The Wonder of Joy
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Joy
The last statement from the video today is so powerful…“The journey was always leading you to Jesus.”
We’ve been looking at the Wonder of Christmas - Jeff covered the Wonder of Love a few weeks ago. Last week we looked at the Wonder of Peace. Today the Wonder of Joy.
I think what we’re finding is that Love that leads to a new life comes only from God. Peace that can be experienced in this new life can only come from God. True Joy…I think what we’re going to find, is something that can only come from finding Jesus…and living in Him. And that will entail a search…or a hunt. Luckily, this JOY is something that God wants us to find.
There is a wonder of joy waiting to be experienced this Christmas when you realize the road you have been traveling intersects with the Savior who was born for you.
It’s worth searching for Him…and then finding Him.
This is what the wise men ultimately found when they followed the star that led them to the promised Messiah. It was probably a long and tough journey that cost them time and resources.
Every been on a treasure hunt? Florida and place-mat treasure maps. Curse of Oak Island.
Ultimately, for the wise men (magi) , it was worth it and allowed them to come face-to-face with the newborn King…after miles and miles and persistent following a guiding star.
Their story is told in Matthew’s gospel.
1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived in Jerusalem,
2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star at its rising and have come to worship him.”
3 When King Herod heard this, he was deeply disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.
4 So he assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people and asked them where the Messiah would be born.
5 “In Bethlehem of Judea,” they told him, “because this is what was written by the prophet:
6 And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah: Because out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.”
7 Then Herod secretly summoned the wise men and asked them the exact time the star appeared.
8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. When you find him, report back to me so that I too can go and worship him.”
9 After hearing the king, they went on their way. And there it was—the star they had seen at its rising. It led them until it came and stopped above the place where the child was.
10 When they saw the star, they were overwhelmed with joy.
11 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.
What an account of history! We have non-jews searching for the King. We have Herod, who’s not really a God follower looking for the truth of prophesies. We have a whole town disturbed…all over one event. It seems to me that this news is partly what many were waiting for. Maybe even in their own way searching for. But the focus seems to be on these magi (kingly advisors) who came from an eastern nation to find Him, honor Him, bring gifts…and worship Him.
Maybe you have heard someone say, “Getting there is half the fun.” That was definitely said by someone who was traveling before they had children. That, or they were going someplace super boring. Getting there is definitely never half the fun.
Likewise, you may have heard someone say there is “Joy in the journey.”
While there can be some truth to that, the story of the Magi is that they found their joy when they found Jesus. The last part of the passage we just read drives that point home.
“When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.”
Today, let’s look closer at the wise men’s experience to get a better understanding of how we can experience joy this Christmas.
1. Joy Of Finding Jesus
10 When they saw the star, they were overwhelmed with joy.
It has been estimated that the Magi traveled around 900 miles to find this new king. Most of our nativity sets include 3 wise men. Well…more than likely, according to this passage…Jesus was more of a toddler than an infant. It does say they found the child…not baby.
We also usually have 3 wise men. Earliest church tradition place 12 wisemen (magi) there.
How exhausting it must have been traveling for years following a star that seemed to be moving. And how exhilarating it must have been to see that star finally stop over a house.
While there is no doubt they were filled with joy because they had come to the end of their journey, the real truth is they were overjoyed to find this new king. The simple truth is Jesus brings joy.
We see it in those famous words the angel spoke to the shepherds:
But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.” Luke 2:10
10 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:
This is why we sing “Joy to the world, the Lord has come!” Jesus brought the possibility of joy.
When we find Jesus we find joy. That is what happened to the Magi and what we can still experience today.
Jesus himself shared a parable that explains this:
The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Matthew 13:44
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure, buried in a field, that a man found and reburied. Then in his joy he goes and sells everything he has and buys that field.
Finding Jesus creates so much joy in us that we would sell everything we have to know him better.
The beauty is that we are not called to sell everything we have.
However, when we find him, we become willing to give up everything just to know him more. Do you know him? Have you found the one who brings true joy? Have you learned to call Jesus Lord?
The joy that comes from that supersedes the writing of the New Testament. Look what King David said:
David said about him: “‘I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I
will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest in hope. Acts 2:25–26
The beautiful thing about joy is that it is not hollow. It doesn’t just bring a good time with it….it brings hope with it. Just like those Magi so long ago, we are all in a treasure hunt in life looking for something.
We may not be following a star, but we can spend years searching for something or someone. The simple truth is that search never really ends until we find Jesus. Have you found him? Do you know him? I mean, do you really know him? If so, then you know the truth that there is an un-matchable joy in finding Jesus.
2. Joy Of Worshiping Jesus
Matthew 2:11 (CSB)
11 Entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and falling to their knees, they worshiped him.
We are so used to seeing the wisemen characters bowing to worship Jesus that it had truly lost its meaning on us. When we think of Magi, we just tend to think they bow down and worship.
One on one knee, one on both knees and one standing there holding the box…maybe a hand raised.
In the ancient Middle Eastern world, Magi were trusted advisors to kings. They were learned men proficient in the knowledge of mathematical calculations, astronomy, medicine, astrology, alchemy, dream interpretation and history as well as practitioners of magic and paranormal arts.
As far back as 604 BC, we see King Nebuchadnezzar summoned the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers to tell him what he had dreamed.” (Daniel 2:2) These were his wise men, his magi.
They knew how to respond in the presence of a king. We could learn a thing or two from these wisemen when it comes to worship. If we are not careful, we can become a bit casual in our approach to Jesus.
While Christmas is a time to celebrate the fact that God came near and called us friends, we also need to remember that he is worthy of our worship. Psalm 145 says:
3 The Lord is great and is highly praised; his greatness is unsearchable.
4 One generation will declare your works to the next and will proclaim your mighty acts.
5 I will speak of your splendor and glorious majesty and your wondrous works.
6 They will proclaim the power of your awe-inspiring acts, and I will declare your greatness.
7 They will give a testimony of your great goodness and will joyfully sing of your righteousness.
This God who we gather to celebrate at Christmas, this God who is worthy of worship truly is an awesome God. How great is he? No one can even fathom it.
This song of David says, “One generation commends your works to another.” Our worship is a key way we do that. Believing that God is worthy of my time says something to my children and the people around me. Taking time each week to celebrate God through song and the study of God’s Word together makes a bold statement to the generations who are watching us.
However, we do not do this simply to set a good example for our kids. We do this because there is a God who is worthy of our worship. We do this because there is great joy in celebrating this glorious, wonderful, powerful, awesome king.
David says we “joyfully sing of your righteousness”.
The joy that comes from worshiping Jesus is found in the fact that we are declaring the truth of his deity.
We are expressing that there is something so much bigger than the things we spend our life worrying about and chasing after. The Apostle Paul understood this more than anyone. Paul wrote
to the church at Philippi
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
Paul would write these words from a Roman prison cell. There is a joy found in Jesus that we tap into when we worship. Not only is there joy, but there is also power in true worship. This was also demonstrated in Paul’s life. We read in Acts 16:
25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.
26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the jail were shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s chains came loose.
While this is a story about real men in real chains and in a real prison, I believe there is a power in joy-filled worship that helps to open our prison doors and chains today.
Stop and think about what imprisons you. What has you shackled in life? Jesus came to set us free from those things. When we remember that and take the time to worship him, we are not only overcome with joy, we can be set free.
The Magi weren’t imprisoned so to speak, but they had a felt need…something would be incomplete if they hadn’t gone on this journey. Their hunt for significance led them to their savior.
Do we search like that for our King…each and every day?
3. Joy Of Giving To Jesus
“they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts”
Matthew 2:11 (CSB)
11 ...they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Have you ever stopped and wondered about what motivated thee magi to travel 900 miles to find this new king? It is a fascinating thing to ponder. Whatever it was, they came prepared to give to him.
Their gifts are more confusing than anything to us today. While gold makes sense, the other two just leave us scratching our heads: frankincense and myrrh? Was one of the wisemen into essential oils?
These were actually standard gifts to honor a king or deity in the ancient world: gold as a precious metal, frankincense as perfume or incense, and myrrh as anointing oil.
The Book of Isaiah, when
describing Jerusalem’s glorious restoration, tells of nations and kings who will come and “bring
gold and frankincense and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord” (Isaiah 60:6) That’s 700 years before these guys set out on their journey. Maybe they knew what to bring..maybe they knew this was their journey to make.
In addition to the honor and status implied by the value of the gifts of the magi, scholars think that these three were chosen for their special spiritual symbolism about Jesus himself—gold representing his kingship, frankincense a symbol of his priestly role, and myrrh a prefiguring of his death and embalming.
No matter how you look at it, these Magi presented gifts to Jesus out of the joy they experienced in finding him. Paul encouraged the church in Corinth to do the same when he wrote:
6 The point is this: The person who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the person who sows generously will also reap generously.
7 Each person should do as he has decided in his heart—not reluctantly or out of compulsion, since God loves a cheerful giver.
What would it look like if we took on the same attitude as the magi when we choose to give? What if each time we give, we really took the time to consider that we are giving to a king?
And not just any king, the King of Kings. What if we reminded ourselves that Jesus was our High Priest? What if we chose to give in response to his sacrifice?
Don’t overlook these words, “God loves a cheerful giver”. \
These men who traveled 900 miles to find a new king were not required to give him a thing.
They chose to do this out of their hearts. They gave out of the joy of finding someone who would change everything.
In all honesty, they didn’t really comprehend who they had found. As people who know who Jesus is, we are afforded the opportunity to give from a joy that is infinitely deeper than what the Magi experienced.
He Completes Me
As followers of Jesus, we don’t really have to corner the market on joy. Joy is experienced by everyone on the planet in some way or another. However, as followers of Jesus Christ, we have that is different than any other. It is different because our joy is not found in our circumstances.
Our joy is found in the person of Jesus. On the night before he went to the cross, he said this to his followers:
11 “I have told you these things so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.
Joy is incomplete without Jesus. In fact, real joy comes when we take those three letters and remind ourselves that a joy-filled life is found in putting Jesus first, Others second, and Yourself third. Seek first the Kingdom of Heaven.
That is real “Jesus Joy!”
So what about you? Is your joy complete? Maybe today you find yourself on a journey looking for something or someone. May I tell you that the real star of Christmas is Jesus?
He is the only place where you will find joy in your journey. Today would be an ideal day to choose to worship him by joyfully giving yourself to him.
Because in the end, you will find that the journey was always leading you to Jesus!
Unless noted, All scripture is quoted from the NIV version of the Holy Bible