Joy
Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 13 viewsNotes
Transcript
Intro
Intro
Opening illustration?
“Opening presents on a Christmas Morning”
What is Joy?
What is Joy?
The Secular Worldview looks at joy as being a simple emotion that is closely related to happiness. Basically it can be seen as happiness on steroids.
Yet, the Christian Worldview is different while Joy is still a type of emotion. The source of where it comes from isn’t circumstantial to happenings that are around us. It is centered on a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Quote John Piper:
“Joy is a good feeling in the soul produced by the Holy Spirit as he causes us to see the beauty of Christ in His Word and His work.”
Also, Pastor Adrian Rogers explains,
Quote Adrian Rogers:
“The Joy of the Lord isn’t there to remove the pain; the joy of the Lord is there to help me bear it!”
These men of God rightly point out that Joy of the Lord is not dependent on life being good but that our life with God is good.
Which brings us to another questions,
How does one obtain joy?
How does one obtain joy?
Let’s look tonights passage that takes place in a field at night in the region of Bethlehem.
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.”
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
15 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.”
16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.
17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.
18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.
19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.
20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
Joy is the results of good news.
Joy is the results of good news.
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.”
Why is the joy great?
Why is the joy great?
It is because Jesus is born.
His birth is “good news” for the whole world “will be for all the people”
He is the Savior of the world
1 And David spoke to the Lord the words of this song on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul.
2 He said, “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
3 my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; you save me from violence.
4 I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.
5 “For the waves of death encompassed me, the torrents of destruction assailed me;
6 the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me.
7 “In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I called. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry came to his ears.
John 4:39-42 (Samaritan Woman at the Well)
29 “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?”
30 They went out of the town and were coming to him.
31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.”
32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.”
33 So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?”
34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.
35 Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.
36 Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together.
37 For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’
38 I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”
39 Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.”
40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days.
41 And many more believed because of his word.
42 They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”
Romans 10:9-10 (Saved through Jesus Alone)
9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
He is the Christ (Anointed one), Messiah
He is the Lord (God) incarnate.
He is God’s Son
He is the Son of Man (Fully God and Fully Human)
John 8:24 (I am He (I am statement))
24 I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.”
58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”
Jesus, the God of the universe and the God’s anointed one to save people from their sin is born! That is why the good news is great joy!
The joy of Jesus leads us to worship.
The joy of Jesus leads us to worship.
a. The angels worship God.
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
b. The shepherds worship God.
20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
What does it mean to glorify God?
“To give glory” is to praise, to recognize the importance of another, the weight the other carries in the community.
So the shepherds give praise and recognize that Jesus is truly the promised Messiah who is to save the world.
They were moved to worship!
“Worship is the awed response to the saving acts and praiseworthy character of God.”
It is birthed out of our personal relationship and joy of our salvation in Christ Jesus.
Don’t miss this, that means that unless we are worshiping God out of that Joy. Our worship is dead which means that we are not actually saved! Are we really saved if we don’t want to praise God and praise his name. Are we joyless?
As Adrian Rogers was famous for saying “A joyless Christian is an oxymoron.”
It can’t exist.
Please hear me out. There are times where joy seems hard, but it is in those times of hardship that our joy in the Lord shines brightest to the world around us.
Our joy must bring us to a place of worshipping God and his goodness to us for saving us. Which means, if we are to be worshippers of the Lord we must be saved. Are you his? Have you repented, that is turned to Jesus and away from your sin?
23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.
24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
God requires us to give us his full attention and respect. When we worship God, we must worship with all of ourselves because we have Joy in the Lord. If we come into this place and we goof off, if we are talking amongst ourselves as worship is taking place we are telling God I have better things to do, more important things to do than to meet with you and to praise you for your amazing love and saving work in my life.
Is that where you are?
Is that where you have found yourself?
Worship means nothing anymore, the joy of your salvation has faded and become nothing.
Conclusion
Jesus came as a child so that we might have the joy of salvation in him. It is this joy that overflows to lead us to worship the one true God!
Invitation:
Do you know Jesus? Have you repented and turned to Jesus for your salvation? If you haven’t, will you come to one of us adults tonight and let us help you to make that decision tonight?
Others of you, you know you have trusted Jesus but you haven’t had much joy lately. Will you ask God to give you joy and help you to worship him with all your focus and energy tonight?
We are going to worship the Lord here, let’s show God the respect he deserves, if you don’t feel like worshipping the Lord then I ask and plead for you to remain silent and allow those who are her to worship to sing to the Lord songs of praise.
