Luke 2, Matthew 2

THE JOYS OF CHRISTMAS

 

Praise God for Christmas.
Praise Him for the incarnation, for the word made flesh.
I will not sing of shepherds watching flocks on frosty   nights, or angel choristers.
I will not sing of a stable bare in Bethlehem,
or lowing oxen,
wise men trailing star with gold,
frankincense, and myrrh.

 

Tonight I will sing praise to the Father
who stood on heaven’s threshold
and said farewell to his Son
as he stepped across the stars
to Bethlehem and Jerusalem.

 

And I will sing praise to the infinite, eternal Son,
who became most finite, a baby
who would one day be executed for my crime.
Praise him in the heavens,
Praise him in the stable,
Praise him in my heart.

Joseph Bayly http://www.bible.org/illus/c/c-59.htm#TopOfPage

 

Joseph Bayly’s poem reflects the joy of Christmas.

 

Chuck Swindoll says, “Some gifts you can give this Christmas are beyond monetary value:

·        Mend a quarrel, dismiss suspicion, tell someone, “I love you.”

·        Give something away—anonymously.

·        Forgive someone who has treated you wrong.

·        Turn away wrath with a soft answer.

·        Visit someone in a nursing home.

·        Apologize if you were wrong.

·        Be especially kind to someone with whom you work.

·        Give as God gave to you in Christ, without obligation, or announcement, or reservation, or hypocrisy. C. Swindoll, Growing Strong, pp. 400-1 http://www.bible.org/illus/c/c-59.htm#TopOfPage

 

When we do these nice things, we are showing the joys of Christmas.

We feel the stress of getting ready for Christmas, but Christmas is a time of joy.

We let the attitudes and actions of others bother us, but Christmas is a time of joy.

We get frustrated with long lines at the stores and the incompetency of store personnel, but Christmas is a time of joy.

We get upset with ourselves when we don’t do what we know we should do, and do things that we shouldn’t do, but Christmas is a time of joy!

 

The Bible is very clear that Christmas is a time of joy.  This morning I want us to see Bible characters who had joy on that first Christmas.

 

THE ANGELS HAD THE JOY OF REVEALING

THE SHEPHERDS HAD THE JOY OF RECEIVING

THE SHEPHERDS AND ANNA HAD THE JOY OF REPORTING

MARY HAD THE JOY OF REFLECTING

THE WISE MEN HAD THE JOY OF RECIPROCATING

 

THE ANGELS HAD THE JOY OF REVEALING

 

As you know, Jesus was born in Bethlehem to a virgin named Mary.  Joseph was Jesus’ step-father. 

She wrapped Jesus is swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger.  There was no room in the inn.

 

Luke 2: 8 – Out on a hillside outside of Bethlehem, shepherds were doing a traditional duty.  They were keeping watch over their flocks.

 

Vs. 9 – An angel appearing out of nowhere would have been startling enough.  But you can imagine the intense light that must have shone round about him, probably lighting up the night sky. The shepherds were terrified.

 

Vs. 10 – The angel brings to them good tidings of great joy.

               If the good tidings had just been for the shepherds or for the people of Israel, it would have still been good tidings of great joy. 

But this message of joy is for the whole world, including you, me, America, and the people of every tongue and nation.

 

Vs. 11 – Notice that the shepherds are told that Jesus was born to them.  He was born for their benefit!

He was born in the “City of David”, David’s home town, Bethlehem.

He was born to be the Savior.  That’s exactly what He did when he died on the cross to pay the debt you owe God for your sins.  The prophet Isaiah speaks of Him as Savior when he says, Heis despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. [4] Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. [5] But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. [6] All we like sheep have

gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

 

Not only was he born to be the Savior but He was “Christ, the Lord”   

 

Jesus was the promised Messiah, “the anointed one” who was promised in the Old Testament.

Jesus was and is “the Lord”.  He has the authority and power to reign.

 

Vs. 12 – The babe would be tightly wrapped in long strips of cloth called “swaddling clothes”.  He would also be found lying in a manger.

 

As a servant of God, I am sure that it was sheer joy for this angel to reveal this great news.  This was God’s plan, and the angel would rejoice in the plan of God.

 

Vss. 13-14 – As if the message of one angel needed confirmation, and I think because the angels could not remain silent, an angel host filled the sky giving praise to God.

 

The only way there will be “peace on earth” is when Jesus comes and rules. And will.

The only way there is true “good will to men” is through the ministry of the Lord Jesus.

 

THE ANGELS HAD THE JOY OF REVEALING

THE SHEPHERDS HAD THE JOY OF RECEIVING

 

Vs. 15- 16 – The shepherds decided to do the logical thing.

               They decided to go and see this child.

               They received the news from the angel as truth and

               acted on it. They believed what they were told.

 

And they found things to be just as the angels had reported.

You have been told the story of Christmas.

Do you accept the story of Christmas as true?

More important, have you received the Lord Jesus as your Savior?  Have you trusted in Him as your forgiveness of sin and your only hope for Heaven?

 

John 1:12 - But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

 

Romans 5:1 - Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

 

Vs. 20 – Notice the great joy that led to glorifying and praising God for what they had seen and heard.   

They experienced the joy that was a result of receiving the message of the Angel by faith.

 

 I’ve had many happy days in my life.

It was a happy day when I graduated high school, college and college!

It was a happy day when I was ordained, although I was as sick as a dog.

It was a happy day when I married Dottie.

But on a winter’s night almost 40 years ago while listening to Billy Graham on the radio I knelt at my bedside and received Jesus as my Savior. I was filled with such joy!  That was the happiest day of my life. 

 

If you don’t know Jesus as your Savior, make this the happiest day of your life by trusting in Him.  If you do know Christ as Savior, if you have received Him, I encourage for you to continue to receive.

 

Continue to receive the message of the Angels with joy.

Continue to study your Bible and do what it says and you will have the joy that obedience brings.

Continue to abide in Christ, and experience the joy of His daily presence.

Continue to talk to God and experience the joy of answered prayer!

Continue to receive what God has to tell you by faith and continue to feel joy and to rejoice!

 

THE ANGELS HAD THE JOY OF REVEALING

THE SHEPHERDS HAD THE JOY OF RECEIVING

THE SHEPHERDS AND ANNA HAD THE JOY OF REPORTING

 

Vss. 17-18 – The shepherds could not keep silent.

They had seen a miracle.

They had seen God’s Anointed One for themselves.

They had something to report and they did.

 

Vss. 36-38 – A very old woman named Anna saw the Lord Jesus and praised God. And she told those who were waiting for the coming of God’s Messiah.

 

Do you think that it was a chore for the shepherds or Anna to report what they’d seen and heard?

Do you think they grumbled about their obligation to share the good news with others?

Do you think that they were afraid of what the ones hearing their message would think or say?

Of course the answer to these questions is a resounding “no”.

Anna and shepherds were so joyful about their own experience that they wanted to report to others!

You realize that one of your obligations as a Christian is to be a “reporter” of the good news about Jesus.

Mark 16:1 - And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

 

1 Peter 3:15 - But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

 

We have a problem.

Our problem is this: We know we should report to others about the Lord Jesus.  We know that we should tell them they need to be saved and we know we should tell them how to be saved.

But we consider witnessing a cold obligation that we’d rather pass up or ignore for fear of the response of others or fear of our own embarrassment if we mess it up.

 

We fail to consider witnessing as a joy and a privilege.   

It should be a joy to tell people what has happened to us.

It should be a joy to tell people that there is only one way to Heaven, and you can tell them what it is.

It should be a joy to represent as an ambassador for the one who has done so much for us.   

 

2 Corinthians 5:20 - Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.

 

·        If to be a Christian is worthwhile, then the most ordinary interest in those with whom we come in contact would prompt us to speak to them of Christ.

·        If the New Testament be true—and we know that it is—who has given us the right to place the responsibility for soul-winning on other shoulders than our own?

If they who reject Christ are in danger, is it not strange that we, who are so sympathetic when the difficulties are physical or temporal, should apparently be so devoid of interest as to allow our friends and neighbors and kindred to

come into our lives and pass out again without a word of invitation to accept Christ, to say nothing of sounding a note of warning because of their peril?

·        If today is the day of salvation, if tomorrow may never come, and if life is equally uncertain, how can we eat, drink and be merry when those who live with us, work with us, walk with us and love us are unprepared for eternity because they are unprepared for time?

·        If Jesus called his disciples to be fishers of men, who gave us the right to be satisfied with making fishing tackle or pointing the way to the fishing banks instead of going ourselves to cast out the net until it be filled?

·        If Jesus himself went seeking the lost, if Paul the Apostle was in agony because his kinsmen, according to the flesh, knew not Christ, why should we not consider it worthwhile to go out after the lost until they are found?

·        If I am to stand at the judgment seat of Christ to render an account for the deeds done in the body, what shall I say to him if my children are missing, if my friends are not saved, or if my employer or employee should miss the way because I have been faithless?

·        If I wish to be approved at the last, then let me remember that no intellectual superiority, no eloquence in preaching, no absorption in business, no shrinking temperament or no spirit of timidity can take the place of or be an excuse for my not making an honest, sincere, prayerful effort to win others to Christ.  J. Wilbur Chapman http://www.bible.org/illus/w/w-36.htm   

 

In a few short weeks we are going to have the privilege of bringing people to special meetings we are calling “Friendship Weekend”. This is a way you will have the joy of sharing the good news of Jesus with others by bringing them to some of these events. 

 

Will you take the time to share your joy with those who need to hear it?

 

THE ANGELS HAD THE JOY OF REVEALING

THE SHEPHERDS HAD THE JOY OF RECEIVING

THE SHEPHERDS AND ANNA HAD THE JOY OF REPORTING

MARY HAD THE JOY OF REFLECTING

 

Luke 2:19 - But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

 

Do you reflect on your joys?

Do you remember with a joy a kindness that was shown you long ago?

Do you remember with joy a past or current friendship?   

Do you reflect on the joys that your children have given you?

Do you reflect on the joys of many years of marriage.

 

Mary thought on all the events of Christmas.

She pondered them. She remembered them.

In fact, I personally believe that Luke’s account of the Christmas story probably came from Mary herself.

She was able to share many years later because she had pondered them in her heart.

 

Have you discovered the joy of reflecting in a Spiritual sense?

The more you memorize and meditate upon Scripture the more joy you will have.

 

And the more you reflect on the Christmas story and what it means to you, the more joy you will have.

 

Jeremiah 15:16 - Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts.

 

Almost everyone of us will gather somewhere for a present exchange on either Christmas Eve or Morning.

I want to challenge you to do what Dottie and I and now our kids do.  Before a single present is opened we read the Christmas story.

 

And as you drive in your car to go Christmas shopping or do some other Christmas chore, take the time to think about the Christmas story and what it means to you.

Thinking on the birth of the Lord Jesus will bring you joy!

 

MARY HAD THE JOY OF REFLECTING

THE WISE MEN HAD THE JOY OF RECIPROCATING

  

Matthew 2:1-12 tells the story of the Wise Men who came to visit Jesus.

These mystical men of the east came bearing gifts.

In appreciation for the birth of “The King of the Jews” they brought gifts.

They brought four gifts.

Yes, four!

They brought gold, frankincense and myrrh.

But they also brought the gift of worship.

Matthew 2:11 says they …fell down and worshipped him. 

 

Their worship for the King of Kings and Lord of Lords was the best gift of all.

Do you appreciate what Jesus has done for you?

You could never fully reciprocate for what He has done, but there are some things you can do. These things will bring joy.

 

·        Joyfully take the time to worship Him.

·        Joyfully help someone else in need in His name.

·        Joyfully continue to support His church and His missionaries.

 

Christmas is a time of joy.

Bible characters had joy at Christmas.

 

THE ANGELS HAD THE JOY OF REVEALING

THE SHEPHERDS HAD THE JOY OF RECEIVING

THE SHEPHERDS AND ANNA HAD THE JOY OF REPORTING

MARY HAD THE JOY OF REFLECTING

THE WISE MEN HAD THE JOY OF RECIPROCATING

 

You too, should have joy this Christmas.

 

THE JOY OF RECEIVING

THE JOY OF REPORTING

THE JOY OF REFLECTING

THE JOY OF RECIPROCATING