Advent Week 3—A Season of Preparation
In our series on Advent, we have considered “Hope” in the prophetic
longing of Israel for their deliverer who came to them that first Christmas
long ago. We next contemplated “Perfect Peace” using Isaiah 26:1-15 and realized
that our definition of peace is too small and too puny to capture the holistic
blessing and completeness of shalom much less “shalom shalom” (perfect peace) that is brought to us by the Prince
of Peace himself. This week we will consider the third topic of Advent, joy!
“For
the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of
righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves
Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.” (Romans 14:17 NIV)
Joy is one of the signs of the kingdom of God, but what is joy? What synonyms might we use for joy if
we were to list them? Perhaps words like cheerfulness, gladness, and happiness
might be suggested.
Many kinds of
joy are reported in the Bible. This makes it difficult to give a simple
definition of joy. Many levels of joy are also described, including gladness,
contentment, and cheerfulness.
1. Natural
Joy in the Kingdom of God:
“The LORD reigns; let the
earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad!” (Psalm 97:1)
Natural Joy is a delight of the mind, a
positive attitude or pleasant emotion arising from the consideration of a
present or assured possession of a future good (i.e., you have received it
already or you are going to get it.). It is this natural joy that uses most of
our synonyms:- When this joy is moderate it is called gladness.
- When raised suddenly to the highest degree it is exultation or transport.
- When our desires are limited by our possessions it is contentment. (When our desires are not limited it is not joy but rather ambition, greed, or envy).
- The joy that comes when high desires are accomplished is satisfaction.
- The joy that comes from vanquished opposition we call triumph.
- When joy has so long possessed our mind that it is our temperament, we call it cheerfulness.
This all is natural joy. However, that is not the only kind of joy in the
kingdom.
2.
Moral Joy in the Kingdom of God:
“Well done good and faithful servant,
...enter into the joy of your master” (Matt. 25:21, 23)
There is a moral joy,
which is a sense of self‑acceptance or approval, or that which arises from serving
well. C.S. Lewis wrote,
"Pleasure
in being praised is not Pride. The child who is patted on the back for doing a
lesson well, ...the saved soul to whom Christ says "Well done," is
pleased and ought to be. For here the pleasure
is not in what you are but in the fact that you pleased someone you wanted (and
rightly wanted) to please. The trouble
begins when you pass from thinking, 'I have pleased him; all is well," to
thinking, "What a fine person I must be to have done it.'"[1]
The movie, The Nativity, for all its historical inaccuracies
does do some things very well and one of them is capturing the sense of how great
a gift it was for the shepherds to be included in the plan of God—to know they
were not forgotten or excluded! They mattered to God though no one considered
them. The shepherds could find satisfaction if not sleep, for they did as they
had been told! Yet beyond natural and moral joy, there is an essential spiritual
joy in God’s kingdom.
3. Spiritual
joy in the Kingdom of God:
“You make known
to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of
joy...” (Psa. 16:11)
There is a joy
that only comes from the Lord and it strengthens us. One example in the Bible
is in Nehemiah 8:9-11 where the exiles who had returned to the land were
enabled to complete (lit. shalom)
building the wall around Jerusalem and then called for the Law of God to be read to
them, but when it was read they were overwhelmed by the love of God and by their own
shortcomings. However, Nehemiah was instructed to encourage them for “the Joy
of the Lord is your strength!”
And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and
scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day
is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept as
they heard the words of the Law. Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the
fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for
this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is
your strength.” So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be quiet, for
this day is holy; do not be grieved.”
Psalm 16:7-11 makes
it clear that it is in God’s presence that there is fullness of joy
I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.
I have set the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
in the night also my heart instructs me.
I have set the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is
glad, and my whole being rejoices;
my flesh also dwells secure.
For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
or let your holy one see corruption.
my flesh also dwells secure.
For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
or let your holy one see corruption.
You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
A. Spiritual
joy is a "fruit of the Spirit" (Gal. 5:22-23)
“But the fruit of the
Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
self-control; against such things there is no law.”
What are some of the antonyms or opposites of joy? We listed words such as... sorrow, grief, anger, frustration,
depression, bitterness, envy, perfectionism, etc.
Why are so many
Christians not joyful considering that they have been saved from their sins and
made alive towards God, not to mention being adopted into God’s family and invited
to enter into the heavenly relationship of divine love. Sherwood Elliot Wirt
explained,
“The reason so
many earnest, sincere believers are failing to find joy in their Christian life
is that they are not filled with the Holy Spirit. And the reason they are not filled with
the Holy Spirit is that they are occupied with all the unholy spirits–that is
to say, the negative attitudes– and these spirits monopolize the believer’s
time and effort: hostility, resentment, fear, bitterness, envy, revenge,
antagonism, arrogance, self-love . . .
The list goes on and on. How can one enjoy the fullness of the Holy
Spirit, who is God, when one is filled with everything else?
To be filled with the Holy Spirit is to
be filled with love. Love is the first fruit of the Spirit, and the second
fruit is joy. Jesus taught that for us to feel that love and have that joy, we
have to become poor in spirit.”[2]
Some British
speaker once said, “Joy is the flag that flies over the castle of our hearts
announcing that the king is in residence today.” [A reference to the practice
at Buckingham Palace]. We must remember that this joy is relational and is tied
to the presence of the Lord Jesus himself!
B. Joy
is not merely an emotion, but a characteristic of the Christian.
Bruce
Larson writes,
“Joy is the surest sign of the presence of God.” Pierre Teilhard
de Chardin…The bottom line is simply this: grimness
is not a Christian virtue. There are no sad saints. If God is really the
center of one’s life and being, joy is inevitable. If we have no joy, we have
missed the heart of the Good News and our bodies as much as our souls suffer
the consequences. [3]
I love Larson's reminder about grimness! It is time that we remember, or learn for the first time, the reasons we have for joy! Years ago I wrote a poem that contained the lines,
"Joy is too bright with Heaven’s light to
be dimmed
with discouragement.
Peace is too filled with quietness and
confidence to be broken
with contentiousness."
C. This
joy is permanent, commanded, and mind-blowing (John 16:22; Phil. 4:4; 1 Pet. 1:8).
- No one will take you joy. John 16:22 says, “So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.”
- We are commanded to rejoice in God and not just when things are going as we desire. Philippians 4:4 “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice… the Lord is at hand!
- The joy of the Lord is humanly inexpressible! 1 Peter 1:8-9 reads, “Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
So, if joy can’t be taken away, then what
must be the object of our joy? Here are several:
a.
God
Himself (Ps. 43:3-4; Isa. 61:10);
b.
God’s
promises (Phil. 3:3; 1 Pet. 1:8);
c.
The
Gospel message & Forgiveness (1 John 1:9; Acts 8:8);
d.
The
prosperity of Christ's kingdom (Acts 15:3; Rev. 11:15,17);
e.
The
happiness of a future state (Ps. 16:9‑11; Rom. 5:2; 15:13
D. Spiritual joy is holy and
pure for it focuses on the very character of God.
“The fact is, joy is an
attribute of God himself. It has the authentic stamp of the ultimate. It brings
with it–pleasure, gladness, and delight. Joy is merriment without frivolity,
hilarity without raucousness, and mirth without being tasteless. Joy radiates
animation, sparkle, and buoyancy. It is more than fun, yet it has fun. It
expresses itself in laughter and elation, yet it draws from a deep spring that
keeps flowing long after the laughter has died and the tears have come. Even
while it joins those who mourn, it remains cheerful in a world that has gone
gray with grief and worry.”[4]
Now let’s look at our major text for
today, Luke 2:8-18
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 a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And
suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God
and saying,
“Glory
to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he
is pleased!”
When
the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another,
“Let
us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord
has made known to us.”
And
they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.
And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them
concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told
them.
How quickly joy broke forth once fear
was banished. There is an old J-O-Y outline that helps remind us of the
response of the shepherds to the angel’s message of Good News!
- J: Jesus. Without hesitation, the shepherds went to see their newborn Savior. We too need to put Jesus first this Christmas season (and always) by giving of our time and our worship. His love changes us.
- O: Others. What did the shepherds do with the good news? They shared it! A person who has been changed by Jesus puts the needs of others above their own.
- Y: You. Have you allowed the love of Jesus to change you? He wants to fill your life with his joy, the fullness of joy that comes from his presence in our lives!
May you experience the peace of knowing Jesus as your Savior this Christmas. May you spend
this season in a spirit of joy and anticipation of Jesus’ return. As it is
written,
“May the
God of hope fill you with all joy
and peace in believing,
so that
by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” (Rom. 15:13)
Other verses about joy for you to study:
- Philippians 1:25-26; 2:1-2; 2:17; 3:1; 4:4
- Romans 5:2-3; 12:12, 15
- 2 Corinthians 7:13
- 1 Thessalonians 5:16
- 1 Peter 1:8; 4:13
- Acts 5:41
- James 1:2,12; 5:11
- Matthew 5:11‑12
- Hebrews 12:2
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