[Title S] The other night I was watching tv when I saw it. One of the best buys of the Christmas season. For only $19.95 I could get a noodle strainer, a vegetable steamer, chopper, slicer and dicer, 4 air tight plastic bowls, one large plastic spoon, two knives, a birth stone, and a shammy and a brush to wash my car, all guaranteed for life. And if I ordered within the next 30 minutes I would get a bonus gift, they would double the order absolutely free! I’d get two for the price of one!
Two weeks ago we started a sermon series titled Gifts that won’t break. The first gift was the gift of hope. Last week was the gift of love. And today’s gift, well, it’s a bonus gift for those who opened God’s gift of love. What is it?
Let’s unwrap this gift together by reading Luke 2.8-15 together.
[S] “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” (TNIV) [S]
A third gift from God is the gift of Joy.
Joy. Every human being has a hunger or a thirst for joy, do they not? People want a life characterized by joy. We all want it. And we all try to “get it” anyway we can. We spend more money than we have trying to attain it through our purchasing power. People might even go to different churches or try different jobs or move to new parts of the country hoping that they will experience a sense of joy. We buy cars and jewelry and trips and diamonds and homes and flat screens hoping that the joy that results will last the long term. But it doesn’t last. And you know why? Because joy isn’t for sale. Joy can’t be purchased. Joy can’t be auctioned or sold on eBay. Joy, joy that lasts, is a bonus gift that results from hearing and experiencing the good news that a Savior has been given to us.
I’ll never forget Dr. Jack Chisum. He was my professor for a business course at Greenville College prior to my D-day, the day I became a disciple of Jesus. At that time I was a young man lost in my thoughts and experiences and life. I just wanted to be with people and party. I was drifting through life. And then one day Dr. Chisum, the professor of Business and Administration dismissed the class but asked me to stay behind because he wanted to talk with me. He scooted one of the little desk chairs up next to me and began with some small talk. Eventually he came around and said, “Bryan, I and some of the other professors are concerned about you. We know what you’re doing. We know you’re not living up to the lifestyle statement. We know you’re partying and other things like that and wish there was something we could do. And then he said something like, “Bryan, this might not make any sense. But is it possible, that the “high” you’re trying to attain through manmade means can only be satisfied in a relationship with Jesus?” That was one of the most profound things I had ever heard. My professor suggested that the joy I was seeking was the result or byproduct of living as a disciple of Jesus.
[S] Jesus said, “If you obey my commands you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain n his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in your and that your joy may be complete (John 15.10-11, NIV)
And so sometime after my visit with Dr. Chisum I made Christ the leader of my life and the joy that flooded my soul was second to none. It was so far superior to anything man made that I had ever experienced. It was an incredible gift of God.
In the gospel of John he mentions that joy is “fulfilled” or “complete” several times and in each time it is associated with trusting Jesus. Lasting joy comes from Jesus. [S]
Now, I’ll confess that the intensity level of my joy has not always been as intense as it was that day. But it’s still there making a positive difference in my life like an underground river that nourishes the plants above. But when I’m reminded about just how good the good news is, like I was last Sunday, the joy begins to bubble up like a spring of water welling up inside of me and it feeds me throughout the week giving me a brighter perspective on life.
Joy is a mystery and a miracle. It is nothing short of the work of the Holy Spirit upon the soul of the one who abides or lives in and through Jesus.
[S] “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. (Matthew 13.44, NIV)
According to the Jewish Rabbinical interpretation, if something of value was found on public land and it was unmarked or there was no identification to it, it is finders-keepers. If however it was identified the owner must be sought and an attempt to return it. If something of value like a gold nugget or a diamond was found on private land it belongs to the owner of the land. That’s why in this story the one who found the treasure went and sold all he had and came back to purchase the land because he knew there was more where this came from.
This parable teaches us that having a relationship with Christ is worth giving everything one has. In this story the person recognizes the “value and is willing to give up all he has to have the joy associated with a personal relationship with God.” (Jewish New Testament Commentary, 49). [S]
A Christian can have joy because we know that Christ will come again just as he did the first time. The Christian can experience joy because we know that Jesus will be exalted and reward those who trust in him to make them right with God guaranteeing our place in heaven for all of eternity.
And just like Luke revealed in our opening text, this is the kind of good news that produces great joy. Just ask Isaac Watts. Isaac Watts caught a glimpse of this joy and as a result wrote the lyrics to the song “Joy to the World.” Watts wrote the lyrics but his friend George Frederick Handel composed the music. The very one who would later write Handel’s Messiah best known for the Hallelujah chorus. Watts and Handel experienced the good news of the Savior and it filled them with such joy that they broke out into song.
I am so thankful to God for the gift of love and the bonus gift that comes with it for those who order it.
If you’re looking for a lasting joy I invite you to turn your life over to Jesus and begin to take some steps towards living as his disciple. If you’ve been a believer but joy has eluded you. Remind yourself of how much God loves you and consider your walk with Christ. Maybe you’re not experiencing the deep joy because you’re living more for yourself than for Jesus. Turn that around and see what happens.
