Joy | Ashwin Ramani | August 15, 2021

[Music] greetings to all of you i want to welcome all of us at cena street church those of us are here at center campus as well as those joining us from our campus in bearspa bridgeland eritrea and south calgary i also want to welcome our online viewers as well last weekend we started a brand new sermon series focusing on the fruit of the spirit and rosemary flaytan did an excellent job in giving us the larger context of galatians chapter 5 where we find the list of the fruit of the spirit and this sermon series will unpack each of the characteristics of the fruit of the spirit a christian theologian john stott calls the fruit of the spirit as the portrait of jesus christ if there's anyone who modeled all of these qualities to perfection it is jesus the fruit of the spirit represents the character qualities of jesus himself and as you read the gospels you will see in jesus interactions with people he demonstrates these very qualities so if you want to know am i becoming more like jesus then you have to ask the question do i have a greater measure of love joy peace patience kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness self-control a life that demonstrates the fruit of the spirit is the jesus shaped life and when we become fruitful in these areas and these qualities become part and parcel of our life then we are being conformed to the image of christ this is also a practical way to gauge your spiritual maturity how you are doing in your walk with the lord joe aldridge poses this interesting question in his popular book lifestyle evangelism he asks what do cinderella princesses kissing frogs and ugly ducklings have in common why are we particularly drawn to stories like these and aldrich goes on to say the reason we are attracted to these stories is they describe a pilgrimage to beauty and that is why it is irresistible now in the same way the christian life is also is a pilgrimage to beauty and we come to jesus broken and messy and the beauty of the gospel as pastor tim keller says is god sees us as we are loves us as we are and accepts us as we are but by his grace does not leave us as we are jesus invites us into this pilgrimage to beauty and our broken lives undergoes a process of transformation whereby we start reflecting the character qualities of jesus himself and that is the divine work of the holy spirit the evidence that the spirit is alive in a person's life when we become more and more like jesus the world around us needs to know who we are as christians by our character qualities this is how we stand out we make a difference this is how we earn the respect of the world around us and not just through our words but primarily through our deeds our actions others should notice the life of jesus in the way we live our lives today and that is why i believe the sermon series that we are embarking on is so important to our witness as followers of christ it's particularly relevant to the season that we are in as christ followers last weekend rosemary put the spotlight on the characteristic of love and today i'm going to focus on joy and before we get started let's read the scripture passage together from galatians chapter 5 verses 22 to 23 and we will pray together uh so shall we stand as we honor the reading of god's word but the fruit of the spirit is love joy peace patience kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness self-control against such things there is no law would you pray with me lord it is our heart's desire to become more like jesus we want our character to be transformed and conformed to the image of christ and we know that this is a supernatural work that only you can do within us so as we open our hearts to you i pray that lord you will use this sermon series to bring changes in our life that lord we will be shaped and molded to become more like jesus so we ask that your holy spirit will be active in our midst today and lord as we focus on joy i pray that lord you will grant us afresh an outpouring of joy that you alone can bring while we pray this in the powerful name of our lord and savior jesus christ amen you may be seated my wife is a joyful person whoever interacts with her will affirm that in fact when i met her for the very first time that's what i was really drawn to her joyful disposition and as they say opposites attract so so that tells you a little bit about me you know i am not joyful or vibrant by nature i have a melancholic side to my temperament so as a result i have wrestled with this question is joy reserved only for those who are temperamentally wired that way and i've come to the conclusion irrespective of our personality god wants us to grow in the area of our joy and when it comes to the fruit of the spirit we cannot pick and choose and it is not nine different fruits as some people mistakenly call it it is a singular fruit with nine flavors and we should see it as a holistic set of qualities unified qualities a life that looks more like jesus embodies all of these traits and as we put the spotlight on joy today i want to say at the outset now my intent is not to change your temperament or the unique way in which god has wired you as a person and the sermon application is not let's maintain a cheerful disposition have an upbeat mindset at all times and we should always as christians wear a big smile now that is a distorted view of joy i'm going to talk to you about joy that is deep and settled not just an emotion or a temperamental quality but something that all of us can experience within the deep recesses of our heart we receive joy from god as a gift and it marks us as christ's followers now if the fruit of the spirit is the portrait of jesus then jesus must have experienced joy and continues to do so today it's interesting that often we refer to jesus as a man of sorrows our paintings of jesus present him to be pensive with a deep serious look of a philosopher or a sage and not very often do we associate jesus as being joyful even the scripture presents jesus with emotions like weeping getting angry sad discouraged surprised but did you notice not once do we see jesus laughing in the four gospels and that may be why most christians don't associate jesus with being joyful then i came across this verse that really challenged my line of thinking here's hebrews chapter 1 verses 8 and 9 and this is from the new living translation listen to these words but to the son he says your throne oh god end yours forever and ever you rule with the scepter of justice you love justice and hate evil therefore listen to this o god your god has anointed you pouring out the oil of joy on you more than on anyone else now according to this words who is the most joyful person who ever lived it's jesus god poured the oil of joy on jesus more than on anyone else and jesus was so full of it brimming to the overflow and that is why when you read the gospels you will see ordinary folks of jesus time were drawn to him they felt comfortable in his presence jesus enjoyed going to their homes and being part of their parties and he had fun and rabbis in the first century didn't go to parties i bet they didn't get any invitations either after all inviting a rabbi to a party is like inviting a clown to a funeral you don't do that these two things don't go together but in total contrast what do we see with jesus jesus has such contagious joy and he is the life of the party so much so the pharisees accused jesus of being too joyful because jesus didn't fit their criteria of a somber looking religious teacher and that is precisely also why kids were drawn to jesus ask yourself this question who are kids drawn to they stay a mile away from people who are grumpy who are kids attracted to they're drawn to those who are joyful those who laugh and crack silly jokes and come down and speak at their level those are the ones kids gravitate to and i believe all that was true of jesus his joy overflowed and people around him including kids took notice of that now if jesus was the most joyful person who ever lived then who should be the most joyful of all people and shouldn't it be us who are his followers who claim to walk in his footsteps jesus says something in the gospels that is mind-blowing listen to this verse in john 15 11 jesus says i've told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete right before jesus says these words he talks about himself being the wine and we are the branches so we don't manufacture the fruit our job is to bear the fruit by simply abiding in jesus and then jesus says this was here my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete now this is the same jesus who said i have come so that you can have life and life to the full jesus is the source of our joy and here is the astonishing part are you ready for this jesus desires not just that you have joy or you remain joyful all the time but jesus desires that you have the same joy that he has now that takes our capacity to experience joy to an altogether new level it has been expanded and enlarged so we can have the same divine joy of the eternal son of god because he is eager to share his joy with us now the reason some of us don't have joy is because we're looking for it in the wrong places if you seek pure joy fullness of joy abiding joy you're not going to find it in this world people often say i'll find joy when i graduate from school or reach a higher level in my career or if i were to get married or go on this dream vacation maybe when i retire we have all these future scenarios in mind that will probably bring joy into our lives and that is just an illusion but what jesus offers us is joy in the love in the present tense a joy that comes out of an ongoing personal relationship with christ so if your joy tank is running low then you can borrow from jesus because his supply never runs out in the gospel of luke at the launch of his ministry we find this familiar passage where jesus alludes to his primary work as the messiah this is the messianic mandate found in luke chapter 4 verses 16 to 21 hear these words when he jesus came to the village of nazareth his boyhood home he went as usual to the synagogue on the sabbath and stood up to read the scriptures the scroll of isaiah the prophet was handed to him he unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written the spirit of the lord is upon me for he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor he has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released that the blind will see that the oppressed will be set free and that the time of the lord's favor has come he rolled up the scroll handed it back to the attendant and sat down all eyes in the synagogue looked at him instantly and he began to speak to them the scripture you've just heard has been fulfilled this very day so what we find here is at the very start of jesus ministry jesus who has been anointed by the spirit with joy promises joy to all who encounter him just as the spirit lavished jesus with joy in the same way the holy spirit wants to lavish joy on all of us who are his followers the text that we that jesus read in the synagogue in nazareth is taken from the book of isaiah chapter 61. and jesus says clearly that he is the fulfillment of this prophecy jesus brings good news to the poor not just those who are economically poor but those who are poor in spirit who are acknowledging their need for god when you know that you need god in your life the good news jesus gives is god is for you that he has reached out to you and all you need to do is receive his offer of love that is good news to those who are poor in spirit jesus then uses this imagery of chains being broken and captives being released now the imagery behind this prophecy is the year of jubilee that the israelites were called to observe in the book of leviticus every 50th year in israel was called the year of jubilee debts were cancelled slaves were released captives were freed property was returned back to the original owner and all labor ceased for the whole year and it was meant to be a year-long joyous celebration and total rejoicing for the israelites and what jesus is saying is he is the one who ushers this year of jubilee leading to ultimate celebration that is his messianic mandate so he cancels our spiritual debts frees us from the enemy's grasp and releases us from the chains that hold us and he brings true lasting freedom now if you look at isaiah chapter 61 from where jesus quoted these words the very succeeding verse in isaiah 61 verse 3 it says and provide for those who grieve in zion to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes the oil of joy instead of mourning and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair and if you see the same phrase here that we looked at earlier the oil of joy just as jesus was anointed with the oil of joy by the spirit more than anyone else in the same way he anoints us with the oil of joy through his spirit i tell you there will be times in your life challenging seasons that will try to steal this joy away from you and those are the moments you need to abide in the presence of jesus so he can continue to replenish your joy for when you come before jesus presence he will take your ashes and replaces them with his beauty he will turn your mourning into dancing he will take away the spirit of despair and clothe you with a garment of praise he will crown you with supernatural joy right in the middle of your trying circumstances and this is not a happy-go-lucky emotionally upbeat feeling but this is a deep reservoir of joy flowing within you that comes from the assurance that your life is secure in the hands of jesus and this quality of joy is not reserved just for those who have the right temperament but this is for all of us jesus wants to induce every one of us who are his followers with this quality of joy now if you are not a follower of jesus christ and you're listening to my words you may have the wrong assumption that becoming a christian is saying no to joy and i tell you nothing can be far from the truth becoming a christian is saying yes to fullness of joy that you find nowhere else in this world you know you would see this all through the gospels and the book of acts as the gospel spreads so does joy joy in fact is one of the key indicators that the gospel has arrived in a community and is setting people free the parable of the lost sheep lost coin and the lost son all emphasized the exuberant joy of all of heaven when one person comes to faith in jesus christ now the apostles in the book of acts are persecuted but they consider it great joy that they have been counted worthy to suffer for the name of jesus when the gospel breaks boundaries and spills over from jerusalem onto the neighboring city of samaria we find in acts chapter 8 verse 8 there was great joy in the whole city of samaria when the ethiopian eunuch meets philip the evangelist and understands the power of the gospel and is being baptized acts chapter 8 verse 39 says he went on his way rejoicing paul and silas are in a prison they are praising god and the chains are broken and the prison doors are wide open now and yet they don't take this as an opportunity to escape but they stay and that results in the salvation of the philippian jailer and his entire family and they commit their lives to jesus christ acts chapter 16 verse 34 says the jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in god he and his whole household see what i'm trying to do is show you here numerous examples and i'm sure there are plenty of other examples where the wherever the gospel goes so does joy so here's a question what about you do you have joy in your life after all every person wants joy now i have not come across a person who wants to be miserable all the time and says i want nothing to do with joy every advertisement that we watch has that appeal in it showing a person finding joy by using a product or a service drive this car eat this food wear these clothes shop at this place and you will have joy even a commercial for a laxative shows a person in great discomfort finally finding a sigh of relief leading to an expression of joy joy is irresistible and here this is what you need to know the bible is not against joy it is so much in favor of joy the message of the bible is joy is not found in your circumstances in your dreams or aspirations coming to pass because those things are all fleeting but the message of the bible is a sure steady deep constant abiding joy is yours through your relationship with jesus christ no i want us to look at another verse this time from the apostle peter first peter chapter 1 verses 8 and 9 though you have not seen him you love him and even though you do not see him now you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy for you are receiving the end result of your faith the salvation of your souls the apostle peter is here talking about a higher quality of joy a joy that is unspeakable in expressible glorious joy you have to pause for a moment and ask the question who is peter writing this too who are the original recipients of this letter peter is writing this letter to people who are suffering greatly for their faith they're being persecuted they've lost their family their possessions their job their respect they have to leave their homes and go to new cities and live there as foreigners and they've been dispersed displaced scattered a modern day picture will be that of a refugee camp we're seeing that in the news now with what's happening in afghanistan people who are fleeing peter is writing to people who have lost everything and yet he's saying to them there's something that cannot be taken away from you and that is your joy and that is because these people even though they have not seen jesus physically they believe in him they love him and they want to follow in his footsteps and because their relationship with jesus is secure and they cannot be separated from jesus their joy cannot be taken away from them either see if you have joy in your life only when life is good and joy seems to evade you during the trying times of your life then chances are god is not the source of your joy we need a god who can fill us with joy even when we are in a prison cell and give us songs of grace we need a god who can provide an endless supply of joy that is not a fleeting feeling but he can sustain us in the darkest moments of our life and i can tell you if jesus is the source of your joy then the joy that he gives you is inexpressible unspeakable it's contagious this glorious joy is the same quality of joy that jesus had and the deepest troubles of life cannot put out the joy that you have received from him as a new christian when i first surrendered my life to jesus christ this was one of the first evidences i noticed all of a sudden out of nowhere there was a deep joy right within my heart and there were no words to describe it and often when i thought about my new relationship with jesus i would burst into songs of praise and tears will just start flowing freely as i reflected on his love and i will say to myself is this really true i just can't believe that jesus would die for me on the cross that i am now a child of god that i have been brought into god's own family that he would pursue me as though i was a prized possession that he would call me into this deep intimate relationship and he would call me and commission me to preach his word all of that was so mind-blowing during those times i would sense joy within me like a fountain and there were times when i didn't see that exuberant joy but still joy was lingering deep within me and my personality did not change but i knew this well of joy overflowing within my heart and i could draw from it any moment but as it happens with so many other things novelty can wear off and sometimes profound gospel truths can become too familiar too common and you don't feel the same sense of joy that you once had when you had this new relationship with jesus and over the years as i have sensed that i'm running low on joy [Music] i had to ask jesus to pour out the oil of joy afresh to restore the joy of my salvation [Music] and in those moments i wasn't just asking jesus for joy i was asking to renew my relationship with him to sense his presence close because when you have jesus joy is a byproduct maybe there's somebody here who's listening to me today and you resonate with what i'm saying you think of that moment in your life as a new believer when you were overflowing with joy when you wondered about what jesus has done for you and it was so amazing that it became the source of your joy and that joy somehow has become dim in your life powerful gospel truths have just become too familiar friend if that is you i want to encourage you to renew your relationship with jesus sense that intimacy with him once again and as jesus comes close to you so will your joy you

Channel: mycschurch

Views: 451

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: Centre Street Church, Centre, Street, Church, Calgary, Calgary Church, CSC, Central Campus, cschurch, mycschurch, Christian, Faith, Jesus

Id: 4-wh4jrK18Y

Length: 32min 50sec (1970 seconds)

Published: Mon Aug 16 2021