The Heart Of Christmas "Joy"

The Heart Of Christmas "Joy"

Introduction

Good morning!

Welcome to Faith Baptist Church!

We are in the middle of a sermon series titled: “The Heart of Christmas”

Today we will discover the JOY of Christmas!

(Turn to Luke 2)

(Change Slide) ILL: On July 4th, 1776, the United States was formed with the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. The 2nd paragraph of the first article reads: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

And with these words, the American dream was born.... “The pursuit of Happiness”

And many Americans do pursue happiness....but so often it turns out to be a wild goose chase… Americans are more unhappy than we have ever been. Many Americans and many people in the world never find true joy.

The world can only offer temporary states of fleeting happiness.

1 John 2:16-17 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

ILL: It’s temporary like trying to treat cancer with Tylenol.

The world can only give you water that will cause you to thirst again.

Most people want to be happy. “I just want to be happy”

God offers joy to each and every person here.

Maybe you are looking for the eternal Joy that Jesus offers, this sermon is for you.

(Stand)

Text:

Luke 2:10-11 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

(Prayer)

I. The Radiant Declaration of Joy

A. Behold the Good News

vs 8-10

The shepherds are here in the dark, and all of a sudden…the angel appeared in a bloom of radiant light!

ILL: Waking up Emma

“behold, I bring you good tidings”

Behold means to look at, to observe, to intently focus on, to fill your eyes with.

The shepherds were told to fill their eyes with this good news…to focus on it for a moment.

Let us do the same thing today....

Let us behold the good news today.

The joy of the Lord has come! It’s so obvious, but it can be so easy to miss, because they don’t take time to behold the good tidings.

Song -”Behold your God”

ILL: Honeymoon in Hawaii....as we are looking out the window of the airplane Abbi shouts, “Look!” Startled, I look to where she is pointing. There’s a beautiful rainbow! My eyes lit up as I just soaked in the beauty of this incredible Hawaiian rainbow.

What a sight to behold!

Today I would like you to behold the beautiful sight

Behold what? The good news of great joy!

B. The Extent of Joy

“Great Joy”

Not mediocre joy, not just regular joy…GREAT JOY!

Great = greek word “Megas” where we get our word Mega, splendid, prepared on a grand scale, stately,

=abnormally large-the joy that Christmas brings is not normal

(Change Slides) ILL: World’s largest Pistachio

It’s a mega pistachio, abnormally large.

The joy that God gives is abnormally large. “Great Joy”

This joy is greater than your heartaches, greater than your problems.

This is the kind of joy that can overcome any obstacle.

No matter the hurdle, the Joy of the Lord can conquer.

The kind of joy that casts out fear. “fear not”

II. The Recipients of Joy

(vs. 10)

Who is this joy for?

“which shall be to all people”

The good tidings of great joy are for all people -not just the elect or a limited number. All men are invited to trust the Savior

Titus 2:11 KJV - 11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,

1 Timothy 2:3-4, 6 KJV - 3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; 4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. ... 6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

2 Peter 3:9 KJV - 9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Joy was being given to all people: After all, this angel has appeared to these shepherds. They represented the common man. They were no one special. Just your regular old joe.

Jesus wants to give joy to the....

A. The Burdened

Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

We all have burdens: Maybe you’ve had a.....

Family death (I know many people in this room that have this burden)

A job that is hard

Struggling to keep your family provided for

Maybe you are burdened with bad health.

Burdened with caring for someone in bad health.

Maybe it’s an unseen burden, it’s one of the unspoken prayer requests on a Wednesday night prayer service. It’s one of your biggest trials.

I don’t know what it is... but maybe you have a burden....

Today you can cast your burden on the Lord. He cares for you! He can carry the weight of your burden.

1 Peter 5:7 KJV - 7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

ILL: Fanny Crosby, the famous song writer, wrote more than six thousand hymns. Songs like: "Jesus Keep Me Near The Cross," “Blessed Assurance,” "He Hideth My Soul," and "Tell Me the Story of Jesus"

Fanny was born in the little village of Southeast, in New York, on March 24, 1820.

When Fanny was six weeks old her eyes became inflamed. A doctor came and treated her eyes with poultices which were too strong. The result was permanent blindness.

Fanny Crosby would be blind for the rest of her life.

"Blindness," she wrote in later life, "can not keep the sunlight of hope from the trusting soul. One of the easiest resolves that I formed in my young and joyous heart was to leave all care to yesterday and to believe that the morning would bring forth its own peculiar joy."

Since the child could not read the Bible the wise old grandmother encouraged her to memorize parts of it. The many wonderful passages which she memorized later became a wonderful aid in composing Gospel hymns.

She learned many of the Psalms, the Proverbs, the book of Ruth, and much of the New Testament. She knew the Old Testament stories in detail.

At the age of eight years she wrote her first poem:

Oh what a happy soul am I! Although I cannot see,

I am resolved that in this world, Contented I will be.

How many blessings I enjoy, That other people don't;

To weep and sigh because I'm blind, I cannot nor I won't.

Fanny Crosby had this great burden. She was blind.

But she was determined to never let blindness hinder her joy.

One well-meaning preacher once remarked, "I think it is a great pity that the Master did not give you sight when he showered so many other gifts upon you.”

Fanny Crosby responded at once, "If I had a choice, I would still choose to remain blind…for when I die, the first face I will ever see will be the face of my blessed Saviour.”

Application

You may have some burden today. You can be assured that Jesus has come for you!

The joy that Jesus gives is offered to you.

God wants to relieve you of your burden.

Psalms 55:22 - Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee:

Exodus 6:6 Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments:

Jesus wants to give joy to the....

B. The Hurting

Maybe you have been physically hurt

Maybe you have been the victim of something terrible.

Maybe you have been abused.

Maybe you have been emotionally hurt

Maybe a spouse that has not been what you hoped for.

Maybe a child that has treated you wrong.

Maybe you have a body that is suffering from some problem

Migraines, cancer, disease, etc. ..

ILL: I have a brother that suffers from celiac disease, I have a sister that has been bed-ridden for 7 weeks from some unknown virus.

Application

Maybe this morning you are hurting…the Bible says in...

Psalms 147:3 - He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.

God wants to bind up your wounds, so that you can walk in joy.

Psalm 34:18 The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

Although he may not give you freedom from the storm in this life, God offers peace in the storm!

God offers JOY even when your have no apparent reason for joy.

Jesus wants to give joy to the....

C. The Sinner

Luke 5:32 I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

Not all of us may be burdened with some great hardship, Not all of us are hurting with some suffering, but the truth is we are all sinners!

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

If you are a sinner, then you can be glad this morning because Jesus came for you! Jesus came to give you great joy!

Jesus did not come for the perfect. He came for the sinner.

ILL: “Oh come all ye unfaithful” song

Application

Jesus offers joy to the world!

Do you have joy in your world?

The gift of joy is given to all, the burdened, the hurting, the sinner.

Have you recieved the free gift of joy?

III. The Reason for Joy

(vs. 11)

A. Jesus’ Birth is the Reason for joy!

“For unto you is born this day”

The whole reason we celebrate Christmas...

To celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ!

God with us!

B. Jesus’ Death is the Reason for joy!

John 19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.

Normally we wouldn’t be joyful when someone dies.

But the death of Jesus gives us reason for joy

To understand the joy that is ushered in at Christmas time, we must understand that, although Jesus arrived in a cradle, his life would lead to a cross.

Jesus intentionally lived a sinless life and willingly offered his life through crucifixion.

And it’s through his Death we have victory.

ILLUSTRATION -Fredric’s mother giving her life for him:

In 1984 in Los Angeles, a young 11 year old boy name Fredric was asleep in his bed, when he was awakened to sounds of screaming. He quickly jumped out of bed, ran down the hall, and into his mother’s room where the screaming was coming from. He was confronted with the worst nightmare he could imagine: His mother was being viciously attacked by a man with a huge knife. Over and over again, this young, single mother was being stabbed.

He didn’t know what to do but before Fredric could think, he let out a yell. The attacker immediately ran towards him and plunged the knife into his body. Fredric was certain he was going to die.

But just as the man was going to cut him again, Fredric’s mother jumped on the attackers back and frantically yelled for Fredric to run.

Fredric ran as fast as he could to the neighbor's house while his mother battled for her life and for her son’s life.

Fredric got help but when the police arrived at the house a few moments later it was too late.

Fredric’s mother was dead.

Fredric realized that his mother had given her life to save his own.

His mother loved him so much that she made a way for him to escape.

She died so he could live.

To every person here under the sound of my voice.....Jesus loves you....He made a way for you to escape the fires of Hell....He gave his life for you....He died so you could live.

1 John 3:16a Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us.

Isaiah 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

He took your place in death so you could have forgiveness.

And so we can have joy because of the death of our Saviour.

We can be complete in joy because Jesus did not remain in the grave!....He has power over death!....

C. Jesus’ Resurrection is the Reason for joy!

1 Corinthians 15:14, 20 14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. ... 20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.

Jesus has power over death!

He rose from the grave through the power of love!

We can have joy in the Resurrection!

After the resurrection, Jesus appears to the disciples:

John 20:20 And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.

We have great reason to be glad!…to have joy…because Jesus was not only born for you, Jesus was not only sacrificed for you, but Jesus rose from the grave through the power of love for you!

D. The Promise of Eternal Life is the Reason for joy!

We can have great joy because of the gift of eternal life.

John 16:33b In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

In this world you will have tribulation, you will have trouble, and I believe that God gives joy even in the midst of these troubles....

but we can be comforted knowing that God is preparing a place for you....

A place with no sorrow...

A place with no death....

A place of ETERNAL JOY!

The Bible speaks on this in....

John 14:1-3 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

If you have accepted God’s gift of salvation, God is preparing a home for you…and one day he will come and get you and welcome you home!

ILL: Getting home after our honeymoon, when we got to our door, I picked Abbi up, and carried her across the threshold.

I brought her home! And we were finally together.

One day God will carry you home....and the Bible says in....

Revelation 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

Application

We can have great joy because Jesus is the reason for our joy!

His birth, his death, his resurrection, and his promise of eternal life give us joy on this earth and joy in the home to come

Conclusion

So Jesus is the reason for our joy...

Tonight, after the Christmas Program, we will finish our final topic for this sermon.... “ The Response to Joy”

This morning I encourage you to BEHOLD THE JOY! Let your eyes be full of the Joy that was sent to the world.

Luke 2:10-11 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

Joy to the World because Emmanuel has come! God with us.

This world can only offer temporary joy.

Joy that will be stripped away.

Joy that cannot last

Joy that will be lost

Joy that will never fill that God-sized hole in your heart.

The world can only give you water that will cause you to thirst again.

But Jesus…He offers you water. And if you drink this water, you will never thirst again.

Luke 15:10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.

Maybe you have never received the joy of salvation…Jesus is offering you salvation.

Accept Jesus today.

Now let us look at what our response should be...

IV. The Response to Joy

(vs. 15-16)

A. They Found the Savior

(They drew nigh to the Savior)

These shepherds realized they needed to find the One who could give them this great joy!

They came with haste! They didn’t waste any time meeting the Saviour

Don’t wait another day! You can meet the Saviour today!

Ill: When I got saved!-May 2, 1997-The most valuable decision I will ever make!-And the source of my great joy!

Mark 8:36-37 36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? 37 Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

Your soul is more valuable than the entire world!

The best decision the shepherds ever made was to find the Christ!

The best decision you will ever make is to find the Christ—Jesus, the Son of God, Savior of the world!

Find the Christ!

B. They Worshipped the Savior

After they met the Saviour, they immediately worshipped Him!

I would encourage you to worship your Saviour today. And tomorrow. And the next day.

C. They Proclaimed the Savior

Verse 17-18 -they made known abroad

After the met the giver of joy, they told everyone about it!

They couldn’t keep it to themselves!

After the shepherds had found Jesus, they told everyone about it!

They were the very first New Testament soul-winners!

1. The Audience= Everyone (vs. 17)

“they made known ABROAD…”

Abroad means “a very large area; in or to a foreign country”

The audience was everyone they knew!

Friends, family, co-workers

They were excited!

Application

Christian, do you proclaim the Saviour to others?

Does your life show others the light of God

Luke 14:23 And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel [them] to come in, that my house may be filled.

Conclusion

This morning I encourage you to BEHOLD THE JOY! Joy to the World because Emmanuel has come! God with us.

This world can only offer temporary joy.

Joy that will be stripped away.

Joy that cannot last

Joy that will be lost

Joy that will never fill that God-sized hole in your heart.

The world can only give you water that will cause you to thirst again.

But Jesus…He offers you water. And if you drink this water, you will never thirst again.

Luke 15:10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.