Key scripture- “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.” (Philippians 4:4-5).

Did you know that the key to finding joy is selflessness?

Joy is found when you give your life for others. That is why, selflessness leads to fruitfulness, which leads to joy. But in this world today, selflessness is the road less traveled and that is why so many people have no joy.

In order to have joy, you have to bear spiritual fruit. So you need to ask yourself, “Am I bearing spiritual fruit?” But in order to bear spiritual fruit you must lay down your “Selfishness” and pick up “Selflessness.” Selfishness is preoccupation with self at the expense of others and God’s will in one’s life. Selflessness is when you lay down your thing, your agenda, your desires and plans, and you pick up God’s thing, His agenda, and His desires and His plans. That is selflessness, and God bears fruit through your selflessness, and that in turn creates a joy in you that the world can’t take away.

But how do you bear fruit? The primary fruit bearing passages in the Bible are in John 15:4, 11, where Jesus said, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me… These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.” In order to be selfless and have the joy that Jesus is taking about, you have to abide in Him, which means exercising faith in Him, trusting Him, believing His promises, and being led by the Spirit, then you can bear spiritual fruit and make your joy full. The spiritual fruit that Jesus is referring to is the fruit of the Spirit, which is: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23). That kind of fruit bearing only comes from selflessness, and selflessness comes when you follow and serve Jesus Christ.

Look back over your life for the last six months and ask yourself, “Am I serving Jesus Christ?” You might think you are serving Him because you say, “I love Him and I am following Him.” But are you really serving him? If your response is, “Yes, I am serving Him because I go to church every week.” Congratulations. But are you working for Jesus? Are you shouldering weekly Kingdom responsibilities? Look at it this way, if you left for a month, how many things that pertain to God’s Kingdom would not get done because you are gone?

Someday every Christian is going to be standing before Jesus, at the Judgment seat of Christ, where He will bring to light the true nature of our walk and works, and we will either receive our rewards or lose them. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” (2 Corinthians 5:10). “Each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it, because it is to be revealed with fire; and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built upon it remains, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as through fire.” (1 Corinthians 3:13-15).

Have you ever thought about what are you going to tell Jesus you did to advance His Kingdom? What are you going to be able to point to in order to show Him what you did specifically for His Kingdom? You may be thinking, “Well I could tell Him I gave a lady a religious track one time.” Is that all you’re going to be able to say that you did when you are standing before Jesus, our Lord and Savior, our Examiner and Rewarder, in all His Glory, Splendor, and Holiness.

I know what you are probably thinking, “I don’t have time to do anything because I’ve got a lot of stuff going on in my life.” Let me ask you, “Are all those things producing any joy in your life?” I already know the answer, “No”, because you can only get joy through bearing spiritual fruit, and fruit bearing comes through selflessness.

At this point, you should be asking, “So how do I get to that place where I have joy?” Look at what Jesus told us in John 12: 24-25, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.” You have to die to yourself, your agenda, and your plans and become totally selfless, and in the place of Your plans, you follow God’s plan, His will, and His agenda for your life. Then you will bear spiritual fruit and you will be full of joy. It will not always be easy and there will be disappointments, but you will never experience joy in your life until you do this.

Take a good look at your life and be honest, and ask yourself, “Am I one of those people who says that I love Jesus, but I am really just seeking my own self interest?” Am I the type of Christian who always thinks, “I’ll do this one thing for Jesus and that is it because I am to busy to do anything else.” If you have that type of attitude, your joy will never be full.

Pray this – Our Precious Heavenly Father, I want to lift you up so that You are first in my life. I want to seek Your Kingdom and Your Righteousness first. Forgive me for the times that I have been self centered and only thought of myself. Father, fill me with a sense of urgency so that I understand that this is my opportunity to shine for Your Kingdom. Teach me how to number my days, because our time here on earth is so brief. Father give me the faith to step out in obedience and to serve You so that I am selfless and I bear the fruits of the Spirit, then I will experience the joy that cannot be found anywhere else on this earth but through You. Help me to always remember that Your joy is only found in selflessness and is evidenced by service for the Kingdom of God. I lay down my plans, my will, and my rights and I take up Jesus’ cross and I follow Your plans, Your agenda, and Your Will. Bring people into my life who I can serve for Jesus, and let me be His hands and feet. I pray that You clothe my heart with humility and give me a servants heart. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.