Joy to the World
Notes
Transcript
Text: Luke 2:8-11
Series: Advent
Setting: Gospel Community Church, Price, Utah
Advent, series.
Remember what Advent is, a remembering the Truth’s of Christ’s birth and what is to come!
Hope, Peace, Joy, Love
Where we’ve been in advent and where we’re at.
Today is Joy and I’d like start today with a little story.
Working in Nevada...
Had this great joy in my family but I also had this great anticipation of more Joy to come. The being physically home and with my family.
How many can relate?
But some, I believe don’t have this joy with the Lord, much less this anticipation of more joy by physically dwelling with Him.
Especially, in the living of everyday life. Where we get into ruts or excuse me, deep wide valleys, where we don’t even know we’re in one.
To the point that some say this world isn’t all that bad.
Or the other side of the token, this world is horrible and I hate it. People suck, the world sucks, I’m pretty much picked on, cause I’m innocent in all this.
Both of these are so wrong.
Both so blind & so lost.
Let’s highlight some truths this morning.
First we’re not innocent.
(Elaborate these verses, :God said not to eat”, “we used to not be ashamed”)
Genesis 3:1-11
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.
He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden,
but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ”
But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.
Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.”
He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”
This my folks, is the bad news!
Separation from God.
Impurity conceived, separation from Purity birthed. Fallen...
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
The result of sin and stepping outside of God...
The breach of impurity flooded the world and man, and we’ve never lived the same since.
A bad and ugly world.
The very next chapter...
Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?”
Fallen, murder, lie’s, hatred.
Outside of God! Selfish, disregard for others.
More depth outside of God, let’s continue to read.
(Stop, explore these passages, let the Spirit lead)
2 Samuel 11:1-17
In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.
It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful.
And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness.) Then she returned to her house.
And the woman conceived, and she sent and told David, “I am pregnant.”
So David sent word to Joab, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent Uriah to David.
When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab was doing and how the people were doing and how the war was going. Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” And Uriah went out of the king’s house, and there followed him a present from the king.
But Uriah slept at the door of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house. When they told David, “Uriah did not go down to his house,” David said to Uriah, “Have you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?”
Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah dwell in booths, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field. Shall I then go to my house, to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing.” Then David said to Uriah, “Remain here today also, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next.
And David invited him, and he ate in his presence and drank, so that he made him drunk. And in the evening he went out to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.
In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah.
In the letter he wrote, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, that he may be struck down, and die.” And as Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah to the place where he knew there were valiant men.
And the men of the city came out and fought with Joab, and some of the servants of David among the people fell. Uriah the Hittite also died.
This is the world we live in.
This is us!
Romans 1:29-32
They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,
foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.
And because of this..
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
Death arrived with the Pure purifying wrath of God.
His burning wrath against sin, cleansing out the impurities.
Like we see in the process of purifying precious metals through the furnace of fire are we as sinners in the purifying hands of God, separated.
This is the truth of our predicament.
This is the truth, this is the bad news.
This is what we are owed so to speak..
What is the good news?
Luke 2:8-11
And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 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.
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. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
Good news of Great Joy!
The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
on them has light shone.
You have multiplied the nation;
you have increased its joy;
they rejoice before you
as with joy at the harvest,
as they are glad when they divide the spoil.
For the yoke of his burden,
and the staff for his shoulder,
the rod of his oppressor,
you have broken as on the day of Midian.
For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult
and every garment rolled in blood
will be burned as fuel for the fire.
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
How did these burdens get lifted?
How did great joy and peace come?
Through love. Sacrifice of one for another.
But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
he has put him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for guilt,
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
This is the good news!
Our death overcome by His love.
You want to talk about great Joy, here it is!
So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
This is a believers truth!
Just like I had great joy in my family living abroad.
We have great joy in Jesus and knowing we are part of Him.
Put just like my anticipation of joy to be home with my family.
We have great anticipation of joy to be home with the Father.
Revelation 21:1-4
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
Zeroing in going on here, don’t miss the Mark.
Don’t get troubled with the ways of the world, focus on me.
This coming week, there will be a lot of times this world will bring chaos, the unknown, pain, difficult relationships, just plain ugliness.
But remember your eternal joy is not in this world. Whenever these come up this week, stop, ponder, & remember.
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 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.
Take these opportunities to share in these truths of hope, peace, joy & love.
Let’s pray!
