Exceeding Joy: A Sermon For The Third Sunday In Advent

Exceeding Joy

Jude 24–25 NKJV

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,

And to present you faultless

Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,

To God our Savior,

Who alone is wise,

Be glory and majesty,

Dominion and power,

Both now and forever.

Amen.

We now come to the Third Sunday in Advent. The theme for this Sunday is joy. At the darkest time of the year we celebrate Christmas, in which we remember that the Lord was born in Bethlehem of Judaea to the Virgin Mary. As the days become longer, we see increasing light in which we rejoice. We remember this Jesus who grew in favor with God and men. How Jesus, the Son of God, could grow when He has always been fully God is part of the wonderful mysteries of our faith. We remember from the beginning of the Gospel of John that this Incarnate Word is light and enlightens all mankind. We celebrate this season with Christmas Carols like “Joy to the World.” We are reminded in that carol to prepare Him room.

But just whom are we preparing room for. Are we preparing room for the baby Jesus or the Lord Jesus? If one looks a little bit more at “Joy to the World”, it is not a Christmas Carol at all but properly an Advent Carol. There is a taste of joy we get when we reflect upon the first Christmas. Even that joy is glorious. We think of the Gospel account in Luke which the the birth of the Savior is announced. Tidings of great joy are announced to the world by the heavenly hosts. How could it be otherwise as the Savior had been born. We celebrate this at Christmas. But Advent joy does not look to the past. Instead, it looks to a future joy. One rejoices when a couple gets engaged. This is a prelude to the greater joy of the wedding. The church is likened to a bride. The bride is filled with joy anticipating the day her groom comes to receive her as her husband. The bride from the time of her engagement to her wedding is spent in watching and preparing which is exactly what we as the church should do while we wait for the coming (advent) of our Lord. We certainly rejoice in what God is done and is doing in our lives. But we wait for this time of preparation to end and the marriage to happen. This is what Jesus has promised. He, too, is preparing for that day, He is making room for us in His heavenly home.

We read a passage this morning from the Book of Jude. The Book of Jude is a short epistle of only a single chapter. Jude was writing to a church in which many of the members had lost their way. They were anything but perfect. To say this is an understatement as some were entirely apostate. Jude piles on metaphors to describe how awful the situation the church was. They had lost the desire to prepare for the return of the Lord, preferring worldly pleasures. They had lost their joy. Jude describes the plight of the church by saying that these erring members needed to be plucked out of the fire. The idea of having to be rescued from the fire does not depict a joyful waiting on the Lord.

However, when we get to the last two verses of the epistle which we read this morning, the tone changes markedly. It is a glorious doxology which gives praise to God for what He will finish doing in the believer. The emphasis is no longer on the failures of many in the church to prepare but instead emphasizes the work and power of God. It is not our work which is praised. It is the work of God in us. It is He who can cure our stumbling and make us perfect for the day of the wedding. the same Lord who is preparing a place for us to dwell with Him forever is the same Lord who prepares the bride. It is like the poor bride who marries the prince. The bride could never pay the expected dowry. But the prince, because He is gracious has paid the dowry for us. Interestingly enough, we see an example of this in the church by the real Saint Nicolaus who helped poor women by paying the dowry for these women so that they could marry. It is said that he put the gold in their stockings. We applaud such an act of mercy. But how much more is the bride price which Jesus, the Prince of Glory paid for us miserable sinners.

So, even in this age in which we seem to fall so far short of perfection, we take joy in that the Lord himself is perfecting us so that we can be faultless in that day. This does not mean that we should be complacent. God’s grace is not granted to us that sin might abound. Instead, it should put us back on the right track as we prepare for the Lord’s return. In other words, we are to be who we already are. I use the present tense “are” here because as far as the Lord is concerned, the work is already done. (See Philippians 1:6) We should endeavor to be more of what we already have been made. Therefore, all glory belongs to God and not to us.