Series Introduction:

Advent is a time to reflect and anticipate the celebration of the birth of our Savior. Advent reminds me of the joy that comes with being a believer. Unfortunately, this joy is often a secret that most people are unaware of. People are chasing temporary happiness and looking for ways to momentarily satisfy themselves, but what they don't know is that true and lasting joy is something that can only come from God above. As believers, we understand that true joy is not just a temporary emotion, but a deep and satisfying state of being. Our joy stems from an understanding of God's character, beautifully captured in Psalm 146, which we'll explore this morning. In a world that often misunderstands our faith, let's stand as a testimony to the contrary. Let's dive in and discover the beauty of this passage together!

Scripture Reading: 

Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,

    whose hope is in the Lord his God,

who made heaven and earth,

    the sea, and all that is in them,

who keeps faith forever;

     who executes justice for the oppressed,

    who gives food to the hungry.

The Lord sets the prisoners free;

     the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.

The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;

    the Lord loves the righteous.

 The Lord watches over the sojourners;

    he upholds the widow and the fatherless,

    but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

 The Lord will reign forever,

    your God, O Zion, to all generations.

Praise the Lord!

-Psalm 146:5-10, ESV

Opening Prayer:

Heavenly Father, on this Third Sunday of Advent, we come before You, seeking your wisdom and grace. Your Word offers us hope and encourages us to place our unwavering trust in You, our Almighty God. We ask for your presence and guidance so that your Word may speak to us today with clarity. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

Introduction:

As believers, we have every reason to be the happiest people on earth. Our joy is not based on temporary circumstances that are fleeting and unreliable, but on the unchanging character of our God. In Psalm 146, we are presented with a beautiful and inspiring picture of God's power, faithfulness, and care for the vulnerable. This psalm challenges the cultural narratives that often depict God as harsh, vindictive, or absent and instead portrays Him as a loving and compassionate God who is always there for us.

As we reflect on this psalm during Advent, we are reminded of the birth of the Messiah, a powerful reminder that God is always with us, no matter what we are going through. Let us be encouraged today to renew our faith and trust in God, and to be vessels of His grace and love in our world. By doing so, we can live a life that is truly fulfilling and joyful, even in the midst of difficult circumstances.

The Joy of A Redeemer

The psalm speaks of a God who cares for the hungry, releases the prisoners, heals the blind, and supports the vulnerable. However, in a world full of suffering and injustice, it's natural to question whether God is really like what the psalm describes. Can we rely on our own experiences and our narrow human perceptions to paint a reliable picture of God? As we ponder over these questions and seek reassurance in the nature of God as mentioned in Psalm 146, we must acknowledge that the ultimate manifestation of God's compassion, justice, dependability, and active involvement in our world is revealed through the incarnation of Jesus Christ.

The psalmist describes God as the One who opens the eyes of the blind, lifts up those who are bowed down, and loves the righteous. These divine qualities are fully manifested in the life, teachings, and actions of Jesus Christ. When Jesus was on earth, He revealed God's compassion by healing the sick, feeding the hungry, and welcoming the outcasts. His ministry was characterized by love, mercy, and justice. He touched the lives of people in tangible ways, meeting their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. 

"And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." - Matthew 9:35-36, ESV.

These verses capture the essence of Jesus' mission: to bring salvation and restoration to a broken world. These verses also display the heart of our Savior and Lord, in that he looks upon us with compassion and care. Jesus was actively involved in people's lives and brought hope to those who were hopeless. Through Jesus, we witness God's faithfulness to His promises and unchanging nature. Jesus is the living fulfillment of God's covenant with humanity. His every word and deed reflects the consistency of God's character and the unwavering nature of His love. 

In Jesus, we encounter a God who intimately understands our struggles, joys, and sorrows. He entered into the human experience, walked in our shoes, and faced the same challenges we face. The ultimate demonstration of God's trustworthiness and love unfolds in the events of the crucifixion and resurrection. Jesus' sacrificial death on the cross and His triumphant resurrection stands as irrefutable evidence that God is true to His word, and His love for us surpasses all understanding.

Ultimately, the life of Jesus becomes the definitive answer to any doubts we may have about God's compassion and justice. The life of Jesus, marked by selflessness and sacrificial love, becomes the standard by which we measure God's goodness and faithfulness.

In the light of Jesus' life, our understanding of God's nature is not only clarified but also deepened. We find reassurance that God is not distant or indifferent to our struggles; rather, He is actively working to redeem and restore all things. Through the lens of Christ, we perceive a God whose love knows no bounds and whose faithfulness endures forever.

Faith in Christ, our Messiah, and our Redeemer, is the only source of lasting joy because it is the one thing that cannot be taken away from you. We do not like to think about such things at Christmastime, but your friends, family, wealth, and health can all be taken away from you by forces beyond your control. This was a lesson that Job learned the hard way. 

Job, was a righteous and prosperous man, who underwent severe trials orchestrated by Satan, to test whether genuine faith can persist in the face of adversity. Job loses his wealth, health, and even his children, prompting intense emotional and physical anguish. Job's friends prove to be miserable comforters, continually trying to rationalize why bad things happen (often blaming Job in some way for the suffering he was enduring). Job maintains his innocence, but he himself wrestles with why God would allow such awful things to happen to him. 

In the midst of this suffering and unjust accusations Job turns to the last bastion of joy and hope, his faith in God above. 

"Oh that my words were written!

    Oh that they were inscribed in a book!

 Oh that with an iron pen and lead

    they were engraved in the rock forever!

 For I know that my Redeemer lives,

    and at the last he will stand upon the earth.

 And after my skin has been thus destroyed,

    yet in my flesh I shall see God,

 whom I shall see for myself,

    and my eyes shall behold, and not another.

    My heart faints within me!

- Job 19:23-27, ESV

"I know that my Redeemer lives" (Job 19:25) serves as a profound declaration of unwavering faith, a testament to the enduring nature of true, saving belief. Despite the bewildering challenges and the lack of understanding, Job clings to a fundamental truth, confidently proclaiming that his Redeemer lives!

Job lived many centuries before the birth of Jesus the Messiah, and yet he knew by faith that he would see the Lord in glory. How much greater ought our faith and joy be as people blessed to live in an age when we can intimately know the Lord here and now? Job was hoping for a future promise, but we are living in the fulfillment of that promise even now. 

When life's storms rage relentlessly, seemingly devoid of resolution, the Christian is called to affirm that Christ, their Redeemer, lives! Salvation has been won for you! 

"In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory." - Ephesians 1:13-14, ESV

We would never stop rejoicing if we could even glimpse the joy that awaits us in glory. If, from this moment forward, our lives were filled with nothing but sorrow and pain, we would only have praise on our lips because of the wonderous grace of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is a joy we could never earn, but God, in His love, sent His Son to be our Redeemer, to suffer and die in our place so that the price of sin could be paid and salvation could be won on your behalf. Can you, individually and sincerely, declare that your Redeemer lives? Is He unequivocally yours?

Joy in the Incarnation

Joy is a recurring theme in the Christmas story. Before Christ’ birth Mary sings a hymn of praise recorded in Luke 1:46-55, aligns seamlessly with the psalmist's contemplation of God's faithfulness and anticipates the realization of divine promises. 

“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.” - Luke 1:46-55, ESV

Likewise when the Christchild is born, the angels appear before the speherds and sing: 

“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.” - Luke 2:10-11, ESV

The shepherds, responding to the angelic proclamation with profound joy, by rusning to see the newborn baby an then telling everyone who would listen of the wondrous things they had seen. In this we see God's care for the marginalized, reinforcing the psalmist's message. Similarly, the wise men, guided by a star to the newborn King, exemplify the psalmist's vision of God's justice and generous provision for peoples of all nations. Christ is not a local savior, or a national savior, but the savior of the world. 

We who have believed in Christ are also Abraham’s seed.

“Just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”? Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.” - Galatians 3:6-9, ESV

And Israel’s God is our God just as much as He is theirs. The LORD has revealed Himself to us through His Word and through His Son. Therefore, we can know Him personally and trust Him completely.

Even more marvelous, because we have believed in God’s Son and thereby received His abundant grace, we will reign with Him forever! We will reign in this life while on the earth, and we will reign with Christ over this earth throughout eternity.

“And you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,

    and they shall reign on the earth.” - Revelation 5:10, ESV

As commentator Matthew Henry wrote:

Let this encourage us to trust in God at all times that the Lord shall reign for ever, in spite of all the malignity [evil] of the powers of darkness, even thy God, O Zion unto all generations. Christ is set King on the holy hill of Zion, and his kingdom shall continue in an endless glory. It cannot be destroyed by an invader; it shall not be left to a successor, either to a succeeding monarch or a succeeding monarchy, but it shall stand for ever. It is matter of unspeakable comfort that the Lord reigns as Zion’s God, as Zion’s king, that the Messiah is head over all things to the church, and will be so while the world stands.

• Matthew Henry 

Joy in Action

As we continue in the Advent season, reflecting on the joy found in the Christmas story, we are reminded that the ultimate expression of God's love was not just a proclamation but an incarnation. The Word became flesh, dwelling among us (John 1:14), and so should our faith and joy find embodiment, not merely in words, but also in our actions.

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 1 John 4:7-11

Let our joy not be confined to introspective merriment but expand outward into a tangible force for good. As we strive to be the hands and feet of Jesus, our actions should echo the transformative power of faith, becoming conduits of God's love in a world hungering for genuine expressions of hope and redemption. In doing so, we fulfill the true spirit of the season, extending the joy of Christmas beyond sentiment to an active and impactful engagement with the world around us. As we joyfully and lovingly serve those around us, we give a testimony to the world that our faith is grounded in the unshakable love of God. 

Conclusion:

In conclusion, as believers, our joy is rooted in the unchanging character of our God, beautifully depicted in Psalm 146 and ultimately revealed in the incarnation of Jesus Christ. He, as our Redeemer, lived a life marked by compassion, sacrificial love, and the fulfillment of God's promises. Our Redeemer lives, and our faith in Him is the source of lasting joy. This joy, born from the gospel, demands an active response, calling us to embody our faith in love and kindness. As we celebrate the Advent season, let our lives become a resounding declaration of the joy found in Christ, extending hope and redemption to a world in need. Respond to this call by placing your faith in Christ, letting it be evident in a life lived for His glory.

Closing Prayer:

Heavenly Father, as believers, we come before you with grateful hearts, rejoicing in your unchanging character. During this Advent season, we reflect on the profound joy brought by the birth of our Messiah, Jesus Christ, who embodied your compassion, justice, and dependability. We declare this morning that our Redeemer lives, and find enduring joy in this truth. As we celebrate the incarnation, help us extend this joy beyond words into tangible acts of love and kindness. Empower us to be vessels of your grace, fulfilling the true spirit of Christmas by reaching out to those in need. In response to your call, we place our faith in Christ and commit to lives that glorify and honor you. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.