December 18, 2023 • 27 mins
Each week of December, Anna and Sarah are going through Advent (Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love). They will each have a devotional prepared about each topic, and toward the end of the episode, Anna and Sarah will be reading what others have said about their own beliefs/opinions of that episode's topic.
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(00:00):
Okay, you know I'm actually in like a good state of mind and heart posture right now.
(00:20):
I think I am too.
Thank you God.
Yeah, it's not me.
I feel like we never are.
I'm telling you, this day I was so tired all day, like lethargic and not feeling it.
And I was like, I don't know.
Not that I was going to cancel on you, but I was like, I don't think I'm going to be
up to whatever when I see her.
But then maybe it was a little pan-ap I got.
(00:42):
So maybe it was that.
I don't know.
Lord knew I needed it.
So a little bit of rest.
Yeah.
Do you want to introduce that?
Oh, sure.
Hello and welcome to week three of our Advent series where today we're going to be talking
about joy.
I almost forgot for a second.
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So as a reminder, Advent is just a time to anticipate and look forward to Christmas and
celebrating the birth of Christ and what that means for us as Christians.
And so if you have missed our other podcasts over hope and peace, then you should go back
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and listen to those.
Yeah.
They turned out pretty good.
I don't mean that in a conceited way.
I just editing everything, I'm like, wow.
In the moment I can tell God is speaking through us, but also listening back to what, like
after it's edited or as I'm editing, I'm like, wow.
Because it's stuff that I am reminded of again, once I'm editing by God.
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And it's not like I'm even hearing myself speak.
I'm just hearing what God is telling me.
And it's good stuff.
So I really definitely, really definitely, I definitely recommend listening to those.
Okay.
So I'm going to go first.
So we're going to do, what did you say?
Joy.
Okay.
Okay.
So as I was telling Anna earlier, a lot of this, like in my notes, I typed out more in
(02:15):
my notes this time than I usually do, like with full sentences.
So I was rereading it today and I think I'm just going to read my notes for the most part.
But then as God leads me to stop and say something else, I will.
Or if I need to like, I don't know, you know, Holy Spirit lead.
So I'm pulling mine from Luke chapter two verses eight through 10.
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And my overall statement.
I got some similar verses.
Okay.
They're not, it's not the same though.
Okay.
My overall statement is when we see God's glory, we can either fear it and run away
or we can draw closer, listen to what his glory is showing us and find joy.
So Luke two, eight through 10 says, and in the same region, there were shepherds out
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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 shown 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.
So I literally have read this passage a thousand freaking times in my entire life.
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Like who knows how many times I've actually read this passage a lot.
So when I read it this time in like, cause whenever we do these advent or any topical
type podcast episode, I go in like, for instance, with this, I just read the Christmas story
looking for joy.
Like all I did was look for joy.
How do I see joy in this?
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And then I just kind of let God tell me if you know what direction to go with that.
And that's what happened here.
But when I read this, the very, like I literally didn't even read past this.
I just started reading, just started reading like seconds ago.
And God put this statement in my head that we can either fear God's glory and run away
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or we can draw closer to it and listen to him through the glory that's being shown.
And we can find true joy through that.
Wow.
And it was like, oh, you just put that same in my head.
Like it was nothing to him.
And I was like, for me to come up with those words on my own, it would take a lifetime
for me to even come up with that.
Like how to find true joy.
So I'm going to give you some examples of what I mean by fear in, in at least for this
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specific little devotional or Bible study, what I mean.
So fear could be fear of the world rejecting you and you being humiliated as Christian,
fear of not being in control of your life anymore and having to give that control up
to someone else, meaning God in this sense, fear that your future is unknown if you do
follow God in the sense that you have no clue where God will take you and that you'll just
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have to trust him in that fear of persecution and trials because, because of your beliefs
and kind of along with that would be fear of losing people you love and are close to
because of your beliefs.
So these are some common things that we as Christians face.
Um, especially since we live in a world that is just so just against living a godly life
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and it's always been like that.
It's not just this time era, but, um, so those are good examples.
Those are just a few things and you can insert your own fears here of being a Christian.
And those are just some that I thought of.
So I just have a quick statement and, um, or a quick little thing that I'm going to
read here and we'll see if God leaves me to say anything else.
When we draw close to God and listen to what he has to say, we find joy.
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Listening to God is different than just hearing what he has to say and walking away.
Listening is hearing what he has to say and actually pondering and meditating on it.
There's an additional act to the hearing part of it.
It's applying it.
We must listen to God and think about what he is and has shown us and told us personally
as we read his word and talk to him.
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We must think about these things as we go about our daily mundane tasks.
And when we, excuse me, when we start glorifying God during our daily and weekly to do's based
off of all of these things that we have heard from him personally, we will find peace and
joy.
Just as we see in the passage we read in Luke chapter two, there is joy found when the shepherds
listen to what God was saying.
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So I guess that's pretty much all I had because whenever I read that the shepherds, I mean,
an angel appeared, heavenly hosts were singing, praising God.
And that's obviously God's glory.
That's like literally God's glory right in front of their face.
And yes, they were afraid at first, but then they realized there's no need to be afraid.
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The angel just said that, you know, there's no need to be afraid.
And once they started listening to what the angel was saying, they were hearing what was
actually going on behind the surface.
And then they found joy because they got to meet the king himself.
Like they got to meet King Jesus and they had that hope before they even arrived to
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meet King Jesus that we're going to go meet King Jesus right now.
And joy came from listening to God through God being glorified.
They listened to that.
They listened to what was happening behind the surface and they found joy.
So I guess just to apply it to your own life, you know, you can turn away from God and his
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glory because of what the world is saying or because of fear of rejection or from others
here on earth or because of this, that and the other.
Or you can look at God's glory and say, okay, yes, I'm scared, but also let's at least look
at it and analyze what's going on.
What is God actually saying?
Like what is the big picture here?
Who is God?
Why did he create me?
You know, ask these questions that it's like, why did he bring us to life?
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Why, why did we need a savior in the first place?
Who is Jesus?
How is he the son of God?
Who is the Holy Spirit?
Asking these basic foundational questions about Christianity and then seeing like that's
all glorifying God.
All of it is.
Yeah.
And once you actually find the answers to these things, as time goes on, you're going
to see that there's true joy that can be found in that and nothing else can bring joy like
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that can, like a relationship with God that you get from all of that.
So that's all I had.
It was very quick and simple, but.
Wow.
I like that though.
I mean, that's, that's so true.
And that's not, that's, see, I read, well, I also referenced Luke 2 10, but that's not
where I, the direction I took that verse.
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So yeah, it's just cool to hear how like,
where the Lord took you with that.
And then, I like the, I had never thought about that verse that way.
Yeah, I had neither.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So I was like in my entire life, like a whole lifetime would, could go by and I would never
think that up on my own.
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Yeah.
But it's true.
I mean, every word of that was true.
I mean, if you just think about it in your own personal life.
Anyway, what you got?
So I started off by, I looked at the definition of joy.
So joy is defined per dictionary.com as the emotion of great delight or happiness caused
by something exceptionally good or satisfying, keen pleasure elation.
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And then the second definition was a source or cause of keen pleasure or delight, something
or someone greatly valued or appreciated.
So thinking about that definition, I'm going to read Luke 2 10 and 11, which says, in the
angel said to them, fear not for behold, I bring you good news of great joy, which that
will be for all the people for unto you is born this day in the city of city of David,
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a savior who is Christ the Lord.
The reason I started off with that verse is because I thought about the angels or the
shepherds were fearing and they had a lot of fear in their hearts.
Well, I kind of took it in a similar direction actually.
Okay.
I thought about the fear that these shepherds and then like the Israelites for thousands
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of years had before Jesus came and waiting for this Messiah to eventually come.
So I'm just going to read what I wrote.
It's going to make more sense.
That's why I didn't mind that way.
So for hundreds of years, the Israelites had looked forward to the coming of the Messiah.
He was foretold long ago and yet year after year they waited.
They were people who suffered a great deal in captivity and hopeful anticipation that
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they would one day be set free.
They waited in faith and hope that one day the savior of the world would come.
Their joy and hope didn't come from their current situation because Lord knows they
didn't have it easy.
And oftentimes the Israelites especially found they had a hard time finding joy in their
situation.
They grumbled and complained a lot as we do today.
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But all throughout scripture, we see examples of ones who waited joyfully for what the Lord
would do that he would do with what he had promised and that was sending his son.
There's so many examples of people who just had so much joy in their situations and their
circumstances.
Joseph comes to mind for one.
But the two I'm going to be talking about today in relation to the Christmas story as
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well are Anna and Simeon.
So I'm going to start in Luke chapter 2 verse 22 which starts off by saying, and when the
time came for their purification, meaning Mary and Jesus, according to the law of Moses,
they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.
Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and
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devout waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before
he had seen the Lord to Christ.
I'm going to stop there for a second.
And just like as I was reading this, I was reflecting and thinking about the great joy
that Simeon must have felt when he finally got to see this promised child.
Because this is after Israel has been waiting for so long, and then after the 400 years
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of prophetic silence, and then Simeon himself has received from the Holy Spirit this promise
that he wouldn't die before he saw this child.
But he was getting up there in years, and I'm sure, not that he would have doubted the
Lord or lost hope, but maybe he would have started to question a little bit.
And so I can't imagine the gratefulness of joy that he felt when he finally got to see
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this baby.
How he must have felt knowing the Savior of the world was finally upon this earth.
So picking back up in verse 27, and he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the
parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him according to the custom of the law, he
took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, Lord, now you are letting your servant
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depart in peace according to your word.
For my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all the
peoples a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.
So Simeon rejoiced after years of faithfully waiting at this promise finally fulfilled.
And we can see here that he's humble in his rejoicing, simply thanking God for this gift
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that he was privileged enough to be a part of before he died.
That like he got to be there, like to see the Messiah when he was merely days old.
He got to hold the light of the world, the King of Kings and the one who had bring salvation
to all of us in his arms.
That would be so cool.
Which is just crazy.
I can't imagine what he must have been feeling as he looked at this little baby.
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He got to see his face and marvel at this little baby who is there to defeat death and
save all of mankind.
And then like he makes this prophetic statement even where he's talking about, I mean, he
just he blesses God and he says, you're letting your servant depart in peace.
Like he's finally at peace and he was rejoicing that he can die peacefully.
Feeling that like this Jesus came for all to which I which I love.
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Picking back up in verse 33, and his father and mother marveled at what was said about
him and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, behold, this child is appointed
for the fall and rising of many in Israel and for a sign that is opposed in a circle
pierce through your own soul also so that so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.
That's so good.
I know.
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So like though like and then I thought about Mary in this moment.
And though these words might have somewhat scared her because after all, like he's talking
about her newborn baby boy.
And that's a very foreboding declaration that I just made to her.
But like even through that can come rejoicing.
Mary could reflect on in that moment the great purpose that her son, like that her son, Jesus
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had upon his life.
And therefore, like it brought rejoicing to her in that moment.
And it can bring rejoicing to us today because these words have now proven to be true.
Like we are living in a time after all this has happened, after Jesus has come and died
on the cross and defeated death and risen again to give us hope.
And so because of what Jesus did for us through his life of ministry and through his death
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on the cross, we can rejoice today.
We can have great hope and joy every single day, knowing that we live in a time where
we can know Jesus as our personal savior and have him walk with us through whatever we
face day to day.
So moving on to verse 36, and there was a prophetess Anna, the daughter of Faneuil of
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the tribe of Asher.
She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was
a virgin and then as a widow until she was 84.
She did not depart from the temple, worshiping and fasting and prayer night and day.
And coming up at that very hour, she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him
to all who are waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.
So like these people waited for so long, so faithfully.
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Anna was faithful, rejoicing first and foremost in her work for the Lord without complaint.
Like she went about her day, her days for years and years and years, never leaving the
temple, doing what the Lord had commanded her to do.
And then finally the Lord blessed, therefore the Lord blessed her with this great gift
of getting to see the special little baby who had changed the world.
And then she went out and she spread her joy to those around her.
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She went out and she began to speak to him, speak of him to all who are waiting for the
redemption of Jerusalem.
Like all these people out there waiting in hopeful anticipation.
And Anna got to be the one to bring them like this, this news of joy after they waited for
so long in fear.
And then they were finally able to see that like, like redemption is coming.
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So she didn't keep it to herself because she knew that all of creation had been waiting
on this redemption.
We're going to go to Romans 8.
I've been in Romans a lot and that's like on these podcasts lately.
And that's just because that's what we've been going through at the college ministry
I go to on Tuesday night.
But it's good stuff.
So I'm going to start on verse 19.
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Sarah's got a lot of notes in her Bible.
Well, Romans was the very first book I went through this year, like at the very beginning
of 2023.
And yeah, anyway, go ahead.
There's just a lot.
So I'm going to start in verse 19.
It might take me up.
I might reach to the end of the chapter.
Just bear with me.
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Don't skip.
This is God's word.
That's right.
Okay.
So Romans 8 19 starts off by saying, for the creation waits with eager longing for the
revealing of the sons of God, for the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly,
but because of him who subjected it in hope that the creation itself will be set free
from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of
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God.
So God, like creation itself groaned in waiting for this Messiah.
And it now groans to be redeemed completely one day when Jesus comes back as well.
For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth
until now.
And not only the creation, but we ourselves who have the first fruits of the spirit grown
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inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption of sons, the redemption of our bodies.
And like us today as Christians, we face so many things day to day.
We suffer and we have fears and we have anxieties and all this, but we can rejoice knowing that
Jesus is coming back.
Verse 24, for in this hope we were saved.
Now hope that is seen is not hope for who hopes for what he sees.
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But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
Likewise, the spirit hopes 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 the heart knows what is in the mind of the spirit because the spirit
intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
And there's rejoicing in that knowing that we don't have to suffer through this alone,
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that the Holy Spirit is with us every single day and that he is interceding on our behalf
constantly.
And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good for those who
are called according to his purpose.
For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son in
order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
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And those whom he predestined, he also called, and those whom he called, he also justified,
and those whom he justified, he also glorified.
What then shall we say to these things?
If God is for us, who can be against us?
He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with
him graciously give us all things?
Who shall bring any charge against God's elect?
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It is God who justifies.
Who is it to condemn?
Christ Jesus is the one who died, more than that, who was raised, who is at the right
hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
As it is written, For your sake we are all being killed all the day long, for we are
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regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
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 death nor anything else in all creation will be
able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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And in that, friends, is just such great rejoicing.
We can rejoice in that truth that Jesus is with us.
He came as this little baby to take care of, to defeat death, to redeem all of creation,
to bring us to himself so that we one day could exist and bring glory to him.
But we don't have to do this by ourselves.
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The Holy Spirit is with us day after day.
Jesus himself is at the right hand of the Father now interceding on our behalf.
And in that can come such great joy.
And so I just hope that you guys remember that as we continue to get closer and closer
to Christmas.
Just reflect on what this little baby who came, like what he did for us.
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This is crazy.
That was good.
That was all I got.
That was my favorite one yet out of the ones that we've done.
Me too.
Yeah.
Thank you Lord.
So now we're going to read our texts like we've been doing in the past couple weeks
for these Advent episodes.
We forgot to mention that at the beginning of this if you are new here.
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But what we've been doing is we've been reaching out to a few people and asking them two questions
about the topic that we're going to be speaking about in whatever week we're on in the episode
of the podcast.
And then we're going to read their answers on here just to kind of get a new perspective,
a fresh perspective.
I guess a fresh perspective based off of similar beliefs because they are Christians as well.
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And they are people who might be what we call newer Christians like baby Christians or maybe
more mature Christians.
It just could be anything.
So this week with Joy we asked some people about what they believe.
Hold on.
Wowza.
My brain stopped working suddenly.
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Okay.
So we asked them what does Joy mean to you just in a general sense.
And my first person said, Joy is a mindset and a lifestyle.
It is in no way dependent on my circumstances.
I believe that Joy is also an attribute of God that is made available to us through the
Holy Spirit.
So that was really good.
I like that answer a lot.
It's just very straightforward but hits every point.
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And then when it comes to the next question it was what does Joy mean to you when thinking
about the birth of Jesus Christ?
And this is her answer.
She said, when Jesus was born the earth got to experience joy and now believers are to
live in joy while awaiting his second coming.
I've also gotten to experience joy through different things that God has gifted me with,
like my family, my friends, and my church family.
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And both answers covered everything we've been talking about.
Yeah.
So my first one, when I asked them what Joy meant to them they said, Joy means to be content
within your soul despite circumstances because of the Lord.
It is different from happiness in that it isn't temporary, it's long lasting.
Joy lasts even whenever things in life may get hard but there's still hope that everything
will work out and that the Lord has his hand in it.
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Joy is a way of life not just a feeling.
Which is very true.
It's a good reminder too.
And then when asking them what Joy meant to them when thinking about the birth of Christ
they said, when thinking about the birth of Christ there is joy to be had because of the
promise of salvation.
It is such a joyous promise that it should be lasting and Christ's birth changed everything.
Because of him we are able to live a life filled with joy that passes all understanding.
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I am joyful because of Jesus' birth and how it meant that he sacrificed his life so that
I may not be separated from God and that I would be able to dwell with him more intimately.
That's why there's joy in Christ's birth.
That's good.
Okay so my second person.
I love this person.
Okay so, I mean I love every person that I texted.
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I don't mean that bad.
I just.
So I only love this one.
Yeah just this one.
What does Joy mean to you?
He said, Joy is pure happiness, happiness that is unaffected by what troubles life brings.
Joy is peace, peace that can only be given by God.
It is a glimpse of what we should expect.
Joy is love.
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And then when referring to the birth of Jesus he said, he has given us a gift that can never
be paid for or earned.
Or earned.
Wow my southern came out.
Hold on.
Paid for or earned.
I'm going to restart.
He has given us a gift that can never be paid for or earned.
It is a gift that knows no bounds.
That gift brings the greatest joy there is.
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Without Jesus we would fall into despair and not know joy for what it truly is.
A selfless gift.
So my second person when asking him what Joy means to him he said, happiness is a rush
of positive feelings but Joy is an underlying peaceful positive state that is there regardless
of circumstances.
And then when asking him what Joy means to him when thinking about the birth of Christ,
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he said, because Jesus was the son of God and went on to die for my sins, I can have
Joy for two reasons.
First, one day I know I'll get to be with him and others forever in a wonderful place
called heaven.
Second, I can turn to him through the power of the Holy Spirit any time of the day or
night and he cares for me, listens, and is my friend so I am never alone or without hope.
Okay so my last person only answered one of the two questions.
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She's a busy bee.
So I'll tell you her joke answer, the first one.
What does Joy mean to you?
She said, she's a teacher.
She said since I'm standing on the playground watching my fifth graders at recess right
now, Joy would mean a real cup of coffee in a Hallmark movie far away from these little
rugrats.
That's so real.
From these little rugrats.
But that's not what my real answer would be so let me think on it.
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But her other answer was, I think she just told me over the phone one day so it was a
very quick little thing but what came to her mind in the moment, she said, the most joyful
thing I can think of, so this is not her definition of Joy but it's what would bring her the most
Joy right now if that makes sense.
She said the most joyful thing I can think of is to know my children have accepted Christ
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and are serving him.
So that was the other one.
But yeah, so those are, I think that's all we got for that right?
Cool.
So we have one more episode after this.
We're actually about to record it.
For well, not one total.
I just won for this year.
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No one.
This is our last podcast.
One time.
After six months, we're out.
Hasn't been that long.
I think so.
Since June.
Yeah, something like that.
Yeah.
So this is our last one.
Well, no, no, no, no.
The next one will be the last one of 2023.
So you need to go listen to that.
It'll be about.
There's more to come in 2024.
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We have no idea what is coming in 2024.
The Lord does.
I hope you guys have a good week.
Merry early Christmas.
And yeah.
OK, share this with a friend or family member.
Bye.
Bye.
Okay, you know I'm actually in like a good state of mind and heart posture right now.
(00:20):
I think I am too.
Thank you God.
Yeah, it's not me.
I feel like we never are.
I'm telling you, this day I was so tired all day, like lethargic and not feeling it.
And I was like, I don't know.
Not that I was going to cancel on you, but I was like, I don't think I'm going to be
up to whatever when I see her.
But then maybe it was a little pan-ap I got.
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So maybe it was that.
I don't know.
Lord knew I needed it.
So a little bit of rest.
Yeah.
Do you want to introduce that?
Oh, sure.
Hello and welcome to week three of our Advent series where today we're going to be talking
about joy.
I almost forgot for a second.
(01:05):
So as a reminder, Advent is just a time to anticipate and look forward to Christmas and
celebrating the birth of Christ and what that means for us as Christians.
And so if you have missed our other podcasts over hope and peace, then you should go back
(01:26):
and listen to those.
Yeah.
They turned out pretty good.
I don't mean that in a conceited way.
I just editing everything, I'm like, wow.
In the moment I can tell God is speaking through us, but also listening back to what, like
after it's edited or as I'm editing, I'm like, wow.
Because it's stuff that I am reminded of again, once I'm editing by God.
(01:48):
And it's not like I'm even hearing myself speak.
I'm just hearing what God is telling me.
And it's good stuff.
So I really definitely, really definitely, I definitely recommend listening to those.
Okay.
So I'm going to go first.
So we're going to do, what did you say?
Joy.
Okay.
Okay.
So as I was telling Anna earlier, a lot of this, like in my notes, I typed out more in
(02:15):
my notes this time than I usually do, like with full sentences.
So I was rereading it today and I think I'm just going to read my notes for the most part.
But then as God leads me to stop and say something else, I will.
Or if I need to like, I don't know, you know, Holy Spirit lead.
So I'm pulling mine from Luke chapter two verses eight through 10.
(02:38):
And my overall statement.
I got some similar verses.
Okay.
They're not, it's not the same though.
Okay.
My overall statement is when we see God's glory, we can either fear it and run away
or we can draw closer, listen to what his glory is showing us and find joy.
So Luke two, eight through 10 says, and in the same region, there were shepherds out
(03:01):
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 shown 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.
So I literally have read this passage a thousand freaking times in my entire life.
(03:21):
Like who knows how many times I've actually read this passage a lot.
So when I read it this time in like, cause whenever we do these advent or any topical
type podcast episode, I go in like, for instance, with this, I just read the Christmas story
looking for joy.
Like all I did was look for joy.
How do I see joy in this?
(03:42):
And then I just kind of let God tell me if you know what direction to go with that.
And that's what happened here.
But when I read this, the very, like I literally didn't even read past this.
I just started reading, just started reading like seconds ago.
And God put this statement in my head that we can either fear God's glory and run away
(04:05):
or we can draw closer to it and listen to him through the glory that's being shown.
And we can find true joy through that.
Wow.
And it was like, oh, you just put that same in my head.
Like it was nothing to him.
And I was like, for me to come up with those words on my own, it would take a lifetime
for me to even come up with that.
Like how to find true joy.
So I'm going to give you some examples of what I mean by fear in, in at least for this
(04:30):
specific little devotional or Bible study, what I mean.
So fear could be fear of the world rejecting you and you being humiliated as Christian,
fear of not being in control of your life anymore and having to give that control up
to someone else, meaning God in this sense, fear that your future is unknown if you do
follow God in the sense that you have no clue where God will take you and that you'll just
(04:51):
have to trust him in that fear of persecution and trials because, because of your beliefs
and kind of along with that would be fear of losing people you love and are close to
because of your beliefs.
So these are some common things that we as Christians face.
Um, especially since we live in a world that is just so just against living a godly life
(05:17):
and it's always been like that.
It's not just this time era, but, um, so those are good examples.
Those are just a few things and you can insert your own fears here of being a Christian.
And those are just some that I thought of.
So I just have a quick statement and, um, or a quick little thing that I'm going to
read here and we'll see if God leaves me to say anything else.
When we draw close to God and listen to what he has to say, we find joy.
(05:40):
Listening to God is different than just hearing what he has to say and walking away.
Listening is hearing what he has to say and actually pondering and meditating on it.
There's an additional act to the hearing part of it.
It's applying it.
We must listen to God and think about what he is and has shown us and told us personally
as we read his word and talk to him.
(06:00):
We must think about these things as we go about our daily mundane tasks.
And when we, excuse me, when we start glorifying God during our daily and weekly to do's based
off of all of these things that we have heard from him personally, we will find peace and
joy.
Just as we see in the passage we read in Luke chapter two, there is joy found when the shepherds
listen to what God was saying.
(06:22):
So I guess that's pretty much all I had because whenever I read that the shepherds, I mean,
an angel appeared, heavenly hosts were singing, praising God.
And that's obviously God's glory.
That's like literally God's glory right in front of their face.
And yes, they were afraid at first, but then they realized there's no need to be afraid.
(06:44):
The angel just said that, you know, there's no need to be afraid.
And once they started listening to what the angel was saying, they were hearing what was
actually going on behind the surface.
And then they found joy because they got to meet the king himself.
Like they got to meet King Jesus and they had that hope before they even arrived to
(07:06):
meet King Jesus that we're going to go meet King Jesus right now.
And joy came from listening to God through God being glorified.
They listened to that.
They listened to what was happening behind the surface and they found joy.
So I guess just to apply it to your own life, you know, you can turn away from God and his
(07:27):
glory because of what the world is saying or because of fear of rejection or from others
here on earth or because of this, that and the other.
Or you can look at God's glory and say, okay, yes, I'm scared, but also let's at least look
at it and analyze what's going on.
What is God actually saying?
Like what is the big picture here?
Who is God?
Why did he create me?
You know, ask these questions that it's like, why did he bring us to life?
(07:52):
Why, why did we need a savior in the first place?
Who is Jesus?
How is he the son of God?
Who is the Holy Spirit?
Asking these basic foundational questions about Christianity and then seeing like that's
all glorifying God.
All of it is.
Yeah.
And once you actually find the answers to these things, as time goes on, you're going
to see that there's true joy that can be found in that and nothing else can bring joy like
(08:13):
that can, like a relationship with God that you get from all of that.
So that's all I had.
It was very quick and simple, but.
Wow.
I like that though.
I mean, that's, that's so true.
And that's not, that's, see, I read, well, I also referenced Luke 2 10, but that's not
where I, the direction I took that verse.
(08:35):
So yeah, it's just cool to hear how like,
where the Lord took you with that.
And then, I like the, I had never thought about that verse that way.
Yeah, I had neither.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So I was like in my entire life, like a whole lifetime would, could go by and I would never
think that up on my own.
(08:56):
Yeah.
But it's true.
I mean, every word of that was true.
I mean, if you just think about it in your own personal life.
Anyway, what you got?
So I started off by, I looked at the definition of joy.
So joy is defined per dictionary.com as the emotion of great delight or happiness caused
by something exceptionally good or satisfying, keen pleasure elation.
(09:19):
And then the second definition was a source or cause of keen pleasure or delight, something
or someone greatly valued or appreciated.
So thinking about that definition, I'm going to read Luke 2 10 and 11, which says, in the
angel said to them, fear not for behold, I bring you good news of great joy, which that
will be for all the people for unto you is born this day in the city of city of David,
(09:40):
a savior who is Christ the Lord.
The reason I started off with that verse is because I thought about the angels or the
shepherds were fearing and they had a lot of fear in their hearts.
Well, I kind of took it in a similar direction actually.
Okay.
I thought about the fear that these shepherds and then like the Israelites for thousands
(10:02):
of years had before Jesus came and waiting for this Messiah to eventually come.
So I'm just going to read what I wrote.
It's going to make more sense.
That's why I didn't mind that way.
So for hundreds of years, the Israelites had looked forward to the coming of the Messiah.
He was foretold long ago and yet year after year they waited.
They were people who suffered a great deal in captivity and hopeful anticipation that
(10:25):
they would one day be set free.
They waited in faith and hope that one day the savior of the world would come.
Their joy and hope didn't come from their current situation because Lord knows they
didn't have it easy.
And oftentimes the Israelites especially found they had a hard time finding joy in their
situation.
They grumbled and complained a lot as we do today.
(10:46):
But all throughout scripture, we see examples of ones who waited joyfully for what the Lord
would do that he would do with what he had promised and that was sending his son.
There's so many examples of people who just had so much joy in their situations and their
circumstances.
Joseph comes to mind for one.
But the two I'm going to be talking about today in relation to the Christmas story as
(11:09):
well are Anna and Simeon.
So I'm going to start in Luke chapter 2 verse 22 which starts off by saying, and when the
time came for their purification, meaning Mary and Jesus, according to the law of Moses,
they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.
Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and
(11:29):
devout waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before
he had seen the Lord to Christ.
I'm going to stop there for a second.
And just like as I was reading this, I was reflecting and thinking about the great joy
that Simeon must have felt when he finally got to see this promised child.
Because this is after Israel has been waiting for so long, and then after the 400 years
(11:54):
of prophetic silence, and then Simeon himself has received from the Holy Spirit this promise
that he wouldn't die before he saw this child.
But he was getting up there in years, and I'm sure, not that he would have doubted the
Lord or lost hope, but maybe he would have started to question a little bit.
And so I can't imagine the gratefulness of joy that he felt when he finally got to see
(12:15):
this baby.
How he must have felt knowing the Savior of the world was finally upon this earth.
So picking back up in verse 27, and he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the
parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him according to the custom of the law, he
took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, Lord, now you are letting your servant
(12:35):
depart in peace according to your word.
For my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all the
peoples a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.
So Simeon rejoiced after years of faithfully waiting at this promise finally fulfilled.
And we can see here that he's humble in his rejoicing, simply thanking God for this gift
(12:56):
that he was privileged enough to be a part of before he died.
That like he got to be there, like to see the Messiah when he was merely days old.
He got to hold the light of the world, the King of Kings and the one who had bring salvation
to all of us in his arms.
That would be so cool.
Which is just crazy.
I can't imagine what he must have been feeling as he looked at this little baby.
(13:18):
He got to see his face and marvel at this little baby who is there to defeat death and
save all of mankind.
And then like he makes this prophetic statement even where he's talking about, I mean, he
just he blesses God and he says, you're letting your servant depart in peace.
Like he's finally at peace and he was rejoicing that he can die peacefully.
Feeling that like this Jesus came for all to which I which I love.
(13:44):
Picking back up in verse 33, and his father and mother marveled at what was said about
him and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, behold, this child is appointed
for the fall and rising of many in Israel and for a sign that is opposed in a circle
pierce through your own soul also so that so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.
That's so good.
I know.
(14:04):
So like though like and then I thought about Mary in this moment.
And though these words might have somewhat scared her because after all, like he's talking
about her newborn baby boy.
And that's a very foreboding declaration that I just made to her.
But like even through that can come rejoicing.
Mary could reflect on in that moment the great purpose that her son, like that her son, Jesus
(14:27):
had upon his life.
And therefore, like it brought rejoicing to her in that moment.
And it can bring rejoicing to us today because these words have now proven to be true.
Like we are living in a time after all this has happened, after Jesus has come and died
on the cross and defeated death and risen again to give us hope.
And so because of what Jesus did for us through his life of ministry and through his death
(14:47):
on the cross, we can rejoice today.
We can have great hope and joy every single day, knowing that we live in a time where
we can know Jesus as our personal savior and have him walk with us through whatever we
face day to day.
So moving on to verse 36, and there was a prophetess Anna, the daughter of Faneuil of
(15:07):
the tribe of Asher.
She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was
a virgin and then as a widow until she was 84.
She did not depart from the temple, worshiping and fasting and prayer night and day.
And coming up at that very hour, she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him
to all who are waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.
So like these people waited for so long, so faithfully.
(15:32):
Anna was faithful, rejoicing first and foremost in her work for the Lord without complaint.
Like she went about her day, her days for years and years and years, never leaving the
temple, doing what the Lord had commanded her to do.
And then finally the Lord blessed, therefore the Lord blessed her with this great gift
of getting to see the special little baby who had changed the world.
And then she went out and she spread her joy to those around her.
(15:54):
She went out and she began to speak to him, speak of him to all who are waiting for the
redemption of Jerusalem.
Like all these people out there waiting in hopeful anticipation.
And Anna got to be the one to bring them like this, this news of joy after they waited for
so long in fear.
And then they were finally able to see that like, like redemption is coming.
(16:16):
So she didn't keep it to herself because she knew that all of creation had been waiting
on this redemption.
We're going to go to Romans 8.
I've been in Romans a lot and that's like on these podcasts lately.
And that's just because that's what we've been going through at the college ministry
I go to on Tuesday night.
But it's good stuff.
So I'm going to start on verse 19.
(16:37):
Sarah's got a lot of notes in her Bible.
Well, Romans was the very first book I went through this year, like at the very beginning
of 2023.
And yeah, anyway, go ahead.
There's just a lot.
So I'm going to start in verse 19.
It might take me up.
I might reach to the end of the chapter.
Just bear with me.
(16:59):
Don't skip.
This is God's word.
That's right.
Okay.
So Romans 8 19 starts off by saying, for the creation waits with eager longing for the
revealing of the sons of God, for the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly,
but because of him who subjected it in hope that the creation itself will be set free
from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of
(17:20):
God.
So God, like creation itself groaned in waiting for this Messiah.
And it now groans to be redeemed completely one day when Jesus comes back as well.
For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth
until now.
And not only the creation, but we ourselves who have the first fruits of the spirit grown
(17:40):
inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption of sons, the redemption of our bodies.
And like us today as Christians, we face so many things day to day.
We suffer and we have fears and we have anxieties and all this, but we can rejoice knowing that
Jesus is coming back.
Verse 24, for in this hope we were saved.
Now hope that is seen is not hope for who hopes for what he sees.
(18:03):
But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
Likewise, the spirit hopes 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 the heart knows what is in the mind of the spirit because the spirit
intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
And there's rejoicing in that knowing that we don't have to suffer through this alone,
(18:25):
that the Holy Spirit is with us every single day and that he is interceding on our behalf
constantly.
And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good for those who
are called according to his purpose.
For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son in
order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
(18:46):
And those whom he predestined, he also called, and those whom he called, he also justified,
and those whom he justified, he also glorified.
What then shall we say to these things?
If God is for us, who can be against us?
He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with
him graciously give us all things?
Who shall bring any charge against God's elect?
(19:08):
It is God who justifies.
Who is it to condemn?
Christ Jesus is the one who died, more than that, who was raised, who is at the right
hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
As it is written, For your sake we are all being killed all the day long, for we are
(19:31):
regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
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 death nor anything else in all creation will be
able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(19:51):
And in that, friends, is just such great rejoicing.
We can rejoice in that truth that Jesus is with us.
He came as this little baby to take care of, to defeat death, to redeem all of creation,
to bring us to himself so that we one day could exist and bring glory to him.
But we don't have to do this by ourselves.
(20:12):
The Holy Spirit is with us day after day.
Jesus himself is at the right hand of the Father now interceding on our behalf.
And in that can come such great joy.
And so I just hope that you guys remember that as we continue to get closer and closer
to Christmas.
Just reflect on what this little baby who came, like what he did for us.
(20:34):
This is crazy.
That was good.
That was all I got.
That was my favorite one yet out of the ones that we've done.
Me too.
Yeah.
Thank you Lord.
So now we're going to read our texts like we've been doing in the past couple weeks
for these Advent episodes.
We forgot to mention that at the beginning of this if you are new here.
(20:55):
But what we've been doing is we've been reaching out to a few people and asking them two questions
about the topic that we're going to be speaking about in whatever week we're on in the episode
of the podcast.
And then we're going to read their answers on here just to kind of get a new perspective,
a fresh perspective.
I guess a fresh perspective based off of similar beliefs because they are Christians as well.
(21:22):
And they are people who might be what we call newer Christians like baby Christians or maybe
more mature Christians.
It just could be anything.
So this week with Joy we asked some people about what they believe.
Hold on.
Wowza.
My brain stopped working suddenly.
(21:43):
Okay.
So we asked them what does Joy mean to you just in a general sense.
And my first person said, Joy is a mindset and a lifestyle.
It is in no way dependent on my circumstances.
I believe that Joy is also an attribute of God that is made available to us through the
Holy Spirit.
So that was really good.
I like that answer a lot.
It's just very straightforward but hits every point.
(22:12):
And then when it comes to the next question it was what does Joy mean to you when thinking
about the birth of Jesus Christ?
And this is her answer.
She said, when Jesus was born the earth got to experience joy and now believers are to
live in joy while awaiting his second coming.
I've also gotten to experience joy through different things that God has gifted me with,
like my family, my friends, and my church family.
(22:36):
And both answers covered everything we've been talking about.
Yeah.
So my first one, when I asked them what Joy meant to them they said, Joy means to be content
within your soul despite circumstances because of the Lord.
It is different from happiness in that it isn't temporary, it's long lasting.
Joy lasts even whenever things in life may get hard but there's still hope that everything
will work out and that the Lord has his hand in it.
(22:57):
Joy is a way of life not just a feeling.
Which is very true.
It's a good reminder too.
And then when asking them what Joy meant to them when thinking about the birth of Christ
they said, when thinking about the birth of Christ there is joy to be had because of the
promise of salvation.
It is such a joyous promise that it should be lasting and Christ's birth changed everything.
Because of him we are able to live a life filled with joy that passes all understanding.
(23:21):
I am joyful because of Jesus' birth and how it meant that he sacrificed his life so that
I may not be separated from God and that I would be able to dwell with him more intimately.
That's why there's joy in Christ's birth.
That's good.
Okay so my second person.
I love this person.
Okay so, I mean I love every person that I texted.
(23:43):
I don't mean that bad.
I just.
So I only love this one.
Yeah just this one.
What does Joy mean to you?
He said, Joy is pure happiness, happiness that is unaffected by what troubles life brings.
Joy is peace, peace that can only be given by God.
It is a glimpse of what we should expect.
Joy is love.
(24:04):
And then when referring to the birth of Jesus he said, he has given us a gift that can never
be paid for or earned.
Or earned.
Wow my southern came out.
Hold on.
Paid for or earned.
I'm going to restart.
He has given us a gift that can never be paid for or earned.
It is a gift that knows no bounds.
That gift brings the greatest joy there is.
(24:25):
Without Jesus we would fall into despair and not know joy for what it truly is.
A selfless gift.
So my second person when asking him what Joy means to him he said, happiness is a rush
of positive feelings but Joy is an underlying peaceful positive state that is there regardless
of circumstances.
And then when asking him what Joy means to him when thinking about the birth of Christ,
(24:46):
he said, because Jesus was the son of God and went on to die for my sins, I can have
Joy for two reasons.
First, one day I know I'll get to be with him and others forever in a wonderful place
called heaven.
Second, I can turn to him through the power of the Holy Spirit any time of the day or
night and he cares for me, listens, and is my friend so I am never alone or without hope.
Okay so my last person only answered one of the two questions.
(25:10):
She's a busy bee.
So I'll tell you her joke answer, the first one.
What does Joy mean to you?
She said, she's a teacher.
She said since I'm standing on the playground watching my fifth graders at recess right
now, Joy would mean a real cup of coffee in a Hallmark movie far away from these little
rugrats.
That's so real.
From these little rugrats.
But that's not what my real answer would be so let me think on it.
(25:33):
But her other answer was, I think she just told me over the phone one day so it was a
very quick little thing but what came to her mind in the moment, she said, the most joyful
thing I can think of, so this is not her definition of Joy but it's what would bring her the most
Joy right now if that makes sense.
She said the most joyful thing I can think of is to know my children have accepted Christ
(25:57):
and are serving him.
So that was the other one.
But yeah, so those are, I think that's all we got for that right?
Cool.
So we have one more episode after this.
We're actually about to record it.
For well, not one total.
I just won for this year.
(26:17):
No one.
This is our last podcast.
One time.
After six months, we're out.
Hasn't been that long.
I think so.
Since June.
Yeah, something like that.
Yeah.
So this is our last one.
Well, no, no, no, no.
The next one will be the last one of 2023.
So you need to go listen to that.
It'll be about.
There's more to come in 2024.
(26:37):
We have no idea what is coming in 2024.
The Lord does.
I hope you guys have a good week.
Merry early Christmas.
And yeah.
OK, share this with a friend or family member.
Bye.
Bye.
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