Joy from our Saviour

Intro: Our Christmas series thus far has covered several aspects of why our world needs our Saviour. Pastor Fil began to fill in the details of this Saviour with a look at the love of God. Then I preached an overarching message on peace. Last week Fill preached on the hope we have from our saviour.

Today we get back to the Christmas text and look at the phrase the angel brought to a group of shepherds.

Good news brings great joy.

The shepherds were stunned one night as God intervened in their lives in a way that would impact the rest of history.

Luke 2:10 NKJV

Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.

I am sure you have heard lots of Christmas season messages on the Shepherds. You may have heard plenty on the angels. Today I want to focus just on this one portion of the message the angel gave.

A. Bringing Good News

One word is all there is in the original Greek language for our 4 words “I bring good news”

The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament 2097. εὐαγγελίζω euaggelízō

euaggelízomai, of matters to be proclaimed as glad tidings

What better news could there be than encouraging information about what God is doing? Even in the Old Testament we can find this same concept.

Isaiah 52:7 NKJV

How beautiful upon the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who proclaims peace, Who brings glad tidings of good things, Who proclaims salvation, Who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

B. This word is carried on in the New Testament for the work of evangelism.

While not found in Mark or John’s writings, this word is used in one form or another throughout the rest of the NT. The author Luke uses it over a dozen more times.

Acts 10:36 (ESV)

... preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all),

The Apostle Paul also used it to describe his preaching in Galatians 1.23. It should be part of preaching because there is no greater message than the message of what God has done through Jesus Christ.

Joy is there for the taking - when we will accept the “inside information” that the angels brought night to shepherds on the hillside outside Bethlehem. “God is at work, and here is how to identify what God is doing.”

This good news can change lives!

We said in the first week of this Christmas series that our world needs our Saviour. They do - We do!

It brings God’s love to the world in a whole new way. It brings peace - especially inner peace that can’t be found in the world. It brings living hope - confident assurance in God’s power to carry out His plan and it is like nothing the world could wish for.

A. Great

Before it was trendy God inspired a word to describe the joy He wants to bring to the world. The word here is “Mega”. In Australia we know what a mega is. Here, in our day, we use mega to describe computing cloud storage, medical centres, shops, it is even the name of an app on many people’s phones.

God knows we can sometimes make massive swings in our feelings, and He makes it clear that it can be OK in this very passage.

Luke 2:9 ESV

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.

The Shepherds had just made it clear that they had MEGA fear. I’m sure there are other expressions that would have been used if the Bible was written today. Thank goodness it is an old book. Over the last century translaters have used words like “very”, “extreamly”, “teriffied” and more.

Mega- is a word used in the Greek language to make clear that it is a magnitude of scale bigger than what people normally experience.

So, people with mega fear are offered mega joy. This text is so relevant to our world today.

B. Joy

Last year I had the opportunity to speak about the wonders of Christmas and I said then :There is joy waiting to be experienced when we realise the road we have been traveling intersects with the Saviour.

Joy is an inside out satisfaction and pleasure; While happiness depends on what happens around us.

Joy’s source

The HS gives joy

1 Thessalonians 1:6 (CSB)

and you yourselves became imitators of us and of the Lord when, in spite of severe persecution, you welcomed the message with joy from the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit resides within all believers. Every Christian has the HS. Without the HS no one can be a Christian. So, When I say that Joy is inside out - The indwelling HS can make that happen.

Remember Rom 15.13?

It can come from Jesus and having His view of life and ministry.

John 15:11 (NKJV)

“These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.

Joy’s focus

Because joy comes from the inside (the work of the HS and the gift from JC) and goes out from there to bring satisfaction and pleasure, it has to have a focus outside of us, outside our minds, outside our personal bubble.

1 Thessalonians 2:19 (NKJV)

For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?

1 Thessalonians 3:9 (ESV)

For what thanksgiving can we return to God for you, for all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God,

3 John 4 (NKJV)

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

Conclusion: Good news of mega joy is available to all people who respond to the message given to the Angels.

The good news was that a Saviour was born. We know this. We know what God was doing, and that He is still doing the same today. Our world needs a saviour. The joy Jesus brings with the salvation is great - mega joy.

Q1 How much fear does it take to destroy your joy?

Q2 Do you have that inside out satisfaction and pleasure that can only come from God?