Advent: The Joy of Jesus
Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 1 viewNotes
Transcript
Luke 1:46-55; 67-79
And Mary said: My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
Question: Does your soul magnify and rejoice in God your Savior? Or is it more so gnarly and deadened like an old tree stump, reminiscent of Ebenezer Scrooge before His redemption?
[Illustration] The Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
· I love the story The Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Dickens tells the moral, and ethical tale, of what the seeking of material things, specific the profit of a dollar, can do to one’s soul.
· Ebenezer Scrooge, as a young man was abandoned by His father to a boys’ home, only to be welcomed back home, well into his later teen years, when his father was better.
· Ebenezer develop an aptitude and smarts for business, during his abandonment and solitude, and became a learned student and valued employee, later on, as an apprentice, to Mr. Fezziwig, a jolly, good spirited moneylender.
· The clutches of wealth and profit, slowly envelop Ebenezer’s heart. His pursuit leads him to lose the love of His life, Belle, and become a partner with Jacob Marley, another soul lost on the path of greed, selfishness and a careless attitude toward his fellow man. Eventually Marley dies, on Christmas Eve, and as a ghost, is left to wander the earth, restlessly, bound to witness the suffering and hardships of others, without being able to help them forevermore and change his standing.
· The story has a happy ending with Scrooge’s heart repentant and vowing to change if given a second chance. After being visited by three spirits, detailing the ramifications of his choices and actions, not just for himself, but others in his sphere of influence; Scrooge is spared death and on Christmas day spreads the joy of His 2nd chance favor to others, with expressed love in gifts of provision and presence.
· Not only is Tiny Tim’s life saved from death, but Scrooge’s soul is redeemed from greed and selfishness, to love and care for his fellow man.
Faced with the destiny of one’s soul, through the living of this life, are you apt to pursue the way and destiny of Mr. Fezziwig or Jacob Marley?
· Ebenezer Scrooge is you and me. He typifies the human spirit living on this earth, under the curse of sin and death. He is an allegory of the human condition and human person. He was born, grew up facing circumstances, situations and temptations, as both a boy and a man, some outside of his choice and control; and others within, and experienced the outcomes, curses or blessings, of decisions made of freewill, of his own and others.
· Whatever we face, whatever comes our way, we can choose the way of Mr. Fezziwig or the way of Marley. Just as Ebenezer made a choice, we make a choice everyday between being a Mr. Fezziwig or a Jacob Marley…who am I choosing to be? I can choose to live in joy, with the love for humanity and hope for better things tomorrow. Or I can choose to live in resentment, bitterness, and miserly misery, with only hope in what I can do for myself today (Jacob Marley).
The Prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 29:11)
· The Prophet Jeremiah said these words in his day to Judah:
For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.
· Is this a good word? Is this a good word for you today? This is the word that Jeremiah gave to Judah living in exile in Babylon (Chapter 29).
· Judah is living in exile because they have pursued the road of apostasy; they abandoned God, burning incense to other gods and worshiped the works of their own hands (idolatry) (Jeremiah 1:16).
· They worshiped and put value in broken cisterns, that they dug for themselves, that cannot hold water (Jer. 2:13), abandoning the fountain of living water…the same cisterns that we Ebenezer’s are confronted with today.
· Jeremiah preaches for forty years, presiding as God’s mouth piece through five kings, the last four being evil (Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, Zedekiah).
· His message: surrender to God’s will for it is the only way to escape calamity.
· Judah refuses to repent, defies God’s word and prophet, and is taken into captivity. The treasure of God’s promise, to live in a land flowing with milk and honey, promised to their fathers and descendants is taken away (Ex. 3:15, 17).
· A remnant of Judah will return, only when the present generations pass and they seek the face of God:
Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.
I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.
· God corrects and disciplines Judah, for it’s good, to once again have His favor and get in line with Him. They are not condemned to eternal condemnation. He reminds them of His promise and encourages them that it is not too late to change their hearts, and return to Him. All will be forgiven.
· Just as Scrooge was given a chance to repent and change His heart, thus His ways, God gives Judah the same opportunity and us; though there is a time limit:
So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel.
“O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the Lord. Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.
“Then you shall break the flask in the sight of the men who go with you,
“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, behold, I am bringing upon this city and upon all its towns all the disaster that I have pronounced against it, because they have stiffened their neck, refusing to hear my words.”
· A ruined vessel can be repaired while still wet, but once it is dry, it is a marred vessel, only fit to be broken and thrown away into the garbage heap.
· Ebenezer was still wet, but on the verge of being bone dry. What is the condition of your soul toward God? Toward your fellow man?
· He has plans to prosper you, to not harm you, to give you a hope and future…but am I dry to Him? To my fellow man?
· That hope and future is only found in and through one man, one God and that is Jesus Christ. The only Reason why a person can have joy in the midst of chaos, pain and suffering called this world.
Joy – A Foreign Concept?
Is true joy a foreign concept to us today? Do I know what true joy is? Do I jump for joy much like Ebenezer Scrooge did when he discovered he had been given a second chance at life? That is what true joy is.
· To exult, rejoice, to leap and skip ecstatically and enthusiastically, delight. Often with song and dance.
· What does Ebenezer do when he discovers he has been given a second chance? He sings and dances – joy!
· This is the same joy we are told of when Mary arrives at Elizabeth’s house, “…the babe leaped in my womb for joy” (Luke 1:44). John the Baptist, the babe, before he is even conceived, is jumping for joy and having a party, at the presence of His Lord and Savior, Jesus, in Mary, while he is in Elizabeth!
· Chara is the joy and delight experienced in one’s heart, especially as a result of God’s grace [5479]. Ebenezer experienced the grace of a second chance to make his life right. We can experience the same chance to make one’s life right by receiving the grace of God, Jesus Christ.
· He is the joy unspeakable of 1 Peter 1:8:
Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,
· Do you know this joy? Do you remember this joy? The joy of having received a second chance for life, in this life, for tomorrow’s life.
· This is exactly why Mary and Zechariah rejoice – the chance for redemption, second life, is come, in Jesus, the babe. God has fulfilled His promise, His oath, His very word He spoke to Israel of a future and hope, a plan to prosper and not to harm (Jeremiah 29:11).
· Do you know this to be true for you? For God incarnate has come in Jesus, giving life to anyone who desires His grace; for man is destined to die for his sin, and then the judgment before Jesus our Lord.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.
For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.
“Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink.
I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’ “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’
“And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’ “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.”
Ebenezer rejoices because his is given a second chance. Mary and Zechariah rejoice because “the Second Chance” was coming. We should rejoice because “the Second Chance” has come and we can have that second chance of grace and rejoice in joy.
The Joy of Mary and Prophesy of Zechariah (Luke 1:46-55; 68-79)
Mary proclaims, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” (Luke 1:46). Why, specifically?
· God has looked upon her with favor (v.48). He has looked upon you and me with His favor in our salvation, Jesus Christ, Immanuel “God with Us”.
Mary says “blessed” meaning “fully satisfied”. To be fully satisfied is to experience and have the favor of God.
We have the favor of God in Jesus Christ, and His Holy Spirit, given to remind us of everything Jesus has said and taught and to know God’s ways. Therefore, we can be fully satisfied in life, “blessed” by receiving God’s grace in Jesus Christ and following Him.
God did a mighty thing for Mary, and His people, through Mary, a willing servant, His bondservant, in giving His savior of the world, Jesus, fulfilling His words through His prophet Jeremiah, to give His people a future, a hope and prosperity; as He does for each who believe and follow His Son Jesus (Jeremiah 29:11; Isaiah 53; Isaiah 7:14).
God did a mighty thing for His name, He kept His word. You and I can bank on His Word; His oaths, His promises, His Book.
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
· God has shown and given His great mercy (v.50). God has kept His steadfast love through generations of evil and wickedness of people, His creation (Dt. 5:10). That even in our wickedness, He choose to come and die for man in order to please His Father, and glorify His name, but also give a second chance to man; but only if we will receive, believe and follow Him.
There was always a remnant of Israel and Judah. Prophets speaking the words of God to His people. Judges to deliver God’s people and provide justice. With mans’ sin, always a way of redemption with man’s repentance.
Kings and kingdoms were/would be brought down (v.51-52). All of Judah was under the rulership of Rome, under the vassal king, King Herod, Herod the Great, a Palestinian (AMG Concise Dictionary), from the region of Idumea, south of Judea (area inhabited by a mixture of Arabs, Jews and the remains of the Edomites). One of the sons of Antipater (half-Jew and Indumean).
Ruled Palestine for 33 years; removing all rivals through treachery and murder.
Exile in Egypt, Babylon and Assyria.
Redemption from wandering in the desert because of distrust and unbelief.
People did not starve and their shoes did not wear out in their trust of God.
He restored the fortunes of Israel after chasing after other gods, apostasy and adultery.
He kept His promise and oaths to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, including David, of land, people and prosperity including a Son of Judah to sit on the throne forever, Jesus, of the line of David.
Not only are the Jewish people of the line of Abraham, but all Gentiles are so as well, being grafted in by God’s grace, in the rebellion of Israel.
The promise to Abraham: “he would be heir of the world” through the righteousness of faith (Romans 4:13). You and I are an heir with Abraham to the world through faith in Jesus Christ (Gal. 3:26; 29).
Why was Mary joyful?
Mary was joyful because she was favored by God, and in His great mercy, God would save His people, and assure His great name, by the son she would give birth to, named Jesus, Immanuel “God with us”.
Are we joyful? God has given us a reason to be joyful. His name is Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Are you singing and dancing because God has kept His promise to give us a hope and future, prosperity and life? He has a plan for us, a good plan. Therefore, do not take the way of Scrooge, leading to dryness and death.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
God knows that we face a cruel world of pain and suffering. He knows our suffering, our pain, our heartache. He hears our yearning for the hope of promise of something better. But yet He provided someone, Himself, to fix our eyes upon and follow in the afflictions of this world and its present ruler. Don’t give in to the way of death and Scrooge, but pursue the way of love and care with the eternal assurance and hope of the best to come.
Hold onto the promises of God and the hope of eternity. Be favored in your grief, suffering and despair. God says,
For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God.
What great favor Mary, Joseph, Zechariah and Elizabeth received because they were faithful to God, and His ways and words, as will you and I receive, as we pursue His will and ways. Love God, Love people, love your world this Christmas and forever more. Don’t be a Jacob Marley or an Ebenezer Scrooge. Be a Fezziwig or better yet Jesus. Amen.