Joy

Jenn told me if I bought here anymore stupid gifts she would burn it, so I bought her a candle.

Everyone loves Albert Einstein and his inventions, not so much his brother Frank, he was a real monster.

Luke 2:8–12 ESV

8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 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. 10 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. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”

This is third week of Advent, and its about Joy, and thats what the quwest of most of our lives are like… what must angels look like that they have to tell us not to be afraid every time they show up.

Kids put on bathrobes to act out the part of the shepherds

What are the shepherds doing in this story… not just sheep, he is trying to teach us about grace.

Grace is so good that God uses sinners like us to make his plans move forward.

Dallas Willard said, “We tend to be okay with saying we sinned but we do not like to say that we are sinners.”

Terrible person with X but not everything

The Bible tells us that we are sinners by birth and by choice. When we woke up we probably thought about ourselves first....

ANd God loves us in spite of us and we dont deserve him to use us… he can use the righteous people, but he uses the every day people like us...

And that is the deal with the shepherds, they were the scouldrels… dirty… night watch made it even worse… Nobody wanted to be the shepherd.. and christmas says no matter who you are or what you have done, God wants to use you. Grace literally means undeserved favor.

Not like Santa… but everyone.... and he wants to give us Grace which is different… not good works to be saved… but throwing yourself on his good works.

WE have to kill siun and temptation so it makes life a little bit harder after Jesus than before.

Our life starts when we actually follow him…and we realize w arent the angel or mary and joseph in the story of Jesus but we are the shepherds at the end of our ropes and once we find ourselves at the end of our rope Joy comes.... and that is the story of Christmas

Later in the story the shepherrds return glorifying God for what they ahve seen… and some of us need to be joyous about finding Jesus and some of you need to tell your face that you follow Jesus and you are excited about it because your face and your life dont say that, youre a complainer,… youre a bore.. and when he is inside of us the joy bubbles up inside of us and spills everywhere else...

and even though there is pain around them they have joy because of what they saw and heard...

Jenn dating… show everyone....

Thats what Jesus did in the life of these guys… is that what it does for you… thats the default if you are really close to it....

You know what the need and desire in all of our lives is to find happiness and joy in our lives… thats why we make most of the decisions that we make…

Thats what self help books are about… how to make yourself happy in your life… thats why they sell so well....

2,5 million years… 1 future of our species where we are going.. 2 happiness.... Surprised by joy… spent my life searching for it and found it in Jesus… and that is what the Christmas offer is… what satisifcation and fulfillment.. you will only find it in Jesus.

“The last 500 years have witnessed a breathtaking series of revolutions and improvements to the earth, the economy, science, industry, politics, daily life, psychology. But are we happier? Was Neil Armstrong, whose footprint remains intact on the windlesss moon, happier than the nameless hunter-gatherer who 30,000 years ago left her handprint on a wall in a cave?”

Yuval Noah Harari

Happiness isnt measured by things but meaning… Christianity offers joy through meaning… Christianity and happiness are connected… Christianity is the giving of joy

Christian Hedonism… he says its totally okay to live for pleasure… he said its mindless to worship god for any other reason but for the joy of it.... not for salvation from Hell but to know him and have pleasure in him

John 15:11 ESV

11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

The question is where do we truly find it..

“If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good and earnestly to hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, I submit that this notion has no part of the Christian faith.

Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak.

We are half hearted creatures, fooling about with drink, sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by an offer of a holiday at sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory

Our desire is not too strong but too weak… we want the things of this world, but not the things of eternity.... we arent sure that Jesus will give us the joy s o we hold back and are never fully in

Psalm 37:4 ESV

4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

In his joy goes and sells everything for the treasure in the field..

When we find somethign that is better than anything this world has to offer we are willing to give it up… why becasue we realize it is better than anything else… joy isnt a side plot, it is what our whole lives are about in the end.

George McDonald siad the one principle of hell is I am my own.

Its is not a bad thing to desire our own good… the problem is we stop to early instead of going after the God behind the thing...

The whole new testament goes on and on about how following Jesus brings us joy we get a new better life forevermore… blessed are the ones who are happy… and the

SO how do we get this joy… first what they heard was the angels message… and that is so important..... what we hear… and for some of the men in this room you listen, but you do not HEAR.... and that is the challenge of the Christmas message, you have to HEAR the message and waht is going on....

Here is the reality God speaks, yes, but so does sin and the world around you…and the question is are you hearing him in spite of the noise of the world around you.

“You can be innocent of all gross sins and yet be guilty of this terrible thing; if being satisfied with your life, of having pride in your achievements and of looking down on others.”

-Martyn Lloyd Jones

Not only that, but its being satisfied with our lives that can keep us from God and keep us from hearing him… and these guys heard and it changed everything...

These guys show up to Joseph and Mary… theyre dirty and tattered.. and they show up and say heres what you gotta do… but it is so powerful that Mary actually believed..

And what this shows us is that our instincts can be wrong.... we can take in data and it not be correct… clues can be dead wrong.... tatered up theieves but the truth they were speaking was great

VanHalen…brown MMs… we have to distrust our senses sometimes becasue sometimes we get it wrong… and Jesus tells us the secret to happiness isnt running after stuff… but it is running after Jesus and hungering and thirsting after righteousness.... not happy are the ones that are running after happiness… but it is a result of going after righteousness....

Do not seek thrills, seek righteousnes… I want to be like my Lord… seek righteousness and you will find that you are happy...

Lets reflect Jesus own happiness…

John 15:11 ESV

11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

Hebrews 12:2 ESV

2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

What makes him have Joy

Thomas Goodwin His own happiness and joy are increased inenlarged by our mistakes and failures…becasue his joy is more coimplete in what he has done on the cross

Doctor..jungle… waiting… no one comes… sadness there.... peeople show up and there is joy there Christ gets more joy and comfort than we do

“The Glory of Happiness and Joy of Christ are enlaarged and increased as his members come to Him, to have the purchase of his death more and more laid upon them… then he comes to see the fruit of his labour.”

-Thomas Goodwin

Jesus doesnt drain when we need him… he lives for this.... receive it be joyous and in that give him joy

He who binds himself to joy

Does the winged life destroy;

but he who kisses the joy as it flies

Lives in eternity’s Sunrise. William Blake