The Joy of Jesus
Galatians 5:22-23,
"22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."
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Galatians 5:22-23,
"22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."
.
It is not by accident that joy follows love because joy is a by-product of love. If you concentrate on being a joyful person joy will elude you. But if you concentrate on being a loving person then joy will seek you out - you will automatically be joyful. Sadly, many Christians find it difficult to accept that joy is a fruit of the Spirit and not only do they not expect joy - they don't want it either. They are under the lash of duty rather than the canopy of delight. A grim Christian once told me “At the heart of our faith is a cross. This means we ought to be spending our time weeping, not laughing. Well it is true that the cross is central to the Christian faith and following Christ involves rigorous self-denial and sometimes weeping, but this must be set against the fact that the second fruit of the Spirit is joy. No one can deny that from time to time each of us has to face suffering. However, a Christian possesses a subterranean spring of joy that will, if we allow it, burst upwards even in times of suffering. If there is no joy in our lives then we ought to question if we really are allowing the Spirit to work in our hearts. Joy, like love, is the essence of our faith. The empty tomb takes away our empty gloom. We have an Easter morning to celebrate in our faith, and that means there is always a reason to rejoice.
When one woman experienced Christian conversion she commented, 'It's strange, but I never associated joy with God before. How sad that so many think joy is something reserved for the hereafter and do not expect their faith to make them joyful now. Yet Jesus, in John 16:20-24 pointed out to the disciples that joy is part of our present experience even here in this sin-soiled world. Indeed in John 15:11 and 17:13, Jesus explained that He had an inner joy and it was His joy that would fill His disciples. His joy and our joy are not different joys but one and the same. He says, 'My joy may be in you and ... your joy may be complete.' His joy and our joy are not alien but allied. We are made in the inner structure of our beings for the joy of Jesus - His joy completes ours. We can better understand this supernatural joy if we distinguish it from the pleasures of life with which it is sometimes confused. Spiritual joy is quite different from pleasure or happiness. A non-Christian can experience pleasure and happiness but he or she cannot experience supernatural joy. Indeed, worldly people often pride themselves on knowing how to experience pleasure. Yet happiness and Christian joy are definitely different. Happiness depends on what happens. It requires conditions to be favourable and thus it can be stolen from us by things like lack of money or even a toothache. Christian joy, however, is completely independent of circumstances. It is there in the believer even when strength and health and friends are gone - when circumstances are not only unkind but savage. Out of all the miracles I have witnessed in my life, none is more wonderful than seeing Christ's exuberant joy burst forth in those who are caught up in pain or persecution. That joy can prove triumphant is not just a theory but a glorious fact.
Discussion Starters
1. Why does a Christian always have a reason to rejoice?
2. What is the difference between happiness and true joy?
3. Why do some people imagine God as grim-faced rather than full of joy?
4. How can we experience the joy of Jesus?
5. Why may joy elude us?
6. Why is joy an important fruit of the Holy Spirit?
7. What do you think God enjoys?
8. How can 'the joy of the LORD’ make us strong?
9. What are the inward and outward expressions of joy?
10. How are salvation and God's word linked with joy?
Personal Application
An important aspect of joy is that it protects our hearts against problem emotions. Jealousy or anxiety can quickly find a lodging place in a heart that has no joy. But as the heart is filled with joy the problem emotions are forced out. Joy also keeps us alert and alive spiritually. Disease germs, we are told, cause most harm to a body debilitated by despondency, because the immune system has been weakened. The same thing happens in the realm of the soul. Harmful thoughts and emotions invade the soul with ease when there is no joy, and start to destroy the health of the soul. Joy however, gives them no room. It immunises the spirit against attack. So joy is not just the bloom of health; it is the soul's protection also, for the 'joy of the LORD is your strength' (Nehemiah. 8:10). Every Christian should be conscious of joy flowing through the soul as a consequence of receiving Christ, so if it is not flowing, something must be blocking it. Clear away the obstacles and joy flows automatically. If you are conscious that you lack this deep abiding joy then look within. What are the hindrances? Consider them and remove them and then joy will flow. God is not withholding Himself, and you must not withhold yourself. When you meet God, joy is inevitable.
When one woman experienced Christian conversion she commented, 'It's strange, but I never associated joy with God before. How sad that so many think joy is something reserved for the hereafter and do not expect their faith to make them joyful now. Yet Jesus, in John 16:20-24 pointed out to the disciples that joy is part of our present experience even here in this sin-soiled world. Indeed in John 15:11 and 17:13, Jesus explained that He had an inner joy and it was His joy that would fill His disciples. His joy and our joy are not different joys but one and the same. He says, 'My joy may be in you and ... your joy may be complete.' His joy and our joy are not alien but allied. We are made in the inner structure of our beings for the joy of Jesus - His joy completes ours. We can better understand this supernatural joy if we distinguish it from the pleasures of life with which it is sometimes confused. Spiritual joy is quite different from pleasure or happiness. A non-Christian can experience pleasure and happiness but he or she cannot experience supernatural joy. Indeed, worldly people often pride themselves on knowing how to experience pleasure. Yet happiness and Christian joy are definitely different. Happiness depends on what happens. It requires conditions to be favourable and thus it can be stolen from us by things like lack of money or even a toothache. Christian joy, however, is completely independent of circumstances. It is there in the believer even when strength and health and friends are gone - when circumstances are not only unkind but savage. Out of all the miracles I have witnessed in my life, none is more wonderful than seeing Christ's exuberant joy burst forth in those who are caught up in pain or persecution. That joy can prove triumphant is not just a theory but a glorious fact.
Discussion Starters
1. Why does a Christian always have a reason to rejoice?
2. What is the difference between happiness and true joy?
3. Why do some people imagine God as grim-faced rather than full of joy?
4. How can we experience the joy of Jesus?
5. Why may joy elude us?
6. Why is joy an important fruit of the Holy Spirit?
7. What do you think God enjoys?
8. How can 'the joy of the LORD’ make us strong?
9. What are the inward and outward expressions of joy?
10. How are salvation and God's word linked with joy?
Personal Application
An important aspect of joy is that it protects our hearts against problem emotions. Jealousy or anxiety can quickly find a lodging place in a heart that has no joy. But as the heart is filled with joy the problem emotions are forced out. Joy also keeps us alert and alive spiritually. Disease germs, we are told, cause most harm to a body debilitated by despondency, because the immune system has been weakened. The same thing happens in the realm of the soul. Harmful thoughts and emotions invade the soul with ease when there is no joy, and start to destroy the health of the soul. Joy however, gives them no room. It immunises the spirit against attack. So joy is not just the bloom of health; it is the soul's protection also, for the 'joy of the LORD is your strength' (Nehemiah. 8:10). Every Christian should be conscious of joy flowing through the soul as a consequence of receiving Christ, so if it is not flowing, something must be blocking it. Clear away the obstacles and joy flows automatically. If you are conscious that you lack this deep abiding joy then look within. What are the hindrances? Consider them and remove them and then joy will flow. God is not withholding Himself, and you must not withhold yourself. When you meet God, joy is inevitable.
Seeing Jesus in the Scriptures
'Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God' (Hebrews. 12:2).
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