Sunday, December 15, 2013

The Advent of Joy

The Advent of Joy
Luke 2:9-12
Introduction: Billy Graham said, 
Christmas is not a myth, not a tradition, not a dream. It is a glorious reality. It is a time of joy. Bethlehem’s manger crib became the link that bound a lost world to a loving God. From that manger came a man who not only taught us a new way of life, but brought us into a new relationship with our creator. Christmas means that God is interested in the affairs of people; that God loves us so much that He was willing to give His Son.”  
That is reason for joy. Some of us have trouble showing the joy in our hearts in our countenance. I like the way C.H. Spurgeon put it:
When you speak of Heaven let your face light up, let it be irradiated with a heavenly gleam, let your eyes shine with reflected glory. But when you speak of Hell—well, then your ordinary face will do.”
Are you happy, happy, happy? You should be. Not in the superficial sense that the world would embrace, but with the joy of the Lord that springs from a heart that has been reconciled with God.  We’ve considered this month the “Advent of Hope” and were reminded that the first coming of Jesus revealed God’s grace and motivates us to live faithfully in the sure hope of His return. We looked at the “Advent of Peace” and were reminded that the Son entered this broken world, taking upon himself a human nature in order to give his life so that we could experience the true peace, Shalom, for which we were created.  Today we remember that Christmas is reason for joy! Not just the presents and the get togethers, and the dinners and decorations. But the good news that “Unto you a Savior is born…”

      From the Old Testament times the messianic hope anticipated a time of rejoicing would be associated with the coming of Messiah. In Isaiah 9:2,3 we read,
 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined.  3 You have multiplied the nation; you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil.”
The magi in Matthew’s gospel certainly felt joy when the star they saw in the east led them to Him.  We read in Matthew 2:9-10  “And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was.  10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.” The God who is, led them to the Promised One, the Messiah of the Jews and Savior of the World. They had reason to rejoice!
       In Luke, when the pregnant Mary came for the first time into the presence of her cousin Elizabeth who was also expecting, the yet unborn John the Baptist responded with joy, Luke 1:44 says “For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.”
       As we focus on the Advent of Joy, I want to look closely at another, even more familiar passage, focusing on just four verses of the angels announcement to the shepherds in Luke 2:9-12,
And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear.  10 And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people.  11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger."
That brings us to “The Big Idea”: Advent is cause for joy to all who believe the good news: God sent his Son as He had promised, revealing His glory and providing salvation by humbly giving himself for us.
I. Advent is cause for joy because it is a revelation of the glory of God (v.9).  “And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear.” 
             First notice that the message came to them, to a group of shepherds watching over their flocks on a Bethlehem hillside. What an awesome moment that must have been! Common shepherds, out in the fields, watching over their sheep. They were doing their job, they weren’t in church, they weren’t praying (as far as we know). They weren’t listening to their favorite rabbi on the radio. But God met them where they were and revealed himself to them. And if our eyes are open to the truth, we’ll see that He meets us in the course of life. Times of retreat are helpful when we can withdraw from the busyness of life and seek God. It’s good, yes, essential, that we gather together for worship and celebrate Jesus. But it is also true that there is no secular/sacred dichotomy for a Christ follower. God meets us where we are, living as broken people in a broken world, and He picks us up, dusts us off, and walks with us on the way.
            God sends this angel to announce a glorious message that the Jewish people had been anticipating for centuries. It was an awesome revelation of the glory of God…
     1. Incredibly, it was a revelation through a heavenly messenger, an angel of the Lord.  How many humans have had the opportunity to see and hear an angel (as least knowingly!)? Here, at this point in history, as the fullness of time approached, an angel had spoken to Zachariah, to Mary, to Joseph, announcing that the time was at hand, and now to a group of Shepherds to news that He was born.
     2. “The Glory of the Lord shone around them…” As though heaven itself cracked the door open for a moment, the light of heaven, God’s glory, flooded all around them. The brilliance of the glory of God is something the Jews understood from Old Testament times.  Moses got a glimpse of it as God hid him in the cleft of a rock and passed by in his radiant glory. The Jews in the wilderness had a hint of it as they saw the Pillar of Fire in the wilderness leading them on the way and awesome presence of God shaking Mount Sinai and shining in the Tabernacle. It spoke to His transcendence and His holiness. That same glory shone down on these shepherds on a hillside outside Bethlehem.
     3. Notice the response of the shepherds to this revelation from heaven: they were filled with fear!  This was probably not just the godly reverence of knowing they were in the presence of holiness, a visitor from heaven. They were probably confused and troubled by what was happening. But their confusion would soon be transformed into joy. After all Advent is cause for joy to all who believe the good news that God sent his Son as He had promised, revealing His glory and providing salvation for all by humbly giving himself for us.

II. Advent is cause for joy since the good news is for all people (v. 10). “And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people.’” 
             They were terrified, and what did the angel say? “Fear not…” It seems that is often the word of the Lord to his people when he is revealing himself. We respond with “fear” I think because we recognize our weakness in the light of his power. Our sinfulness is exposed in the light of his holiness. But the admonition “fear not” in itself is good news. It reminds us as Billy Graham said, that God is interested in us, that He loves us so much that He did not send His Son to bear a sword, but to bear a cross.
            Then the angel goes on to say, “…I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people.” That offer of salvation in Christ is extended to all people: a universal call to turn from your sin and rebellion and turn to Jesus for life. Jesus came to provide the one and only way for sinners to be reconciled to God.  That might sound like an exclusive message, after all we read in John 14:6 “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but by me…” and Acts 4:12, “There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved…”   Exclusive, yes, but in another sense it is a very inclusive message in its context. The barriers were gone: rich or poor, male or female, Jew or Gentile, the Lamb came to take away the sins of the world and to offer life to all who turn to Him in faith. That is cause for rejoicing!  Advent is cause for joy to all who believe the good news that God sent his Son as He had promised, revealing His glory and providing salvation for all by humbly giving himself for us.

III. Advent is cause for joy since it celebrates the birth of the promised Savior and Lord (v.11). “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”
             Isaiah had said 700 years earlier, “Unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given…”  Now the angel speaks and says onto you is born a Savior.  The word of the prophet was not only for the leaders and the powerful and the influential, it was even for these shepherds, and it is God’s word for you and me. He came for us, to save us.
             “…in the city of David…” just as the prophet had said.  So He is born according to promise, in fulfillment of Scripture. In perfect detail, God arranged history to compel Joseph and Mary to travel to Bethlehem. Micah 5:2 said, “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 origin is from of old, from ancient days…” They had been in Nazareth, but that wouldn’t do. God used circumstance rather than a direct revelation to get them where they needed to be for His plan to unfold on schedule.
             The angel gives some information about this coming one, He is “…a Savior, Christ, the Lord.”  He is Savior, Messiah (Christ), and Lord. Only the unfolding of His life, his teaching, and his death and resurrection would reveal the full meaning that God intended for each of those terms. This would prove to be the greatest “Good News” that humans had ever received.  Advent is cause for joy to all who believe the good news that God sent his Son as He had promised, revealing His glory and providing salvation for all by humbly giving himself for us.

IV. Advent is cause for joy since it revealed His willingness to humble himself for us (v.12). “And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger."
         His humble birth was a sign. First of all, He came as a human baby. Think about how humbling that was!  Couldn’t He at least have created a second Adam as an adult human out of the dust of the earth? Of course he could have, but He didn’t.  Mary was with child of the Holy Spirit. He was born. And as a tiny helpless baby He depended on her care and feeding and the protection of Joseph. This was the creator of the Universe!

        And remember the circumstances that surrounded His human birth: Not to the castle of a king, not in wealth or even with the recognition of the religious leadership, but with this sign: in humility, humbly wrapped in rags and laying in the feeding bin of an animal. Paul said to the Philippians that “He emptied himself, [by] taking the form of a servant…” Isaiah had prophesied of the coming of a suffering servant, and it began in his incarnation. 
             Notice that it was a sign given to these shepherds, men who were looked down upon for their failure to “keep kosher,” since they couldn’t regularly get into the city for worship, but who also did the essential work of caring for the animals that were destined for sacrifice in the temple. “You’ve been watching over these sacrificial lambs who were destined for sacrifice [not that they could take away sin] that were shadows and types, pointing forward to a perfect sacrifice that could finally take away sin. The time has come: get down to Bethlehem and see the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” That is Good News. They believed, and they rejoiced!
What is God saying to me in this passage? Advent is cause for joy to all who believe the good news that God sent his Son as He had promised, revealing His glory and providing salvation by humbly giving himself for us.

What would God have me to do in response to this passage? We’ve been facing some crises as an extended church family. Mourning for some, praying in the midst of uncertainty for others, struggles of faith in the midst of decision and financial uncertainty for several. None of these struggles can rob our joy in the truth, the good news, that God is good (all the time), and that He loves us so much that He sent His Son into the world, to humbly give himself for us. That is cause for joy!    Rejoice in the Lord always! Again I will say it, rejoice!      AMEN.

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