Sermon Tone Analysis
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What is Joy?
a feeling of great pleasure and happiness.
~Merriam-Webster
From a Christian perspective that definiton seems lacking doesn’t it?
By this worldly defintion it seems like our Joy is only produced by circumstances that we demeem good for us.
In this defintion there is no room for joy in the face of tragedy is there?
Is this the correct Biblical understanding of Joy? Can we only have joy when life is going as planned and everything is going well and turning out in our favor?
Or is joy deeper than that?
Can we have joy in difficult times when life isn’t turnign out as we planned?
Remember from our study in James we are called to have joy in our trials.
So what would be a better Christian definition of joy? Let’s look at a couple.
First is one from Pastor John Piper
“Christian joy is a good feeling in the soul, produced by the Holy Spirit, as he causes us to see the beauty of Christ in the word and in the world.”
~Pastor John Piper
And let’s look at how Pastor Rick Warren defines it.
“Joy is the settled assurance that God is in control of all the details of my life, the quiet confidence that ultimately everything is going to be alright, and the determined choice to praise God in every situation.”
~Rick Warren
As we compare the Biblical definition with the secular what is the difference?
I would argue the source of our joy is the difference.
In the worldly definition our situation and our circumstances are the source of our joy and in the Biblical definition what is the source?
Both of our Biblical examples point to God as the source.
Pastor JOhn Piper points our that the source of joy as believers comes form the Holy Spirit living with in us.
So as believers, when we feel joyless what is the solution?
We need to get in tune with The Holy Spirit, right?
Well how do we do that?
Prayer and The Word right?
Speaking of the Word, will you turn with me to our text this morning found in Luke Chapter 2.
Turn with me to out passage this morning, Luke chapter 2
Luke 2:8–20 (ESV)
And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.
And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”
And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.
And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.
And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.
But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.
And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
I want to look at what does the passage tell us about God?. Let’s be in verse 8 of our pasage
Luke 2:8–9 (ESV)
And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.
First God delivered the message to the humble right?
Shepherds were honest, humble, hard working common people.
Let’s pause and imagine the sceine.
These humble shepherds just common working people, nothing special or spectacular about their day.
Just another day tending their flock.
Leading, guiding, snd pertecting their flock.
It was just another day.
Do you ever get stuck in that rut.
It feels like the days are just passing you by? Can you imagine these shepherds.
Day after day, night after night they had been tending their sheep.
This night was probably like every other night and as they were there in the fields at night.
An angel of the Lord appeared to them with the glory of the Lord shinning around them.
I wonder how bright the glory was in the darkness.
I wonder if they could even look at the angel or was the sky so bright they had to shield their eyes?
And what was their response?
Excietment?
No they were afraid just like we would be if it happened to us.
I can’t help but think of all the lost people around us that go about their lives day after day in the dark.
Their joy is fleeting.
My heart goes out to them.
There is a tie between the physical and the spiritual.
Some might say I am over ephesising it or streaching the text but it is a reallity.
The shepherds were in physical and spiritual darkness and that night The glory of the Lord shown around them and the glory of The Lord came in the form of a baby.
The second truth our text reveals about God is He is the only source of true joy.
Look at verse 10
Luke 2:10–11 (ESV)
And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
Do we pause at Christmas and just soak in this truth?
The great joy that was announced that night
Finally, we see the truth that God is faithful.
We celebrate a promise that God made in the graden of Eden being fullfiled in the birth of Jesus.
Genesis 3:15 (ESV)
I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
The birth of Jesus proves God faithful.
He promised thousands of years prior.
That He would provide the Messiah to crush the head of the serpent.
TO make all things right.
The first truth about us is without Christ we have no chance at lasting joy.
Do you often lack joy in your own life?
There is only two options, either you don’t know Jesus or you are not walking with Him.
If you find youself joyless, turn to Him in prayer and Bible reading.
I remember a few weeks ago I was joyless and struggling.
I was supposed to meet jeremy for prayer and I didn’t feel like it.
I decided to go becuase I was supposed to but as we prayed the Joy of the Lord returned to my heart.
As we continue tp prepare our hearts for Christmas, remember as you interact with unsaved friends, family, and loved ones that they can not expierence true joy this Christmas without advent of Jesus in their hearts.
The only way to truely expierence lasting abiding joy, is surrending your will to the Prince of peace and allowing His glory to shine in your dark life.
True joy can only cmoe when the Holy Spirit breathes life into a dead soul.
It is a miricle just like the virgin birth.
Only God could have orchastrated the first advent and only God can shine light in a dark soul.
But He uses you and I to communicate this truth to our lost fiends, family, and cowaorks who are wondering in the darkness.
May you be aware of this truth this Christmas.
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