December 13, Third Sunday of Advent
Sermon
Title: What Should We Do?
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Do you really want to know? Maybe it is better to remain uninformed, but again, this might prove harmful.
INTRODUCTION
Christmas shopping, though fun, can be difficult.
Did you hear about the guy who bought his wife a beautiful diamond ring for
Christmas? A friend of his said, “I thought she wanted one of those sporty
four-wheel-drive vehicles.”
“She did,” he
replied. “But where am I gonna find a fake Jeep?”
XXX
Christmas[1]
A group of first graders got together
and decided to write their own version of the Nativity. It was more modern than
the traditional drama. Of course, there were the familiar members of the cast:
Joseph, the shepherds, the three wise men, the star, and an angel propped up in
the background. But Mary was nowhere to be seen.
Suddenly behind the bales of hay could
be heard some loud moans and groans. Evidently Mary was in labor.
Soon the doctor arrived dressed in a
white coat with a stethoscope around his neck. Joseph, with a look of relief on
his face takes the doctor straight to Mary, then starts pacing back and forth.
After a few moments the "doctor" emerges with a big smile on his
face.
"Congratulations, Joseph,"
he says. "It's a God!"
I.
I do not believe that we want something that
is fake.
A.
Even if it is a huge fake diamond.
B.
We want a real God.
C.
What are we going to do with God?
D.
Or, rather, what are we going to let God do
for us?
II.
God has made it possible for us, in Jesus
Christ, to receive marvelous and powerful gifts that bring a sense of
contentment and great joy.
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MAIN BODY:
I.
The Bible picture of joy
is a picture disconnected from symbols of status and success and divorced from
the idea of piling up possessions and stuff.
A.
That’s not to say those
things are bad.
B.
Giving gifts is great,
receiving them is really great.
1.
Money is — in God’s
world — often a means for temporary peace and stability, blessing and
fulfillment.
2.
That’s all fine. But
that’s not joy … at least not biblical joy.
II.
Zephaniah is one of those under-read
and under-appreciated Old Testament prophets.
A.
He begins with a brutally
honest reminder to the children of Israel of their need to turn away from the
other earthly “gods” they’ve been going after
1.
They are to say goodbye to the
other signs of success they’ve been striving for.
2.
If
they fail to do so, Zephaniah says, one day all the temporary joys they’ve been
chasing will fade away, and it will be time for a nasty but necessary day of
judgment.
B.
But in the closing words of his
God-given message, Zephaniah offers an incredible picture, a beautiful glimpse
of real, biblical, God-style joy.
1.
He speaks of a day when God;s people will no longer be
dealt harshly.
2.
He
speaks of a day when the judgment for pursuing false joys is no longer held
against those who have been made right with God through the grace of God.
3.
He writes of a day when a new
King of the people will have entered the midst of the people and through his
righteous rule taken away all their fears.
C.
Zephaniah speaks of a day when
people’s greatest shame will be transformed into shouts of praise.
1.
Every
sin they ever committed against God, every issue in their past that they once
thought separated them from God, will have been dealt with and remembered no
more by God.
2.
There
will be a day, there will be a time, Zephaniah says, when men and women will
“sing aloud” and “shout.”
3.
They
will “be glad and rejoice” with all their hearts.
D.
This true, authentic joy will
well up not as a result of piling up enough money or achieving certain levels
of success.
1.
This lasting joy will
flow from the fact that God has found his joy in us, in you!
2.
Real joy, biblical joy,
comes from knowing without fail or falter that “The Lord your God is with
you” and that “he is mighty to save.”
3.
It comes from knowing
that God himself delights in you and that “he will rejoice over you—with
singing” Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV).
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III.
The real reason joy is so
essential to the celebration of Jesus’ birth is because in his arrival, in the
entrance of that baby born in a Bethlehem, God tells us that those
Zephaniah-style “joy days” have come!
A.
In Jesus’ arrival, the
King has come into our midst, and our sins are now forgiven.
1.
Your greatest shame, no
matter what it is, can now become a cause for praise!
2.
Through the life, death
and resurrection of Jesus his Son, God the Father has forgiven and forgotten it
all.
B.
The truth is that so
much of what we like to label as “life’s joys” are really just temporary
pleasures.
1.
This is stuff that will
come and go and makes us feel good only for a moment.
2.
In
The Story of Joy,
Adam Potkay argues that most of us really live rather joyless lives.
a.
The reason is simple.
b.
Rather than focusing on
the true joy found in Jesus, which is shared and communal among a congregation
of friends and family, we sell out for simple pleasures that are often solitary
and momentary.
c.
But at Christmas, we
celebrate the arrival of real joy.
3.
Proclaiming Jesus’ birth
to the shepherds standing in the field, the angel makes it clear that there’s
just one symbol, one sure sign, of joy. Listen to what he said:
a.
“Do not be afraid. I
bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the
town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will
be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger”
(Luke 2:10-12, NIV).
b.
The beautiful thing is
that, unlike everything else in this world, when your joy comes from Jesus,
it’s a joy that will never be taken from you.
IV.
Jesus describes the
benefits of following him this way: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and
destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John
10:10, NIV).
A.
Apart from Jesus, all
the joys of life will someday be stolen, destroyed or simply die off.
1.
The money will run out,
the kids will stop calling and the cancer can come back.
2.
But when we’re connected
to Christ, the life he gives us lasts forever.
B.
The peace he gives us
surpasses all understanding and the gifts he offers — such as an ever-flowing
fountain of forgiveness and grace — will never, ever get old and will never
require a gift receipt.
1.
Now, this isn’t to say
that money and possessions or that presents, parties and showering grand-kids
in gifts that make annoying noises and drive their parents insane is a bad
thing.
2.
It’s not. In fact, it’s
a beautiful thing.
3.
But to celebrate
Christmas right, we must remember that they are just temporary things.
C.
As Christians, what
makes us different isn’t so much what we do, as if Christianity is
simply about morality.
1.
It’s for whom we do it
and where we find our joy.
2.
A Christian community is
one filled with men and women who work hard to provide,
a.
Parents who dote on
their children
b.
People who study their
Bible.
D.
Take another look at
what John had to say in Luke 3.10-14, to the people who were coming to him to
be baptized.
1.
And the crowds asked him, “What
then should we do?”
a.
11In
reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share
with anyone who has none;
b.
…whoever has food must do likewise.”
2.
Even tax collectors came to be
baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” He said to them,
“Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.”
3.
14Soldiers
also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort
money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your
wages.”
a.
Just
think about how people might have responded to the instruction that John gave.
b.
Come
to fathom the joy that was experienced by the giver as well as the receiver of
the gift?
E.
A Christian community
gives great gifts and throws great parties and sings favorite hymns.
1.
We do it not to bring
glory to ourselves or to create our own joy.
2.
No, we love, we work, we
sing and we play to the glory of God and in our shared joy from Jesus.
3.
That’s who we are.
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CONCLUSION
I.
Years ago during Advent
season, the Baxter Theatre in Cape Town, South Africa, used to present a
pantomime — an interactive story in which the audience, particularly children,
was invited to participate.
One hot summer
afternoon (remember that Christmas in the Southern Hemisphere comes in the
middle of their summer) the presentation of Jack and the Beanstalk was
going really badly. The audience was lethargic, and the play seemed pedestrian.
Eventually, the lead actor playing the part of Jack waved his hands, stopped
everything, stepped to the front of the stage and asked, “What are we going to
do?” To his surprise, a little boy sitting off to the side yelled out, “Let’s
sing.” Inviting the boy on stage, the actor asked, “And what shall we sing?”
Taking the
microphone, the little boy began to sing “If you want joy, real joy, let Jesus
come into your heart,” a little chorus he had learned in Sunday school.
The song was If You Want Joy, Real Joy Words
and music: Joseph D Carlson
If
you want joy, real joy, wonderful joy
Let Jesus come into your heart
If you want joy, real joy, wonderful joy
Let Jesus come into your heart
Your sins He'll wash away
Your night He'll turn to day
Your life He'll make it over anew
If you want joy, real joy, wonderful joy
Let Jesus come into your heart
When the boy had finished, there was silence. Then the whole theater
burst into applause. That moment of joy breathed new life, energy and a little
magic into the afternoon’s performance.
II.
Joy
is found not so much in the material gifts we give and
receive
A.
It
is found in the gifts we are ourselves give to others and the recognition that
they are precious gifts to us.
B.
The
joy in the gift of the Christ child is an invitation for us to be a source of
joy in the giving of ourselves and in the receiving of others.
Amen!
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