George Bernard Shaw once wrote: “I am by nature and destiny a preacher, but I have no Bible, no creed. The preacher must preach the way of life...Oh, if I could only find it!” Paul had found it — and he preached it. He called it “life in Christ”. As Christians we are the recipients of the Holy Spirit. A new kind of t kind of action is now possible — but not automatic. Let me say that again. As Christians who are the recipients of the Holy Spirit, a new kind of action, a new kind of life is now possible, but not automatic.
That’s what Paul was saying in our scripture lesson. In two succinct verses, he underscores the life of the Christian as “the harvest of the Spirit”, as the expression of the living Christ in us. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (verses 22—23).
Rehearse a part of what we said last Sunday. Paul doesn’t talk about fruits, plural, fruits of the Spirit, but rather fruit singular, fruit of the Spirit. He talked about works plural - works of the flesh, but now he concentrates on the fruit of the Spirit, and that leads us to see that fruit of the Spirit is love, and each fruit of the Spirit which follows in the list is another expression of love. All the other fruit of the Spirit grow out of the bountiful harvest of the Spirit.
So, let’s put down our stake there.
And how desperately do we need a harvest of love in our life.
Do you remember Paul Simon, one of the premier popular singers of the ‘60’s? Say what you will about those confusing, tumultuous years, musicians rose to great heights of insight.
In their protest songs, they spoke the prophetic word; in many of their ballads, they diagnosed the human predicament, and sometimes offered a way of healing and reconciliation. In some haunting lines, Paul Simon did a masterful piece of diagnosis – a diagnosis that is still on target.
I Am A Rock
A Winter’s day, in a deep and dark December, I alone,
Gazing from my window, to the streets below,
On a freshly-fallen, silent shroud of snow.
Chorus: I am a rock, I am an island. And a rock feels no pain.
And an island never cries.
I build a wall, a fortress deep and mighty,
that no one may penetrate.
I have no need of friendship, friendship causes pain,
Its laughter and its loving I distain.
Chorus
Don’t talk of love, but I’ve heard the word before;
it’s sleeping in my memory.
I won’t disturb the slumber of feelings that have died,
If I never loved, I never would have
cried.
Chorus
I have my books and my poetry to protect me;
I am shielded in my armor.
Hiding in my room, safe within my womb, I touch no one and no one touches me.
Chorus - (Paul Simon, Words and Music by Paul Simon 1965)
Though an apt diagnosis, Paul Simon offered no prescription. But Paul does. Either you will be a rock or Jesus Christ will be your rock.
There’s a marvelous image of this in the passage quoted above. Paul calls the Corinthian Christians’ attention to Moses and the people of Israel coming out of captivity. He says of that event, “And all ate the same supernatural food, and all drank the same supernatural drink. For they drank from the supernatural Rock which followed them, and the Rock was Christ (I Cor. 10:3-4).
What an image: “and the rock was Christ.”
If you are a rock, you won’t hurt, you won’t cry, you won’t feel pain, because you won’t love. You won’t laugh either, you won’t know joy, you won’t live very much. But if Jesus is your Rock, you’ll stand on it with a lot of other people holding hands; Sometimes you’ll laugh, sometimes you’ll cry, sometimes rejoice, sometimes you’ll be very sad - but always work to love.
The Rock, Christ Jesus, will become the cornerstone for everything God wants to create! And in some final time when we hold hands and really mean it, then we will rejoice in the love the One who gave us the love, the one who loved us so much that he hung on a cross for us.
The fruit of the spirit is love, because the harvest of the spirit is the expression of the living Christ in our life. Growing out of that love is joy and peace, the two harvest fruits about which we speak today.
I. JOY
First, joy.
This fruit of love is a specific offer of Christ Himself. Listen to his promise in John 15: 11. “These things I have spoken to you that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”
Note the context of Jesus’ promise of joy.
Jesus is teaching us that joy is the result, the by-product of our obedience to him.
A couple of weeks ago, Jeff Blatnick was interviewed on television. Do you remember him? He won the 1984 Olympics gold medal in Greco Roman wrestling. He was the first American to ever win it at the time of the Olympics. He had been a victor over Hodgkin’s disease, a victory that is impressive as the gold medal.
On television he talked about another victory – his victory over cancer. He was all smiles, filled with happiness though the final verdict was not in — and there was still the possibility of recurrence.
I remembered again the television presentation of his Olympic victory. This big man, kneeling, before the whole world, millions of people watching him on T.V. crossing himself in prayer, tears flowing unashamedly down his face; and the joy was there. It was pronounced. His whole being resonated the joy as he danced about unable to contain his emotion. His joy was a by-product of his obedience to the rules of the game, and his preparation through arduous discipline.
So, with Christian joy. Joy is a byproduct of our obedience and discipline our abiding in Christ. So lodge this truth in your mind. You will enjoy your discipleship in proportion to your obedience. Get that now. YOU WILL ENJOY YOUR DISCIPLESHIP TO YOUR OBEDIENCE.
II. PEACE
Now the second fruit of the Spirit: Peace.
In Philippians 4:7, Paul talked about the peace of the Christian in this fashion: “And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” See the connection – peace, “in” Christ Jesus.
Note two things about the harvest of the Spirit. The Christian’s peace is a product – a product, first, of the amazing grace of Christ for giving love.
Peace, is the fruit of the Spirit growing out of our acceptance of the love of Christ. The fruit of peace becomes resplendent in our lives when our acceptance of God’s forgiveness is complete in every level of our being.
Alas, however, there are not many in whom acceptance of God’s forgiveness is complete at every level of being.
There are memories that lurk within us and rob us of peace. Memories that rub the conscience raw. When we are quiet, a familiar piece of music or a face we’ve not seen in a long time, floods back into our mind and heart, bringing with it the realization of unresolved failure, sin, or rebellion; and our peace is gone.
“Our peace is also shattered when we refuse to be the agent of forgiveness in the lives of other persons. Is there anyone you need to forgive? Anyone who has failed you at some time in your life – someone in your family, someone in the church…? (Lloyd Ogilvie, The Inner Splendor, pp. 63-64).
There is no peace as long as you refuse to forgive those who need your forgiveness. (Oh, how this needs to operate in the home.)
So mark it down: The Christian’s peace is a product first, of the amazing grace of Christ’s forgiving love.
Then the Christian’s peace is a product of the certainty of God’s presence despite the circumstance. Isaiah put this in one pristine sentence: “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee” (26:3 KJV). What a promise. I’ve seen it as you have, and many of us have experienced it.
A person walking through the darkest valley of the shadow of death, yet radiating a confident peace.
A person living in horrendous circumstances that would drive a lesser soul to madness, yet moving through the clamor and confusion with quiet strength.
Another person being pulled in ten different directions - demanding work, sick wife, rebellious teenager. You wonder how he keeps from “flying to pieces,” and when you know, you discover why — he is being kept in peace because his mind is stayed on God.
I reiterate, the Christian’s peace is a product of the certainty of God’s presence despite the circumstance. That certainty of God’s presence is cultivated in two ways: One, as already indicated, by “keeping our mind stayed on God.” How often does it happen to us? Let me confess.
I spend my life studying scripture, reading theology, writing sermons, preparing for worship, praying, seeking spiritually to lead this congregation, caring for persons in their needs, in the process I have received a lot of love and affirmation; yet, there are times when I feel an absence of peace. A subtle franticness and I lose my sense of centeredness. Sometimes it is short lived; sometimes it’s for a day, even a week.
The time is determined by how long it takes for me to realize I’ve taken my eyes off Christ – my mind is not stayed on Him, When I discover what priority has replaced Christ as the priority in my life, then through prayer and recommitment, I recover peace.
So, that’s the first way to cultivate the certainty of God’s presence, and thus receive the by—product of peace — keeping our mind stayed on Him.
The second way is obedience. As with joy, the Christian’s peace is the companion if knowing and doing the will of God. “We cannot be at peace, nor can we know joy, if we’ve been given marching orders in a particular relationship or sector of our lives and refuse to follow those orders. Once we say, “Lord, what do you want me to do? What do you want me to say? How do you want me to act?” And consciously refuse to follow the clear directions he gives, we will not know peace and joy. Faithful obedience is the environment that develops the fruit of peace and joy.
I saw it in Abel and Freda Hendricks our friends from South Africa. Many of you experienced them as courageous prophet of God as they witnessed their faith at our Wednesday night service. I wish you could have also been with them at the Women’s retreat. There they came through as the loving pastor and the groping pilgrim. You don’t knowable and Freda unless you are those three things together. Courageous prophet, loving pastor and groping pilgrim.
Joy and peace are the bonafide marks of their life. During those two day they were with us, I couldn’t get out of my mind the phone conversation I had with day after he had been released from prison last August I was not aware then that he was on the verge of nervous collapse. I could tell he was very emotional, even crying at times, but his words were strong…“We’re going to be alright. They can put us into prison, they can close our schools, they can continue to deny our human rights and try to reduce us to animals, but they can’t take away our peace and joy in Christ.”
Where is the source of Abel and Freda’s joy and peace? Keeping their minds stayed on Christ and living obediently.
They have claimed Jesus’ promise, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy.”
They have received Jesus’ bracing word: “Peace I leave with you; my peace give I unto you; Not as the world gives give I unto you; let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
We can claim those promises – joy and peace – the harvest of the Spirit in our life.