I invite you to turn with me tonight to two places in the New Testament. First of all, for our background reading, Acts 17, the first nine verses. Acts chapter 17, the record of Paul's missionary journey to Thessalonica. And then to 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. The very short verse 16 and the last part of verse 18. We'll read verses 12 through 28 there as we consider tonight one of those attributes that is listed directly as the fruit of the Spirit. Joy. Acts chapter 17 beginning at verse 1. When they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica where there was a Jewish synagogue. As his custom was, Paul went into the synagogue and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead. This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ, he said. Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and not a few prominent women. But the Jews were jealous, so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob, and started a riot in the city. They rushed to Jason's house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd. But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other brothers before the city officials, shouting, these men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here and Jason has welcomed them into his house they are all defying Caesar's decrees saying that there is another king one called Jesus when they heard this the crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil then they made Jason and the others post bond and let them go and then turning over to 1 Thessalonians 5 beginning at verse 12. Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord, and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone, Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else. Be joyful always. Pray continually. Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not put out the Spirit's fire. Do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil. May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The One who calls you is faithful and He will do it. Brothers, pray for us. Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss. I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Indeed, in these final instructions that Paul gives to the church in Thessalonica, in essence, including telling them how they are to live as godly people, he includes these words, Be joyful always. And included in that is, For this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. May God add His blessing to the reading and consideration of His word tonight. Beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ, The Thessalonian church, we know, was made up primarily, not exclusively, but primarily of Gentile converts. Those who had converted from heathenism, from idol worship, to Christianity. And Paul's letter to the church in Thessalonica was indeed a letter of encouragement, especially since this church apparently had been formed after only a very short period of time in Paul's ministry. But it's a letter of encouragement, encouraging them, rejoicing in the fact that they had been faithful by the grace of God. He says in chapter 1, beginning in verse 2, We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers. We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. And then at the end of chapter 2, he says, for what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when He comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy. Indeed, a wonderful letter encouraging this young church in the faith. But also a letter in which Paul encourages them in the face of trials. In the face of very, very harsh persecution that they were receiving from devout, jealous Jews, as Luke refers to them in Acts chapter 17. Jealous Jews, as we read, were causing trouble for these young believers before the city officials. And in light of this harsh persecution, Paul's words may have come as somewhat of a surprise. Be joyful always. Pray continually. give thanks in all circumstances. Notice indeed the ongoing nature that Paul teaches with regard to the Christian's attitude. This is to be the Christian's attitude at all times. And it is to be an attitude that is not conditioned by circumstances. Now Paul had said very clearly that they could expect persecution. In chapter 3, beginning at verse 2, he says, We sent Timothy, who is our brother and God's fellow worker, in spreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith so that no one would be unsettled by these trials. You know quite well that we were destined for them. In fact, when we were with you, we kept telling you that we would be persecuted, and it turned out that way as you know well. They were experiencing persecution. Very, very difficult times. And at the very same time, Paul says, Be joyful always. Now, of course, it may not be so difficult to pray when we are facing persecution because, as the saying goes, there are no atheists in foxholes. In other words, if the situation is bad enough, if it becomes desperate enough, even the most hardened unbeliever will eventually cry out to God. It's not so difficult to pray in times of hardship and temptation and persecution, but it's harder to be joyful. It's harder to rejoice and to give thanks always, in every situation. Beloved, as we consider godliness, and as we have been considering and continue to consider the virtues and attributes that define godliness, We are to remember that these attributes are the fruit of the Spirit, of the Holy Spirit. Now, it's true to say that the unbelieving world also has a kind of love and joy and peace and contentment and thankfulness and gentleness and so forth. Yet for the world, these things are temporary. For the world, these things come and go. For the world, these things are manipulated and governed by the circumstances of life, circumstances which then need to be pleasant and beneficial and comfortable in order for the world to experience love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, and so forth. And we must also confess that our emotions, our attitudes, and our feelings are also affected by life's circumstances. We know that to be true. But the fruit of the Spirit, godliness, godly virtues and attributes, even though these are demonstrated throughout the circumstances of this life. These godly virtues are not determined and governed by the circumstances of this life. Yet godliness is determined and governed by one circumstance. And that circumstance is our position in Christ Jesus. And that includes joy. As Paul considers the believer's joy in Christ, and he shows us, first of all, that the believer's joy in Christ is planned. It is planned by God. Along with prayer and thanksgiving, he says, For this is God's will for you. It is God's will for you and me to have joy and to be joyful. Indeed, like all Christian virtues, joy is dependent on God, to be sure. Yet being joyful, rejoicing, expressing that joy is also the believer's responsibility. But what is it? How do we understand or describe joy? That can be kind of difficult, can't it? I mean, I suspect that we all have an idea of what joy is. We all know the feeling of joy. We all could describe it in some way. And most likely, if we described it, it would include something like being associated with gladness, delight, happiness, and well-being that comes from any sort of pleasurable experience. And even Scripture contrasts joy with weeping and sorrow. the psalmist in Psalm 30, verse 5 says, Weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning. Yet, beloved, our idea, our feeling of joy still is so often tied to circumstances of life, isn't it? And therefore, for some of us, because of the circumstances of life that we are called upon to face, we might say that life is anything but joyful. Instead, it might be boring or it might be filled with all kinds of anxiety and frustration and conflict and tension. And as we think about the emotion of happiness, which we often associate with joy, happiness depends on and is affected by circumstances and the behavior of others. But joy and happiness are not the same. Indeed, happiness may result from joy and often does, but they're not the same thing. You see, godly joy, again, is the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Godly joy, we might say, is an abiding state of well-being and gladness and delight which is ours in Christ. Indeed, joy arises from a feeling of some good. And in the Christian's case, we do not sit around and wait for circumstances to make us joyful. Instead, godly joy arises from a sense of God's love and favor, the goodness of God. A joy that is planned by God through election. Paul tells these believers in chapter 1, verse 4, He has chosen you. God has willed it. He has chosen some to be rescued from the darkness of sin and shame. That sin and shame that brings only sorrow and dread and terror to bring them into the marvelous light of God's truth and love and favor and joy. That we might be living in the comfort of God's choosing. indeed that brings joy someone has said christian joy is essentially the enjoyment of god the fruit of communion with him paul says in romans 14 verses 17 and 18 for the kingdom of god is not a matter of eating and drinking but and we might add the words again the kingdom of god is a matter of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men. The kingdom is a matter of joy which is pleasing to God. Which means, Paul is saying, that the Christian life without joy is a life that really is not pleasing to God. It is a life really that is not trusting God. It is a contradiction of God's purpose for us when we are not joyful. Now, these Thessalonian believers, they might have said, well, if the will of God is our joy, then you would think that He would give us joyful circumstances. You would think that He would give us reason to be joyful. Because, indeed, beloved, the persecution that they suffered may have very well cost them their jobs or their businesses or their status in society, which is a very, very difficult burden to bear, as some of us know. It may very well have cost some of them their lives. So they might have said, well, if God's will for us is joy, you would think that He would give us something to be joyful about. And Paul, in essence, says He has. Because the believer's joy, beloved, transcends the boundaries of life's circumstances, circumstances which are ever-changing. The joy that God has willed for you and me provides smooth passage through the storms and the uncertainties of this life because in the second place, the believer's joy is possessed. The believer possesses it in Christ Jesus. Paul says, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. The believer possesses joy in Christ because of what we have in Him. And Peter, we know, describes that beautifully in 1 Peter 1. What we have in Him is a living hope. Not an uncertain hope, not a doubtful hope, but a living hope, a hope that is real. And Peter says exactly what it is. It is that eternal inheritance for which we are preserved. It is ours. It will never be taken away from us. It will never be stolen or lost. And therefore, Peter can also say in verse 6 of chapter 1, in this, in this living hope of this eternal inheritance, in this you greatly rejoice, listen, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. He says very clearly, they rejoice in that eternal inheritance, even while they are suffering grief in all kinds of trials. You see, beloved, the trials of life do not destroy godly joy. But godly joy in Christ supports and sustains us through the trials of life. Because in Christ Jesus we are redeemed. We have been set free from the chains of sin and shame and the devil. In Christ Jesus, as Paul says in Romans 5, we are justified. We are right with God and all of our sins are forgiven. In Christ Jesus, as Paul says, we are at peace with God. And beloved, really that is why a hopeless, gloomy, complaining and negative attitude and outlook on life contradicts Christian joy. It doesn't fit. It doesn't mean that we never experience times of sadness and indeed some gloom. But indeed, the believer has joy as the foundation. Possessed in Christ because of what we have in Him, but also because of who we are in Him. Because of what we have in Him, we are children of God. We are those whom the Heavenly Father loves and cares for. Those to whom He says, and I have to go back to Isaiah 43 because it's so beautiful, those to whom He says, You are Mine. Those to whom He says there, I love you. You can read it for yourself. He says, you are mine. And then He says, because I love you. Is there anything more wonderful than to hear from the mouth of our Heavenly Father, you belong to me and I love you? Now that's joy. That's joy producing, isn't it? In Christ, beloved, we are those rescued from the power and the dominion of Satan and sin and this evil age. We are those who are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. In Christ Jesus, we have an abiding state of well-being and gladness which is planned by God for us, which is our possession in Christ Jesus. And therefore, it is a joy that is to be practiced in the third place. Practiced by the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul says in Romans 15, verse 13, May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Indeed, the hope we have is intimately, inseparably connected to our joy. And it is ours by the power of the Holy Spirit. And that's why Paul can say confidently, he can command, be joyful always. The Holy Spirit of God, God Himself, applies the saving work of Jesus Christ to our hearts. The Holy Spirit gives to us the gift of faith to believe in Jesus Christ and to receive as our very own all of His benefits. The Holy Spirit takes up residence in each and every one of us individually and gives each one of us the comfort and the confidence of eternal security and joy in Christ Jesus. But the Holy Spirit does something else too. The Holy Spirit also equips and enables us to cultivate and practice joyfulness always. Especially in the midst of attack. It's no secret, beloved, that our joy in Christ Jesus and therefore our joyfulness is often attacked. It's even attacked by ourselves in a number of ways. but especially through the sin that we do continue to struggle with. We see that with David in Psalm 32. Psalms 32 and 51 are two psalms that we know David wrote that have to do with his sin with Bathsheba. In Psalm 32, verses 3 and 4, we read, David says, When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me, My strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. When David tried to hide his sin, he was robbed of joy. We know by experience, I suspect, that sin often results in anger and frustration, resentment, bitterness, murmuring, sorrow, physical weakness, misery. And therefore, the sin that we struggle with, and especially the sin that we fail to deal with and hide, robs us of joy. And David says in that Companion Psalm, Psalm 51, he says, Restore to me the joy of your salvation. And those are important words for us too, beloved, because for the child of God, we are reminded there that by God's grace, sin does not rob us of our salvation. What a comfort that is to be to you and me. Even as we struggle, sometimes willfully, day by day as we struggle with sin, Our sin, as children of God, our sin does not rob us of our salvation. It does not separate us from our God again. Our sins are forgiven in Christ Jesus. But yet our sin, when it's not dealt with, indeed robs us for a time of the sense of the joy of salvation. And especially through the chastening and disciplining hand of God because of our sin. And again, the discipline of God causes us also to temporarily lose the sense of salvation. Remember, David said, your hand was heavy upon me. Hebrews 12, verse 11 says, no discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Discipline, especially the discipline of God, is not meant to be joyful because then it would not accomplish its intended result. Our sin robs us or attempts to rob us of joy. but our joy is also attacked by the circumstances of life. Again, the circumstances do not govern or manipulate the believer's joy, but our joy is attacked by the circumstances of life, the circumstances that we see all around us in the world. We see sin and godlessness promoted all around us. We see wicked prosper. We see the righteous suffer, as the psalmist in Psalm 73 talks about. We see disaster and hurt and disease and suffering. All you need to do, and you know it, is read the newspaper or watch the evening news day after day after day. It's always there. And Satan uses that to attack us. He uses that to try to cause us to wonder if God really is in control, if He really does care. He uses that to try to attack our joy in Christ and to question Him. But our joy is also attacked by the circumstances in my very own life. The trials of faith that come upon you and me in many, many different forms. Maybe ongoing health problems or financial crisis or criticism and resentment of some sort or death or being treated unfairly or persecution or sorrow or boys and girls when your friends decide they don't want to be your friends anymore. Trials of faith that come upon us. And again, Satan uses that to tempt us and to attack our joy and to try to cause doubt and depression and to strip one of and to blind us of true joy. Yet, beloved, in the midst of attacks on the believer's joy in Christ, by the grace of God, we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to practice being joyful always through reflecting on our relationship with God. And the Holy Spirit uses His Word to help us reflect on our relationship with God. He uses His Word to cultivate and to help us practice joy in our hearts, for example, as He reminds us in the midst of sin and being disciplined for it, He reminds us in Hebrews 12 that even though discipline is painful, yet it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who are trained by it. Because as the writer says in verse 6, the Lord disciplines those He loves. As we are disciplined by the hand of God, as He brings us to understand our sin and to deal with it properly. Indeed, what joy that restores to us, beloved. Because we are reminded that God disciplines those He loves. And therefore, again, I may have the confidence that He loves me. And thus David could say in Psalm 32, I said, I will confess my sin and you forgave the guilt of my sin. The Holy Spirit uses His Word to cultivate and help us to practice joy in our hearts in times of trial as he points us to Psalm 50, verse 15, where the Lord says, Call upon me in the day of trouble. I will deliver you and you will honor me. Or when the future looks uncertain, Jeremiah 29, verse 11, For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope in a future. The Holy Spirit helps us to cultivate joy and that joyfulness in our hearts and lives through the very Word of God by which we see the promises of God for you and me. And because of our hope in Jesus Christ, as Paul says in Romans 8, 28, all things work together for the good of those who love Him. God works all things for our good. And dear people of God, that is true whether you and I believe it or not. God's work and God's Word is not dependent on your faith or my faith. However, the comfort and the joy that God's promises intend to give to you and me is dependent on our believing and trusting in the One who said, Never will I leave you, nor will I forsake you. The One who said, No one will be able to snatch you out of My hand. The one who said, nothing will separate you from my love. Beloved, that's our foundation of joy in our God through Jesus Christ. Yet, this joy and this joyfulness may still be the most difficult virtue for us to comprehend. Because there is so much on this side of glory that contradicts it. And we still have the tendency to want to tie it, to associate it with the circumstances of life that we face. The most striking paradox, I believe, is the mystery of the believer's combination of joy and sorrow in the time of death. Death, that last enemy with its pain and separation, brings sorrow. You and I know that. We have all experienced it. Yet for those who are in Christ Jesus, ours is joy, which we also know. Joy in the midst of tears. It doesn't make sense to the world. But joy in the midst of tears because we know that even death cannot separate us from the love and the care and the promises of God. Death cannot strip us of who we are and what we have in Christ Jesus. Again, when it comes to our emotions, for example, our emotions of being happy and sad, we know that those may very well and do fluctuate with events and situations of life. Yet our joy, that abiding state of well-being because of our secure position planned by God the Father and possessed in Christ Jesus, our joy remains constant by the power of the Holy Spirit. And that joy keeps us from utter despair and hopelessness. And, beloved, this joy belongs only to those who are saved by and trust in Jesus Christ alone for the forgiveness of all of their sins and to be right with God. Apart from Him, there is only eternal sorrow and weeping, the weeping and gnashing of teeth. Apart from Him, this joy that we have been talking about is nothing but a foreign concept, but for those who turn to the Lord Jesus Christ and trust in Him and find their hope in Him alone to be right with God, to enjoy that eternal inheritance. Theirs is a joy inescapable. Joy in Christ Jesus, beloved, produces a pleasant disposition. It doesn't mean that you and I are going to be giddy and laughing all the time. But it does mean that we will strive to have a pleasant disposition. Joy in Christ Jesus produces thankfulness and contentment so that you and I can say with Paul in confidence, we are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed. We are perplexed, but not in despair. We are persecuted, but not forsaken. We are struck down, but not destroyed. And instead, we are able to meditate, as Paul says, on whatever things are true, noble, just, Pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, praiseworthy. We might say that God's people are able to look on the bright side all the time. All because, as Nehemiah says, the joy of the Lord is our strength. Dear people of God, be joyful always. May you and I be able to say with Habakkuk, as he says in chapter 3, though the fig tree may not blossom nor fruit be on the vines though the labor of the olive may fail and the fields yield no food though the flock may be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls in other words he's kind of saying though everything may seem to be going wrong yet I will rejoice in the Lord I will joy in the God of my salvation and that's the bottom line isn't it? He is the God of our salvation in Christ Jesus alone. Now that's joy. Amen. Let's pray together. Father, we pray that indeed You would increase the joy that we sense in our hearts and lives. For indeed, You have given to us great joy in Christ Jesus. We must confess that so often we find ourselves acting in a way that appears that we have no joy at all. We pray for Your forgiving grace when we act in those ways, in those times. We pray, Father, that indeed you would increase our joy. Give us a joyful spirit. A spirit that might be displayed to all with whom we have contact and by which we might be given the opportunity to give a reason to everyone who asks for the hope and the joy that we have in Christ Jesus alone. Father, once again tonight, we thank you and praise you for your word. Your word which beautifully reminds us and teaches us of what we have in Christ, of who we are in Christ. Your Word which continues to call us of how we are to live before the eyes of a watching world and before Your face. And indeed, help us in all things to glorify Your most holy name. Hear our prayer, O Lord, for Jesus' sake. And in His name we pray. Amen.