The Light Brings Joy
Moving Towards the Light • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Advent - coming of the Lord, promises that have come and to come
Hope - waiting on the LORD Promises
Peace - God’s plan for redemption is complete. (completing a puzzle)
3rd candle Joy, notice it is different to the rest that is because the 3rd candle is one of celebration. The church viewed Advent as a mini-Lent, a time for reflection and repentance, and adopted the first four candles of Lent. The third Advent candle colour on the wreath is pink, and it is named the shepherd candle or candle of joy. The Shepards were told to rejoice, even though they were seen as outcasts and poor. They were the first to be blessed with the good news of Hope and Joy coming into the world through Jesus.
This is the first thing Jesus would tell the crowd 30 years later, Blessed are the poor, those that morn, the meek, the hungry, the merciful, the pure of heart, the peacemakers and those that are persecuted for the faith. they are to rejoice.
Joy when things are not going our way
Kate has read to us the well-known Beatitudes in the message version that is connecting to situations we might find ourselves in today.
Now we could spend the whole sermon unpacking what Jesus meant here, a whole series on each line but simply when it comes to Joy Jesus is saying you can find it in the most unlikely of places and situations.
Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Having Joy in the reality of life runs all through the bible.
From the very first words, God is finding joy in creating life. He says it is very good. That is why people like myself find joy in creation.
You crown the year with your bounty, and your carts overflow with abundance.
The grasslands of the wilderness overflow; the hills are clothed with gladness.
The family-friendly walks
Joy can be had with a good drink or meal after a hard day.
wine that gladdens human hearts, oil to make their faces shine, and bread that sustains their hearts.
A wedding or festival - Jeremiah 33:11 (NIV)
But the biblical narrative also shows that we live in a world that has been corrupted by selfishness. marked by death and loss.
This is where our faith offers a different perspective on joy.
The Bible project defines it as an attitude God’s people adopt, not because of happy circumstances, but because of our hope in God’s love and promise.
The joy of God’s people is not determined by our struggles, but our future destiny.
This attitude to joy is based on three aspects
1. The character of God is Joy
2. Jesus is a Joy-bringer
3. We are to share that Joy with others
The character of God is Joy
The character of God is Joy
John Ortberg - The Life You’ve always wanted: Spiritual Disciplines for ordinary people.
divided his time into 2 categories: living and waiting to live.
Most of life is spent in transit: trying to get somewhere, waiting for something to begin, and standing in line.
These are forms of killing time that often cause us to be absent from life around us, and become unaware of the voice and purpose of God.
Joy is at the heart of God’s plan for us. The reason for this is worth pondering: Joy is at the heart of God himself. We will never understand the significance of joy in our life until we understand its importance to God. I suspect that most of us seriously underestimate God’s capacity for joy.
C.S. Lewis - Joy is the serious business of Heaven
On wednesday and Thursday we had a couple of quotes from C.S. Lewis in the Alpha series
What makes you happy? the question at Alpha: many said family, kids and grandkids.
The father of a righteous child has great joy; a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him.
May your father and mother rejoice; may she who gave you birth be joyful!
I wonder if that is because they see the joy in the world that we have grown weary of.
G. K. Chesterton - English writer and philosopher
Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, “Do it again”; and the grown-up person does it again until they are nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, “Do it again”to the sun; and every evening, “Do it again “to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.
Boaz racing cars down a ramp
Today as we start our week of prayer and fasting that is precisely what it is about, a time asking to do it again. A commitment to stay in the presence of God, taking control of our body, our imposes, the temporary feelings of hunger or boredom and replacing it with thankfulness or in prayer on the character of God or our future destiny with all things redeemed.
Fasting and prayer is a great times to see chains broken in your life and in others. The things controlling you that are killing your time with shallow entertainment rather than the full Joy that God has on offer. That being Jesus.
Jesus is the Joy-bringer
Jesus is the Joy-bringer
The birth of Jesus was announced as good news that brings great joy.
The joy we see in the happiest child is but a fraction of the joy that resides in the heart of God and was expressed through Jesus as he went from town to town, healing and bringing freedom.
Jesus explained to His disciples
I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
Brings us back to the Beatitudes.
The kingdom of God is full of joy because the kingdom of God is accessible once again through Jesus. No matter our situation or station we can see the promise come true in Jesus and know there will be a time of great restoration for all.
At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.
This joy is revealed to us but we need to be willing to slow down and take the time to look.
The Joy of the LORD is my strength
In the dead of night, I'll lift my eyes
Though the waters rise, I'll lift my eyes
While there's hope in this heart
I will praise you, Lord
The joy of the Lord is my strength
In the darkness, I'll dance
In the shadows, I'll sing
The joy of the Lord is my strength
I shine with glory, Lord of light
I feel alive with You
In Your presence, now I come alive
I am alive with You
There is strength when I say
I will praise you, Lord,
Hardship and darkness Jesus is our Joy-bringer
We are to share that Joy with others
We are to share that Joy with others
After Jesus' death and resurrection, Jesus commissioned his followers to go and announce the good news. As they did so, the early Christian communities were known for being full of joy even when they were persecuted. Act 13:52.
They had Joy of faith and joy in the Lord as they lived their lives and looked to share the good news of God’s kingdom.
I am so thankful for the Holy Spirit that encourages me to slow down and take joy in the things around me. It is the gift of God’s Spirit, a sign that Jesus’presence is with you, inspiring hope in the midst of hardship.
When you believe that Jesus has overcome death itself, joy becomes reasonable in the darkness of circumstances.
Now we are not to suppress or ignore sorrow. that is not what the bible teaches, I love the fact that the bible shares the hardship of sorrows.
God knows sorrow. Jesus is remembered, among other things, as “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.” But the sorrow of God, like the anger of God, is his temporary response to a fallen world. That sorrow will be banished forever from his heart on the day the world is set right.
This was also the attitude of Paul while being persecuted and in prison remarks in
sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.
For most of our lives we work towards owning stuff, to be comfortable. Yet, we will not find lasting joy in material items and actually, there is joy in being comfortable being uncomfortable.
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Does this mean there will be mansions for us in heaven for all the good work you do? I thought that once.
No, this is not the treasure Jesus speaks of.
Money, family, identity, positions, and achievements can all be taken away, stolen or destroyed.
Yet
No one or thing can take away the joy I had this week seeing people come to Alpha desiring to know more of God (2 crossing over from the drop-in centre).
No one or thing can take away your kingdom experiences or freedom in Jesus.
No one or thing can take away the miracles you have experienced in your life.
These are stored in Heaven with the people you have assisted on your journey to also be in the presence of Jesus.
Where your treasure is, there your heart and your joy will also be.
Can I ask you to consider three things as we finish:
What is your treasure right now? Does it bring full joy or is it a distraction from living life to the full?
What has come to mind? if it is an item consider fasting from it this week. Which is my 2nd thing to consider, what could you put down this week or turning off (social media or TV) and if you have an urge to pick it up spend time in prayer.
Lastly, consider coming to Alpha or inviting someone this week, experience the joy of knowing God’s character and through someone else seeing it for the first time.
Prayer