“Joy is Better Than Happiness”
Pastor Kris Freeman
Revolution Church
Sunday, May 7, 2017
Scripture: Galatians
5:22-26
22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love,
joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and
self-control. There is no law against these things!
24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires
of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 Since we are living by
the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our
lives.
26 Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of
one another.
Paul’s letter to the
Churches at Galatia
After establishing churches in Galatia, Paul is writing
(either to the northern or southern region of Galatia) to churches there and
countering a teaching that has happened after he left. Judaizers (Jewish
Christian legalists) had influenced the church and attempting to hold Gentiles
to the Mosaic law and Jewish customs. Paul speaks of the new covenant of Christ
and the difference of the flesh and the spirit.
28 There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and
female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28 NLT)
For us to understand our NEW LIFE
in Christ, we must operate in the SPIRIT
and what the Spirit produces!
The difference between spiritual GIFTS and spiritual FRUIT.
·
A spiritual gift is an action; spiritual fruit
is an production
·
A spiritual gift is a manifestation, spiritual
fruit grows within you
·
A spiritual gift is a miraculous work, spiritual
fruit is in your natural response
Spiritual fruit is the product of a ROOT that produces a RESULT
-
The root of sin is in the flesh
-
The root of fruit is in the spirit
Be careful not to confuse the fruit of the vine with
emotion!
Affection is a temporary response, but
unconditional love is the nature of God.
a.
By
this, shall all men know that you are my disciples that you “love one another”
(John 13:35 NLT)
b.
He
that does not love does not know God, for God is love (1 John 4:8)
Happiness is a temporary response, but joy is a movement deep in your being
Happiness is a temporary response, but joy is a movement deep in your being
a.
The word for joy is chara (Gr. Pronounced K-ha-ra) – it means exceeding gladness and
cheerfulness. The word is used 59 times in 57 verses in the new testament, including
when Christ was born. (Matt. 2:10)
b.
You
love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now,
you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy (1 Peter 1:8
NLT)
Calm is a temporary response, but peace surpasses all understanding.
Calm is a temporary response, but peace surpasses all understanding.
a.
Then
you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His
peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus (Philippians
4:7 NLT)
Emotion can be faked but spiritual fruit is AUTHENTIC faith.
God wants to produce truth and authenticity in your story!
You are not a follower of Christ because of your race, your
cultural background, your law, your works, your body, your style, your
characteristics, your flaws or your failures or success.
You produce spiritual fruit because of grace by faith that
produces GOD’S NATURE within you!
No comments:
Post a Comment