Sunday's Message: Cultivating the Fruit of the Spirit - A Look at Galatians 5:22-23 (Joy)

On Friday, August 12, SPC had its annual Summer Day Camp entitled “Big Heart Farms: Where God’s Fruit Grows.” During the day, the children looked at Galatians 5:22-23 and talked about the Fruit of the Spirit. Building on this theme, during nine of our worship services, we’ll consider how we can integrate this fruit into our own lives. We’ll focus on the following qualities:

• August 14 - Love
• August 21 - Joy
• August 28 - Peace
• September 4 - Patience
• September 11 - Kindness
• September 18 - Generosity
• September 25 - Faithfulness
• October 2 - Gentleness
• October 9 - Self-control

And so, as we move into the Fall, let’s talk about how we might cultivate the most important crop of all, the Fruit of the Spirit.

In this second message, we considered joy as a spiritual fruit. The sermon text and podcast is below:

Now, as most of y’all know, last week we started a new sermon series based on the theme of our Vacation Bible School day camp entitled Cultivating the Fruit of the Spirit. You see, over the course of nine worship services, we’ll be looking at these two verses from Paul’s letter to the Galatians:

By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. [Galatians 5:22-23, NRSVUE]

And last week, we started the ball rolling by talking about the first fruit, namely love. And using what Paul wrote to the Corinthians, we discussed how love is essential and how it’s active and how it’s Godly. Now that’s what we did last Sunday.

And this morning, we’re going to focus on Paul’s second fruit, and now I’m talking about joy. And even though I saw that I preached on it last year, around Christmas, I think we’d all agree that joy shouldn’t be limited to one time of year. It’s relevant whether we’re getting ready to set up the tree and start baking the cookies or to shut down the pool and plan our last summer cookout. Joy is something that’s important all year ‘round. 

But, you know, even though that’s true, man, it doesn’t mean we always feel it. My goodness, speaking for myself, there are plenty of times I’m not oozing with joy. In spite of that song I remember from church camp, I’m not always “...inright, outright, upright, downright happy all the time.” What about you? 

And you know, when you think about it, why should we? I mean, if you get right down to it, life isn’t always frozen peaches and cream, and even if we feel compelled to paint a grin on our faces because that’s how Christians are supposed to look, I think we all face stuff that kind of drains away a lot of the joy. Of course, some of it may be sort of global, you know, like watching our world and country move in directions that really make us sad and frustrated and worried. Good night nurse, I find it’s really hard to watch the news or read articles on my phone and not feel my shoulders slump and my blood pressure rise. Now that’s the big stuff. But you know, for me, these things aren’t my biggest joy drainers. For me, it’s the more personal stuff, you know, like health or family issues that deflate my balloon. It’s worrying about my 88-year-old father who lives nine hours away or my 20-year-old daughter who’s just about all grown up but isn’t really sure where she’s going. Man, I’m worried about the piece of an argyle sock Coco ate last Tuesday, which we’ve yet to see come out from either end. Now, those are a few of my worries, but I recognize they fade in comparison with some of the stuff y’all carry around all the time. But I’ll tell you, regardless of what they are, they all are joy killers, causing us to feel a few apples short of a dozen in the spiritual fruit department.

And for that reason, we’re going to spend the rest of our sermon time thinking about joy, and in particular, what Christian joy actually is and what it does and how we can strengthen it in our own lives. And to do that, we’ll be looking at some verses and passages from both the Old and the New Testaments. And I’ll tell you, when we do that, I think we going to find three things about joy that we can understand and claim and strengthen in our own lives.

For example, first, I believe joy, and I’m talking about the kind of joy about which Paul wrote, joy is given. In other words, it’s not something we generate within ourselves. It’s not grounded in what’s happening either in the world around us nor within our own personal lives. You see, I don’t believe that, when you get right down to it, it’s the result of our actions and attitudes, although both of these can enable us to become more joyous. No. Instead, I believe joy is actually a gift from God. It’s grounded in both his freedom and love. And it’s something that, ultimately, I think we need to recognize and to claim if we’re serious about being more joy-filled. You see, for me, joy is given to us by God.

And I’ll tell you, I think we see that in both the Old and the New Testaments. For example, the psalmist wrote,

You have shown me

    the path to life,

and you make me glad

    by being near to me.

Sitting at your right side, 

    I will always be joyful. [Psalm 16:11, CEV]

And also from the psalms:

Sing joyful songs to the Lord!

Praise the mighty rock 

    where we are safe.

Come to worship him

with thankful hearts

    and songs of praise. [Psalm 95:1-2, CEV]

You see, this joy felt by the people was grounded in God himself: in who he is and what he does. And that was also true in the New Testament. I mean, Paul wrote this to the Romans: I pray that God, who gives hope, will bless you with complete happiness and peace because of your faith. And may the power of the Holy Spirit fill you with hope. [Romans 15:13, CEV] And according to Peter’s first letter: You have never seen Jesus, and you don’t see him now. But still you love him and have faith in him, and no words can tell how glad and happy you are to be saved. This is why you have faith. [1 Peter 1:8-9, CEV] You see, the possibility of genuine happiness comes from God. When you get right down to it, it’s his gift to us.

And I’ll tell you, for that reason, we really need to recognize that it’s here and to claim it. And I think we can do that by expanding our understanding and strengthening our trust. You know, I think it’s remarkable; the more we learn about the unconditional love of the Father and the irresistible grace of the Son and the constant presence of the Holy Spirit, the easier it will be for us to trust that we really are loved even if we feel unlovable and that we really are redeemed even though we’ve done nothing to deserve it and that we really do have support even when we feel absolutely alone. You see, this we can trust. And that trust, man, it leads to joy. In fact, this is God’s gift to us. And that’s why I believe that joy is given, the first thing we need to remember.

And second, I also think that joy is empowering. It strengthens us when we feel weak and vulnerable. It gives us the ability to face the problems we all have to face, whether they come from the outside or are generated within. I’m telling you, it enables us to endure all those things that just drain us and to use them to grow and mature. You see, for me, joy empowers us to become the men and women God called us to be.

And as it was when we were talking about joy being a gift, I believe this empowerment is also found in Scripture. For example, from the Old Testament, just listen to what the Prophet Habakkuk wrote:

Though the fig tree does not blossom

    and no fruit is on the vines;

though the produce of the olive fails

    and the fields yield no food;

though the flock is cut off from the fold

    and there is no herd in the stalls,

yet I will rejoice in the Lord;

    I will exult in the God of my salvation.

God, the Lord, is my strength;

    he makes my feet like the feet of a deer

    and makes me tread upon the heights. [Habakkuk 3:17-19a, NRSVUE]

And remember, “Nehemiah told the people, ‘Enjoy your good food and wine and share some with those who didn’t have anything to bring. Don’t be sad! This is a special day for the Lord, and he will make you happy and strong.’” [Nehemiah 8:10, CEV] You see, according to the Old Testament, the joy we feel from and in the Lord is a source of strength. And I’ll tell you, that’s also true in the New Testament. I mean, James wrote, “My friends, be glad, even if you have a lot of trouble. You know you learn to endure by having your faith tested. But you must learn to endure everything, so you will be completely mature and not lacking in anything.” [James 1:2-4, CEV] And again according to Peter in his first letter, “Dear friends, don’t be surprised or shocked that you are going through testing that is like walking through fire. Be glad for the chance to suffer as Christ suffered. It will prepare you for even greater happiness when he makes his glorious return.” [1 Peter 4:12-13, CEV] You see, the joy that comes from the Lord can be an enormous source of strength. 

But that’s not going to happen if we don’t use it. I mean, if we don’t allow the joy God gives us and that we claim through faith, if we don’t allow this gift to shape us, it’s probably not going to help us very much. But I’ll tell you, if we do, if we let joy shape how we see the world out there, suddenly some of the sadness and the frustration and worry we might otherwise feel, man, I believe they’ll ease up a little bit. Of course, they’re not going to disappear, but they may fade enough that we’re able to face the challenges we encounter ever day. But even more than that, if we let the joy that comes from God shape how we see ourselves on the inside, suddenly we’ll have the ability to use those joy drainers to grow and to mature. I don’t know about y’all, but for me, my character has been more positively shaped by problems and obstacles than by successes and smooth sailing. You see, if we let it, joy is empowering, and for me, that’s the second thing we need to remember.

And third, along with being a divine gift and a source of power, I believe joy is also contagious. Not unlike the most recent strain of COVID, it’s hard to restrain. It’s hard to curb. Man, it’s hard to contain, because it just moves from person to person. In that way, it’s more contagious than pink eye.

And again, this is why people in both the Old and New Testament are encouraged to express their joy publicly, you know, in the company of God’s people. And I think this was what Isaiah had in mind when he wrote this:

At that time you will say,

“I thank you, Lord!

    You were angry with me,

but you stopped being angry

    and gave me comfort.

I trust you to save me,

Lord God,

    and I won't be afraid.

My power and my strength 

come from you,

    and you have saved me.”

With great joy, you people

will get water

    from the well of victory.

At that time you will say,

“Our Lord, we are thankful,

    and we worship only you.

We will tell the nations

how glorious you are

    and what you have done.

Because of your wonderful deeds

we will sing your praises

    everywhere on earth.”

Sing, people of Zion!

Celebrate the greatness

    of the holy Lord of Israel.

God is here to help you. [Isaiah 12:1-6, CEV]

And as Paul wrote to his friend Philemon, “My friend, your love has made me happy and has greatly encouraged me. It has also cheered the hearts of God’s people.” [Philemon 7, CEV] Or as John wrote to “a very special woman and her children,” “I have much more to tell you, but I don’t want to write it with pen and ink. I want to come and talk to you in person, because this will make us really happy.” [2 John 12, CEV] You see, according to Scripture, joy really is contagious.

And I’ll tell you, I think that’s something we need to remember as we think about ourselves and our congregation. I mean, if we want to feel more joy in our lives, it might be a good idea to seek out and to hang with some really joy-filled people. And you know, those folks are all around us, men and women who have claimed this wonderful gift that God has given us and who have integrated that gift into their vision and self-awareness. If we’re with positive, happy, joy-filled people, odds are, we’ll be positive and happy and joy-filled too. And as it relates to our congregation, just imagine if we set joy as a goal, and I’m talking about that genuine kind of happiness that’s grounded in God and that enables us to confront and to overcome. Suppose we decided to shift our attention from all the excuses we have to feel sad and frustrated and worried and intentionally focused on all the God-given reasons we have to be positive and happy and joy-filled, just imagine the impact it could have on us, but, more importantly, on members of our broader community who desperately need some genuine good and joyous news. It staggers the imagination. We can change the world. And that’ll happen, because joy is contagious, and for me, that’s the third thing we need to remember.

You see, even though reasons for joy may be hard to find and even though, from time to time, I think we all feel overwhelmed by the problems we face, Christian joy should never be limited to one time of year. You see, since it’s given, it can be claimed at anytime. And since it’s empowering, it can always be used to strengthen both our lives and our characters. And since it’s contagious, we can be confident that it’ll spread as soon as it’s claimed and used. You see, whether you’re talking about the end of summer or the beginning of Christmas, joy is a spiritual fruit that’s never out of season.