Dave spoke this morning from 1 Pet 1:6-9, continuing his series on the fruit of the Spirit by looking at the fruit of joy. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is a gift from God which cannot be earned, simply received, and its purpose is to give us the power to witness to all that Jesus has done and to live the life Christ wants us to live. Joy is defined in the dictionary as ‘a feeling of great pleasure or happiness‘, but the New Testament description of joy (and the word features 63 times in the NIV, so it’s not a rare subject!) has far less to do with happy circumstances than this definition might imply; the epistle to the Philippians, for example (‘the epistle of joy‘), was written while Paul was in prison! Js 1:2 and 1 Pet 1:6-9 talk of joy even in trials; joy is ‘the settled assurance that God is in control of all the details of my life’.
The assurance God gives us is the basis for our joy; 2 Tim 1:12 reminds us that we know whom we have believed and are fully persuaded that He has power to keep us and save us. Joy and gladness come because we are sure of God’s favour (Acts 2:46-47 shows that all God’s people worshipped with glad and sincere hearts; this is not something reserved for an elite few.)
The joy God gives is indescribable; our joy comes as the Holy Spirit comes in power, showing us that the chief characteristic of all true revivals is joy. This joy is typically manifested in exuberant singing (think of the hymns written by Charles Wesley during the Methodist Revival, hymns such as ‘O For A Thousand Tongues to Sing’ or more modern hymns such as ‘Joy of the Lord‘ which express rejoicing in God’s abundant goodness to us.) Singing is a powerful attempt to express this inexpressible, indescribably joy; it’s the overflow of a grateful, thankful heart.
Christianity is not about grim-faced, miserable people who are forced to attend church services; it is about people who rejoice in meeting together and whose joy is infectious. Assurance is a great gift of God (Joan of Arc sang while being burnt to death and the testimony of many other martyrs is that whilst the body can be killed, the joy of the Lord cannot be taken away.) God’s joy helps us through every difficulty and every trial and is available to us all through the power of the Holy Spirit.