"And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and 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. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.' And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!'" Luke 2:8-14
Jesus is the Savior who saves us from our sin and the judgment that should rightfully fall upon us; and He gives us the hope of life (Matthew 1:21, 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10. Therefore, we live with confidence (no fear) and great joy.
The Old Testament was hope anticipated and the New Testament is hope manifested in the Savior.
1. No fear of rejection or abandonment.
"Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.'” Hebrews 13:5
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?...For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,
nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:35, 38-39
New City Catechism: Question 24
Q: Why was it necessary for Christ, the Redeemer, to die?
A: Since death is the punishment for sin, Christ died willingly in our place to deliver us from the power and penalty of sin and bring us back to God. By his substitutionary atoning death, he alone redeems us from hell and gains for us forgiveness of sin, righteousness, and everlasting life
New City Catechism: Question 25
Q: Does Christ’s death mean all our sins can be forgiven?
A: Yes, because Christ’s death on the cross fully paid the penalty for our sin, God graciously imputes Christ’s righteousness to us as if it were our own and will remember our sins no more.
2. Great Joy
"I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you. Again I will build you, and you shall be built, O virgin Israel! Again you shall adorn yourself with tambourines and shall go forth in the dance of the merrymakers." Jeremiah 31:3-4
"To proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion—to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified." Isaiah 61:2-3
3. Because salvation is by grace through Christ, it compels worship, adoration, and a desire to walk in the way of the Lord.
“Always you renounce the lesser good for a greater…What you call my struggle to submit (to the will of the Lord) is not struggle to submit, but a struggle to accept with passion (and joy). Picture me with my ground teeth, stalking joy—fully armed too, as it is a highly dangerous quest.” Flannery O'Connor
“What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one. Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism. Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture.” Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death (1985)
4. “Stalking Joy” is grounded in the gospel of grace.
“For me and millions of Western Christians, the single biggest threat to stalking joy is neither crushing despair nor ravenous, carnal, hedonism, but a middling,spirituality that adds Christian jargon to an emotionally comatose existence,tossing hours into mindless social media and Netflix, while congratulating itself on avoiding “big” sin.” Samuel James, What Netflix Cannot Give—and Death Cannot Take
"For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing... Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin." Romans 7:15, 19, 24-25
"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Romans 8:1
"His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue." 2 Peter 1:3-5a
"But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called…" 1 Timothy 6:11-12
Application Statements:
1. No fear but the confidence that comes from adoption into the family.
2. Place yourself in the path of blessing.
3. Passivity will not yield a delight in God.
4. “Stalking Joy” begins and continues in the gospel of grace.