JESUS THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING JOY
Nehemiah 8:10b “And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”
The joy of the Lord provides you strength from God to face anything.
1 Thessalonians 5:16, “Rejoice always” or “Always be joyful.”
Romans 15:4 “Everything written in the Scriptures was written to teach us, in order that we might have hope through the patience and encouragement which the Scriptures give us.”
1. Joy is found where you are in life.
Luke 2:8–9 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.
Suddenly everything can change for joy in our lives.
Joy is not about my circumstances. It’s about him suddenly showing up in my life.
2. Joy is given as a gift, a blessing from the Gift Himself-Jesus.
Luke 2:10-12 “They [the shepherds] were terrified, but the angel reassured them. ‘Don’t be afraid!’ he said. ‘I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.’”
Joy is recognizing in the realities of life that God is with us in Christ/ where we are. no matter the circumstances we are experiencing.
You could spend the rest of your life trying to find what God has already sent… and miss it.
Joy is sent from above and flows from within us.
Good news becomes great joy when it becomes personal. Christmas is personal.
Luke 2:17-18, “After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished.”
Joy is sent in the Son. Then, that joy is shared with other people.
One of the principles of joy is you can’t bottle it up in yourselves. It will be stifle and seem to wither.
The Joy of Jesus is meant to be shared with other people, that’s when the joy starts flowing and overflowing in your life again.
Just as Jesus is the gift that keeps on giving in us he is the gift that is meant to be shared through us.
3. Joy is a first step from who and where you are to Jesus Savior and Lord.
Joy is a first step toward Jesus and a journey of life with Him.
Matthew 2:9–10 After listening to the king, they went on their way. 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.
Psalm 30:5,“Crying may last for a night, but joy comes in the morning.”
John 16:20,“You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.”
Take the first step toward Jesus in the midst of where you are and continue the journey with Him and experience his unending joy.
Recognize God is with you – that’s the first step.
4. Joy is scary because it’s not for everyone
Luke 2:34, “Then Simeon blessed them, and he said to Mary, the baby’s mother, ‘This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall, but he will be a joy to many others.”
It was the people that recognized that Jesus came to give them something they never had. Those are the people that found great joy.
5. Joy is a difficult choice.
Luke 1:46–48 And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;”
Luke 1:29-30, “Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. ‘Don’t be afraid, Mary,’ the angel told her, ‘for you have found favor with God!’”
She decided to trust God instead of trust in herself.
The thing about joy is it often scares you at first because you’ve got to let go of the familiar and make this decision to trust God instead of trusting yourself.
Hebrews 12:2. “For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Matthew 15:11, “I have told you these things so that you can have the same joy I have and so that your joy will be the fullest possible joy.”
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