Advent Means Joy
Advent Means...

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Good morning! We’re in part three of our series, “Advent Means…” Today, we’ll be “unpacking” this third theme of Advent, which is the theme of joy. “Advent means Joy.” We’ll be talking about this joy this morning, from the book of 1 Peter.

Now, when we think about joy, we’re reminded that this is surely a theme of Christmas, don’t we? Don’t we greet one another with “Merry Christmas?” Isn’t that how we greet one another? I wonder why we don’t say, “Happy Christmas?”

We have a member of our church that is from Britain. He caught me after the service and he said, “We actually do say “Happy Christmas” in Britain. It’s your own author, Charles Dickens, who started this whole thing.”

Did you realize that this whole idea of saying “Merry Christmas,” in the English speaking world, began with the book that Charles Dickens wrote, entitled, “A Christmas Carol,” published in 1843? That’s where the whole idea of saying, “Merry Christmas” started. I think it’s the only time we ever say “Merry” anything.

“Merry Christmas” means “to be full of joy,” except for old Ebenezer Scrooge. He just didn’t have any joy at Christmas. When people tried to get him to say “Merry Christmas,” the cynical Ebenezer would rudely reply, “If I could work my will, everyone who goes about with ‘Merry Christmas’ on his lips should be boiled with his own pudding.” That’s how he responded, but, after the Christmas spirits came and affected his transformation, he finally was ready to heartily exchange the “Merry Christmas” wish to all. He would say, “I’m as light as a feather. I’m as happy as an angel. I am as merry as a schoolboy. I am as giddy as a drunken man. Merry Christmas to everybody!” That’s the change we see in Old Scrooge. Dickens described the transformation like this, He said, “It was a splendid laugh, a most illustrious laugh. The father of a long, long line of brilliant laughs!”

When’s the last time you laughed? When’s the last time you had the joy that’s promised at Christmas? Perhaps, we have some “Scrooges” in the room today. When’s the last time you felt this joy?

According to psychologists, Americans miss more work, complain of more of a myriad of health problems, probably all related to clinical depression. America, the land where the pursuit of happiness is almost guaranteed in our founding father’s documents. Yet, we’re the people of America most filled with discouragement and depression. America’s people are increasingly unhappy, especially so at Christmas.

Why is everyone so discouraged? What’s gone wrong with the promise, given in Christ, at His birth? As we are reminded, as we heard earlier from the book of Luke, the angel said to them, “Fear not for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people for unto you is born this day in the city of David, a savior who is Christ, the Lord.”

Where’s the joy? Perhaps we’re unhappy today, because we’ve misunderstood the difference between joy and happiness. Joy and happiness are two distinctly different things.

Just consider the word, “happiness,” for a second. The word, “happiness,” is based on favorable happenings. In other words, happiness is based on external circumstances, happening in a favorable way. The word, “happiness,” has its root word, “hap,” which means “luck” or “chance.” You’re lucky if you’re happy.

Joy is a different matter. Joy comes from the Lord Jesus. Happiness is based on chance, but joy is based on Christ. Do you have that joy that comes from Christ?

This advent season is a time for us to slow down and remember that Jesus has come and He is coming again. Our true joy can only be found in Him.

Today, we’re going to be looking at the book of 1 Peter, chapter one. In the book of 1 Peter, Peter wrote to those believers in Asia minor that had been dispersed there. They’d gone through a season of suffering. He says to them that they can find your joy in Jesus. I believe that this word speaks to us today. We can find true joy in Jesus.

As we look at the text today, I think we’ll see three ways that we can find our true joy in Christ Jesus. We will read together, then we’ll “unpack” it.

1 Peter 1:3-9 (ESV) 3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested byfire —may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” This is God’s word.

HOW WE CAN FIND TRUE JOY IN CHRIST: 1. By rejoicing in our security in Christ.

First, take note of the word, “rejoice.” It’s in our text twice, in verse six and verse eight. If you’re a note taker, circle that in your bulletin. The word, “rejoice,” is in there twice. The word, “joy,” is in verse eight; rejoice and joy. Peter says for us to rejoice. First of all, he tells us to rejoice “in this;” he says, in verse six, “In this you rejoice…” What is this pointing to?

Look back at verses three through five. We have to go back and look at what Peter is telling us to rejoice in. What’s the word of God telling us to rejoice in? He tells us to rejoice in this and then he gives us these two ways that we’re secure.

First of all, he says that our inheritance is kept in heaven for you. The word, “kept,” has the idea of “to preserve,” “to maintain,” “to stand,” “guard over,” “to put it in a safe and lock it up.” Verse 4 says, “to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,” Our inheritance is kept in heaven for you. Speaking of inheritance, who by God’s power, “who” is you. It is you that have your inheritance kept in heaven. You are the ones who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation. So, not only is He standing guard over your inheritance, He’s standing guard over you .

You can be secure in a day and age when security is not the word of the hour; in a day when people feel insecure. As we’ve approached Christmas, maybe that’s the way you feel in your family. Maybe you feel insecure today. When you feel insecure, when you are waiting for “the other shoe to drop” and you don’t know what’s going to happen, it will steal your joy. Lack of security is a joy thief.

You fear what’s going to happen tomorrow. You fear that you can’t put food on the table. You fear that you can’t pay your mortgage. You fear something that the doctors told you. You fear facing Christmas perhaps for the first time this year because there’s an empty seat at the table that wasn’t empty last year. You don’t have the joy that you would normally have because of a lack of security.

Yet, Peter says to us, the word of God says to us that you can rejoice in this, because there’s a place in heaven reserved for you and no one can take your seat. Not only is it reserved, but you too, are guarded for your salvation by faith. You are being guarded. There is security in Christ Jesus for those that are in Him.

Romans 8:1 (ESV) says, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Friends, we can have this joy that comes from being secure in Christ.

What is this inheritance? Certainly, it’s that we inherit the kingdom of heaven. Certainly, it’s our eternal life that we inherit, but, isn’t it also all the glory, honor and praise that we share with Jesus for eternity, for we come into His presence and we experience His glory?

The writer, Peter, gives us three features of this inheritance. First of all, in verse 4, it says it’s an “imperishable” inheritance. In other words, it doesn’t have to be used by December 31st. It doesn’t have a perishable date on it. It’s imperishable. It will never go bad. It will never perish.

Secondly, it is an “undefiled” inheritance, which means that it is unsoiled, pure and without defects. It’s not defiled; it’s perfect.

Finally, it is an “unfading” inheritance. Another way of saying this would be if you were talking about flowers. If it is a “perennial” flower, It keeps on coming up and blooming year round. It is unfading.

In fact, the Greek word, “amárantos,” is where we get the word for the flowering plant called the amaranth plant, which is a perennial flower. Also, as I was reading about it, it is good for you to eat. This word, “unfading,” is where we get the name of the flower, the “amaranth.”

Peter says that this inheritance that you have, God is keeping it. He’s keeping it unblemished, undefiled and unfading for you. He’s keeping you too. Friends, listen , you can have security in Christ Jesus.

This is why we read in John chapter 15, where Jesus is speaking to His disciples. He says, John 15:9-11 (ESV) “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love… These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”

You see, this joy that Christ promises comes out of abiding in Christ, having Christ living in you and you living in Christ. Joy is an emotion, isn’t it? It’s not a thing, it’s a feeling. Where does it come from?

Here’s what Jesus is saying about His “brand of joy.” He says that My joy doesn’t come from the world. It comes from abiding in Me; abiding in Christ. He warns against treasuring the things of the world. In fact, He tells us if we treasure the things of the world, it will steal your joy.

Here’s what He says in the sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6:19-21 (ESV) 19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

What are you treasuring today? Are you treasuring those things of the world that are defiled, perishable and fading? Are you treasuring Christ? Treasure Christ; He’ll never let you down and your joy will be indomitable. It’ll always be in Jesus.

How do we grow in this joy? By not “hitching our happiness” to the world? The minute you “hitch your happiness” to the world, you’ve now staked your happiness on external things. You’ve now entered into the roller coaster ride of life – up one day and down the next. In Christ, we can stand on the rock of His joy. We can abide in Him. When you “hitch your happiness” to the world, then you find yourself depending on perishable, defiled and fading things.

I was reading in Morningstar magazine; it’s called morningstar.com. They were talking about retirees these days, how they’re worried about things and not happy. Here’s a quote from the article, it says, “Recent retirees are grappling with the triple threat of a losing stock market, declining bond prices, and high inflation. This has shrunk their retirement nest eggs and reduced their spending power just as they are embarking on retirement.” We see more and more older people working past their sixties, past their seventies and even into their eighties. It is not because they just love working; although, sometimes it’s because of that. But today, it’s often because of the financial crisis in our world. Today, they have to keep working to keep on living. It makes people feel insecure.

Maybe you feel insecure today. Worry and anxiety is an en enemy of joy; worry is a joy thief. If you’re focusing on worldly things, know this, that your happiness will always go up and down. Therefore, focus on Jesus, because when we abide in Jesus and He abides in us, we can find the security that He alone gives. Therefore, we can rejoice in Him.

HOW WE CAN FIND TRUE JOY IN CHRIST: 2. By rejoicing in our sanctification in Christ.

You can almost hear the first century believers saying to Peter, ‘OK, we know this. We know our joys in Christ. We know that we can’t find our joy in the world. But listen, we’re going through a lot of trouble. I mean, we know Jesus is coming again and, and He’s got heaven for us and He’s keeping us. We know that, but it hurts down here. There’s a lot of suffering down here, Peter.’

It’s almost as if Peter anticipates their objection. He offers this in verses six and seven. 6 “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire —may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” “In this you rejoice.” We’ve already talked about that, but now he talks about the here and now. He says, “though now for a little while.”

One of the features of this season of trial that we live in today, this season of difficulty and of suffering is, first of all, it’s temporary. Peter says that it’s only for a little while. That helps me. Does that help you? It is only going to hurt for a little while. It’s good to know that things won’t hurt forever. There’s a beginning, a middle and an end to this season of difficulty that helps me.

‘Now, I need a little more. Come on, Peter, Do you haveany more? I need a little more because my joy is not quite there. I mean, I have some joy knowing that it won’t last forever, that it’s going to only last for a little while . Paul makes a statement that is difficult to understand – “you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, “ That’s a strange turn of phrase – “if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials.” Peter, are you saying that, sometimes, it’s necessary for us to be grieved by various trials? Do you mean that sometimes these trials are not only temporary, but they’re necessary? Do you mean there has to be labor before there’s a baby? Do you mean there has to be suffering before there’s sanctification?

There’s a necessity of grieving and then he explains why. He doesn’t just leave us there. It’s helpful to me to know this. If I’m going through trouble, it’s temporary, but also, it has a purpose. If I know it has a purpose, then I can focus on the joy, that when I come out on the other side, I will be closer to Jesus as a result of the trial.

Anytime you face suffering, you always have a determination to make. You can decide to be bitter or better. If you decide to focus on the trial, you’ll get bitter; you’ll get angry. But, if you decide to focus on Jesus through the trial, He will sanctify you.

What does the word, “sanctification,” mean? It means to become holy, to become like Jesus. It means to become a saint. Now, when you receive Jesus, you’re already counted as a saint; you’re already justified. But, a process begins in your salvation, making you more like Jesus, so that more and more you’re becoming like Him.

One of the necessary ways that He molds us and makes us more like Jesus is He uses trials. Trials will grieve us, but it will cause joy on the other side, as we focus on Jesus, Who was also aggrieved for our salvation. We’re becoming like Jesus. The object of this is that our faith would be tested and found genuine. It would be proven.

Peter seems to be using a metaphor here of a goldsmith. The metal would be in a raw form when brought in. The goldsmith would heat it until it melted. The impurities would rise to the top and he would slough the impurities off until what was remaining was pure gold. Here, the metaphor is saying that if you go through a trial and it steals your faith, then you never had a genuine faith. But, if you go through a trial and you come out on the other side, it’s like gold. It hurt; it grieved you. It was a fire but you come out like gold on the other side. Then, you have a genuine faith. It’s been proven.

I don’t know what you’re going through this morning, my Christian brother and my Christian sister. Would you join with James, who says this in James 1:2-4 (ESV) 2 “Count it all joy, class=”messageTimecode” title=”Play the video starting here” data-timecode=”1166.79″>my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

The word, “count,” is an accounting term. I know these trials look like they belong in the liability column, James says, but here’s what I want you to do by faith. I want you to put them in the joy column, in the asset column. God often uses trials if necessary to test your faith so that you’re becoming more like Jesus. Your faith becomes more and more golden; more and more like Him. Count it all joy, knowing that God’s at work in your life.

In his book, The Practice of the Presence of God, Brother Lawrence, a monk who lived and worked in a monastery for 50 years in the 1600s,wrote a book that’s been translated into dozens and dozens of languages in the English translation . Here are some of the quotes that Brother Lawrence talks about as he speaks about how to practice the presence of Jesus in this world today. Here’s some quotes from his book,“If we renounce ourselves, we’ll know unspeakable joy. Always turn to Jesus Christ, asking him for his grace that makes everything easy. Give yourself completely to him. Abandon yourself to him. Find joy in doing his will, in all circumstances. Suffering and joy are synonymous to someone yielded to God. Ground yourself in God’s presence by continually conversing with him. Nourish your soul by focusing your mind on God’s glory. Accept the joy that comes from spending time with him.” This is some good advice, coming from a 16th century monk named Brother Lawrence. Practice the presence of walking, living and abiding in Jesus, for there is our joy in our sanctification.

You might be going through trouble today. It’ll be different for each of us because what’s necessary for me might not be necessary for you. My mama used to say that I was “hard headed” and I think she was right. So, if you’re “hard headed” like me, it might be necessary for you to grieve more in order to be more like Jesus, so that the flesh is burned off, carved away and removed from you. What remains is less of you and more of Jesus for this is God’s will for you. For you, it might not be necessary. You might be one of those sweet people, not “hard headed.” It might not be as necessary, but there will still be grief. There’ll still be trouble. If you believe in Jesus, you can know this: He always guards you. He always cares for you and if there’s trouble, it has a purpose. We live under His care in this; we can have joy.

HOW WE CAN FIND TRUE JOY IN CHRIST: 3. By rejoicing in our splendor in Christ.

I want you to notice the word, ”glory .” It’s in here a couple of times, but especially, you might find it down there in verse seven and again in verse eight. In verse eight, it says, “Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,” That word, “glory,” could be translated “splendor, beauty or light.” It’s a beautiful word; he speaks of the future advent of Jesus.

You can see the word, “revelation,” in our text twice today. It has the idea of “pulling back the veil,” so that you see that which has been hidden. Peter says to the believers in Asia Minor, “Though you have not seen him, you love him.”

Were we there at the cradle when He was born in Bethlehem, with the shepherds and the angels ? No, we read about it but we weren’t there. We didn’t see it. Were we there at the cross when He was crucified for our sins? No, we read about it but we’ve not seen Him.

Peter saw Him, but he’s talking to us and he’s talking to the people in Asia Minor as he writes this letter. He says, “Though, you have not seen him. You love him.” We don’t see His coming yet, do we? We live in between the two advents. We didn’t see Him before and we don’t see Him now, though, we do not now see Him, we believe in Him. Do you believe in Him? Do you love Him, even though you haven’t seen Him?

Let me ask a question to the moms for just a second. You’ve had children; do you remember your pregnancy? Do you remember those first few little flutters in the womb, those little kicks and flutters? Did you love your unborn child before you saw him or before you saw her? Did you already love her? Did you already love him before you ever saw him? Did you have joy? Did you love even though you had not yet seen the child? What is that?

I remember lying in bed at night with my wife. I’m a man, so I can’t know what mothers know, which is the gift of a child within. But, I do know this –sometimes my wife would shake me awake at night and say, “Put your hand right here.” I would put my hand on her stomach and there’d be like a foot sticking out. She would say, “I need to get the baby over. I can’t sleep.” So, I would rub that spot; sometimes that little foot would not move, so I would lean in close and say, “I am your father. Let your mother and I sleep.” Do you think I’m kidding? Ask my wife about it.I used to do that. All of our babies came out and immediately recognized my voice. I still remember my second boy, Jonathan. We’ve got a Polaroid photo of me holding him. He had been crying; he had just been born. I said to him, “Boy, I’m your father.” He looked at me; he had been hearing that voice for a while. May I say to you, even as a dad, even though I couldn’t perceive all the things that my wife perceived, even though I had not yet seen my children, I couldn’t wait to see them because I already loved them. I already believed in them. I had already expected them. I already had an inexpressible joy that you can’t put into words because that’s what inexpressible means. It’s this idea of not being able to utter a description of it.

It’s a joy that the world does not understand; only members of the family can understand the joy of loving the One we’ve not yet seen, of believing in the One we don’t see now, of having inexpressible joy, even though we don’t see Him because we know He’s coming. We know he’s coming and we’re filled with glory and joy because of it.

Peter goes on to say in verse 9, “obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” Look back, earlier, when he was talking about how when you’ve been guarded and tested. It’s in verse 7, “may be found to result in praising glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus.” Is that praise and glory and honor for Jesus? No, it doesn’t say for Jesus; it is at the appearing at the revelation of Jesus. So, who’s that praise, glory and honor for? It’s for those of us that have loved Him, believed in Him and experienced inexpressible joy, even though we have not yet seen Him.

There comes a day when we will share in the praise, glory and honor of Christ, our king. We will experience it. So, let the joy flow now. Let it flood our souls now because our joy is not based on the world.

In the book of Jude, we read, Jude 24-25 (ESV) 24 “Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time both now and forever. Amen.” Know this joy that comes from Jesus. This joy is not a place, it’s not a circumstance. It’s a person. It’s Jesus.

Do you remember the story, in the book of Luke, chapter one, after the angel Gabriel had met with Mary? The angel said to her, “Here’s a sign to you. Your relative Elizabeth is with child for six months now.” Luke 1:39-45 39 “In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

That’s the kind of joy we’re talking about. It’s the kind of joy of a calf leaping from the stall. It’s the kind of joy that calls for dancing, for turning your mourning into dancing and your grieving into great joy because it’s based on Jesus. We can find our security in Him. We can trust that He is sanctifying us in our trials, making us more like Jesus. We can look forward to that day of splendor, of glory, that we will share with Him. Therefore, let us rejoice in this.

Let’s pray. Lord, thank You for Your word. Thank You for Jesus. He is our joy. If you’re here this morning and you don’t know that joy, but you want to, would you pray with me right now? ‘Dear Lord Jesus, I’m a sinner. I’ve been living my life based on my own effort, but I’m so tired. I’m so discouraged. I need You. I need Your help. Would You come into my life? I believe that You died on the cross for my sins, that You were raised from the grave and that You live today. Come and live in me, forgive me of my sin and make me the person that You want me to be. Fill me with the Holy Spirit and fill me with joy.’ If you’re praying that prayer of faith, believing, the Lord will forgive you of your sins and He will make you a child of God and you’ll experience the joy of Jesus. There are those here today and you’re a follower of Christ, but you’re facing difficulty. You’re facing trials. Would you just confess to the Lord right now? Would you say, ‘Lord, I’ve taken my eyes off of You and I’ve been focusing on my circumstances. I’ve been looking at my troubles. I’ve been worrying. I’ve been anxious. I feel insecure. Lord, would You remind me right now that my joy is not found in this world but it’s found in You? Lord, I confess it to You right now. I recommit my life to You now, to focus on You, Jesus, as the source of all of my joy and all of my strength.’ In Jesus’ name. Amen.