Joy Is Not Optional

The joy that God provides is not circumstantial.

When a person decides to follow Jesus and turn from their own leadership, Jesus provides His Spirit, called the Holy Spirit, to lead.  This is called the "seal of adoption" in Romans 8.  The leadership of the Holy Spirit is literally the evidence that you are being saved.

"Saved" isn't something you arrive at by saying a prayer and asking Jesus in to your heart, although this saves a person who continues to follow Jesus.  

Saved is a trajectory of following.  

Salvation begins with a prayer, no doubt, it just doesn't end there.  Your salvation ends when your following of Jesus does.  The Bible is quite clear about this:

 Hebrews 6:1So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding. Surely we don’t need to start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds and placing our faith in God.

2You don’t need further instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.

3And so, God willing, we will move forward to further understanding.

4For it is impossible to bring back to repentance those who were once enlightened—those who have experienced the good things of heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit,

5who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the power of the age to come—

6and who then turn away from God. It is impossible to bring such people back to repentance; by rejecting the Son of God, they themselves are nailing him to the cross once again and holding him up to public shame.

God is trying to see what will grow in the person He gives His Spirit to.  What is growing in us determines our destiny.  This is called "bearing fruit." 

If you turn from following Jesus because you are offended, bored, confused, have been taught deceptive doctrine, etc. you begin to bear bad fruit.  If you bear bad fruit, you are not saved.  

However, If you are concerned about bad fruit, and tell God about it (confess your sin), He is faithful to forgive and gives you a fresh start.  This is called "grace" which is the power to change despite your failure to change in the past. You have to use it.  You have to change.

God is trying to see what will grow in you today:

 Hebrews 6:7When the ground soaks up the falling rain and bears a good crop for the farmer, it has God’s blessing.

8But if a field bears thorns and thistles, it is useless. The farmer will soon condemn that field and burn it.

What is good fruit and what is bad fruit? 

The Bible is REALLY clear and really consistent, you don't have to wonder.  

Good fruit is NOT:

-a bunch of people being saved

-a lot of people hearing the truth

-feeding orphans

-caring for widows

-large impact on society

-preaching the Gospel

-trying to stop abortion

...we could go on and on... God could do all of these with, or without, you.

These are works.  They can result from good fruit, BUT all of these^ can be done with really bad fruit.  

Good fruit is what you alone can grow in your own heart.  

God refuses to make fruit come through you, although, by grace, He alone has the power to produce it.  

A good example is this: if a farmer doesn't plant apple seeds, apple trees won't grow.  BUT, no farmer can make apple seeds grow. Only God controls the sun, rain, and weather and makes the miracle of life happen. But, without planting the seeds, no orchards would exist.

Same with you.

Good fruit and bad fruit are clearly laid out in the Bible:

Galatians 5:19When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures,

20idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division,

21envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

22But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

23gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.

25Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.

26Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.

Bad fruit = no salvation

Good fruit = salvation

This is why I am talking about joy.  Joy is one of the fruits of the Spirit.

No joy = no salvation

Joy isn't optional, because the Holy Spirit's leadership isn't optional.  If the Holy Spirit is leading, joy is a fruit being produced.  Joy also is not possible apart from a miracle of us planting the seeds and God making it grow...

How do we plant seeds of joy? We repent of the depression, anxiety and fear we harbor in our hearts.  It's like pulling the weeds, then we thank the Holy Spirit in us for the joy He has and the fact He was sent to live in our hearts.

Your heart is your mind, will, and emotions.  Right now, the Holy Spirit is mostly present in your Spirit.  However, we need to invite Him in to our hearts... In to our thinking, our feelings, and the choices we make moving forward (will).

You know the Holy Spirit is, or is not, in your heart by the amount of joy you experience.  

Joy is not being happy because you believe everything is going well.  Joy is the innate sense of well being you can have no matter what is going on around you.

 James 1:2Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.

3For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.

Right now, the whole world has a wonderful opportunity for great joy.  

You can protest bad conditions on earth, or you can protest the bad conditions in your heart that are killing your joy.  You can elect, or relect a political leader on earth and follow them in to more division, blame, and fear, or you can follow the Holy Spirit's leadership inside of you into joy.

Joy isn't optional, just as love isn't optional, patience isn't optional, and faith isn't optional.  

Without the Holy Spirit's leadership actively changing your mind will and emotions, you aren't saved.  You just think you are.  That will be very disappointing if you don't pull the weeds and plant the seeds now.

 Matthew 7:17A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit.

18A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit.

19So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire.

20Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.

21“Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.

22On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’

23But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’

24“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock.

25Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock.

26But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand.

27When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”

You can apply this truth to all of the fruits of the Spirit and the fruits of your flesh, or sinful nature.  If you really have joy, it takes the pressure out of your heart for "everyone else to change", and gives you a freedom to celebrate the fact that YOU are changing. If you aren't changing into a more peaceful, loving, self controlled, gentle, and joyful person... You simply aren't being saved.

This is how you get ready to meet Jesus.  It's honestly the only way you get ready to meet Jesus.

Nothing has to change for you to have joy except the leadership of your heart.