Message 3: Joy

to rejoice is to celebrate. What would it look like to live a life of celebration? Not a hollow celebration but one with meaning and purpose. One filled with rich relationships.

People rejoice all the time. And rejoicing often always has a reason. When we are full of joy it is rarely for joy’s sake. Our joy is often aimed at something. We are joyful for a reason.

Maybe a birthday

or anniversary

or holiday

or relationship

a promotion

we rejoice.

We swing from joy to joy based on the events or people we have joy in. But they don’t always last.

What happens when what you rejoiced in turned out to be something else?

the relationship turned out to be something else?

Your hope turned into something else?

I was a youth pastor my first five years in ministry. And every Fall we would do a big fall festival party. We had candy and games and kids from all over showed up. One year I did bobbing for apples and it became a big competition. I had a big bin and we would time the kids to see how quick they could bob for an apple. The kids loved it. As a surprise I put one red onion in the bin full of water. At a glance it looked like an apple, was the same color, size and it floated. And sure enough, in the excitement of the kids bobbing for apples, one of them bit into the onion and pulled it out of the water. The excitement on their face quickly turned.

Imagine biting into an onion thinking it was an apple.

sometimes we try to find joy in things and at first glance we rejoice but then that thing either doesn’t last or is something other than we thought.

What we were waiting for turned out to be something else.

What have you rejoiced in that turned out to be something else?

This morning we are going to look at 2 women, cousins, who meet and rejoice, not in somethign that is passing or is other than what they thought. They rejoice in the fulfillment of God’s promises.

Lasting Joy is found in knowing that Christ is the fulfillment of God’s promise

English Standard Version (Luke 1:41–45)

Luke 1:41–45 ESV

And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

Joy is found in the purposes of God

- There is just a simple greeting. Two women, cousins, one welcoming the other into their home.

This moment, this simple greeting became a holy moment. A moment for worship.

There was something additional in the greeting. The greeting itself becomes Holy because of what these women find in God.

We moved to Oregon in the winter of 2010. We split up into three groups to get there. Our stuff was driven by movers. Josiah and I picked up my dad in Wisconsin and drove the 5 days to Oregon from Ohio. And Robin and the girls flew to Oregon a week later. Josiah and I picked the rest of the family up at the airport and the arrival was sweet. I hadn’t seen the girls for over a week and the same for them. So the re-connection was filled with joy. But there was more to it than just a connection. This was also the realization that we had moved our family and this was the first time we were seeing each other in our new lives and new state. There was hope and expectation and a bit of fear. IT was more than just a ride at the airport because there was so much beneath the surface

The arrival of Mary at Elizabeth’s home is more than just an arrival, more than just a place to stay. There is much going on beneath the surface. Everything, both these women realize, is changing and had changed. We see that from their pregnancies, we see that from Mary wanting to stay with Elizabeth. God is doing a deep work in their lives and the lives around them. And the Holy Spirit shows up to fill Elizabeth and she see and worships the God responsible for that work. She recognizes the fulness of God in His working through this arrival.

- Elizabeth understands who exactly Jesus is in calling Him the Lord. The title, “Lord” occurs 25 times in ch 1 and 2 in the book of Luke. We are told right away who this is in Mary’s womb.

Mary understood her purpose in God’s calling in her life. Elizabeth the same. Both had encountered God in the process. How has God shown you His purposes in your life?

John 17:13 ESV

But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.

Jesus tells us that we have joy in what HE speaks, in His will.

These women understand that there is an incredible joy found in knowing God’s purpose in our lives.

And they find that joy together in community

Joy is found in the community of believers

Luke 1:39–42 ESV

In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!

- Elizabeth did not just feel the baby move but at the same time was filled with the Holy Spirit. The Role of the spirit was to confirm what God is doing in the world. Elizabeth had confirmation of what was actually happening. It wasn’t one prophetic event, it was communal.

- Joy is communal

As Elizabeth speaks through the Spirit about the Christ, Mary responds with her song of Joy and triumph.

Both participate, and Christ works through both of them as they find joy not just in hearing and not just in participating, but both in community

We find joy together. Christmas is great but Christmas together as a church is even better. Christmas cookies are great but Christmas cookies together are even better.

And it’s not just Christmas. If joy is something that is often found something else, it stands to reason that we can find joy in one another.

This is what was happening throughout the OT. The subject of the OT is mostly the nation of Israel and their relationship with God.

The Jewish calendar is filled with feast days.

Days where they celebrate the work of God in their lives. We are in one now, Hanukkah.

Feast days are associated with rejoicing.

The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary Joy

In the OT rejoicing is frequently expressed in connection with the feasts; in fact, they are called “times of rejoicing” (Num 10:10). Recalling God’s marvelous act of delivering Israel from bondage, the Feasts of Passover and Unleavened Bread were occasions of great joy (2 Chr 30:21–27; Ezra 6:22; cf. also Psalms 95 and 98). Communal exultation also characterized the Feasts of Pentecost and Tabernacles (Deut 16:11, 14, 15; Lev 23:40) at which times the people of Israel were enjoined to remember that they were once slaves in Egypt (Deut 16:12). Similarly, the Feast of Purim was celebrated with joy and gladness to celebrate divine deliverance from potential annihilation under Persian rule (Esth 8:17).

- Joy comes often in connection with the feasts. The feasts are all about what God has done. There is rejoicing in what God Himself has done.

We are called to rejoice not only in the purposes of God but also to do so together.

What is one thing you can do this Advent Season to rejoice in Christ with the church?

Joy is the found in knowing God working in our lives

Mary breaks into song at this point. And it is reminiscent of a song in the OT.

Hannah was a mom like Mary and gave her child. And she prayed for a child and God promised her a son, Samuel. She realizes that God responded to her and remembered her and worked in her life. So she rejoiced and sang a song to the Lord. Here is part of it

English Standard Version (1 Samuel 2:1–11)

2 And Hannah prayed and said, “My heart exults in the LORD; my horn is exalted in the LORD.My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation.  “There is none holy like the LORD: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God.3  Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth; for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.4  The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble bind on strength.5  Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger.

We hear the same echoes in Mary’s song.

A triumphant, humble and rejoicing song to the Lord and is work.

Luke 1:49–54 ESV

for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy,

How are Mary and Hanna’s songs the same? How are they different?

Joy is found in the things that God has done. Joy is directly connected to the actions of God.

And the actions of God are connected to Christ.

Mary and Elizabeth recognize all that God has done is met in what was happening in their lives.

Mary recognizes that in Christ

He scatters the proud

He has shown strength with His arm

He has revealed mercy for multitudes of generation.

He brings the mighty down

He remembers us in His mercy

This is no chance meeting,

this is a holy recognition that all God desires to do is found in Christ.

And we can rejoice for the same reasons.

We can rejoice in the fact that Christ is the fulfillment of Gods promise.

and we are shown mercy

we are shown strength

we are shown great things

As we know Christ, our joy is fulfilled. IT is not passing, it is lasting.

Share with your group or write down one way you have experienced Christ through His mercy and strength

Lasting Joy begins when we begin to believe what God says is found in Christ.

Our trust in Christ brings joy.

What does it look like for you to rejoice in Christ?

The way that we celebrate and remember Christ is through communion

Communion is a response to the joy that we can have in Christ.

Maybe you have experienced that joy in Christ and are looking forward to remembering together.

but maybe you don’t know Christ. Maybe you don’t know joy.

You are invited to know Christ this season. This morning.

The outpouring of knowing Him is a lasting joy. One that you don’t have to go and find again.

In Him we rejoice and we invite you to rejoice with us in Christ

Communion