Good News of Great Joy
Steve W. Reeves
INTRODUCTION:
A. If
I were to ask you, “Are you a joyful person,” how would you answer?1. Happiness is superficial. Joy is deep within your heart.
2. Happiness is circumstantial. Joy is abiding.
3. Happiness comes and goes. Joy remains.
B. Joy is an important part of living a Christian life.
1. In John 15:11 Jesus told His disciples, “These things I have spoken to you so that
My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.”
2. In Philippians 4:4 Paul wrote, “Rejoice in the Lord always, and
again I say, rejoice.”
3. In Galatians 5:21 Paul lists joy as a component of the fruit of the Spirit.
C. If your physical heart is deprived of oxygen rich blood it will be weakened and
die. Joy is the oxygen of the soul. If it is cut off your spiritual life will suffer.
1. Your ability to share Christ with others will be hindered if they cannot see the joy of
the Lord in your life.
2. Your strength and stamina to bear life’s burdens will be weakened.
D. Is it possible to have joy in a world like ours? Can a person have joy in the midst of
escalating violence, scandal, conflict, suffering and death? .
1. The answer is, “yes.”
2. It was into such a world, filled with strife, slavery, sin and suffering, that Jesus was
born prompting the angel to announce, “I bring you good news of great joy.”
3. Luke’s account of Jesus’ birth of Jesus helps us understand the joy Christ brought
into the world.
I. THE JOY OF FULFILLMENT
A. Have you ever waited for a promise to be fulfilled? Can you imagine waiting 750
years for a promise to be realized? Seven hundred fifty years before Jesus was
born a prophet named Micah made a startling announcement. In Micah 5:2, “But
as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From
you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago,
From the days of eternity.”
1. Micah’s prediction about the little town of Bethlehem was dramatic because of
the insignificance of this little village.
2. Its name means, “house of bread.” It was more of a country crossroads than a
town in Micah’s time. When Jesus was born Bethlehem was still a small
village. It was certainly not the setting into which you would think God’s Son
would be born.
3. Luke records that in the days of Caesar Augustus (30 B.C. -14 A.D.) a man
named Joseph from the house of David traveled 80 miles from Nazareth with
Mary, who was carrying the child promised by God (Luke 1:26-38).
B. The birth of Jesus was the joyful fulfillment of God’s promise.
1. When Mary visited Elizabeth in Luke 1:39-45, Elizabeth’s baby, John, jumped for
joy within her womb.
2. When Jesus was born an angel of the Lord announced to shepherds nearby, “I
bring you good news of great joy.” He was joined by the angels singing, “Glory
to God in the highest and on earth, peace among men with whom He is
pleased.”
3. When the infant Jesus was taken to Jerusalem where he was presented in the
temple, there were two individuals, Simeon and Anna, who rejoiced at his
appearing. Both of them recognized that this child was the fulfillment of the Old
Testament promises concerning the coming of a deliverer.
C. Among all of these people there was a tremendous sense of fulfillment.
1. Do you know anyone who is seeking fulfillment in life?
2. J. Oswald Sanders wrote, “The comedian is often more unhappy than his
audience.” That was Sander’s way of saying how we often try to mask our
unfulfilled lives with the illusion of joy. In August of 2014 the world was shocked
to learn that Robin Williams had committed suicide. Williams had a brilliant
career as a comedian and actor. Yet, behind the mask was an emptiness that
could not be filled by the accolades and applause of the world.
3. The joy of fulfillment in your life is directly related to the birth Luke so carefully
described in his account of Jesus’ life. In the same way the birth of Jesus
brought the joy of fulfillment to those of His day, He can bring it to us.
II. THE JOY OF FREEDOM
A. Have you considered the things in life from which you would like to be free?
1. Freedom from guilt?
2. Freedom from inferiority?
3. Freedom from ridicule or prejudice?
B. Consider the significance of the angelic announcement. To whom was it made?
Why was it proclaimed to shepherds instead of royalty?
1. Shepherds were generally viewed with disdain and ridicule. They were treated
as outcasts from society.
2. Shepherds were not allowed in the temple. They were not permitted to give
testimony in a court of law. They smelled like sheep.
4. It was to these individuals that they good news of great joy came. Can you
imagine how liberating this must have been? As the shepherds went into
Bethlehem to find the baby, they told everyone they saw about the things that
had happened to them.
B. Luke understood how important freedom from bondage was. He was the only
Gospel writer to record the angelic proclamation to the shepherds. He was also the
only writer to record Jesus’ visit to His hometown synagogue in Luke 4. It was
there Jesus read from Isaiah, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He
anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release
to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are
oppressed, 19 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord” (Luke 4:18-19).
C. Without the birth of Jesus you and I could never know the real meaning of
freedom.
1. In John 8:34-36 Jesus said to the Pharisees, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone
who commits sin is the slave of sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house
forever; the son does remain forever. 36 So if the Son makes you free, you will
be free indeed.”
2. Just as the shepherds had been social outcasts we have all been spiritual
outcasts because of the stench of sin.
3. Without the birth of the baby in Bethlehem there would have been no freedom
from sin. If God had not broken through the barrier of eternity into time and
space there would have been no hope for reconciliation with God.
III. THE JOY OF FAITHFULNESS
A. The birth of Jesus is a powerful testimony of God’s faithfulness to us.
1. The advent of Jesus tells us that God has not given up on us.
2. It reminds us that we are valuable to Him.
B. Luke uses the word for faithfulness more than any other gospel writer (5 times in
Luke, 1 time in Acts).
1. Luke 16:10 - 12 – “He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much;
and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much.
Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will
entrust the true riches to you? And if you have not been faithful in the use of
that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own?”
2. Luke 12:42 – “And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and sensible steward,
whom his master will put in charge of his servants, to give them their rations at
the proper time?”
3. Luke 19:17 – “And he said to him, ‘Well done, good slave, because you have
been faithful in a very little thing, you are to be in authority over ten cities.”
C. Do you know the joy of faithfulness in your life?
1. Of one man it was said, “He has just enough religion in his life to keep him from
enjoying sin and just enough sin to keep him from enjoying his religion.”
2. Do you know the joy of complete loyalty to Christ? Jesus said, “No one can
serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will
be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth”
(Matthew 6:24).
3. Do you know the joy that comes from being faithful in worship? David said, “I
was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord” (Psalm
122:1). Many people do not utilize the opportunities to come together to worship
God. They do not find joy in such occasions. What about you?
4. Do you practice faithfulness in your stewardship with God or are you pleased to
give Him the left-overs of life?
D. The birth of Jesus reminds us that God has been faithful to us even when we have
not been faithful to Him.
CONCLUSION:
A. The Coca-Cola Company is a master at advertising. Many years ago they had an ad
campaign based on the slogan, “It’s the Real Thing.” The implication, of course, was
that other colas were cheap substitutes. They had the “real thing.”
1. Everything Satan has to offer you is a cheap substitute for the real joy that is found
in Christ.
2. He may offer you pleasure, prestige, power, plenty and pride but they are
temporary and fleeting.
3. The “Real Thing,” is the good news of great joy that accompanied the birth of
Jesus.
B. Are you ready to receive that joy? Will you put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ,
turn to Him, confess His name, renounce sin and be baptized into Christ today?
C. If you are a Christian, has Satan stolen your joy and replaced it with cheap imitations.
You can reclaim what is rightfully yours. Please come to Him today.
