SUPERNATURAL JOY

Introduction

-The sounds and sights of Christmas are everywhere—from music to lights to trees and so much more. And we do it because this is a time of celebration—but have we ever paused to ask what it is that we are celebrating at Christmas? When you ask different people, you get different answers—for some it’s a time to be with family, for others it means some time off of work or school, yet for others it is a time to shop, and still others celebrate that they survived the year

-But in our society and in our day and age, how many are truly celebrating the birth of the Savior of the World, Jesus Christ, and all the blessings that He brought

~Many things like Santa, Frosty, Rudolph, Grinch take center stage, all the while Jesus’ birth is pushed out of the way, and then commercialism and materialism pushed in

-Nothing wrong with trees…lights…cookies and presents and all that—but how eternally meaningless this season is without Jesus----we celebrate Christmas because we celebrate Jesus and the wonders of God’s grace that came with His advent

-Today and the Sundays after the Christmas musical we will look at specific reasons why we truly celebrate this time of year—all wonderful gifts we received because of His birth

Luke 2:8–14 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.” 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!”

-When the angel appeared to the shepherds, he told them that what he had to share with them was GOOD NEWS OF GREAT JOY----in a world of darkness and violence and anger, this world needs joy

-Out in the world, where the vast majority of people are lost, you can see a lack of joy in their faces: they are full of anger, hurt, and disappointment—the world is filled with grouchy, complaining, murmuring, backbiting people because their lives are miserable—and they have no joy because they have no Jesus

-Joy is an inward delight and peace of heart, not because of current circumstances, but because of eternal promises—to be in this world and have real joy takes something or Someone supernatural

-It takes a Savior--and that’s what angels announced—“good news”=gospel--and what is gospel—v. 11—

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

-What is it about the good news of Christ’s birth that gives us supernatural joy—let’s look at 3 points of the Good News of supernatural joy:

I) We rejoice because God Loves Us

-the fact that God the Son left the glories of heaven to be born in the likeness of sinful man should speak volumes about God’s love for us…

-the advent of Christ was God emptying Himself of His glory to take on the prison of fallen flesh in order to reach out and communicate and reveal Himself to us, and then to take on the punishment of sin on Himself, all because He loves us

-So many people in world feel unloved—they don’t feel anyone cares—there may be some here today…

~you may not feel love from humans, but I guarantee you that God the Son leaving heaven (with all riches and majesty that go with it) was God Almighty saying to you I LOVE YOU

-But what does love even mean? In the English language throw the word around like it’s going out of style—one word can mean so many different things: Love football…music… cheesecake…bacon—we’ve watered it down

-even good, true love within human relationships has a wide range of meanings: my love for my wife is different than the love for my children, which is different than my love for my church family

-What is God’s love? When you read verses like John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.----What does that even mean?

-In his book The Four Loves, C. S. Lewis speaks about 4 different words used in the Greek language for love: storge=mere affection; phileo= brotherly love; eros=romantic love

-But love attributed to God is agape—what is so special about this love is that it is not dependent on the state of the recipient—As Lewis explained, it is not based on anything that would attract someone to the recipient of love

-The problem is that because of our sinful nature, we are not lovable—there is nothing within us to attract God to us; there is nothing we have to offer God; God doesn’t need anything from us—there is no natural love to be had--and yet the Bible is clear that God does love us

-So, this agape love is supernatural love—it is selfless, sacrificial, unexplainable by human terms kind of love----and God expressed this love in giving His Son—in John’s epistle: 1 John 4:8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.

10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

-Human words and logic are not enough to grasp the supernatural greatness of it all—and yet we are left with no doubts that God loves us—and because of God’s supernatural love toward us, we have supernatural joy within us—if we do not know the love of God in Christ, it is impossible to know any joy in our souls

II) We rejoice because God is With Us

-Listen to Matthew 1:22

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

23 "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means, God with us).

-Now we know theologically that God is everywhere—But there are some people who have these thoughts that if God is everywhere, then He is really nowhere too, because a God so big cannot actually be personal too—sure, His presence here, there, and everywhere, but no relationship is possible with such a big God

-It’s like this: Have you ever been in the same room with someone, and you’re talking to them, but you can tell not really paying any attention to you. {wives, no husband jokes} That person is with you but not really WITH you [know what saying?] The person is there physically but mentally checked out.—that is way many see God

-But that not what God saying through prophet about Jesus’ birth that God is with us—Jesus came to make God personal to every human

-This is why God sent heavenly messengers to announce such an important event: vv. 13-14—

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!"

-There was heavenly army surrounded by the glory of God to tell the world through the shepherds that God personally came into the lives of human beings on that first Christmas night to relate on personal level

-and when you trust in Christ (not only His birth, but also His death for sin and resurrection for life) Christ becomes so personal, He actually indwells you

Ephesians 3:17 says that

Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith

-Why is that important? Because in good times and bad, ups and downs, God in Christ through the Holy Spirit is with you every step of way

-The Christmas holiday season can be very festive, but it is known that for many it is the loneliest time of year—when family or friends are gone from this earth, or maybe you are recovering from tragedy, Christmas is a grim reminder of pain or heartache, or people are lonely because there is no one else in their life

-What is sad is there are many dreading holidays and just waiting to get it over with: maybe for some this is the first Christmas where your parents won’t be together because of a divorce…your spouse has drinking or drug problem and you spend most time during holidays trying to find something to be happy about …you’ve lost your job because your company downsizing, can’t afford to keep you, and now face a Christmas with more bills than presents

-If that is you, it is so important to know that God is with you—I want to encourage you that God’s presence is so real and so powerful that you never again need think that you are alone or that no one cares—if you are a child of God by faith in Jesus, God is with you and will never leave you even in midst of life’s most difficult moments--Hebrews 13:5 For he has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

-God is saying to you this Christmas season “I love you. I see you. I’m with you.”—you don’t have to face it alone, you don’t have to be lonely, turn to Jesus the One who ever-present

-It doesn’t matter where you are in life or what going on, you can rejoice with supernatural joy celebrating Christmas because God is with you

III) We rejoice because God is For Us

-Many have distorted views of God—they are afraid of Him—they think God just waiting to catch them in something bad, so He can pounce on them and punish them—like God is watching their every move so when they mess up He can jump out and say GOTCHA

-Do you see God as an always angry, vindictive deity?----maybe guilt has you thinking “If I get close to God, He’s going to scold me. He’s going to remind me of all the things I’ve done wrong.”----now, it’s very true that sin is serious and it does cause a wall of separation—but that’s why Jesus came, was born, and died right?

-We sometimes see God almost in an adversarial role. We think: God is against me; God doesn’t want me to have any fun; God doesn’t want me to prosper; God just wants to make my wretched existence even harder----if you think that way you are missing out on God’s great character

-What do the angels say: v. 14

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!"

-with Jesus’ birth God demonstrated that HE wants to shower the human race with His goodness

-God came to save us, not to scare us—the angels said “do not be afraid”—God’s thoughts toward us are that of peace and goodness--Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

-God is for us; God is on our side—we need to give Him due reverence and godly fear, but do not need to be terrified of Him if we are in Christ

-You may be in a valley in your life and you may think God is fighting against you—if you are child of God, He is for you not against you and He may be trying to grow you—if you are not a child of God, maybe God is trying to get you to a point of faith and trust in the Jesus who was born in Bethlehem

-What a joy to know God is on our side—He has peace and goodwill toward us

Conclusion

-today, as you leave here, go to lunch, go home, enjoy Christmas decorations, or if not up yet put ‘em up—think about what it is you are celebrating

-As you listen to music about snowmen, jingle bells, jolly fat guys, and chestnuts roasting on open fires—think about what it is you are celebrating

-As you watch holiday classics about shiny-nosed reindeer, angels getting their wings, white Christmases, and Red Ryder BB guns—think about what it is you are celebrating

-We are celebrating that a child (the God-man) the Savior was born in city of David, Christ the Lord----this was called GOOD NEWS OF GREAT JOY

-The world will try to pass off to you so many substitutes for Joy, but anything the world offers only lasts for a very short time. Joy is not found in a bottle. Joy is not found in a movie theater. Joy is not found in an illicit relationship. Joy is found in Jesus, and it is eternal=never-ending.

-and maybe today you do not know Him as Savior—you may say that this good news and this joy not for you—God couldn’t love you after all you’ve done—Listen to what the angels said, they bring GOOD NEWS OF GREAT JOY THAT WILL BE FOR ALL THE PEOPLE—that means you; you are part of the all people

-Jesus was born for you, Jesus died for you, so that you may have supernatural joy knowing God loves you, God is with you, and God is for you—will you not trust in Him today

-Maybe you are Christian but lost joy of your salvation—renew you’re joy today knowing God loves you, He is with you and He is for you—come to the altar and find joy all over again

-Maybe you are looking for a church that preaches true joy found in the true Savior—join yourself with Harvest Baptist Church…