This morning we’re continuing on in our Advent series…this morning we lit the third of five candles as we work our way around the various candles of the Advent wreath.
You may have noticed that this candle is a different color from the other three… there are three purple candles around the outside of the wreath and one pink candle…the third pink candle symbolizes joy.
Pink is the liturgical color for joy…the third Sunday of Advent is Gaudete Sunday and celebrates the joy of Christ’s coming to earth.
Since at least 750 AD…about the time the Church first started celebrating Advent … Benedictine monks began Mass on the third Sunday of Advent by chanting in Latin the command from Phil. 4:4…gaudete in Domino semper…Rejoice in the Lord always …emphasizing the joy of the coming of the Lord.
It is meant to remind us of the ‘already, but not yet’ …because Advent is about expectations.
When the Old Testament saints waited expectantly for the coming of the Messiah that occurred when God came to earth in the form of a human on that first Christmas day…that is the already part.
The ‘not yet’ part is the time we’re living in now…we stand between the first and second advent…an equally important time when we are waiting expectantly on the second coming of the Lord…that’s the not yet part.
It’s appropriate at Christmas time that we sing “Joy to the World” …a song written by Isaac Watts in 1719.
What is interesting about this song is that it was not written as a Christmas carol …in its original form, it had nothing to do with Christmas…it wasn’t even written to be a song.
Watts often wrote paraphrases of the Psalms …commentaries…and “Joy to the World” was inspired by his study of Psalm 98…what’s interesting about this Christmas song is the only stanza that is even related to Christmas in the whole song is in the first one that announces ”the Lord is come” …other than that there is no mention of …Mary or Joseph…the angels…or the Shepherds…the manger…the Wise Men … yet, it is one of our most beloved Christmas carols because it really captures the essence of Christmas, which is joy.
Joy appears in the opening pages of the New Testament…joy begins even before the birth of Jesus when God tells Zechariah…John the Baptist’s father…that:
Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness [Luke 1:13].
When Jesus was born an angel appeared to the shepherds and declared, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people [Luke 2:10].
After His resurrection and before His ascension back into heaven the disciples:
worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy [Luke 24:52].
So…even before Jesus’ birth and throughout His ministry, joy was clearly evident.
But just like with the other two Advent themes…hope…and peace…there is a conflict with joy.
With respect to ‘hope’ …some use the word hope as a way of expressing wishful thinking…that’s worldly hope…having a desire for a certain thing to happen but having no control over whether or not it will actually happen… worldly hope is a desire for something to happen.
Whereas Biblical hope is not just a desire for something to happen…it expects it to happen…Biblical hope is the confident expectation that something will happen.
With respect to peace…worldly peace is thought of as the absence of conflict, but Biblical peace is more than just the absence of conflict…it’s taking action to restore a broken situation…in Jesus’ coming to earth and His subsequent death God took the action to restore the broken fellowship between Himself and man.
since we have been justified through faith, we have Peace with God… [Romans 5:1]
So, all three Advent themes…hope…peace…and joy are all closely related …this morning we’re talking about the ‘joy’ portion of the Advent season.
BUT…Just like with worldly hope and worldly peace…there’s a difference between Godly joy and worldly happiness.
One of the obvious differences between happiness and joy is that worldly happiness tends to be externally based on things that are superficial.
Other people…places…thoughts…or events…here’s what researchers have found that affects happiness:
…how much money you have
…what kind of job you have
…what kind of car you drive
…what kind of house you live in
…what kind of friends you have
…people in larger cities are less happy than people in smaller towns.
…education seems to have an effect on happiness
Researchers found that education contributes to happiness, believing people who obtain more education will have more leisure time than less educated people and therefore are happier.
BUT…just with all those things that contribute to happiness…it’s obvious happiness is temporary…it is an outward expression that is dependent on external factors…it can be present for weeks and gone in an instant…when
…you don’t have money
…you don’t have a job
…you become homeless
…you lose your car
…your friends
…your loved ones forsake you
…when things get rough
When the source of the happiness is gone the search begins for a new source…a new thrill…a new desire…happiness is gone because happiness is dependent upon external things…that’s why the Bible doesn’t talk much about happiness.
Happiness focuses on what is happening at the time…for many, happiness is nothing more than a temporary interruption to boredom.
And even though we can experience happiness during difficult times…the Bible speaks about something that is often confused with happiness…joy.
The kind of JOY the Bible talks about goes much deeper than mere happiness… Godly joy doesn’t depend on what’s happening…joy is an inner sense of well-being despite the circumstances you’re experiencing.
Today we are living in a world where people are searching for joy in their lives …so the question is: How can I find joy?
You can have joy even in difficult situations…everything doesn’t have to be right in your life for you to experience joy.
Here’s the joy God’s peace produces…He doesn’t eliminate them…He gives you the ability to endure them because it pushes through all the disturbing circumstances that life can throw at you.
The benefit of joy is that you can rise above the trials and tribulations of life and still find reasons to have joy in your life…whereas happiness can vanish during difficult times.
The joy God gives is an inner peace knowing you’re in God’s will even during difficult times…because you know He is aware of every situation in your life.
In fact, Scripture says to consider it all joy when you encounter difficult situations because at times it just might be God who is putting you in those situations.
Why would God do that? Why would He put you in a situation that discourages us and hinders our joy?
I recently read a secular article that attempted to explain why difficult situations keep happening to you that rob you of your joy…a couple of the explanations are actually Biblical.
The first explanation is; you’ve been unlucky.
The second explanation is: you’re making the same mistakes again and again.
The third explanation is: you aren’t learning your lesson.
The fourth explanation is: they aren’t bad situations, you just overlook the good. https://www.aconsciousrethink.com/10822/bad-things-keep-happening/
The first line of “Joy to the World” sums it up…there is one reason and only one, that we can find JOY in this world…we have joy because The Lord has come!
The kind of JOY the Bible describes can’t be found in possessions or entertainment or even in looking deeply into your inner self…it doesn’t depend on good circumstances.
(Romans 15:13) We cannot will ourselves to experience joy. It comes from God alone.
(Galatians 5:22) Like peace…joy is a fruit of the Spirit). The more time we spend with God the more joy we experience…joy only comes from God.
(John 16:22) No one can take God’s joy from us. Given by God, no one has the ability to rob us of our joy. No matter the circumstances no one can take this away.
One of the things people love about Christmas is that it truly is a joyful season… all season long we celebrate with music…lights…decorations…getting together with family and friends…sharing Christmas dinner with each other … watching Hallmark Christmas movies…going to the church’s Christmas eve service…not to mention the exchanging of gifts…it is a joyful time of the year.
But…you can’t help feeling at times that the world hijacks the true joy of the season that is Christmas because when it comes right down to it the real joy at Christmas doesn’t come from the lights…the decorations…the music…or presents…but from the meaning of Christmas.
At the heart of Christmas is the astoundingly good news that Jesus was born as The Savior of this world…from the beginning to end the Christmas story is punctuated with outbursts of joy.
They all center around the birth of Christ…you can’t get away from it…you can’t get around it…you can’t spell Christmas without Christ…and you can’t enter into the true joy of the season without Jesus.
Joy is not produced by humans…we can all feel happiness, but true joy can only be experienced when we are connected to God and His Holy Spirit…joy is a special emotion only produced when we are connected to the Holy Spirit… actually, it is one of the “fruits”, or outward signs produced by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
A group of atheists bought a billboard in Times Square and asked the provocative question: Who needs Christ at Christmas?
They answered their own question with a one-word answer—nobody…and for countless Americans, including some who call themselves ‘Christians’, that is the answer.
Christmas can now be about anything you want it to be…it can be about family …friends…presents…parties…shopping…Santa Claus…hot chocolate, anything you want it to be.
Let me urge you this Christmas to take another look at Christmas…look at it again with fresh eyes….look past the commercialization…listening to the message of hope… peace…and joy…then you will know what Christmas is all about.
For the Christian, Christmas is a joyous time of the year knowing that we are His children and that one day Heaven will be our home.
That is a gift and promise we can all look forward to…this year look at Christmas in a new way…this year invite Jesus into your heart…the joy and peace you receive will last all year.