← ArchiveAdvent 2016Sunday, December 25, 2016DateDecember 25, 2016Speaker—TextLuke 2Passages in this sermonIsaiah 9:32:49Isaiah 9:63:06Nehemiah 8:103:29Galatians 5:223:55Psalms 514:27Matthew 210:26Matthew 2:1010:49Luke 214:23Luke 2:1315:43Luke 1:1316:03TranscriptClick any line to jump there.0:00some of your wake merry christmas we celebrate our savior who was born and then we celebrate our risen savior who died for us and and rose again to redeem us from our sins i believe christmas is merry for this reason because it is a day full of joy we have been working through the advent season and looking at the characters the nature of who our god is he is light he is peace0:27and today we will look at this that jesus is our joy so as we open up the the word of god together let's look at through the lens of joy the story of christ a personal story quickly this is my first christmas here in birmingham area and for someone who doesn't live in who wasn't born in moody this is the birmingham area still um if you're not from louisiana we'll tell you we're from new orleans0:56really not but we're close and i was so excited because i just figured you know what i'm gonna finally get my white christmas and here we are 70 degrees later with the ac on so i'm a little in my suit i dressed up and greg dressed down to make everyone feel comfortable so you're between one of us um but with it being hot i don't think i made the wisest choice and that but merry christmas a day1:20full of joy and wonder and majesty why joy i pray that today is full of joy for you you know we long for joy of christmas that's why we call it merry christmas and not unmerry christmas or just christmas that's why we sing songs of joy we sing songs like joy to the world the lord1:45is or has come let earth receive her king let every heart prepare him room heaven and nature sing heaven and nature sing heaven and heaven and nature sing joy to the world the savior reigns so we sing songs of2:06joy whether you believe it or not we still sing those songs and you still love that song there's another christmas carol called good christian men rejoice with heart and soul and voice now you hear of endless bliss joy joy jesus christ was born for this so we naturally long for our time of christmas to be2:30one of joy but joy is not confined to our lyrical reflections the holy scriptures are also full of resounding joy so listen to these scriptures isaiah 9 3 you have multiplied the nation and increased its joy they rejoice before you according to the joy of harvest as men rejoice when they divide the2:57spoil and many of you know or have seen that three verses later isaiah 9 6 for unto us a child is born unto us a son is given and the government will be upon his shoulders and the increase of his peace there will be no ends free he is wonderful counselor mighty god he is everlasting father he is prince of3:20peace joy will be increased nehemiah 8 10 says it this way then nehemiah said to them go your way eat the fat some of you are going to leave here today and eat the fat drink the sweet send portions to those of whom nothing is prepared for this day is holy to our lord do not sorrow3:46for the joy of the lord is your strength the joy of the lord galatians 5 22 says this about joy it is a fruit of the spirit so if joy is a fruit then where does fruit come from it comes from the root and the root of the fruit is jesus christ fruit of the spirit is love joy peace long-suffering kindness goodness faithfulness4:15gentleness and self-control against such things there is no law and then psalm 51 verse 12 written by david when he was confronting his sin face to face now think about this david write psalm 51 in response to his sin and you say well how bad could his sin be well he is unfaithful4:45to his wife with a lady he sees bathing on the rooftop and let me just say public service announcement look don't bathe on the rooftop it's not going to go well okay so if you're thinking about doing that today don't that's my pastoral warning to you but he's unfaithful to his wife with best sheba and in that unfaithfulness they find that she has5:11conceived in that unfaithfulness he brings her husband who is home from war back tells him to go spend time with your wife uriah being a righteous man doesn't spend time with his wife but sleeps on the the welcome mat then he tries to get the husband drunk that doesn't work and so he kills the man and in all of that he's finally confronted with his sin and he writes psalm 51 it says father against you and you only have i sinned and then he says this in verse 12 restore to me5:41the joy of your salvation and uphold me by your generous spirit so today we look at joy in our life and you say well what is joy we will define joy this way joy is an emotion in your soul produced by the6:04spirit that leads you to the glory and the majesty of jesus christ now think about this it's an emotion so don't don't get me wrong so we're just gonna we're not gonna be emotive people where we just feel what we want to feel today right now i'm hot tomorrow we're gonna feel cold that's weather so we're not simply emotional people but it's an emotion in our soul you know i can't change things6:31in my soul only god can produced by the spirit to lead us to the majesty of jesus christ so why is joy important we'll look at joy today in the narrative of christ one god's word very clearly says that we are to do things that are outside of our control that god's word presses us to do things that are that are outside of us that's why over and over again in the the christmas story you have angels coming and7:01telling the good news of christ and what is their one refrain over and over again to people do not fear why would they say that because they are afraid so god's word challenges us to do things that is outside of our control often we say well i can't give it's just not comfortable well we god has challenged us to do more than what is naturally comfortable i can't share my faith that is not7:30natural for me it's not natural that's why it's spiritual god is challenging us to do greater than we can do within ourself so may our joy be increased it is outside and greater than who we are it is an emotive response to our soul secondly joy is always produced by the spirit joy is always produced by the the spirit we cannot manufacture joy in any way you can't manufacture joy by some worship experience7:59parents you can't manufacture joy in your life and your kids life by giving them presents i was talking to a friend about five minutes ago and they said it's a merry christmas so how was it they said you know what we gave our kids way too much and then the one thing that gave them the most happiness was a chapstick in their stocking out of i don't know the hundreds of dollars we spend on our kids and grandkids and other people the thing8:28that brought them the most happiness was joy was a chapstick why is that important because i think god is reminding us look i can't create joy for my kids i can give them what i think they want and they'll be happy and tomorrow they're going to go on to their old stuff and they're going to find the chapstick and say this8:53gives them the most happiness because we cannot manufacture joy we can't do it through religious observance we can't do it with their worship experience or christmas carols or right moral living joy is a fruit of the spirit and so this morning my prayer is that our joy may be increased so let's pray and we will look at god's word father we thank you that you are a god of joy what i thank you for the reminder that sometimes9:22this chapstick that brings the most happiness in this life though to refocus our hearts and minds knowing that we cannot manufacture joy but it is produced by your spirit so lord this morning may you renew to us the joy of your salvation father may the joy of the lord be our strength and lord today may you produce9:46fruit in our lives of love and joy and peace and may we be people marked by joy because joy is central to those who believe and i pray this in jesus name amen and amen um eric i just want to say this i don't have a call i don't have a clock back there so at unlimited time so give me give me a signal when we get to an hour10:14have a call i don't have a clock back there so at unlimited time so give me give me a signal when we get to an hour10:26turned with me to matthew chapter 2 and we're going to read god's word today with the lens of joy why because joy is an emotion in your soul produced by the spirit that leads us to the majesty of jesus christ so read the nativity through the lens of joy through the lens of joy and we're going to see the joy of the magi in verse 10 of chapter 2. matthew chapter 2 verse 10 when they saw the star this is the magi these are people who have traveled11:00from the east right we three kings of orient are those guys these are the kings of the orient when they saw the star in verse 10 they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy so when they saw the star they rejoice with exceedingly great joy now let me point out that they haven't seen jesus yet they haven't seen the baby they just see a glimpse of something pointing to11:30christ and joy rises up in their soul i believe we should be the same way we find in the gospel of matthew the wise and upper class men of the world coming to see the king if you will we see in matthew the kings coming to see the king of kings you know we use the word kings but matthew never uses those words they're really magi and so what are these magi they're people who study11:59the universe and the movement of the planets there are people who study the stars to find out what's going on in the world but they're also people that's looking for redemption and hope and something more and it's no accident that people who study the stars were giving what god gave truth seekers that look at the stars a star to point to jesus christ i love what god's word12:24reminds us here if you are honestly looking for truth you will find it in jesus christ and you might be here today and you say you know what i really enjoy looking at stars and god says fine i'll give you a star but the stars not the joy the star is pointing you to something greater and the joy is jesus christ there is joy in truth that's my daughter right there knowing how to look12:51we find joy in truth it's interesting to me that the magi come from persia which is a three to six month journey some of you thought you had difficult time and traffic today coming to church think about13:15seeing the star and saying you know what let's saddle up the donkeys you know let's get on the camels and let's let's go to see this this child that gives us hope and by the way it's a three to six month journey and when they get there by the way persia is in modern day iran think about where all the turmoil right now in our in our world that even in turmoil god is bringing13:44joy and peace we find in the magi truth seekers gazers of the star so here is their joy if you are seeking truth you will find it if you are seeking truth you will find it in a manger and his name is jesus christ if you are seeking truth today you there is great joy in that jesus says i am the way14:05the truth in the life we see joy in the magi because they sought truth and they found it his name is jesus christ are you looking for truth may we be truth seekers turn with me to luke chapter 2 we find joy in the magi14:32luke 2 and verse 13 where we'll spend the rest of our time next we see joy in the life of zechariah and elizabeth now it's interesting that for zechariah and elizabeth we find these two people in the story of the birth of christ because these are people that can't have a child so we find barren people in the story the birth narrative and so that doesn't make sense it doesn't15:03because it's god right things with god often don't make sense to us mentally cognitively because god calls us to do something greater than we have joy is an emotion in your soul produced by the spirit so let's look at luke 2 verse 13 and 14. zechariah and elizabeth and i ask you to look through the lens15:26of joy and ask this question why would this couple past the prime of their baby years be in the birth story of jesus be in the birth story of jesus luke 2 1315:59actually i'm in chapter one we'll be in luke two hold that thought i'm getting ahead of myself i'm so excited we're gonna look at the shepherds later luke chapter one verse 13. the angel said to him that is zacharias do not be afraid why because he's afraid we gloss over that so god often calls us to do things that we cannot do naturally because it is16:27supernatural it is spiritual your prayer is heard and your wife elizabeth will bear you a son and you shall call his name john now you might be thinking well why why is this important how long has he been praying for this verse 18 zachariah said to the angel how shall i know this for i am an old man and my wife he wanted16:56to be nice here he didn't call her old my wife is well advanced she's wise beyond her years smart man that zacharias right but let me tell you something about being advanced in age in ancient near east this would make them 60 years or older they weren't 30 thinking you know what if we have a child now i'm17:20gonna be gray hair when my when my son is graduating i'm gonna be papa when he walks across the stage no they're grandparents so why would god put grandparents that cannot have children in the narrative of christ i believe we see in zachariah and elizabeth a couple who had given up on their personal hopes dreams for their family i believe we have a couple that he's been praying for a child17:49for many many years but when you get to 60 you really give up on that being answered can you imagine them going to passover every year a time of family and and playing with other people's kids and having a longing heart and the times of holidays being difficult for zacharias and elizabeth because they don't have the kid they've longed for18:15the dream that they want for themselves is not the dream that has been they've been living or been realized the things that they've longed for the hopes now don't get me wrong they haven't given up on god they haven't given up on the lord they've just given up on their dreams and i'm reminded often i was reminded this week i've had at least three people near to me that have lost someone this week a close family member18:43you know often our lives of the christmas season are not happy because we experience loss and i believe zacharias and elizabeth speak to those of you who are hurting today who this christmas is a difficult christmas because you are without your dad or your mom or your wife or you're grieving because you don't have kids that you can you can bestow gifts on you've been praying and19:09saying lord give me the joy that we hear about lord give me the happiness that we see about in the holidays lord i'm going to passover constantly lord i'm creating my booth at the feast of sukkot with with happiness and joyous times but lord i'm not joyful because my dreams aren't what i thought they should be and i believe god still says to us to you you can find joy this time because christ gives us joy19:33and so if today you've walked in here with a heavy heart i pray that you will leave here joyful because god renews your strength that we would not just turn a blind eye to difficulty hurting in our life that we would not turn a blind eye to zachariah and elizabeth and say you know what 60 years old you've been struggling with this you can't have kids get over it but that we look at20:00them and find hope and redemption and restoration we see joy and zachariah and elizabeth are you broken hearted disappointed experiencing loss this season listen to the joy of zachariah you will will rejoice jesus was born for this time and to redeem and change your hurts your losses and your20:23disappointments may you find joy that we see in zachariah do not fear but rejoice because he is the joy giver look with me at the joy of john the baptist we see joy in the magi we see joy in zachariah and elizabeth hear the joy of john the baptist look 144 hear the joy of john the baptist20:53now you know john the baptist is the cousin of jesus christ and mary is on her way to see her cousin because her cousin is going through exactly the same thing that she's going through they're both with child in verse 44 when they come together indeed as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears elizabeth21:25said the babe leaps now think about that as soon as mary and elizabeth meet and the babe in elizabeth's womb hears the sound of mary the babe leap but that's not the end of the scripture look at the joy of john the baptist the john the baptist leapt in her womb for joy blessed is he she who believed for there will be a fulfillment of these things which were told to21:54her from the lord and i ask you why would john jump for joy why would this child leap first i believe he was overjoyed to be near the savior we see this in john the baptist we find joy when we are near christ you find joy when you are near22:16christ i love the story of christmas the story of advent the wise men are overjoyed not because they have seen jesus yet because they see the star and john the baptist leaps in his mother's womb not because he sees christ because he what he hears the voice of her mom there's something beautiful and wonderful being near christ and the joy of advent is this god says to us draw near to me and i will do what i will22:46draw near to you second i believe that the spirit produced joy in john's soul because john had found his purpose john had found his purpose you see the purpose of john was to make straight the paths in the wilderness and you say well that's an awesome task i would love to be john the baptist okay why don't23:12you go live in the desert and eat locusts and honey and you can wear camel's clothes that's not a job most of us sign up for but joy was found in john's life i believe when he knew that his purpose had arrived there is joy when we match glorifying god i believe the purpose of the believer is this lord as we see in in romans brother let my life be worship to you that when my life is23:41worship to christ it's my spiritual act of worship there is joy in that so are you living out your purpose in christ parents if you have your children here i'm so thankful they are here with you aggravating you right now because our kids need to see us worship and they just don't need to see us stand here methodically and seeing that they need to see joy in our life they need to see that24:11when we get near to christ joy is produced and there are times where we're solemn and and we put on sackcloth and ashes because repentance of our sin but when we come together as a body of christ there this should be a wonderful momentous occasion because joy wells up in our soul even if you have to take your kids outside like mine are right now but to see our children see you worship24:34and let me say this we have a couple here today that are celebrated this week their 67th year of marriage not life of marriage what what great joy is that and i'm thankful for those faithful couples that younger younger couples can see faithfulness that they can see look through the good times we stayed committed through the bad times25:03we stayed committed because there is joy in our relationships if you are married that is a purpose that you live out your marriage is a sign of the world of of the covenant that we have of jesus christ there is joy in our purpose living with christ so i say this see john hear john live for joy draw near to christ live your purpose share the good news what great joy we see in john the baptist and lastly25:31let us look at the joy of the shepherds the joy of the shepherds i jumped here to the first because this is our last verse 10 of chapter 2. the joy of the shepherds so we've already seen in the narrative story that there were wise men from the east that shouldn't have been there25:59why would god call people from persia to the to the throne of the king of the jews why would god call two barren grandparent age people into the narrative birth of the son and why would god call shepherds into the story of his son verse 10 of chapter 2 the angel said to them do not be26:29afraid now have you heard that before let me just say this anytime someone sees an angel in scripture in god's word the initial reaction is not oh look how cute look at that beautiful harp they're playing our response to the holiness of god and to a messenger of holiness is what this is not good i deserve to26:53die and so god's response is always look get yourself together do not be afraid and we see this in the message do not be afraid for i bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people now who are all people we are we're them we it right we are and so you say why why is that27:18important listen to the shepherds in the first century shepherds were the lower end of the socio-economic ladder they were typically uneducated poor and lived among their animals in the elements sometimes most often smelling like the animals most did not own land so they grazed their flocks on the land of their neighbors27:45creating tension shepherds were tolerated but not esteemed by their neighbors and the general population in some of the babylonian tracks we have from that time we see this about the court documents shepherds were dishonest and unclean according to the standards of the law they were they represented the outcasts and28:09the centers of whom jesus came they were not allowed to give witness in court so why would these outcasts be at the story of our savior because luke tells us that the shepherds were invited so that the world would know that all are invited and you might say well you know what i'm uneducated you're in good company28:35you might say well you know what i i'm struggling to pay my bills i'm at the lower end of the economic status you're in good company you might say you know what i kind of smell like an animal right now you're in good company you might say well you know i'm kind of fighting with my neighbor we got that covered you might say well i just i'm just dejected you know i have a bad reputation because of things i've done in the community and i can't get over that you're in good company because29:03god reminds us there is joy why because this savior has come to all people so listen to the joy of the shepherds that unto you today in the city of david a savior has been born and he will be great joy for all people and this will be a sign to you you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger29:30see the joy of the shepherds that no matter who you are you can find redemption and forgiveness in this child what great joy there is in the story of christ if you've walked in here on your high horse thinking you're a king the magi says you know what even kings should bow down to the king of kings29:55maybe you're here and you're that truth seeker because i i'm a skeptic i don't know i struggle but i'm honestly seeking truth you will find truth in that manger and there is joy in that maybe you're here and today is a difficult day because you experience loss death and grief or maybe the dreams you had for your life are not what you're living today there is joy in the lord in spite of that and maybe you're30:23here and you say you know what i don't have a good reputation my family's disowned me i'm just struggling let the shepherds remind you there is joy for a savior has been born to all people and not all but they are all welcome into the throne of christ there is great joy in the lord if you do not know that joy30:45may you respond god's word reminds us this that wherever confession and forgiveness is found grace abounds more how could david say lord renew to me the joy of my salvation because he had repented of his sin so if you need to do that today if you seek forgiveness he will forgive you and31:08grace will abound more than your sin maybe you're here today and you just need to say lord restore to me your joy father renew that to me do not miss a chance to respond to the glorious news that he is our joy he is our hope let's pray together father31:52Thank you.← Previous in Advent 2016Sunday, December 18, 2016More sermons on Luke →
