Series: “Longing for Christmas”
Part 3
“Experiencing Joy”
Pastor Jerry
Matthew 11:2-6
————————————- Message Synopsis ————————————-
“Are you ready for Christmas?” Giving gifts at Christmastime is a beautiful tradition, there is something special about expressing our love with a special holiday gift. However, the real meaning of Christmas is not giving, right? Actually, no. Christmas is so much more than that.
So then, the real meaning of Christmas is about the people in your life that you love – right?
As much as I feel the importance of loved ones every Christmas, no, that’s not the real meaning of Christmas. Many people love their friends and family, but who do not celebrate Christmas.
Okay, so what is the real meaning of Christmas? Well, the real meaning of Christmas is something higher and infinitely better than giving and being with loved ones. But I am going to wait a bit latter to give you my answer to that question.
So, I must ask you again, “Are you ready for Christmas?” People are getting their gifts together to give away at Christmas. You know, however, that the greatest gifts of all at Christmas are the gifts that God gives to us: Hope, Peace, Joy…Love! Today we’re going to take a look together at God’s Gift of Joy and how God wants to give you and me an incredible Joy that we can live our lives with.
Do you have this “Joy” today that God wants to give to you? You know it is easy to write off joy as something that’s just not possible for our lives. We look at a verse like 1 Thessalonians 5:16 “Always be joyful.” If you’ve had a particularly tough week, when you hear a verse like that doesn’t it bug you? Maybe you came in today feeling bad. You don’t have any joy.
We sang “Joy to the World” as our opening song this morning. That means everyone and everywhere. Is that really possible (with the pandemic, with the cost of living sky rocketing, with gun violence)—joy in this world? There are a couple of things that keep us from feeling like that’s a possibility. Things that you and I face on a daily basis…
- The bad that shouldn’t happen.
A lot of the bad things that happen in our lives, we bring them on ourselves. But there are bad things that happen to us and in this world that just shouldn’t happen. We didn’t bring it on ourselves. Because of that we wonder, “Can joy really be mine in this world?”
- The good that doesn’t happen.
The good things that we want to happen that don’t happen in our lives. The dream that we’ve had that doesn’t seem to be able to come true. The prayer that we pray that doesn’t seem to get answered, at least not the way we wanted it to get answered.
The other day when I was searching for a Christmas card, I saw a card that I thought Vonda might buy me. (We’re always teasing each other). On the outside it read: “Sweetheart, you’re the answer to my prayers.” Then inside, it said this: “You’re not what I prayed for exactly, but apparently you’re the answer.”
John the Baptist had been praying for the Messiah his whole life. John’s idea of Jesus was someone who would, preach fire and brimstone. John was confused. Jesus wasn’t like he thought He would be. He sent some of his disciples to ask Jesus if he was the one to come. Jesus wasn’t exactly what John had prayed for. We sometimes have a hard time seeing Jesus for whom He really is. Because we have our own ideas of whom Jesus should be. We might need Jesus to answer that question for us today too, “Are you the One?”
The message of Christmas is, because of Jesus you can choose to be a joyful person. It’s a choice. It’s something that must be chosen in our lives. But, “How?” You don’t automatically become joyful because you read the Bible more. How does it happen? How do you choose joy? We’ve got to focus on what only God can do, the joy that He can bring. Then, you will see how you can move from where you are to genuine joy in this world.
We’re going to let the Bible show us how to get from here to there today, let some guys who were part of the first Christmas – the shepherds. God brought them a message of joy. They made some choices, some of the same kind of choices that you and I can make today that bring joy into our lives. Three choices that result in joy…
- CHOOSE TO HEAR THE GOOD NEWS.
Have you ever been really down and the phone rings and you answer it and it’s some good news? All of a sudden, your spirits are lifted. That’s the power that good news has to bring joy into our lives. It’s the kind of thing that happened to these shepherds the first Christmas. Luke 2:10 says, “But the angel said to them…‘I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.’” Not just for the shepherds but for all who hear. God wants to bring you today that message of joy. What’s the good news? That Jesus has come.
The Good News is that Jesus Christ came to tell us that God loves us, offers forgiveness and to make a difference in the direction of our life. That is the Good News that Jesus Christ came to bring.
Romans 1:16 tells us how good this good news really is when it says, “I am not ashamed of this good news about Christ. It is God’s powerful method of bringing all who believe it to heaven. Now everyone is invited to come to God in this same way.” The Good News is that God has invited you to have a new relationship with Him. That’s what Christmas is saying. God is calling you. He called to tell you “I love you…I want to forgive you and help you in your life.”
But you may look at your life and say, “My life is full of problems. Where is there any good news in that?” James 1:2-3 “Dear brothers and sisters whenever trouble comes your way let it be an opportunity for joy for when your faith is tested your endurance has a chance to grow.” Joy isn’t in the troubles. The joy is in the fact that God can work even through the struggles of life as I put my faith in Jesus. That’s the good news. Joy is not having perfect circumstances. Otherwise none of us could have joy. The truth is that God is working even in the midst of the problems. The shepherds teach us that. They also teach us a second thing about where joy comes from. It starts when you listen to the good news…
- JOY CONTINUES WHEN YOU CHOOSE TO DO WHAT GOD SAYS.
These shepherds heard God tell them to go and find a baby, laying in a manger. They did. And when they did, they found joy. Luke 2:15 says, “When the angel had left them and went 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.’” Why did they go? Because they believed what God said! They trusted what God had said.
Yet, there are a lot of us that have not trusted what God has said. You hear God say to you “Trust Me with your life.” But you don’t. I’m here to tell you this morning that it’s never too late to trust Him. Today may be your day to trust Him again. Christmas is the time that joy can happen in our lives. John 16:24 “Until now you’ve not asked for anything in My name. Ask and you will receive and your joy will be complete.” The key is “ask.” What do you need to ask God for this Christmas? Joy happens in our lives when you and I decide to do what God has said to do.
Joy comes when you hear the good news. Joy comes when you do what God says to do. Then there’s a third thing these shepherds remind us of.
III. JOY COMES WHEN YOU CHOOSE TO TELL SOMEONE ELSE.
We can bring joy into the life of another by the things that we do and the words that we say.
Good News is not to be hidden. It needs to be shared. These shepherds immediately shared the good news about what God is doing. Luke 2:17 “When they’d seen Him (the baby Jesus) they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child.” They went out and immediately told everybody else.
It’s what you and I need to do. With joy we need to tell what God is doing in our lives. Tell someone in your family, at work, at school. If you care about them, you want them to know and to experience the same good news that God wants for you.
Invite a family member or friend to come to church with you this Christmas. People want to be asked. They want to be in church at Christmas. Luke 15 tells us why there’s such a burst of joy when we tell the good news to other people. “I tell you there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who changes his heart and life than over ninety-nine good people who don’t need to change.” The joy of telling the good news is the joy of telling someone everything can change. Not every circumstance, but everything about you can change.
Okay, I told you I would tell you what is the real meaning of Christmas? Earlier, I said the real meaning of Christmas is something higher and infinitely better than giving and being with those we love.
Christmas is about totally unconditional, inconceivably awesome, self-denying …TRUE LOVE. The apostle John said the word gospel means Good News. He wrote: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
God’s greatest gift is: the blessing of Joy that came with the birth of His son. Christmas is about Christ! The center of all that we do this Christmas season should go all the way back to the manger and the birth of Jesus. There will be no gift that we can ever give or receive that will touch what God gave to all of us. Jesus… is the real meaning of Christmas and it fills our hearts and our lives and the world with real joy!