God Comes to Us as Joy

How does God come to Us?

Advent refers to the four Sundays preceeding Christmas.

We would not know God if God had not revealed Himself to us.

Most religions are concerned with understanding divinity or attaining to a superior state.

Christianity is the only religion where God comes to us.

God comes to us in the person of Jesus Christ.

God is a person, not an idea.

God does not come as we expect Him. He comes as He is and we may well miss Him if we are not looking.

This series looks at different parts of the Christmas story and asks, “How does God come to us?”

Angels and Shepherds: Messengers and recipients of joy.

Luke 2:1–20 ESV

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. 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. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

Angels: the messengers of joy

Imagine what it would be like to be an angel. You were there when God created the world. You rejoiced to see the goodness and the beauty of God expressed in material form.

You were there when satan fell, you were amazed that someone who stood in the very presence of God could be so twisted as to turn against Him.

You marveled that God created man, and that man had a choice. God, having suffered the betrayal of heavenly beings created earthly beings more vulnerable than those which betrayed Him. He did this to demonstrate His love and by choosing to respond out of who He is and not by what was done to Him.

And then man fell. It surely must have felt like heaven’s defeat, but God assured you that this was part of His plan. He would introduce redemption, a thought that had never occurred to angels because there was never a possibility. But with that possibility came a seemingly impossible thought: God would become human.

Centuries, several millennia would be spent to bring about the right conditions for the incarnation. Humans have their own will and sometimes generations would pass before the alignment of people, circumstances and the purposes of God would all come into convergence.

Prophets would envision it. Their teachings would be mocked and ridiculed, but miraculously preserved for future generations. The scriptures bear witness to God’s promises and to the seed which passed through an unbroken line to it’s eventual fulfilment.

From earth’s perspective, it looks like the back side of a tapestry, a series of threads, knotted and crossed with seeming randomness. But from heaven’s side, a glorious image is emerging.

At earth’s darkest hour, God is going to reverse the course of history. Light is coming into the world. A baby is going to be born in a place reserved for animals to show what it really means to be human.

As angels, we are usually the silent observers, the faithful companions, the dutiful servants. But now at the unveiling of God’s marvelous redemption, we become the celebrants, the messengers giving expression to the glorious scene of which we have been witnesses from the first act until now.

Your angel song is the culmination of all that you have seen and experienced. It is the expression of joy, not just the pleasure that you feel inside but the delight of being part of something much greater than yourself. “Glory to God in the highest!”

Shepherds: the recipients of joy

The audience of the angels will be all of nature and those of mankind who will listen. On this occasion, that happens to be shepherds. Their menial work has them out on a dark night and their task is symbolic. They care for domesticated animals, keeping them safe from the wild animals.

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were all shepherds. It was the profession of a nomadic people, dirty but very necessary. When Jacob blessed his sons he referred to God as his shepherd. It was an expression of God’s guidance and care. David, the great king of Israel, was probably the most famous shepherd. And the Prophets continued to refer to the leaders of the people as shepherds, though not in a good way. The Prophets essentially called them butchers rather than shepherds.

To be a shepherd is hard work. You spend most of your time with animals. You even smell like them. You have to keep moving them around to where there is water or foliage. It’s pretty boring most of the time because you are just watching. But you have to stay alert because you never know when one of those animals is going to wander off or even worse, they may come under attack.

Being a shepherd is not prestigious work, but you do get to see a lot of beautiful countryside that most people never get to see. And you have a lot of time to think and to meditate. It’s kinda like being a philosopher except you never get to go to school. You have to learn from and study all that’s around you. And believe me, there’s volumes to study!

People tend to believe what they know. Most people in ancient times were uneducated and superstitions abounded. For example, the people in the villages believed that demons roamed the countryside like wild goats. Nobody would go out of town after dark and those who did travel made sure that they found shelter before the sun went down.

But after dark was when the shepherds had to be out on those demon-infested hills and it’s when they had to be completely alert. Predators mostly come out at night. You had to be looking in the shadows for even darker shadows that might appear. A shepherd had to be one tough dude.

Imagine those shadows becoming lights. And the lights begin to speak. A demon would probably try to snatch you like a lamb. But this voice said, “Don’t be afraid!” Far from superstition, this was a different sensation… like awe and wonder and amazement. The angel spoke of the fulfilment of prophetic hope and expectation.

Some people study the scripture. Shepherds lived the scripture. They cared, they fed, they watched, they defended. And when the message came from heaven they went and saw. These tough guys knelt and they worshiped. After all, people are not like the animals, not just because they are more intelligent. They have a redeemed relationship with God.

What is Joy?

Joy is pleasure.

Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible Joy as Feeling

Joy as Feeling. Joy is a feeling called forth by well-being, success, or good fortune. A person automatically experiences it because of certain favorable circumstances. It cannot be commanded.

Isaiah 55:12 ESV

“For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

Joy is that feeling that we have when life is good and everything is going well.

It’s like hope and peace but it wells up within us like a bubbling fountain.

Hope is confidence in the goodness of God.

Peace is the experience of the goodness of God.

Joy is our internal response to the goodness of God.

Joy is not the absence of suffering; but suffering contrasts with and will actually enhance our joy!

John 16:20–22 ESV

Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.

Death plus resurrection equals joy!

Death and resurrection will become a familiar pattern for believers.

In this passage Jesus is speaking of His death and Resurrection.

We bring our flesh to death, but we are raised to new life in Christ.

We will face persecution and hardship(death) but God will be glorified (life)!

In fact, even when we physically die, we enter into eternal life.

So everything in life will eventually lead to joy!

Joy as a feeling cannot be commanded, but in fact it is commanded in the Bible.

Philippians 4:4 ESV

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.

When joy is commanded it is to change our perspective.

Does this command mean that Christians are only supposed to be happy?

We can acknowledge feelings of sorrow and sadness, but we don’t stay there.

Jesus wept even though He was about to raise Lazarus from the dead.

But sorrow turns to joy, when the goodness of an all-powerful God is brought into the picture.

We can see beyond our feelings to the fact of God’s goodness and redemption.

When we are feeling loss, sorrow or disappointment, God comes to us as joy.

God’s joy is His creation.

Psalm 96:11–13 ESV

Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord, for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in his faithfulness.

God is pleased with His creation.

God created the world and it was good!

He designed the world to be a reflection of His own nature, His beauty and glorious design.

Even though the world as we know it is in it’s fallen state, we still see beauty all around us.

If enjoying beautiful landscape or discovering some magnificent design of nature brings you joy, imagine what a joy it must have been for God to create that!?

God is pleased to redeem His creation.

What a beautiful passage! But why does it speak of judgement?

Judgement is redemptive. It holds creation to the standard of God’s goodness.

God des not expect you to be “good enough” on your own merit, that’s why Jesus came.

God gives us His Holy Spirit to transform us into who He created us to be.

Zephaniah 3:14–17 ESV

Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away the judgments against you; he has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you shall never again fear evil. On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: “Fear not, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak. The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.

Do you know that you bring Joy to your heavenly Father?

If our children (who are by no means perfect) bring us such joy, how much more are you a joy to your heavenly father?

Our joy is serving God.

We have the joy of seeing what God is doing.

The angels and the shepherds each had a role to play.

The angels were to announce the coming of Messiah, bearing witness to what was happening from heaven’s perspective.

The shepherds were to visit the newborn Messiah, bearing witness from earth’s perspective.

Both found joy in their task because they saw the beauty and the wonder that was God’s design.

We have the joy of knowing God.

Joy is more than just a feeling.

It is more than just pleasure, or at least more than what gives us pleasure.

Joy is ultimately about enjoying what gives God pleasure.

God, His pleasure, is the true source of joy.

Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary Joy

Joy is the fruit of a right relation with God. It is not something people can create by their own efforts. The Bible distinguishes joy from pleasure. The Greek word for pleasure is the word from which we get our word “hedonism,” the philosophy of self-centered pleasure seeking. Paul referred to false teachers as “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God” (2 Tim. 3:4 HCSB).

We have the joy of participating in God’s work.

John 15:8–11 ESV

By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

If you want more joy, get involved in what God is doing in the world.

Maybe you have been serving God but you have lost your joy? Remember who you are doing it for?

When you pass along the favor and the blessing of God to someone else it produces joy in them and in you.

There is joy in giving. Give until you are glad!

Reflection:

As we light the third candle of advent, think about the message that the angels declared, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

God is pleased with you. You bring Him joy!

Joy is not the absence of sorrow. You can admit that things are not all right. But also know that God is working to make things right.

Don’t keep your joy to yourself. Express your joy in praise to God. And do something this week that will bring you and someone else joy.