Waiting with Joy

Candle Lighting

During Advent, we light candles as a reminder of where we are

4 candles represent the four weeks leading up to Christmas

Then we light the Christ candle in the center on Christmas Eve

Last week, we started with hope

Both hope that was expected before Jesus was born

And also the hope we have now as we wait for Jesus to come again

Our second week, was the candle of peace

We talked about how the past, present and future of Scripture all points to Christ’s peace

This week, we light the candle of joy

Luke 2:9–11 ESV

9 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. 10 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. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

Light candles

Introduction

Bad news was prevalent this week

All the illnesses

Mom calls, “I’m so sorry, are you stressed?

Not really, no. It is what it is!

I felt God saying there were some trials coming up

My first response was, “Oh no...”

Then it was, “Ok, Your will...”

Then it was, “Can you help me have peace and joy anyway?”

It seems the answer was “Yes!”

God didn’t make the situation different, He didn’t have to

The change I needed to not be miserable was in me

Not in my circumstances

Do you ever think of your stuff like that?

Please God, change this or change that

When actually what needs to change is in you

YouVersion: Waiting with Joy

Obviously today, we’re talking about Joy

Do you ever notice that joy is something the Christian life is all about?

Christian is a music genre!

Turn on the radio, there are Christian stations

Even the secular ones in December play Christ-mas music

When Christmas became a Dec. 25 holiday, Christmas songs came out right away

The first we know of was “Jesus Refulsit Omnium” or “Jesus Illuminates All”

We sing out because joy is what we do!

Or at least it should be...

What is joy? How is it different from happiness?

Happiness is your situation changing your feelings

Joy is how your feelings change the way you face your situation

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.”

James talks about this:

James 1:2–4 (ESV)

2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Notice he’s giving an instruction

If joy was natural and effortless, we wouldn’t need instruction

James doesn’t begin with, “Keep on breathing in and out.” We naturally do that...

What we don’t do naturally, is count our suffering as joy

Joy is not a guarantee

It’s not something we experience all the time

As believers, we always have reason to have joy

But we don’t always have it

If we did, the church would be a much better place

And also, the world would be better too!

Joy is actually a choice

Not necessarily an easy choice, but it is a choice

The reason it can be hard is this:

There are things that try to block our joy

There are things that try to drain our joy

There are things that try to battle our joy

There are things that try to snatch your joy

But, if you allow joy to win, it will override everything that tries to defeat it

What I want to do is look at the Christmas story and think about how it affects us now

Let’s go back before Jesus was born, before he was even conceived

Let’s look at his mom, Mary

Luke 1:28–30 (ESV)

28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

This whole situation starts with worry

The angel says, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”

Her first thought is, “Uh oh, what does that mean?!”

She’s a teenager - somewhere between 13 and 16

She’s about to marry Joseph - super happy!

Marriage time to them was prom to us

They weren’t marrying in their 30’s

They were dying in their 30’s

This angel comes and gives her a magnificent greeting

This is a lot of pressure for a kid

Then the angel says, “Don’t worry, God is being good to you.”

Here’s that call to joy - this is a good thing

But then he tells her what it is:

Luke 1:31–34 (ESV)

31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”

So the angel says, “The Messiah is here! Throne of David! House of Jacob! Eternal Kingdom!”

Mary says, “Whoa, whoa, whoa… Back up to that “having a baby” part...

Ladies, let me ask you this:

If God came to you and asked you to carry a baby...

Would you do it?

That would create the worst joy robber possible

Joy’s worst enemy is anxiety

All of the signs, cards, movies and songs talk about joy at Christmas

But all of the conversations, statistics and attitudes talk about stress

Mary has these two things battling here for sure

Joy, anxiety, joy, anxiety...

Luke 1:35–37 (ESV)

35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.”

Parents, your 13 yo daughter says, “I’m pregnant”

Time to move up the wedding...

Can’t believe Joseph would do that

“Um, he didn’t”

What?! Who’s the Father then?

It’s a miracle from God! Never been with a man!

How many would believe their daughter?

How many would believe their daughters friends?

Or anyone who made that claim?

How many men would believe their fiancee...

Um, Mary… I know it wasn’t me so...

They live in a small town, you think there would be gossip?

Joseph knows he hasn’t been with you, you think he might be upset?

Your friends probably know where babies come from, you think they might judge you?

I know Christmas plays are stressful, I know parties and family gatherings are stressful, I know buying gifts when money is tight is stressful...

How do you think an unmarried teenage ancient Jewish girl with a miraculous baby’s stress level was?

Look at what she says though:

Luke 1:38 (ESV)

38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Whatever God wants

Just like, she’s stuck between “Yay, miracle baby!”

And, “Oh no, miracle baby...”

Am I happy or sad?

Well, how about I choose joy, I’ll choose God

Joy is always found in the Lord

If you want to have joy, you go to God

It’s not Oprah, it’s not drugs, it’s not your children or spouse

It comes from God

Again:

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.”

In Paul’s letter to the Philippians, he talks all about joy

What’s interesting, though, is what he’s doing

When Paul writes this letter, he’s in prison!

Do you think that makes him happy?

Let’s see what Paul actually says here about his prison stay:

Philippians 1:15–18 (ESV)

15 Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. 16 The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.

Yes, and I will rejoice,

Paul knows there are two groups preaching:

One that hates Paul, they want to be better than him, they’re even glad he’s in prison because it’s their shot

But there’s another group that preach the gospel because they care about people!

Joy is a choice

And Paul says, forget that first group man!

Those losers will get what’s coming to them!

Actually, no.. He says, “Either way Christ is preached!”

IN THAT I REJOICE!

You see what Paul is doing there?

He has a choice: Let the people who are doing right make me happy

But then you have the people against him making him unhappy

Those two then have to compete with each other

Whichever one is winning then, dictates how he feels

Instead, he finds JOY

I don’t care whether happy or unhappy wins

I have joy, because of Christ! He is still being preached, even when they do wrong...

There’s one more thing I want to look at about joy:

Jesus has come and given us plenty of reason to find joy

He has reconciled us to God, given us a chance at salvation, manifested our righteousness

We also know that our future is promised and it is good

Billy Graham: “I have read the last page of the Bible. It is all going to turn out all right.”

But, we’re not on the last page of the bible yet

That’s why our joy isn’t always present

Paul’s letter to the Galatians gives us a pretty good view of things

Galatians 5:16–17 (ESV)

16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.

This is a basic Christian principle

There is an ongoing battle within us: spirit and flesh

They are in constant conflict with each other

But then look at what Paul says after that:

Galatians 5:19–21 (ESV)

19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these...

When our flesh is working, that’s what we look like

Notice the inner emotional ones:

Enmity (or hostility), strife (bitterness), jealousy, anger...

Picture a hostile, bitter, jealous, angry person

Does that sound like someone who has joy?

Joyful, joyful we abhor you… no!

That isn’t a person surrendering to God

That is a person surrendering to their sinful flesh

What’s interesting is what Paul then says in response to this:

Galatians 5:22–23 (ESV)

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

JOY!

When the Spirit is working in you, you experience joy!

As a matter of fact, it’s love, joy, peace to start

That is 3 of the 4 candles leading up to Christmas

We started with hope, then peace, today is joy, next week is love!

Joy is found in the Spirit’s victory over the flesh

That’s the battle - and joy can always win if you don’t get caught up in the other stuff

Believe it or not, joy is found in surrender

Stop fighting to be happy, stop fighting against the things that make us unhappy

Instead, we focus on God

Christmas is not the time to focus everything on ourselves and our circumstances

Unless, you want to focus on your eternal circumstances!

Jesus came, died and was resurrected

Your future is already taken care of

Yes, it’s not here yet, but it’s coming

And Jesus is coming again

As we wait today on His second coming, wait with joy

I promise, it’s much better than waiting with anxiety...

Prayer