Fruit of the Spirit - Joy and Peace

Galatians 5:22-23

“22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,

peace, patience, kindness, goodness,

faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there

is no law.”

Today we will cover the next two fruits of the Spirit. Joy and

peace. Joy and peace go together because they are emotions.

You can feel joy and you can feel peace. If you don’t have one

then you probably won’t have the other. It would be hard to be

joyful if you are anxious and don’t have peace. And it’s also hard

to feel peace if you are feeling sad instead of joyful.

Let’s begin with Peace.

John 14:27 “27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.

Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be

troubled, neither let them be afraid.”

Jesus promised us peace. Would you like to have some? Jesus

said you could have some of His peace that He left for us.

That sure sounds good, doesn’t it? Now how do we receive

some of the peace that Jesus left for us? What is the kingdom

principle that will allow us to access the peace of Jesus?Isaiah 26:3 “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is

stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”

Kingdom Key: Trust is the conduit through which peace

flows. When we trust Jesus, it allows us to keep our mind on

Him. And keeping our mind on Jesus…keeps it off of whatever is

causing you anxiety.

Anxiety is the opposite and enemy of peace. Are you anxious

about something today? Has your joy been stolen by the enemy,

who is using anxiety to bring you down? Anxiety comes from a

couple of different places.

First, there is the anxiety of situations and circumstances. We

allow our mind to run wild with the “what if” thoughts. I just got

a threatening letter from a creditor, demanding payment. I don’t

have the money…what if they take my house? Where will I go?

The company I work for just got sold. What if they lay off my

position because it’s redundant? What will I do then? How will I

find another job? I’m not feeling good. What if I go to the doctor

and the test results come back positive? Am I going to die?

These can be real situations, and they can cause very real

anxiety, because we have lost our feeling of control. All of these

circumstances are completely out of our control. And since we

like to think we can handle things that come up, and take care of

things that might cause us a problem,. We get very nervous, very

quickly.

Now it’s 100% true that these situations are completely beyond

your control. So what good is it going to do you to worry?

Matthew 6:25-34 “25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious

about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor

about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more thanfood, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of

the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet

your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than

they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single

hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about

clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they

neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory

was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the

grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown

into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little

faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we

eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we

wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your

heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek

first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these

things will be added to you. 34 “Therefore do not be anxious

about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient

for the day is its own trouble.”

When it comes to what you need in this life. God has got you.

All you have to do is keep your focus on the righteous King and

His kingdom.

Another source of anxiety, is the anxiety of relationships. I

don’t know what I’ll do when I see them. I know what they said

about me and I don’t want to talk to them. They have treated me

terribly and I can’t forgive them.

This is a very different issue, because we have an easy solution

available to us. We are in control of how far we let this problem

go. But we don’t like what we have to do to fix it. You always

have the option to mend a relationship. You can offer forgiveness

or ask forgiveness. And it doesn’t matter who was wrong or at

fault. That’s the hard part. They might not accept your apology.Asking forgiveness when you didn’t do anything wrong is very

hard. But consider this. Maybe you have done something

wrong. Maybe what you did was allow whatever they did to

make you angry and now it’s escalated into bitterness. That is on

you, not them. Did you allow love to be you driving thought

through that relational situation? How does God feel about you

not forgiving someone?

Matthew 6:14-15 “14 For if you forgive others their trespasses,

your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not

forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive

your trespasses.”

That seems like a pretty serious consequence. I’d want to start

forgiving if I were you.

Have you allowed circumstances and relationships to cause you

to have anxiety? That’s because you are not keeping an eternal

perspective. You’re allowing yourself to have a perspective that

is determined by your past experience. There is a way to have

peace.

Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not

lean on your own understanding.”

This verse again illustrates the kingdom principle of trusting God,

which leads to peace and avoiding trusting your own knowledge,

which leads to anxiety.

Our God never fails. He is trustworthy. If He said it you can

count on it. And He said He will keep you in perfect peace, if you

trust Him. He said that His plan is better than your plan. He said

that His ways are higher than your ways. Do you trust that?

You should, if you want to have peace.Deuteronomy 7:9 “9 Know therefore that the Lord your God is

God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love

with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a

thousand generations,”

God has been keeping His word for thousands of generations.

When was the last time you were able to keep your word with

zero wavering? Never? Me neither. That’s because we are

flawed humans. But God is not like us. His promises are yes

and amen.

2 Corinthians 1:20

“20 For all the promises of God find their Yes

in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to

God for his glory.”

God’s promises are a “yes”, because they are always fulfilled.

And amen just means “so be it.” That’s why you can trust Him.

Putting your complete trust in Jesus is how peace operates in

your life.

Anxiety is the result of focusing on yourself and how the

situation makes you feel. Peace is the result of focusing on

Jesus and His ability to get you through whatever you are

facing.

Being at peace is the first step to having joy in your life. Peace is

the conduit through which joy can flow into your life.

Let’s move on to Joy.

The joy of the Lord is your strength. Have you heard that

quoted? Me too, but what does it mean and where does it

come from?Nehemiah 8:9-10

“9 And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and

Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people

said to all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your

God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept as they

heard the words of the Law. 10 Then he said to them, “Go your

way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to

anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord.

And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your

strength.”

In this passage, they had just finished rebuilding the city wall of

Jerusalem. Nehemiah, the governor called everyone together to

hear the reading of scripture. When the people heard what the

law said, they were deeply sorrowful over their rebellion and

disobedience to being the nation God had called them to be.

Are you experiencing sadness because you feel like you have

let God down? That is the first step towards repentance. When

you hear the word of God and are reminded of your own rebellion

to what He has called you to be, it should bring you to sorrowful

repentance. But God does not want you to stay in a place of

sorrow. He wants you to rejoice in His ability to hold on to you

and keep you close, as someone who belongs to Him. His

presence will bring you joy and remove the sorrow.

Psalm 16:11 “11 You make known to me the path of life; in your

presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand

are pleasures forevermore.”

His presence brings the joy you’re looking for. That is the only

place you will find true joy. There is nothing that you can achieve

or buy in this life that will bring you lasting joy.Whatever it is that has you feeling sad, just remember: This too

shall pass. That exact phrase is not found in the Bible, but there

are multiple verses that express the same idea. That is, the

temporal nature of the things we will experience in this life.

No matter what you are going through, it will pass. Whether you

are in the most difficult time you have ever faced, remember, this

too shall pass. And also, if you are currently in the happiest time

you’ve ever experienced in you life. Just keep in mind…this too

shall pass.

Everything we experience in this life has a shelf life. It is

temporal, not eternal. There is no telling how long a season of

your life will last, but know this, it’s not going to be forever.

Psalm 30:5 says “weeping may endure for the night, but JOY

comes in the morning”

Psalm 126:5 “Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of

joy!”

What can we do while waiting for a difficult season to end? We

have to continue to give God praise.

Isaiah 61:3 “3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give

unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the

garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might

be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he

might be glorified.”

The way to have joy in a difficult situation is by praising the

King. Praise turns our focus away from our circumstances and

turns it to the One, who can turn it around.I know it sounds crazy, but that’s because the world’s system has

trained you to think that your sad situation requires a sad sound.

The Kingdom key is a sound of praise! If you want to be free

from the spirit of heaviness or sadness, you put on the garment

of praise! It will bring the joy of the Lord.

When I was a kid we sang a song in Sunday school and the lyrics

of the first verse were “the joy of the Lord is my strength.”

That was it. It wasn’t lyrically complex but it got the point across,

because I still remember it today. Sing verse one of he song.

Now the last verse was where things typically went off the rails.

The lyrics for that verse were simply this: He fills my mouth

with laughter, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. The joy of the lord is my

strength. Let’s try that one for a minute.

What just happened there? Could it be that God knew it was

good for you to make a joyful noise to Him? He knew what

would happen to your thoughts if you stopped focusing on your

sadness and just offered Him some praise.

Psalm 98:4 “4 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth;

break forth into joyous song and sing praises!”

Job 8:21 “21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, and your

lips with shouting.”

This should be our constant position. The position of always

having a praise on our lips and in our heart. Even when we don’t

feel like it. Do it anyway as a sacrifice and watch what God

does.

Hebrews 13:15 “Through Him then, let us continually offer up a

sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give

thanks to His name.”It is not enough to just be in the room while others are singing

songs. You have to bring Him a sacrifice of praise yourself.

What is the fruit of your lips? Are you praising God? That is the

kingdom key to having joy during a season of mourning and

sadness.

Let’s recap. Joy and peace are both fruits of the Spirit that we as

believers are supposed to have growing in our life. Trust is the

conduit for peace. The peace that Jesus left for us is achieved

by completely trusting that He will take care of us, if we are

seeking after His righteousness and kingdom.

His Peace is then the conduit for joy to flow into our life. And

praising Him is the first step in having that joy to begin to flow in

our life.