Go a little deeper
This Advent message opens with a show of hands on whether the world—and each person—could use more joy, then turns to John 10:10, where Jesus speaks of abundant life and warns of an enemy intent on destruction. Pastor Keith Kirkpatrick introduces the Christmas at the Movies series and the 2003 film Elf, summarizing its story of an orphaned baby raised at the North Pole who discovers he is human and has a biological father in New York City, and the identity questions the film raises.
After a clip from the film, Pastor Keith reflects briefly on a personal story about learning young that joy is a choice. He then contrasts joy with happiness tied to circumstances and with possessions, and notes that joy recurs throughout the Matthew and Luke birth narratives. In Matthew 2, the wise men respond to finding Jesus with exuberant rejoicing, worship, and gifts; Pastor Keith draws from this that a joy-filled person is a worshiper and a generous person.
Pastor Keith discusses the shepherds' announcement in Luke 2 and emphasizes that Jesus brings joy for people from every background. He explains Jesus' titles and refers to Mary's song in Luke 1. Turning to John 15 and Galatians 5, he connects joy with continuing relationship with Jesus, obedience, prayer, and the Spirit's work. He uses Hebrews 12 to present Jesus' endurance as hope beyond suffering, then closes with an invitation and prayer.
Take this with you
Joy Is Not the Same as Happiness
Applying Luke 2:10, Pastor Keith distinguishes joy in Jesus from happiness that depends on favorable circumstances. He describes emotions as God-given but changing, and encourages grounding life in Jesus rather than following feelings alone.
Worship and Generosity Mark a Joyful Person
Applying Matthew 2:10-11, Pastor Keith connects the wise men's delight in finding Jesus with their worship and gifts. He teaches that joy in Jesus leads to generosity because of Jesus' worth, rather than for a personal benefit.
The Christmas Announcement Was for Outcasts and for All
Applying Luke 2:8-10, Pastor Keith highlights God's announcement to shepherds, whom he describes as social and religious outsiders. He emphasizes that joy in Jesus is available across backgrounds and is not restricted to wealthy or religious people.
Joy Grows from Abiding in Jesus
Jesus pictured the Christian life as branches on a vine in John 15: fruit comes from staying connected, which Pastor Keith ties to obeying Jesus' words and practicing his presence. In Galatians 5 the fruit of the Spirit is singular, produced by God over time, and the message locates joy within that list alongside love, peace, and patience.
Hope beyond suffering
Applying Hebrews 12:1-2, Pastor Keith distinguishes Jesus' hope beyond the cross from enjoyment of suffering itself. He points to resurrection as the continuation of Jesus' story and encourages listeners in difficulty to trust God's wider purpose.
The conversation,
in their words.
Transcript from the recording’s captions. Select any timestamp to hear the original audio.
we're going to take a scientific poll this morning by a show of hands how many of you would agree that the world could use some more joy all right we're going to make this personal now how many of you by a show of hands would say i could use some more joy all right i'm not talking about a little bit of joy i'm not talking about the joy that runs out i'm talking about the joy that is full that can only be found in jesus we're in an advent season which is a preparation of celebrating the birth of jesus christ jesus made many claims in john chapter 10 verse 10 jesus said i came that they may have life and have it abundantly jesus also warned in the same verse that
there is a real enemy he calls him a thief and the thief has come to steal kill and destroy the devil wants to steal your joy he wants to destroy your family he wants to kill your life but jesus wants you to have life abundantly so how do you get this life that jesus says you can have that he said he came so that you would have this life well during this advent season we discover that jesus came so that we would find hope in him through jesus you find peace and today we'll discover in jesus you find joy everyone shout joy joy is found in jesus we're in a series called christmas
at the movies there's something nostalgic about christmas movies they they bring us back to our childhood they they tell these nostalgic feelings and and the themes in christmas movies are often found in the original christmas story today's movie was first filmed in 2003 it has now become a christmas classic probably the greatest christmas maiden of all time our family has watched this movie 3211 times and we're going to just keep watching it i'll set it up the synopsis of the story and then we'll watch a few clips it's about a baby who was orphaned and he finds himself in the north pole he's adopted by an elf and raised in the elf culture until one day in his adulthood he finds out he's not an elf
he's actually a human and he has a biological father in new york city so this human that thought he was an elf heads to new york city and it's there that he is confronted with all sort of joy killers these yellow cars that don't stop people yell at him he's misunderstood he's kicked out of an office building and by the time he finds his father his dad is less than enthused to eat sugar plums and candy canes with them and here he has an identity crisis something we all need to wrestle with who are you are you what your family says you are are you what other people say you should be in we all struggle with this identity crisis and spoiler alert the father ends
up reconciling not just with this son but with both of his sons so let's just watch a little bit of the clips from the movie elf here we are it's time to go to sleep maybe by next christmas you'll have a home [Music] um [Music]
little buddy diapers his name is buddy he must have snuck into your sack at the orphanage what do we do so santa had a decision to make fortunately when it comes to babies sam is a push-up so buddy stayed with an older elf who had always wanted a child but had been so committed to building toys he he well had forgotten to to settle down is that yes yes i i raised buddy i was his adopted father bye buddy hope you find your dad thanks mr narwhal bye [Music]
don't you know each cloud [Music] sunshine and ravioli [Music] you did it congratulations world's best cup of coffee great job everybody it's great to meet you [Music] why are you smiling like that i just like to smile smiling's my favorite make work your favorite that's your favorite okay okay work is your new favorite fine i'm just trying to get through the holidays get through christmas is the greatest day in the whole wide world
please stop talking to me uh-oh sounds like someone needs to sing a christmas carol go away best way to spread christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear thanks but i don't sing you like sugar huh is there sugar in syrup yes then yes we always try to stick to the four main food groups candy candy canes candy corns and syrups [Music]
i wish dad were here not the way he does it all he cares about his money he doesn't care about you or me or anybody well he is on the naughty list now i don't know about you but i can relate to buddy not that i was raised by elves but i did not know my biological father my dad left our family when i was two and i always had this fantasy of what it would be like to meet my dad i i never knew who he was and by the time i came to faith in jesus i was 15 years old and i set out to find my father and i did i
found him and just like buddy my my dad was less than enthused to go ice skating and whole hands and i had to decide like buddy would i allow my dog my dad to rob my joy it was at a young age that i had to discover that joy is a choice and today i want us to learn what joy is and what it is not you learn in growth track week three that we have a culture here at journey church we want to love god we want to love people we want to pursue excellence and we want to choose joy because joy is a choice let's look at what joy is not joy is not what happens to you that's called happiness
when your circumstances are good and you feel good that's happiness and nothing is wrong with the emotions of happiness god gave us emotions but what we want to be cautious is that we follow our emotions because emotions are fleeting because our circumstances change joy is not what you have despite what the consumeristic christmas time says that you will have joy if you have a new mercedes or you will have joy if you have that new gadget or gizmo or whatever that item is under the christmas tree joy is not contingent on what you have it's so much deeper because joy is not really a feeling joy is found in jesus and jesus wants us to have this deep
joy in fact if you read through the scriptures joy is a reoccurring theme throughout the bible it's a part of god's story in fact as you read the christmas story both in matthew and luke joy the word is mentioned eight times because this center story of jesus is the story of joy in the book of matthew matthew writes the biography of jesus life and in chapter 2 of the book of matthew he writes and he lets us know that jesus was born in bethlehem and he tells us that there are these wise men these intelligent men from afar that studied the stars and they traveled a great distance and in matthew chapter 2 verse 10 we read when they these wise
men saw the star they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy these are are grown men okay more than that they are academic intelligent grown men who rejoiced exceedingly with great joy now when is the last time you rejoiced exceedingly with great joy was it when you were a child and you got that thing you wanted on christmas was it on your wedding day was it when your first child was born not that you wouldn't do that with your other children being born was it when your college team won the championship was it when your football team won the super bowl or your baseball team won the world series because all of
those things do not necessarily reflect joy because who really remembers who won the world series seven years ago who really remembers who won the super bowl five years ago no one can we just know it wasn't the raiders because those things cannot give us the joy that only jesus could give so as we read this story about these grown men wise men who rejoice exceedingly with great joy it was not the star that gave them joy it was not the night that gave them joy it was jesus christ that they found jesus if we continue reading the story matthew 2 10 and i'll go to verse 11 when they saw the star they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy and going into the house they saw the
child this is jesus with mary his mother and they fell down and worshiped him then opening their treasures they offered gifts gold and frankincense and myrrh it was jesus that gave them joy and their response to this joy was worship a joy-filled person is a worshiper a joyful person is a generous person this time of year i hear all sorts of organizations say things like this at the end of the year would you consider us for your year in giving and what they're saying is we want your money and you get a tax write-off but what you see with a joy-filled person which is a jesus-filled person is you're a generous person not for the tax write-off not just to help someone out
but simply because of who jesus is the response of your heart is to give your best so when you give to the church you're not giving to the church because the church needs your money you want to give to jesus because he's worthy of your generosity and you do it joyfully and you do it because you want to worship the one that did what needed to be done so that you could know the very son of god this is what i love about the christmas story it's all about joy have you ever noticed this about the christmas story we sing about joy joy to the world come on the lord has come this is like what we sing or you want to keep going this is we we know these songs because it's a part of who we
are have you ever noticed christians seeing more than any other religion we love to sing because it's all about joy because a joyful person should be a worshiper when you look at other religions and you hear their songs i don't know about you but some of their songs kind of sound sad i can't always understand the language but i'm just like that sounds kind of dreary but we should we should enter into the place of worship rejoicing exceedingly with great joy not because of the experience but because of who we worship in luke chapter 2 luke also writes the biography of jesus life and as he tells the christmas story he tells us of
another group of men in luke chapter 2 verse 8 he says and in the same region there were shepherds out in the field keeping their watch over their flock by night and an angel of the lord appeared to them in the glory of the lord shone around them and they were filled with great fear and 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 i need you to picture this as luke paints the picture of jesus birth he tells us that the pronouncement of the christ the messiah the savior of the world
first came to shepherds now shepherds in the day of jesus birth it was a lowly position in society it was not exactly the dream job of any young boys growing up shepherds were considered spiritually ceremonially unclean unfit to go into certain places of worship they often didn't even get a chance to go to worship because they were working all the time in this case these shepherds were working the night shift and it was in the middle of the night that luke tells us the lord shows up to really what we would consider in our culture the outcasts of society these were the ones that were considered uh untrusted you wouldn't use them as a
witness in the court of law and this is who god shows up and makes his announcement that he has come the story of christmas reminds us that god cares about everyone the lord doesn't care what you do for an occupation the lord doesn't care what other people say say about you you can be the greatest of all outcasts and god wants to make an announcement to you that he is the savior the christ the lord and this is not just any message this is the gospel i love how luke gives us the specific details the angel of the lord appeared to them let's just stop for that for just a moment luke breaks down all the myths and lies
that we have bought into because of what other people say about angels when the angel of the lord shows up the word angel means the messenger the glory of the lord shone around them and these shepherds were full of great fear great fear they they they were shaking in the boots if you will these are grown men they have callous hands they have sheep stuff under their fingernails they these guys they they protect their sheep from wolves and yet when they see an angel i'm telling you the picture we've been painted that an angel is just like a little naked baby holding a harp it's just not true because any time an angel shows up in the bible everyone is full of fear because you get a glimpse of the holy of holies you understand he's the lord god almighty
the maker of heaven and earth gives you a glimpse all of a sudden like isaiah who sees the lord and the glory filling the temple he says woe is me a man of unclean lips like john who gets a glimpse of the revelation of jesus in the last book of the bible he fell down as though dead because of the reality of who god is because if you see god for who he really is you understand who you are and it freaks you out and the only reason we have fear is the uncertainty of what's going to happen next but joy and fear cannot cohabitate they cannot work together they cannot live in the same heart and so as these shepherds are full of fear we can identify with them fear is the anxiety of the unknown
it's uncertainty it's the worrying about the future fear says that god doesn't have this and i don't know what's going to happen next joy says god is completely in control fear says that you will be condemned for what you've done joy says i've been set free from my sins fear says that god doesn't love me joy says that god made me and he loves me and he has a great plan for me and these shepherds are are full of fear and the next message look at verse 10 the angel said to them the same message that god is still saying to us today fear not it is repeated over and over through the scriptures when you have god on your side do not be afraid if god is for us who can be against us fear not this is the message the angel came to proclaim
behold i bring you good news this is the word gospel gospel means what come on shout it out good news he didn't come to bring bad news he didn't come to bring news that's a burden i'm telling you today that's all we see today is bad news if you want to watch the news tonight i'm just going to go ahead and tell you what's on there oh there's a virus spreading all over the world there's a new variant of this virus and you ought to be afraid hospitals are getting filled up everywhere oh and by the way there's bad people everywhere doing bad things everywhere that's what's on the news tonight now you don't even need to watch it all right but the message the angel came to bring listen carefully remember joy is not based on what happens to you is that you can actually have good news of great joy
so you can actually have joy despite your circumstances you can be in a pandemic and still have joy you could have everyone leave your life and you can still have joy you could have everything wrong happen to you and still have joy the angel came to bring good news gospel of great joy could this message still be true today could it be that this is what the world needs more than anything else could it be that this is what our hearts need more than anything else you see today if you feel like you've sinned too much if you feel like there's something that's disqualified you from god's grace the story of christmas reminds us that is never too late with god his grace is so good that it's not
contingent on what you've done or where you've been it's all about what he's done and who he is and when you surrender your life to jesus you get the gospel the good news of great joy that is not what you can do it's not the family that you're born into it's all about what god's done for you through the personhood of jesus christ so whether you're broken today or you're hurting or you're lonely or you're going through some struggle in your life we have so much to learn through this story that god has a message for us and it is good news this good news is not found in a political system it is not found in a religious system it's not found in an educational system it's found in the person jesus look at verse 11 for unto you is born this day in the city of
david thus the place of bethlehem a savior who is christ the lord these three titles summarize the work that jesus has done for us he's our savior so what his very name means yeshua the lord savior what does he save us from he saves us from ourselves he saves us from every single one of our sins the bible teaches us that he who was without sin took upon our sin on the cross he paid the penalty so as john tells us if you confess your sins to jesus he's faithful and just to forgive our sins there's not a single sin that jesus won't forgive you of because he's the great savior capital s he rescues us at just the right time he redeems us he is the savior now we're
also told in this text he's the christ that's the word in the hebrew messiah christ is just the greek form of that word messiah it literally means defined anointed one that there is a chosen one the messiah the christ that will be the savior of the world only one there are not many ways to be saved there are not many ways to be god to have a relationship with god there is one way through the christ and jesus is the savior he is the christ and he's christ the lord it's another title it's a wonderful title it goes all the way back into the old testament to the hebrew language of the very title god gave of himself i am who i am i am is all-encompassing and hebrews
yahweh is such a sacred name many of the jews would not even say the name yahweh i am in the greek the new testament is jehovah we translate it in english lord jesus is savior christ the lord the i am came to us god the father sent the son we have one god and three persons we have a triune god perfectly united as one god the father god the son and god the holy spirit not three gods one god and we see that jesus came so that we would know who he is mary
the mother of jesus while she was still pregnant with jesus was singing a song in luke chapter one and we see mary said in verse 46 of luke chapter one my soul magnifies the lord mary said and my spirit rejoices in god my savior mary was singing to her own son that he is the savior he is the lord the same one we sing about today is the same one that mary was singing about this is awesome that god is for you just as he was for the wise men and the shepherds and for mary what i love about god is he goes after every one of us if you've never given your life to jesus
today is your day there's no better day there's not another day you don't have to wait and get your life right first you have to recognize your need for a savior you have to recognize jesus is the christ and allow him to be the lord of your life if you want to do that in just a few minutes i'm going to pray and you can pray with me and the bible says you're saved it's not something you did to save yourself you're literally born again this is a spiritual act of god you have a whole new purpose on your life to discover the joy of jesus when the angel said in luke 2 verse 10 the angel said to them fear not for behold i bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people this was not just a message for the wealthy people this was not just a message for the religious people aren't you glad that this was not just a message for the people that grew up sitting in the pews in church this was not just a message for those
that would go to the synagogue on the sabbath this was a message for all the people come on shout all all all means your neighbor so you could just turn to your neighbor and say you could use some more joy come on i know you've been thinking about it the whole time because at some point you realize this message is not for someone else this message of good news of great joy is for all people which means if god would save a sinner like me he could do it for someone else as well sometimes we got to look at the christmas story and remember that it's never too late with god he could show up in the middle of the night with shepherd they were on the night shift you ever had god show up at work luke teaches us that you don't need to meet with god in the sacred places
there's something special about coming to church we worship the risen lord we believe on sundays this is the day the lord is made we rejoice and we're glad we believe that jesus rose on the third day which is this day we celebrate that he is risen so when we come together it's a good thing but i need you to know this isn't just church church can happen wherever you are it can happen at your work it can happen when you're on the night shift when you're in the midnight seasons of your life and you're just wondering where god is he wants to meet with you he wants to reveal himself to you and he wants to show you that he is the very one that you need sometimes many of us react the same way the shepherds do we we live in fear we're living in a time of distraction the enemy has been working overtime to
get our eyes off of the lord and to get our our mind on the things of this world and and people are filled with fear they're they're full of fear of dying they're they're full of fear of their finances they're full of fear of their relationships they're filled with fear of of the future many of you would would agree that today we need more joy but the very thing that the enemy wants to do is to snatch that hope that we have in jesus so that he would steal what god has placed in our hearts jesus wants us to know how we can have this hope and john chapter 15 verse 11 jesus is just moments away from going to the cross literally hours away and he shares with us in john 15 verse 11 these
things i've spoken to you that my joy jesus said my joy may be in you and that your joy may be full it is evident that as jesus was going to the cross he had joy on his mind that although he was about to experience the worst suffering any person has ever experienced before betrayal brokenness he would be beaten he would literally be crucified nailed to a cross until he couldn't breathe and joy was on his mind and the one thing he wanted to leave with us is that you can have this joy not a little joy but that your joy would be full now now pay careful attention jesus said these
things i have spoken to you so he taught us so that we would know how to get this joy in john chapter 15 jesus gives an illustration of a vineyard a grape vineyard if you will and he likens the vine dresser the gardener to the father the god the father goes through the vineyard and if there are branches without fruit if they're just dead he cuts them off and he throws them into the fire for they have no purpose and jesus says in john chapter 15 verse 5 i am the vine you are the branches whoever abides in me and i in him he it is that bears much fruit for apart from me you can do nothing so jesus teaches us a secret of the
garden to get that joy we have to stay connected to him he calls it abiding now the secret to abiding is obedience it's practicing the presence of jesus that you want what jesus wants because he says a little bit later in verse 7 if you abide in me and my words abide in you ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you by this my father is glorified that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples so abiding in jesus is obeying jesus it's hearing his words obeying his words and he says go ahead and ask this is prayer you get to talk to god you're one with god you realize that everything you have is actually from god and when you go to him go ahead and ask anything big bold prayers not so that people would see you but that your father would be glorified
that people would see what's happening in you in fact jesus calls it fruit that people would see the fruit that you have something in your life you could never get on your own paul calls this the fruit of the spirit let's look at galatians chapter 5 verse 22 the fruit of the spirit this is what happens when you believe in jesus god the father gives you the holy spirit really important doctrine one god you believe in jesus god's going to give you himself the holy spirit and paul says when you have jesus the fruit of the spirit verse 22 is love joy peace patience kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness self-control notice that paul does not say fruits of the spirit this is singular when you
have jesus something's going to be produced in your life that you could never get on your own now fruit does not grow overnight god may be at work within you right now to produce something great you might be frustrated because you want to see the fruit but you don't plant the seed and get fruit the next day god is doing something good in you and here's how you know god's at work in you that fruit is love here's how you know it's love john says you love because he first loved us so when you know you're loved by god it changes everything and may i just proclaim today no one loves you more than our god god loves you so much and that fruit starts to come out in your life and after you understand that god loves you and you have the fruit of love there's joy when you know you're loved you have joy
when you know you're loved and you have joy you have peace why do you have peace because there's no room for fear in your heart when you have joy because your love perfect love drives out fear because joy and fear cannot cohabitate so when you have love and you have joy now you have peace now you're actually patient because you're no longer who you used to be because i have love i have joy i have peace i have patience now i'm kind do you see how this works this goes in order that when you have god working in your life all of a sudden i'm not only going to be kind but i have goodness because i'm pointing people to the father i have faithfulness i have gentleness i have this self something i can never do on my own i have self-control but through the power of the holy spirit god wants me to be who he made me to be
i would experience this fruit how do you get this fruit you abide in jesus pastor jimmy rollins he he puts it poetically when he says this joy is the fruit if jesus is the root some of you are wondering today why don't i have joy i want this joy i want this fullness of joy well you can typically see the fruit of the spirit in your life will correlate to how well you're abiding in jesus and it's not to be a burden jesus came to give you life and life abundantly he wants a relationship with you and so we start to examine where is jesus in my order of priorities in my time in my thought life because what i think about shapes what i believe and what i believe shapes my behavior jesus said these things i have spoken to you that my joy may be in
you and that your joy may be full so we start abiding and we start asking and we know there's a real enemy that wants to snatch up what god is doing his promises at one time jesus said in matthew 13 a story of a sower of seeds he said the seed is the word of god and those seeds don't all land in the same place as some seeds in good soil some seed falls in soil with weeds and it chokes out the the plant before it produces fruit other seeds fall in the rock and the sun scorches it but some seed falls in the path and then a bird comes and snatches the seed so it never takes root and jesus explains this in matthew chapter 13 verse 19 when anyone hears the words of the kingdom and does not understand it the evil one that's that
bird that snatches it comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart so i'm telling you today the enemy does not want you to know the promises of god there are not many things you can control in this life you cannot control the family that you're born into or the family you're adopted into you cannot control the weather when you're a child you cannot control the lunch menu but you can control what you think about and you can think about jesus the enemy cannot steal your joy because if jesus has placed it in your heart it's already taken root and through the power of the spirit it's bearing fruit the enemy is going to try to lie to you
but you can know full well that when i abide in jesus i get the experience of what jesus has to offer the author of hebrews describes the christian life this way he says in chapter 12 verse 1 therefore since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses let us also lay aside every weight and sin which so so which cling so closely and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us here's what the author is saying that this life is like a race and it's not a sprint it's more like a marathon so you need endurance and the last thing you're going to do in a marathon is have extra weight on you that's the sin so get rid of that sin jesus says you don't need to carry that any longer this is a race then he says in verse two looking to jesus
the founder and perfecter of our faith who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross despising the shame and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of god all right look at this secret jesus had joy before he went to the cross how do you have joy knowing that you're going to go to the cross now let's just clarify jesus did not have joy in the pain of the cross he did not have joy in the suffering he had joy despite the suffering how did jesus get through the cross he knew full well that this was not the end of his story jesus knew that on the other side of the cross was a resurrection
fear says that you don't know what's going to happen tomorrow joy says i have hope because my god knows what's going to happen tomorrow fear says i'm going to stay in this place of suffering joy says the best is yet to come with my god you see if you understand your future you will not have fear in the present here's what joy does joy says i can go through the cross on friday because i know that sunday is coming see friday is full of betrayal friday is full of suffering friday is the endurance of the cross jesus said if you want to follow me you need to pick up and carry your cross daily some of you are in a friday season of right life
right now and i'm here to tell you sunday is coming jesus is still the resurrection and the life this is not the end of your story so we have full confidence the hope that we have in him is that this life is not the destination this is just the journey to something greater so you might as well have joy on the journey and what we learn is that this joy comes from jesus you will get through this you're going to get through this and you're going to do it with joy joy is the assurance that god is in control i'm not going to allow the enemy lie to me any longer the enemy wants to leave you there but our god can rescue you he can save
you he can be your christ the messiah jesus had joy before him as he endured the cross it's sort of like a puzzle when you do a puzzle you typically pour out the pieces and then you put the box top up so that you can see the picture of the puzzle you're putting together you know what i'm talking about i mean when you're little you've got like four puzzle pieces right and you put them together you got four corners and you got the puzzle finish you grow a little older and it's got 25 pieces but they're still really big and they're easier to put together you get a little older you got 100 pieces it gets a little more complicated you know what i'm saying you might need a little help and then you get of an age that you just you still need a puzzle now you got like a thousand pieces these pieces are small they're complicated
and if someone was just to dump a pile of puzzle pieces in front of you and not tell you at all what this was about it would be hopeless you wouldn't know where to start but if you've got the picture up you know that you can start with the border as the foundation you start to understand where colors come together you start to understand that this piece goes with this piece i couldn't see it before but now it's coming together and when you have joy set before you you might see the pieces of your life and wonder what in the world is god doing but when you see the picture of eternity that jesus is the abundant life and jesus said for god so loved the world he so loved you that he sent his
only son that whoever any whoever's in the room this is like three of us whoever if you're a wise man if you're a shepherd or if you're anyone in between that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life now i see the picture that what i'm going through this isn't the end i couldn't get this piece to fit with this piece but now i see it a little more clearly someone else stepped into my story to help me put this together jesus could see the story he had joy set before he knew full well that what was going to happen next we can have that same joy just like the wise men come on i hope you would come to church rejoicing exceedingly with great joy i hope like the shepherds you would receive the proclamation that
the good news has come it is the gospel of great joy that's found in jesus christ the savior the christ the lord today i want to give you an opportunity right now in this moment to give your life to jesus if you've never surrendered your life to him you can right now there is no condemnation for those who are now in christ jesus he forgives all your sins it starts with the conversation we call that prayer and it continues with prayer it starts with you acknowledging your need for a savior i would like to pray with you and i can't save you it's not these words that will save you it's jesus and if you mean this and pray from your heart you'll be saved the bible teaches you believe it in your heart and you confess it with your mouth jesus is the one that did what needed to be done he died on the cross but on the third day he rose from the grave
and he is still alive just right where you are would you consider this you can close your eyes i want to pray with you i'm going to ask right now that you make the most serious decision of your entire life it is by far the easiest thing you can do because it's simply acknowledging your need so getting saved is easy but it doesn't mean your life will be easy you just now have hope and if that's you today you came in here you didn't even expect to do this but right now the lord has been talking to you you want to get saved right now you want to surrender your life to jesus would you just throw your hand up nice and high so i could see you i want to celebrate with you praise god praise god praise god praise god anyone else so you've got to start being bold right now acknowledging you need jesus not
everybody will understand it but the one that matters most does god the father is so elated when you say i i need jesus anyone else right where you are just raise your hand up nice and high so i could see that hand it doesn't matter how young you are or how old you are praise god that takes courage and boldness god will honor that amen anyone else lord today i thank you for those that raised their hands and said i need you i thank you for those that declared today that jesus you have spoken to them that they are forgiven of their sins and if that's you pray something like this in your heart lord i need you
jesus forgive me of my sins today i follow you i've received the gift of salvation and the gift of eternal life and the gift of the holy spirit today i follow you my friend as we're praying you just made the greatest decision you've been born again you you literally are new creation in god's eyes he sees you as a child you're no longer an enemy you got to let somebody know you made that decision today there might be others here today that you've made that decision but you've been depleted of joy you're empty and you you've been wondering why god's allow you to go through what you're going through if you're here today and you are a christian but you you could use some
more holy spirit joy in your life would you just raise your hands like i pray for you i see hands pop up quickly all over the place men women young older praise god praise god lord you see those hands and those hearts that are in desperation of you the good news is today jesus you taught us that if we ask anything it will be done so i ask in the mighty wonderful name of jesus would you fill your church with joy that by the power of your holy spirit you can change in just a moment what the enemy has been trying to do for a long time so i declare life in jesus name i declare restoration in jesus name i declare hope in jesus name i pray that you would break the bondage of the lies of the enemy right now because of your work
jesus i thank you for your finished work that you are the founder and perfecter of our faith so we turn to you for our joy forgive us lord where we sought the things of the world forgive us god when we listen to the lies the enemy oh i thank you for your grace and i know you're going to do great things miracles have happened today because of you jesus may we walk out of here more free because of you may we be more like these wise men and not care what anybody thinks of us lord you are worthy may we dance like david did when when we brought back the oh when he when he brought it back into the city lord the ark of the covenant oh i thank you god that you allow us to have joy when there's restoration so we pray that today in the great name of jesus so be an amen
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Defining Joy Against Its Counterfeits
The message spends its first teaching section separating joy from happiness and from consumerism. Circumstances and possessions are named as unsteady foundations, and Pastor Keith connects this to the Advent claim that Jesus offers abundant life rather than a fleeting good mood.
John 10:10
- When have you confused happiness with joy, and what circumstances were you depending on?
- What does the consumer message of Christmas promise that you have found it does not deliver?
- How does the abundant life Jesus describes in John 10:10 differ from the happiness circumstances give?
The Wise Men's Response: Worship and Generosity
Pastor Keith applies Matthew 2 to the wise men's delight in finding Jesus and their response through worship and gifts. He argues that Jesus is the source of their joy and connects that joy with generosity.
Matthew 2:10 · Matthew 2:11
- What would overflowing rejoicing honestly look like in your current life?
- Where does your giving come from—obligation, personal benefit, or worship?
- How could your worship reflect joy rather than routine this season?
The shepherds receive the announcement
Luke 2 describes shepherds on the night shift receiving the angel's announcement. Pastor Keith stresses their low social and religious standing, the fear that filled them, and the announcement's scope for all the people. Fear and joy are presented as unable to occupy the same heart.
Luke 2:8-10 · Luke 2:10 · Luke 2:11
- Where do you feel more like an outsider than a welcome guest in God's story?
- Which fear most competes with joy in your life right now, and what does that fear claim about God?
- Who in your life needs to hear that this news is for all the people?
Titles That Carry the Joy: Savior, Christ, Lord
The message unpacks the three titles in Luke 2:11. Pastor Keith explains what each means, ties Christ to the Greek word for Messiah, and links Lord back to the divine name. The claim is that the good news is located in a person rather than in political, religious, or educational systems.
Luke 2:11
- Which of the titles—Savior, Christ, or Lord—is hardest for you to receive, and why?
- The message says the good news is not in a political, religious, or educational system. Where are you tempted to look for salvation instead?
- What would it mean practically for Jesus to be Lord of an area of your life you have kept separate?
Connection with Jesus and hope beyond suffering
Drawing on John 15 and Galatians 5, Pastor Keith connects joy with continuing relationship with Jesus through obedience, prayer, and the Spirit's work over time. He then applies Hebrews 12 to Jesus' endurance, emphasizing hope beyond the cross rather than pleasure in suffering.
John 15:5 · John 15:11 · Galatians 5:22 · Hebrews 12:1-2
- What currently competes with abiding in Jesus for your time and attention?
- Where are you frustrated by a lack of fruit that may simply need more time to grow?
- How does Pastor Keith use Jesus' endurance and resurrection to encourage listeners in difficult seasons?
Answers from this recording
Start a conversation.
What is the difference between joy and happiness in this message?+
Pastor Keith ties happiness to circumstances: when things are good and you feel good, that is happiness. Emotions are described as God-given and good, but following them as a guide is unstable because circumstances change. Joy, by contrast, is described as deeper than a feeling and found in Jesus, so it can hold even in hard seasons. The message's claim is that joy is not what happens to you and not what you have, but a life rooted in Jesus, who in John 10:10 said he came to give abundant life.
Why does the message make so much of the shepherds?+
Applying Luke 2:8-10, Pastor Keith emphasizes that God first announces Jesus' birth to shepherds, whom he describes as people with little social or religious status. He interprets the account as showing that Jesus brings joy for people from every background, rather than only those who are wealthy or religious.
How does the sermon describe abiding in Jesus?+
The message uses Jesus' vine-and-branches picture from John 15: staying connected to the vine is what produces fruit. Pastor Keith equates abiding with obedience—hearing Jesus' words and doing them—and with practicing his presence. Abiding also includes prayer: asking boldly so that the Father is glorified. Fruit belongs to the Spirit's work over time, not to a single effort, and Pastor Keith observes that the visible fruit of a life tends to correspond to how well someone is abiding. The fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5 is singular, and joy sits within it rather than standing alone.
What does it mean that Jesus had joy before the cross?+
Pastor Keith reads Hebrews 12:2 carefully: Jesus did not have joy in the pain or suffering of the cross, but joy despite it. His joy came from knowing the story did not end there—resurrection was on the other side. The message uses the imagery of Friday and Sunday: Friday is betrayal, suffering, and endurance; Sunday is resurrection, life, and hope. Listeners in a difficult season are told Sunday is still coming. The puzzle illustration carries the same idea—seeing the box-top picture of eternity reframes the pieces that do not seem to fit.
