We need Joy
Series: WHY DO WE STILL NEED CHRISTMAS
Speaker: James Barnett
Date: 21st December 2019
00:00:00 --> 00:00:08 is spent per person at Christmas time. It's $1 is spent on each person at Christmas time.
00:00:09 --> 00:00:14 That figure shocked me. It seems really large. Although if you're part of my family, that figure's
00:00:14 --> 00:00:23 fine. It's an incredible amount of money. And I wonder if we're spending a lot of money at
00:00:23 --> 00:00:32 Christmas time because we have a lot of insecurities. I wonder if the cost of Christmas reveals our
00:00:32 --> 00:00:39 insecurities. We're worried about what people will think, and so we respond by spending money to try
00:00:39 --> 00:00:45 and change people's perceptions. Easy to think, I have to be known as the generous uncle, so I've
00:00:45 --> 00:00:52 got to buy the best present. I need my children to love me, so I'm going to buy them everything
00:00:52 --> 00:00:58 they've asked for for Christmas. I haven't spent much time with my wife this year, so I'll spend
00:00:58 --> 00:01:06 a lot of money on her instead. Maybe in my family, they don't love or appreciate me, so I'm doing
00:01:06 --> 00:01:11 Christmas lunch with all the trimmings. There is more food than you can poke a stick at.
00:01:13 --> 00:01:20 I wonder if Christmas reveals our insecurities, this feeling of being loved and appreciated.
00:01:20 --> 00:01:27 If my husband buys me the right gift, then he knows that he's actually been listening for the
00:01:27 --> 00:01:32 last six months when I've been dropping hints all along the way. Don't worry, Alyssa, I think
00:01:32 --> 00:01:37 I've heard all of those hints. At least we'll find out on Christmas morning.
00:01:39 --> 00:01:45 Is it possible that we do the same thing with God? That we are striving to get God's love and
00:01:45 --> 00:01:52 acceptance. But instead of trying to buy gifts for God, we do things out of a feeling of insecurity.
00:01:53 --> 00:02:01 Today, the good news of the Bible is that God has a wonderful present for us. One that destroys this
00:02:01 --> 00:02:09 feeling of insecurity and anxiety before God. And we see it in the song that Mary sang. We got a hint
00:02:09 --> 00:02:14 of it before with our kids. We saw the very start of it in the song that Mary sang. But we're going to
00:02:14 --> 00:02:21 have a look at this song a little bit more now. Now, Mary, she wasn't in the highest position.
00:02:21 --> 00:02:30 She was not a queen or a princess. She wasn't a rich influencer mom with a million followers on
00:02:30 --> 00:02:38 Instagram. She was a young, soon-to-be-married girl from a backwater town called Nazareth.
00:02:39 --> 00:02:48 She was a no-one. And yet God chose her to be the mother of Jesus. And we've seen how Mary and
00:02:48 --> 00:02:57 Elizabeth responded out of joy to what God has done. So let me read Mary's song again. It's in Luke
00:02:57 --> 00:03:02 chapter 2, and it's from verse 46. It says,
00:03:02 --> 00:03:11 My soul glorifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. For he has been mindful of the
00:03:11 --> 00:03:17 humble state of his servant. From now on, all generations will call me blessed. God has been
00:03:17 --> 00:03:25 mindful of the humble state of his servant. What a wonderful reversal of the order of humanity.
00:03:25 --> 00:03:33 Usually, we are only aware and care about those who are rich or who we can gain something from.
00:03:34 --> 00:03:39 But here, God is aware and he cares for the lowest in society.
00:03:40 --> 00:03:42 Mary keeps singing from verse 49,
00:03:42 --> 00:03:49 For the mighty one has done great things for me. Holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who
00:03:49 --> 00:03:55 fear him from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm. He has scattered
00:03:55 --> 00:04:03 those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. The mighty one, God, does great to the lowest.
00:04:03 --> 00:04:11 He honors Mary and he lifts her up. And those who are proud and arrogant, he pushes them away. He scatters
00:04:11 --> 00:04:18 them. And he has brought down rulers from their thrones, but he has lifted up the humble. God
00:04:18 --> 00:04:28 has totally flipped the way that we usually operate. In a world where the rich seem to get richer and
00:04:28 --> 00:04:35 no one seems to hold them accountable, God knows the acts of all people. And he says he will lift up
00:04:35 --> 00:04:43 the low and keep those in high position accountable. At Christmas, we can be tempted to think that we
00:04:43 --> 00:04:49 need to be impressing people with the best gifts, the best parties, the best lunch, hoping that when we
00:04:49 --> 00:04:57 do, we will get their love and acceptance. And it would be terrible for us if we operated in the same way
00:04:57 --> 00:05:06 with God. But the good news of Christmas is that we can sing this song of Mary's with joy just like
00:05:06 --> 00:05:16 she did, because God has been mindful of us. God is mindful of you. We don't need an angel like
00:05:16 --> 00:05:23 Gabriel to speak to us. We don't need to get pregnant in an immaculate conception to know that God is mindful
00:05:23 --> 00:05:33 of us. God shows he is mindful of us through Jesus, this baby who was born, who lived a life
00:05:33 --> 00:05:40 obeying his father, who suffered on a cross, died and yet was raised three days later. Because of what
00:05:40 --> 00:05:48 Jesus has accomplished, God offers us to be his children. This is the highest position of all. This
00:05:48 --> 00:05:55 is a position of love and acceptance as his children, not because of what we have done, but because of
00:05:55 --> 00:06:04 what God has done through Jesus. This is good news for us this Christmas, because we don't need to be
00:06:04 --> 00:06:11 anxious before God. We don't need to be worried about where we stand, what does God think of me? We can be
00:06:11 --> 00:06:19 secure in Jesus. We don't need to hedge our bets, ticking off a box of doing things at Christmas,
00:06:20 --> 00:06:27 trying to secure God's love for us. God is mindful of you. He knows you and he loves you.
00:06:28 --> 00:06:37 You don't need to work hard to get him to love you. You don't need to worry or fear. Instead, we have a God
00:06:37 --> 00:06:42 who has shown his love to us in Jesus. And so we can rejoice like Mary and sing,
00:06:42 --> 00:06:49 my soul glorifies the Lord. My spirit rejoices in God, my savior, for he has been mindful of the
00:06:49 --> 00:06:57 humble state of his servant. This position before God is secure. It has been nailed firm to a cross.
00:06:58 --> 00:07:06 We live in a world that has many joys that are often temporary and many insecurities and anxieties
00:07:06 --> 00:07:14 this is the best joy. This is a secure joy that takes away fear and anxiety.
00:07:16 --> 00:07:24 I have three children. One of those is Micah, who is two. Hi, Micah. Micah likes to copy his older
00:07:24 --> 00:07:31 brother and older sister. His older brother and older sister have grown in competency at climbing.
00:07:31 --> 00:07:36 They're pretty good climbers. Micah likes to copy them and he thinks he is as good as
00:07:36 --> 00:07:41 them. The biggest thing he thinks he's good at is jumping down. The other two, they're pretty good
00:07:41 --> 00:07:48 at jumping down and landing and not dying. Micah, when he climbs, he is totally secure. He has no fear.
00:07:49 --> 00:07:56 Why? Because he knows that I'm below. And Micah will climb and he will stand on the precipice
00:07:56 --> 00:08:05 with no fear. With no fear. No fear of falling three meters away. He will jump and have no fear when
00:08:05 --> 00:08:15 he's in the air because I am at the bottom ready to catch him. And when he jumps and when he's in the
00:08:15 --> 00:08:24 air, he is full of joy. We might be living a life that feels like we are standing on the edge of a cliff.
00:08:24 --> 00:08:30 We might even be in a position in life where we feel like we are falling and drifting and we're about
00:08:30 --> 00:08:39 to hit the ground. And this can bring so many anxieties and so many fears. But we have a God that is
00:08:39 --> 00:08:50 mindful of us. He loves us and he accepts us and he is not just standing at the bottom waiting for us to
00:08:50 --> 00:08:58 come to him. He has come to us and he has showed his love and security in the death and resurrection
00:08:58 --> 00:09:05 of his son. And so now we can have joy. Even if we feel that we're on the edge, even if we feel that
00:09:05 --> 00:09:12 we are falling, we can have joy because there is a God who has made us secure in Jesus. Let me pray.
00:09:12 --> 00:09:22 God, I thank you so much for what you have done in Jesus. Thank you that you made promises to both
00:09:22 --> 00:09:27 Mary and Elizabeth and it brought them joy. And thank you, God, that you have been mindful of Mary
00:09:27 --> 00:09:34 and that you are mindful of us. Us who are lowly and sinful and don't deserve anything from you.
00:09:34 --> 00:09:41 But God, we thank you that you are mindful of us and that we are secure because of Jesus.
00:09:42 --> 00:09:46 Lord, help us to have joy now because of that. Amen.