Rejoicing
Christmas can change your life forever. • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Introduction: (Show a video of the winning team fans at the big game)
What is rejoicing? Rejoicing is: The outward expression of joy.
JOY - Closely related to gladness and happiness, although joy is more a state of being rather than an emotion; a result of choice. One of the fruits of the spirit. Having joy is part of the experience of being a Christian.
So why do people even bother rejoicing?
We rejoice when something makes us feel good. Like the big play to win the game.
Luke 1:39–45 (NASB95)
39 Now at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to the hill country, to a city of Judah,
40 and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.
41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
42 And she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
43 “And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me?
44 “For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy.
45 “And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.”
Transitional Sentence: Just like John, Elizabeth and Mary; We have much to rejoice about.
To begin with how many of you know that God rejoices?
God Rejoices:
a. The joy of God
God rejoices in the well-being and faithfulness of his covenant people, and in the repentance and conversion of sinners. He brings joy to his people, who rejoice in his presence and faithfulness.
He brings joy to His people. Joy isn’t something we can make up on our own. Remember this is a fruit of the Spirit. A gift from God to separate us from non-believers. It helps God show Himself to the world around us through us. If we had to be joyful and rejoice on our own the way the world is God wouldn’t show up very much.
The truth of God rejoicing over the repentance and conversion of sinners is evident in Jesus’ parable about the 1 lost sheep. The 1 sheep strays away and the shepherd leaves the 99 and searches for the one lost sheep. When he finds it he returns home and asks his friends over for a celebration because the 1 was found. The point of the parable was summed up in the one verse.
7 “I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
I wonder if they threw a party when I turned to God or did they just sing a little tune?
Another verse that shows how God responds to us as His children is:
b. Zephaniah 3:17
17 “The Lord your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.
He will exult over you.....
In exulting over you He is expressing joy. He is expressing His great joy for you His child.
And He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy: Can you hear Him?
Were you ever in a position where you could hear someone in a crowd cheering you on?
Talk about the finals for state in the 200 m. hurdles… I could hear my dad yelling for me.
Are you that parent? Have you ever seen that parent?
The one that yells out that’s my boy or that’s my girl when they do good. I could of been that parent. I could have jumped up and yelled that’s my girl last Sunday at the Valley Chorus concert.
Well - that’s what God does. That’s what God is doing.
Not only does He rejoice but everything He created can rejoice too.
c. Psalm 69:34 says:
34 Let heaven and earth praise Him, The seas and everything that moves in them.
The Psalmist is calling all of Heaven and earth and everything in them to praise the Lord.
Praise -
The celebration, honouring and adoration of God, in the power of the Holy Spirit, whether by individual believers or communities of believers.
Praise is a form of rejoicing. When we or any part of creation honors God and shows their adoration for Him they are praising Him. If everything in Heaven and on the earth is able to praise God He must have given them some way to praise Him. They must have some way to rejoice. They must have some way to glorify God and rejoice for the good things He has done. After all He cares for everything, even the sparrows.
So praise the Lord and rejoice for He has done great things.
In our passage for today
John, Elizabeth and Mary rejoiced.
John is rejoicing? Yes - John the Baptist. When he was say about 6 months along and still in the womb he was rejoicing.
a. John leaps for joy Luke 1:41
41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
Now I’m taking that statement as hyperbole, an exaggeration of what happened. Here’s a six or seven month old fetus still in the womb. There isn’t the strength to leap or the space. From the pictures I’ve seen it’s a rather tight fit in the womb. But the statement conveys the idea of jumping for joy. There was recognition of the Holy Spirit dwelling in John and the new fetus growing in Mary’s womb.
The idea of the Holy Spirit dwelling in John in the womb is supported by the words of Gabriel when he told Zacharias: Luke 1:15
15 “For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb.
The presence of the Holy Spirit also helped Elizabeth know that her cousin Mary was with child and that the child she carried was the Holy One of God.
b. At the same time John was leaping for joy Elizabeth recognized the Lord’s presence and she began to prophecy. Luke 1:42-45
42 And she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
43 “And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me?
44 “For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy.
45 “And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.”
Recognition of her Lord. Did you notice the blessing? Luke 1:45 “blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.”
Mary has only just arrived. Did Mary send a letter ahead of time to tell Elizabeth what had happened with her and asked to come visit? No, this is the doings of the Lord. He is orchestrating all of these events for His glory. He knew that Mary would believe that there would be a fulfillment of scripture because it was the Lord’s doing.
The question is: Can you hear the joy in Elizabeth’s voice? The angel said she would bear the forerunner of the Lord and here comes her cousin with child who will be the One. Can you imagine Elizabeth jumping for joy and rejoicing? She probably wants to, but she is older and about six months pregnant. Did any of you ladies that have had children want to jump up and down when you were about 6 months pregnant? I can see her running, or moving as quickly as possible, to Mary, and wrapping her in a great big hug. The kind you give loved ones when you haven’t seen them for years.
c. And then Mary says - or maybe sings (is this a musical?).
46 And Mary said: “My soul exalts the Lord,
47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
48 “For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave; For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed.
49 “For the Mighty One has done great things for me; And holy is His name.
50 “And His mercy is upon generation after generation Toward those who fear Him.
51 “He has done mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart.
52 “He has brought down rulers from their thrones, And has exalted those who were humble.
53 “He has filled the hungry with good things; And sent away the rich empty-handed.
54 “He has given help to Israel His servant, In remembrance of His mercy,
55 As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and his descendants forever.”
Her soul exalts and her spirit rejoices. How does that work? If Elizabeth has her all tied up in a hug she isn’t going to jump for joy. I can see her rejoicing on the inside. Her body isn’t moving but on the inside she is jumping up and down just like John who is trapped in the womb and can only move a little bit.
On the inside she is all bubbly like a bottle of champagne whose cork is (picture) breaking free. All the gas pent up inside is about to explode. Oh the effervescence of joy.
This effervescence of joy on the inside is the other kind of parent at a concert or sports game. The one parent jumps up and down and makes a spectacle of their joy. But this one bubbles up on the inside. An outward display of joy would probably be embarrassing for the child, so the joy is kept bottled up. The joy is released later with that great big hug like Elizabeth just gave Mary.
And then Mary goes on to acknowledge God’s greatness in all of this and her own humble estate as a bondslave. God’s chosen people have been waiting and watching a long time for this moment in time and here she is, the one who will actually bear the child that will become the Messiah. The only begotten Son of God full of Mercy and Grace.
And so, they rejoiced. But how can:
3. You rejoice?
a. The great thing is that you can rejoice just about anyway you want!
Some like the expressive parent will jump and shout. Others will keep it contained and may never show any sign of joy, yet it is there just below the surface bubbling up, ready to explode.
Your particular manner of rejoicing might depend upon how your parents rejoiced. My parents, they kept it all inside except that one time. They seldom even said that I did a good job on something. On the other hand I had a friend whose parents were very open with their rejoicing. They were the ones jumping up and down in the stands and letting everyone know that something good was going on. What were your parents like? Did they openly rejoice or were they the silent bubbly type? Did you pick up their style of rejoicing or do you have your own?
There are many ways to rejoice, you could break out in a song just like what happens in lots of musicals. The star just breaks out and starts singing, the joy inside can’t be contained. You could jump up and down for joy. You could hug and kiss everyone around you. You could stand still in shock, not knowing how to respond. Just like a guy whose coin just hit three cherries on the slot machine and hundreds of thousands of dollars just came pouring out of it. Or you could rejoice the way so many Christians do at church. They stand still, quietly sing and maybe timidly raise a hand up in the air hoping that no one judges them for being one of those people. Is that you? If others around you were more expressive would you?
Wow - what would happen if we all just cut loose and started rejoicing as though we had something to be joyful about?
With that said:
b. Why should you rejoice?
For starters because of the great things He has done.
In Mary’s Magnificat she said:
His mercy is is upon generation after generation toward those who fear Him; He scatters the proud, brought down rulers, exalted the humble, fulled the hungry, sent away the rich and so many other things.
The Scriptures are full of examples of things that we can rejoice for, or over. If it is something that brings you joy then rejoice. If it is something that God did then rejoice. That should include everything for He has done all things.
What things can you think of that He has done?
What things can you think of that He has done for you?
Does He protect you from the evil that is all around you? Does He provide all that you have need of? Or does He provide more? Has He filled you with the Spirit of truth which speaks to your spirit letting you know that you are a child of God?
c. The biggest reason we should rejoice is for the one thing that we are totally unable to do for ourselves. That would be Salvation. Psalm 13:5-6 says:
5 But I have trusted in Your lovingkindness; My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.
6 I will sing to the Lord, Because He has dealt bountifully with me.
Rejoice in His salvation. Think about what had to take place for you to receive that salvation. Does that make you want to rejoice? God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son to die on a cross so that you and I could be forgiven of our sins and reconciled to Him. Could you do it? Could you give up one of your children for the sake of others?
God did it. That’s the point of what we are celebrating right now. Wednesday is the day we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior. It doesn’t matter if He was actually born on December 25th or not, it doesn’t really matter. Besides the calendar has gone through a major change since then and nobody has found His birth certificate.
The point is that we are celebrating His arrival, His advent. Without His advent their is no sacrifice. Without His advent there is no salvation. Without His advent there is no way for sinful mankind to be reconciled to God. Well except the law for those born under the law, but that hasn’t worked out so well for them.
So rejoice and be glad that God provided a way for you to be reconciled to Him that you may be a child of God.
Exit: The Apostle Paul says that believers should rejoice, rejoice always in all situations. That’s a hard command. But remember Joy isn’t something that we have to come up with ourselves. It is a gift from God, a fruit of the Spirit that He has placed inside everyone that truly believes. Rejoicing is an expression of that joy. That joy can’t be made up and it isn’t really an emotion it’s a state of being, it’s a choice you make because of how you view the world. Do you see the world through the eyes of a lost soul enslaved to sin or a child of God enslaved to righteousness? If you are that Child of God then rejoice, rejoice always in all situations. Let the Holy Spirit fill you with joy. That amazing gift of God and then give it all back to Him that He might be glorified.
We have been given an amazing Christmas gift. Salvation. That Salvation comes only through Christ Jesus whose birthday we will celebrate Wednesday. Take some time this week - especially on Wednesday to think about just what that salvation means for you and what Jesus had to go through to provide us with that gift. It was a very expensive gift.
Oh - and while your thinking about that Rejoice, I say again Rejoice for the great things He has done.
Pray!!
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