The King of Joy

Outline

Big Idea: The incarnation of Christ iS THE reason for Joy in a world where no reason for joy exists.

The incarnation of Christ pointedly preaches our need. (Eph 2:1-10)

The incarnation of Christ becomes the bridge of peace between God and Man. (Eph 2:11-22)

The incarnation of Christ assures us we are never alone. (Eph 2:11-22)

The incarnation of Christ gives grace for us to live in hope. (Eph 2:11-22)

Introduction

Video - Joy to the World (Skitguys)

What makes Christmas joyful? Why is there JOY in it?

Christmas is about joy.

The coming of Jesus is about Joy.

Joy of Savior, a redeemer, a Savior who has come to deliver us.

Christmas is about God coming to earth, becoming man.

It is about God coming near.

It is about the fulfillment of a promise.

It is the reason we have a hope, an eternal confidence.

But listen, it is not just US who view Christmas with Joy.

Hebrews 12:1-2.

Hebrews 12:1–2 ESV

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Jesus, for the joy set before him….

What joy was set before him?

In short, the reconciling of man to God.

Our salvation. The redeeming of our broken relationship (as a creation) to Him.

The glory that He would receive from it.

The joy we would find in embracing Him.

THIS is the joy set before Him

BUT, where does this path of Christ’s birth lead?

To the cross.

To the worst possible suffering and pain imaginable.

In heaven

On the earth,

Under the earth

I do not even think the suffering of sinners in hell can compare to what Christ endured.

And YET, the joy set before him was so much greater…that he was able to endure the cross, despise the shame of it, to willingly and joyfully complete it.

BRINGING PEACE between God and man WAS THE JOY set before Him that he considered the suffering of the cross a small price to pay to achieve it.

THIS is simply and unbelievably amazing!

Now, I could stop here and have enough to chew on for a while.

I know how unworthy I am of this.

I know how often I spit on this truth.

For Jesus to consider the joy of reconciling ME enough to endure the worst suffering imaginable…

Body

Big Idea: The incarnation of Christ iS THE reason for Joy in a world where no reason for joy exists.

The incarnation of Christ pointedly preaches our need. (Eph 2:1-10)

Ephesians 2:1–10 ESV

1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Let me strip this verse of all it clauses and give you the main thought…

But God….made us alive together with Christ….and raised us up…and seated us with him in the heavenly places …SO THAT…he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace (in kindness towards us)…in Christ Jesus.

The immeasurable riches of HIS grace was shown to us, OUT OF THE KINDNESS OF GOD, in the most unfathomable way possible IN THE PERSON OF JESUS CHRIST.

And how did we see Jesus?

In his humanity…born, lived, died…for us.

The very reality of His coming…exposes our need.

It makes it abundantly clear, we were in need of assistance.

Christmas is the reminder…

The message…

Of our desperate neediness.

SO MUCH SO, that the SON OF GOD had to enter His creation as man.

Church, if we forget this…we are prone to make Christmas about us…instead of keeping it about Him.

Christmas is not about our glory or our worth.

Quite the opposite, actually.

It was our utter worthlessness and helplessness that brought Him down.

Paul Tripp puts it this way…

“The incarnation of Jesus Christ pointedly preaches our inescapable need for radical, personal, and moral rescue and forgiveness.” Paul Tripp

When we look at Christmas, we CANNOT or SHOULD NOT miss this reality.

Christmas is about our need. And our helplessness.

Christ came to save us.

He came to save us from ourselves and the mess we had made for ourselves.

Christmas magnifies HIS excellence…not ours.

Christmas is about HIS worth and glory…not ours.

Christmas is about HIM, not about us.

Christmas is not first and foremost a humanitarian and kindness holiday where we look for ways to be good people and to magnify our generosity.

Christmas is not first and foremost a holiday about family togetherness.

Christmas is not first and foremost just a time to gather, enjoy one another, and have a good feeling about the time of year.

Christmas IS first and foremost an opportunity to recognize the worth of our God, who came for us that we might be saved from the mess we made.

It IS a time to gather as groups to praise and glorify HIM and HIS WORTH.

It is a time to acknowledge our sinfulness and brokenness that necessitated His coming.

It is a time to be thankful for His work.

It is time to renew our commitment to live a life worthy of His sacrifice on our behalf. To make it our aim to please him (2 Cor 5:9)

It is a time to renew our commitment to the gospel and to strengthen our boldness to proclaim it, for it is life and salvation to all who find it.

The incarnation of Christ becomes the bridge of peace between God and Man. (Eph 2:11-22)

Ephesians 2:11–22 ESV

11 Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— 12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

He himself is our peace…

What is peace?

The cessation of conflict

Harmony

A state of well being

A harmonious relationship free from conflict and tension.

There are two senses in which we speak about peace.

Positional

Relational

Positionally, because of what Christ has done….AND…because of our faith and repentance, we are positionally at peace with God. The dividing wall of hostility has been ripped down!

Must like the wall that once divided Berlin…it has been completely removed for those of us whose faith has led to repentance and a turning away.

Positionally, this peace can NEVER be removed.

Relationally, peace with God can come and go. Our choices, actions, and life circumstances can foster or hinder peace and our sense of peace with God.

While positionally, we are still secure in Christ, we can experience a break in fellowship and harmony together

Much like a husband and wife who remain married when they have a fight or argument but notice a hindrance in their harmonious relationship until they resolve the conflict biblically so is the Christian who is positionally secure but sense a distance relationally when they act in a fleshly way.

You know what I find so disturbing sometimes about our world?

They do not even realize that peace is missing.

The world does not even realize that both positional and relational peace is absent. They do not realize it is missing.

They become so accustomed and comfortable with the conflict that they do not even realize that peace is absent.

BUT the truth is…

We are believers can also lose this sense of relational peace with God.

We can get so busy, so harried, so burdened, so overwhelmed that we fail to experience peace with God and we do not even realize it.

The times this has stood out the most to me is when I am able to step away from all the noise of life and just experience silence at it’s deepest and finest.

New Mexico mission’s trip, listening to the breeze as I mucked the horse stalls

Sitting at the pond at Black Rock, again listening to the breeze.

The sad thing is, until we actually experience peace, we oftentimes do not realize it is missing.

This can certainly be true of the world. They do not realize they are in need of peace because noise and chaos is all they know.

But this can be just as true of us as believers…we can get ourselves so harried and so busy in life that we fail to realize that our sense of peace with God is absent.

God has come to bring peace. Positional peace as we repent and believe.

He has made us both one…

He has broken down the dividing wall of hostility.

He abolished the law of commandments (by fulfilling it), creating ONE new man in place of two…THUS MAKING PEACE.

He has reconciled us both to God THROUGH THE CROSS…THUS killing hostility.

Listen…

“The shepherds came to worship the Prince of Peace, who came to finally bridge the separation between God and mankind and purchase peace.” Paul Tripp

This peace was purchased through His blood, his death and resurrection.

And this necessitated his physical presence among us.

The great JOY at Christmas is because He is also the king of Peace. Because he is the King of peace, he is also the king of joy!

While some may argue that this passage in Ephesians has positional peace mostly in mind…I do not believe that God grants us positional peace and is content to leave it at that. He wants relational peace. In fact, I will argue that positional peace is simply a means to get relational peace.

And this give us joy beyond reckoning!

God wants us to know relationship peace with Him. This is the whole point.

Church, is your positional peace fostering relational peace with Him?

Are you choices and decisions as a believer and how you are choosing to live before him, prompting relational peace?

Or is it hindering it?

God came to REMOVE hostility and BRING PEACE

But God is not JUST interested in positional peace.

He wants relational peace.

PEACE is the reason that Jesus came.

This demands two responses.

Repentance and faith that leads to salvation

Intimate living in a daily lifestyle of repentance and foster deep intimate relationship with God.

The incarnation of Christ assures us we are never alone. (Eph 2:11-22)

Ephesians 2:13 ESV

13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

Ephesians 2:17–22 ESV

17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

We, who were once far off, have been brought NEAR.

Jesus came near.

We now have access in one Spirit to the Father.

We are no longer strangers or aliens but fellow citizens, saints, members of the household of God

We are the dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

1 Cor 6:19-20.

1 Corinthians 6:19–20 ESV

19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

We cannot escape the presence of God.

Psalm 139:7-12.

Psalm 139:7–12 ESV

7 Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! 9 If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” 12 even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.

Here is a comforting thought…

We cannot get away from the presence of God…

And that is just how He wants it.

He does not WANT to be separated from us.

HE came near.

He made his home with us.

He made US His him.

Listen, in a world where are always anxious or fearful of losing the relationship that we cherish the most, this is one that we will NEVER lose.

“Why give way to fear when, in Christ, it is impossible for you to ever be alone because you are now the temple in which God dwells?” Paul Tripp

Despite the fact that our intimacy and relational connection with Him will fluctuate, God is NEVER far from us. He is ALWAYS near. No one, no thing, can remove Him from us.

THIS ought to give to us such extreme joy!

The incarnation of Christ gives grace for us to live in hope. (Eph 2:11-22)

Ephesians 2:11–12 ESV

11 Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— 12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

At one point, we had no hope.

Now, we do.

“As God’s child, you don’t sit and wait for hope. No, grace makes it possible for you to get up and live in hope.” Paul Tripp

Because of His magnificent grace shown to us at the manger and at the cross….

Because of the grace given to destroy the dividing wall of hostility and bring peace…

Because we are never alone, because it is impossible for us to be so…

Because He is the the King of Joy AND the King of Peace…

We HAVE GRACE to go forth and LIVE in hope.

How are you living in hope, Church?

In what ways are you living in confident expectation of God BEING ON YOUR SIDE and fighting for you?

In whats are you living in confident expectation of His daily presence and grace and strength to live worthy of Him?

Conclusion

Big Idea: The incarnation of Christ iS THE reason for Joy in a world where no reason for joy exists.

The reason for joy is this…God came to make peace…and to make His home with us…to be near to us…

He came to deal with our need so that this might be possible.

The incarnation of Christ pointedly preaches our need. (Eph 2:1-10)

The incarnation of Christ becomes the bridge of peace between God and Man. (Eph 2:11-22)

The incarnation of Christ assures us we are never alone. (Eph 2:11-22)

The incarnation of Christ gives grace for us to live in hope. (Eph 2:11-22)

As Christians, we can have joy unspeakable! We can have full and complete joy, richer than we ever thought possible.

2240Why is this joy of the Christian so unspeakable and full of glory? I think it is because it is so altogether divine. It is God’s own joy; it is Christ’s own joy.—12.369

Charles Spurgeon

What is Christ’s joy?

What is the reason for His joy?

God has made peace with us

Thus, what is our reason for joy?

God IS OUR peace

He wants positional and relational peace with us.

In fact, He promises peace to all who accept it.

Christ alone can bring lasting peace—peace with God—peace among men and nations—and peace within our hearts.

Billy Graham

May we ever be growing together, in joy, to become more like Jesus, who is our peace, for the glory of God.

Application

How does understanding the incarnation of Christ as the source of joy impact your daily life?

In what specific ways can you remind yourself of your need for Christ during this season?

Reflect on a time when you felt the joy of reconciling a relationship; how does this relate to Christ's joy in our reconciliation with God?

How can you cultivate a greater sense of relational peace with God in your life?

What practical steps can you take to live in the hope that comes from the grace of Christ?

What do you think it means to be 'brought near' to God through Christ?

How can you share the joy you find in Christ with your friends and family this Christmas?

Why do you think people struggle to find joy during the Christmas season?

In what ways can you recognize and appreciate the grace that enables you to live in hope?

How can you maintain a sense of peace with God despite the chaos of life?