Advent: Joy (2)

Introduction:

Good morning Church, as we gather around the word this morning I have one singular goal —- and that is for us to celebrate the Joy we have that was found in the coming Savior, and is now celebrated because that Savior did come —— and I want you to know that this Joy is available to you today —- some of us may be lacking in our Joy — in a season that is supposed to be filled with smiles, time with family, and the glitz and glammor of the city —- some of you may be missing someone, or lamenting the hardships this year brought —- others of you are celebrating a year you couldn’t have imaged 12 months ago —- or your celebrating a new job, a birth of a child —- here is the truth the Gospel Joy we will be talking about is for both of you — the one filled with sorrow, and the one filled with celebration.

SLIDE 1: “then you shall rejoice in all the good things the Lord your God has given to you and your household” (Deuteronomy 26:11).

This verse is a command from God to rejoice, but it also a recognition of the cause and effect relationship between orientation toward God, and joy. When we take time to reflect on what God has done for us and offer him our very best—in time, effort, skills, gifts—the inevitable response of our soul is joy.

The Joy of the believer is found at the crossroads of knowing what God has done, and what God is still doing.

this is why we ADVENT, or why we learn to anticipate —- learning to regularly anticipate the Lords movement, here and now, and in the coming future stirs us up into Hope, Joy, Peace, and Love —— the result of Advent is to draw our hearts closer to these sweet gifts that the Lord has for us.

STORY: I remember one year for Christmas, my parents got me this little go-kart — after being filled with excitement it quickly turned to tears —- and my parents were extremely confused as to why there son was crying after receiving the very gift he had been asking for for the entire year — after i shed all the tears I told my parents “I just wish it was summer time so i could actually ride the go-Kart” —— my dad looked at me and said “i know it’ll be a little bit more comfortable to ride outside in the summer —- but theres no way we are waiting until summer for you to ride this thing” and handed me the keys —-

now I about killed myself on that thing multiple times which my parents dont need to know all that —- but i think thats a lot like what Advent is all about —-

sure, there are easier seasons for me to feel joy than others, and yes my hope will be fulfilled completely one day as i rest in heaven with my Father, but there is no reason to wait to experience these beautiful gifts, in fact the anticipation of things to come ought to throw us into Hope, Joy, Peace, and Love

Transition Statement: Let us orient ourselves to the Lord, focus on Him, and I promise you Joy will come

Passage:

SLIDE 2: Luke 2:8-14

The Shepherds and the Angels

8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 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. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

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“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

SLIDE 3: Point 1: The Good News Brings Us Great Joy

to best understand the weight of this text, we must fully understand the complexities that are in this passage: 1) Shepherds are out doing their jobs 2) an angel of the Lord appears to them 3) the glory of the Lod shone around them 4) they were filled with great fear 5) they receive the greatest news you could ever receive: the savior has come

put yourself in the shoes of those shepherds just for a second —— how incredibly Bizzar would this encounter be!??

but, there is something that we should focus on happening here:

9 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.

Calvin on the fear that strikes every time the Lord speaks

For the majesty of God could not but swallow up the whole world, if there were not some mildness to mitigate the terror which it brings. And so the sinners response is to fall down lifeless at the sight of God, because he appears to them in no other character than that of a judge.

The Gospel is actually found in verses 9-10 that seem simply like a narrative that gets us to the good stuff —— check this out:

SLIDE 4: Luke 2:10b “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.

EVER since Adam and Eve took that sin-filled bite of the fruit on the forbidden tree —- the presence of God, that once felt like home for humanity, now feels like the most terrifying thing that could ever appear….. Sin makes us ashamed of who we are, and it tempts us to hide from our creator

here, we find the gospel, where fear and shame once stood, now stands the joy-filled believer who understands the Good News has come, and the Good News has saved, and the Good News has Freed the sinner from his and her chains ——- The voice of the Judge, is now the voice of the Savior

we once heard His accusation, we now know Him as Grace /// where we once heard outcast, we now here child

This is why the Good News brings us great Joy —- and I don’t know about you, but as someone who confidently believes in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior….. that fear that comes with trusting Him, listening to His voice, and following His ways…. still exists!

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“Joy is not found where there is no fear —— no, Joy is found when the Good News is louder than the fears of all of life, not void of fear —- just filled with something much more powerful called Joy.”

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One of the commentaries i read said that the angels were Evangelizing to the shepherds, as you and I now carry the words of the Good News to others, the angels carried the good news to the shepherds that day

Luke 2:11-13

11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”

not only is this given to ensure the shepherds that this is indeed the savior, as He was prophesied to come as a child —- but this also should invoke some awe in the listener and in the reader ——

the Savior of the world, who is eternal, who is the creator of all things (John 1), in Him who is the light of all men and whom the darkness cannot overcome, has come as a baby —— a baby who had no place to lay His head

we must catch the great lengths our savior went to for us to have this incredible peace! he is called the suffering servant after all —- and he did this so that we may know Him and find Salvation within Him.

Luke 2:13-14

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

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“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

We also cannot ignore verse 14, “and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased”

He is pleased, with those who place their faith in Him —— who trust Him as their savior and repent of their sins against Him!

SLIDE 5: 1 Peter 1:8-9

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, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

SLIDE 6: Point 2: Advent Hope Leads to Advent Joy

There is a reason, during the Advent season, we celebrate the Hope, Joy, Peace, and Love that is found only in the savior —- it is because those who are in Christ, experience these great blessings alongside one another —- and each one leads to another

for I have never deeply felt the Love of Christ and it did not bring me great Joy! And certainly the Hope of of the savior to come again, brings me exceedingly more Joy!

Paul, in ROMANS 15, is going to give us a glimpse of how this works —- by using Isaiahs words:

SLIDE 7: Romans 15:12-13

12 And again Isaiah says,

“The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope.”

13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Jesse, was Davids father, and jesus came in the family line of David ——

the Messiah, who will rise up FOR ALL (gentiles) who is the God of hope — will fill you with ALL Joy and peace in believing —— As the power of the Holy Spirit leads you to the Hope, Joy, Peace, and Love of the Savior

Here, is where we must fight, hard, against the cultural DNA we find ourself in ——- it is so unbelievably natural for us to think that anything we have, we deserved because we worked hard for it

or, we can believe, that if you just work hard enough, you can accomplish all you set your mind to

i do not think we recognize how interwoven we are with the American Mindset —- our tv shows, tik toks, and commercials are full of it —— we can believe this without knowing we believe this

Ask yourself this question —- What was it when you were 13 — that you desperately wanted or wanted to be?

I bet it has to do with one of these three things: Money, Status, or both

I wanted to be a Physical Therapist because I heard one time it was the easiest degree to get that paid the most for the amount of college you had to do:

now the next year, two things happened, one they changed the amount of years you had to be in college to become a physical therapist from 4 years to 7 (I was out immediately), and 2 the Lord called me into ministry (that's not exactly a job you aspire to be in for the paycheck….)

13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

tell me what part you play in verse 13 to get hope, peace, or Joy?

BELIEVING

growing in Joy, or in peace, or in Hope —- is the Work of God in our lives —- as you walk with Him and trust Him —- your hope, joy, and peace will only continue to strengthen —- why!? because the Holy Spirit is drawing you more and more into the beauty of the Son

—- you see, when we strive for these things on our own, its as if we are at the bottom of a mountain standing by a flowing stream —- and then we begin to try and swim up the stream —- fighting just to get inches

whereas, for believers who have received the Holy Spirit, its as if you jumped in a raft and are being brought down the stream by the Spirit of God who brings you more and more into Hope, that breeds Joy, and Joy that leads to peace, and Peace to love others without condition

here is where Advent steps in —- Anticipation is the believers duty, for it is impossible to follow Jesus, and not grow in our Hope, Joy, Peace, and Love —- for the very growth we experience is the Spirits leading in our life!

This is the Cause and effect i mentioned in the introduction —— that our orientation to God and belief in Him —- breeds Gospel Joy as we celebrate what He has done, and we anticipate what He is going to do in our lives, and for the future hope we have in eternity!