The Promise 3: JOY

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B: Luke 1:5-20

N:

Welcome

Good morning, church! Welcome to the last Sunday before Christmas! I’m Bill Connors, and I’m excited to be here together this morning. I think it’s so great to have a church family at Christmas. Each Sunday is like a holiday family gathering, and what a blessing that is!

If you’re a guest of the church family this morning, I pray that being with Eastern Hills this morning is a blessing to you as well. We’d like the opportunity to say thanks for being here. So in the back of the pew in front of you is a card that says “WELCOME” on it. If you wouldn’t mind, could you take just a moment during the service this morning and fill that card out? Then you can just drop it in the offering plates by the doors at the close of service as we leave the sanctuary. If you’d rather complete an online communication card, you can text the word WELCOME to 505-339-2004, and you’ll get a link back to our digital card. Either way, whether you fill out the physical card or the digital card, I’d love to have the opportunity to meet you myself this morning, and to give you a thank you gift. So after service is over, if you could meet me down here at the front while everyone is leaving, I’d appreciate that chance to thank you for being here.

If you’re joining us online this morning, that same digital communication card will work for you as well. Again, just text WELCOME to 505-339-2004 and follow the link that you get back. Thanks for that!

Announcements

Tonight at 5:30, we’ll meet here in the sanctuary for our annual Cocoa and Caroling outreach to our neighborhood. We’ll warm our voices up here with a couple of carols, and then head out into the neighborhood in teams to share the joy of Christmas and the hope of the Gospel. We have gift bags to give to the homes we visit which will include a Gospel tract and invitations to our Christmas Eve and morning services. We’ll return here at 6:30 to warm our bodies back up with some cocoa and cookies. Even if you don’t think you can sing, bundle up and come worship and minister with the church family tonight.

I’d like to invite all of you to plan on being here for our special Christmas Eve service this Saturday, 12/24, at 6:00 pm. It will be a beautiful time together as a church family. We will have a special time of worship on Christmas Day at 10:30 am, since it falls on a Sunday this year. We won’t hold Bible study classes or Pastor’s Study on Christmas Day.

We’re three weeks into taking up our Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions this year. This offering is named for Charlotte Digges “Lottie” Moon, who served as a missionary with the International Mission Board of the SBC (called the Foreign Mission Board at the time), ministering to the people of China for nearly 40 years, from 1873 to 1912. She is credited as being instrumental in starting an annual Christmas offering for international missions in the SBC, which began in 1888. She served in China during a time of severe famine, and gave all that she had to the people of China. Ill and malnourished, she was instructed to return home, but died while in route while in Kobe, Japan, on December 24, 1912, and the age of 72. In 1918, the SBC Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU) named the annual Christmas offering for international missions in memory of Lottie’s passion, dedication, and sacrifice. Over 50% of the financial support that our missionaries receive comes from this annual offering, and 100% of what you give to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering goes to the mission field. We don’t keep any of it, the IMB doesn’t keep any of it. So each December and January, we set a goal for our church to strive for as we take up this important offering. Our goal as a church this year is $35K, and through last Sunday, we’ve received $17,881. We will take this offering up through the end of January, so please pray about what God would lead you to give to support SBC missionaries throughout the world.

Opening

We are in the middle of a sermon series called The Promise. We have been discovering the many promises of God that are fulfilled in the birth of Jesus Christ. The Christmas season is when we celebrate all that is available to us through Jesus. These are the themes of Advent, which are hope, peace, joy, and love. The first week, we discovered that God’s promised hope came in the form of a person. Jesus meets our deepest longings and is the hope for our present and our future. The second week we looked at the promise of peace that was given to the lowly shepherds. There would be a new government that would come, and it would bring peace to the world, because that new government’s ruler would be the Prince of Peace. Last Sunday, we saw the promise of one small child, who would be born in Bethlehem, and who would change the world. Today we are taking a look at the third theme of Advent: joy. We will be looking at what is perhaps an unlikely or at least unusual “Christmas” passage this morning in Luke 1. Let’s stand as we are able in honor of the Word of God as we read verses 5-20 together:

Luke 1:5–20 CSB

5 In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest of Abijah’s division named Zechariah. His wife was from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 Both were righteous in God’s sight, living without blame according to all the commands and requirements of the Lord. 7 But they had no children because Elizabeth could not conceive, and both of them were well along in years. 8 When his division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, 9 it happened that he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense. 10 At the hour of incense the whole assembly of the people was praying outside. 11 An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was terrified and overcome with fear. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. 14 There will be joy and delight for you, and many will rejoice at his birth. 15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord and will never drink wine or beer. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit while still in his mother’s womb. 16 He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to make ready for the Lord a prepared people.” 18 “How can I know this?” Zechariah asked the angel. “For I am an old man, and my wife is well along in years.” 19 The angel answered him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and tell you this good news. 20 Now listen. You will become silent and unable to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time.”

PRAYER (Focus Church, Pastor Dave Megill) Also, pray for Richard Stone and his family in the loss of his daughter Katherine this week.

Christmas is truly the most wonderful time of the year. But I didn’t used to think so, even after I came to faith in Christ. Ask Mel: I had a certain level of “grinchiness” or “bah-hum-bug” that went with the busyness, stress, and chaos of the season. I guess I was always so focused on myself that I missed the joy of the season. But then one year (I’m not even sure when it happened), it was as if God poked me and said, “You know, this season really isn’t about you.” Talk about conviction. It radically altered my entire perspective. And now...

I love (just about) everything about Christmastime. I love gathering with friends and family to celebrate. I love eating together, especially the Christmas desserts. I love the Christmas lights and festivities. But what I love most is giving gifts to others. I know many people look forward to opening presents and seeing what is under the tree for them, but it truly brings me more joy to see others open gifts that I have picked out, wrapped up, and laid under the tree. The problem is that I have sometimes struggled with being patient. I can’t tell you how many times I have bought a gift for Mel and either told her about it or actually gave it to her before Christmas Day. The reason is that I get so excited to share what I picked out for her. So, it takes everything within me to remain patient to make it to the proper time. Can anyone relate?

You see, when someone finds joy in something, it is hard to hide it. The things that bring you joy are the things that you want to share with the world. It is just in our nature to want others to share our happiness with us. It’s no wonder then that we find that in Scripture, God is eager to share the joy of Christ’s birth, even before it was time for Him to arrive. The incarnation, which is Jesus’s birth or God coming to the earth as a human, is the greatest gift that has ever been given. You can almost sense God’s excitement for the hope, peace, joy, and love that would come through His arrival as we look at the prophecies of His coming. This is because Jesus’ birth is the source of true joy.

1: Jesus’ birth is the source of true joy.

In the past two messages, we’ve seen that the book of Isaiah speaks to this coming gift of the arrival of Jesus. But there was also a prophetic word given through Isaiah about someone who would come to prepare the world for the arrival of Jesus. This passage was written hundreds of years before its fulfillment, and it is one of God’s joyful promises about the future:

Isaiah 40:3–5 CSB

3 A voice of one crying out: Prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert. 4 Every valley will be lifted up, and every mountain and hill will be leveled; the uneven ground will become smooth and the rough places, a plain. 5 And the glory of the Lord will appear, and all humanity together will see it, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

God promises that there will be a time of preparation before Christ’s birth. There will be a straightening and a leveling that will take place, ensuring that the glory of God in Jesus would be made available to all people. When I read these verses, I can sense the joy that God has to share with the world that what was once broken by sin will be made right. The truth is that preparation is usually key to fully enjoying any great event.

My family decorates our house for Christmas each year sometime during the week of Thanksgiving. We don’t go over the top or anything like that. Here’s a picture of most of our decorations this Christmas. But before all of the decorating takes place, there’s some prep work that has to happen. We have to move furniture (my recliner normally sits where the tree is). We have to clear away some of the knick-knacks and bric-a-brac that live on our end tables and such, and I have to climb up into the attic to bring down our Christmas decoration rubbermaid containers, which were all lovingly packed and put up there in January. We turn on Christmas music, make some hot drinks, and slowly go through all of our ornaments, many of which never even make it on the tree, but they are each special to us in some way. But not only does decorating prepare our house for Christmas Day, but it starts to prepare our hearts as well, as we get everything ready to celebrate the birth of Jesus.

The promise in the Old Testament is that the people of God will see this preparation take place. God does not want them to miss it because it is the signpost for what is to come. Any barriers that are in the way to experiencing the joy of the miraculous birth are removed. There is no desert, no mountain, no valley, no rugged place that will stand in the way of the revelation of Christ.

Then in the New Testament, we meet Zechariah, whom we read about in our focal passage this morning. He is a priest who serves in the temple of God. We find him in the temple burning incense in worship while people are praying outside.

Luke 1:11–17 CSB

11 An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was terrified and overcome with fear. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. 14 There will be joy and delight for you, and many will rejoice at his birth. 15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord and will never drink wine or beer. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit while still in his mother’s womb. 16 He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to make ready for the Lord a prepared people.”

While Zechariah was serving in the temple, suddenly an angel of the Lord was speaking to him. He was startled and gripped with fear. But, like the interactions with angels in the Christmas story as we saw two weeks ago, the first word given to him is not to be afraid. Apparently, Zechariah and his wife, Elizabeth, had been praying for a child, and their prayers are being answered. They will give birth to a son, and they are to name him John. The angel says, “He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth.” This child will be filled with the Spirit of God, and he will be kept free from wine and fermented drink because he would take a Nazarite vow to serve God all of his life. These vows kept him from drinking alcohol, cutting his hair, or coming in contact with dead bodies.

Clearly, this boy was special, and God had plans to use him to bring joy to his family and to the entire world by the way he would live. Because of his life, there would be many who would be brought back to the Lord. Because of his life, he would prepare people for something even more wonderful that was about to happen.

You can see the connections between the Isaiah passage and this story in Luke in verse 17. This baby boy will prepare the people for the arrival of the Lord. John will be a joy to his family and a joy to the world, because he will be the one calling in the wilderness and making a way for the arrival of the Son of God—the coming birth of the source of true joy for all people, as the angels would proclaim to the shepherds:

Luke 2:10 CSB

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:

The birth of Jesus brought hope, and peace, and joy to the world that is unlike any other, because in Jesus Almighty God stooped down to meet with His creation to give us a way to escape the trap of sin that we find ourselves in. We have the opportunity to experience that and more in Christ, but was also have the blessing of having that message to share with others.

2: It is a joy to prepare others to experience joy.

One of the greatest joys of the Christmas season is the opportunity we are given to prepare the way for others to see Jesus for who He really is. This is part of why going caroling is going to be so fun tonight. The most joyful people during this time of year should be us: the ones who have experienced the hope and peace of God in our lives through faith in Jesus. The way we speak to others, the way we serve others, the way we treat others are all a means of preparing the way for others to meet Jesus.

This joy is a commodity that is in short supply in our world. There are people all around us who are miserable. They are in over their heads with their involvement in sin. They are heartbroken over the pain of life. They are hopeless in the face of suffering. Now is the time for sharing the joy of Jesus with the world.

Author Leo Buscaglia tells the story about his mother and their “misery dinner.” It was the night after his father came home and said it looked as if he would have to go into bankruptcy, because his partner had absconded with their firm’s funds. His mother went out and sold some jewelry to buy food for a sumptuous feast. Other members of the family scolded her for it. But she told them that “the time for joy is now, when we need it most, not next week.” Her courageous act rallied the family. Her sacrifice instilled a newfound joy in the downtrodden. By the mother giving up what she valued, her family ate together and found strength from one another to never give up (Christopher News Notes, August 1993).

What is one way you can sacrificially bring joy to those around you? How can your life be a beacon of hope because of your love for Jesus? This was John’s call for his life, and it is ours as well.

Zechariah’s response to the message given to him by the angel comes with a consequence.

Luke 1:18–20 CSB

18 “How can I know this?” Zechariah asked the angel. “For I am an old man, and my wife is well along in years.” 19 The angel answered him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and tell you this good news. 20 Now listen. You will become silent and unable to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time.”

Zechariah is skeptical of the good news given by the angel. He and his wife, Elizabeth, are old, and the prospect of having a child was slim. Because of his unbelief and distrust, he is silenced and unable to speak until the time comes for John to be born. Even though the good news of a God who comes to us in the flesh to rescue us may seem too good to be true, our response should be marked by deep faith and joy. When we trust God, we can share it with others.

Fast-forwarding to the birth of this promised boy, all the family had gathered together to share in this miraculous birth. A point of note: Elizabeth is actually a cousin of a woman named Mary. That Mary happens to be a woman who is also pregnant and will soon give birth to a boy, and that boy will be named Jesus. Jesus and John are cousins, and from the time they were in their mothers’ wombs, they were connected by the Spirit of God. So, the time has come for John to be born into the world.

Luke 1:57–63 CSB

57 Now the time had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she had a son. 58 Then her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her his great mercy, and they rejoiced with her. 59 When they came to circumcise the child on the eighth day, they were going to name him Zechariah, after his father. 60 But his mother responded, “No. He will be called John.” 61 Then they said to her, “None of your relatives has that name.” 62 So they motioned to his father to find out what he wanted him to be called. 63 He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And they were all amazed.

When this baby is born, there is a familiar discussion that takes place. What to name the new baby? Everyone expected them to name him after his father, Zechariah; however, both Elizabeth and Zechariah agreed that his name was to be “John,” just as the angel foretold.

When John’s cousin Jesus was born a few months later, there was all kinds of talk in the towns around Bethlehem as well, as the shepherds went and told others about the miraculous announcement of the birth of this tiny King:

Luke 2:17–20 CSB

17 After seeing them, they reported the message they were told about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary was treasuring up all these things in her heart and meditating on them. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had seen and heard, which were just as they had been told.

They found joy in telling others about the joy that they had experienced. It was a natural response to the incredible joy they had found. Likewise, if we’re in Christ, we have the opportunity to share about the joy that we have found in Him: that we were blind to our true spiritual condition, but now we can see that we were lost and that God loved us so much that He gave His Son to save us; that in Jesus we’ve been set free from the control of sin in our lives because we’re dead to sin but alive to God in Christ; that because of the unifying work of the Spirit of God in the life of believers, we are part of a community of true fellowship and joy called the church; and that this life is not all that there is—Jesus is coming back, and those who belong to Him by faith will live forever with Him. When we sit back and really contemplate all that God has done for us in Christ, how can we NOT want to tell other people?!?

Back to John: his name in the Greek means “graced by God” or “Jehovah has been gracious.” This name that is given to the boy speaks volumes to the joy that surrounds his life. God has been gracious to Elizabeth and Zechariah by giving them a son. God has also been gracious because through John’s life, the world will be prepared for the coming of the Messiah and Savior, Jesus Christ.

3: Our joy comes from the grace of God.

The relatives all celebrated John’s birth, and they shared in Elizabeth’s joy. John’s life is surrounded by joy, and that joy is in the Lord’s work among them. Zechariah is still unable to speak, but he writes the name “John” in agreement. And upon his obedient pronouncement of the boy’s name, he is once again able to speak. His first response is rejoicing, and he praises God.

Luke 1:64–66 CSB

64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God. 65 Fear came on all those who lived around them, and all these things were being talked about throughout the hill country of Judea. 66 All who heard about him took it to heart, saying, “What then will this child become?” For, indeed, the Lord’s hand was with him.

When the word spread about John’s amazing birth and Zechariah’s recovered speech, everyone over the Judean countryside was in awe and wondered what amazing things John would do with his life.

The grace that covered John’s birth and life is the same grace that is given to us free of charge. We could never earn God’s grace. It is a gift that is given to us through Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection. We should be people marked by joy because of this grace given to us. When we live our lives from this place, word spreads quickly and people are in awe of the miraculous birth of Christ at Christmas.

Are you someone who displays joy? Are you someone who knows the joys that come at Christmas? What is one way you can display the good news of this season by the way you live your life, and tell someone of the joy that you have in Christ? Paul said:

Romans 5:2 CSB

2 We have also obtained access through him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we boast in the hope of the glory of God.

We can boldly proclaim the truth of the grace that we’ve received, because it’s in Christ that we have hope, that we have peace, that we have joy.

Closing

We can have true joy in Christ: a joy that transcends mere situational happiness because it come from a permanent state of being in a right relationship with God. But this only comes through Jesus.

This Christmas, you can experience this joy. Jesus came as a baby, but then He grew up and became a man, all the while living a perfect life so that He could pay the penalty that our sins deserve. We all fall short of the glory of God according to Romans 3, and so we all need Jesus if we’re going to experience the hope, the peace, and the joy that Christmas brings. He died to pay for our sins, and He rose again defeating death so that we could live forever with Him. Surrender to Jesus in faith this morning, turning from your sins and trusting Him as Lord and Savior.

Church membership.

Prayer needs.

Giving.

PRAYER

Closing Remarks

Bible reading (2 Chr 16)

No Pastor’s Study tonight

Prayer meeting this week

Adam Pittman’s memorial service will be here tomorrow at 2pm.

Instructions for guests

Benediction

Isaiah 51:11 CSB

11 And the ransomed of the Lord will return and come to Zion with singing, crowned with unending joy. Joy and gladness will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee.

What a joy we have to look forward to: unending joy!