Our Beliefs : Sermons : Sermon Archive - 2005 : June 12, 2005

Theme: The Fruit of the Spirit -- Joy

Church year occasion: Pentecost 4

This is the second sermon in a series based on the fruits of the Spirit from Galatians, chapter 5. Last week we talked about love, not the demanding, taking, "what's in it for me" type of love so prevalent in our world, but a giving, self-sacrificing love, a love like Christ showed when he laid down his life for the inhabitants of the world, many of whom he knew would not appreciate it at all. That is true love.

Today we talk about joy, the fruit of the Spirit often confused with the world's idea of happiness. They're not the same. Worldly happiness depends on what's happening to me. It's tied up with either the behavior of people, things that have happened in my life, or the present circumstances in my life. If these are going well, I'm happy. If not, I'm unhappy.

Then there's joy. The Bible depicts joy not as a feeling but as a quality of life which surpasses and surmounts any events or disasters in a Christian's life. Joy springs from the presence and blessings of God in one's life. In fact, joy, which is the fruit of the Spirit, is not possible without God. Joy comes from knowing Jesus and what he's done. Joy is knowing that because of Jesus, God is not this awful, all-powerful ogre who stands aloof from his people, just waiting to rain down thunderbolts on them for their sins. Because of Jesus, God is one who guards and guides and protects us and loves and forgives us and holds us close in a loving embrace. Remember the father in the story of the prodigal son? The son demanded his inheritance even before his father was dead, and then squandered the money in wild, ungodly living until he was broke. (The name Mike Tyson comes to mind -- last night I heard that he squandered $400 million.) But then that son, with no one else to turn to, went back to his father. And instead of reading him the riot act and scolding the son for his foolishness, the father ran to his son and warmly embraced him, showing forgiveness even to his basically unlovable son. The father typifies God. That's a true picture of God. And that is the only place where true joy is found.

Is it any wonder why so many people don't know real joy in this life? It's because they want to find joy in some other source -- apart from God. Some people try to find joy in people. It won't work. Even the dearest family member, the closest friend can die, or turn on you. Friends become enemies; trust becomes distrust. Joy is gone.

Some people try to find joy in wealth or possessions. But wealth is extremely volatile. Everything is subject to change and decay, deterioration, devaluation and depreciation. A person expends his time, strength and sweat to amass his possessions, only to find them fade and disappear right before his eyes. Or worse yet, the things a person struggles to possess, possess him. I know someone who worked hard and accumulated quite an estate. He stocked his brand new home with expensive furnishings. Then he worried that someone would break in and rob him, so he installed this elaborate security system and then worried himself to sleep every night wondering if the security system was working properly. So much for joy.

Some try to find joy in good health or good looks. Time takes its toll. The most beautiful woman, the most handsome man, in time, takes a turn for the worst. Beauty fades, the body sags, energy disappears, reflexes slow, hearing fails, the teeth fall out and memory goes. Lasting joy cannot be found in good health or good looks.

Nor in successful careers and outstanding achievements. For awhile some people may be at the top of their world. But no matter what world you're in, the entertainment, business or sports world, sooner or later someone with a better idea or more talent or greater gifts is going to come along, and you're history.

The list goes on and on. But there is no real joy, no lasting happiness to be found in anything except God, who appropriately enough is called the God of all joy in the Bible. That's what Paul meant when he said in Romans 14:17, "The kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit."

If we're looking for joy in any other place than God, it won't last or we'll never find it. We'll be like the hunchback of Notre Dame, Quasimodo, who from afar loved Esmerelda. She was out of his league, and he knew it. In the story, Esmerelda eventually falls in love with Quasimodo, even though he is very ugly on the outside. That's why it's such a great story -- because a beautiful woman falling in love with an ugly man hardly ever happens in real life.

Now take that into the spiritual world. You and I and everyone born into this world were ugly with sin. That sin showed itself in our lives. As an example, just think of the worst sin that you've ever committed. I'm sure something came to your mind just now. But when the Holy Spirit brings you to believe in Jesus as your Savior, nothing comes to God's mind when he thinks of your sin -- not the worst sin you've ever committed -- not any sin. That's because God loves you in spite of your ugly sinfulness. He came to seek and save those lost and condemned by sin. Jesus came to give his life, his perfect, sinless, holy life, to appease a perfect, sinless, holy God who is angered by sin and vows to punish sin. When the dead Christ rose from the dead on Easter Sunday, that was God's seal of acceptance and approval of Christ's payment in behalf of sinners. Your sins were paid in full. They remain paid in full. As a result, God has declared you innocent, not guilty. You are accepted into God's family. You're not an outcast. You and I are no longer ugly in God's eyes. Heaven is ours when we die. That's joy. Nothing else can come close to it.

That joy -- that fruit-of-the-Spirit-joy -- is greater than any circumstance we might find ourselves in. As an example, after the sermon we'll sing a hymn by Paul Gerhard, a German hymn writer who wrote 123 hymns. His father died when he was only a child. After he became a pastor he suffered the terrors of the Thirty Year's War which was waged on German soil. Just to give you an idea of how bad that was, during one year of that war, he buried over 1000 of the members of his church. That's about three burials a day! His wife and four of his five children died of the flu. A colleague made his work miserable. He was persecuted for his faith. That's when he wrote "If God Himself Be for Me." Listen to its last lines:

My heart for joy is springing and can no more be sad,
'Tis full of joy and singing, sees only sunshine glad.
The sun that cheers my spirit is Jesus Christ my king;
The heav'n I shall inherit makes me rejoice and sing.

That kind of joy is a gift of the Spirit.

Where do we get this joy, this real joy, the fruit of the Spirit? The jailer in the city of Philippi got it. The Apostle Paul told him, "Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved -- you and your household." Then Paul told him about what Jesus had done for him. Then we read in Acts 16:34, "The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God -- he and his whole family." That joy is reflected in our text. After Jesus ascended into heaven after his work on this earth was done, we would have expected his disciples to mope around because Jesus was gone physically. Instead, we read that "They worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God." So, joy is yours when you believe in Jesus. You have joy because you know God has accepted you for Jesus' sake and has forgiven every one of your sins. Does that mean that every day we will be bouncing off the walls and never have a sad day in our lives? No, but it will change our outlook on life completely. Instead of leaving the gravesite of a husband or wife or child or parent in despair, you know that those who died in faith are now in heaven with Jesus. When the water heater springs a leak, the car stalls in the middle of an intersection, a boyfriend or girlfriend goes for someone else, does it ruin your week? Or do you say, "It's going to take more than that to rob me of my joy in Jesus"?

When we find joy in believing in Jesus, then we'll have another joy that naturally follows. "This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome." (1 John 5:3) In other words, you will have joy when you do God's will. Your joy will increase or decrease depending on the degree to which Jesus controls our life. It is impossible to find joy in a life which runs contrary to God's will. When we comply with his commands and will, joy increases. When we ignore God's will, joy falters and fails. Kids, God asks respect and obedience from you to your parents and others in authority. When you disobey and talk back, does that bring joy? No. It brings fights and hard feelings and arguments. Teens and adults, God's 6th Commandment demands a clean and decent moral life. False joy says there is no such thing as the 6th commandment anymore. But live like that, and it won't produce joy. Momentary happiness, yes, but not joy. Besides that it will produce big time guilt, worry, shame and quite possibly, some deadly diseases. But obey your parents and you'll find out how harmonious and joyful it will be to live with your parents. Have sex only within the bonds of marriage, and just see how God will bless that and bring joy to your life.

Finally, God gives us another kind of joy. "If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose." (Philippians 2:1-2) How was Paul's joy made complete? When he saw others believing in Jesus and doing God's will. How is your joy complete? The same way -- when you see others believing in Jesus and doing God's will.

According to God, joy, real J-O-Y, will result when we put Jesus first, Others second, and Yourself third. If you're looking for real joy, that's where to find it. Amen.