A Word about a Vision of Joy

Today I want to share a word about a vision of joy as I comment on Luke 1:5-25. Let’s begin by reading verses 5-7:

In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.

Last week, I shared how important vision is. Our vision of something shapes our expectations and the ways we attempt to achieve those expectations. In the poem “The Night Before Christmas,” visions of sugar plumbs danced in the head of the children nestled all snug in their beds, but what is our vision of Christmas?

In the 21st Century, if we don’t have an intentional vision of an issue, there are plenty of sources in our society who will provide one for us. Therefore, I think it is vital that we have a Biblical vision of the issues of life, and that includes Christmas. 

We also saw last week how God gave Jeremiah a vision of the restoration of Israel. Today, I hope we will see a vision of joy in the Christmas story.

The Joy of Righteousness.

In our society today, as with many societies in history, concepts like righteousness and diligence are seen and boring and irrelevant. How many social media videos are made on these subjects?

In truth, however, concepts like righteous and diligence are central to successful lives, successful families, and successful communities.  A great example of diligence is the mother or older sister who packed the lunch of the 5 loaves and 2 fishes that Jesus used to feed the five thousand. I will unpack that at another time, but it I found that idea to be very thought provoking.

More to the subject of our passage for today was when David and Saul were alone in a cave, and David decided not to kill Saul, even though David had been anointed to replace him. He cut off a piece of Saul’s robe instead, and yet he realized even that was a sin, and he repented of his actions.

Every school child has been corrected by a parent for some misbehavior, only to claim, “All of the other children are doing the same thing.” And how does that parent reply? “I don’t care what the other children are doing. I am your parent, and care about what you are doing!”

A former boss had a watchword: “Do what is right even when no one is looking!” Another would say, “There is no right way, to do the wrong thing.”

Pursuing righteous does not guarantee that we will never have problems. Joseph did nothing wrong, and yet he wound up in prison. So did Paul and Silas in Ephesus. In fact, let’s consider what Paul told the church at Corinth in 2 Corinthians 11:22-28:

Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I. Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death.  Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea;  on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers;  in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?

The leadership of more than one church have tried to do the right thing by maintaining their property only for disaster to strike. For example, the Cathedral of Notre Dame caught fire during renovation work. The same thing happened at First Baptist Church, Columbus, GA during the 1990’s. Twenty-plus years of their pastor’s sermon manuscripts were lost among all of the other damages.

A wise Southern Baptist leader once counseled pastors to remember who their audience was as they exercised leadership. It was not the society in general, or the news media, but it was their congregation. We, too, need to remember who our audience is. God is our audience, and we find joy in pleasing Him. Olympian Eric Liddell said, “God made me fast. And when I run, I feel his pleasure.” We may not be fast, but we can pursue righteousness and feel God’s pleasure as we do.

Let’s continue by reading verses 8-10:

Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense.

The Joy of Service.

Selfishness or self-centeredness is a common trait among humanity. The pastor that officiated at our wedding often said that “People try to get all that they can, put it in a can, put a lid on the can, and then sit on the lid.” 

Another commentator joked about Americans gather so much stuff that we fill up our garages and our expensive cars must sit outside in the weather.

A common problem American advisors had when working with the Afghan army during the Global War on Terror was that their supply officers didn’t want to issue equipment and supplies to the troops. That material represented power and influence only as long as it was in their warehouses or on the shelves of their supply rooms. Supporting the troops in the fight or being a servant of others did not give them the same cultural benefit as holding on to vital supplies and other materials. This is not the way it works in God’s economy.

Jesus taught God’s vision of servant leadership in Matthew 20:25-28, saying,

But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

We all have talents and spiritual gifts. We can hoard them for ourselves or we can follow the guidance of Peter, who taught this in 1st Peter 4:7-11:

The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Some of the most blessed times of my life was when I was involved in service. As an example, when my disaster relief team responded in the aftermath of a storm. Or, even last week, I heard the testimony of a team of volunteers that travelled to another state to build a church. 

In Romans 12, Paul us that becoming a living sacrifice was a form of worship of God. For Zechariah his service literally was worship, but again, we must remember our audience. God sees service as a wonderful blessing to Himself and to humans as well. We need to capture that vision!

Let’s continue by reading verses 11-17:

And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb.  And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

The Joy of Prayer.

One mistake Christians make is to overlook the power of prayer.  A younger minister once came to me for advice. He had been counseling with a young lady who had intractable problems both at work and in her private life as well. He had tried to find practical solutions, but none were apparent. He had felt defeated, and then he said, “All I could do was prayer with her.”

At that statement, I rebuked him. I did so kindly, but firmly. I told him, “We must never discount the value of prayer. When you prayed, you took that young lady to the Throne of Grace and into the very presence of God. We can never do more for someone than to bring them into a relationship of any fashion with God.”

We should pray constantly and find joy in that relationship. Because Jesus is our High Priest, we can personally come before God with our wants and our needs, our troubles and our joys, our big deals and our insignificant issues.

• We can pray with joy because we know our Father hears us. 
• We can pray with joy because we know our Father wants to hear us.
• We can pray with joy because we know our Father not only hears us, but He pays attention to us.
• We can pray with joy because we know our Father acts upon what He hears.

One thing I miss is not being able to talk with my mom or dad. If I needed someone to advise me about life, I would call my mom. She was always a great encourager and counselor as well. If I needed to know how to do something, I would call my dad. He was a jack of all trades, and he always gave me great practical tips. YouTube just isn’t the same . . .  If I just needed to talk, I would call and talk to either of them (usually my mom because my dad was a man of few words, and he would give my mom the phone).

We need to pray constantly, but also confidently. If we are having a prayer meeting asking God for rain during a drought, we need to bring umbrellas! We need to remember our audience. What a joy it is to have some who listens to us and who acts for us. That is who God is. 

Let’s continue by reading verses 18-25:

And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 19 And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute. And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home. After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”

The Joy of Grace and Mercy.

We should not underestimate the power of prayer and the importance of prayer, but we also, in this case, should not underestimate the pain being experienced by Elizabeth and Zechariah. We can observe that by the reaction of the both of them to this news.

Zechariah echoed Sarah when she and Abraham entertained the visitors who prophesied that she would have a child. Time comes for us all, and both Zechariah and Sarah understood the ravages of time.

Elizabeth reacted in a different way. She hid herself for 5 months. Why would someone do that? The Bible does not say, but I think that she just wanted to make sure that it was real. Maybe she was afraid of a miscarriage, we don’t know. What we do know is how she responded when she finally realized what God had done in her life. She was overwhelmed with gratefulness.

Zechariah and Elizabeth experienced God’s grace and His mercy. These are separate but related concepts. God’s grace opens the way for us to experience His mercy.

Grace is the unmerited favor of God. We must remember that God owes us nothing, for all have sinned and fallen short of His glory. Our righteousness is like filthy rags compared to the greatness of God. Even Zechariah and Elizabeth, as determined as they were to honor God, could not compare with the glory of God.

Blessedly for us, God is not only perfect and righteous, He is also loving and benevolent toward us. He loves His creation, and He loves people, His highest creation, more than anything else. Out of God’s love for us, He gives us the good things that we don’t deserve. 

• He offers us forgiveness of sin, and a relationship with Him through Jesus.
• He offers us an abundant life in the here and now as well as in the hereafter.
• He offers us mercy, so that we can find peace in a fallen and dying world.

If grace is the unmerited favor of God, mercy is the action of God to find peace in this world of sin and imperfection. Even when we don’t see a practical or physical solution to our situation, we can still experience God’s mercy. As Paul taught us in Romans 8:26-28,

“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

We need to remember our audience. The truth is, it is precisely when we see no way out that God acts. If we could handle things ourselves, why would God need to do anything? God can handle everyday problems, but He is the only one who can handle God-sized problems!

Conclusion.

This Christmas we can experience the joy of our relationship with God.

We can experience the joy of righteous through a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

We can experience the joy of service through serving others but also by worshipping Jesus Christ in the special ways that we do during this season.

We can experience the joy of prayer by bringing to Jesus Christ all our joys and sorrows, and all our wants and needs and victories. Christmas is a time for family gatherings and Jesus is our Brother, the church is His bride, and God is our Father. God wants to hear from us this Christmas!

Finally, we can experience God’s grace and mercy because He loves us. Not just during Christmas, but all year around as well.

In our mind’s eye, how do we see Christmas? If we have a Biblical perspective, we can see it as a time of joy because of our relationship with God.

Thanks so much for visiting with me today! I'll be back soon with another word from the Bible that we can share together.

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt