The Joyous Kingdom (Luke 2:8-14)

Advent Week 3—A Season of Preparation

After reading Psalm 126 during worship our hearts were focused on the joy that is characteristic of the kingdom of God—where God is reigning there is great joy!

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.

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.

You make known to me the path of life;
    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.

But the joy which the people of God should have is holy and pure. This joy rises above circumstances and focuses on the very character of God. In the Psalms, for example, the psalmist rejoices over God's righteousness (71:14‑16), salvation (21:1; 71:23), mercy (31:7), creation (148:5), word (119:14, 162), and faithfulness (33:1‑6). God's characteristics as well as His acts are the cause of rejoicing. This kind of joy is distinct from mere happiness. Joy like this is possible, even during sorrow (2 Cor. 7:4). It is not affected by circumstances no matter how painful they may be. In fact, joy may be the outcome of suffering for Christ’s sake (Col. 1:24).

“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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           [1] C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, [New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1943], 112.

[2] Sherwood Elliot Wirt, Jesus Man of Joy, [Thomas Nelson Pub. 1991], 70.

     [3] Bruce Larson, in There’s a lot more to being healthy than not being Sick.

[4] Wirt, Jesus Man of Joy, 74.

The Lord is With You…Yes, You!

[This post is also found on my Compelled2 blog.] 
As followers of Jesus, we celebrate Christmas in remembrance of his birth “long-ago in a Galilee far away” as the internet meme proclaims. Jesus is the One through whom God has revealed his righteousness, worked salvation and made it known! We cannot help but declare his praise along with the psalmist,

Oh sing to the Lord a new song,
    for he has done marvelous things!
His right hand and his holy arm
    have worked salvation for him.
The Lord has made known his salvation;
    he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations.
He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness
    to the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
    the salvation of our God. (Psalm 98:1-3)

Perhaps you heard many Christmas sermons this year as well as reading or listening to plenty of Christmas devotionals. Sure the decorations are down now but I would like to consider how the birth of Christ reaches out to the poor, the working poor, travelers and refugees alike, who too often consider themselves excluded from sharing in the joy of Christ in the church.

I want to share with you the familiar verses from Luke 1-2 and a few simple thoughts that we considered in our Christmas Eve service this year about how to respond when God comes near and begins to reveal his will for your life.

1. “Strange Greetings” (Luke 1:26-29 ESV)

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.

Gabriel said to Mary, “Greetings O favored one, The Lord is with you!” (Luke 1:28)

The greeting was strange! Mary was “greatly troubled” and couldn’t figure out what kind of greeting this was. Certainly, I would think that angelic greetings would be startling, but Mary was blown away and was trying to read between the lines and reconcile the message with her circumstances…perhaps asking questions such as:

• What do I have to rejoice about?
• How could God be with us, a sinful people? How will sin be dealt with?
• Wait…isn’t this the kind of greeting Gideon received not far from this very spot?

Perhaps you didn’t get that last question, but Mary was well versed in her knowledge of the Scriptures and perhaps it was that similarity to Judges 6 that caused her concern as she waited for the other sandal to drop. For those of us without familiarity with the story of Gideon, let’s read Judges 6:11-16:

Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.” 

And Gideon said to him, “Please, sir, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.” 

And the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?” 

And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.” 

And the Lord said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.”

When Israel needed to be delivered from its oppressors, the Lord heard their cry and commissioned Gideon to lead them to victory…beginning with the admonition,  “The Lord is with you…”. Now, do you see why this got Mary’s attention?

Ironically, the Lord was with her and she was going to carry the child who would be called Immanuel. So what does "Immanuel" mean? It simply means “God with us” (Matthew 1:22-23) and it is the answer to the cry of our heart...individually and collectively whether we know it or not. As believers, our community comes from the presence of God as does our witness. It is not based on our personal impressiveness, wealth, or social standing as the Apostle Paul pointed out to the church in Corinth (1 Cor. 1:26-31).

God is with us. In the incarnation (God the Son coming in a physical body) God has made a permanent link with his creation. The scope of this goes way beyond this short reflection. Suffice it to say, God is all in, he is with us to the end…which is much brighter for his having come to us!

2. Don't Be Afraid (Luke 1:30-31)

And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 

This is the second dose of “fear not” in Luke 1 (Zechariah got one). It is rare for an angel to not lead with the “Fear not!” line. Sometimes when God calls us to respond to him in faith, we are afraid and our fear is quick to make excuses for us:

• I’m not good enough.
• I don’t have anything to offer.
• It is too good to be true for the likes of me.

Well, long ago the Lord spoke through the prophet Micah about a “too little” town that felt how we saw that Gideon felt and perhaps you feel as well…

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
    who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
    one who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose coming forth is from of old,
    from ancient days… (Micah 5:2)

Does the thought of God speaking to us average people in the little wooden church by the laundromat in the bad part of town and calling us to be part of something with cosmic ramifications scare us? Yep…pretty much! But the messenger of God says to us as to Mary, “Don’t be afraid.” The basis of our courage is the love of God for us, and his presence with us!

3. Know the Power of God (Luke 1:34-37)

And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 

And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.”

To her credit, Mary didn’t doubt that the Lord could do what he said, nor did she argue over being chosen. Her question was simply because she didn’t understand how the Lord would work it out. It seemed impossible since she was a virgin, but as the angel answered, “Nothing will be impossible with God.” I think we could also say that nothing God has said will fail. This One who was to be born was the power of God working to shepherd and protect his people. He is our peace.

And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord,
    in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great
    to the ends of the earth.
And he shall be their peace. (Micah 5:4-5a)

Mary took this message at face value, responding, “I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”

4. Believe What He Says (Luke 1:38, 45)

And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”

“…And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

Mary was blessed when she believed what God had said to her. Abraham was similarly blessed. The trick for us average people is to believe, or trust, what God has said in his Word. We want to believe, but sometimes we have to be honest about our doubts. It reminds me of when Jesus came down from the Mt. of Transfiguration and encountered an argument arising from his disciples’ inability to cast out a demon that was convulsing a man’s son. The boy’s father petitioned Jesus,

“But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” 

And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:22-24)

Will we respond in faith to the God who loves us and came to earth to show us that he exists and is good?

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)

Jesus is not like some fictional fly by the seat of your pants Aladdin-type asking us, “Do you trust me?” But perhaps we should be a little more like Jazmin, or in this case like the real-life Mary, and say “Yes!” to him this year. It is true that we cannot change the world by our own power and plans…but it never was about that. It is about Jesus, and the Holy Spirit who were sent by the Father—God with us. Yes, with us!

If there was one group of people in the dark that night who had no expectation of being included in God’s marvelous plan it was the shepherds, which leads us to our last point.

5. Tell Others (Luke 2:8-20)

v. 17 "When they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child."

v. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

We can’t have a Christmas message that leaves anyone out. From the oppressed peasant girl giving birth to the Messiah, to an old woman who lived in the social shame of failing to give her husband a son and would have thought that it was too late for her to be a part of God’s plan, to simple shepherds who were not even allowed to worship in the temple (for they were considered unclean) now having God come to them that night to announce the good news—what a gift!  And they went and told all that they had seen and heard…who would have thought that they would one day announce the birth of the Good Shepherd!

Arise, shine, for your light has come,
    and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,
    and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
    and his glory will be seen upon you.
And nations shall come to your light,
    and kings to the brightness of your rising… (Isaiah 60:1-3)

And speaking of gifts, we can’t leave out the Magi who came later,

the wealth of the nations shall come to you.
A multitude of camels shall cover you,
    the young camels of Midian and Ephah;
    all those from Sheba shall come.
They shall bring gold and frankincense,
    and shall bring good news, the praises of the Lord. (Isaiah 60:5b-6)

Beyond a shadow of a doubt, the Lord loves you—no one is beyond the reach of his plan to fix a broken world. He is our Advocate, our Helper, but he didn’t just come to fix things, he came to dwell with us!

Perhaps you may still be puzzled like Mary was about this whole incarnation thing. Let me share a helpful story with you that I first at Christmas in 2001.

----------------

THE MAN AND THE BIRDS (written by Paul Harvey)

Now the man to whom I’m going to introduce you was not a scrooge. He was a kind, decent, mostly good man, generous to his family, and upright in his dealings with other men. But he just didn’t believe all that incarnation stuff that the churches proclaim at Christmas time. It just didn’t make sense, and he was too honest to pretend otherwise. He just couldn’t swallow the Jesus story, about God coming to earth as a man.

“I’m truly sorry to distress you,” he told his wife, “but I’m not going with you to church this Christmas Eve.” He said he’d feel like a hypocrite and that he’d much rather just stay at home, but that he would wait up for them. And so he stayed, and they went to the midnight service.

Shortly after the family drove away in the car, snow began to fall. He went to the window to watch the flurries getting heavier and heavier and then went back to his fireside chair and began to read his newspaper. Minutes later, he was startled by a thudding sound. Then another, and then another. Sort of a thump or a thud. At first he thought someone must be throwing snowballs against his living room window.

But when he went to the front door to investigate, he found a flock of birds huddled miserably in the snow. They’d been caught in the storm and, in a desperate search for shelter, had tried to fly through his large [picture] window. Well, he couldn’t let the poor creatures lie there and freeze, so he remembered the barn where his children stabled their pony. That would provide a warm shelter if he could direct the birds to it.

Quickly he put on a coat and galoshes and tramped through the deepening snow to the barn. He opened the doors wide and turned on a light, but the birds did not come in. He figured food would entice them in. So he hurried back to the house, fetched bread crumbs, and sprinkled them on the snow, making a trail to the yellow-lighted, wide-open doorway of the stable. But to his dismay, the birds ignored the bread crumbs and continued to flap around helplessly in the snow.

He tried catching them. He tried shooing them into the barn by walking around them waving his arms. Instead, they scattered in every direction, except into the warm, lighted barn. And then, he realized that they were afraid of him. To them, he reasoned, I am a strange and terrifying creature. If only I could think of some way to let them know that they can trust me – that I am not trying to hurt them but to help them. But how, because any move he made tended to frighten and confuse them. They just would not follow. They would not be led or shooed because they feared him.

“If only I could be a bird,” he thought to himself, “and mingle with them and speak their language. Then I could tell them not to be afraid. Then I could show them the way to the safe, warm . . .  . . .  . . . to the safe, warm barn. But I would have to be one of them so they could see, and hear and understand.”

At that moment, the church bells began to ring. The sound reached his ears above the sounds of the wind. And he stood there listening to the bells – listening to the bells pealing the glad tidings of Christmas. And he sank to his knees in the snow.