PEARLS OF PAUL
FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT – JOY
DR. JIM DIXON
GALATIANS 5:22-25, JOHN 15:11
MARCH 26, 2000
Malcolm Muggeridge was a famous 20th century journalist, writer, editor, and publisher. His work took him all over the world. Malcolm Muggeridge traveled from Cambridge to Cairo, from Africa to Asia, from Europe to America. For many years, he wrote for the Manchester Guardian, and he was their correspondent to Moscow and then later to Washington, D.C. Malcolm Muggeridge was an atheist or, more accurately, he was an agnostic. He viewed religion as irrational, and religious faith as unreasonable.
Now, it was the spring of 1962 when Malcolm Muggeridge traveled to Moscow. He was doing an article for the Guardian on the subject of religion. He wanted to interview certain high-ranking officials in the Kremlin. As he interviewed him, they quoted Marx and Engels and Stalin, and they said that religion was the opiate of the people, the opiate of the masses. Of course, Muggeridge had heard all these things before, and he believed most of them.
When he was finished interviewing the high-ranking officials in the Kremlin, he stayed in Moscow for a few days. He was walking the streets on a Sunday morning in the midst of a cold rain, and he realized that it was Easter Sunday. On a whim, he went into a church. He went into that church on that Easter Sunday morning, and he marveled at the sense of joy that was in that place. He sat through the service, and his heart was touched by the music and the message. At the end of that Easter service, the pastor shouted, “Christ has risen!” With incredible joy, the congregation in unison responded, “He has risen indeed!”
Somehow in that instant, in that moment, Malcolm Muggeridge said he knew in his soul that those people were right and that Marx and Engels and Stalin had been wrong. He said many times in subsequent years that it was the joy of the people of Christ that led him to Christ. From that moment on, he began to write for Christ, although his writings were controversial theologically and socially. But there is no denying that the joy of the church can lead people to Christ. Joy is powerful. Joy is contagious. Joy can draw the world to the gospel. The Bible says in the Book of Acts that the early church gathered daily and they broke bread in their homes with great joy. Day by day, the Lord added to their number those who were being saved. Joy draws people.
The church of Christ universal needs joy today more than it ever has. Christians need to have a little more mirth, a little more laughter, a little more smiling, a little more happiness. There needs to be more joy. This morning we discuss this second fruit of the Holy Spirit. I have three teachings, and the first is this. Joy is relational. When we look at the subject of joy biblically, we see that joy is relational. Joy comes out of relationship.
In the little letter of 1 John, the Apostle John writes, “That which we have seen and heard, we proclaim to you so that you may have fellowship with us. Our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. We’re writing this that our joy may be full.” Now, the word for fellowship in that little passage is “koinonia.” This word means “partnership.” It refers to community and communion. It is the most relational word in the Greek language. What John is saying is, “That which we have seen and heard, we proclaim to you so that you may have relationship with us. Our relationship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. We’re writing this that our joy might be full.” In some translations, it says, “We’re writing this that your joy might be full.” That’s because, in the early manuscripts, there is conflicting evidence. Some have the Greek word “hymon,” some have the Greek word “hemou.” Sometimes it’s “your,” sometimes it’s “our.” It doesn’t matter. The Bible links joy with relationship, relationship with God and relationship with His people.
If you would have joy, you must come into relationship first with God. The Bible says in Psalms 104 that “God is the God of joy.” It says in Psalms 16 that “In God’s presence, there is fullness of joy.” If you would have fullness of joy, you must come into the presence of God. Jesus said, “These words I have spoken to you that My joy might be in you and your joy might be full,” but He said those words in the context of the vine and the branches: “Abide in Him and Him in you.” It’s all about relationship. If you would have joy, it begins with relationship with God.
In Hinduism, the most sacred writing is called the Mahabharata. In the Mahabharata, the most valued portion by Hindu peoples is called the Gita, or the Bhagavad Gita. The Gita tells the story of a conversation between two people, a conversation between Arjuna, who was a great warrior, and Lord Krishna, who is viewed by the Hindus as the incarnation of Vishnu who was the pure expression of Hindu deity. In this conversation, Arjuna says, “What must I do to find joy?” Lord Krishna says, “If you would find joy, you must look within yourself. You must reach deep within yourself, and you must divorce from yourself all feelings. You must divorce all feelings of love or hate, desire or disdain. You must reach a point of neutrality, and then as you reach that point of neutrality and in the midst of your introspection as you look inward, you will come in touch with the Brahman within you. You will come in touch with the god-within-you, and you will begin to experience bliss consciousness or joy.”
This teaching in the Mahabharata in the Bhagavad Gita, this teaching of Hinduism, is really typical of the teachings of all of the eastern religions. Whether Hinduism or Buddhism or Shintoism, or Taoism, whether we’re talking about theological or philosophical, yoga or transcendental meditation, it all teaches that you find joy by coming in touch with God, and you find God by introspection, and by digging deep within yourself. The Bible tells us that you’re never going to find God by digging deep within yourself. God is just not hanging out there. It doesn’t matter how much time you spend in introspection; you’re not going to find God that way. It’s true, the Bible tells us, that we are made in the image of God, but we are fallen. The human race is fallen. The image of God is, at best, residual in us, and there certainly is no deity in us. The Bible tells us that God transcends humanity. He transcends humanity. His ways are not our ways. His thoughts are not our thoughts. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are His ways higher than our ways and His thoughts than our thoughts.” If you would find God, you must look outside yourself.
That’s what Paul told the Greeks in the city of Athens as he spoke at the Areopagus as recorded in Acts, chapter 17. If you would find God, you must look outside yourself, but the good news of the gospel is this: God is reaching out to us. God is reaching out to us, and He desires relationship with us, and so He sent His Son into the world. He sent His Son into the world, desiring a relationship with us. When we come to Christ and we embrace Christ as Lord and Savior, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ becomes our Father. We become children of God, and we are born anew, born into the family of God, and we become sons and daughters of God through faith in Jesus Christ, and we enter into relationship with God and with His Son Jesus Christ. He sends His Spirit to dwell within us. The fruit of the Spirit is joy, but that joy is only experienced in fullness, it only wells up within us as we cultivate that relationship with God, as we cultivate that relationship with Christ.
Are you doing that? Are you spending time daily, cultivating that relationship with Christ? If you’re not doing that, I promise you that you can’t have fullness of joy, but if you’re cultivating daily that relationship with Christ, you’re going to begin to fill that joy of the Spirit welling up in you. Of course, we cultivate that relationship with Christ devotionally as we fellowship with Christ in His Word. Are you getting off alone to a place every day where you can pray and you can read His Word?
Some of you have heard of Menelik II. Menelik II ascended the throne of Ethiopia in the year 1889. He is regarded by historians as perhaps the greatest king in the history of Ethiopia. It was King Menelik II who united the Ethiopian people, and it was King Menelik II who expanded the boundaries of their nation. He modernized Ethiopia. He built schools, and he built hospitals, and he built railroads. He tried to modernize their penal system. He tried to modernize their criminal justice system. They practiced capital punishment, as they do today, but their methods of execution were primitive. King Menelik II purchased six electric chairs from the United States of America, only to be informed by his high-ranking officials that they had no electricity in Ethiopia, so he used one of the electric chairs for his throne, in his throne room, in his royal palace. He claimed to be the direct descendant of King Solomon in the Bible and the Queen of Sheba, but there is no historical evidence that King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba ever knew each other sexually, but this was the claim of King Menelik II.
The King had great respect for the Bible. King Menelik II viewed the Bible as a supernatural book, so historians tell us he did strange things with the Bible. I mean, whenever he felt sick, he would eat a page of the Bible. Some of you have read about that. I mean, it’s one of the humorous anecdotes from history that King Menelik II, whenever he felt sick or even depressed, instead of reading the Bible, he would eat the Bible. He would eat a page of the Bible. Historians tell us (and I know this is incomprehensible, but it is true) that in the year 1913, he died of an intestinal obstruction as he ate the entire books of 1 and 2 Kings. He died at the age of 69.
We think, “How incredible! How primitive! How could this poor man think that you’re supposed to actually eat the Bible physically? What a primitive view of the word of God.” And yet, as Christians living in America at the dawn of the 2lst century, sometimes our view of scripture isn’t a whole lot better. There are a lot of Christians in America today who think that the primary purpose of the Bible is the impartation of knowledge. theological and doctrinal truth. That’s important, but that is not the primary purpose of the Bible.
There are other people in America today who think the primary purpose of the Bible is the transformation of behavior, that the primary purpose of scripture is to transform our behavior, morally and ethically. That’s important, but that is not the primary purpose of the Bible either. The primary purpose of the Bible is to lead you into relationship with God and with His Son Jesus Christ. It’s all about relationship, and that’s why John wrote, “That which we have seen and heard, we proclaim to you that you might have fellowship with us. Our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, and we are writing these words that our joy might be full.” It’s about relationship.
If you would have relationship, you must spend time daily in this book and in prayer. Go to a place apart. Find a quiet place each day. Get a cup of coffee. Make yourself comfortable. But spend time with God. Of course, you come into that relationship when you first believe in Christ and receive Him as Lord and Savior, but you must cultivate that relationship daily, and you will find His joy welling up in you. Joy is not simply relational. It is also attitudinal, and so, in the Bible we have this teaching that the joy is very much linked with your attitude. It was Abraham Lincoln who once said, “Most people are about as happy as they make up their mind to be.” Of course, that’s overly simplistic because Abraham himself had times of melancholy and depression. But it is true that attitude is very important.
The word joy in the Bible is the word “chara.” This word is linked and is part of the same family of words that includes the concept of gratitude or thanksgiving. The word chara is linked with the word “charis,” and it’s also linked with the word “eucharistia” which are the words for thanksgiving and gratitude. Joy is overflowing gratitude. Biblically, joy in the life of the Christian is overflowing gratitude, thanksgiving that just wells up and overflows. If you would have joy, you’ve got to have an attitude of gratitude, and you must be thankful for at least four simple things. First of all, you’ve got to be thankful that He’s forgiven you. I mean, daily there should be gratitude in your heart that He’s forgiven you.
On December 10, 1961, I turned 16 years of age. On my 16th birthday, my father gave me a car. It was new for me. It cost my father $50. It was a 1949 Ford. He gave me a 1949 Ford. I was so happy to have that car. I drove the car down to church, to a youth group meeting. It was the first time I had ever driven alone. I had had a learners’ permit, but now I had my license. I drove that ‘49 Ford down to Glendale Presbyterian Church in southern California to a youth group meeting.
After the youth group meeting, I offered to take kids home because I had a car! They just jumped in my car. It was just loaded with kids, and we took off. Of course, they didn’t care whether you drove well or not. They just jumped in the car. As we were driving along, they were rowdy, and they were loud. They were bumping into each other, and they were bumping into me. Soon, I looked in the rear-view mirror, and I saw flashing red lights, and a cop pulls me over. He told me that I was going 10 miles an hour over the speed limit and that I was having a hard time staying in my lane. He asked me if I had been drinking. I explained to him that I hadn’t been drinking and that I had just come from the church. I said, “I’ve got all my friends in the car here, and I’m taking them home. They’re just kind of in a wild and crazy mood and they’re bumping into me.”
He looked at my license, and he said, “You just got your license, didn’t you?” I said, “Yeah.” He looked at the kids in the car, and he told them to calm down. Then he looked at me, and he said, “Drive safely.” Then he got this big smile on his face. He said, “I’m not going to give you a ticket as you start out with your new license.” He said, “Good night, and have fun!” That’s what he said to me. “Good night, and have fun!’ He gave me back my license. It’s like I heard, “Be of good cheer. Your sins are forgiven you!”
That’s what Jesus Christ said to people. “Be of good cheer! Your sins are forgiven you.” That’s what Jesus said to the woman who touched the hem of His garment. That’s what Jesus said to people when He forgave them. “Be of good cheer! Your sins are forgiven you.” As a Christian, you should have that joy every day, every day, of knowing your sins are forgiven you. What a joy! But we have joy, not only because of what He has forgiven, but because of what He has given, so the second reason that you should have thanksgiving is because of what He’s given you.
I’ve shared with the Capital Stewardship Campaign dinners in recent weeks and also with the Men’s Bible Study how the house that Barb and I live in is just in chaos right now. We’ve lived in the house for almost two years, and they’re still working on it. The basement they’ve had to jackhammer out twice. They forgot to put a sump pump in and had to put a new sump pump in. Then, after repouring the basement a couple of times, they had to put the carpet back down. We have a partly finished basement. When Drew is home, that is where he stays. They had to put the carpet back down, but they left some tools underneath it. Is that incomprehensible? They had to come in and tear the carpet back up!
Then they put a bathroom in down there. When they put the bathroom in, this is hard to believe, but they sat the bathtub right on the dirt. They didn’t even pour cement underneath it. They just sat the bathtub on the dirt and then ran cement up to the edge of the tub. Barb and I said, “You know, this isn’t going to fly! This isn’t going to work!” They said, “Well, you know, we’ll replace the bathroom, and they’ve just now gotten around to doing it. They’ve jackhammered the cement that is there and they repoured the bathroom cement, but when they did that, they covered up the pipe that connects the tub. So, when the tub guy came back by, he said, “You’re not going to believe this. I can’t even connect the tub because they’ve poured cement over everything.”
I mean, it’s just incredible. I’ve kind of been complaining about this, but then I got to thinking, “I ought to be grateful to have a house. I ought to just be happy to have a house, and a wonderful house. I mean, one of the great things when you travel down to Juarez and you see the three colonias down there and you build those little houses down there is you realize that we’re all very rich up here. We’re all very blessed up here. The gratitude ought to be just welling over, but isn’t it true that sometimes we’re thinking about what is wrong instead of thinking about what is right. There’s so much to be grateful for, so much God has given, so gratitude focuses on what He has forgiven and what He’s given. It not only focuses on what He’s forgiven and given, but it focuses on what He’s going to give because gratitude is overflowing joy that focuses on the promises of Christ and the promise of heaven.
It says in 2 Corinthians, chapter 1, and also in Ephesians, chapter 1, that the Holy Spirit, who’s come into us and given us joy, has sealed us for heaven. The Holy Spirit has sealed us for heaven. The Greek word is “sphragizo,” the word for seal. This word was used in a very unique way. In the ancient Roman and Greek world, they didn’t have a postal system. If you wanted to mail a letter to somebody, you couldn’t just buy an envelope, get some stationery, and write a letter, stick it in the envelope, seal it, put a stamp on it, and give it to the postal department. They didn’t have anything like that. If you wanted to send a letter to somebody, you had to do it by courier. You had to write on a scroll. The scroll might be a papyrus scroll, the papyrus plant that grew by the Nile in Egypt and was marketed all over the world, or it might be a parchment scroll made from the skin of animals. But you would write your message on the scroll. Then the scroll would be rolled up, and then a string would be put around the scroll, and it would be sent.
Of course, the problem was that it was easy to take the string off and easy for anybody to see your message. There was no sense of privacy. And so, they began to develop this seal which was a wax seal that sealed the scroll. You would put your family seal, your signet ring, the impression of it, into the wax. If anyone looked at that scroll, you would know it because the seal would be broken. That seal, which guaranteed the privacy of your letter, was called by this Greek word “sphragizo.” It guaranteed that your letter would get there and that it would not be violated. You see, that’s what the Holy Spirit does for the Christian. It guarantees, as He lives within you, that you’re going to get there. You’re going to get to heaven. Your soul will not be violated. Just that knowledge that you’re going to get to heaven, and your soul is going to be whole when you get there. That’s a promise that should bring joy, and it should bring overflowing gratitude.
I want to say too that joy is not only relational and attitudinal but is also ministerial, and we have joy as we enter into ministry. We see that biblically. When you look at the writings of the Apostle Paul, he refers to those to whom he ministers as his joy and his crown. You see that in the book of Philippians, but that concept is throughout the epistles of Paul. He views the people to whom he ministers as his joy and his crown. I think we can all understand this somewhat when we view our children to whom we minister, and our children whom we serve, as our joy and our crown, do we not? I mean, there is a sense in which joy comes from service. Joy comes from ministry. We have this concept biblically that if you would have the fullness of the Holy Spirit’s joy within your heart, you need to be involved in ministry and service. So, joy is not simply relational or attitudinal, but it’s also ministerial. You need to be involved in ministry.
Tonight, the Academy Awards are on. I know that many of you will watch the Academy Awards. You have curiosity as to which movie is going to get Best Picture. If you’ve lived awhile and you know anything of the history of the Academy, you know that in 1965 a movie won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and that movie was called “The Sound of Music.” It starred Julie Andrews. You may have noticed in the newspapers recently that “The Sound of Music” over in England is having a resurgence of popularity. Movie theaters in England are playing “The Sound of Music” and having Sound of Music parties. People are coming to these movie theaters dressed up like nuns or various characters in “The Sound of Music” and then they just sing along. They sing along as the movie is shown in the movie theater.
Now, there’s a stranger thing associated with that movie, “The Sound of Music.” It has to do with South Korea. In 1968, “The Sound of Music” came to South Korea. The government decided that that movie was too long. They decided it was just too long, and they didn’t like movies that long to be shown in their movie theaters. They had to shorten the movie. How were they going to shorten the movie? They came up with the brilliant idea to cut out all the songs! They cut out all the songs, and that’s how “The Sound of Music” was shown throughout Seoul and throughout the whole region of South Korea. “The Sound of Music” without music! That’s what they did. I’m sure it worked. I’m sure it shortened the deal up, but, you know, I think they missed the point.
Christianity without ministry and Christianity without service is kind of like “The Sound of Music” without music. It really is. If you’re a Christian and you’re not ministering… If you’re a Christian and you’re not serving, how can there be music in your life? How can there be joy? So, we should understand biblically that joy begins with relationship, relationship with God through Christ. Joy is supremely relational, but it’s also attitudinal, and we need to have an attitude of gratitude, being thankful for all He has forgiven and given and ever will give. Joy is also ministerial, and it’s augmented within us as we perform acts of service for Christ. Let’s close with a word of prayer.