The Fruit of the Spirit: “Joy”
The Fruit of the Spirit • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Key truths to keep in mind as we study the Fruit of the Spirit:
1. There is only one Fruit of the Spirit.
(v. 22) “But the FRUIT…”
It is a singular in the English and the Greek. It is a singular fruit with 9 distinct aspects: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, [and] self-control…”
2. The Holy Spirit is the source of the Fruit of the Spirit.
(v. 22) “…the fruit OF THE SPIRIT……
John 15:5 (NASB)
5 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.
3. God expects His people to bear the Fruit of the Spirit.
Luke 3:9 (NASB)
9 “…every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
4. God is glorified when His people bear the Fruit of the Spirit.
John 15:8 (NASB)
8 “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.
Last week we took a closer look at love. This week, the next characteristic of the Fruit of the Spirit, that we will be examining, is… JOY.
John 15:1–11 (NASB)
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 bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. 3 “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. 6 “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. 7 “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. 9 “Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. 10 “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. 11 “These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.
The difference between happiness and joy.
According to Webster’s 1828 Dictionary:
HAP'PINESS, noun [from happy.] The agreeable sensations which spring from the enjoyment of good; that state of a being in which a person’s desires are gratified, by the enjoyment of pleasure without pain…Perfect happiness unalloyed with pain, is not attainable in this life.
Joy is internal.
Joy is internal.
11 “These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you…
Happiness is about what happens. External factors affect our happiness. Joy is internal. It is an aspect of the Fruit of the Spirit and the Holy Spirit resides in the Christian and so joy comes from the inside, the source is in us, the source of joy is the Holy Spirit.
We teach our children this truth in song…
“I’ve Got the Joy, Joy, Joy” by George W. Cooke in 1926
I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy
Down in my heart, (where?)
Down in my heart, (where?)
Down in my heart,
I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy
Down in my heart, (where!?!)
Down in my heart to stay.
This joy is the joy of Jesus in our hearts. It is not joy like Jesus. It is literally, exactly, fully, the joy of Jesus. His joy, in us.
“…that MY joy may be IN you…” (v. 11)
John 17:13 (NASB)
13 “But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have MY JOY made full IN THEMSELVES.
Just like love is, joy is one of the attributes of God.
1 Chronicles 16:27 (NASB)
27 Splendor and majesty are before Him, strength and joy are in His place.
Psalm 51:12 (NASB)
12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit.
Romans 15:13 (NASB)
13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Joy is infinite.
Joy is infinite.
If you were to grab a thesaurus and look up infinite, and then as you read all the synonyms you say “joy is” before them, you’d have a well rounded description of the infinite nature of the Holy Spirit fueled joy of Jesus down in our hearts…
Joy is…
“Absolute, bottomless, boundless, enormous, enduring, eternal, everlasting, immeasurable, immense, incalculable, inexhaustible, limitless, never-ending, perpetual, total, unending, vast.”
11 “…that your joy may be made full.”
Isaiah 35:10 (NASB)
10 And the ransomed of the Lord will return and come with joyful shouting to Zion, with everlasting joy upon their heads…
Acts 13:52 (NASB)
52 And the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
John 16:22 (NASB)
22 “Therefore you too have grief now; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.
But we might say, but things happen. Difficulties comes. Hardship strikes. There is pain and suffering and heartache and death.
And yes, that’s all true and those things can and will affect happiness, but joy is not based on what happens. Joy comes from our relationship with Jesus and is produces in us by the Holy Spirit. We can make it through anything that happens, with joy in our hearts, because of Jesus.
Nehemiah 8:10 (NASB)
10 …the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
That’s how we maintain joy. It is the joy of Jesus strengthening us.
Philippians 4:13 (NASB)
13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
Joy is a comfort in difficult times...
2 Corinthians 7:4 (NASB)
4 …I am filled with comfort; I am overflowing with joy in all our affliction.
James 1:2–4 (NASB)
2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
Joy is intentional.
Joy is intentional.
4 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.
9 “Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. 10 “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love
Psalm 100:1–2 (NASB)
1 Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth. 2 Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing.
Psalm 13:5 (ESV)
5 ...I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
1 Thessalonians 5:16 (NASB)
16 Rejoice always…
Philippians 4:4 (NASB)
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!
Habakkuk 3:16-18 (NASB)
16 I heard and my inward parts trembled, at the sound my lips quivered. Decay enters my bones, and in my place I tremble. Because I must wait quietly for the day of distress, For the people to arise who will invade us. 17 Though the fig tree should not blossom And there be no fruit on the vines, Though the yield of the olive should fail And the fields produce no food, Though the flock should be cut off from the fold And there be no cattle in the stalls, 18 Yet I will exult in the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. 19 The Lord is my strength…
We have to intentionally choose to abide in the love of Jesus and if we do, we will have choice regardless of what happens.