THE FRUIT OF JOY

Zephaniah 3:8-20; Galatians 5:19-26

INTRODUCTION TO ZEPHANIAH 3:8-20

A. Zephaniah lived during the time of the prophets Jeremiah and Nahum (about 600 B.C.).

B. Zephaniah proclaimed God’s judgment against Israel for her infidelity and also against the other nations. But Zephaniah concludes on a note of hope for a remnant from Israel and the nations.

C. In Zephaniah 3:14,17 eight different Hebrew words are used for joy or joyful expression.

1. God’s people exult and rejoice in God (v.14).

2. God exults and rejoices over His people (v.17).

D. One of the primary ways that joy is expressed in Scripture is shouting and singing. God rejoices/sings over His people! (Zeph.3:17; cf. Jeremiah 48:36).

1. Our God speaks and He also sings.

a. God the Father sings (Zeph.3:17; cf. Jeremiah 48:36).

b. God the Son sings (Matthew 26:30; Hebrews 2:12 with Psalm 22:22).

c. God the Holy Spirit sings and inspires songs (cf. Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16).

2. Angels sing (Job 38:7).

3. God created many animals with different kinds of songs.

E. Singing is one of the primary ways that we express our faith in Jesus Christ so as to experience the supernatural joy of the Holy Spirit. If you want to be more joyful as a Christian – sing God’s Word with faith!

REVIEW OF LAST WEEK

Ø We should not therefore confuse the natural love of this world for the supernatural love of the Holy Spirit which comes only through faith in Jesus Christ.

Ø For science, all love is neurochemical whether it be romantic love or parental love or the love of friends.

Ø Natural love is produced, in part, from neurochemical reactions. But Paul isn’t talking about neurochemistry. Paul is talking about new creation (2 Cor 5:17; Eph 2:10, 15; 4:24; Col 3:10; cf. Gal.6:15).

I. NATURAL VERSUS SUPERNATURAL JOY

“[T]he Christian’s joy is a transcendent joy, a joy born of blessedness. An unbeliever experiences positive emotions that evoke smiles, but no unbeliever has ever experienced the beatific joy of salvation” (R.C. Sproul, The Mystery of the Holy Spirit).

II. THE ROOTS OF JOY

A. The joy of the Spirit is not in any way dependent upon earthly circumstances or experiences (Hebrew 10:34; James 1:2).

B. Persecution, affliction and suffering are cause for joy for Christians because it means that we are being identified with Christ (Matthew 5:10-12; Acts 5:40-41; 1 Peter 4:13)!

C. The joy of the Holy Spirit is rooted in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus (Psalm 16:8-11 with Acts 2:22-27).

D. The joy of the Holy Spirit does not mean that you will always have a bubbly attitude or a smile (2 Corinthians 6:10; Hebrews 12:2).

E. Joy is one of the things that sustains us and strengthens us for living as God commanded (Nehemiah 8:10; Philippians 4:4,10,13,14).

III. JOY REVEALS WHERE OUR TRUE LOVE IS

A. “Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her” (Genesis 29:20).

B. Joy makes God’s commandments a delight! (Isaiah 58:13-14; cf. Psalm 1:2; 19:8; 119:14,16,24,35,47,70,77,92,111,143,162,174; John 14:21,23; 15:9-11; etc.).

IV. PRACTICAL WAYS OF PUTTING OUR FAITH IN CHRIST SO THAT WE CAN INCREASE IN JOY

A. Living a life of faith and obedience will increase our joy in the Holy Spirit (John 15:9-11; cf. Psalm 32:11; 64:10; 68:3; 69:32; 87:1–5; 97:11; 119:1; Prov 10:28; 13:9; 29:6).

B. Singing God’s Word in faith is another means of increasing in our Spiritual joy (Ephesians 5:18-19; Colossians 3:16).

1. At the time of the Protestant Reformation, congregational singing had disappeared.

2. One of the ways that worship was reformed was by recognizing that all God’s people are priests and had a right to offer up the sacrifice of praise (Hebrews 13:15).

3. Singing is necessary for our love and for the joy of the Holy Spirit. However, if the church’s singing is to be Spiritual then it must be Scriptural (Ephesians 5:18-19; Colossians 3:16).

4. One of the fruits of modern worship is “worship wars” and division within churches. This is the fruit of the flesh and not the Holy Spirit.

5. Singing the Psalms is a Spiritually acquired taste. Modern worship styles are culturally acquired preferences.

“The spiritual vitality of the church is proportional to the congregation’s use of psalms in worship and in the lives of believers. When the church was strong, actively influencing society, its worship was characterized by psalms. When psalms are absent from worship, as they recently have tended to be, the church may become weak and ineffectual, its worship contentless. It is so today.

“One of the great weaknesses of the Christian community is a weakness in prayer. We aren’t very familiar with the vocabulary of prayer. We stammer and stutter in prayer, or fill our prayers with strange phrases like “Lord, we just want to … and we just … and we’re just here to say.… ” Would you talk to another human being like that? How can we learn ways to pray that match the dignity of the Person we are addressing? The answer lies in the psalms. Because many of the psalms are divinely-inspired prayers, they can teach us to pray.

“In recent years there has been a movement towards spontaneity in worship, as a reaction against dead formalism. With this movement has often come a dangerous cheapening of worship and a casual attitude toward God. The use of the psalms will restore to us a vibrancy of worship and a proper sense of his dignity and majesty” (R.C. Sproul, Before the face of God: Volume 3; #200 “The Psalm-Filled Life”).

QUESTIONS FOR SABBATH DISCUSSION & MEDITATION

Take what you have learned this morning and make it into a prayer. Pray that your faith in Jesus would lead you to sing and that in singing you would find Spiritual joy and the strength of the LORD.

What were the texts of this morning’s sermon?

What are some ways that joy is expressed in Scripture?

Does God sing? What other parts of His creation sing?

How does the joy of the Spirit differ from the natural joy of the world?

Is Christian joy dependent upon our earthly circumstances?

Why can Christians rejoice in persecution, affliction and suffering?

Recommended Psalm resources:

Instrumental:

Sons of Korah (can be ordered from Family Christian Stores or Garden of Readin’: 800-276-9065):

ü Light of Life

ü Redemption Songs

ü Shelter

ü Resurrection

Jason Coghill

ü Wells of Salvation (contains several Psalms and portions of Psalms put to music) (can be ordered from the Internet at http://www.tradebit.com/filedetail.php/207334 )

A cappella (voice only):

www.psalms4u.com – has a wide assortment of Psalm CDs. Many Psalms can be downloaded.

What is the joy of the Holy Spirit rooted in?

How is joy related to strength?

In what practical ways can you exercise your faith in Christ so that you become more joyful?