening to them, and so was God.

Their singing did not wake up the jailer. The earthquake did that.

And as a result of the joy and testimony of Paul and Silas, the Philippian jailer was saved, baptized, and rejoiced greatly.

     His whole household came to believe in God.

Paul and Silas had a PURPOSE IN LIFE, and their purpose was full of joy.

·        Philippians 4:4"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!".

·        James 1:2 says, "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials."

·        1 Peter 1:8 "You greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory".

Greater Things Are Still To Come!  

JOY 2

Hello Everyone,

There are three main things that contribute to this fruit of joy the first one is.

CHRISTIANS HAVE JOY BECAUSE OF THEIR PLACE IN CHRIST.

Joy is linked with the message of the gospel, the coming of Jesus Christ into the world.

In Luke 2:10 the angel said, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people."

When we believed in Jesus and received Him by faith we experienced a new birth.

This is a work of the Holy Spirit.

This spiritual experience is marked by joy.

Sins are forgiven. A right relationship with God has begun by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8).

An inward state of joy is present.

The parable in Matthew 13:44 illustrate the value and joy experienced when we find the hidden treasure of the kingdom of heaven:

"The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid; and for the joy over it he goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field."

In Romans 14:17, Paul says, "The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit."

As believers in Christ we are given these qualities and we need to cultivate a life-style of growth.

The apostle John says, "No one takes your joy away from you" (John 16:22).

The joy of a BELIEVER does not depend on other people or the circumstances of life.

Paul found his place in Christ. Whatever the change, the challenge, the circumstance, or the crisis, he learned to rejoice.

This joy is an expression or a confident faith grounded in a love relationship with Christ.

One writer said this: “It is gladness in God, contentment with excitement and exuberance in communion with the Lord. At times joy can even be ecstatic. The believer who knows and feels this joy has buoyancy, a bounce, and a sense of balance that is beautiful”.

I want to ask two questions here:

What do you know about your place in Christ?

How do you feel about it?

There is joy in salvation.

There is joy in knowing Jesus.

The Holy Spirit helps Christians grow in the development of joy.

It also takes our effort in order to learn and experience this fruit of the Spirit.

But the process will last a lifetime.

Greater things Are Still To Come!      

JOY 1

Hello Everyone,

As we read the nine characteristics the apostle Paul listed of the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23. We find JOY was placed second in the qualities that contain the harvest of the Spirit.

Joy is found right in the middle of Love and Peace.

One writer said this, "The fact that joy (chara) comes second in the list shows the prominent place that it had in the thought of the Apostle Paul with regard to the Christian personality."

We saw in First Corinthians 13 that love (agape) is essential for the gifts of the Spirit to function properly. And in Galatians 5, love comes first among the aspects of the fruit of the Spirit.

We have discussed that Fruit is a product of growth.

Love grows. Joy grows. Peace grows. (How is your CROP?)

The Holy Spirit energizes this growth process in the lives of Christians.

The word joy (chara) also means gladness or happiness.

A similar word is rejoice (chairo), which also means to be glad.

The word joy has the meaning of "intense happiness or great delight, that which gives rise to this emotion or on which the emotion centers, the outward expression of the emotion."

The theme of the epistle of Galatians is Christian freedom.

Regardless of the circumstances of life, believers should be able to rejoice or have joy in the freedom that is in Jesus Christ.

·        This Joy is a kind of fruit that needs careful cultivation. 

·        This Joy is "feeling what you believe."

·        This Joy rests on knowledge, faith, and hope.

·        This Joy is something to be expected and experienced.

·        This Joy involves the total of our being, not simply knowing or having. “In Him we live and move and have our very being”

Greater Things Are Still To Come