The Joy of Christmas
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Please take your Bible and turn to Luke 1. We will be in various passages this morning, but we will begin there.
I’d like to begin this morning’s sermon by teaching you the refrain to a song which I wrote last December titled THE JOY OF CHRISTMAS.
The refrain goes like this:
He is the joy of Christmas, The star of Bethlehem, He is the first noel, the receiver of wise men; He is the Word become flesh to dwell among men, He’s the One born to die to save His people from their sins.
So, what I plan to do is sing this song, and when I come to the refrain I want you to join me in singing the refrain.
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I’m amazed at all the colors of this season, the trees sparkle with various shades of light. I’m amazed at the sounds of this season, the songs are so merry and bright. But the most amazing thing is not what I see or what I sing, but the Child who was born that holy night.
He is the joy of Christmas, The star of Bethlehem, He is the first noel, the receiver of wise men; He is the Word become flesh to dwell among men, He’s the One born to die to save His people from their sins.
I’m amazed at the busyness of Christmas, the stores are filled with people who are stressed. I’m amazed at the loneliness of Christmas, this time of year many find themselves depressed. But the most amazing thing is Jesus’ offering, “Come to Me and I’ll give you rest!”
He is the joy of Christmas, The star of Bethlehem, He is the first noel, the receiver of wise men; He is the Word become flesh to dwell among men, He’s the One born to die to save His people from their sins.
He’s the heir of all things, the Creator of the world, the image of the Father, the last and final word, He’s the Alpha and Omega — the beginning and the end, He’s the promised One the Messiah, the Redeemer of men!
He is the joy of Christmas, The star of Bethlehem, He is the first noel, the receiver of wise men; He is the Word become flesh to dwell among men, He’s the One born to die to save His people from their sins.
The Joy of Christmas, Jesus is the Joy of Christmas; AMEN!
The titles for this Christmas series are taken from the refrain of this song. And much of the refrain alludes to various Christmas songs.
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As we meditate on Jesus being the Joy of Christmas we will first consider what joy is, then we will look at seven ways in which Jesus brought joy into our world.
Let’s begin by
Defining Joy
Defining Joy
Note that,
Joy is More of a State of Being Than an Emotion
Joy is a characteristic of the believer in Jesus Christ.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
In the OT joy is often associated with victory over one’s enemies. There was a joyful celebration after God defeated the forces of Egypt, drowning them in the Red Sea. There was joy which was expressed after David was victorious over Goliath. The prophets said there would be a loss of joy when Israel was taken into captivity. But there would be a return of joy when the remnant returned to the Holy Land.
In the NT there are expressions of joy in regard to victory as well, but usually it has to do with spiritual victory — the repentance of sinners who have turned by faith to Christ. Paul took joy both in the salvation of sinners, and in the spiritual growth of believers. Just read his epistle to the Philippians, and you will see that it drips with references to joy and rejoicing, which is the expression of joy.
Let’s turn from a definition of joy to
Seven Ways Christ Brought Joy
Seven Ways Christ Brought Joy
Note first that
Christ’s Incarnation Brought Joy
As we consider the incarnation we will look at the joy which was brought by the joyful announcement of His coming birth, the joyful presence, and the joyful proclamation.
Let’s look first at
The Joyful Announcement
The Joyful Announcement
Look at Luke 1:26-38
Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.
And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”
But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was.
The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God.
And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;
and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”
Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”
The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.
And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month.
For nothing will be impossible with God.”
And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
The word joy does not appear in the text, and yet Mary’s submissive attitude implies that she rejoiced at the announcement that she would be the mother to Messiah. I wonder if she had any idea of the kind of emotional pain she would one day go through as the result of bearing the Christ-child?
Keeping in this same context, let’s look at
The Joyful Presence
The Joyful Presence
About six months before Mary was told about her privilege to bear the Christ-child, her relatives were informed that in their old age they would conceive a son who would be the forerunner of the Christ. We know this child as John the Baptist.
Look at
Now at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to the hill country, to a city of Judah,
and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
And she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me?
For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy.
And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.”
John was filled with the Spirit even while in His mother’s womb. And when he realized that He was in the presence of deity — the unborn, Divine Christ-child — he expressed his joy in his mother’s womb! Amazing when you think about it!
Let’s now consider
The Joyful Proclamation
The Joyful Proclamation
Look at
And Mary said: “My soul exalts the Lord,
And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
“For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave; For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed.
“For the Mighty One has done great things for me; And holy is His name.
“And His mercy is upon generation after generation Toward those who fear Him.
“He has done mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart.
“He has brought down rulers from their thrones, And has exalted those who were humble.
“He has filled the hungry with good things; And sent away the rich empty-handed.
“He has given help to Israel His servant, In remembrance of His mercy,
As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and his descendants forever.”
And Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her home.
When Mary was informed that she would be the mother of the Christ-child, we didn’t see a mention of joy in the text. But her submissive attitude seemed to reflect peace and joy. Now we see that she is expressing her joy in song — well, at least in a lyric which presents itself as a song in our English Bible.
Whether it was a song, or just an utterance from her mouth, there is no doubt that there was a deep attitude of worship. She worshiped God for looking on her humble estate — recognizing that she would become renown for bearing the Messiah.
It is obvious that Mary had a keen understanding of the character of God. She mentioned in verse 50 that His mercy is for those who fear Him. Mary seems to understand what was reflected in our text last week, as well as throughout the book of Proverbs.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Note next that,
Christ’s Birth Brought Joy
As we consider this we will look at the joyful birth, angels, and wonder. Let’s look first at
The Joyful Birth
The Joyful Birth
Turn to Luke 2:1-7
Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth.
This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.
And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city.
Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David,
in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child.
While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth.
And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
Obviously, the biblical text does not provide us with all of the details surrounding the birth of Christ. We don’t know if there was conflict between she and Joseph over having to give birth to the Divine Christ-Child in a manger or not. My guess is that she was so happy for the safe delivery of this precious child that everything else faded in comparison.
Let’s consider
The Joyful Angels
The Joyful Angels
Gabriel was the privileged angel to inform both Zacharias and Mary of their part in the unfolding of God’s predetermined plan. Now we see an angel, perhaps Gabriel, though the text doesn’t offer a name, coming to some shepherds and informing them of the birth of Christ. And is seems as if heaven was filled with such joy that a myriad of angels broke out into a song of worship. Look at
In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night.
And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.
But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people;
for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”
This afternoon I will be participating in a choir concert. I think our choir sounds pretty good, of course I’m also biased. But can you imagine the sound from this heavenly choir of angels as they sang “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased?” I get a shiver in my liver just thinking about it! And to think about who these angels sang their song of worship before! Of course it was sung to God — but it was witnessed by a bunch of lowly shepherds, and not by the religious elite of Israel.
Let’s consider now
The Joyful Wonder
The Joyful Wonder
Notice the shepherd’s response to the joyful angelic message. Look at
When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.”
So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger.
When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child.
And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds.
But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.
The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.
Joy did not end with the birth of Christ.
Note that,
Christ’s Word Brings Joy
Look at
These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.
Notice that this joy is of divine origin, and it originates in the Messiah. In the broader context of this verse, it was a part of the Upper Room Discourse which Jesus spoke to His faithful apostles on the night of His betrayal. I say faithful, because He waited until Judas Iscariot had left to betray Him before speaking these words. In this discourse He spoke of His soon departure from the world, and the importance of His followers loving one another just as Christ had loved them. He told them that even though He was departing from this world, He would send a Helper just like Him — the Holy Spirit of promise. And the Spirit would bring to their memory everything which Jesus had taught them during their three years together.
Then Jesus taught about the importance of abiding in Him. He is the true vine, and we who are believers in Him are the branches. And just as it is impossible for a branch which has been severed from the vine to bear fruit, so it is impossible for Christ’s followers to bear fruit apart from Him. Jesus taught that we abide in Him by keeping His commandments — with an emphasis on the command to love one another just as He has loved us. And Jesus spoke these words so that His joy would be in His followers, and that His followers joy would be made full.
Next, we see that
Christ’s Work Brings Joy
The writer of Hebrews testified that Christ’s redemptive work brought joy to our Savior. And it was this joy which helped Him to endure the sufferings of the cross.
fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
There is another aspect of how Christ’s work brings joy — as the old hymn states, there is joy in serving Jesus. In Luke’s gospel account we read of how Jesus sent 70 people out in pairs to minister in the cities in which Jesus was soon to visit. And when they came back together they were filled with joy from the invigorating work of the gospel ministry.
The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.”
Now, to be honest, some of their joy seems to have been founded on personal pride and fulfillment. And Jesus corrected them for that misplaced foundation. But that does not minimize the truth that there is joy in serving Jesus — especially when we serve Him with right motives, seeking His glory and the glory of the Father, rather than our own glory.
I heard an interview with a former country singer this past week, whose name I have forgotten. Even though he had grown up attending church all of his life, it took his child’s untimely death to bring him to the realization that he had never embraced the truth of the gospel. And now he has not only embraced it, but he has given up his career as a singer. The reason why he has stopped performing is because he doesn’t think that he can perform music without seeking his own glory and praise for his performance and skills. But he wants God to receive all of the glory, and so he has walked away from his profession. I was simply amazed by this man’s attitude and actions. That is the hard lesson which the disciples of Christ had to learn.
Time is fleeting and we still have three more ways in which Christ brought joy to cover. So, I will simply state them without much explanation.
Christ’s Death Brought Joy
Truly, without His death, there would be no joy. As already stated, it brought Christ joy to die so that we might live. But His death also brings the believer into a right relationship with God — and this truly is the source of joy.
Christ’s Resurrection Brought Joy
On Resurrection Day two women named Mary went to the tomb where Jesus was buried, with the intention of properly preparing His body for burial. When they arrived they found the tomb was empty, and a angel announced to them,
He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying.
Then the angel instructed them to go and tell His disciples that Jesus has risen form the dead.
And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His disciples.
There are so many more ways in which Christ brings joy, but the last which we will consider is that
Christ’s Return Brings Joy
Christ’s return will bring an end to the suffering of this present world. Just before His return the sufferings of this world will increase exponentially as God pours out His wrath on mankind through the seal, trumpet, and bowl judgments. While I believe that we who are believers will be spared from those, since the church will be raptured prior to the tribulation period, there will be those who come to faith in Christ during that seven year period, and they will be persecuted worse than any persecution that has ever occurred.
Writing about this to the Thessalonians Paul said,
For after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you,
and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire,
dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,
when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed—for our testimony to you was believed.
What brings you joy? Is your joy something which is fleeting, or is it something which is permanent? If joy is merely an emotion, then it will come and it will go. But if it is a result of being united with Christ in His death and resurrection, then joy will be permanent since it is a characteristic of our union with Christ. Remember He wants for His joy to be in us!
Perhaps today, for the first time you realize that even though you have attended church all of your life, you are not truly in a right relationship with Jesus Christ. Perhaps you are one who needs to some form of empirical evidence to believe something. Understand that faith is believing in what you cannot see.
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
Understand that without faith you cannot please God.
And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
You must believe that God exists. You must believe that you have offended Him with your sins. You must understand that as a result of your sin you are a war with God. You must understand that Jesus Christ died to pay the penalty for your sin, and that He rose from the dead on the third day. You must embrace His work on your behalf and cling to Him for your salvation.
Believer, what is the foundation of your joy? Is it founded on Christ, the Solid Rock? Or is it founded on yourself. Understand that true lasting joy is only founded on Christ.
Let’s pray.
Holy Father, we bow before You this day thanking You for the greatest Christmas gift of all times — the gift of Your Son who came to save us from our sins. May we who are believers leave this place today repeating the sounding joy that is founded on Christ.
Lord, I pray for those who are not believers that this would be the day in which Your Spirit opens the eyes of their heart to perceive the truth of the gospel, and to embrace Jesus Christ and be delivered from the domain of darkness, and transferred into the kingdom of Your Beloved Son.
In His name I pray — Amen.
Closing Song: #270
Joy to the World
Vs. 2
Joy to the world! the Savior reigns; Let men their songs employ, While fields and floods, rocks hiss and plains Repeat the sounding joy, repeat the sounding joy, repeat, repeat the sounding joy.
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Communion
Communion
An integral part of the joy of Christmas is the joy in celebrating the Lord’s table. You see, without the cross, the birth of Christ would be meaningless. He who knew no sin had to become sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. He had to hang on the tree and become a curse for us so that we could be freed from the curse of the law. The curse of the law was the result of not only our acts of sin, but of the sin nature with which we were born.
When we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, or communion, we do not do so in order to be saved. That was accomplished at the cross of Christ. He did the work, because we could never please God in our own fleshly work. The elements with which we partake do not literally become the body and blood of Christ. They are symbolic of His body and His blood.
When we partake of the Lord’s Table, we do so with a solemn attitude because of the realization that it was our sin that caused His suffering. But we also partake with great joy as we anticipate His return to claim His bride as His own.
Paul wrote,
For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread;
and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
I am going to ask Derek to give thanks for the bread.
and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
Let’s eat this bread in remembrance of Christ.
I am going to ask Phil if he would give thanks for the cup.
In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
Let’s drink this together in remembrance of Christ.
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
Let’s leave this place repeating the sounding joy of the good news of Christ.
The Lord bless you, and keep you;
The Lord make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace.’