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Location:
6425 Jefferson Rd. For
directions, click here.
Jerry
Varnado,
pastor October
20, 2002 The
Fruit
of the
Spirit
is
Love... The
Fruit
of the
Spirit
is...Joy The
Fruit
of the
Spirit
is...Peace The
Fruit
of the
Spirit
is...Patience The
Fruit
of the
Spirit
is...Kindness
and
Goodness Joy
and peace, by the way, are
central to what the kingdom of
God is all about. Look with me at
Romans 14:17-18: If
we want to serve Christ
appropriately and to be pleasing
to God, joy is a key
element. But
lots of us have only a fuzzy idea
of what joy really
means. We
tend to equate joy with a certain
kind of happiness. Remember
having to study the Declaration
of Independence? Here's part of
what it says: And,
yes, as a culture, we spend a lot
of our time pursuing happiness.
Unfortunately, the statistics of
our culture indicate that, as a
whole, we not finding it. And
here's the problem --
paraphrasing a once popular
country song: "We're looking for
happiness in all the wrong
places!" To
begin with, the "happiness"
mentioned in the Declaration of
Independence isn't the same thing
as "happiness" as understood by
today's culture. Look
with me at this definition of
happiness on the video
screens: But
how do people think of happiness
today? Usually in one of two
ways: This
usually relates some level of
material prosperity: that one
has everything they need and
much of what they
want. It
is based on the fact that
things are running smoothly:
I'm not fighting with my
spouse; the children are being
obedient and making straight
A's; we're not under stress;
no one, including the pets
have died; there is no pain or
suffering going on around us.
In short everything is
hunky-dory. By
the way, if this is the
standard, is anyone really
happy? The
only way we can live this way,
over a long time, is to simply
not care about anything or
anyone but
ourselves. In
our minds, as well as in their
linguistic roots, "happy" and
"happen" are related. And that's
why our basic understanding about
happiness is that we feel happy
when good things happen and we
feel unhappy when bad things
happen. That's
the way we are put together. We
are emotional beings. And
there's simply no way in this
world to avoid bad things. Jesus
made this clear in John
16:33: That
last part is key in finding true
joy. It will help you get off the
roller coaster of emotions that
are related to what "happens" in
your life. I
believe an emotion-based
happiness isn't what the Founding
Fathers had in mind when they
talked about
pursuing
happiness. What
they had in mind is better
described by the word "joy" --
found in today's text in
Galatians 5. Unfortunately, if we
consider only a secular
definition of joy, we're still
not gaining much ground in our
understanding: But
there's a much better definition
of joy, and I found it in a
theological dictionary. Look at
this: The
reality of human existence is
that we cannot create joy apart
from God. Indeed, joy is the
fruit of living in right
relationship with God. Joy
isn't about luck. It isn't about
seeking our own pleasure. It
isn't about self-indulgence.
Instead, it comes comes from
knowing and serving the living
God. More
specifically, joy flows from
being in God's
presence. Look
with me at some Scriptures.
First, let's go to 1 Chronicles
16:26-27: Next,
Nehemiah 8:10: The
Bible is declaring to us that we
can have a joy that gives us
strength even when we are
unhappy, even in the midst of the
worst possible circumstances if
we understand and receive God's
presence. There's
another step. Look at what Jesus
says in John 16:21-22: How
many of you believe there was joy
in the presence of Jesus? Of
course there was joy! The lame
walked, the blind could see, the
deaf could hear, the sick were
healed, the dead were brought
back to life! But
that joy was still temporal,
dependent upon circumstances, it
disappeared at the
cross. In
John 16, Jesus is saying that
that the dark sorrow of the cross
will give way to the joy of the
resurrection -- a joy which no
one can take away. As
I said, joy is the natural result
of God's presence, and now in the
New Covenant of the Holy Spirit
God's something about the
presence has fundamentally
changed. God's presence is not
only with us, it is within us.
Big difference. Let
me give you an illustration. When
I was in grammar school I took my
lunch to school. About 11:30 my
stomach started growling. I could
smell that ham sandwich, chips
and apple in the bag under my
desk. It was something of a
comfort to know I had my lunch
with me and that soon I would be
able to eat it. But
having my lunch with me did not
satisfy me. That didn't happen
until my lunch was within
me! Get
it? God with us is good, but it
is no comparison to God within
us! The
joy of the Spirit within us
transcends circumstances -- the
things that "happen." That's
because this joy isn't rooted in
circumstances but in God 's
presence, power and
faithfulness! This
is why the Apostle Paul can write
in 2 Corinthians 7:4: Do
you see that? Boundless joy in
the midst of great
troubles! James
1:2 is in agreement: You
see, the presence of Jesus within
us is a constant reminder of His
resurrection, His victory over
death. It is also serves as a
constant reminder that we share
in His victory over death -- that
we are guaranteed an inheritance
that does not fade or spoil but
is kept in heaven for us by the
power of God! Considering
that makes any present trouble
pale in comparison! Listen
to how Paul explained our future
glory in Romans 8:18: The
troubles we face are real, but
compared to what God has in store
for us in the everlasting
Kingdom, all of this is just a
moment -- and after this moment
we will live in His glorious
presence forever. Joy
is fruit of the Spirit, which
means it is produced by the power
and energy of God's Spirit within
us. Even so, there is still
something we have to do to foster
joy and to make it grow within
us: We must know and trust God
and His Word. Even
when we are in the crucible of
suffering we must remember and
trust the promise of Psalm
30:5: Whatever
the circumstances you're facing,
continue to believe, hope, and
trust -- and do what the Word
says in 1 Thessalonians
5:16: And
heed the teaching of Philippians
4:4: Not
long before His death and
resurrection, Jesus said to his
disciples -- in John
16:24: We
can have joy in the midst of
struggles and turmoil and trial,
if we just put our trust in
Jesus, and ask simply, in faith,
for His will to be accomplished
in our lives. The
fruit of His Spirit in us is . .
. joy.
Gateway
Church gathers
for worship
Sundays
at 10:30 a.m.
(Hwy. 129) in Athens,
Georgia.
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A
GATEWAY SERMON
The
fruit of the Spirit is...
joy
(Second
in a series)
Gateway
Church,
Athens GA
But
the fruit of the Spirit is
love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness and
self-control. Against such
things there is no
law.
I talked about "love" last week,
saying that it is the foundation
of all the other fruit of the
Holy Spirit. Today, I want to the
second fruit mentioned in the
Galatians 5 -- "joy." Next week
I'll talk about
"peace."
Sermons
in
this
series:
Love
is the
root
and
foundation
for
all
other
fruit
of the
Spirit.
It is
God's
love
that
enables
us to
live
the
Christian
life.
Joy
flows
from
being
in
God's
presence.
By the
Holy
Spirit,
the
Lord's
presence
isn't
just
with
us, it
is
within
us.
The
peace
of God
is
found
in a
particular
place:
the
path
of
God's
will
and
purpose
for
your
life.
We
must
learn
to
wait.
Not
doing
so can
lead
to
disastrous
consequences.
God's
truth
is
"wrapped"
in our
lives
for
delivery
to the
world.
Kindness
and
goodness
are
essential
elements
of the
wrapper.
The
Fruit
of the
Spirit
is...Faithfulness,
Gentleness,
and
Self-Control
Faithfulness
prospers
individuals
and
organizations;
Gentleness
resists
using
power
inappropriately;
Self-control
means
we can
overcome
behavior
that
violates
biblical
standards.
"For
the kingdom of God is not a
matter of eating and drinking,
but of righteousness, peace
and joy in the Holy Spirit,
because anyone who serves
Christ in this way is pleasing
to God and approved by
men."
Joy
or happiness?"We
hold these truths to be
self-evident that all men are
created equal and that they
are endowed by their Creator
with certain unalienable
rights, among those being
life, liberty and the pursuit
of happiness."
Now,
I wasn't in the room when the
Founding Fathers were debating
the Declaration of Independence,
but I'm certain that the kind of
happiness they were talking about
had nothing to do with "luck" or
enjoying pleasure. I think they
had something much higher in
mind.
"In
this world you
will have
trouble. But take heart! I
have overcome the world" (John
16:33).
The source of
joy
By
this definition, joy -- like
emotion-based happiness -- is
determined by outward
circumstances.
Wow!
Now we're getting
somewhere!"For
all the gods of the nations
are idols, but the LORD made
the heavens. Splendor and
majesty are before him;
strength and joy in his
dwelling place."
"The
joy of the Lord is your
strength."
The Spirit within
us"A
woman giving birth to a child
has pain because her time has
come; but when her baby is
born she forgets the anguish
because of her joy that a
child is born into the world.
So with you: Now is your time
of grief, but I will see you
again and you will rejoice,
and no one will take away your
joy.
"I
have great confidence in you;
I take great pride in you. I
am greatly encouraged; in all
our troubles my joy knows no
bounds."
"Consider
it pure joy, my brothers,
whenever you face trials of
many kinds."
"I
consider that our present
sufferings are not worth
comparing with the glory that
will be revealed in
us."
Living in joy"Weeping
may endure for a night but joy
comes in the morning"
(NKJV).
"Be
joyful always."
"Rejoice
in the Lord always. I will say
it again: rejoice!"
"Until
now you have not asked for
anything in my name. Ask and
you will receive, and your joy
will be complete."
An
audio tape of this sermon is
available
free of charge (U.S. requests
only).
Request
a tape by calling
or writing the Gateway Church
office.
Please specify tape number
021020a: The Fruit of the
Spirit is...Joy.
©
2002 Gerald R.
Varnado