Advent 2019: Joy - Luke 2:8-14

If you'd like to turn with me to Luke chapter 2, we're going to be reading from verses 8-14.

Luke 2 · chapter mention

! Luke chapter 2, verses 8-14.

Luke 2:8–14

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

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.

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.

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

And this will be a sign for you.

You will find the baby wrapped in swaddling claws and lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly hosts praising God and saying,

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

Father, thank you for your word.

Thank you for its nourishment, its light, its counsel, its comfort, its power.

By your spirit, speak to us today.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

In this second week of the Advent season, we take the opportunity to remind ourselves of the importance of joy in the gospel message and in our daily lives.

One thing that the scripture clearly teaches is that God wants you to experience great joy.

See, God created you and me with the unique capacity to experience the emotion of delight.

He has equipped you with physical senses that enable you to enjoy the world he created.

We not only see with our eyes, but we delight in what we see.

We delight in his creativity and the beauty of a sunset or flowers or puppies or newborn babies.

We enjoy the wonderful sounds of a waterfall, jingle bells, bird songs, symphony orchestras, and familiar voices.

We savor the taste of milk and honey and smoked jalapeno peppers.

We enjoyably breathe in the sense of peppermint and pine and vanilla and breezes from the sea.

And we find enjoyment in the sensations of fur and cotton and water and sand between our toes at the beach in summer.

And in the warm touch of friendship.

We also experience joy in significant events like births and weddings, victories, accomplishments, and unexpected surprises.

God designed each one of us with the capacity to enjoy the world around us.

And I believe he expects us to give expression to our delight.

It's an act of worship to do that.

In spite of the curse that has tainted the world, this fallen world, we still have the capacity to enjoy, to experience much joy in the world.

But God has also created us to experience another kind of joy.

God gives us the capacity to enjoy Him.

The psalmist declared in light of the Lord's guidance,

In your presence there is fullness of joy.

At your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Psalm 1611.

And he specifically calls God my exceeding joy.

Psalm 43.

Psalm 43.4.

In spite of the judgment that hovers over a rebellious world,

We've been given favor by God to experience this joy in Him even now.

This is Advent joy.

God holds out to the world the possibility of experiencing joy in Him through the good news of Advent.

Psalm 34.8 says,

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good.

Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.

Now, we should expect an increase of joy at a holiday season that celebrates the coming of the Savior into the world.

We should expect it.

But we should also understand that much of the joy that we observe at this time has different sources.

Some of you are just looking forward to a vacation from school.

Some spend time outside in the snow.

Most anticipate visits from good friends and family.

We give and we receive gifts.

All these foster happy emotions within us.

And the social atmosphere becomes naturally more jubilant.

But much of the joy that is observed at this season isn't Advent joy.

Joy that is dependent upon a season is not Advent joy.

Joy that has its source in temporal circumstances is not Advent joy.

The uniqueness of Advent joy can be observed in the story of the incarnation.

And in the association of joy with the announcement of Jesus' birth,

that association points to joy's important role in the gospel.

The passage we just read from Luke teaches us that God sent the Messiah King,

the long-awaited Messiah King, into the world so that you would experience great joy.

I believe this truth is emphasized in the passage through an interesting contrast in the story.

The contrast is between the initial response of the shepherds who heard the angel and saw the glory of the Lord

and the response that the angel indicated would most likely correspond to the message that he was bringing.

I'd like to focus on that contrast this morning because I believe it highlights two things.

Two things that God wants you to understand in order to experience greater Advent joy.

First of all, the better you understand, the more you understand your need for the coming of Jesus,

the more you can experience Advent joy.

The first part of that contrast is found in verses 8 and 9, so let's look at that again.

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field keeping watch over their flock by night.

And the angel of the Lord or an angel of the Lord appeared to them,

and the glory of the Lord shone round about them,

and they were filled with great fear.

This isn't the first time we see in the scriptures that angels have suddenly appeared and scared people out of their wits.

The Bible records many angelic visitations,

and several included responses similar to the shepherds.

The prophet Daniel wrote of being completely drained of his strength,

falling into a deep sleep,

and when the angel touched him and comforted him and had him stand up,

he was trembling,

simply at a vision of an angel.

And in the previous chapter of Luke's account,

both Zechariah and Mary were told by the angel Gabriel not to fear

because they were both troubled.

at this appearance.

But what is unique about this appearance to the shepherds

is the addition of the phrase,

the glory of the Lord shone around them.

During the Exodus,

when the glory of the Lord appeared on Mount Sinai,

we're told that it was in a cloud,

and it was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain.

Exodus 24, 17.

And another time,

when Moses asked God to see his glory,

he had to put Moses in the cleft of a rock

and cover him with his hand

in order to shield him from a direct view of God's glory,

to protect him from death.

Of the shepherds,

it simply says that the glory shone around them.

They were right in the midst of it.

It wasn't on a mountain far away.

They weren't shielded from anything.

It was just all around them.

Their fear was understandable,

not only because they encountered a supernatural being,

frightening enough,

but also because such an encounter with the glory of God

likely highlighted their own sense of sinfulness

and pending judgment

before a holy and righteous God.

To most of us here,

our need for Jesus is pretty obvious.

But many people still don't understand that need.

They argue it away.

Even for many Christians,

we might not completely understand

or we misrepresent our real need.

Jesus is often presented as someone

who can help us in our loneliness,

give us a reason to live,

meet some need for significance

or boost our self-esteem.

You can see this in a lot of the

more popular Christian songs.

But the gospel message starts with the truth

that we need to be delivered

from God's righteous judgment

and an eternal death sentence.

I believe understanding this is the first step

to appreciating the good news of Jesus' coming.

The other part of the contrast

is observed in verse 10.

Look there again.

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.

The great fear,

verse 9,

stands in stark contrast

contrast

with the great joy

of verse 10.

Now, I admit that the author of the gospel

doesn't say anything about the contrast,

but the connection does appear to be obvious.

And in light of that contrast,

I'm going to suggest

that the Holy Spirit intended it

to be read by us

to communicate something important

to us

about the experience

of the gospel.

I believe that in order

to fully experience

the great joy of Advent,

you and I not only need

to better understand

our need of His coming,

but we need to better understand

the joy

associated

with the good news.

So, first of all,

what do we mean by joy?

An older Webster's definition,

1828 version.

I like that version.

It's not politically correct.

Says this about joy.

It's the passion or emotion

excited by the acquisition

or expectation of good.

That excitement of pleasurable feelings

which is caused by success,

good fortune

and gratification of desire

or some good possessed

or by a rational prospect

of possessing

what we love

or desire.

Gladness.

Exaltation.

Now, that definition

coincides very well

with the definitions

that the biblical words

give us

or are translated

by our English word

joy

or rejoice

or gladness.

There's been a lot

of discussion

over the years

about the difference

between joy

and happiness

in the Christian life.

Some make a strong distinction

like this popular

19th century evangelical

who wrote,

joy is a distinctly

Christian word

and a Christian thing.

It is the reverse

of happiness.

Happiness

is the result

of what happens

of an agreeable sort.

Joy

has its springs

deep inside

and that spring

never runs dry

no matter what happens.

Only Jesus

gives joy.

He had joy

singing its music

within

even under

the shadow

of the cross.

joy

Now you're like

I might read that

and go,

wow,

that sounds great.

But as wonderful

as it sounds,

it doesn't agree

with either

the English

definition

of joy

or the biblical

definition.

Joy in the Bible

is used

of emotions

and celebrations

of the ungodly

as well as the godly.

It's used

of a donkey.

The main

distinctions

that we do find

in the scripture

are in the objects

of the joy.

God

and his care

being prominent

and

its duration.

Job 20

Job 20:5

verse 5

declares

the joy

of the godless

is for

a moment.

Whereas

Isaiah

says

the godly

are promised

everlasting

joy.

Isaiah

51

11

I draw

your attention

to this

because

over the years

many have

tried to

present joy

as something

altogether

different

from the

happy

emotions

that we

share with

every human

being.

They promote

an emotionless

joy

because it's

deep and

spiritual

has nothing

to do

with our

feelings.

This

just isn't

so.

The various

biblical synonyms

that depict

joy like

simcha

and

sason

gil

ra'anan

!

These are

all

distinguished

primarily

by the

way

the emotion

is expressed.

There's

joyful

shouting,

there's

joyful

singing,

there's

intense

joy,

joy,

there's

quiet

joy.

But in

all cases,

joy is

clearly

something

observed.

As a matter

of fact,

Nehemiah

records a

time in

Israel's

history when

the people's

joy was

actually heard.

That's what it

says.

It was

heard.

Verse

43 of

chapter 12

of Nehemiah

says,

And they

offered

great

sacrifices

that day

and

rejoiced

for God

had made

them rejoice

with great

joy.

The women

and the

children

also

rejoiced

and the

joy of

Jerusalem

was heard

far away.

The

angel's

announcement,

good news

to the

shepherds,

was described

as one

that brings

great

joy.

First of

all,

it's joyous

news because

it's the

fulfillment of

a long

awaited

promise

to

mankind.

A long

awaited

answer

to the

human

predicament.

It's

news of

a savior.

It's

news of

the

anticipated

messianic

king's

arrival.

It's

news of

God's

gracious

plan to

save his

people from

his own

wrath.

It's

news of

the

impartation

of

righteousness

to

those

who are

unrighteous.

It's

good news

of the

dawning

of eternal

life in

a renewed

universe.

others.

It's

the news

of an

effectual

sacrifice

on our

behalf.

I can't

help but

believe that

the contrast

in these

verses are

intended to

emphasize the

wonder of

the message.

It's

benefits to

Israel,

it's

grandeur,

it's

mystery,

and it's

amazing

initiation in

these humble

circumstances

among sheep

and shepherds.

we're

right to

focus on

that aspect

that God

in all

his stated

glory would

appear as

a child

in a

cave

among

animals.

But you

have to

remember

that the

announcement

came in

one of the

greatest

displays

of

trembling

fear

to the

shepherds.

But I

also believe

that there's

something more

being communicated

here by this

phrase,

great joy.

The

prophets of

Israel wrote

a great

deal about

joy,

and they

predicted a

time when

joy would

be prominent.

joy.

I mean,

they didn't

just indicate

that there

would be

joy at

the arrival

of a

new world,

but they

prophesied

that joy

would characterize

that world.

If you

want to look

at Isaiah

65,

17 through

19 for

an example,

it's

amazing.

the

prophet

writes,

for behold,

I

create

new

heavens

and a

new

earth,

and the

former

things

shall not

be remembered

or come

to mind,

but be

glad and

rejoice

forever

in that

which I

create.

For

behold,

I

create

Jerusalem

to be

a

joy.

and her

people

to be

a

gladness.

What did

God have

in mind?

It's

mind-boggling,

I think.

I mean,

what do you

think of

when you

think of

heaven?

Sitting

at the

beach

a lot?

dutifully

serving?

That's

not the

picture we

get from

the

prophets,

anyway.

I

will

rejoice

in

Jerusalem

and be

glad in

my

people.

No

more

shall

be

heard

in it

the

sound

of

weeping

and

the

cry

of

distress.

It's

an

important

thing

to

realize

this

idea

of

joy

replacing

suffering.

I think

it impacts

us most

because we

know what

suffering is

like.

We

experience

it.

We

spirits it

all our

lives

in one

way or

another.

This

world is

characterized

by

suffering.

And yet

God

promises a

time when

that

suffering

will be

gone

completely.

And I

think it

increases

the joy.

At

least

the

very

understanding

of it.

But this

passage tells

us that

the Lord

is a

God who

rejoices

and he

has

destined

us to

reflect

that

joy.

Now,

though the

prophet spoke

of a day

that is

still to

come,

there's

no doubt

that God

wants you

to experience

this joy

now.

Advent

joy is

a message

of present

joy.

Joy was

a prominent

characteristic

of the

early church.

One

theologian

in the

late

19th

century

declared,

the New

Testament

is the

most

buoyant,

exhilarating,

and joyful

book in

the world.

And in

the pages

of the

New

Testament

we see

joy in

the

New Testament

also directs

us to

rejoice in

the Lord

always.

Philippians

4.4

And it

reminds us

that our

joy in

the midst

of our

troubles

is

inexpressible

and full

of glory.

1 Peter

1.8

Advent

joy

is a

joy that

transcends

all other

joys

because it

is based

on the

goodness

and

greatness

of God

our

Father

and his

Son

and his

Spirit

in their

delight

for each

other

and their

eternal

work

on our

behalf

to

share

in

their

joy.

It's a

relational

joy.

It's a

joy we

share.

It's an

experiential

joy.

It's

observable

and

undeniable.

It's an

effectual

joy.

It

affects the

way we

live and

strengthens

us to

resist

the

pleasures,

the

temporary

pleasures,

the

insignificant

in

comparison

pleasures

that are

all around

us.

And it

is a

lasting

joy,

a joy

that never

ends but

only

increases

for ages

to come.

I believe

God wants

you to

experience

more fully

his great

advent

joy.

The more

you appreciate

why Jesus

had to

come,

why he

came,

how he

came,

I believe

the more

you will

experience

his everlasting

advent

joy.

Now

many

of the

history

of the

church,

philosophers

who have

looked at

the Bible

and Christian

teaching

have

criticized

the Bible's

emphasis

on the

fallenness

of humanity.

They

suggest

that

such a

negative

view

of

human

nature

leads

to

low

self-esteem,

hinders

human

potential

and

progress,

happiness.

Now,

I can

see what

they're

saying

if

there

were

no

God

and

if

there

were

no

solution.

But there

is a

solution.

The baby

born in

Bethlehem

is Christ

the Lord

and became

the atoning

sacrifice

that satisfies

God's

justice

and provides

you with

an undeserved

righteousness

and everlasting

ever

increasing

joy

now

and

forever.

And I

believe this

doesn't just

apply to

salvation.

It applies

to us

in our

daily

lives.

And it's

very helpful

to us

in our

daily

lives.

When you

look at

the world

today,

the ideal

person is

one who's

got it

all

together.

Or at

the very

least can

say,

I've got

this.

that's

the

theme

right?

Of the

modern

individual.

And

it's

contrast

for us

perhaps

are those

who

believe

that the

Christian

life

needs to

be so

solemn

that

there's

no

expression

of joy

or very

little.

And

both

extremes

I think

are misguided.

because

when we

truly

understand

our

need

for

Christ

even

now

it's

not

meant

to

cause

us

to

walk

around

in

gloom

and

doom

but

it's

meant

to

drive

us

to

the

one

who

can

help

us.

And

the

more

we

experience

that

pain

or

frustration

of

failure

and

inadequacy

and

all

those

things

that

we

are

trying

to

get

rid

of

the

more

we

experience

that

the

more

it

should

drive

us

to

the

one

who

is

our

strength.

as

Nehemiah

said

to

those

people

who

were

rejoicing

the

joy

of

the

Lord

is

your

strength.

How

can

you

have

joy

in

suffering?

How

can

you

have

joy

and

feel

miserable

about

your

own

self?

I

don't

know

but

it's

possible

because

we

know

when

we

convince

ourselves

when

we

tell

ourselves

it

doesn't

really

depend

on

me

that

we

can

go

to

God

and

you

know

what

he's

just

delighted

when

we

come

to

him

like

that

and

then

he

answers

us

and

then

we

receive

it

and

then

we're

excited

that

God

came

through

for

us

and

it

helps

us

the

next

time

we

are

in

similar

circumstances

God

wants

us

to

know

our

need

of

Christ

for

salvation

and

for

just

getting

up

in

the

morning

sometimes

he

wants

us

to

know

that

so

that

we

can

experience

and

appreciate

more

deeply

what

he's

done

on

our

behalf

the

gospel

coming

of

Christ

I'd

like

to

close

with

reading

a

quote

or

part

of a

quote

of a

pastor

who

who

aware

of the

possibility

that

some

might

think

that

emphasizing

this

emotional

aspect

of joy

could

result

in

self

absorbed

isolation

among

people

among

the

church

and

he

argued

that

Advent

joy

has

the

opposite

effect

he

wrote

it

is

deep

delight

and

joy

in

the

all

satisfying

beauty

of

Christ

that

stokes

the

white

hot

flame

of

passion

for

the

plight

of

the

nations

that

energizes

the

will

of

man

or

woman

to

make

whatever

sacrifices

are

necessary

to

preserve

a

marriage

that

is

falling

apart

that

empowers

the

human

heart

to

overcome

addictive

behavior

and

sustains

the

soul

in

its

fight

against

sin

and

temptation

that

enables

a

weak

and

broken

soul

to

persevere

when

a

job

is

lost

or a

child

rebels

or a

promise

is

shattered

or a

dream

becomes

nothing

that

encourages

the

timid

and

fearful

heart

to

engage

and

confront

the

the

Christless

culture

in which

we live

with the

good news

of the

gospel

of the

cross

of

Christ

and the

life

of

forgiveness

and hope

that

can only

be found

through

faith

in

Jesus

and

it

is

the

deep

it

is

deep

delight

and

joy

in the

all

satisfying

beauty

of

Christ

that

will

sustain

a

church

through

adversity

and bind

the hearts

of its

people

together

in unity

and love

and mutual

affection

salvation

this

is

the joy

that is

ours

for the

taking

now

and

forever

because

God

has

sent

to

us

his

son

a

savior

who

is

Christ

Jesus

the

Lord

joy

to the

world

indeed

!

to

to

to

to

to

to