ÿþ <html> <head> <title>Welcome to First United Methodist Church, El Dorado, AR,  A Christian s Character; the Spirit s Fruit Part Two Joy </title><!--- July 4, 2010 --> <meta name="description" content="First United Methodist church, El Dorado, AR, FUMC, F.U.M.C. First Church, First Methodist, Methodist John Wesley, Methodist, United Methodist Youth, United Methodist women" /> <meta name="keywords" content="First United Methodist church, El Dorado, AR, FUMC, F.U.M.C. 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Hill Street, El Dorado, AR 71730&nbsp; </font></DIV> </TD> </TR> </TABLE></TD> <TR> <td width="20%" valign="bottom"> <tr valign="top"> <td> <div align="center"> <table width="800" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" bgcolor="#000000" align="center"> <!----- center white area table code----------------> <tr valign="top" bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> <td width="15%" height="85" bgcolor="#f5eacc"> <div align="center"> <table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="right"> <tr bgcolor="#FFFFFF" valign="top"> <td height="2"> <div align="center"> <table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" background="/graphix/faded.jpg"> <tr> <td> <div align="center"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> </tr> <!--------------------- left nav bar ------------> <table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr><td><br><br></td></tr> <tr align="left"><td> <font color="#000000" face="CAC futura casual" size="3"><b><a href="/staff.html">Ministry Staff</a><br><br> <a href="/Events_Announcements.html">Coming Events<BR> Announcements</a><br><br> <a href="/AboutUs.html">About Us</a><br><br> <a href="/Activities.html">Activities</a><br><br> <a href="/SS.html">Sunday School</a><br><br> <a href="/sermons.html">Sermons</a><br><br> <a href="/Music.html">Music Ministry</a><br><br> <a href="/Kindergarten.html">Kindergarten</a><BR><br> <a href="/Ithappened.html">It Happened</a><br><br> <a href="/Memorials.html">In Memoriam</a><br><br> <a href="/links.html">Links</a><br><br> <a href="/contact.html">Contact Us</a><br><br> <a href="/index.html">Home</a></b></font><BR> <tr><td align=center><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br> <br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br> <br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br> <br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br> <br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br> <br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br> <img src="/graphix/taupeflame.jpg"></td></tr> </table></td> </tr> </table> </table> <br> </div> </td> <td width="66%" height="65"> <div align="center"> <!----------------------- MAIN CONTENT ----------------------> <table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td valign="top" colspan="2"> <td width="600"> <div align="left"> <br><br><br> <p align="left"> <img hspace="5" src="/graphix/united-methodist-church-h60.jpg" align="left" vspace="5" border="0"><br> <font face="verdana" color="#003300" size="4"><b>  A Christian s Character; the Spirit s Fruit </b></font><br><br> <p align=center><font face="verdana" size="3"><b> Part 2 - Joy</font><BR> <font face="verdana" size="2"> Galatians 5:22-23; 1 John 15:8-11</b> </font></p></center> <p align="left"><font face="verdana" size="2"> Last week I began a summer sermon series called  A Christian s Character; the Spirit s Fruit. We are talking about nine characteristics that we can expect to see to some degree in the life of every Spirit-filled Christian. Galatians 5:22-23 says, <b> But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. </b> The fruit of the Spirit are those Christ-like qualities that over time God s Holy Spirit will develop in us. They are, I believe, the purist evidence of God s Spirit in our lives. </font></p> <p align="left"><font face="verdana" size="2"> I talked with you last week about the first of those characteristics mentioned: love. If you were not here, each of these sermons will be posted on our church website. This morning I want to talk with you about the second fruit of the Spirit: <b>Joy</b> Our Scripture reading is from John 15:8-11. Listen to what Jesus said. </font></p> <p align="left"><font face="verdana" size="2"><b><i>  This is to my Father s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. </b></i> (John 15:8-11) </font></p> <p align="left"><font face="verdana" size="2"> I want to let you in on a secret: you and I were created for joy. Our lives were meant to be filled with joy, and if we miss it, we miss one of the great reasons for our existence. We were made for joy. Joy was an essential part of the character of Christ <b>( I have told you this so that my joy may be in you...),</b> and by the help of the Spirit it can become part of our character as well <b>(...and that your joy may be complete. )</b> </font></p> <p align="left"><font face="verdana" size="2"> One of the distinguishing marks of Jesus life was his unquenchable joy. He enjoyed so many things - the beauty of creation, the company of good friends, the laughter of children. He likened God s kingdom not to a somber prayer meeting but to a wedding feast with good food and plenty of wine and lots of dancing. In John 17:13, Jesus summarized his message and ministry this way: <b> I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. </b> </font></p> <p align="left"><font face="verdana" size="2"> The Bible is filled with references to this thing called joy. Sometimes it seems to be something God places in us: <b><i> You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand </b></i> (Ps 16:11). Sometimes it seems to be something we do or feel: <b><i> Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy </b></i> (Ps 47:1). So what is this thing called joy? </font></p> <p align="left"><font face="verdana" size="2"> I ve never found an adequate definition, but I think I know what joy is when I experience it. I m pretty sure I ve experienced joy sitting around a campfire breathing in fresh mountain air and looking up at the stars. I know that I have experienced joy when laughing and talking with good friends. I think of the joy that comes from seeing my children grow up, laughing over family jokes, and having a wife who loves me no matter what. I am certain that I have felt joy during my work as a pastor: coming alongside folks who are struggling, pointing people to Jesus Christ, baptizing a child, preaching a sermon that works (every now and then). I think of the joy that I experience in worship as we join our voices in a song or share in the Lord s Supper. You can add your own experiences to my list. </font></p> <p align="left"><font face="verdana" size="2"><b> For me, all these varied moments of joy share a common thread: each one comes in a moment when I realize God s presence and recognize God s wonderful gifts in my life. Do you know what I m talking about? For me, joy comes in those times when it hits me: this unrepeatable moment, this relationship, this life is a gift from God. In those moments what I feel welling up inside is joy! </font></p> <p align="left"><font face="verdana" size="2"> That s what it s like for me, anyway. Perhaps it is for you as well. However it happens, whenever it happens, when that deep awareness of God s presence and God s blessing comes, I experience joy. </font></p> <p align="left"><font face="verdana" size="2"> Joy is a characteristic found in the life of anyone who is constantly aware of God s presence and goodness. That s why it is called a  fruit of the Spirit. Joy is not something we manufacture or create; it is a result of God s Spirit working in us. One of the great roles of the Holy Spirit is to convince us of God s reality. The more God s Spirit works in us, the more aware we will be of God s presence, and the more joy we will feel. </font></p> <p align="left"><font face="verdana" size="2"> There are times when that joy comes freely and easily, like a gift. There are also times when it s not easy to rejoice, difficult moments in life when speaking about joy almost seems inappropriate. That gets to the difference between joy and happiness. Most of the time we love jokes and laughter and informal banter, but sometimes those things seem forced. However, joy - gratitude for God s presence - can be with us always. </font></p> <p align="left"><font face="verdana" size="2"> The words I read earlier from John 15 were spoken on the final night of Jesus life on earth, just hours before his arrest and abuse. Knowing full well the horrors that lay ahead, Jesus nonetheless spoke at that moment to his disciples about joy. The joy Jesus was offering was not some cheap, escapist pleasure, but rather a deep sense of assurance and well-being that could be found even in the middle of life s deep sorrow and pain. </font></p> <p align="left"><font face="verdana" size="2"> I need to hear that sometimes, and so do you. I know that what some of you are going through right now is not easy. If joy means always feeling happy about how things are going, we might as well give up. However, as God Spirit works in us and begins to mature us as Christians, little by little we begin to discover that Christian joy doesn t depend on our circumstances; joy can show up in spite of our circumstances! The secret of this abiding joy is the awareness of God s presence that the Holy Spirit gives us. </font></p> <p align="left"><font face="verdana" size="2"> <UL> <LI>Joy comes from knowing that God is here, all around us.</LI> <LI>Joy comes from knowing that God is in control.</LI> <LI>Joy comes from having peace and a restored relationship with God</LI> <LI>Joy comes from having and ultimate hope in the future.</LI> <LI>Joy comes from believing in God s goodness and grace.</LI> </UL> </font></p> <p align="left"><font face="verdana" size="2"> All of these are things that God s Spirit does for us, by making us aware of God s presence and goodness around us and within us. </font></p> <p align="left"><font face="verdana" size="2"> Dear friends, I know that problems in this world are real. Sickness and death are real. I know that broken hearts and broken homes and broken dreams are real. I know that. But I also know that joy is real. That deep, abiding awareness that God is with us, that God is good, and that all will be well is real. It s joy. </font></p> <p align="left"><font face="verdana" size="2"> This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Amen </font></p> <br><br> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table></td> </tr> </table> <TABLE width=800 border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <TR bgcolor="#d8d2d8"> <TD width=800 valign="baseline" bgcolor="#d8d2d8" align=right> <!--- beige F2F2E6 ----> <font face="verdana" color="#000000" size="1"> This site designed and maintained by <a href="http://www.hipdogwebdesign.com">HipDog Web Design&reg;</a><br> Copyright 2005. All Rights Reserved.</TD> <TD width="19%">&nbsp;</TD> </TR> </TABLE> </td> </tr> </table> </body> </html>