We've been talking this week about the fruit of the Spirit that Paul mentions in Galatians

chapter 5.

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

gentleness, self-control.

I said they seem to come in groups of three and to be honest my plan was to take three

at a time this week so that we could spend a week together thinking about them.

But I hope you don't mind that I've changed my mind and we're going to spend two weeks

on them.

So the fruit of the Spirit is love and then joy.

Perhaps we think of joy as the kind of characteristic some people have by nature and others don't

and perhaps you feel that you fit into the second category.

So I can sympathize with you, I doubt if joy is one of the leading characteristics of

people who have Celtic blood in them.

But the joy that Paul is speaking about here is not the natural characteristic of a

sunny disposition.

And the reason I say that is found in the passage I mentioned earlier in the week Romans

5, 1 through 11.

Because Paul there describes a triple joy that has got very little to do with a sunny

disposition.

He says we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God but more than that we rejoice in our

sufferings.

And what that underlines for us is that the joy of which Paul is speaking as a fruit of

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