Joy

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Gal5:22-23 ESV

Last week I reflected on Gal5:22 and the fruit of the Spirit. Over the next 9 weeks I want to meditate on the specific fruits named and how they manifest in people. I will be doing Love last as I see the other 8 all part of Love. Please share with me your experiences of the fruit in you and how it manifests and pray with me that we may all have more of the fruit in our lives and that this fruit will give glory to our God. Is61:3 To grant those who mourn in Zion, Giving them a garland instead of ashes, The oil of gladness instead of mourning, The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness is a well known statement from the US Declaration of Independance written in 1776 by Thomas Jefferson and his team. It is interesting that happiness is a pursuit, something we have to strive for and is not to be expected or just given to us.  But the fruit of joy is given to us by the Holy Spirit.

Today we measure our happiness by what we have or what we do. But happiness (Eudaimonia) is not Joy (chara), it is very different. The Joy that is here in Galations is the Joy that is from the heart, it is not something that comes from works or effort. It comes from knowing God, and I mean knowing in the deepest sense, not just knowing about God. Joy is intense gladness, eternal elation, a sense of wonder and amazement about God and what He has done for me.

I find Joy to be rare in people today, I am sure there are people out there with that fruit. Since I started this study of Galations 5 I have been looking out for examples of people displaying the various fruits. Joy is one fruit that is hard to find.  This week I attended a Mission evening where the National Director shared about the work of his organisation. As he was sharing you could see the passion welling up inside him. He was holding back the tears of Joy as he was telling us about that the work that he his organisation has been doing.

Why is Joy so hard to find in people today, we live in a time of amazing blessings. Is it that we are too focussed on ourselves and our own circumstances. And yet what really do we have to complain about.  Our lives are not in danger, we are overfed, we have toys…….are we are living in a narcisstic society. I know this is harsh but lets take a look at how we operate.  Watch the news on any given night and it will invariably be about something minor or about some celebrity misbehaving. Tucked away in the news is the fact that people in Syria are being persecuted for their beliefs. We have it easy, we should be happy, we should be joyous. But walk down the street and look into people’s faces, it is very rare to see a trace of a smile. Generally most people are self absorbed and will not even make eye contact let alone smile at you. We have become a people of seeking self pleasure to bring us happiness and joy. 1Tim5:6 tells us that “she who lives in pleasure is dead while she lives.”

Living here in New Zealand, we should see people on the streets smiling, happy, full of “joy” but do a visual survey of people. You see very few people with a smile on their face, there are some sad people out there. I know I said it before that Joy is of the heart but I am sure that the state of the heart is reflected by the look on our faces or by our walk. Fruit is seen, it is not something that is hidden away. My sweetheart’s great grandmother had a saying, “it costs nothing to smile” but today it seems that to show joy is not cool.
I am sure Jesus walked around with a smile on his face. Matt17:2 His face shone like the sun is about the glow he would of had on his face, he would of had a big smile of happiness too as he had just been with the father.

I am not saying we should start going around with silly grins on, as I dont think you can manufacture joy. We can and do make ourselves happy by meeting with friends, going to a comedy movie, some people medicate themselves happy in various ways. I have found joy comes on me when I am thankful and grateful to the Lord and reflect on what He has done in my life. Phil4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! I love it in Acts 16:16-34 Paul and Silas are beaten (vs22,23) and then put into jail with their feet in stocks (vs24). The next verse has them singing hymns and praying out loud so that the other prisoners could hear. This is joy!

Joy is something I am going to be focussing on and praying into my life as I see it as a powerful fruit that really does show God’s love for us.

Thoughts

• How else does joy manifest in your life, we talked of laughter, smiles and tears, are there other ways.
• Fruit is to be shared, how can we share our joy with others
• They say that laughter is like medicine, what about joy?

Prayer

Lord I pray for more of the fruit of Joy into my life. Let it be shown in my face, my walk and my life so that I too may shine brightly as Jesus and Moses did after coming down off the mountain. Let the joy that is already in me double and overflow out of me into others. Let this joy be like a contagious disease that effects those around me so that I may say it is not me but it is the joy of my Lord. Show me examples of others overflowing with your Joy and that we may become examples of your church and your Kingdom here on earth. Amen

Fruition

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Gal5:22-23 ESV 

This list of fruit is interesting in that most people will display these, not just believers. There are many non-believers who display love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. I remember seeing the movie, “Motorcycle Diaries” which was about the life of Che Guevara before he became guerilla leader. I came out of the picture theatre thinking what a nice guy he was. Yet he went on to become the USA’s main enemy. I wondered will there be similar movies to come of a loving, kind hitler or a good and gentle Amin or maybe a peace loving Bin Laden.

But these fruit are different to what we think of at first because of the last few words in the verse….”against such things there is no law.”  If we are truly walking in the Spirit (vs16) what does the fruit really look like. Love encompasses all the others but what is spirit led love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. How should they manifest in our lives. I show joy when I am at a party or watching a comedy but what does joy mean as a fruit of the Spirit. This is something I want to explore and to see if they are in my life always, not just from time to time. I want to identify what I am lacking, I am sure there are some that need work. I want to walk continually in His Spirit.

Last week I prayed and asked that He would show me what the fruit of the Spirit looks like and this is what happened:

My sweetheart and I had an experience of what it may look like just recently. It was a late Sunday evening and we were in the city, crossing the road we came across a group of people fighting. Two men were bashing a guy who was lying on the pavement with chairs. We yelled out for them to stop and quite boldly we approached the two bullys who were shouting racial abuse at the man. They backed off and walked away leaving the guy lying on the ground. After a couple of minutes they started coming back toward us shouting and showing off their muscles as if they were going to attack us or the guy again. Then suddenly a large giant of a man stepped in front of me and hit one of the guys in the side of the head. He went down hard onto the pavement with a loud whack. It was immediately obvious that he was in serious trouble as a flow of blood poured out of his head. I immediately rushed past him as I saw the police van come onto the street and wanted to get help as quickly as possible for the injured man. When I returned my sweetheart was on the pavement beside the injured man and had put him into the recovery position and was praying over him. This guy gained consciousness to the name of Jesus being spoken over him and was soon sitting up in a chair checking that his teeth were all there. No one else came to assist, everyone stood back and watched. It seemed to us that most people were happy that he had been bashed because of his behaviour. To me my sweetheart showed love, kindness, gentleness, self control, peace of a supernatural kind to that man who just moments before was abusing and bashing people. Both of us commented later that we were not frightened or concerned, even though were were in the middle of some very large out of control men. The real fruit of the Holy Spirit was evident there that night.

Thoughts

• Is this the full list of fruit, or is there more. Maybe boldness, courage, wisdom and others.
• Fruit is sweet, so is fruit of the Spirit
• Fruit is a carrier of seed and also helps disperse seed. We need to disperse our fruits widely not hold onto them for our own purpose. These 9 virtues are for others.
• Maybe future blogs will cover individual fruit and how they look supernaturally in us

More Reading

• Ps1:3
• Prov1:31, 12:14
• Matt7: 15-20

Prayer

Lord I want to walk with your Spirit continually, show me how, lead me, guide me. I thank you for showing me what it means to walk in your Spirit and I want to see more of your goodness over my life as I step out into your ways. Help me to soar over the stormy seas that lay before me and not be fearful. Help me to know your hand on our lives and to feel your guiding voice and touch. Thank you for the fruits that I can see in my life and help me to step out into more fruit and juicier fruit so that your glory that is over my life will shine onto others and become a blessing to them. Lord let my words and actions show off your might and power in the earth and that your Kingdom will be shown off here.

He does not forget me!

“Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will  not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me. (Isaiah 49:15-16, ESV)

We are constantly before God, he never ceases to be with us. We are tattoed on the palms of His hands. A tattoo is a mark that lasts for a long time, but it was the nails that went into Jesus’s hands that have made us permanently tattooed on Gods heart. God has done this, He engraved our names on His hands and looks on them continually.

Sometimes our walls are a ruin like the walls of Jerusalem in Isaiah’s day but it is God’s intention to rebuild the walls of His temple. That is why He continually watches us and why He has sent Jesus and the Holy Spirit to be with us. The walls of His kingdom here on earth are in a ruin. He wants them rebuilt and He sent Jesus and the Holy Spirit to help us to do this.

How can they be rebuilt:

• Seeking His face and His presence. Not just on a Sunday but continually, not just in church but out in the world where darkness dwells. Matt6:33,  Jer29:13,  Ps119:2
• Repenting and walking towards holiness. Matt4:17
• Reading His word. His word strengthens the foundations of the walls of our life. 2Tim3:16, Heb4:12
• Stepping out in faith. Get out of the boat and believe. Matt14:29
• Reaching out to others in prayer and action.
• Walk in the spirit not in the flesh, showing the fruits of the spirit in our lives to others. Gal5:16-17

Thoughts

• What are the condition of my walls
• What repairs are needed and what maintenance needs to take place
• If I am continually before God, is He continually before me.
• Is God’s Kingdom here now or is it coming. Matt4:17, Matt6:10
• Am I shining His light to others. Is60:1
• What fruit is lacking in my life and what fruit do I have that is obvious to others. Gal5:22-23

Prayers

Lord I thank you that I am continually before you. Help me to keep you continually before me as I walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh. Lord show me you light at my feet, make it shine brightly so that I may bring glory to your name. Teach me your ways. I pray that daily I will hear your voice and see your face not for my sake but so that I may shine onto others. I pray for opportunities to speak your name into peoples lives and be a blessing to others who do not yet know you.

Lord I ask that you show me your Kingdom here on earth, here in New Zealand and here in Auckland. Help me to be a light to others. Give me the spirit of boldness so that I may speak and do extrordinary things in your name, so that we see people saved, healed and set free. Amen

Victory

The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord. Prov 21:31 ESV

God expects us to work towards what He has in store for us. Last week we read about Saul and his army sitting around under the pomegranate trees while his son Jonathan was on the move advancing towards the enemy when an opportunity arose for him to defeat the enemy with God’s help. I am reminded of an often mis-quoted scripture, “God helps those who helps themselves.” Which is not in scripture and was originally written by ancient Greeks as plural Gods but has been evolved to “God” in our modern day culture. But God does expect us to be busy, not just waiting for Him to act. We need to be working towards His plan for us, it will happen, the victory belongs to the Lord.

Work is important to God, He gave Adam the task of managing the garden Gen2:15, this was before the fall. All of Jesus’s disciple were working when He called them out into ministry. The expectation is that we are busy preparing ourselves for His promise while He is busy making it happen. Jesus called Peter out of the boat, He wanted him to start the process, He wanted him to move towards Him. He didn’t want him to just sit in the boat and wait till He arrived, Jesus wanted to see Peter’s faith in action.

The verse in Isaiah40:31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint, tells us that we will find extra strength and power if we “wait.” “Wait” in this is qavah in Hebrew and it means “to wait or look eagerly for”. In falconry there is a term “waiting on” which means that the bird is flying eagerly searching for prey. Another meaning is “lay in wait” it doesnt mean to be resting it is an active verb.

While we are waiting we need to be active, moving toward His promise. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. Hab2:3 NKJV   AND VICTORY  WILL BE THE LORDS. AMEN