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God’s Gift of Joy
By Jeff McDowell at the Centenary United Methodist Church
Sunday, Dec. 9, 2007
Sermon Series Title:
“God’s Unspeakable Gifts”
Main Text: Isaiah 11:1-10
1 A shoot shall come out from
the stump of Jesse,
and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
9 They will not hurt or destroy
on all my holy mountain;
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD
as the waters cover the sea.
10On
that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations
shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.
Secondary Text:
Romans 15:4-13
4For
whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by
steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.
5May the God of
steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another,
in accordance with Christ Jesus, 6so
that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ.
13May
the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may
abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Theme: Joyfulness in
our walk
Summary of Message: It is so easy to get discouraged in
our walk of following Christ, or even to think that we are not meant to be
happy. But Jesus wants us to have joy, as he states in John 15:
11I have said these
things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.
He wants our joy to be full! The
Isaiah passage is God’s promise that there will not always be unrest in Israel.
All the peace which is promised is predicated upon the emergence of “a shoot
from the stump of Jesse.” This image of perfect world peace is so complete that
is almost seems surreal. However its ultimate fulfillment will come when Christ
returns to the earth. Paul encourages the Roman church to “rejoice” (vs. 11; and
to “sing praises.” Their joy is found in the fulfilling of the prophecies that
the Savior will come. He ends with “may the God of hope fill you with all joy
and peace in believing….” Question: How
Felt Need this theme
addresses: An advent ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT!
--Rev. Martin E. Pike, Jr. of
Kingsville, Texas writes in the Upper Room devotional guide; Feb. 14, 1996:
“Three
minutes had elapsed since I had taken my seat at the counter. Waitresses passed
me by; two cooks and a busboy took no notice of my presence. My ego was soothed
only because the truck driver seated next to me was ignored as well. "Maybe this
counter is off-limits," I said to him. "Maybe they are short of help," he
responded. "Maybe they don't want our business," I said. "Maybe they are taking
care of those at the tables," was his reply. The hands on the clock continued to
move. "Maybe they don't like us," I insisted. "The air conditioning feels so
good I don't mind waiting," he said. At this point, a harried waitress stopped
to tell us that the water had been cut off and the dishwasher was not
functioning. My nameless compatriot smiled, thanked the waitress and left. I did
not like him. Three times I had sought his support for my obnoxious attitude,
but he had let me down. Only later did I realize that he had chosen to practice
what I preach.”
This is a series of
sermons for December called, “God’s unspeakable gifts.”
Last week I spoke about HOPE.
Today: “God’s Gift of Joy.”
What a wonderful joy to know God is
with us, as the name Emmanuel literally means!
Do you know God is with you? Do you
feel that God is with you today?
If not, maybe you have not
yet been infected with the joy bug.
Now, the Flu Bug you don’t want to
get. Have you gotten your flu shot? It will go a long way to
prevent you getting the flu. It is not a guarantee however. But the Joy – bug,
you want to catch! Oh, there are ways to inoculate yourself against it; but even
then it just might break in anyway.
Joy is contagious and there
are ways to know that you have it. There are symptoms that prove you have been
infected.
-
First symptom is
MUSICALITY: You can’t stop singing! Though singing at the top of
your lungs seems appropriate in your shower, OR alone in your car, it is
less comfortable for people around you when you are standing in line to pay
for your groceries. This is the first sign you have been infected with the
JOY of the Lord. No one can stop you from singing! You just “Praise Him in
the Morning, Praise Him in the noontime, and Praise Him when the Sun goes
down.” Or how about that great spiritual: I sing because I am happy; I sing
because I am free; His eye is on the sparrow, and I know he watches me.”
Even if you are not a singer, do you have a song in your heart? Are you able
to put it into words and tune and meter and sing at the top of your lungs?
Or have you been silenced by worry about how you sound, or the comments of
others who are better at staying on tune? Don’t worry so much about
forgetting the words; God has put His word in your heart. The promise is,
“No longer shall they teach each man his neighbor saying ‘know the Lord,’
for they shall all know him from the least to the greatest. When Barbara and
I married 23 years ago in the Danforth Chapel on the Berea College campus,
we ended the service with everyone singing, “Joy to the World, the Lord has
come; Let earth Receive Her King.” The key to this kind of singing is, that
we know the King of the earth: Jesus our Saviour. How can you be sad when
you know the Love of Jesus?
-
Second symptom is
POSITIVITY: You don’t let the turkeys get you down. By this I mean,
the negative attitudes of others, here affectionately called, “turkeys.” We
all have bouts with ill feelings about life; don’t we. But as Christians we
are a people who look at life through the lens of the cross of Christ. Paul
says, “Everything that was gain to me, I counted as loss for the sake of
knowing Christ.” In other words, once Paul threw away trusting in his own
abilities and lot in life to save him, he became truly blessed in Christ. He
even says that he wants to know Christ in his sufferings so he can rejoice
when Christ shares his glory as well. So you are in a tough situation. Could
be work, home, family, finances. Is there anything good you can say about
your life right now? Christians are those who know that God is going to get
the glory in every situation. We rejoice when we face various trials,
knowing that trouble = endurance = character = hope and hope does not
disappoint us! Ancient Christian
imagery likened the Trinity to a whirlwind, a community of complete
self-giving in which God the Father loves the Son, who loves the Spirit, who
loves the Father, who loves the Son, who .... Round and round spins the
unceasing outpouring of divine generosity in a whirlwind that seeks to sweep
all hearts, all things, into this community of receiving and giving.
Joy happens when we experience ourselves drawn into the whirlwind, where we
know ourselves as more blessed - and more capable of blessing - than we had
imagined possible.
- David L. Miller, "Swept up in joy," The Lutheran, December 1998,
thelutheran.org/9812/page8.html.
-
Third symptom is
CREATIVITY: When life hands you lemons, you get the bright idea to make
lemonade! Of course, you have to add a lot of your own sugar so
people don’t pucker up when they drink it; this sugar is your love and
affection and a good attitude. It makes all of life’s special circumstances
more palatable and less sour! Sometimes you have to get real creative to see
the hope in a situation. Sometimes the way looks dark but there is a single
candle lighting the way. That candle is your ticket to light!
1 A shoot shall come out from the
stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
9They will not hurt or destroy on
all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the
LORD as the waters cover the sea.
10On
that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations
shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.
-
Fourth symptom is
RESILIENCY: you can bounce back from hard ships! Jonah faced a hard
ship on the way to Tarshish, sailing the opposite way God wanted him to go:
11Then they said to
him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?” For
the sea was growing more and more tempestuous.
12He said to them,
“Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you;
for I know it is because of me that this great storm has come upon you.”
Imagine the hardships of St. Paul in 2 Cor. 11:
25Three times I was
beaten with rods. Once I received a stoning. Three times I was shipwrecked;
for a night and a day I was adrift at sea;
26on frequent journeys, in danger from
rivers, danger from bandits, danger from my own people, danger from
Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea,
danger from false brothers and sisters; 27in
toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, hungry and thirsty, often
without food, cold and naked. 28And,
besides other things, I am under daily pressure because of my anxiety for
all the churches. 29Who
is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I am not indignant?
A Lutheran named David Miller
remembers kneeling in his pew after returning from communion, on a Sunday
much like this one. Lost in a haze, he focused not on the Christmas holiday
or the sacrament, but on his fears about what the next few days would bring.
He tried to pray through his distress as the choir sang of Mary: "Hail,
favored one, the Lord is with thee." But his thoughts connected only with
his anxiety.
Giving up his failed attempt at prayer, he listened to the choir, trying to
catch his daughter's voice. As the soprano descant soared above the choir,
surprising tears appeared in his eyes.
These were not helpless tears of self-pity. Those he would have expected. It
was not sadness that he felt, but a joy and gratitude that flowed from a
mysterious world deeper and more wondrous than the one his troubled mind
inhabited.
David felt transported to another time and place, one where sadness and
anxiety had no place. They had evaporated like so much morning mist, and a
voice within him spoke to his fears. The Lord said to him, "It doesn't all
depend on you. I am here."
What a gift. David came to God with a deep hunger, and he was satisfied. He
came needing nourishment, and he was filled. He allowed himself to be drawn
out of the world of his fears, a world that he describes as being limited by
his shallow insights, minuscule skills and all-too-human weaknesses.
A sense of well-being washed over him, and he knew that the voice spoke the
truth. He had no doubt that this joy was a pure gift - he had done nothing
to produce it, define it or control it. But it was there. "Do not fear," the
Lord said to him, lovingly. "I will not fail you. Don't you know by now how
much I treasure you?"
In the middle of our stressful lives, God wants us to experience joy. He
wants us to know that he favors us, that he treasures us, and that he will
not fail us. He sends Jesus to remind us that he is with us, always, in the
very center of the pains and problems of human life.
-
Fifth and definitive
symptom is UNITY IN WITNESS: You work with others in joy and harmony and
love, knowing that your witness as a Christian is only strengthened
when you are functioning as a whole body of Christ. No member of the body is
insignificant. No one should ever be left out by you, and you should know
that you have a vital part to play in the witness of the church.
5May the God of steadfastness
and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance
with Christ Jesus, 6so
that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ.
Benediction
May God go with you. God -
Whose love is as constant as the waves on the shore.
Whose blessing is as faithful as the stars in the night.
Whose joy is as exuberant as the swirling wind.
Whose care is as gentle as an evening prayer. Amen.
-Adapted from SourceBook of Worship Resources
Opening Song - Come,
Thou Long-Expected Jesus
Welcome
and announcements
Greeting
One Another
Advent
Wreath - sing verse 4 - It
Came Upon the Midnight Clear
Praise Choruses
Joyful,
Joyful We Adore Thee
There
Is Joy in the Lord
Joy
O
Little Town of Bethlehem
Prayer
time
Offering
Childrens
story
Scripture
Reading
Romans
15:4-13
Isaiah
11:1-10
Message
-
"God's Gift ofJoy"
Closing
song - There Is Joy in the
Lord
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