Today we are in our second week of this Advent season and will be looking at Luke 2:8-12. Here, Luke records the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. After He is born, the angels show up and share this good news of great joy to the humble shepherds in the field. Let’s look again at Luke 2:8-12:
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.”
The birth of Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us, is the gospel, it is the Good news that God himself announced through the angels to the waiting world. His coming was not a reason for fear but for incredible rejoicing. The angels who were standing in the very presence of God said: “The Savior, the Christ, the Lord has come to save you.” He is the bringer of “salvation” and he is the long awaited fulfillment of God’s Old Testament promises to his people.
It’s good news because there is no way we could have saved or redeemed ourselves. The gospel is not about inspiration, guidance for life, or self-improvement. Jesus came to stand in our place, to pay the penalty of our sin, to take what we deserved, and give us new life and a restored relationship with the God and Creator of the universe.
In light of our own sin against God and people around us, we were without a way, in utter darkness. That is why the coming of Jesus was a bright light in this dark world. He came to this world, to us knowing we as His own creation would despise, reject, and crucify Him on the cross. Why would He endure all of this? Because there was a far greater joy set before Him. His sacrificial death would make redemption possible for the whole world. And any of us who would respond to His invitation would experience the joy of His salvation. This is what the gospel message has done throughout history, and will do in every nation, tribe, and tongue. For those who have been sitting in darkness, the gospel brings a great light, hope, peace and joy.
An illustration of this hope and subsequent rejoicing was the recent incident in India where over 40 construction workers were trapped when the tunnel they were building collapsed behind them. Maybe you read about this - these workers were trapped behind 160 feet of fallen stone and rubble waiting and hoping to be rescued. The Australian man who came up with the rescue plan said that the mountain was so unstable that one wrong move could be deadly for everyone involved. In other words, the probability of getting everyone out alive was slim - but they didn’t give up. First they pushed a small pipe through the stone and rubble to bring oxygen and water. Through this small pipe they also communicated hope, letting the men know that they were coming. In the end they had to dig the tunnel by hand in order to rescue them all. When all these men were finally pulled out and rescued there was so much rejoicing. Can you imagine their joy, and the joy of their families and the thousands of people involved in the rescue operation?
On a much larger scale, the prophets throughout the ages were speaking hope to the people in Israel who had been waiting for thousands of years for the coming Messiah, who would rescue them from their darkness and impending doom. Can you imagine when Jesus finally came to redeem the world the immensity of joy that was expressed by the angels and experienced by the shepherds that day?
Can you imagine heaven’s joy, God’s joy, when one person who is in a hopeless state hears the good news of the gospel and turns to Him to be rescued from an eternity in hell to an eternity in His presence and love? The joy we experienced the day we believed will be fully realized the day we step into eternity. That is where we will have a profound understanding of who God is, what He has saved us from and why He did what He did in history.
1. What is true Joy?
In the OT, joy was defined as gladness, mirth, happiness and rejoicing. Joy can have a variety of sources. The idea of joy speaks about the presence of something positive. It could be associated with people, places, or positive outcomes. And so naturally people find joy in beautiful and good things of life, when they prosper and are successful. One commentator said that the writer of Psalm 104 says a good bottle of wine is God’s gift “to bring joy to people’s hearts.” There’s a Hebrew proverb that compares the joy that perfume brings to your nose with the joy that a good friend brings to your heart.
We rejoice when positive things happen, at weddings, celebrations, in victories, or even receiving good advice but ultimately true joy is found in God Himself, in His salvation, His justice, His protection and in His Word. Because in God is the fullness of joy.
In the NT,
Joy is the awareness of God’s presence, His grace, His promises, His love and forgiveness. Joy is our response to His grace, joy is calm delight or inner gladness.
Jesus exemplified joy. Every time He healed a person, cast out a demon, or forgave a sin, set someone free, joy was the immediate result. Those who recognized Jesus as the promised Savior and Redeemer of the world were filled with joy.
2. How can we experience true joy?
Christian joy is not some subjective feeling but it is anchored in the facts of our faith, in the reality of who God is, His word and His character.
You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore (Psalm 16:11).
Joy comes when we live a Spirit-filled life (Gal 5:22), when we get to know Jesus through His Word and spend time with Him in prayer. (Phil 4:4-8). We experience true joy when we abide in Christ - when we obey Him and live the way we were designed to live, living our lives for Him. We experience true joy when we live out our Christian life in community with other believers. Jesus said: These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. (John 15:11). Jesus wants us to know how to have joy so we can experience it to the fullest degree. As you grow in your faith, your level or depth of joy grows as well. The greater our relationship with Jesus the greater our joy will be in this life (Rom 15:13 Phil 1:25). Thomas Brooks, a 17th C Puritan said,
All saints shall enjoy a heaven when they leave this earth; some shall enjoy a heaven while they are here on earth.
The choice is ours. Why is it that we long for Jesus to come again so that we can spend eternity with Him but spend such little time with Him on earth? Why is it that we trust Him for our salvation but not for our daily bread?
The question is:
3. What is the source of our joy?
James tells us:
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds (James 1:2 NIV).
This doesn’t make sense, does it? Our natural inclination would be to think that going through trials and negative circumstances wouldn’t be an occasion for joy but for sorrow and introspection. Now this doesn’t mean you ignore or suppress your sorrow because that isn’t healthy. Paul often expressed his grief about missing loved ones, losing friends, or the fact that he had been beaten, shipwrecked, imprisoned, and even more, yet he had joy. He called this state, “being full of sorrow and yet rejoicing.” As he acknowledged his pain, he also made a choice to trust Jesus that his loss had purpose and it wouldn’t be the final word. Paul didn’t have to wait for everything to be good and perfect before he had joy because his ultimate source of joy came from His Savior not his situation.
Charles Spurgeon said:
Believers are not dependent upon circumstances. Their joy comes not from what they have, but from what they are, not from where they are, but from whose they are.
But why would you consider it pure joy when you face difficult if not impossible situations? James is challenging the believer to look at trials from God’s point of view - what does God accomplish through them? God intends trials to test our faith and produce spiritual perseverance. We can count it all joy in trials because in them we learn to depend on God and trust Him. Faith that is tested becomes genuine faith, rugged faith, uncompromising and committed faith. God also uses trials to discipline us: “God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness” (Heb 12:10). God turns up the heat to refine our lives like the refiner’s fire. Sometimes when gold is inside a stone, you have to turn the heat up to release the gold from the stone. The stone goes to the bottom and the gold rises to the top. Sometime God has to bring severe tests to release us from things that have kept us weigh us down and kept us captive, so we can live for Him. Trials reveal our spiritual shortcomings and mature our faith. They develop and deepen our character. J.B. Phillips puts it this way: “When all kinds of trials and temptations crowd into your lives my brothers, don’t resent them as intruders, but welcome them as friends! Realize that they come to test your faith and to produce in you the quality of endurance. But let the process go on until that endurance is fully developed, and you will find you have become people of mature character...”
My question is...
How are we sharing our Joy?
In 2023 we believed the Lord was calling us to expand our tents, lengthen our cords and drive the tent pegs deeper. God wants us to grow deeper in our relationship with Him and take steps of faith to trust Him for even greater things. To take the message of hope beyond these walls and watch Him take seemingly impossible situations and make them possible. We said in January 2023 that this would be a year when God would challenge us to greater personal growth, spiritual stability, and maturity which would be necessary for others to come in and experience God’s presence and life, and it was. Many of us have faced incredible challenges, tests and trials this year (and still are) that have caused us to have to draw close to the Lord like never before. But with the challenges are also opportunities for great joy when we the overflow of God’s faithfulness in our life life and love which we experienced in the Easter season, at Pentecost, at church in the park, the Thanksgiving celebration, and now in this time of Christmas Advent. In the midst of the challenges, tests, and trials, God has poured out His love and grace on us and has been good and faithful.
What do we want to trust God for in 2024? Whatever it is, it will cause us to deepen our roots, just like a tree by the river draws life from the source of water. It only takes the faith of a mustard seed which will cause our branches to grow, for us to produce fruit, and become a place where others can find rest.
Why is it so important, not only to expect God for great things but to expect Him to work in and through our lives and through the church? Because God wants us to share His joy, which is our joy with others. Christmas is a great opportunity to share the hope we have in Christ with others. At the second advent when Jesus returns to the earth to reign forever, he will welcome His children into their eternal dwelling, there we will experience the fullness of His joy (Ps 16:11).
In heaven I believe we will all be fully aware of how we lived for Him and what He had accomplished in our lives. Those who had drawn near to God and trusted Him in the most difficult times will have a greater capacity or experience of joy than others who did not faithfully walk with on the earth, but everyone will be filled with joy according to their capacity.
