Anticipation is built into Christmas. Opening presents, seeing family, eating delicious food. It’s as true today as it was 2,000 years ago. Let’s kick off the Christmas season anticipating great joy.

Transcript

CHRISTMAS JOY

This year, we enter the Christmas season focused on the theme of joy. We’ve even titled this series, Christmas Joy. And for most, joy is synonymous with happiness. And the Christmas season is indeed a happy time because there are so many great things we’ve been anticipating. Christmas is a season full of anticipation. We eagerly wait trying to contain the growing excitement of experiencing something fun and exciting! I know for me, as soon as you start hearing Mariah Carey on the radio or YouTube that’s when I get into Christmas prep mode, but some of you crazy Christmas cuckoos, you’ve been anticipating since Halloween. We all know that Christmas going to happen, but it’s just a matter of when so as we wait, it’s helpful to have something to look forward to.

WHAT DO YOU ANTICIPATE?

Some of us look forward to time off work or school so we make plans to stay up late, buy our favorite snacks, and binge-watch our favorite shows. For others, we turn off our alarms to sleep in. Maybe we anticipate spending time with other so we make plans to get together with friends and families or plan vacations with loved ones. Some of us look forward to receiving and giving gifts so we come up with our wish lists to get what we want or shop for our loved ones to find the one gift that will make the recipient react like this:

And I trust that we all anticipate enjoying delicious meals so we make plans that this will be our last splurge before making weight loss resolutions. Maybe we anticipate nostalgia when we practice meaningful childhood traditions stirring sentimental moments that we want to share with our loved ones. Whatever it is, there is a growing anticipation as we eagerly wait for parts of Christmas or all of it.

ANTICIPATING JESUS

Now, while we anticipate all these great things, for the believer, Christmas is an extra special time that reminds us of who we are eagerly waiting for and that’s Jesus. During Christmas, the Christian faith not only celebrates Jesus’ birth, but we also celebrate the anticipation of his second coming. Over the centuries the Christian faith has also included elements to remind us to eagerly wait for his second coming because in Acts 1:11, after Jesus goes to heaven, two angels tell the disciples this,

“This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

Waiting for Jesus has felt really long and it can feel really long. I mean he’s been away for 2,000 years and for some of us, waiting for Christmas already feels long enough! Each year, we wait 11 months, which is 48 weeks or 335 days or 8,000 hours or 480,000 minutes just to celebrate Christmas, but at least we can sustain our joy by shopping for next year’s Christmas decorations during sales in January. Maybe we buy gifts throughout the year for Christmas. Maybe we celebrate Christmas in July. I don’t quite know what that is, but has anyone celebrated that? I don’t think I’ve ever met anybody who became so hopeless that they had to wait for next year’s Christmas, but some have become hopeless waiting for Jesus. Some kind of follow Jesus’ commands, others loosely believe in Jesus, while others simply stop believing. So this morning, I want you to ask this question, what sustains you as we wait for Jesus’ second coming?

Unlike Christmas where it’s a set date every year, we don’t know when Jesus is returning.

• So, what helps you stay eager to wait for Jesus’ return?

• What helps you stay the course when there isn’t something you can circle on your calendar?

• What keeps you waiting when other believers have waited for thousands and thousands of years?

• What keeps you waiting when others have given up on Jesus?

I’m glad you’re here this morning because the answer to this question is joy. Joy is what keeps us eagerly waiting for Jesus. And earlier, I mentioned that joy is often synonymous with happiness, and it is, but there is more to it. So, let’s see what joy means to help us eagerly wait for Jesus’ return this Christmas.

DIFFERENTIATING HAPPINESS AND JOY:

I think it’d be helpful to differentiate joy and happiness. Clarence L. Haynes Jr. offers a simple way of looking at it ("What Does It Mean to Have True Joy"),

“Happiness is because of. Joy is in spite of.

Happiness is because of. Joy is in spite of.”simple

Generally, happiness is dependent on external factors. Our happiness comes from the things that happen around us. A handful of dictionaries defined it as feeling delighted or pleased about something. Happiness occurs when external things positively impact us.

Joy on the other hand is feeling delight regardless of the situation or circumstance. Joy is feeling delight without being affected by external factors.

Some would argue that trying to make a distinction between joy and happiness is like splitting hairs, but psychologist, Pamela Ebstyne King, offers this ("What Is Joy and What Does It Say About Us?),

“I have noticed that happiness can be a fleeting feeling that might accompany a slice of pizza and passes as soon as I digest it...I have observed that many people have an enduring and underlying sense of something that is deeper than the emotion of happiness, and I have come to describe this as joy. In my study of joy, I have also noticed that joy is more complex than a feeling or an emotion.”

I’d have agree that joy is a more complex emotion. If you’ve ever made someone upset, it is difficult for them to become happy if you tell them to. You have to coax them, clarify misunderstandings, apologize, etc. and get them from a place of conflict to a place of peace and experience happiness. It’s hard for someone to be happy based on circumstance, but joy is unique because despite the circumstance a person can feel delight. Psychological studies have shown that we can experience multiple emotions at once like sadness and happiness. At funerals, we can feel sad that we’ve lost someone and glad that they are no longer suffering or that they are in a better place. King offers this to help us differentiate joy some more. She says,

 “Consequently, I suggest that joy is most fully understood as a virtue that involves our thoughts, feelings, and actions in response to what matters most in our lives. Thus, joy is an enduring, deep delight in what holds the most significance.”

And that’s why this Christmas, it’s so crucial for us to understand what joy is. Joy is a deep, enduring emotion that involves our thoughts and feelings regarding what matters most in our lives. Joy helps us weather all the circumstances that we experience, which helps us stay eager for Jesus’ return. Joy has helped all the believers and saints before us stay faithful to God, especially in their darkest and most hopeless moments. And if it’s anywhere that we should look to see what joy looks like, it’s in the book of Isaiah.

JOY IN THE BIBLE

We get one of the most popular Christmas passages in Isaiah 9:6-7. You probably see it on Christmas cards, Christmas decorations, and you might even hear it in Christmas songs. This is what Isaiah 9:6-7 says,

6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.

Now, this passage describes Jesus 700 years before he was born. And as wonderful as this passage sounds let’s understand the context. Isaiah was a prophet who wrote to his people regarding their rebellion against God. The people didn’t trust God’s promise or commands and chose to do whatever they pleased. Isaiah informed his people that their rebellion would result in God’s judgment. Specifically, God would allow other nations to conquer them eventually causing them to be exiled from their homeland. Even though this was the consequence of their disobedience, God still provided them with hope so He promised them the Messiah, or a rescuer. And in Isaiah 9:6-7, the Messiah would be a person born to rule over all nation who would be known as:

• Wonderful Counselor

• Mighty God

• Everlasting Father

• Prince of Peace

These 4 titles are significant because they provided a reason for the Israelites to hold onto hope and eagerly await the arrival of Jesus to save them even in their most hopeless of situations. Let me quickly break them down.

THE TITLES OF THE PROMISED RESCUER

1. Wonderful Counselor describes someone worth marveling over because he is both human and God. His wisdom is none like any other. It’s beyond all human capabilities and needs no wisdom from others.

2. Mighty God describes a divine hero who is the most powerful warrior.

3. Everlasting Father describes a forever and kind provider and protector who cares for his children instead of abusing them.

4. Prince of Peace describes a person who brings complete wholeness and well-being to everyone and everything with no issues left unresolved.

The Messiah that Isaiah spoke of would be the king who would be the perfect rescuer for all of the nations. That’s the joy of anticipation that God’s people had, and it kept them hopeful for 700 years before Jesus was born. And a quick side note, 400 of those years are referred to as the 400 years of silence because between the Old Testament and New Testament, God was silent, and no scripture was written.

HOW DO WE RESPOND WHEN WE ARE ANTICIPATE SOMETHING GREAT?

When Jesus was born, those who recognized Jesus as the Messiah were filled with the deepest experience of amazement. You can read all of this in Matthew 2 and Luke 2. After the shepherds saw baby Jesus they glorified and praised God. Simeon, who was waiting to see the Messiah, and Anna, an old prophet also praised and gave thanks to God. The Wisemen brought crazy expensive gifts to baby Jesus. Have you responded in such a way to the things you’re hopeful for? And even though the disciples saw and experienced Jesus with their own eyes, the joy of anticipating Jesus’ return caused the disciples and early followers of Jesus to eagerly wait even though they faced unfavorable situations.

THE DISCIPLES’ JOY AND HOPE IN JESUS

James, the brother of Jesus, writes to the church who was scattered because of persecution,

 “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.”

Believers were being put in jail and even being executed for their beliefs, but James is telling the congregation to be joyful when faced with extremely difficult situations. I don’t think happiness would be the emotion that we would be feeling if we were in the same situation. But, it was their joy that allowed them to stay hopeful even in the most difficult times. Similarly, Paul echoes these sentiments too in his letter to the Philippians, which he wrote while he was in prison. And he was in prison because he was sharing the gospel. While in jail, he writes in Philippians 4:4,

 “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”

Throughout Philippians, Paul informs us that the church is concerned about his wellbeing, but Paul’s encourages them that he is able to endure because he is joyful in the hope that he has in Jesus, which eventually leads him to write to the church,

 “I can do all things through him who gives me strength.”

This is a verse commonly used for our own goals. That I can do anything I want for myself because God gives me strength, but Paul informed the church that he was so joyful in God that it allowed him to honor God in any circumstance. And over the years and even today, many Christians have been persecuted and killed for their belief, but it is the undying joy and hope that they have in Jesus that keeps them going.

APPLICATION

So how do we remain joyful in this hope? How do we stay eager to anticipate Jesus’ return? How do you continue to be faithful to God’s promise when you can’t circle it in your calendar? What keeps you hopeful when others turn away from the faith or just simply doubt? First, we must understand that our joy is not our own. When we believe Jesus, we are gifted the Holy Spirit into our lives, and Galatians 5:22-23 tells us that,

 “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.”

We gain joy when we believe in Jesus. We gain contentment and satisfaction with God. Joy is not something that we can create from out own, but it comes from the Spirit who works in our lives transforming us from our old tendencies into our new selves. But how do we experience joy? And how do we keep it when we experience it? John 15:10-11 tells us this,

 “If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”

We keep our joy and it overflows when we obey Jesus’ commandments and his commandments are simple because he tells us what they are.

 “This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:12-13)

and

 “This is my command: Love each other.” (John 15:17)

Our joy grows when we love each other because we experience and kindness and peace that he promises. And when you experience the things that Jesus promises, it keeps you eager to be joyful and hopeful in Him. There is nothing else in the world that will ever promise us to experience the fullness of life except Jesus. There’s always upgrades, updates, and improvements to the things we have that we think will make our lives better, but the hope in Jesus Christ has always been the same since the beginning and that’s why we must joyfully anticipate Jesus if it’s our first time or if we’ve been hopeful. Let’s pray.