Luke 2:10 (NLT)
10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he
said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.
To see an angel,
is a terrifying sight, but the angels brought news which would bring joy.
1. We confuse
happiness with joy. Joy comes from within. Happiness comes from
happenings.
Paul talked
about joy 16 times alone in Philippians.
Philippians
1:3-6 (NLT)
3 Every time I think of you, I give thanks to
my God.
4 Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you
with joy,
5 for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News
about Christ from the time you first heard it until now.
6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work
within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when
Christ Jesus returns.
Paul was in
prison when he wrote these words. We aren't living for only
here. We are living for eternity.
2
Corinthians 4:16-18 (NLT)
16 That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are
dying, our spirits are being renewed every day.
17 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet
they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!
18 So
we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things
that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the
things we cannot see will last forever.
We have people all around us who are speaking life or death. We have to be careful who we
allow around us. What's going on on the outside will take hold of the
inside of us through them.
Happiness
happens through chance. Joy happens through choice. We must transform our circumstances into joy.
1
Thessalonians 5:18 (NLT)
18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for
you who belong to Christ Jesus.
We must have
gratitude in all things because we belong to Christ Jesus. We must learn
to shift of perspectives.
Our choices
lead. Then, our feeling follow.
Philippians
4:12-13 (NLT)
12 I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I
have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full
stomach or empty, with plenty or little. 13 For I can do everything through Christ, who
gives me strength.
Paul was in
prison, but this is how Paul was joyful in prison. Paul ultimately died for his faith while holding tight to his joy in Christ.
Watch out for
unmet expectations. There are no high and lows while holding tight to our joy of belonging to Christ.
Nehemiah 8:10 B (NLT)
Don’t be dejected and sad, for the
joy of the Lord is your strength!”
John 15:11 (NLT)
11 I
have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your
joy will overflow!
Don't run to
something that looks like Jesus instead of Jesus. You can't have joy in your circumstances.
Luke 2:11 (NLT)
11 (The angels said to the shepherds at Jesus's Birth) The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in
Bethlehem, the city of David!
The manager was smelly, but there the baby Jesus was there in
the midst of the smell.
God has a gift for you this Christmas.
Romans 6:23 (NLT)
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is
eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Matthew 10:32 (NIV)
32 “Whoever acknowledges me (Jesus) before others, I will also
acknowledge before my Father in heaven.
Tell Jesus: Lord Jesus, I'm making you the center of my life. I'm asking you to save me. You're the
only one who can.
Jeremy Foster, Hope City Church https://hopecity.com/sermons/christmas-at-hope-city/
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