The Arrival of Joy

Yeah. For the last few weeks, we have been in a series here at the refuge called Arrival, based on the Advent wreath that you see here. And we've talked about the different candles and what they represent. And on week one, we lit together the Prophet's Candle, which represents the hope that Jesus can bring to us. The week after that, we lit the Bethlehem candle that represents the peace of the Lord.

And then last week, we lit the Angel's candle that represents love. I want you, if you will, just to stand for a moment. I know you've been up and down, but I just want to read some scripture. And we honor the word of God here by standing. And if you will, In Luke chapter 2, a few verses that are familiar, and I promise this won't be long, but I want to talk to you just for a moment about the joy of the Lord, beginning in verse 8.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks. At night an angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them. And they were terrified. But the angel said to them, do not be afraid. I bring you good news.

Listen. That will cause great joy. Will you see those two words with me? Great, great joy. Will you say it again?

Great joy for all the people. For all the people. No qualification. If you're breathing, then his joy is available to you. Verse 11.

Today, in the town of David, a savior has been born to you. He is the Messiah, the Lord. And so on this afternoon, Christmas Eve, we. We light the shepherd's candle that represents joy, the joy of the Lord. Now, we've been sharing some responsive readings together over the last few weeks, and normally they've been at the end, but we're going to share that responsive reading together now.

And as I read, then you'll respond, and I believe we have those for the screen so that you'll know how to respond. And looking to see if they're coming up, hopefully. Oh, there we go. All right. We light the candle as a symbol of Christ, our joy.

May the joy of Christ fill our hearts and our minds.

Amen. You can be seated.

It's a sad reality that according to a government study, antidepressants have become the most commonly prescribed drugs in the United States. They're prescribed more than drugs to treat high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and asthma or headaches. 14% of Americans now take medicines for depression. And we sang a song in. Ian, let us in.

A song a few moments ago that many people sing at this time of the Year that's entitled Joy to the World. That song was written in 1719 by a guy named Isaac Watts, commonly known as the father of of hymns. He wrote over 750 songs. He was a young man at the time when hymns other than the Psalms were allowed to be sung in the Church of England. And so he began writing a lot of songs that could be sung in the church.

And some of them were based on the Psalms. But he loved to base his songs also on the Christian experience. Isaac Watts was a very short man, and he suffered from poor health. And at the age of 45, he took a week and he went to a place called the Abbey Estate outside of London for a week's rest. And it was there that he wrote the words to that song that we just sang a few moments ago, Joy to the World.

But if you look at the lyrics to that song, you won't find any reference to angels or to a manger or to shepherds or to wise men or to any of the other elements that we would associate with Christmas. And there's a good reason for that. Isaac Watts did not write Joy to the World as a Christmas song. He wrote it as a song of Advent, as a song about the second coming of Jesus Christ. And the original theme of the second coming of the Lord, later, in fact, 100 years later, was taken by Lowell Mason and arranged into a song with music from Handel.

The first verse says, joy to the world the Lord has come. Let earth receive her king Let every heart prepare him room. First of all, I want you to understand this afternoon that joy comes when we receive him. Now, not everybody rejoiced when Jesus came. When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, in fact, the religious world did not know what to think.

The political world viewed him as a threat. As a matter of fact, Herod was so paranoid about somebody trying to usurp his throne that he had already killed three of his only sons, three of his own sons, because he was that paranoid. He viewed Jesus as a threat. That's why he ordered an edict that every baby boy 2 years old or younger would be killed, because he was that afraid that somebody was going to usurp his throne. Do you realize that many people today view Jesus as a threat?

They view him as a threat to their freedoms. They view Jesus as a threat to their political correctness. They view him as a threat to their selfishness or their activities or the things that they aspire to do in life. And because of that, they're unwilling to really make room for Jesus in their lives. My challenge to you on this Christmas Eve and my challenge to you tomorrow, and my challenge to you as we move into 2024 is that more than ever, you would make room for Jesus in your life.

And as you do that, guess what? Joy comes because Jesus is joy. Look at the second verse of that song that we love to sing. It says, joy to the world the Savior reigns. Let men their songs employ While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains Repeat the sounding joy.

Secondly, I want you to know that joy comes when he reigns. When he reigns in your life. It's one thing to receive Jesus into your life, and a lot of people have done that. It's an entirely different thing to make Him Lord of your life. It's an entirely different thing to give him the deed to your life, to give him top priority, or to place him on the throne of your heart.

The word reign means to possess or exercise sovereign power or authority, or to have control or rule or influence of any kind. While he was on the earth, Jesus encountered many people who were willing to receive him, but they didn't really want him to have authority or control in their lives. And it's the same thing today. There are a lot of people today who are more than willing to receive all the good things that Christ wants to offer them, but they don't want him to take charge of their business ethics. They don't want to give Jesus full reign or authority or sovereignty over their entertainment or over their language or over their relationships or over their public image.

Hello, somebody. They don't want Jesus to be in charge of where they live or who they date or who they marry, or what kind of career that they choose. They want Jesus, but they want him on their terms. See, I believe that there are many people today who want the kingdom, but they don't want the King. I believe there are many people today who want the crown without the commitment.

They want the scepter of authority without being willing to fully surrender to who Jesus is. Can I just share something with you, because I love you. If you're half committed in your relationship with Jesus, you're going to be miserable. But if you'll fully surrender to him, you're going to have joy, because joy comes when he reigns in your life. Here's the third thing.

Joy comes through righteousness. The last verse says, he rules the world with truth and grace and makes the nations prove the glories of his righteousness and the wonders of his love. We live in a world that's full of smoke and mirrors, a world that's full of deception and cover ups and half truths that we don't know who to believe anymore because there's so much half truth that's spoken about so many different things. But I want you to know that when Jesus came, He brought the perfect balance of grace and truth. John 1:14 says the word capital W became flesh and made his dwelling among us.

We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son who came from the Father full of grace and truth. Listen, Truth without grace hardens the heart. Grace without truth produces lawlessness. Joy is found in the sweet spot between those two things. Someone said it like this.

Truth without love is dogmatism. Love without truth is sentimentality. But truth with love is true Christianity. The key to joy is summed up in one statement from Oswald Chambers in his book My Utmost for Its Highest, he said this the joy of Jesus was the absolute self surrender and self sacrifice of himself to His Father. The joy of doing that which the Father sent Him to do.

Listen, real joy for you and I will be found when we completely surrender to Jesus and then give ourselves away by serving Jesus and by serving his purposes for our lives.

Normally this middle candle would be lit on Christmas morning. We're going to take some liberties with the Advent wreath and we're going to light the center candle which represents Jesus this afternoon. And there's a reason for that because I want this to serve as a reminder to you that Jesus is the source of hope. He's the source of peace. He's the source of love, he's the source of joy.

And if Jesus is not at the center of your life, if he's not above everything else, if he doesn't reign supreme in your life, if you don't make room for him, if you don't live according to his righteous standard that's found in the Word of God. Can I just stay again because I love you. You will not experience true hope or true joy or true peace or true love in your life. It only happens when you make Jesus the center of attention in your life and the true focus of your life. Hey, thanks so much for joining us for this message.

If God spoke to your heart in a special way, we would love to hear from you. You can reach out to us@testify. There.

I look forward to you joining us again, whether it's in person or online. God bless you.