God Promised Joy

Good morning, church. I want to welcome you to worship on this Advent Sunday. We are in the middle of a sermon series called The Promise. We have been discovering the many promises of God that are fulfilled in the birth of Jesus Christ. The Christmas season is when we celebrate all that is available to us through Jesus. These are the themes of Advent, which are hope, peace, joy, and love. The first week, we discovered that God’s promised hope came in the form of a person. Jesus meets our deepest longings and is the hope for our present and our future. The second week we looked at the promise of peace that was given to the lowly shepherds. There would be a new government that would come, and it would bring peace to the world. Today we are taking a look at the third theme of Advent: JOY. Thank you all for the Joyful Christmas music this morning!

Story: Christmas is truly the most wonderful time oftheyear. I love everything about it. I love gathering with friends and family to celebrate. I love eating Christmas cookies and drinking eggnog. I love putting up the tree and Christmas decorations, the lights and music. But what I love most is giving gifts to others. I know many people look forward to opening presents and seeing what is under the tree for them, but over the years, especially as a dad, I find such joy in watching others open gifts that I have picked out, wrapped up, and laid under the tree. I can’t wait to share that joy with others. Often when Cindi and I have finished shopping I want to go out and get more presents so the stockings are full and overflowing!

Have you noticed when someone really finds joy in something, it is hard to hide it. The things that bring you joy are the things that you want to share with the others. It is just in our nature to want others to share happiness with us. It is no wonder then that we find that in Scripture, that God is eager to share the joy of Christ’s birth, even before it was time for Him to arrive. The incarnation, which is Jesus’s birth or God coming to the earth as a human, is the greatest gift that has ever been given. You can almost sense God’s excitement for the hope, peace, joy, and love that would come through His arrival.

1: JESUS’ BIRTH IS THE SOURCE OF TRUE JOY.

Again we are in the book of Isaiah. The prophet Isaiah speaks often about this coming gift. There is a prophecy given about someone who would come to prepare the world for the arrival of Jesus. This passage was written hundreds of years before its fulfillment, and it is one of God’s joyful promises about the future.

Let me READ Isaiah 40:3–5.

God promises that there will be a time of preparation before Christ’s birth. There will be a straightening and a leveling that will take place, ensuring that the glory of God in Jesus would be made available to all people. When I read these verses, I can sense the joy that God has to share with the world that what was once broken by sin will be made right. The truth is that preparation is key to fully enjoying any great event.

The promise in the Old Testament is that the people of God will see this preparation take place. God does not want them to miss it because it is the signpost for what is to come. Any barriers that are in the way to experiencing the joy of the miraculous birth are removed. There is no desert, no mountain, no valley, no rugged place that will stand in the way of the revelation of Christ the Messiah.

We come across a character in the New Testament named Zechariah a priest. Like Simeon, he serves in the temple of God helping others worship. Maybe they knew each other well. Scripture doesn’t tell us. But we find Zechariah in the temple burning incense in worship while people are praying outside.

READ Luke 1:11–17.

While Zechariah was serving in the temple, suddenly an angel of the Lord was speaking to him. He was startled and gripped with fear. Like other interactions with angels in the Christmas stories, the first word given to him is not to be afraid. Meeting an angel face to face was an awesome and fearsome thing. Apparently, Zechariah and his wife, Elizabeth, had been praying for a child,and their prayers are being answered. They will give birth to a son, and they are to name him John. The angel says, “He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth.” This child will be filled with the Spirit of God, and he will be kept free from wine and fermented drink because he would take a Nazarite vow to serve God all of his life. These vows meant he would refuse drinking alcohol, cutting his hair, or coming in contact with dead bodies.

Clearly, this boy was special, and God had plans to use him to bring joy to his family and to the entire world by the way he would live. Because of his life, there would be many who would be brought back to the Lord. Because of his life, he would prepare people for something wonderful that was about to happen.

You can see the connections between the Isaiah passage and this story in Luke in verse 17. This baby boy will prepare the people for the arrival of the Lord. John will be a joy to his family and a joy to the world because he will be the one calling in the wilderness and making a way for the arrival of the promised Messiah, the Son of God.

2: IT IS A JOY TO SHARE GOD’S PLAN

One of the greatest joys of the Christmas season is the opportunity we are given to prepare the way for others to see Jesus for who He really is. The most joyful people during this time of year are the ones who have experienced the hope and peace of God in their lives because of their trust in Jesus. The way they speak to others, the way they serve others, the way they treat others are all a means of preparing the way for others to meet Jesus.

This joy is a commodity that is in short supply in our world. People all around us, maybe some of you, feel miserable. You may be over your heads with involvement in sin. You may be feeling heartbroken over the pains of life. Things are not going the way you expected. You thought things would be getting better by now. Easier. Maybe you feel are hopeless as you face real suffering. Like there is no end in sight. Now is the time for finding and sharing the joy of Jesus with the world.

What is one way you can sacrificially bring joy to those around you? How can your life be a beacon of hope because of your love for Jesus? This was John’s call for his life,and it is ours as well.

But Zechariah’s response to the message given to him by the angel comes with a consequence.

READ Luke 1:18–20.

Zechariah is skeptical of the good news given by the angel. He and his wife,Elizabeth, are old, and the prospect of having a child was slim. Because of his unbelief and distrust, he is silenced and unable to speak until the time comes for John to be born. Even though the good news of a God who comes to us in the flesh to rescue us may seem too good to be true, our response should be marked by deep faith and joy. When we trust God, we want to share Him with others.

READ Luke 1:39-42

Mary went to visit her cousin Elizabeth. And Mary also happens to be pregnant and will soon give birth to a boy, and that boy will be named Jesus. Jesus and John are cousins, and from the time they were in their mothers’ wombs, they were connected by the Spirit of God. Verse 41 says John leaps for joy in Elizabeth’s womb when His Messiah still in Mary’s womb entered the house. How’s that for a clear declaration of life beginning at conception. Not only did these babies have life and identity, but they were aware of each other. We had five cousins in our family pregnant this year. Two girls have already been born with three more coming early next year – including our second grandson. There is joy in new life!

Fast-forwarding to the birth of this promised boy, all the family had gathered together to share in this miraculous birth. So, the time has come for John to be born into the world.

READ Luke 1:57–66.

When the baby is born, there is a familiar discussion that takes place. What to name the new baby? Everyone expected them to name him after his father, Zechariah;however, both Elizabeth and Zechariah agreed that his name was to be “John,”just as the angel foretold.

John’s name in the Greek means “graced by God” or “Jehovah has been gracious.”This name that is given to the boy speaks volumes to the joy that surrounds his life. God has been gracious to Elizabeth and Zechariah by giving them a son. God has also been gracious because through John’s life, the world will be prepared for the coming of the Messiah and Savior, Jesus Christ.

3: OUR JOY COMES FROM THE GRACE OF GOD

The relatives all celebrated John’s birth, and they shared in Elizabeth’s joy. John’s life is surrounded by joy, and that joy is in the Lord’s work among them. Zechariah is still unable to speak, but he writes the name “John”in agreement. And upon his obedient pronouncement of the boy’s name, he is once again able to speak. His first response is rejoicing, and he praises God.

When the word spread about John’s amazing birth and Zechariah’s recovered speech, everyone over the Judean countryside was in awe and wondered what amazing things John would do with his life.

The grace that covered John’s birth and life is the same grace that is given to us free of charge. We could never earn God’s grace – His forgiveness of our sins. It is a gift that is given to us through Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection. We should be people marked by joy because of this grace given to us. When we live our lives from this place, word spreads quickly and people are in awe of the miraculous birth of Christ at Christmas. God’s greatest gift to earth was sending His Son Jesus to be our Savior. Have you accepted this gift?

CONCLUSION

Will you decide to live with joy as a testimony to the good news of Christ’s birth? Joy comes from trusting God and His promises. We choose joy instead of choosing worry, despair, or disappointment in our immediate situation.

Are you someone who is known for displaying joy? Ask your family or close friends if they think of joy when they think of you.

Are you someone who knows the joys that come at Christmas? What is one way you can display the good news of this season by the way you live your life?

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