Advent - Joy - 2020
Notes
Transcript
Advent - Joy - 2020 (Rough draft)
Hebrews 12:1-3,
Opener
On the cold and windy night of December 4th Thomas Jefferson played in its back to back Football championship. This year they played Piedmont Academy in Monticello. Earlier in the year Piedmont had dominated Thomas Jefferson at home in Monticello and the Championship game was again at Piedmont Academies home field.
This game the tables were turned and the Thomas Jefferson’s football team dominated Piedmont.
At the end of the game there was celebration, Joy, Happiness, Glee, Relief, Thankfulness … back to back state titles.
Was it good and healthy to rejoice like this in the moment? Yes. No doubt!
As we approach the subject of Joy ...
- Was that spiritual Joy? Was it Christian joy? The joy of Christ?
No. And it wasn’t supposed to be. It was football joy - winning joy. A good and appropriate joy.
It wasn’t the joy of Christ.
Today we look at Joy and specifically, The Joy of Christ.
Change slide ...
What I want you to understand today is this that...
1.What is Joy?
Christian Joy is an overwhelming sense of happiness & contentment, not based in condition of the moment, but in what God has done. (on the slide)
This type of joy comes from God alone.
This kind of Joy God births into the heart and mind by His Spirit and Word.
- Christ follower finds this joy when he meditates on his salvation, or how God is working in a friend or family members life.
- Or when you meditate on the love of Jesus and Father God for you.
It’s a joy that you get when you see and consider the transformational work that God does in the life of someone you love.
Christian Joy is an overwhelming sense of happiness & contentment, not based in condition of the moment, but in what God has done.
Joy is experienced with you consider your own spiritual change
Every Christ follower in this room is a resurrection story.
Every person who’s has been saved by Jesus has been brought from death to life.
Every person who has in faith turned their lives over to Jesus is a walking miracle.
-You should take joy that when you were lost, Jesus left the 99, went out and found you.
-In your heart, will you say right now to God, Thank you for saving me.
-Thank you that when I was lost, you found me.
Not only does God call us to Joy, but we see in Scripture that...
2.Jesus sought Joy
In fact we will see this, Joy was the great paycheck for Jesus. x2
Joy was the great reward for Jesus.
Hebrews 12:1-3
It is a common fallacy in thinking that the most righteous, most pure, least corrupt acts of love toward others are done - when there is nothing in return that will be gained.
In other words, we believe that the best love is when love is given with no expectation of getting anything in return.
Example - Out of the blue, I give you a brand new truck. You say, “Why are you giving me this?” I say, I just love you. I want to do something nice for you.
-This is giving without expecting anything in return.
-All around the world this idea is seen as the most pure way to give.
As nice of a thought that this is - it is flawed - it is a fallacy, it’ not true.
Here’s how we know this is a fallacy. Hebrews 12
When Jesus gave His life on the Cross for sin. He did not do it expecting nothing in return.
He expected a reward. What was that reward? He sought Joy.
Look again with me at verse 2. Read Hebrews 12:2
Question - Why was Jesus looking for Joy better than looking for nothing in return?
Answer - Jesus gave and Jesus ministered looking to receive an eternal reward.
Jesus knew that His Sacrifice on the Cross and forgiveness of the sins of His people would bring both He and God His Father greater worship in heaven.
The change of the eternal condition of God’s people and the everlasting worship of God’s people gave Jesus joy.
Jesus was not only focused in the now, but also in the eternal.
Question - How does that apply to me now?
You should give and you should minister to others expecting something in return.
We give because we will receive joy as the person we give to is spiritually transformed and this transformation points this person to worship the Father.
Illustration - Over the course of the years I spent in Student Ministry (Youth Ministry) a few parents would come on the out of town trips to help as spiritual leaders.
-During the trip there were points we would be in a worship time as a group.
-Every so often the parent’s child would “enter in to worship”.
The student would not just sing, but their heart and mind would be connecting to God as they sang to Him.
-Every so often the parent might be standing in a place where they would see it.
-Let me tell you, there are very few things in life that will satisfy your spiritual heart and bring you joy as a person, than watching your child worship the King of Kings. It doesn’t compare to fun Christmas Morning. It brings deep overwhelming Joy.
-This is what I would call the paycheck for the parent and Youth Leaders.
-To observe someone get connected to God.
-This was the paycheck for Jesus. The joy He would receive from His great sacrifice.
Christian Joy is , not based on the in condition of the moment, but instead is based in what God is doing.
Transition - So we see that Christ has shown us that it is good to seek for Joy … As such, The Christ follower must seek joy.
3. The Christ Follower must seek for joy.
Before we get to How to seek for Joy, let’s look at 2 enemies of Joy.
A. 2 Enemies of Joy -
3.A.1. Anxiety that robs us of our joy. And what is anxiety but fear, or a psychological fear response.
Fear is the enemy of joy. It is hard to be joyful when we are afraid or anxious.
It is anxiety that robs us of our joy. Sometimes that fear is based in reality and sometimes it is overdriven fear and not based in reality.
Anxiety - Fear is the enemy of joy. It is hard to be joyful when we are afraid.
3.A.2. Busyness
Due to the business of the Christmas Season, I find that Easter is a time of the year that Joy is more easily accessible.
Besides Sunday morning Easter clothes, the holiday doesn’t involve all the upheaval stress of Christmas. Frankly, During Christmas I have to fight for Joy. The distraction of typical packed schedule is an enemy of Joy.
So, How do you combat the business? How do you combat the Anxiety and stress?
How do you fight Joy?
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.
3.B. Here are several practical steps to find Joy.
3.B.1. Hitch Hike mindless activity.
-What are mindless activities?:
-Cleaning the house, raking leaves, wrapping gifts, driving
-Hitch Hike these mindless activities by turning on your radio., put in your ear buds... To - A Christian book, an encouraging Christian podcast or sermon, Christmas worship music.
-One of my personal favorite Christian Christmas music at Christmas is a group called Rend Collective. A great fresh modern modern take on traditional songs.
Philippians 4:4 Commands us to rejoice. What better time than at Christmas.
3.B.2. Take a lesson from College football
We experience a type of joy - not Christian joy - but a type of joy when we watch a 3 hour football game. When your team makes a good play or scores we say “Yes”! We are excited, joyful do to the circumstance.
I think we can learn something from this. We are joyful, because for 3 hours we are waiting in anticipation to see our team make a play that will hopefully bring a win.
Here is the parallel to the Christian walk
We experience joy when we are anticipating that on our side, something good will happen.
-Here is the key .... “You are focused” Your team is on your radar.
-In our spiritual walk, if you are going to have joy, your heart and mind have to be focused on the supernatural.
-In football we look for how the play is developing. We sense when momentum is shifting.
IN our fight for Joy - Your heart and mind have to be looking for how God is working.
You have to be watching and anticipating what God may be doing.
Take a lesson from College Football
3.B.3. Find the Spring of Joy.
Joy is a fruit of the Spirit.
Practically what does that mean? God must give it to you. You can’t produce it on your own.
God commands you to have Joy & He gives what He commands.
God has this funny habit of telling us to do things that we can’t do without Him.
What God commands of us, he also gives to us.
To have Joy, I must find the spring of Joy. Joy comes from God.
Closing
Some of you here today would say. Jonathan the Joy in my life is low. Sometimes I feel like a desert. My friend, you need to fan the flame.
-Illustration, Burning branches in my yard with an electric blower.
Several years ago I found a very cheap plug in electric blower.
It wasn’t very good for blowing leaves, but it was a master at fanning a flame.
-If I had to burn yard trash I could light that fire, and prop that blower so it blew oxygen into the yard debris and it would create coals you could cook on.
-This little cheap blower would fan the flame like nothing else.
Some of you need spiritual oxygen blown into your soul.
-You need Joy.
-There is no magic formula.
-Let me give you a few thoughts that will help.
1. - Go to God and ask for Joy. What He commands, He is faithful to give.
Also, confess any unconfessed sin - especially unforgiveness of others.
2. -Daily spend time reading at least a chapter. Start in Luke.
Add to that a short devotional if you have it. If not you can get one from our Sunday School classes.
3. - Make a Joy list. All the ways in which you see God work in the past in your life and others, all the ways you see God working in your life and others. Everyday review and add to your list.
4. -Add some Christian Christmas music.
Over the course of a week. Your heart will be lifted.
Pick up that cheap plug in blower and begin to fan the flame of Joy in your life.