Joy: Acts ii. 46, "They did take their food with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God." Every meal was a sacrament. The same cause would produce the same result to-day.
Ch. v. 41: "Rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the Name," when some of us would have been bemoaning ourselves and complaining of the hardness of our lot!
Ch. xiii. 50-52: "Stirred up a persecution … and the disciples were (being) filled with joy."
Ch. xvi. 25: "Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns unto God." The heavier the tribulation the more their joy seemed to "overflow" (2 Cor. vii. 4), and of course the heavier the tribulation the more joy they needed to sustain them. "For the joy of the Lord is your strength" (Neh. viii. 10).
Peace: Acts vi. 15, "Saw his (Stephen's) face as it had been the face of an angel."
Ch. vii. 59, 60: "They stoned Stephen, calling upon the Lord, and saying,
Lord Jesus, receive my Spirit, and he kneeled down, and … fell asleep."
2 Cor, iv. 8, 9: "Troubled on every side, yet not distressed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed."
Thus we might go through the heavenly list—long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance—and see how richly in Bible times the fruit flourished in the lives of those who were Spirit-filled. Before passing on let us notice where it is that Joy grows. It grows between Love and Peace. It is, as some one has well called it, a sheltered fruit. If Love withers, Joy is exposed on that side, and it too will fade. If Peace is interfered with, even though Love is vigorous, Joy is exposed on that side now, and it will fade away and die. The only way to preserve Joy in vigorous growth is to see that its sheltering fruits, Love and Peace, are kept free from blight, and vigorous too.
In his letter to the Ephesian Church, to whom he addressed the command, "Be filled with the Spirit," Paul points out very clearly what the results of the Fullness will be.
(1) A singing heart (Eph. v. 19). This is what would bring us and our lives up to concert pitch. We would no more go "flat." This would drive away the leaden dullness.