Rejoicing in the Savior
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Luke 2:10-11
Joy is one of the most talked about experiences in life, and yet one of the most misunderstood.
So many people chase joy the way they chase comfort, as if joy will come when everything finally settles down.
But life does not often settle down.
Bills keep coming.
Health scares arrive without warning.
Relationships strain.
Grief visits.
And if our joy depends on circumstances, then our joy will always be fragile.
Happiness is tied to what happens.
Joy is tied to what is true.
Happiness is like weather.
Joy is like an anchor.
Happiness can be taken by a phone call, a diagnosis, a loss, or a disappointment.
But joy can stand even when the wind howls, because joy is rooted in something deeper than the moment you are living in.
Let me give you a picture of what I mean.
There is a family sitting in a hospital waiting room late at night.
They did not plan to be there.
They expected a normal evening.
But earlier that day something went wrong, and now they are in that place that feels like a world of its own.
The lights are bright, but they feel cold.
The air has that unmistakable sterile smell.
The chairs are stiff and unforgiving.
The clock on the wall seems to move slower than clocks move anywhere else on earth.
Someone is trying to read, but the words are not sinking in.
Someone is scrolling on a phone, but they are not really seeing anything.
Someone keeps looking down the hallway every time a door opens, hoping the next person to step out will be the one with answers.
A mother sits with her hands clasped so tightly her knuckles are white.
She has prayed the same prayer so many times it has become almost wordless.
Lord, please.
Lord, please.
Lord, please.
A father tries to be strong, but you can see it in his eyes that he feels helpless.
He keeps thinking of everything he wishes he could do and everything he knows he cannot.
A sister leans her head against the wall and quietly wipes tears that keep returning.
A brother paces, because sitting still makes the fear louder.
Every family member is in the same room, but each one is fighting a private battle inside.
The hardest part is the waiting.
Waiting makes you replay every moment that led up to this night.
Waiting makes you imagine worst-case scenarios.
Waiting makes you think about what life could look like tomorrow if the news is bad.
And in that waiting room you realize how little control you truly have.
You cannot speed up the doctors.
You cannot make machines beep differently.
You cannot undo what happened.
You cannot fix it with effort.
All you can do is wait.
All you can do is hope.
All you can do is pray.
Then, after what feels like forever, footsteps come down the hall.
A doctor appears at the doorway.
Everyone stands up at once, because hearts somehow know he has an answer before minds can process it.
The doctor does not look rushed.
He does not look panicked.
His face is steady.
His voice is calm.
And then he says the words they have been pleading to hear.
The danger has passed.
The procedure was successful.
The bleeding has stopped.
The breathing is stable.
The crisis is over.
They are going to be okay.
In that moment, nothing in the room changes, and yet everything changes.
The chairs are still stiff.
The lights are still bright.
The smell is still sterile.
The hour is still late.
The hallway is still long.
The waiting room is still a waiting room.
But suddenly it does not feel like a prison.
It feels like a place where hope broke in.
Tears fall, but now they are tears of relief.
A mother’s shoulders finally drop as if she has been carrying a weight she did not even realize was crushing her.
A father exhales a breath he has been holding for hours.
Someone laughs softly, not because it is funny, but because their heart can finally release the tension.
Someone whispers, thank you, Lord, and it is not the kind of thank you that is routine.
It is the kind of thank you that comes from the bottom of a soul that knows it has been spared tragedy.
What changed.
It was not the room.
It was not the circumstances.
It was the news.
Good news has a way of changing everything, even before life looks different on the outside.
Good news does not always remove the scars of the night.
Good news does not erase the memory of fear.
But good news brings a kind of joy that can exist even while you are still tired, still shaken, and still sitting under fluorescent lights.
Good news gives you breath again.
Good news gives you strength again.
Good news gives you hope again.
That… is the heart of Christmas.
When Jesus came into the world, He did not arrive in a world that was suddenly peaceful and perfect.
Rome still oppressed.
Sin still ruined.
Sickness still hurt.
Death still haunted.
People were still broken.
Homes were still strained.
Hearts were still fearful.
But into that darkness came the greatest good news heaven has ever announced.
A Savior has come.
The promised Messiah has arrived.
God has kept His Word.
And where that good news is believed, real joy is born.
We have already seen in this series that God made promises and He kept them.
We have already seen that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
Now we come to the question of what that means for our hearts.
What does it produce in us when we realize the Savior has come.
Scripture answers that question clearly.
The coming of Christ produces joy that is deeper than circumstances and stronger than the night.
And today we are going to learn what it means to rejoice in the Savior.
I. We Rejoice Because Salvation Has Come
I. We Rejoice Because Salvation Has Come
10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
The angel’s announcement to the shepherds begins with words that immediately address the human heart.
Fear not.
Those words acknowledge what the shepherds were already feeling.
They were startled.
They were overwhelmed.
They were afraid.
But fear is never the final word when God brings good news.
Fear not… is followed by a reason.
Good tidings of great joy have arrived.
The joy of Christmas is not rooted in the decorations, music, or traditions.
It is rooted in the arrival of a Savior.
The angel did not say that help had come or that improvement had arrived.
He said a Savior was born.
That word Savior tells us that something was wrong and someone had come to rescue.
A. Joy Comes From Good News, Not Good Circumstances
A. Joy Comes From Good News, Not Good Circumstances
The shepherds were not living peaceful or comfortable lives.
They worked long hours.
They lived on the margins of society.
They were often overlooked and undervalued.
Yet they were chosen to hear the first announcement of Christ’s birth.
10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
This verse reminds us that joy entered the world not through ease, but through revelation.
The circumstances around the shepherds did not change that night.
The fields were still cold.
The work was still hard.
Rome was still in control.
But joy came because truth broke into their world.
Good news has the power to change hearts before it changes situations.
That is why joy can exist even when life is difficult.
If you are waiting for your circumstances to improve before you rejoice, joy will always feel just out of reach.
Joy begins when you believe the good news that Christ has come to save sinners.
When salvation becomes real to you, joy takes root even in imperfect conditions.
A.W. Tozer once said that “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”
When we believe God has acted to save us, joy naturally follows.
B. Joy Comes From Forgiveness, Not Performance
B. Joy Comes From Forgiveness, Not Performance
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
Mary rejoiced not because she had earned God’s favor, but because God had shown her grace.
She said her spirit rejoiced in God her Savior.
That word Savior reminds us that she needed rescue just like everyone else.
Joy grows when we stop trying to impress God and start trusting God.
Psalm 32:1 tells us that blessedness belongs to the one whose sin is forgiven.
1 Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
Forgiveness lifts a burden that no amount of effort can remove.
Many people struggle to rejoice because they measure their standing with God by their performance.
When they feel they are doing well, joy rises.
When they fail, joy disappears.
But joy anchored in forgiveness is steady.
It rests on what Christ has done, not on what we have done.
If your joy rises and falls with your spiritual performance, you are living under a burden God never intended you to carry.
True joy grows when you rest in the finished work of Christ and rejoice that your sins are forgiven.
Salvation brings joy because guilt is removed and hope is restored.
But that joy deepens even more when we realize that the Savior who saved us did not leave us to walk alone.
II. We Rejoice Because God Is With Us
II. We Rejoice Because God Is With Us
Salvation does not end with forgiveness.
It continues with presence.
God did not save us and then step back.
He came near.
He stayed near.
He remains near.
The incarnation means that God chose relationship, not distance.
He did not shout salvation from heaven.
He stepped into our world and walked among us.
A. His Presence Brings Joy Into Everyday Life
A. His Presence Brings Joy Into Everyday Life
John 1:14 tells us
14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
That word dwelt means He pitched His tent among humanity.
God moved into the neighborhood.
He entered ordinary life.
He walked dusty roads.
He sat at tables.
He lived among real people with real problems.
Nothing about human life was beneath Him.
11 Thou wilt shew me the path of life: In thy presence is fulness of joy; At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
Joy is not found in a change of scenery or a break from responsibility.
Joy is found in nearness to God.
When we walk with Him, even ordinary and difficult moments become places where joy can grow.
Joy grows when we recognize that Christ is not just with us on Sundays.
He is with us on Mondays.
He is with us at work.
He is with us at home.
He is with us in quiet moments and overwhelming ones.
Joy deepens when we live with an awareness of Christ’s presence in everyday life.
When we remember that God is with us, ordinary moments take on eternal meaning.
B. His Nearness Steadies Us in Times of Trouble
B. His Nearness Steadies Us in Times of Trouble
Jesus did not come to live a pain-free life.
He came to enter a broken world.
He experienced hunger.
He experienced sorrow.
He experienced betrayal.
He experienced grief.
15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
Jesus is touched with the feeling of our infirmities.
He understands weakness because He entered it.
This means we never suffer alone.
We never grieve alone.
We never walk through hardship without a Savior who understands.
Joy does not mean the absence of tears.
Joy means tears are not wasted.
They are seen by a Savior who knows what it is to weep.
When trouble comes, joy is sustained by remembering that Christ is near.
You may not understand what God is doing, but you can trust who God is.
Because He is with us, sorrow does not get the final word.
Salvation brings joy and God’s presence sustains joy.
But there is one more reason our joy remains strong.
It is not only rooted in what Christ has done and where Christ is.
It is anchored in what Christ has promised to do.
III. We Rejoice Because Glory Is Coming
III. We Rejoice Because Glory Is Coming
The joy Christ brings does not stop with salvation or God’s presence.
It reaches forward into the future.
Christian joy is anchored not only in what Christ has done and where Christ is, but in what Christ will do.
The story that began in Bethlehem is still moving toward a glorious conclusion.
The Savior who came in humility will one day return in majesty.
Because of that, our joy is not fragile.
It is secure.
A. Our Joy Is Anchored in a Certain Hope
A. Our Joy Is Anchored in a Certain Hope
Jesus came the first time quietly.
He came in weakness.
He came to serve and to save.
But Scripture promises that He will come again in glory.
Titus 2:13 calls this our blessed hope.
13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
It is not wishful thinking.
It is a confident expectation rooted in God’s promises.
Revelation 21:2-4 describes a day when God will wipe away all tears.
2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
There will be no more death.
There will be no more sorrow.
There will be no more pain.
When life feels heavy and joy feels distant, lift your eyes to what is coming.
This world is not the end of the story.
Because Christ has come once, we can be certain He will come again.
C.S. Lewis wrote that “joy is the serious business of heaven.”
What we experience now is only a foretaste of what God has prepared for His people.
B. Our Joy Becomes Strength for Faithful Living
B. Our Joy Becomes Strength for Faithful Living
Nehemiah 8:10 tells us that the joy of the Lord is our strength.
10 Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength.
In Nehemiah 8, God’s people began to weep as they heard God’s Word and remembered their past failures.
But Nehemiah told them this was not a time for sorrow.
God had restored them.
God was with them.
And it was joy in the Lord, not guilt or regret, that would give them strength to move forward.
Joy is not a weak emotion.
It is a sustaining force.
It strengthens weary hearts.
It steadies tired faith.
It fuels obedience when life is difficult.
Joy keeps us moving forward when circumstances would otherwise discourage us.
This is why the enemy works so hard to steal joy.
A joyless Christian is easily discouraged.
But a joyful Christian is rooted, steady, and resilient.
When joy begins to fade, it is often a sign that our focus has shifted.
Return your eyes to Christ.
Remember what He has done.
Remember that He is with you.
Remember what He has promised.
As joy is restored, strength will follow.
When we see salvation accomplished, God present with us, and glory promised ahead, rejoicing is no longer optional.
It becomes the natural response of hearts that truly know the Savior.
Conclusion
Conclusion
As we bring this message to a close, we are reminded that joy is not something we manufacture.
It is something we receive.
It flows from knowing that salvation has come, that God is with us, and that glory is ahead.
The promised Savior has not only entered history.
He has entered our world.
And He invites us to respond.
Think again of that family in the hospital waiting room.
The room did not change.
The hour did not change.
The exhaustion did not disappear.
But everything changed when good news arrived.
Hope entered that space.
Fear loosened its grip.
Strength returned.
Joy was born, not because the night was over, but because the outcome was settled.
That is what Christ has done for us.
The world is still broken.
Pain still exists.
Struggles still come.
But because Jesus has come, the outcome is settled.
Sin has been dealt with.
Death has been defeated.
Hope has been secured.
And joy is now possible for every heart that trusts Him.
For some here this morning, you may enjoy the season but lack the joy of salvation.
You know the story of Christmas, but you have never trusted the Savior of Christmas.
Jesus did not come merely to be admired.
He came to save.
He came for you.
And today, He invites you to come to Him by faith.
If you have never placed your trust in Christ alone for salvation, do not put it off.
Joy begins the moment you surrender your heart to the Savior who came for you.
For others, you know Christ, but joy has faded.
Life has been heavy.
Loss has been real.
Discouragement has crept in quietly.
The Lord’s invitation to you this morning is not condemnation.
It is restoration.
Return to Him.
Draw near again.
Remember what He has done.
Remember that He is with you.
Remember what He has promised.
Joy is restored as we lift our eyes back to the Savior.
As the music plays in just a moment, this invitation is open.
If God has spoken to your heart, respond where you are or come forward.
If you need salvation, come.
If you need forgiveness, come.
If you need comfort, strength, or renewed joy, come.
The Savior who stepped into our world still welcomes all who come to Him.
Rejoice in the Savior.
He has come.
He is with us.
And because of Him, joy can live in our hearts today.
