The Christmas Journey of Joy

THE CHRISTMAS JOURNEY OF JOY Spring Valley Mennonite; December 9, 2018; Luke 2:8-11; Isa. 44:23; Psalm 5:11; John 15:9-11 One of the best parts about the Advent or Christmas Season is the music. While we may tire of the secular music played at Christmas, the carols and anthems of Christmas delight our hearts, and never grow old. It would be difficult to imagine Christmas without music. “The first Noel, the angels did say, was to certain poor shepherds in fields where they lay.” “Noel” means “a Christmas carol. That first carol was a song of joy. As we continue the theme of a Christmas journey, as we travel through these days leading up to the grand celebration of Jesus’ birth, I would invite you to focus this morning on the subject of joy. We’ll explore the joy of the first Christmas, and how Christmas joy is the basis for continual joy in our daily lives. Open your Bible to Luke Chapter 2, beginning with verse 8; (8-11). I. THE HEAVENS RANG WITH JOY In consulting with a concordance to find verses dealing with joy, I found an amazing parallel verse to these in Luke 2; listen to Isaiah 44:23: “Shout for joy, O heavens, for the LORD has done it! Shout joyfully, you lower parts of the earth; Break forth into a shout of joy, you mountains, O forest, and every tree in it; For the Lord has redeemed Jacob and in Israel he shows forth his glory.” I’ve never seen this as a Christmas verse, but doesn’t it aptly describe the joy expressed by the angels at Jesus’ birth? This prophesy will find its complete fulfillment in the Millennial Kingdom when Christ will reign on earth, but it had it’s beginning in the fields outside of Bethlehem, when the heavens rang out with the sounds of Joy as the birth of The King was announced. The joyful message of the angels was that Salvation had come to mankind. After waiting for thousands of years, the promise had been fulfilled: “Unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord God.” For just a moment, consider the ones to whom this message came: God picked shepherds for a reason. These shepherds were not at the top of the social scale but were viewed by polite society as “the lowest of the low.” They were most likely not the owners of the sheep but hired men who had to work the “third shift”. I realize some people prefer working at night, but most of us like working during the day. These shepherds were the ones who had to spend their nights guarding sheep. They were unable to keep the required religious rituals required, were unable to attend temple services, and were regarded as unclean. Most people avoided shepherds. What does it say to us that God chose to make His Son’s birth announcement to these poor shepherds? One of my professors in Seminary, Howard Hendricks, used to exclaim, “O my shattered categories!” Human nature loves to classify and categorize people, usually exalting those with wealth or prestige. Doesn’t it amaze you how society perks up its ears when some famous actor or rock star issues an opinion on a social issue? As if their fame and talent had made them an expert on the problems of society! If anything, Shepherds had a negative social status, yet God chose them to receive the announcement of the birth. That is just like God, who chooses the foolish things of the world to confound the “wise”. The host of heaven proclaimed the joyful message. The message was simple: “The Savior has been born for you”. “For me??? A Savior for me??” Yes! Even for humble, poor, disenfranchised shepherds! For the orphaned child in Afghanistan; for the street dweller of Calcutta, for the refugee in the Sudan, for the peasant in China, for the farmer in the Ukraine, for the residents of the 37th floor of High-rise housing in Singapore, for the residents of main-street America, for the CEO’s of Fortune 500 companies: for all men, poor or wealthy, you or old, A Savior has been born, Christ the Lord. This is Good News of great Joy! God stepped into human history in a manner never before seen: God the Son took on human flesh; God became a human baby, tiny, dependent, helpless, red and “prunish” as newborns are. The Savior has come to earth. This event is reason for joy, and the angels expressed just that. The Father sends His Christmas greetings to us: Rejoice! The Savior comes with joy, and to bring joy. This message of joy produces joy to those who receive it. It will serve us well to examine this subject of joy, and how it is an expected and observable aspect of the life of the believer. As it always helps to define exactly what we are talking about, what exactly is “Joy”? II. JOY DEFINED AND EXPRESSED The dictionary speaks of joy being “an emotion or feeling of great delight.” That definition is grossly inadequate! Joy is something much deeper than an emotion or feeling, although joy is often expressed emotionally. If a person is filled with joy, don’t we see it expressed in some way? Even allowing for differences in personality and cultures, I believe joy is something which may be seen. In the Old Testament, joy is seen as glad enthusiasm, jubilance, or gladness. In fact, in the Old Testament, joy is not seen so much as a private emotion, but the response of a group of worshippers acknowledging God’s blessings. Those celebrations of joy might be rejoicing over something tangible like a joyful harvest, or the celebration of the birth of a child. But Joy was also expressed in celebrating those blessings of God which could not be touched, especially God’s promised Salvation. Joy was often associate with singing: twenty-eight times in the Old Testament, the righteous were either told to sing for joy, or were described as joyfully singing. Let me read just a few of those verses which would also apply to us: Psalm 5:11: But let all who take refuge in You be glad, Let them ever sing for joy; and may You shelter them, that those who love Your name may exult in You. Psalm 27:6: And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me; And I will offer in His tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD. Psalm 33:1-3: Sing for joy in the LORD, O you righteous ones; Praise is becoming to the upright. Give thanks to the LORD with the lyre; Sing praises to Him with a harp of ten strings. Sing to Him a new song; Play skillfully with a shout of joy. Psalm 71:23: My lips will shout for joy when I sing praises to You; And my soul, which You have redeemed. And a final one which even tells us to sing when flat on our backs: Psalm 149:4-5: For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the afflicted ones with salvation. Let the godly ones exult in glory; Let them sing for joy on their beds. So joyful singing is one major way gladness for God’s blessings to be expressed. Joy is not an inner feeling which was to be suppressed. It is if God is telling His people, “Joy is meant to be expressed”. We are a singing church. But do you realize that singing is to be a main way we express our joy as Christians? We each need to ask ourselves, “Am I singing joyfully?” But in addition to singing, there are other ways joy is expressed, like in our words of testimony and praise. It also will be expressed in our countenance—on our faces! I understand in the days of kings and castles that the King had a special flag or banner which accompanied him wherever he went. When the king traveled, his standard or banner led the way. If he was at home, his banner flew from the highest point of the castle. Based on this custom, someone wrote a chorus: “Joy is the banner on the ramparts of my heart, on the ramparts of my heart, on the ramparts of my heart; Joy is the banner on the ramparts of my heart when the King is in residence there.” This chorus expresses a profound truth that joy is an expected response to God’s presence in our lives. Because of the extraordinary event of the incarnation, because Jesus was born to redeem mankind, and because He lives in my heart as my personal Savior, Joy is to be an observable element of my life. As you think about it, would you say you are expressing the joy of the Lord? This question would move us to consider, “Where is my joy?” III. WHERE IS OUR JOY? WHERE DOES IT COME FROM? To keep anyone from doubting that joy is to be an expected part of the believer’s life, turn to John 15, verses 9-11. Aha! Perhaps a clue about what happens to our joy: Joy in our lives comes as we “Keep Jesus’ commandments”. Jesus is saying that the pathway of joy in our lives is dependent upon following the pathway of obedience. As we live according to Scripture, joy will be a natural expression of our lives. On the other hand, sin has a way of destroying joy. Guilty people are not joyful people. This is one way our personal sins affect others: our lack of joy is a poor witness of the presence of Christ in our lives. I have said several times this morning that joy is an observable result of being closely related to God. To look at this issue from another angle, another of the word pictures used both by Jesus and later by Paul is that of an orchard or garden and fruit bearing. If you plant a tomato plant, you expect tomatoes. If you have a grapevine, you expect to see grapes. An orchard will produce apples or peaches or plums, according to the trees. A field of wheat will have wheat kernels in the heads. That is the expected result. Jesus told us in John 15:5, “I am the vine, and you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing. What kind of “fruit” is produced in our lives? Fruit is defined in Galatians 5:22: “…the fruit of the Spirit is love, JOY, peace patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control…” Did you notice the mention of joy? Joy is expected in the Christian as the life of Christ flows through us like the sap flowing through the stem of the vine. Joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. We also learned in John 15 that Joy comes from walking in obedience to Christ’s commands. How do these two things, the Holy Spirit and obedience relate? They are interconnected in this way: Ephesians 5;18 tells us “Be continually controlled by the Holy Spirit.” The Holy Spirit, in turn, gives us the power and motivation from within to live in obedience and the power. Because Joy is a fruit of the Spirit, we see that the source of joy is within us. This means that joy is not determined by outward circumstances. This is a good place to remind ourselves of the difference between joy and happiness, for they look very similar in their expression, and can be easily confused. Joy is vastly superior, deeper, and much more long-lasting than happiness. IV. THE SUPREMACY OF JOY OVER HAPPINESS Happiness depends on “happenings”, both words have the same root idea. Happiness is extremely fragile and vulnerable. At best, it is built on shaky ground. Think of the areas on which man tries to build happiness: most people suppose that happiness can be found in relationships with people. Yet even family members or dear friends can and will disappoint us, and our happiness crumbles. If we center our happiness in wealth or possessions or in what we own, we find that wealth can evaporate rather quickly, and most possessions wear out. The processes of decay, deterioration and depreciation cause things to fade away. And with them goes our happiness. The happiness brought by Christmas presents under the tree soon is gone. Happiness built on personal health, strength, or beauty inevitably yields to the aging process. Happiness grounded in a successful career or personal social accomplishments is inevitably short lived. Athletic records are broken and fall every year. Names and faces are quickly forgotten. Happiness is short-lived and fleeting. It comes, it goes—depending on circumstances. And man’s search for fulfillment goes on, not realizing he is pursuing the wrong goal. Mankind is really looking for a source of lasting joy instead of temporary happiness. Joy is lasting, for it is unaffected by the ups and downs of life. This is what Paul meant in Romans 14:17: “…for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. In Phillip Keller’s book “A Gardener Looks at the Fruits of the Spirit”, he writes, (JOY) “was the irresistible dynamic of the early church. It is still the experience of anyone who truly allows God to enter the garden of his life. Enthusiasm and deep delight pervade such a person. There is direction in his endeavor no matter how mundane or menial. There is purpose and profound meaning to the minutiae of life. A piece of common clay of ordinary humanity has come under the hand of the Divine Husbandman. And the fruit of joy springs from the soil of that soul.” The world lacks joy, but desperately and unconsciously seeks it. When joy is seen in a Christian, it is extremely attractive. Have you considered that showing joy is one of the best advertisements for Christianity that exists? All this leaves us with a question: V. HOW CAN I BE SURE MY JOY IS EXPRESSED? It begins with an attitude of expectancy: we need to realize that joy is supposed to be expressed in our lives. This expression of joy can take several forms: In one sense, how we express joy is dependent upon our personalities. Some people are by nature more outwardly expressive than others. Having said that, I still think that the joy of the Holy Spirit is an overflow and should be visible in some way. When I see a believer with a perpetual frown on their face, with the corners of the mouth turned downward; when they don’t even look pleasant, I begin to wonder if they are filled with the joy of the Lord! I think that joy should show! I am not talking about a superficial giddy artificiality which says “praise the Lord” every other sentence—but a calm, settled, observable sense of well-being. If your style of Christianity makes you look grim and miserable, you are a poor advertisement for the Savior who came to give you joy! Having said that, we admit that joy is not something which will be observable at all times. Psalm 30, verse 5 says, “Weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning.” Times of sorrow and grief do come into our lives, and we are not filled with observable joy at that time. But joy is an even more powerful emotion than sorrow in a Sprit-controlled believer, and joy soon resurfaces. This is why Paul can tell us is Philippians 4:4, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say rejoice!” Joy comes from a deep confidence in the Lord which resides deep within, not our circumstances. Joy is not the absence of trouble; it is the presence of God. Joy often comes as we focus upon something in the future, and thus it is related to hope. Hebrews 12:2: We are to keep “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” We find joy in anticipation of the Second Coming of our Lord, and of the New World to come. The opposite of Joy is not sorrow—our Lord is described as a Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief—the opposite of joy is despair. Despair is the lack of hope and a believer who is allowing Christ control of his life will not come to that low point and stay. And the angel; said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for a all the people, for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. “Do not be afraid.” How can we be free from fear? Our Savior has come and He is adequate for whatever might come into our lives. The presence of joy and the absence of fear should be one of the identifying marks of the Christian. This is the season of joy, but our joy will be seen in our lives daily as we allow Christ control. Are you overflowing with joy this morning? “Joy is the banner on the ramparts of my heart when the King is in residence there.”