1 - Introduction - Living like a real Christian JOY | Page 2

Hello everybody,
Hope your week has gone well.
We continue this week in our study on the Fruit of the Spirit. Last week we
considered the first aspect of the fruit being LOVE. According to 1 Corinthians 13,
this is the big one. I believe it true to say that every other aspect of the Fruit of the
Spirit falls under the covering of love; if we love God as we should and love our
neighbours as ourselves then all of these other aspects will simply become a
natural outworking of that love arrangement. It is good, however, that we focus
on each aspect individually. This week I would like for us to consider and delve
into JOY.
In the series that we have been doing with the children on the life of Joseph, we
recognise in Joseph a quality of joyfulness that has nothing to do with his
circumstances or his position in life. Joseph, for us, is a great point of reference
and will serve for us this week to be a great example of somebody who
understood Biblical joy, even when he found himself as a slave, or as a prisoner he
still evidenced the qualities of a joyful person. The reason he was joyful is found in
Genesis 39 v 21 – 23, where it simply says, “And the Lord was with Joseph.” It
would seem here that the presence of God was so real in Joseph’s life that it did
not matter where he was, or under what circumstances he was living, the
presence of God made all the difference.
I would like to take you to an Old Testament passage of Scripture found in the
book of Zephaniah 3 v 15 – 20, but before we read the passage let me set the
context for you in this prophecy. Zephaniah was prophesying and telling the
people that they needed to repent of their ways and return to God. At first it
would look like a prophecy of doom and gloom, but in the last chapter of this
amazing book he, with great excitement, speaks of a day of hope, a day that, if the
people respond appropriately to his prophecy, they will reap the fruit of joy and
fulfilment. It is this passage that I would like to unpack this week in the hopes of
finding the source of joy using a more in-depth look.
God Bless you.
Trevor and Helene