The Advent of Joy | Sunday, November 29, 2020

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today for church online and at home. Happy Thanksgiving! A couple of days after the fact, I hope that you had a joyful time on Thursday, even if it was an awkward 2020 Thanksgiving. Everything in 2020 has been a little bit strange, or maybe a lot strange. But even with all the weirdness, I love the holidays, and they do bring with them a lot of joy, which is one of the things that I'll be talking about this morning in just a few minutes.

As we prepare to join Pastor Anthony and our worship team for a time of worship, would you please send out an invite on social media or as a text message to some of your friends so that they can join with us today as we talk about joy and as we talk about preparing for the holidays? Just send them that link: live.ccchurch.com. Do it now! This is the way. And listen, Disney stole that from us; we had that a long time before it showed up on Disney Plus. If you don't believe me, go look it up in Isaiah 30, verse 21.

But first, let's go to Pastor Anthony for worship.

Father, we declare right now that we love You with all of our heart. Lord, we thank You that You first loved us. As we lift up our voices, our hearts, and our hands in praise and worship to You, we pray that it will bless You and that You will be pleased. Lord, inhabit the praises of Your people. You are a good God, a good Father. Worthy are You, the Lamb who was slain, that gave His life so that we would have eternal life. We love You so, so much. It's in Your precious name we pray. Amen.

He's coming on the clouds. He's coming on the clouds. Kings and kingdoms will bow down. Every chain will break as broken hearts declare praise. Who can stop the Lord Almighty? Our God is alive, the Lion of Judah. He's roaring in power for the sins of the world. His blood breaks chains, and every knee will bow before the Lion and the Lamb. Oh, every knee will bow before Him.

Make way before the King of Kings. The God who comes to save is here to set the captives free. For the sins of the world, His blood breaks chains. Who can stop the Lord Almighty?

Who can stop the Lord? Who can stop the Lord Almighty? Who can stop the Lord? Oh my God! Who can stop the Lord? Our God is roaring with power and fighting our battles. He breaks chains, and every knee will bow before the Lion.

Hey, welcome, and thanks for tuning in to Cross Connection Church. We're really glad that you're here today and that we get to bring you church at home. My name is Garrett, and I'm one of the pastors here at Cross Connection Church.

At Cross Connection, we're all about living life in connection with God, one another, and the world through Jesus Christ. Part of the way that we do that, and we want to encourage you in that today, is through prayer.

Since we're not meeting in person yet, we would like to encourage you to check out prayer.lifeinconnection.com. It's our virtual prayer site on our website. You can type in your prayer requests, your family's requests, or anyone else's prayer requests, and submit them to our church. Know that our pastoral staff and our whole prayer team receive those instantly, and they get to be praying with and for you. We see God.

Answer so many prayers here at Cross Connection Church. We would love to be praying with and for you this week. Speaking of prayer, I want to mention our mission this week, which is Bubba and Kathy. They are missionaries in the Middle East, and I can't say exactly where, but I want you all to be praying with and for them because they are doing an amazing job out there.

Our mission is basically us highlighting the missions that we are supporting as Cross Connection Church. If you are giving and being faithful to our church in that way, know that this is what your tithe dollars are specifically supporting: the message of the Gospel around the world through our missionaries. Bubba and Kathy are one of them, and they are doing a phenomenal job. They are reaching out to local businesses and also doing some medical outreach in their community, all in the name of Christ. They are seeing so many people, talking to them, and sharing the message of Christ. So, just be praying with and for them; they definitely need that all the time.

I would love for your prayers for Bubba and Kathy Holzer. If you'd like more information, you can always reach out to the church, and we can send you that privately. However, publicly, we can't share much more than that, so please keep them in your prayers.

Before I give it back to Pastor Anthony, I want to mention that tonight we are going to be meeting at five o'clock, and we would love for you all to come. It's going to be just a short message and a time of worship out on our patio here at the church. Again, five o'clock—we would love to see you here tonight! We have heaters, and we're going to be roasting marshmallows. It's just a great time, so we would love to see you all here. If you have lawn chairs you'd like to bring to sit in, we welcome that. Also, if you have a mask, make sure to bring that with you just in case.

With that, I will turn it back to Pastor Anthony. He is going to lead us in a song. This is a time that we are setting aside to worship the Lord with our giving. God is good all the time, no matter what is going on. We want to be worshiping Him, and this is part of the way we do that. If you came prepared to give today, you can do that in three different ways. First, you can text the number 84321 on your cell phone. Second, you can go to give.lifeinconnection.com. Third, you can simply mail your offering to the church address: 1675 Seven Oaks Road. If you're here tonight at five o'clock, we also have the Agape box out there on the little podium.

I look forward to seeing you all there. Let's worship the Lord together. God bless you all, and we'll see you next week.

Thorns is crowned with glory now. The Savior knelt to wash our feet. The one who wore our sin in shame, the radiance of perfect love, now shines for all to see.

Your name, your name is victory. All praise will rise to Christ our King. Your name, your name is victory. All praise will rise to Christ.

The fear that held us now gives way to Him who is our peace. His final breath upon the cross is now what lies in me.

Your name, your name is victory. All praise will rise to Christ our King. Your name, your name is victory. All praise will rise to Christ our King.

By Your Spirit, I will rise from the ashes of defeat. The resurrected King is resurrecting me. In Your name, I come alive to declare Your victory. The resurrected King is resurrecting me.

The tomb where soldiers watched in vain was borrowed for three days. His body there would not remain. Our

Our God has rocked the grace. Your name, your name is victory. All praise will rise to Christ our King. Oh, your name, your name, your name is victory. All praise will rise to Christ.

In Your name, I come alive to declare Your victory. The resurrected King, by His Spirit, I will rise from the ashes of defeat. The resurrected King is resurrecting me. In Your name, I come alive to declare Your victory. The resurrected King is resurrecting me.

Yes, Lord God, we believe that, Lord.

You have risen, and Lord God, we will rise with You. Lord, we thank You for that truth, that power. Lord, we just praise You in Jesus' name. Amen.

In spite of all the chaos that has been 2020, it is the most wonderful time of the year. As I said at the beginning of our service this morning, I hope that you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, whether it was spent with loved ones, socially distanced, or Zoomed in. However you celebrated, I hope that it was a joyful celebration.

As I've shared many times in the past, this is my favorite time of the year. Really, from about September through the end of the year is my favorite season, and I think a lot of people feel the same way. It always seems to go a little bit too fast, but it's still enjoyable. I know that there have been a lot of additional stressors in 2020, but I hope that in spite of those things, your joy may be full.

That's one of the things that I've talked about pretty much every holiday season for about the last ten years. As we come into Christmas time, it is a time of the year that we dedicate to talking about things like joy, hope, love, and peace—all of those really great truths that the Bible speaks about when discussing the things we celebrate at Christmas.

As you well know, we have a tradition within Christian communities, within the church, and within our Western culture to sing that traditional Christmas carol, "Joy to the World." I think it is important that we remind ourselves that one of the things that Christmas speaks of is just that: the advent of joy. This is exactly what the prophet Isaiah spoke of when he prophesied about the coming of the Messiah some 2,800 years ago. Christmas is all about the celebration of the advent of Jesus, the coming of the Messiah into this world.

In Isaiah chapter 9, we read, beginning at verse 2: "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them..."

A light has shined. You have multiplied the nation and increased its joy. They rejoice before You according to the joy of the harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. For You have broken the yoke of his burden and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian. For every warrior's sandal from the noisy battle and the garments rolled in blood will be used for burning and fuel of fire.

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon his shoulder. His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, 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 that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

Those words, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given," are common on many Christmas cards this time of year. We have recognized for a very long time that these words speak of Jesus, some 700 years before his birth, before his coming, his Advent.

But notice that the coming of this child, the son that would be given, brings great joy. His coming brings great joy, joy like when you bring in a huge harvest. Even though we're not a bunch of farmers and we don't live in an agrarian society, maybe you brought in a large Christmas bonus, or you hope to bring in a large Christmas bonus. Just imagine bringing in a large Christmas bonus. If you did, it would bring an increase of joy.

So Isaiah says that the coming of this child, this son that would be given, brings joy, kind of like that, or joy like when you are released from a huge burden, like when you pay off that loan and you are now debt-free. That kind of joy is the kind of joy he is talking about in Isaiah chapter nine.

As I've shared many times before, the Advent of Jesus is the Advent of joy. Jesus' coming brings joy to this world. For the Christian, this should make us want to celebrate things like Thanksgiving and Christmas.

All the more, and hopefully this truth encourages us to share this reality with others—those who don't yet know this truth. We should share with them the reality of what this season is really about. Even if it is cliché, it's still true: Jesus is the reason for this season, and we should be very bold in sharing that with people, especially if we've experienced the joy and the peace that His coming brings.

Now, there is sometimes a discussion on the difference between the concepts of happiness and joy. I've even talked about the differences there. While one might be able to make a clear distinction between them, I'm not entirely sure that it is a distinction that is necessarily all that important. I've heard, and I've even shared before, that a difference could be identified between the two in that happiness is connected to experiences and joyful happenings, whereas joy can, or hopefully can, be experienced independent of happy happenings. Whether or not that is true is necessarily unimportant, but I will make two brief points on this idea of joy and happiness.

Four hundred years ago, the French philosopher Blaise Pascal observed that all men seek happiness, and I believe that this is true. The pursuit of happiness is even enshrined in our founding compact here in the United States of America, the Declaration of Independence. However, while all humans seem to seek happiness and joy, we accept that such things are fleeting; they quickly pass away and do not appear to be enduring. So, while we seek happiness and joy, as all people do, we feel as though we are seeking something that will last for only a short time before it disappears. We are on this never-ending pursuit for something we have come to feel we will never fully apprehend, not in its fullness.

But I want you to know that the joy that Jesus brings, and the joy that is revealed in the Scriptures as being brought by Him, is a joy that is promised to be increasing unto abundance for eternity. That is why the great King David, the psalmist of Israel, wrote in Psalm 16.

You will show me the path of life. In Your presence is fullness of joy, and at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. The path of life is Jesus. Jesus made that very clear when He said in John 14, verse 6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life."

Jesus promises increasing joy unto abundance for eternity. This is such an important point for us to recognize and understand: the advent of Jesus is the advent of joy. Jesus promises to bring increasing joy unto abundance for eternity. The joy that the Gospel promises and that Jesus ultimately brings is a joy that abounds forever. It is a joy that carries us through both happy and not-so-happy times in life.

For the one who has the hope of increasing joy unto abundance for eternity, that person can endure even difficult seasons of life, like what many experienced in 2020. We can experience joy in the midst of difficult seasons with an inner assurance of eternal joy and God's presence.

Jesus, when He was facing the worst suffering anyone could ever imagine through the cross, spoke of sorrow being turned into joy in John 16, verse 20. He encouraged His disciples that His joy would remain in them and that their joy would be full, as stated in John 15, verse 11. He also said that this joy was a joy that no one could take from them, as mentioned in John 16, verse 22.

All of these things in John 15 and 16 occur in the lead-up to Jesus's betrayal by Judas Iscariot and then His crucifixion the following day. In the midst of that, He encourages His disciples about the fullness of joy that they can find in Him, a joy that can never be taken away.

It is this kind of joy that makes it possible for the follower of Jesus to do what the Apostle James says in James chapter one: to count it all joy when you encounter various trials. Even in the midst of trials, we can recognize that God has an eternal work.

He is accomplishing, which means that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. I greatly hope that these truths are familiar to you and that you know these things. However, I often find that I take it for granted that everyone knows these things. The fact is, there are a lot of people in our church and especially in our society who do not know what the Bible teaches about joy and about these things from the Gospel.

The advent of Jesus is the advent of joy. His coming brings joy to the world; that's why we sing that song. The joy that Jesus promises is ever-expanding; it's eternal. As I have shared in the past, one of the keys to unlocking this joy in this life is the Gospel. Additionally, a key to experiencing joy in this life is gratitude. If you are pursuing happiness, as all men do, and you are seeking joy but finding it to be elusive, the first step is to realize that it is ultimately found in Jesus alone through the Gospel.

The second step is to understand that these joys are unlocked in our lives as we give thanks to God. As we are grateful and thankful to God for the things He has given us, we can experience this joy. This is one of the reasons that giving thanks is so important. Years ago, a well-known talk radio host named Dennis Prager, maybe you've heard of him, wrote a book called "Happiness is a Serious Problem." In that book, he writes, "Yes, there is a secret to happiness; it is gratitude. All happy people are grateful, and ungrateful people cannot be happy."

We tend to think that it is being unhappy that leads people to complain, but it is truer to say that it is complaining that leads people to become unhappy. Become grateful, and you will become a much happier person. I think that Dennis Prager is actually onto something, and I believe it is one of the reasons that the New Testament teaches us to be grateful even in difficult times.

In First Thessalonians, chapter 5, Paul says in verse 16, "Rejoice always." There is a command there that we are to rejoice and be joyful always. This is a command that we may have a difficult time fulfilling; perhaps we fail at that command routinely. Nevertheless, rejoice always.

Then he says, "Pray without ceasing." By the way, these verses are super short. If you've ever had a hard time memorizing Scripture, you can memorize First Thessalonians 5:16 really quickly. It just says, "Rejoice always," and then verse 17 says, "Pray without ceasing." So, if you can remember five words, you can remember two verses. Paul says, "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing."

Then he continues in verse 18, "In everything give thanks." In everything, even in 2020, during the difficult challenges of coronavirus, job losses, downturns in economies, and things not working out politically the way you thought they might, Paul says, "In everything give thanks." He adds that this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

If you want to fulfill God's will, one of the things you can do is rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and in everything give thanks. I believe that as you pray continually, offering prayers of thanksgiving to God, He will increase your joy. So, in everything give thanks, for this is God's will in Christ Jesus for you.

We are also encouraged by Paul in his letter to the Ephesians to give thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the midst of all things, we are to give thanks. I have found that even when I am going through difficult times or feeling frustrated and upset, if I stop, pray, and begin to give thanks to God for the good things I remember Him doing in my life, He increases my joy.

The psalmist in the Old Testament repeatedly commands us, especially in Psalms 105, 106, 107, and 118, to "O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, and His mercy endures forever." We are called by the psalmist to give thanks to God for His goodness and for His enduring mercy. If you want to unlock joy in your life, it isn't going to come through a new relationship.

A new car, a new dog, a new house, a new job, a new presidential administration—why is it not going to come through those things? Because breakups come, and the new car gets totaled, the dog dies, the house needs repairs constantly, the company downsizes, and presidents fail. But the mercy of God endures forever, and the joy of God is eternally increasing unto abundance for those that trust Him. So give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, and your gratitude will unlock greater joy in your life, even during challenging seasons.

Not only does gratitude unlock greater joy in our lives, but as you walk and follow Jesus, there's something else that I have found, both the Scriptures teach and I have experienced in my own life, that will increase your experience of joy. I believe that the Apostle Paul is alluding to it when he quotes Jesus in Acts chapter 20. In this passage, Paul speaks to a group of Christian leaders of the church at Ephesus, saying, "I have shown you in every way, by working like this, laboring like this, that you must support the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"

Through this challenging season in 2020, we have seen a lot of people who have been devastated as a result of coronavirus and the economic fallout associated with our government's response to it. As a result of your commitment to Cross Connection Church during 2020, we've been able to help support, just like Paul talks about in Acts 20:35, families within our church. We recently helped one of the families in our church that has been impacted by job losses and economic troubles. In response, they sent us this message: "To all of our generous friends, we are very touched by your care and concern and very blessed by your collaborative effort to help us so unexpectedly and so generously."

It is embarrassing to receive help, to be quite honest. It is humbling. It feels much better to give than to receive. However, we are very grateful to have such caring friends who look out for us. Not only do you give of yourselves for our benefit, but you also continue to faithfully pray for us. This is something quite remarkable and is evidence of the love of Jesus at work in all of your hearts. We can't thank you enough for your gesture; it means a lot to us.

I love that they point out in that response that it is more enjoyable to give. I wanted to share that with you because it is a reminder that it is more blessed to give than to receive. Paul the Apostle, in one of his letters to the Corinthians—specifically, in Second Corinthians, chapter eight—wrote, "Now I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, what God in His kindness has done through the churches in Macedonia." That is where churches like the city of Philippi were located. They are being tested by many troubles and are very poor, but they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity.

I can testify that they gave not only what they could afford but far more, and they did it of their own free will. They begged us again and again for the privilege of sharing the gift for the believers in Jerusalem. They even did more than we had hoped. Their first action was to give themselves to the Lord and to us, just as God wanted them to do. Paul says of the Macedonian Christians, those from that city in that region where Philippi was, that in the midst of very severe and difficult trials, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.

Gratitude is a key to unlocking our experience of joy in this life, even in the midst of severe and difficult trials. In addition to that, generous giving increases our experience of joy. I know that many of you who are watching this and are members of Cross Connection Church are generous givers, and you know that this is a reality. This is true. I have experienced this, and I see it theologically in the Scriptures.

I have experienced it in my own life: generous giving increases our experience of joy. Jesus is not a liar; it is more blessed to give than to receive. I know that many of you know that this is true, and you've experienced that blessing yourselves.

Now, with that point, I'm going to say and do something that I rarely say and do. If you have been a part of Cross Connection Church for any length of time, then you know that this is not something I do often. However, I believe that it is what the Lord has put upon my heart to share this morning, or one of the things He has put upon my heart to share.

Last Thursday was obviously Thanksgiving, and then Friday was Black Friday. Tomorrow is what has come to be known as Cyber Monday. You may have heard of all of those things, but you may not know that this coming Tuesday is what has come to be known as Giving Tuesday. The Tuesday following Thanksgiving is called Giving Tuesday because, in response to the commercialization and consumerism of our culture in the post-Thanksgiving season, this day has been set aside to encourage people to give.

I would like to ask you to prayerfully consider giving to Cross Connection Church as we prepare to finish 2020 and get ready for 2021. This ministry doesn't exist without you—without your prayers, first and foremost, without your commitment to serve within the church. Many of you have been solid servants here at the church for a long time. Additionally, your commitment to give to the ministry of Cross Connection Church is vital.

I would ask that you would give, and you can do so just as you always can by going to give.lifeinconnection.com or by sending any gift to the church address that is on the screen. As we prepare to finish 2020—thank God we're almost done with 2020—and as we head toward the celebration of Christmas, I'm looking forward to all that God is going to do. It is out of the chaos that God brought forth the beauty and goodness of creation, and I believe that it is out of the chaos of 2020 that God is going to do exceedingly abundantly more than we can imagine in the coming weeks, months, and years.

There is still much uncertainty in a lot of your hearts and minds as we move through this very weird time. However, I want to remind you that God is still on the throne and He is still working mightily. Jesus promised that He would build His church and that the schemes and powers of hell would not prevail against it, and that is still true.

My hope and my prayer is that the God of hope will fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. May your joy increase this Christmas season as you pursue the abundant and eternal joy that is found only in Christ through the Gospel. May you experience His joy unto fullness as you give thanks to God. Gratitude increases our joy, and as you give generously to others, remember that it is more blessed to give than to receive.

May God fill you to overflowing by His Holy Spirit. As you know, if you've read through the New Testament, the fruit of the Spirit is one of the evidences that God is within you. The fruit of the Spirit is joy. While it is not only joy, joy is definitely one of the things described as the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians chapter 5.

So, may God fill you to overflowing with His Spirit and fill you to fullness with His joy. It is my hope that the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, and self-control—would be made so abundant in us that these qualities would overflow towards other people. There are co-workers, neighbors, friends, and family members that we are all connected to who do not yet know the joy and the peace that is found in Jesus Christ.

I believe that God desires this as well: that these qualities would abound in our lives and overflow towards others, especially during this holiday season. People should see the peace, joy, self-control, and love of Christ in you and in me.

Things are overflowing to them, and so in all of the chaos, maybe as you're fighting the crowds going to stores and all the things that we associate with Christmas, even in the midst of the additional stressors of 2020, may the peace of God, the patience of God, and the joy of Jesus overflow from us to others as we experience it to fullness in our lives.

Father God, I thank you so much for your church, for Cross Connection Church. I ask God that you would pour out a fresh, anew, in abundance, your Holy Spirit upon your church. May these things that we're talking about overflow from our lives, that we would be a conduit of your love, your joy, your peace, and your grace to others. Lord, teach us how to be a grateful and thankful people, and let your fullness of joy abound in us. Teach us how to be selfless and giving, just as you are, and Lord, that we would give to others.

God, would you pour out a blessing upon your church wherever they are? I know that there are people within our church and even those who are not necessarily connected to Cross Connection or members of our church who watch this now on a regular basis. I pray, God, that you would draw them nearer to you during this time, that they would experience your presence in a greater way. As they do experience your presence, may they find that in your presence is fullness of joy, and at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

You unravel me with melody; you surround me with a song of deliverance from my enemies till all my fears are gone. I'm no longer a slave to fear, and now I am a child of God. I'm no longer a slave to fear, and I am a child.

Of God, from my mother's womb, You have chosen me. I've been born again into Your family; Your blood flows, and I am a child of God. I'm no longer asleep. I am a child of God.

I am surrounded by the arms of the Father, and I am surrounded by songs of deliverance.

So let us reflect on the truth that we are rescued. I am a child of God. I am a child of God. I am no longer a slave to fear. I am a child of God. I am no longer a slave to fear.

Father God, we thank You so much for Your Word. We pray that You would help us to deeply hide Your Word in our hearts and meditate upon it this week. Lord, may we be reminded to be grateful and to give thanks to You. We ask that You would give us opportunities this week to share Your joy with other people as we interact with them, whether it's at work or in our neighborhood, wherever we may be.

God, shine brightly through Your church during this time, brighter than ever. Lord, cause Your church to be like a city set on a hill that cannot be hid. Help us to be salt and light in a world that is in such desperate need of those things. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

And now, may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. God bless you.