'Tis the Season to be...Joyful

Written by Ed Allen
 Saturday, 24 November 2001 19:00

The Person You Always Wanted to Be

 

Ten out of ten people want to be more joyful! How do we be more joyful? By living under the guiding influence of the Spirit.

Galatians 5:16-25

"(16) So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. (17) For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. (18) But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. (19) The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; (20) idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions (21) and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. (22) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, (23) gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (24) Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. (25) Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit."

How does walking in the Spirit result in joy? Why is joy a part of the fruit of the Spirit?

  1. Define joy

  • Differentiate with pleasure
  • Pleasure is satisfaction of desire, gratification. Joy is a longing.

C. S. Lewis describes it as "an unsatisfied desire which is itself more desirable than any other satisfaction."

  • Pleasure depends on the right arrangement of circumstances. Joy is independent of circumstances.

i.e., pregnancy, gathering with relatives at holidays - doesn't matter where, even the laughter is a symptom and not a cause of the joy. In this sense joy is spontaneous. Again, may be why Lewis says, "Joy is never in our power and pleasure often is."

  • Pleasure focuses internally.

I am highly aware of myself and my enjoyment. Joy focuses beyond myself. And yet it is the fulfillment of myself. It is the intersection in time of who I'm supposed to be with who I actually am being.

  1. What is meant by "live by the Spirit"?

It means to live in reference to and to be motivated by a life changing encounter with God. This life changing encounter with God is both the focus and the fuel for our lives. The focus in that everything afterwards is different. The fuel since this encounter is ongoing. Some critical observations:

  • This encounter is actualized through faith.

Galatians 3:1-5

"(1) You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. (2) I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? (3) Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? (4) Have you suffered so much for nothing--if it really was for nothing? (5) Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?"

  • This encounter is based on God's promise.

Galatians 3:15-18

"(15) Brothers, let me take an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case. (16) The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say "and to seeds," meaning many people, but "and to your seed," meaning one person, who is Christ. (17) What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. (18) For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on a promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise."

  • An unexpected by-product of this encounter is unity.

Galatians 3:26-29

"(26) You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, (27) for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. (28) There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (29) If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."

  • The life and mindset that result from an encounter with God, while they are a gift from God, must be chosen.

 Galatians 5:1

"(1) It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery."

Galatians 5:16

"(16) So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature."

  1. Life in the Spirit overcomes the enemies of joy.

  • Free from the need to perform.

Our lives are animated through faith, not perfomance To the unbeliever: (may think of faith as that ability to perceive what is not really there).

Consider this: may also be the organ that allows us to receive what is really there. You are unable to fully receive because you have never exercised the right organ. To the believer: have you let your organ grow dormant from ill use? God has allowed experiences which will strengthen your faith and you have chosen discouragement or distraction instead.

  • Free from fear. Galatians does not make this point, but particularly free from fear of death.

I like what one pastor said, "joy is the realization that Jesus Christ has denied death its finality."

  • Free from isolation.

We are not alone, both because God is always with us and because He has brought us into a new family, a new unity.

Joy is part of the fruit of the Spirit. It is a by product of living under the influence and direction of God. It is the result of making God's Spirit the operating system of our lives. This is not what we expected. We expected severity, sternness, rules and regulations. But when we truly encounter God, we find joy instead. That's why G. K. Chesterton said that joy is the "gigantic secret" of God.

You see, God is eternally and infinitely joyful. Listen to Jesus' words to his disciples in John 15: "I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete." And listen to his prayer on the last night of his life: "Father, I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them."

God is infinitely and eternally delighted with Himself and with all that He does. And this delight does not cause Him to turn inward. He is not self-centered. No, God's delight spills over into all that He has made. It turns Him into the infinite and eternal giver. This is an important realization for all of us. God does not give us joy. He has made us to be like Himself - to be people of joy. Then He gives us those things that will release joy in our lives. Calvin Miller says it this way: "God does not lavish his children with jolly discipleship so that they may swim in spiritual ecstasy between conversion and death. God is a giver, but he does not give us happiness. He gives us redemption, meaning, security, love, victory and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. And happiness is our response to his gifts."

How do we live more joyfully? By living under the guiding influence of God's Spirit.

 
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