Good God It's Christmas 4 | Joy To The World

At Christmas, we often sing the song "Joy to the World, the Lord Has Come." Here at Cross Connection, we are preparing our hearts for Christmas and remembering that Jesus' coming into the world is the coming in of joy—the offering of joy to all humanity. Those who are followers of Jesus should have that evidence in their lives; it should be seen and expressed. Jesus has called us to extend that joy to others.

So, open your Bibles to Luke chapter 2 as we delve into that topic today. The author of the Gospel of Luke records, "Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.'"

God, we pray that you would open our eyes and increase our joy as we remember and consider your coming into this world. Your coming has brought the increase of joy, Lord. It makes possible the transformation of those who were once dead in trespasses and sins, so that we would be alive together with you for eternity.

We thank you, Father, that you love the world so much that you gave your only begotten Son, that whosoever puts their trust, their confidence, their faith in you should not perish but have everlasting life. We pray, God, that we would experience that everlasting life in a way that you described—that it would be abundant, that it would be full, and that in that abundance, it would be evident that you have brought that work and life about in us.

So transform us by the renewing of our minds—not just our minds, Lord, but the way that we live—so that we would show forth your glory. We ask this in Jesus' name, and all God's people agreed and said, "Amen." You can be seated.

The 17th-century Christian philosopher Blaise Pascal wrote...

All men seek happiness; this is without exception. Whatever different means they employ, they all tend to this end. The cause of some going to war and of others avoiding it is the same design in both, attended with different views. The will never takes the least step but to this object. The motive of every action of every man is towards this: the pursuit of happiness.

Our own nation was founded on that premise, among others, but that is one of the core ideas of our nation—the pursuit of happiness. Pascal said in the 17th century that all men seek for it; they are all in the pursuit of it. Now, some may argue whether or not that is true, whether or not all men are seeking for that. But one thing is certain: I have yet to meet a person who does not want to be happy. I have not found that person yet. If you know that person, maybe you can identify them and point them out. I hope they are not here in this place because we are all seeking joy; we are all seeking happiness.

I believe that God fashioned us in that way. He hardwired that pursuit into us, that desire. When you consider who God is as He is revealed in the Scriptures, the pursuit of ultimate happiness, the pursuit of ultimate joy, finally leads to Him. Though people may take paths and go down little alleys that seem to bring happiness, in the end, those things do not ultimately satisfy. That is why the 20th-century philosopher wrote, "I can't get no satisfaction."

There are people seeking satisfaction, happiness, and joy in all kinds of different things, but none of those things ultimately satisfy. All of those wells run dry. Jesus said rightly, "If you drink of this water, you will thirst again." But there is a well, a source of ultimate joy and happiness that is abundant, full, and enduring. As the Scriptures reveal, it is found in God. For King David, in Psalm 16:11, he said, "In Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."

Forevermore, the joy that comes from God is a joy that is abundant, overflowing, and enduring. At the beginning, there was joy. We have considered these truths many times here at Cross Connection, even in just the last several weeks. We often go back to the first book of the Bible, the Book of Genesis. You can turn there if you'd like to—Genesis chapter one is an easy book to find.

In Genesis chapter one, we find a famous verse. In fact, it is the verse that most people have at least read if they've tried to read the Bible, because it is the first verse. They may not get much further than that, but at least they read this: "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1). Of course, Genesis 1 continues with an accounting of what we commonly refer to as the six days of creation, and on the seventh, God rested.

In that passage, we see how God creates the heavens and the earth. He creates all the things that are upon the earth, bringing light, plants, and animals. Ultimately, He creates man in His image, fashions him from the dust of the ground, and breathes into him the breath of life. At the end of each of those days of creation, as God beholds what He did, He says it is good. The summary of this is given in the 31st verse: "Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good." So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

All of God's creation, everything that He had made, all that we can see and even that which we cannot see, was declared by God at the very beginning to be good, right, and ultimately just as God intended it to be. We are told that God made man in His image and made man to walk in relationship with Him. Genesis chapter 2 goes on to describe that a little more in depth. From what we can deduce in the opening chapters of the Bible, man and God had a oneness relationship. God, even at that time, in some way came and walked with the first man, Adam, in the cool of the day in the garden that He had made and given as a gift to humanity. So, there was, at the time of creation, relationship.

There was an unimpeded connection between God and man. Psalm 16, verse 11 says, "In Your presence is fullness of joy." There, in that creation, was joy. God made His creation, and He made man in the midst of His creation to experience and express that joy. One of the ways that He created from the very beginning for them to experience and express that joy was by forming woman from man. He brought her to man and joined the two as one flesh. He made them one in what we refer to as marriage. Marriage is the institution of God, not the creation of society or man. God created it, and He defines it.

As a side note, at the very beginning, He brought one man and one woman together and joined them as one. We know from what the wisest man who ever lived, Solomon, had to say in Proverbs chapter 5, verse 18. He says that we are to rejoice with the wife of our youth. There is joy in the garden, even in that God created the marriage union between Adam and Eve for them to experience and express joy. Solomon reiterates this in Ecclesiastes chapter 9, verse 9, where he advises us to live joyfully with the wife whom we love.

In Genesis chapters 1 and 2, we see them joined together, created in relationship with God, and there is joy in His presence. They are experiencing and expressing that joy in the marriage relationship with one another.

So, point number one on your outline: In the beginning, there was joy. Now, of course, this is only the first two chapters of the Bible. If you've read those, you know that they end on high notes. Unfortunately, the third chapter of the Bible does not end on a high note; it ends on something of a low note. In Genesis chapter 3, we find the extreme low of humanity. The fall is described in Genesis chapter 3.

I have spoken many times here at Cross Connection about the fact that the Bible is laid out with this overarching story that begins with creation. It immediately moves to the fall of humanity, and then the bulk of Scripture deals with God's redemptive plan. It moves from creation to the fall to redemption, and ultimately, we look forward to restoration. Those are the four segments of the Bible. The portion that deals with redemption is the longest, but ultimately, it is the plan.

God had planned before the foundation of the world. In Genesis chapter 3, we see the fall described, and within that fall is the loss of joy. I encourage you to read Genesis 3, as it is not very long. There are a number of words that stand out. The fall described there is filled with all kinds of sorrowful words that dominate the text.

In verse 10 of Genesis chapter 3, we read of fear. Then, in verse 13, there is deceit. In verses 14 and 17, we find a curse. In verse 15, there is enmity, and in verses 15 and 16, pain and sorrow are described. In verse 17, there is toil; in verse 18, we read of thorns; in verse 19, we read of sweat; and again in verse 19, we read of death. In verse 21, it is revealed that there is sacrifice, and in verse 22, there is evil. Finally, in verses 23 and 24, there is exile. All of these things are heavy results of the fall that occur in Genesis chapter 3: fear, deceit, a curse, death, toil, sacrifice, and evil.

The Apostle Paul touches on this note in Romans chapter 5, where he says that through one man, sin entered the world, and death through sin. Death spread to all humanity because all sinned. Sin and death came and spread to humanity, bringing misery.

Point number two on your outline is that the human experience after the fall is characterized by misery. All you have to do is look at the world to confirm this. No one has to look very far to see that the human experience after the fall is indeed characterized by misery.

To a certain extent, we might be able to tune it out or turn it off by shutting off the radio and not listening to the things happening in the world, or by turning off the TV and not watching the news, entertaining ourselves with the hundreds of channels available. There are ways we might be able to bury the misery and pain that occur in the world, but from time to time, there is no way to escape it. It is there before us.

Major events happen when there's an earthquake, a tsunami, a mass of tornadoes, a hurricane, or a terrible war. We hear about all the atrocities, and there are times when there's no way to remove ourselves from the misery of this world. It is constantly present, and even though we might be able to turn it off, can you imagine what it's like for God? He is all-knowing and all-seeing, and all of that rises before Him constantly and perpetually.

Some of you may have seen the movie "Bruce Almighty" with Jim Carrey. It may not be the best movie, but there is an interesting part where God gives Jim Carrey the opportunity to have power over a certain area. At one point, he starts hearing all these constant voices bombarding him, and he can't get away from it. It's driving him crazy, and he asks, "What is this?" Those are prayers, constantly coming before God—the problems, the misery, the suffering, the sorrow, and the pain that result from the curse described in Genesis chapter three. The world is under this misery, but I'm here to tell you that it's not as God intended it. It's not as He purposed it.

Yes, in His foreknowledge, God certainly knew that it would be as it is. Scripture reveals that God has foreknowledge of future things. However, it is not as He purposed it; it is not as He designed it to be. As a result, even before the foundation of the world, even before He said, "Let there be light," God had planned a redemptive plan. He knew the fall would come, and He knew that redemption would be necessary.

As you read through the Old Testament, the books between Genesis and Malachi, before you get to the book of Matthew, you see that God is hinting at what He desires, what He wants to bring, and what He is going to do in His redemptive plan. As I've talked about before, God is the gift-giving God. Like many gift-givers, He loves to leave hints about the gifts He is giving. Do any of you like that? You have a gift wrapped under the tree for someone, and you want them to open it so much. You want them to know what it is, but you have to wait until December 25th. Maybe you can't wait long enough, so you...

Open it on December 24th or let them open it on December 24th. But along the way, in between when you bought it, wrapped it, and put it under the tree, and the time that they open it, you're kind of leaving hints along the way. God does that. He does that in the Old Testament through men that are called prophets. God, through visions, revealed to the prophets in the Old Testament a better future—a future that is not marked by misery but a future that is defined once again by joy.

In the beginning, there was joy, but because of the fall, sin, and death, the human experience is characterized by misery. Yet God has a better plan, and He reveals that better plan to men like David, Samuel, Elijah, Isaiah, Micah, Daniel, and all these different individuals in the Old Testament whom God spoke to by special revelation.

A couple of weeks ago, we looked at one of those texts in Isaiah chapter 9. You can turn there if you'd like. Turn to about the middle of your Bibles in the Psalms and then turn to the right. You'll come to the book of Isaiah. It's a long book, and in Isaiah chapter 9, God is speaking through the prophet Isaiah to the nation of Israel. He is announcing that one day there is going to come this one who is going to bring restoration, who is going to bring redemption.

The most famous verses in the text are verses 6 and 7, and they are on Christmas cards and all kinds of different things that people have at Christmas time. There we read, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon his shoulder. He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace, there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over his kingdom, to order and establish it with judgment and justice from this time forward, forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this."

So, we're told about this one who is going to come to bring restoration and redemption. He is going to come as a little child; he is going to be born, as chapter 7, verse 14 says, of a virgin. We are even told in other places where he will be born and the timing of all these sorts of things. But this child is going to come, and he is going to bring a new rule. When you read through the verses preceding that, in verses 1 through 5 of Isaiah chapter 9, you find that this rule...

The coming of this one, this child that will be born, is going to be characterized by light coming into darkness. In verse 3 of that same passage, the prophet speaks of it not only as light coming into darkness but also as joy coming.

Look at Isaiah chapter 9, verse 3. The prophet says of God, "You have multiplied the nation and increased its joy. They rejoice before you according to the joy of harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil." This child that will be given is going to increase joy unto all people. The rejoicing is likened to the joy that comes when the harvest is gathered.

For us, living in the 21st century, this may not seem like a big deal because there are probably not too many farmers among us. However, I know there are a few people here who grew up on a farm, and you understand the joy of the harvest. To update this for our language, we might compare it to the joy of receiving a Christmas bonus—if you got one. There is a sense of joy, perhaps unexpected, that comes from something you worked for.

The prophet also compares this joy to the joy of those who divide the spoil. Again, we are not living in the 8th century BC when armies would go out against each other, and the victors would take the spoil. A modern analogy might be the experience of the winning team in the locker room after the Super Bowl. Anything is possible with God, and that joy experienced there is the joy described in Isaiah chapter 9.

However, there is a problem with the joy of the harvest and the joy of dividing the spoil: that joy is temporary. The prophet Isaiah is trying to express this in ways we can grasp, but we cannot fully articulate it because that joy only lasts for a little while; it fades quickly. Yet, the joy that God brings is enduring and expansive forever. Isaiah states, "You have multiplied the nation and increased its joy. They rejoice before you according to the joy of the harvest; they rejoice like the men who divide the spoil." Many years later, in several chapters, this theme continues to unfold.

After that, the prophet Isaiah prophesies again in Isaiah chapter 61. You can turn there. Isaiah 61 is an interesting passage because this is a passage that Jesus Himself read 700 years after the prophet Isaiah wrote it. He read it in a public venue, in a synagogue in His hometown of Nazareth. He got up on the Sabbath day, and they gave to Him the scroll of Isaiah. He opened to this point and read from this passage. After He read from this passage, He sat down, and everybody looked at Him, waiting for His application. What was He going to say after He read this? He said, "Today this is fulfilled in your hearing."

Jesus informs us that this passage, written by the prophet Isaiah 700 years before He came, is directly pointing to Him. Look at what it says in Isaiah 61, verse 1: "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor." Good tidings means gospel, good news. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound. He came to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.

The prophecy goes on to speak of "the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes." Notice this: "the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness." They may be called "the trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified."

Mourning, ashes, and all of these things—sorrow—are descriptive of the human experience after the fall, the misery under which all of humanity finds themselves. Yet here, the prophet Isaiah pictures and envisions a better day when one who is going to come will be anointed of God. That word "anointed" is "Mashiach" in the original Hebrew language in which this was written. Translated into Greek, it is "Christos" or "Christ." He would come as the anointed Christ. The Spirit of God would be upon Him. He would come preaching good news, the gospel. He would come healing those who were sick and setting captives free.

He would open the prison to those who are bound, and He would give the oil of joy to those who are mourning—those who are under the misery and sorrow of the fall. The prophet Isaiah says there is going to come One who will increase joy. In Isaiah chapter 9, verse 3, it is foretold that there will be One who will give the oil of joy for mourning.

The prophets continue through the Old Testament, and ultimately, they foresaw the advent of joy. They reveal where that bringer of joy would come from and what He would come for. In Genesis chapter 3, verse 15, we are told that this bringer of joy would come to destroy death and Satan. In Genesis chapter 12, it is stated that He would be from the family of Abraham. Then, in Genesis chapter 17, we learn that He would come through Abraham's son Isaac. In Genesis chapter 25, it is revealed that He would come through Isaac's son Jacob.

Furthermore, in Genesis chapter 49, we are told that He would come through Jacob's son Judah. Judah had twelve sons, and it is through this son that the bringer of joy, the bearer of joy, would come. In 2 Samuel, we find that He would be of the royal line of King David. The prophet Isaiah, as I already mentioned, said that He would be born of a virgin; He would be God incarnate, God in human flesh.

The prophet Micah, in Micah chapter 5, tells us that He will be born in the city of Bethlehem. Throughout the Old Testament, God, through the prophets, foresaw a greater future—a future characterized not by misery but marked by joy. He indicates where all of this will come about: from this child that is going to be born, the Son that is going to be given. He will destroy the curse and Satan. He will be of the family of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Judah, through the line of King David, born in Bethlehem to a virgin.

All of these details are very specific and point down to this One who would come. The prophets looked forward to the day that would dawn and bring these things. That is what we have been thinking about and considering over the last several weeks: the advent of Jesus, which is celebrated every year at this time in our culture and in other cultures.

Different times, but here in the West, we celebrate on the 25th of December. Whether it happened on that day or not, we celebrate the coming of Jesus. It doesn't matter if that was the day or if it was not the day; we celebrate that joy came to the world. We celebrate that He came to set captives free, to heal the brokenhearted, and to remove the misery of the stain of sin and death—not just for a moment, but eternally.

The advent of Jesus is the dawning of the fulfillment of those prophets who looked forward. They looked forward to a better future, in hopeful expectation. One of the family of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Judah, through the line of King David, was born of a virgin in the city of Bethlehem. He came, and then, as we saw in Luke chapter 2, there were in the same country shepherds in that same area, out in their fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.

Behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. It's an awesome thing that God, through a multitude of angels, revealed the coming of joy to just regular tradesmen, flying their trade out in the field as shepherds, keeping their flocks. He wasn't announced or revealed to King Herod or to the political powers of the day, but just to those who were experiencing the misery and sorrow of death.

There, the angel comes to them, and they are greatly afraid. The angel said, "Don't be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings." The very same thing that the Messiah would bring: gospel glad news of great joy, which will be to all people. I bring you the gospel of great joy—not the minimal sort of experience of joy that we might find in a Christmas gift that someone gives us for a temporary period of time. Not the minimal experience of joy that the Super Bowl-winning team will have until the next week when they realize that they have to do it all over again and that 40 percent of the team is going to be cut. So what? You have a big ring. What does it matter at the end of the day?

Not those minimal experiences of joy, even though we may think that that's the highest thing one can experience in this world and in this life. It's not. The angel announced to the shepherds keeping watch over their flock by night, and he said, "I bring you good news of great joy, which is for all people." Not just for a very small segment, not for the culturally elite, not for the wealthy, not only for the poor, not for those who are whole, and not only for those who are sick, but for all people at any time and in every place. It is good news of great joy for all people.

So he announces, "There is born this day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign to you: you will find the babe wrapped in swaddling cloth, lying in a manger." When Jesus stepped onto the scene of humanity, he came as the embodiment of joy. It is his very nature. Not only is he the embodiment of joy, but he is the path through which we can access joy. He opens the way; he opens the door so that we can lay hold of and apprehend that which was lost in the fall described in Genesis chapter three.

Remember what he said to his disciples there in the Gospel of John on the very night that he would be betrayed, on the very night that he would begin to stand trial, a mock trial, and be condemned to die? He said to his disciples in John 15, verse 11, "These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may remain in you and that your joy may be full." What things was he speaking to them? Well, he was speaking to them the Gospel; he was speaking to them good news. He says, "These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may remain in you and that your joy may be full, that you may have it in fullness and for eternity."

Jesus preached; he proclaimed that we would receive and experience maximal joy, not just temporary but enduring joy. Furthermore, a couple of chapters later on that same night, in John chapter 17, which is commonly referred to as the High Priestly Prayer of Jesus, as Jesus is praying to God the Father, he says this in John 17, verse 13: "But now I come to you, Father, and these things I speak in..."

The world that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I'm proclaiming these things so that all people would have my joy fulfilled in themselves. This brings us to point number four on your outline: the Christian experience should be characterized by joy.

The human experience after the fall is characterized by misery, but the Christian experience should be characterized by joy. It should be evident in us. In John chapter 14, verse 6, Jesus declares that He is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father but by Him. This means that He is the path to joy because, in the presence of God, Psalm 16:11 says, "In Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."

Jesus opens the way through which we can apprehend joy—enduring joy, fullness of joy. The one who is brought near to God in Jesus is a Christian. The one who is brought near to God in Jesus is the recipient and experiencer of increasing and abounding joy. That is what our lives should be marked by as Christians.

One of the things—not the only thing, but at least one evidence that we have this—is found in Galatians chapter 5. Paul speaks about the evidence of those who have the Spirit of God dwelling in them. This is one of the ways that Christians are described as those who are the temple of the Holy Spirit. It is written in 1 Corinthians chapter 3 and again in 1 Corinthians chapter 6 that the Spirit of God dwells inside the person who is a follower of Jesus.

So, one of the evidences of the Spirit of God residing in us is joy. Paul states it like this in Galatians 5:22: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, kindness." These are all great and wonderful things that you can't buy at the supermarket, and you can't go to school to get. These things are the evidence of the presence of God in us.

Therefore, the evidence of the Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit, is joy. It should be a part of our lives; our life should be marked by it. People should see that as a part of who we are. That being the case, point number five: the church is to experience...

We are to express and extend joy because Christians are the recipients of this joy in Christ. We are to experience it, express it, and extend it to others. On that point, I would say that if the experience and expression of Christianity in your life—if you're a Christian today—is one that is a melancholy, joyless countenance, then you're doing it wrong.

If our expression of the Christian life is a dour, "everything is pitiful and sorry" sort of experience, why would anybody want to be like us? Why would they want what we have? If we walk around saying, "Oh, everything's terrible, the world is falling apart, and it's all going to get worse," then why would anybody want that? If all men seek joy, and we have found it in Christ, then we should have this joy evident in our lives. People should want to know, "How do I get that?" They should see that we have something they are seeking.

It is amazing sometimes when you read the articles and interviews of people who are powerful, celebrities, and wealthy, yet they find themselves in a place of emptiness. They may say, "I got all the things; I got the award, I got the Academy Award, I got the Emmy, I got whatever it was, and it's nothing."

I remember years ago, there was a pastor friend of mine named Joey Buran; some of you may know him. He was a pro surfer years ago and had won the pinnacle of surfing, the Pipeline Masters, back in the early 1980s. About a decade ago, I was helping him move from Vista to Orange County. We went over to his parents' house to get some of his stuff, and while pulling things out of a spare bedroom, he pulled out a trophy from underneath the bed. It said "Pipeline Masters Champion" and was covered with dust. I thought, isn't this something that most people would put up on a stand somewhere?

And yet, as Joey started to talk with him, he said, "It was the lowest day of my life when I won that thing. Here I win this thing, and I stand up on this platform, and they give it to me. They take all these pictures, and within five seconds, this storm comes in and drenches everything with rain. I found myself alone, sitting on the beach with this thing, going, 'Is that it? Is that all it was?' There is nothing. Everything that he had given himself to cast him down into the worst depression of his life, which ultimately led to his salvation. That is a good thing, but it was the recognition that what he had aimed for, what he sought after, didn't do it; it didn't bring it.

In our lives, it ought to be evident. People ought to see love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and the like. They ought to see these things. We ought to experience joy. To experience means to come in practical contact with an event or occurrence that leaves an impression on someone. So, has your contact with Jesus left such an impression upon you by His joy that you are expressing it to others? To express it means to convey in words or by gestures in our conduct. That should be seen in our lives. Has our experience of joy in Christ begun to work its way out in our words, gestures, and conduct on a daily basis?

Now, I'll admit that that's not necessarily an easy thing. We all go through things day to day. We all have tasks and difficult situations that we encounter, which do not necessarily result in the expression of the overflow of joy. All of us go through those sorts of things, and there are challenges we face regularly that don't default to the overflow of joy. So, I'll confess that it's not easy, this whole thing. But I'm not saying that we manufacture some sort of Joel Osteen-ish plastered smile and walk around as if everything is great, even when the situation we're going through doesn't warrant that. There are certain things we go through that actually do not warrant just a plastered smile, saying everything's okay. It's an interesting thing.

When I was preparing to move to Germany about ten years ago, I was taking classes in German. One of the things that is common in our culture is that when we interact with people, one of the first things we say is, "How are you?" We don't expect them to actually tell us how they are. In fact, if they were to say they were not doing well, we would probably think, "I didn't want to hear that."

In German, the way of saying "How are you?" is "Wie geht's?" However, that's the instant mark that you're an American, because Germans never ask each other that. They look at it like, "You don't really want to know; why are you asking that?" Yet, that's how we interact with people.

In our culture, when someone asks you how you are, we typically respond with, "Everything's great," even if everything is not really great. There are certain situations that don't warrant that kind of response. There are moments that don't call for exuberant happiness on our faces, as that may not represent the reality of what we're going through at that moment.

However, for the Christian, we have a joy that does not find its foundation in this world or the circumstances of this life. Our joy is rooted in what God has promised us in the restoration of the resurrection. It is not seated in the job we have, the relationships we maintain, the house we own, the car we drive, or the money we make.

We will go through things in this life that warrant a different reaction or expression on our faces or in our character at that moment. However, the underlying current is one of joy because the trajectory of our lives is toward being with the Lord. In His presence, there is fullness of joy, and at His right hand, there are pleasures forevermore.

Charles Spurgeon said it well: "When you speak of heaven, let your face light up and be irradiated with a heavenly gleam. When you speak of hell, your everyday face will do." For the Christian, our trajectory, our orientation, is toward eternity. That is secure and set in Christ; it is not dependent upon our works.

Not dependent upon our righteousness, it's not dependent upon any other thing but Him. Our trajectory is set on heaven because He came, died, and rose from the dead. That's where we're going, and we should be those who experience joy. We should express it in the way that we live, and we should be those who extend it.

What does it mean to extend joy? The word simply means to hold out towards someone, to offer, or to make available. Jesus commanded us to go into all the world and preach glad tidings of good things; preach the Gospel. The call or commission upon the Christian's life is to extend what we have in Christ. One of the things we have in Christ is enduring joy, and so we are to be those who give this out, extending joy to a joyless world—a world that abides under misery.

Even though we find ourselves in the same cesspool of misery, we know that we're not there eternally. We know that we're headed in a different direction. Always point in that direction. I don't know what another direction is; we're headed somewhere else, not in this place forever. He commanded us to extend joy, to cause it to cover a larger area.

If we're going to do that, we must experience joy ourselves. You can't give out what you don't already possess. We need to learn what it means to experience the joy of God in Christ, and that it would begin to affect the way that we live. It should be expressed in the way that we interact with one another.

The sad reality is that because of all the trappings that hang on to Christmas in our culture, sometimes we're drawn down to a base level of a bad attitude. This can happen because there's too much traffic, too many people in line, or the thing you went to the store to get is no longer there. The item you bought may not be what you thought it was, or it may be broken. Whatever it may be, we're caused to feel this way.

Come down, and we lose our patience; we lose our joy, and we in no way represent Jesus, who is supposed to be the reason for the season. So, God, transform us. Change us. Make us more like You. Help us to experience this joy not just at Christmas time, but every single day of the year. Help us to experience it, to express it, and to extend it to others.

If the Bible is true, and Jesus is who He said He is and who we believe Him to be, then we have the answer for a world that is in misery. It is the joy that is found in Christ. That's right. The Advent, which we celebrate this week, is the Advent of joy. Joy has come to the world, and that which all men are seeking for has arrived. Blaise Pascal, in the 17th century, said that all men seek for happiness. That which all men seek for has come to the world, and it is available. If you're a Christian today, then you have it, and you need to make sure that you extend it to others.

It is my prayer for myself and for you as well that this week we would do that. Maybe you have a couple more days of work, and of course, you'll probably be with family members as you gather together on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. The greatest thing that we can offer to someone else this holiday season is the joy that we have in Christ. Amen.

Would you stand with me as we close in prayer? Jesus, the Scriptures reveal that because of what You did on the cross 2,000 years ago, we who have put our trust in You are heirs of You. We inherit You and Your glory, and all that is indwelling in Your nature: love, joy, peace, kindness, patience, and gentleness. All of these things are described in Galatians 5 and in other places as well. These things are ours in You, and God, I pray that we would take possession of them, that we would experience those things, and that we would have them seen and expressed in our lives.

And that through that, we would also extend it to others. God, I thank You for this time of year, where at the very least, people are desiring to experience or have joy. I pray, God, that it would be very clear in us that we do have that. Make it a part of our lives this week. We ask this in Jesus' name.