Joy
12-15-24
There are a lot of words and phrases that are somewhat unique to Christmastime, or at least we use them more this time of year. As we looked at last week, one of those words is angel. Angels are heavenly messengers who played a key role in the Christmas story. An angel appeared to Zacharias to announce that he and Elizabeth would have a son who would be John the Baptist. Angels also appeared to both Joseph and Mary announcing the birth of the Messiah. Shepherds were also blessed with an angelic appearance when they were told about the birth of Jesus. An angel appeared to the magi and the holy family received two messages from angels following the birth of Christ.
Another word that is in use a little more than normal this time of year is the word joy. Many people think that God is the great kill-joy. Nothing could be further from the truth. God Himself knows joy and He wants His people to know joy as well. Joy is a word that just kind of sums up the Christmas story. We didn't sing it this morning, but one of the most popular and well known Christmas carols is Joy to the World.
There was joy in the first Christmas story associated with the birth of John the Baptist. Luke 1:11-14. Zacharias and Elizabeth were childless. At the time of this story, they were old and past child bearing age. They had wanted to have children, but by this time had no doubt given up hope of that ever happening. So this news certainly was a joyful announcement for them.
Not only was John's birth good news for this elderly couple, but it was also going to be good news for a lot of other people. Their child was going to be the forerunner to the Messiah. The people had long been expecting and anticipating the coming of God's Savior. John was a key aspect of Christ's earthly ministry and he was part of the good news of salvation that came with the birth of Jesus. People would rejoice because John would turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God in preparation for the Messiah's imminent arrival.
There was joy in the first Christmas story associated with the coming Messiah. Luke 1:39-45. Elizabeth had been pregnant with John for about six months when Mary became pregnant with Jesus. Mary and Elizabeth were related and Mary went to visit her before either son was born. When Mary entered where Elizabeth was, John leaped in Elizabeth's womb for joy.
John's role in the Messiah's earthly ministry was to prepare the way and help the people be ready for Christ's message of repentance. He was not only to be the forerunner to Jesus but he would also be the herald of the Messiah. This silent prophecy of him leaping in his mother's womb was his first announcement that Jesus was coming. The joy that began in his mother's womb would set the tone for John's entire life and ministry.
There was joy in the first Christmas story as the announcement of the birth of Jesus started to spread around the countryside. Luke 2:8-11. After Jesus was born, an angel appeared to shepherds who were out in the fields taking care of their flocks. The angel's announcement was one of joy. The good news of the gospel is that God sent the Savior to redeem sinners. That news produces great joy. Peter in his epistle describes salvation joy as inexpressible and full of glory. When we experience salvation and forgiveness through grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, we certainly experience inexpressible joy.
There was joy in the first Christmas story in regards to the appearance of the magi. Matt. 2:7-12. The Magi had seen the star that God miraculously put in the sky to direct them to where His Son was. They travelled a long distance and when they finally saw the King of kings, they rejoiced exceedingly. They weren't just happy or even just joyful. They rejoiced exceedingly. It seems almost as if Matthew was at a loss for words to describe their ecstasy. He piled up superlatives to emphasize the extent of the exhilaration they felt.
Let's back up a little bit at this point. What exactly is joy? Webster's Dictionary defines joy as "the emotion evoked by well-being, success or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires." At its very basis, joy is an emotion, a reaction to good things that happen to us or by experiencing things that we like. There is joy at the birth of a newborn baby; we are joyful when we receive a promotion and a raise at work; we experience joy when our team wins a championship. Joy is found in the good things of life. When life is going as we think it should and we are experiencing what we consider good things, we have joy.
In some ways, joy is an inner, private emotion. When we are filled with joy, it is often something that only we are aware of. Others may or may not be aware that we are feeling joy at the moment. There are some outward indications of the joy in our hearts, but whether it's visible or not, we certainly do experience joy in our inner being.
But joy is also an outward response. Joy can be manifest outwardly when we're smiling a little more, or if there's a spring in our step or a song in our voice. We might even act happier than we do at other times. Many times, that outward response is played out with others. When we're at a game and things are going well, we all scream and yell and cheer together as a fan base. When we're at a birthday party or Christmas party, we are having fun and sharing the joy in our hearts outwardly, together with others.
That is very similar to how the Bible defines joy. Ultimately, joy is the fruit of a right relationship with God. It is not something that people can create by their own efforts. Believer's joy is produced within by the Holy Spirit and is one of the fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians. The Bible distinguishes joy from pleasure. Pleasure is self-centered pleasure-seeking. Sadly, for people who are determined to seek pleasure above all else, the truth of the matter is that self-indulgent pleasure does not lead to happiness, fulfillment or joy.
But when we seek God we do find true joy. Biblical joy can be an inner, private emotion. There is inner joy when we think of God's saving acts in our lives. There is inner joy when we mediate on our relationship with God. There is inner joy when we think of God's Word and the promises that He makes to us. Haven't you ever been reading the Word and all of a sudden a verse just kind of jumps out at you? It may be a verse you've read a hundred times but for whatever reason on that particular occasion, God's Spirit convicts you of something that you need to respond to. Even if it's some sin that you need to repent of, there is joy in our inner being when we hear a word from the Lord.
There is inner joy when we focus on the sacrificial death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is inner joy when we look expectantly to what God will do to us and through us over the course of our lives. There is also inner joy when we contemplate and think about God's promises of the home in heaven that He has already prepared for us.
But Biblical joy is also something that is expressed outwardly. There is outward joy any time we gather in God's house for worship. There is outward joy when we sing praises to God for who He is. There is outward joy when we pray together. There is outward joy when we give faithfully and obediently of our finances. There is outward joy when we express gratitude to God for His abundant provision in our lives. There is outward joy when we respond publicly to God's Word. There is outward joy when we fellowship together, when we laugh together, and when we enthusiastically commit ourselves to God's leading in our lives.
Joy in the Christian life is in direct proportion to the believer's walk with the Lord. When you are walking closely with Him, there is going to be joy produced in your life regardless of your circumstances. If you are not walking closely with the Lord, then you are going to find that there is a definite lack of joy in your life, no matter how good things might seem on the outside.
I have shared this before, but one of the ways that God worked in my life to draw me to Himself was a lack of joy and a lack of contentment in my life. I was a senior in college and everything in my life on the outside was good. I had no major problems, I actually didn't even have any minor problems. But I was miserable. There was nothing I could do to produce joy in my life on my own. But as soon as I was saved, there was instant joy that I can't even begin to describe.
Joy in the Lord enables people to enjoy all that God has given to us. There is joy found in family. Prov. 5:18. We are to rejoice in our families; in our spouses; in our children; even with our in-laws. Things aren't always perfect in those relationships. Husbands and wives have fights; kids disappoint us; sometimes extend families are more of a negative than a positive in our lives. But through it all and in the end, the families that God has blessed us with are sources of joy and we need to look at them that way and enjoy whatever time we have as long as we can, because we never know when things might change.
We can also rejoice in food. 1 Tim. 4:3-5. Paul is telling his young pastor friend Timothy here that everything created by God is good, and that includes the food that we eat. That doesn't mean it's OK for us to overeat and be gluttonous, that is a sin. But it is OK for us to enjoy the good foods that God has blessed us with. I don't know about you, but I like food. I like pizza; I like burgers; I like ice cream and of course, I like apple pie. There are also foods I don't like. I don't like coconut; I don't like weird, exotic foreign foods; I don't like tomatoes. Find joy in the foods that you like and eat and find joy in the fact that you don't have to eat the food you don't like.
We should also find joy in fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Phil. 4:1. Paul here is expressing the joy that he feels towards his fellow believers in the church at Philippi. We should find joy and we should look forward to coming to church and gathering together with other believers in the Lord. God made us to need one another; fellowship is vital to our spiritual health and well-being. Being able to fellowship together should be a source of great joy in our lives.
Romans 12:15 says we are to rejoice with those who rejoice and to weep with those who weep. When we are united in fellowship with our spiritual brothers and sisters, we share all of life together, both the joys and the sorrows, and that is one of the great sources of joy we experience as Christians.
We said that joy is an emotion evoked by well-being, success or good fortune. But joy in the Lord is something that is also experienced in the midst of persecution. 1 Peter 1:6-9. We can rejoice in persecution because we know whom we belong to and we know that we cannot and will not ever lose our salvation. Just like many other spiritual character qualities that are ours as children of Almighty God, true joy provides us with inexpressible joy and is completely unaffected by the outward circumstances of life.
No matter what happens to us; no matter how bad things might get in this life we still have joy. God gives us joy when we lose a loved one; we have joy when we're laid off from a job; there is even joy when your favorite team stinks for years on end. Because of the Holy Spirit's presence and working in our lives, we can have joy even if we're being persecuted for our faith and even if we are faced with the prospect of being killed because we love the Lord Jesus Christ. We can always experience joy because joy is a product of God working in our lives. Because of God working in our lives, we have a salvation that can never be lost. Since joy is a product of our salvation that can never be lost, our joy can never be lost either.
Joy to the world, the Lord has come. The birth of Jesus Christ helped to provide for all true believers genuine joy in our lives. Without the Messiah coming to the earth as a man, we would all be lost in our sins. If we were lost in our sins, there would be no true joy because it is a work and by-product of God's Spirit within us. But since Jesus did come and we do have forgiveness for our sins and salvation for our souls, we can experience joy in our lives.
Are you experiencing joy in your life? If that is something that you feel is missing right now, I would encourage you to examine your heart to see what it is that might be stealing your joy. It could be that you don't truly know Jesus as your Lord and Savior. It could be that you are allowing negative outward circumstances to make you feel down and joyless. Whatever it is that you may be dealing with at this moment, now is the time to confess; now is the time to repent; now is the time to do whatever you need to in order to live with true joy all the time.
As our singer and musician come now, we invite you to respond publicly to whatever it is that God is doing in and through your life. If you need to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior; if you need to follow in believer's baptism; if you need to join the church; if you need to publicly re-dedicate your life to the Lord, we invite you to come now and share with me whatever God has laid on your heart as we stand and as we sing.
Prayer.