Good News. The Newborn King - Joy

The Newborn King. The Journey of Joy

Today is the third Sunday of Advent, and we are glad you’re here journeying with us through this season.

If you haven’t been with us the past couple of weeks, we have been walking through the season of Advent.

It’s a season of preparation and expectation and purposeful focus as we move toward the celebration of Christmas and of Christ’s arrival.

This is a spiritual journey of hope, love, joy, and peace that all connect us to the Morning Star, the light of the world, Jesus.

As we continue toward Christmas, it leads us today to focus on a journey of joy.

Joy can be the fuel that brightens our journey, and it is a fascinating concept.

Joy is often misunderstood. It is often confused with happiness.

And it regularly shows up in situations where it may be least expected.

Speaking of which . . .

Have you ever noticed that just about every time an angel shows up in Scripture, the first words out of the angel’s mouth are “Do not be afraid”?

The phrase is so common in the Bible, you might think it was a heavenly language for hello.

In the Christmas story, Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds all heard that message.

Those shepherds give us a particularly good picture of the experience.

These were no cowardly men.

They were a rugged lot used to living outdoors in wild areas.

They fought off predators to protect their sheep and would have been prepared to ward off any bandits or thieves if necessary. And in the biblical account, they had strength in numbers that night out on a dark hillside watching their sheep.

But when that angel appeared in the night sky, they went weak at the knees with fear.

Here’s how Luke described the scene:

Luke 2:9–12 (CSB)

Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: Today in the city of David a Savior was born for you, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be the sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped tightly in cloth and lying in a manger.”

The angel had good news for these guys—news that would “cause great joy for all the people.”

The angel and his group came in peace with the world’s greatest birth announcement, but first he had to help the shepherds get over their fear.

TALK ABOUT FEAR EVEN WHEN GOD HAS SHOWN UP

-Moving to Mobile, Planting a Church, Raising a family

And then after he had told them the good news, suddenly the whole sky was filled with angels.

They erupted with joy.

Luke 2:13–14 CSB

Suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people he favors!

This is our starting point as we follow the star today on a journey of joy.

And as we do, I want us to walk through three aspects of joy:

first, that joy and pain co-exist;

second, that joy brings connection with others;

and finally, that joy leads us to worship.

Joy and Pain

There are so many amazing organizations around the world working diligently to bring clean water to locations across the globe. Unsafe drinking water contributes to illness and millions of deaths every year, as well as limiting opportunities for women and children who are most often responsible for hauling water for their families. For these reasons, nonprofits have been working to bring clean water. Have you seen pictures of when a village receives a working clean water source?

[Optional: Show some photos or video available online from organizations such as World Vision, Compassion International, or The Water Project.]

The exuberant smiles on the faces of the people say it all—pure joy!

Even though many aspects of their life don’t change, even though they still have to cope with hardships and pain, they are filled with joy because the clean water impacts every part of their lives, bringing safety, health, and opportunity.

Chemo center. Cancer patients. Amazing Grace. Joy in trials.

It’s a strange thing about joy—it seems the natural reaction for most of us is to think joy could only come when pain is removed. But the truth is, in our fallen world, joy and pain exist side by side.

In fact, there is really no way to separate them.

Our lives are a constant balance of joy and pain as we walk through the experiences of life.

In fact, it is often the pain or struggle that magnifies the power of joy.

And it’s here in this dichotomy that the message of the angel is for us as well: Do not be afraid!

What circumstances in your life are causing you fear?

What do you feel afraid of?

Where is the pain of life seeming to overshadow the presence of joy?

What feels like it is spinning out of control?

Those places are exactly where the words of the angel can penetrate the most deeply and powerfully.

This message is for you: Do not be afraid.

You don’t have to fear.

There is good news of great joy.

And it is for you!

In the Bible book that bears his name, James takes this concept a step further when he said we are to consider the trials we face as pure joy:

James 1:2–4 CSB

Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.

Really, facing trials is pure joy?

This sounds totally contradictory.

But it isn’t a suggestion that you fake it and slap a smile on the deep pain of life.

It’s an encouragement that even in the midst of hardship there is a longer, broader view, a perspective that shows us that our trials can lead us to grow and become mature in our faith.

And while growth isn’t easy, it can be filled with joy.

As we walk in relationship with God, we can grow to experience a sense of joy that comes from understanding there is more than the pain we’re facing.

There is a deeper reality at work.

There is an unseen source of life flowing within us that can nourish and refresh and cleanse and renew us, much like that clean water in a place of hardship, sickness, and death.

What exactly does this joy look and feel like in our daily lives and reality?

We’re getting there.

Joy and Connection

Remember those pictures of the joy on people’s faces when their village received clean water?

Did you notice that nobody in those pictures is alone?

There isn’t just one person who is super excited and filled with joy—it’s the whole village!

The same is true about the good news of Christ and Christmas.

The good news of great joy is for all people.

Life-giving joy is meant to bubble over and touch others.

It can’t help itself.

Everyone has the chance to embark on a journey of joy because Jesus came to save us all.

In fact, the coming of Jesus and the promise of His second coming are the source of joy to all of creation.

Paul tells us creation groans, longs for the second coming Christ Jesus, when all wrongs are made right.

Jesus came to set things right and redeem the entire world from sin and death.

The good news isn’t just for all shepherds or all Americans or all Christians.

The good news is for the world—everyone.

Joy is uncontained and uncontainable by borders or governments or nationalities or races.

The psalmist conveyed such resonating joy in Psalm 96 :

Psalm 96 CSB

Sing a new song to the Lord; let the whole earth sing to the Lord. Sing to the Lord, bless his name; proclaim his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his wondrous works among all peoples. For the Lord is great and is highly praised; he is feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. Ascribe to the Lord, you families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name; bring an offering and enter his courts. Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness; let the whole earth tremble before him. Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns. The world is firmly established; it cannot be shaken. He judges the peoples fairly.” Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice; let the sea and all that fills it resound. Let the fields and everything in them celebrate. Then all the trees of the forest will shout for joy before the Lord, for he is coming— for he is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with his faithfulness.

Fear and pain isolate us, but joy brings connection.

And the joy of Jesus’s coming goes out into all the earth, connecting us to Himself and to each other.

Joy and Worship

So what is our response to joy?

What do we do when joy interrupts our everyday lives and sets up camp alongside the mundane and the painful?

How do we live in the balance of joy and pain until Jesus comes again?

How do we foster and experience this joy that is offered to us?

Sometimes it’s easy to embrace joy.

Sometimes our struggles and hurts are so overwhelming that we are trapped and bound by our fear.

Joy can feel so far away, so distant, maybe impossible.

The Bible shows us that the appropriate response to joy is always worship.

I would suggest that worship can also jump-start joy as we fix our eyes on God and His greater reality rather than on immediate problems or the fears we are facing in the moment.

In the Christmas story, the angel announced the good news of great joy, and then the entire host praised God.

The shepherds immediately went to see the baby Jesus, worshiped Him, and then left telling everyone they met about what they saw.

Matthew told us the wise men also responded to joy with worship:

Matthew 2:10–11 CSB

When they saw the star, they were overwhelmed with joy. Entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and falling to their knees, they worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Think about all that for a minute.

What might it have looked like?

Shepherds breaking into song?

Wise, exotically dressed sages kneeling and bowing or praying aloud?

As they let God’s message of joy penetrate and sweep away their fear, they were drawn joyously toward God Himself.

It drew them in and lifted them up into God’s life-giving flow of joy.

We can experience the same this Advent season as we journey toward the birth of Christ and live in the truth that the good news of His arrival is the salvation He brings.

Peter told us our walk of faith in Jesus brings us a sense of joy:

1 Peter 1:8–9 CSB

Though you have not seen him, you love him; though not seeing him now, you believe in him, and you rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy, because you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

You may be sitting here today thinking, “That’s all great, but I’m not experiencing any joy in my life.”

That is okay. I get it:

The brokenness of our fallen world stands at odds with Christ’s joy, and in the life on earth, we straddle the tension of our physical and spiritual realities.

And this season that is about good news and great joy that leads to connection and worship can also be a very difficult and lonely time for many of us.

So what can you do when you find yourself there?

I’d encourage us all to step into the journey in three ways.

Three Steps In The Journey To Joy

Step One. Journey With Community

First, take the time to connect with others.

Joy can be contagious.

And just like the angels were messengers who sparked joy in the various humans, a friend or loved one—or even a complete stranger—can be the spark or bringer of joy.

That person’s experience and sense of joy can rub off on us.

Instead of letting your own situation or fear or pain isolate you, allow yourself to step into and connect with the joy of others.

This room is a great place to start if you need to find someone to listen, to pray, and to worship with.

Step 2. Journey With Thankfulness

Second, take time and make the choice to be purposefully thankful.

Gratitude has a way of reminding us of joy and the reasons we have to rejoice even in the midst of pain.

Philippians 4:4–7 CSB

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your graciousness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Isn’t that a great word: rejoice?

It’s a verb, an action, and it carries the prefix of repetition.

It is joy practiced and repeated.

When has God filled you with joy in the past?

What are His graces and good gifts to you today and in your current life?

Focus on the ways He has and is showing you His goodness.

Make a written list if you need to.

Read and re-read it.

Carry it with you through the day, and let it prompt prayers and expressions of gratitude.

Then don’t be surprised at the growing sense of joy filling and shifting your heart.

Step 3. Journey With Worship

Third and finally, let’s worship God for who He is.

The circumstances of life can steal our joy, but even in the darkest times, we can worship God not for what He does but for who He is.

His eternal love and faithfulness never change, despite the ever-changing events of our lives.

His goodness and mercy never run out.

Will you continue to journey toward Christmas and open your heart to the God of the universe who came to earth so that we could live in relationship with Him and experience the joy He brings?

The Newborn King. The Journey of Joy

Prayer: God, thank You for the good news of great joy that is for everyone—that Your Son, Jesus, has come to save us. Please help us to experience joy alongside the pain of life and to respond to joy in worship. Draw us to Yourself as we draw near to Christmas, and let us be a source of joy to others in this season and every season. Amen.

Benediction: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4-6