Jesus came and Brought Joy (Luke 2:10).
Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on December 11, 2022


THE LIGHT OF HOPE

As Craig T. Kocher states, "Christian hope is fundamentally different from optimism. Christian hope locks its steely eyes on the devastation of the world around it, and readily acknowledges that things may not get better. Christian hope does not bury its heat in Yule-tide cheer and artificial lights, but like an Advent wreath glowing stronger and brighter each week, this hope pushes its way into the brokenness of the world clearing a path in the wilderness so the true light might burst into the darkness."

Kocher then goes on to cite a story told by Tom Long, about a rabbi Hugo Grynn, who was sent to Auschwitz as a little boy. In the midst of the concentration camp, in the midst of the death and horror all around them, many Jews held onto whatever shreds of their religious observances they could, without drawing the ire of the guards. One cold winter's evening, Hugo's father gathered the family in the barracks. It was the first night of Hanukkah, the Jewish Feast of Lights.

The young child watched in horror as his father took the family's last pad of butter and made a makeshift candle, using a string from his ragged clothes. He then took a match and lit the candle. "Father, no!" Hugo cried. "That butter is our last bit of food! How will we survive?"

"We can live for many days without food," his father said. "We can not live a single minute without faith and hope. This is the fire of hope. Never let it go out. Not here! Not anywhere!" [Pulpit Resource, Logos Productions, Inc, 2005]

Jesus is our Savior and He brings us hope. Through our hope we have joy. Do we have joy in Jesus? 

Advent candle:
The third Sunday of Advent is the candle of Joy. For many in this world joy may be far away. They stand alone, uncertain, lost and confused.  There is no security in their lives. There is no joy. There is no knowledge of Jesus. 
But we can share our hope. We can let others know of the joy that comes through Christ; that no one needs to be alone and joyless.  We light the candle of Joy knowing that we can share that light with others. We can be Hope and Joy.  In this time of Advent, we know that we have that promise.

Today my theme is:
Jesus came and brought Joy
Luke 2:8–14 (ESV)
8And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 
9And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 
10And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 
11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 
12And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 
13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 
14“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

I.	Context…
a.	What is the context of this passage?
b.	Jesus has just been born and this is the passage in which the angels visit the shepherds. 
c.	The meaning of the word angel: Angel. The Hebrew word malak simply means “messenger”; it may refer to a human messenger (1 Kings 19:2) or a divine messenger (Gen. 28:12). The basic meaning of the word is “one who is sent.” As a divine messenger an angel is a “heavenly being charged by God with some commission.”1 The word is found 103 times in the Old Testament. The Greek word angelos occurs 175 times in the New Testament; however, of men it is used only 6 times. The word angelos is similar to the Hebrew malak; it also means “messenger … who speaks and acts in the place of the one who has sent him.” 
d.	The shepherds were in the same region.
e.	They were out in their fields.
f.	They were out there for the purpose of watching their flocks by night.
g.	A lot of study could be done about shepherds and the humility of that job. We often hear shepherds were the lowest class. They always go back to Genesis where Joseph’s brothers sold Joseph to shepherds but those were Egyptian shepherds, or Egyptian views of Shepherds. There is some Rabbinic literature negative of shepherds but that is from the 4th century AD.  Dr. Rydelnic does not think they were the lowest class. Dr Rydelnic agrees with the Life Application Study Bible that these might have been the shepherds supplying the lambs for temple sacrifices that were used for forgiveness of sins. This would be true regardless of the season.  
h.	They [the shepherds] were literally guarding their flocks for the night.
i.	Verse 8 tells the place. Verse 9 is about to tell what happens.
j.	This is all happening simultaneously to the previous verses. Jesus has been born and it seems that at the same time as His birth, or right after His birth, this happens. 
k.	An angel of the Lord “appeared” or “stood.” The NASB says “suddenly.” 
l.	The Greek verb for “stood” carries the idea of “suddenly.”  
m.	What is it like to have something appear suddenly? 
n.	The shepherds didn’t see the Angel coming over the hill.
o.	The shepherds didn’t hear the angel of the Lord be given clearance for landing.
p.	There is also Theological debate about what “Angel of the Lord” means. Sometimes that can mean an appearance of Christ in the Old Testament, Christophany. Or, a bodily appearance of God the Father, which could be Christ, Theophany. In this case I think this is a high-ranking angel. 
q.	The “glory of the Lord shone around them”
r.	What does this look like? Ezekiel chapter 1 is similar. 
s.	We do know they were scared.
t.	R.C. Sproul makes the case that this is the Shekinah glory of the Old Testament. The angel of the Lord is bathed in the Shekinah glory. 
u.	The word shekinah does not appear in the Bible, but the concept clearly does. The Jewish rabbis coined this extra-biblical expression, a form of a Hebrew word that literally means “he caused to dwell,” signifying that it was a divine visitation of the presence or dwelling of the Lord God on this earth. The Shekinah was first evident when the Israelites set out from Succoth in their escape from Egypt. There the Lord appeared in a cloudy pillar in the day and a fiery pillar by night: “After leaving Succoth they camped at Etham on the edge of the desert. By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people” (Exodus 13:20–22). 
v.	The shepherds were terribly frightened.
w.	The Greek uses the verb for “frightened” once and then a noun describing them as frightened along with an adjective to describe them as “greatly frightened.”
x.	Verse 10: The angel now speaks. 
y.	We are going to come back to verse 10 in a minute, but let me explain the rest of the context. 
z.	The angels are telling the shepherds that the Savior has been born and further they tell the shepherds where to find the Savior. 
aa.	Then we have this amazing worship of the angels. 
II.	Good news of great joy…
a.	Jesus has come and this is good news. 
b.	Notice that Jesus’ birth is good news. 
c.	Further, Jesus’ birth is news that brings great joy. 
d.	Notice the modifiers. 
e.	Jesus’ birth was not just any old news. 
f.	Jesus’ birth was good news. 
g.	One source shares: This translates the Greek verb euangelizō, which means to preach the good news. The noun (euangelion) is translated by the word “gospel.” This verb is found eleven times in the Gospels, and ten of these are found in Luke. 
h.	Jesus’ birth did not just bring joy, no, His birth brought great joy. 
i.	Where is our joy?
j.	Tony Evans shares the following: 
k.	SOMEBODY has come up with a great concept—putting playrooms in doctors’ offices. Many parents bring their kids to the doctor because they are sick and they need the doctor to see them. The playrooms are designed to distract the children from the pain of their problem until their problem gets fixed. The playroom gives them joy in a bad situation.
l.	That’s the way God works. Even though things may not be going the way we want them to be on the outside, God has designed a “playroom” in our soul. In the midst of our circumstances, His joy can distract us from our pain or discomfort, until He makes provision for our change or healing.520 
m.	The is good news for all people. 
n.	This includes gentiles. 
o.	One source shares: Are Gentiles included here, or is this a reference only to the Jewish people? Luke envisioned the gospel as being for all people, including the Gentiles (Acts 15:1–29; 18:10); but here, as in 3:21; 7:29; 8:47, the people of Israel were primarily in Luke’s mind. The singular “people” refers everywhere else in Luke to the people of Israel. 
p.	So, this passage directly refers to the Jewish audience, but later Luke will include all people. 
q.	Luke was written to a gentile audience. Remember that he wrote Acts which shows the Gospel going to all people. 
r.	The Gospel is good news for all people. 
s.	This is great joy for all people. 
t.	Where is our joy at Christmas time?
III.	Applications
a.	Does Christmas bring you joy?
1.	Christmas should bring us joy. 
2.	Christmas should bring joy for all people. 
3.	The joy is that the Savior has come, and the Savior is for all people. 
4.	Do we realize that Jesus’ death and resurrection is for everyone?
5.	Our ultimate joy must be from the gospel not Christmas lights, presents, or many other good things, but from Jesus. 
6.	Our joy comes from life with Jesus (John 15) and life eternal. 
7.	Our joy comes from having hope. 
8.	Our joy comes from salvation eternal. 
9.	We must focus on joy in Jesus this year. 
10.	We must pray that Jesus brings back the joy of our salvation (Ps 51:12).
b.	The amount of funerals I pastor are in phases. In 6 years serving a church in Alliance I pastored 46 funerals. I do not know how many I have pastored here, but I know that I have pastored over seven since August. Most of the time the deceased is an older believer who was ready to go home to the Lord. Most of the time I can declare that at the service. 
c.	The difficult funerals are those that I am unsure about. 
d.	Once I was at a cemetery and I looked in the grave. I saw roots next to where the coffin was to be buried. It hit me. This person’s casket will be down there. Her body will be down there. That is why the Gospel matters. 
e.	The Gospel matters for the fuller life now and eternal life later. 
f.	Listen when we know Jesus death is a non-factor. 
g.	That is why Jesus’ birth is good news of great joy and for all people. 
h.	Jesus changed everything. Death is not the end. When Jesus was hanging on the cross He told the thief next to Him, “Today, you will be with me in paradise.” Through death, we pass into paradise which is Heaven. 
i.	C. S. Lewis—“If we really think that home is elsewhere and that this life is a ‘wandering to find home,’ why should we not look forward to the arrival?”
j.	A weary traveler’s most dreaded sign is NO VACANCY, but that is not true with our home in Heaven. There is always room in his house. This speaks of God’s care for his own. 
k.	We can go to Heaven for all eternity because of Jesus.
l.	Jesus gives us abundant life now and eternal life later. 
m.	This is good news of great joy. 
n.	Certainly, when the angels came the people had been burdened trying to keep the law for their salvation. Jesus died and rose again and by grace we are saved. 
o.	This is good news of great joy. 
p.	This is for all people. 

A MOTHER was having a gathering to celebrate the birth of her newborn son. She invited a bunch of friends over to celebrate his arrival. She welcomed her guests, and they all had a great time celebrating, eating, and drinking.
After a while, one of the ladies said, “Well, bring the baby out. Let us see it.”
The mother went to get the baby from his crib—he was nowhere to be found. She started to panic and feel fearful. Suddenly, she remembered that the baby was still at her parents’ house, where she had left him that morning. She and the guests had been having so much fun they had forgotten what the party was about in the first place. During the Christmas season, many people get busy with celebration and forget that the birth of Jesus Christ is the reason for the season.147 

Jesus came and brought us good news of great joy for all people. 

Do you know Him?

Pray

Coping with Discouragement (Psalms 42-43)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, October 9, 2022

Mark has worked two jobs most of his adult life just to make ends meet. He has three children and a wife who works in the home and has a part-time job outside the home. Recently Mark lost the higher paying of his two jobs. If that weren’t enough, their older son was suspended from school the same week, having drugs in his possession. Mark blames himself for not being at home enough.

Lila is a young woman who has been out of college and in the workforce for almost five years.

All her college friends are married, and she longs for a husband and family. This is all she has

ever dreamed of. She had a relationship for almost seven years with a Christian high school

sweetheart. She blames herself for the breakup, and wonders, What if? She sits at home most

nights alone in her tiny apartment. A married friend is worried sick about her and doesn’t

know how to help her.^[1]

I received a question about how we are to respond to discouragement.

My theme today is:

We cope with discouragement by looking to God for help.

1. Discouragement:
   1. The word discouragement comes from the root word courage. The prefix dis- means “the opposite of.”[2]
2. 1. Discouragement is the opposite of courage.
3. Those discouraged need encouraged.
4. Learn from the Psalmist:
   1. I believe the best place in Scripture in which we see an example of discouragement and a good response is Psalms 42 and 43.
   1. Psalms 42 and 43:

Psalm 42:title–43:5 (ESV)

Why Are You Cast Down, O My Soul?

42 To the choirmaster. A Maskil of the Sons of Korah.

¹    As a deer pants for flowing streams,

so pants my soul for you, O God.

²    My soul thirsts for God,

for the living God.

     When shall I come and appear before God?

³    My tears have been my food

day and night,

     while they say to me all the day long,

“Where is your God?”

⁴    These things I remember,

as I pour out my soul:

     how I would go with the throng

and lead them in procession to the house of God

     with glad shouts and songs of praise,

a multitude keeping festival.

⁵    Why are you cast down, O my soul,

and why are you in turmoil within me?

     Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,

my salvation ⁶ and my God.

     My soul is cast down within me;

therefore I remember you

     from the land of Jordan and of Hermon,

from Mount Mizar.

⁷    Deep calls to deep

at the roar of your waterfalls;

     all your breakers and your waves

have gone over me.

⁸    By day the Lord commands his steadfast love,

and at night his song is with me,

a prayer to the God of my life.

⁹    I say to God, my rock:

“Why have you forgotten me?

     Why do I go mourning

because of the oppression of the enemy?”

¹⁰   As with a deadly wound in my bones,

my adversaries taunt me,

     while they say to me all the day long,

“Where is your God?”

¹¹   Why are you cast down, O my soul,

and why are you in turmoil within me?

     Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,

my salvation and my God.

Send Out Your Light and Your Truth

43 Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause

against an ungodly people,

     from the deceitful and unjust man

deliver me!

²    For you are the God in whom I take refuge;

why have you rejected me?

     Why do I go about mourning

because of the oppression of the enemy?

³    Send out your light and your truth;

let them lead me;

     let them bring me to your holy hill

and to your dwelling!

⁴    Then I will go to the altar of God,

to God my exceeding joy,

     and I will praise you with the lyre,

O God, my God.

⁵    Why are you cast down, O my soul,

and why are you in turmoil within me?

     Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,

my salvation and my God.

• Let’s talk about these Psalms and how the Psalmist responded to discouragement.
  • First, in Psalm 42 we see a longing expressed as thirst (verses 1-5).By the way, many think David wrote this, others think it is just the sons of Korah.Korah was a Levite who led a rebellion against Moses (Numbers 16:1-35). He was killed, but his descendants remained faithful to God and continued to serve God in the Temple. David appointed men from the clan of Korah to serve as choir leaders (1 Chronicles 6:31-38), and they continued to be Temple musicians for hundreds of years (2 Chronicles 20:18-19).So, here we are. The writer of the Psalm has faced some trials and seems to have been on the run.In the first 5 verses we see him longing for God.He compares his longing for God to being really thirsty.His tears have been his food, either literally or figuratively.He used to lead the procession to the temple.Regardless, he clings to hope in God. We see this in Psalm 42:5 and Psalm 43:5: Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation ⁶ and my God.Next, we see his Longing expressed in discouragement (verses 6-11).What satisfies us during difficult times?Some people stress eat, but it seems like this Psalmist goes to God.Can we stand strong in our faith in difficult times?The Psalmist is talking to himself, there is a lesson there. Notice what he says is Psalm 42:11: Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.In Psalm 43:1-5 we see his longing expressed in prayer.The Psalmist responds in prayer.It is okay to talk honestly to God.Look at Psalm 43:1: Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause against an ungodly people, from the deceitful and unjust man deliver me!Look at verse 2, the Psalmist trusts in God: For you are the God in whom I take refuge; why have you rejected me? Why do I go about mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?Yet, the Psalmist prays to the Lord about how he feels. He feels rejected.The Psalmist makes a request in verse 3.In verse 5, The Psalmist reminds himself again to hope in God. Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.
  • The Psalmist reminds himself where He gets his salvation.
• Ways to cope
  • First, some applications:
    • We need to be like the Psalmist in Psalms 42 and 43 and look to God (Ps 42:5, 11; 43:5).We need to go to God like the Psalmist in Psalms 42 and 43.We need to talk to ourselves as it appears that the Psalmist did in Psalms 42 and 43.We need to remind ourselves that we can hope in God (Ps 42:5, 11; 43:5).We need to remind ourselves of truth.We need to use reason with ourselves.
      We must refocus ourselves.We need to long for God as we see the Psalmist do in Psalm 42.
    Further ways to cope:JournalPray with other believers (Prov 27:17; Ecc 4:9-12).Meditate on ScriptureMeditate on the promises of God. Remember Romans 8:28: And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.Be realistic: Understand that discouragement is a part of life and often is a result of things or events that are out of our control. This does not mean that we are failures.^[4]Give discouragement to God: When we have confidence in Him, we gain confidence in ourselves. God sees events before we do.^[5]Rethink goals: maybe they need to change.Get rid of “What Ifs”: one writes: Stop considering what might have been. This type of thinking will only bring defeat.^[6]
  • Don’t focus on feelings.

Chuck Swindoll writes:

Let me be downright practical and tell you what I do. First I remind myself early in the morning and on several occasions during the day, “God, You are at work, and You are in control. And, Lord God, You know this is happening. You were there at the beginning, and You will bring everything that occurs to a conclusion that results in Your greater glory in the end.” And then? Then (and only then!) I relax. From that point on, it really doesn’t matter all that much what happens. It is in God’s hands.

I love the story of the man who had fretted for fifteen years over his work. He had built his business from nothing into a rather sizable operation. In fact, he had a large plant that covered several acres. With growth and success, however, came ever-increasing demands. Each new day brought a whole new list of responsibilities. Weary of the worry, the stress, and the fear, he finally decided to give it all over to God. With a smile of quiet contentment, he prayed, “Lord God, the business is Yours. All the worry, the stress, and the fears I release to You and Your sovereign will. From this day forward, Lord, You own this business.” That night he went to bed earlier than he had since he started the business. Finally . . . peace.

In the middle of the night the shrill ring of the phone awoke the man. The caller, in a panicked voice, yelled, “Fire! The entire place is going up in smoke!” The man calmly dressed, got into his car and drove to the plant. With his hands in his pockets he stood there and watched, smiling slightly. One of his employees hurried to his side and said, “What in the world are you smiling about? How can you be so calm? Everything’s on fire!” The man answered, “Yesterday afternoon I gave this business to God. I told Him it was His. If He wants to burn it up, that’s His business.”[8]

I love that illustration. Many times we are discouraged because we hold things too tightly.

We must always surrender to God.

John Piper shares:

We must learn to fight despondency — the downcast spirit. The fight is a fight of faith in future grace. It is fought by preaching truth to ourselves about God and his promised future.

This is what the psalmist does in Psalm 42. The psalmist preaches to his troubled soul. He scolds himself and argues with himself. And his main argument is future grace: “Hope in God! Trust in what God will be for you in the future. A day of praise is coming. The presence of the Lord will be all the help you need. And he has promised to be with us forever.”

Martyn Lloyd-Jones believes this issue of preaching truth to ourselves about God’s future grace is all-important in overcoming spiritual depression. In his helpful book, Spiritual Depression, he writes,

Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself? Take those thoughts that come to you the moment you wake up in the morning. You have not originated them, but they start talking to you, they bring back the problems of yesterday, etc. Somebody is talking. . . . Your self is talking to you. Now this man’s treatment [in Psalm 42] was this: instead of allowing this self to talk to him, he starts talking to himself. “Why art thou cast down, O my soul?” he asks. His soul had been depressing him, crushing him. So he stands up and says, “Self, listen for a moment. I will speak to you.” (20–21)

The battle against despondency is a battle to believe the promises of God. And that belief in God’s future grace comes by hearing the word. And so preaching to ourselves the word of God is at the heart of the battle.[9]

Pray.

---

^[1] Tim Clinton and Ron Hawkins, The Quick-Reference Guide to Biblical Counseling: Personal and Emotional Issues (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2009), 80.

[2] https://www.gotquestions.org/overcoming-discouragement.html

[3] Tim Clinton and Ron Hawkins, The Quick-Reference Guide to Biblical Counseling: Personal and Emotional Issues (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2009), 80–84.

^[4] Tim Clinton and Ron Hawkins, The Quick-Reference Guide to Biblical Counseling: Personal and Emotional Issues (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2009), 82.

^[5] Ibid.

^[6] Ibid.

^[7] Ibid.

[8] Swindoll, Charles R.. Laugh Again (pp. 40-41). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.

[9] https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/preach-to-yourself?utm_campaign=Daily%20Email&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=91588167&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9byegk5HCvwgLAcA6FSp13GQYIMBcxphqoImqihZFFHoLjZt3EoX1CrepJyrH5_c9VBgkCHbe-KSllVX1IQcmLPiWRUQ&utm_content=91588167&utm_source=hs_email