Central Christian Church Lampasas

The Greek word for joy is chairo; cheerfulness, i.e. Calm delight -- gladness

Joy is a state of mind and an orientation of the heart. It is a settled state of contentment, confidence, and hope. It is something or someone that provides a source of happiness. It appears 88 times in the Old Testament in 22 books; 57 times in the New Testament in 18 books.

In today's passage the source of Christian joy is revealed.

1. Christ's birth brings joy

Unfortunately, some Christians seem to have the same problem as Charlie Brown when we should be lifting up our Lord and Savior.

There has been born for you a Savior. That is the high note of this entire passage. The shepherds and the angels are bit players, as it were, in the scenario in which the Savior who has been born is the main character. There has been born for you a Savior. This is the greatest news the world has ever heard.

This is the good news. In fact, that's exactly what it says in verse 10, "I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people." This is the good news. One has been born who will save sinners from their sins.

Seven hundred years before the baby was born, seven hundred years before the Savior was born a prophet, a Hebrew prophet by the name of Micah had predicted that when He was born He would born...be born in a little village called Bethlehem, house of bread. A somewhat obscure village except for one fact, it was the hometown of David, the great king. It was where his father, Jesse, lived. And that was very important because that played into the fulfillment of the prophecy. The prophet Micah said that when He's born He'll be born in Bethlehem. Though it would be a little place, He would be born there. The great Messiah, the Savior of the world, would be born there.

As it turned out, God had to orchestrate all the events to make that happen. Caesar Augustus, who didn't know anything about Micah or the Old Testament or God and couldn't have cared less, decreed that a census be taken. He decreed that census would be taken in all the fullness of the Roman Empire. That included Judea. And so the Jews had to comply with the sentence...with the census. They resisted apparently for some time because the census was given in 8 B.C., they didn't comply until two to four years later. And when they did comply, Herod or somebody in Israel, maybe the Sanhedrin, maybe Herod, required that the Jews, to register for the census, had to go back to their house of ancestry, as it were, back to their origins.

So that meant Joseph and Mary who were both in the line of David had to go to Bethlehem which was the home of their ancestor, David, and there they had to register. And it just so happened that the timetable of the census required them to be there. Probably there was a deadline like April 15 that required them to be there at a certain time and so they had to make the eighty-five to ninety-mile journey while she was in the last weeks of her pregnancy. Something you wouldn't normally do under those conditions because it was really a distance you had to walk, be carried on a donkey. But they did it because they had to. And that put them there at the strategic time and the child was born exactly where the prophet said He would be born, in the little village of Bethlehem.

We are told to rejoice, pray, and to give thanks in every situation.

One of the greatest phrases in all of Scripture is “in Christ Jesus.”

2. God's presence brings joy.
Encountering nice, heartwarming celebrities can be a joyous occasion for their fans.

How much more joyous should it be for a Christian to encounter the True and Living God? Joy is a state of mind and an orientation of the heart. It is a settled state of contentment, confidence, and hope. It is something or someone that provides a source of happiness. It appears 88 times in the Old Testament in 22 books; 57 times in the New Testament in 18 books.

Christians should always find reasons to be joyful. There are many ways to define joy. Joy isn't just a smile or a laugh. Joy is something that is deep within and doesn't leave quickly. When we have the joy of the Lord, we'll know it and so will others. Since joy is given by God and something that He wants us to have, we need to be joyful! In addition to being joyful, we should let others have their joy and not bring them down when they are excited about good things. The only thing worse than not having joy is stealing someone else's.

God’s presence can bring us joy in even the worst of circumstances.

Spending eternity in Heaven with God, the saints and the angels is something incredible.

3. God's spirit brings joy
The Holy Spirit’s presence may create hope, peace, love, and joy in the life of a believer. The Holy Spirit does this work, not magically without my mind being engaged, but by causing me to see the glory and beauty of Jesus Christ.

Joy is something we can attain by having the Holy Spirit in our lives:

Ask for joy! If we can't find reasons to be joyful, our perspective must change. God lets us have blessings every day. We should be able to see them and thank God for them. Additionally, we should ask for God's blessings!

God's Holy Spirit produces joy. Joy is a product of Christ-likeness. When we seek God through His Word and prayer, we will receive joy! Thank God that joy is something He wants us to have!

Christian joy is a good feeling in the soul, produced by the Holy Spirit, as he causes us to see the beauty of Christ in the word and in the world.