Christmas Glory Leads to Joy

God Guides Ordinary People into places of Joy.

God uses everyday circumstances and unknowing people to accomplish His divine purposes.

Caesar Augustus was born Gaius Octavian. He was the adopted son of Julius Caesar. He defeated Antony and Cleopatra, in his raise to power. The Roman Republic, governed by a senate, was replaced by an emerging empire, ruled by the Caesars. As Gaius Octavius transformed himself into the greatest Roman Emperor, he added different titles to resume. Augustus’ titles include:

· the Princeps or “Leading citizen”

· Pontifex Maximus or “high priest”

· And Augustus or “supreme ruler”

· In the fall of 12 BC, as a bright star shot across the sky, Caesar Augustus, proclaimed it to be the spirit of Julius Caesar entering heaven. The superstitious Romans affirmed Augustus worthy of worship, because he was the son of a god.

The difference between a son of a god and Jesus Christ is that Jesus is the only Son of the only God. We all have authorities ruling over us, who appear to be directing our present and future circumstances. But we can Share the Good News of Great Joy that “The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He wishes” (Proverbs 21:1).

God uses everyday situations and unwitting people to fulfill His purposes.

(2:1-7) Caesar Augusta decreed a census that required Mary and Joseph to travel to Bethlehem, where Jesus was born according to Scripture. Joseph went to his hometown to register himself and his family as citizens, for tax purposes. Jesus was registered as a citizen of Bethlehem, which fulfilled the prophecy of Micah 5:2 (NASB95) 2“But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.”

God uses Caesar Augustus to move Mary and Joseph into His salvific plan.

God governs His creation even when we do not see Him at work. By His grace, God reveals what we need to know.

God’s Glory Brings Great Joy to Unordinary Places.

Great Joy is extraordinary:

God makes known his divine accomplishments, through divine means and everyday people.

The Bible describes normal joy of life found in God’s creation over two hundred times in an English translation — but you can count on your fingers the time “great joy” appears. “Great joy” is rare and climactic. At the anointing of David’s own son as his successor, at the height of Israel’s kingdom — “great joy” (1 Kings 1:40). At the restoration of the Passover after generations of neglect — “great joy” (2 Chronicles 30:26). At the dedication of Nehemiah’s rebuilt walls after the return from exile — “great joy” (Nehemiah 12:43). Joy is the stuff of every day; “great joy” is kept for the highest of moments.

Other than Matthew’s and Luke’s mention of “great joy” at Jesus’s birth, both Gospels celebrate “great joy” at his resurrection and ascension (Matthew 28:8; Luke 24:52). Acts 15:3 mentions “great joy” at the surprising and wonderful inclusion of the Gentiles in God’s new-covenant people, and how else could Jude 24 describe our coming into God’s own presence without the experience of “great joy”?[i]

Peace:

The nature of this gift of peace brought by Jesus may be easier to explain by stating what it is not.

· It is not an end to tension, an absence of warfare, domestic tranquility,

· nor anything like the worldly estimation of peace (Lk 12:51–53; Jn 14:27; 16:32, 33).

· Its presence may, on the contrary, actually disturb existing relations, being a dividing “sword” in familial relations (Mt 10:34–37).

· Jesus’ gift of peace is, in reality, the character and mood of the new covenant of his blood which reconciles God to man (Rom 5:1; Col 1:20) and forms the basis of subsequent reconciliation between men under Christ (Eph 2:14–22).

This gift of peace or reconciliation with God, made available through Christ, places an ethical demand on the Christian; it calls for the exercises of “peace” (as reconciliation between persons) within the church. Peace, as a fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22), is to be the goal of the Christian’s dealings with others (Rom 12:18; 14:19; Heb 12:14, etc.), that which marks one’s identity as a “child of God” (Mt 5:9).

Application:

We don’t confuse silence from strife for peace. We don’t go to the separate parts of our homes to avoid conflict.

· We don’t look at our spouse as the cause of conflict; instead we see the young gal walking down the aisle at Piggly Wiggly.

· We don’t see the 14-year-old rebellious Child; instead, we see the 14-month-old infant with all the promises of God before them.

· We don’t see the 20-year-old who disappoints us; instead, we see the 2-year-old independently running around the house with a bright future ahead of them.

· Peace is not spending our retirement years as we planned. Great Joy causes peace. We experience peace, when we know God is in control when things haven’t turned out like we planned.

· The good news—the gospel is that Christ was born and died and resurrected to set straight that which has been broken because of sin.

God had made his promises known to Mary and Joseph, and God used everyday circumstances and people to bring them about.

God made know to the shepherds what he had accomplished and then he positioned them so they could respond with great joy. Great joy is heard and then seen.

Our Great Joy Should Result in Sharing God’s Glory.

God places us in position to righty respond to His plans.

Teach what you Know.

Treasure and ponder what you hear and experience

Tell others what you have experienced.

Rightly responding to God’s revealed plans bring great Joy. God Affirms what He has made known about His purposes, through everyday experiences.

The shepherd went straight to Bethlehem to see what the Lord had made known to them. When they saw Christ, they made known what had been told them. Sharing the Good News of Great Joy causes us to experience joy.

1. Sharing the good news requires that our everyday routines be interrupted.

2. Hearing is not the same as sharing. we are to hear, then go see, and then go tell.

3. Mary treasured and pondered what God made known in her heart.

a. To treasure means to store up in your mind, so you can take out of your memory vault and examine it.

b. Ponder means to bring together. Like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. God makes things known to us through the reading, hearing, preaching and memorizing of his Word. When we store these truths in our minds we can then bring them out and begin fitting them together, as we experience everyday life and normal situations.

Sharing the Good News of Great Joy is simply Telling God’s Story, as he accomplishes it in our lives.

We all have a story. His Story—the story of God replacing fear with joy. Glorify God telling of His Worth and how He is deserving of honor. Praising God is speaking of His excellence.

Use every opportunity to share your experience with God. We all have a story of life without God. How God made Christ known to us. How our life is now that God is accomplishing his purposes, through Christ, in us.