The Gift Brings Joy

Praise the Lord. So if you have your Bibles, open with me again to the book of Luke and let’s go to chapter two and we’re going to deal with the same passage we looked at last week and that’s the passage of the shepherds. Okay, so let’s go to that Luke chapter two passage. And I’m reading from the new King James. And I encourage you to bring your Bible to church with you.

I know some of y’ all read the Bible on your phone and that’s cool, an iPad or whatever, but I encourage you to look at the Scriptures yourself. And it’s always good to have a print and paper and ink and paper Bible that you can mark in, that you can take notes in. And it’s a good thing. Amen. This one was black taped together.

I bought it many years ago in Troutville, Virginia on my way home one holiday season because I always stopped there for coffee. And right by the coffee shop was a Christian bookstore. And I walked in and bought this Bible. And I’ve had it for years. Had it rebound three years ago.

Hallelujah. And I love getting into the real text of a Bible, having my notes. There’s certain things the Lord has spoken to me that I have the date notated by the passage there and do stuff like that. Amen. Let these be memorials to you that you can remember.

Oh yes, I remember that. Praise the lord. So Luke 2, 8. The Bible says, now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them.

And the glory of the Lord shone around them. And they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, do not be afraid. For behold, I bring you good tidings of great. Let’s shout this out together.

I bring you good tidings of great, great joy. Which will be to only the Jews. No will be to those select whom God elects. No, it will be to all people. This is going to be great joy to all people.

Look at your neighbor and say, that includes you. That includes you, man. For this is why, for there is born to you this day in the city of David, which would have been the city of David was Bethlehem. That’s where David was from. In the city of David, a savior who is Christ the Lord.

And this will be the sign to you. You will find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace, good will toward men. So it was when the angels had gone away from them into heaven that the shepherds said to one another, let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass which the Lord has made known to us. And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in a manger.

Now, when they had seen him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this child and all those things, and all those. Rather, all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying God and praising God for. For all things that they had heard and seen as it was told them.

Can we shout Amen to that passage? What a great word. Then I also want to throw this in 2 Corinthians 9, 15, like we did last week. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift. Thanks be to God for that gift, that we don’t have words adequate enough to describe it.

Amen. I want us to look at verse 10 and just isolate this passage here. Then the angel said to them, do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy. So last week we looked at why Jesus came, and I gave several reasons, and then I got down to that Hebrews chapter two passage which says, he came to destroy the devil and to destroy or take away the fear of death that the devil held over humanity’s head. So he came to destroy the devil and take away the fear of death that he held over humanity’s head.

Wasn’t that freeing? I don’t know about you, but it really freed me to think, man, he took care of death. He’s already gone before us. He’s already conquered all that. And now the fear, the stinger of it, has been taken out.

But today I want to look at another outgrowth or manifestation of Jesus coming. And that was great joy. If you look at the narratives surrounding the Christmas story, they absolutely are filled with joy. It’s joy, joy, joy, joy. It’s like an overdose of joy.

Look at this. I’m just going to run through some. Luke, chapter 1, verse 14. Angel speaks to Zacharias, who is John the Baptist’s father, and says, he will. Be a joy and delight.

He will be a joy and delight. To you, and many will rejoice in his birth. Then Elizabeth is visited by Mary while Mary is pregnant with the Lord Jesus. And Elizabeth said, as soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy. So get this picture.

John the Baptist in Elizabeth’s womb is. Is leaping for joy. When Mary walks in with Jesus in her womb, there was so much power on that that they started having a praise party, and they hadn’t even been born yet. Come on, somebody. Then Luke 1:47, Mary responds and says, my soul rejoices in God my Savior.

Rejoice is a derivative of joy. You know that to rejoice is to make joyful noise is to get in that joy zone. Can somebody shout amen? And then the magi, when the magi from the east in Matthew chapter two, when they saw the star, they. They were overjoyed, the Bible says.

And this term overjoyed, literally in the original language, means they rejoiced with very great joy or exceeding great joy. It’s one of the strongest experiences of this in the New Testament. It was joy, joy, joy, joy. Sounds like a party to me. There’s a reverence, and that’s great.

There’s a reverence about Christmas. But when you read these texts, it’s a joyful experience shot all the way through the Christmas text. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Okay, you got your Bibles with you.

So I want us to look at specifically. When does joy come? When does joy come to the believer? How many believe we should have joy in our hearts as Christians? How many believe we shouldn’t be sad sack and downmouthing, complaining?

How many believe we should be full of joy? Okay, grab your Bible with me again and turn to Matthew, this time to the left and let’s go to chapter 13. And I just want to walk through some of these passages, and I want you to see them for yourself. Matthew, chapter 13 and verse 44, Jesus said again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field which a man found and hid. And.

And for joy over it, he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. So the kingdom of heaven, salvation, Jesus, the story of his death, burial, and resurrection, the story of our ability to be set free, our open invitation to believe by faith and being set free, that is worth selling everything for and pursuing it. That’s what he’s saying. It was so great. When this guy found it, what did he do?

He hid it and for joy went and sold all that he had and. Then went back and bought that field. Where that treasure was. It’s like that. You know, I just thought of this, you know, years ago, I helped my dad, log our land.

I grew up on about 90 acres of mountainside, and I was going to go to grad school and we didn’t really have the money, so my dad said, well, let’s log the land and we’ll take the money and send you to school. How many know that’s a great dad? And so I helped him log that land and we cut down, and my dad wanted to clean it out anyhow of the oak trees. There were red oak and white oak all over that property. And so we cut down a lot of the red oak, and they brought some money when we would take to sell it.

But we found one white oak way up on the mountain, cut it down, and that one white oak was more than a truckload of the other stuff we had been cutting. It’s amazing. Amen. That treasure of the kingdom is worth more than everything you’ve been pursuing in this life. That treasure of the kingdom is so great that once you find it, it kind of blows away every other pursuit you were pursuing in this life.

It’s awesome. The treasure of the kingdom is awesome. When you find Jesus, you found something, folks. When you find Jesus, it’s worth every. And what happens.

Notice the tenor of this. Notice the timbre, so to speak. What comes is joy. He found the kingdom and got so jacked up and excited over it, went and sold everything. That’s the kingdom.

The kingdom comes with such joy. When people get saved, there’s a joy that comes in. It just comes in. Hallelujah. The kingdom of God.

Paul said in Romans, it’s not in. Keeping the dietary laws, but it is. Righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. That’s the kingdom of God. Paul was talking about the discussion of keeping the Jewish law, and he said, no, no, no, no.

Let me tell you what the kingdom is. The kingdom is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. That’s what defines the kingdom. What defines the kingdom is not what clothes you wear, not what style your hair is in, not how much money you had, not where you went to school or what church you were raised in. But the kingdom is about peace, righteousness, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

Somebody shout, hallelujah. Think of the Philippian jailer. Acts, chapter 16. Paul and Silas are put in prison. Then they’re put in the inner.

Put in stocks in the inner prison. And while they’re in the inner prison, here they are, and they start singing praises and worshiping God about midnight. And then as that happens, God starts shaking the prison to where their bonds were. Loosed. And not only theirs, but every other prisoner is in the prison, was set free, the prison doors flung open, and.

They all walked out. And when they walked out, that jailer, the Roman jailer, thought, oh, no, I’m a dead man. So he’s getting ready to kill himself. And Paul and Silas say, wait, wait, wait. Don’t do that, sir.

And he says, what must I do to be saved? Paul said, believe on the Lord Jesus and you’ll be saved, you and your household. And then the Bible says the man got saved. His family was baptized. He took them to his house, washed and cured and medicated their wounds, so to speak.

And then verse 34 says, he was filled with joy because of what he had come to believe. Here’s a man who was on the. Verge of suicide, now is filled with joy. Here’s a man who maybe took part in beating Paul and Silas. Jesus.

Now he’s cleaning their wounds and full of joy. That’s what happens when you come into the kingdom. When the kingdom comes into you. Joy is infused and injected into your spirit. And it comes not in a natural way.

The world didn’t give it and the. World can’t take it. Why? Because it comes from the Holy Ghost. Joy is a product of the Holy Ghost coming into you.

Paul said in Galatians 5. 22, but the fruit of the Spirit is love. And, come on, it’s love and joy. That’s the fruit of the Spirit, the outgrowth, the manifestation. What’s going to grow in this garden.

Of your soul is joy. You’re going to be happy, and it ain’t going to make no sense. You’re going to be so happy, it’s not going to make any sense. Your family’s going to think, what are they smoking? What are they on?

You’re on a spiritual high. Hallelujah. And I’m never coming down on it. It has no side effects and it has no hangovers, and it has no regrets. Hallelujah.

I just want more. The next morning of the joy that God put in my heart. Oh, somebody shout hallelujah. Okay, let me link something else. That really is awesome.

Romans says Paul’s praying for the Romans. He says, may God fill you. May the God of hope fill you. May the God of hope fill you. With all joy and peace in believing.

With all joy and peace in believing. There is something that happens when you have faith arise and you start believing for something. You know what happens when that comes? Joy comes when you have faith and. You set your faith on something.

There’s a natural joy or supernatural joy that comes in that experience. Some of y’ all are believing for a new job. Get happy about it. Some of you are believing for a new home. Get happy about it.

Because you start believing and you start getting excited. Oh, yeah? Why? Because that joy is bubbling up, connecting with faith in your heart. And it gets.

It’s like my friend, I had a big Dodge panel van that I traveled in as an evangelist for years, and I still owned it and was pastoring. And I came down to see a friend of mine south of Richmond at his church one day, and this man was an older man and wonderful brother in the Lord. He and his wife, they pastored a small church there, but he was a faith guy. Everything was about. He was just bubbling over with joy.

And I pulled in in that van in his parking lot, and he saw me, and I got out of the. Van, and he came up and he. Said, oh, Brother Hans, when that van pulled in, I said, man, that’s my van. Cause I’ve been praying for one just like that. I’m like, well, no, this is actually.

My van, but I do appreciate your faith, brother. And I thought he was looking for it with joy. At any minute, it’s going to pull into the parking lot. Hallelujah. At any minute, my breakthrough’s coming.

At any minute, God’s going to show up and do what I’ve been believing for, and I’m going to be happy about it until it comes. Somebody give him a shout. Hallelujah. So joy, joy, joy. Joy comes with the kingdom.

Joy comes with the kingdom. That’s why church should not be a. Depressing funeral dirge where we get together. And all share our depression with one another. Church should be shouting, happy God.

Go with me to Africa. Go with me to South America. Go to me with the Middle East. Where I’ve been. It becomes.

No matter the circumstances. Circumstances don’t matter. What matters is people are filled with the Holy Ghost, and joy becomes what they’re known for. Happy people, happiest people on earth. And so, you know, I don’t know if y’ all have ever laughed in the Holy Ghost.

I’ve had it hit me several times where I laughed, like, uncontrollably, and it wouldn’t leave, and I didn’t want it to leave. And some people may say, well, that’s strange, Hans. Why do we have laughing in church? I had a friend who grew up in church and said he laughed one time and one of the nuns came by and smacked him with a ruler. No laughing here.

But church should be about joy. I wish all God’s people would get. Toasted laughing right now in Jesus name. Oh, hallelujah. Just gone laughing in the Holy Ghost.

Overflowing. Going drunk in the Holy Ghost to ihop. And the waitress wonders what in the world’s going on? And you had the golden opportunity to say, let me tell you what’s going on. Come on, put your hands together and give the Lord a praise in here.

Oh, hallelujah. I pastored in Chesapeake for a few years, and I was in my office by myself, and no one else was in the church. And I had a cassette player and I was listening to a worship cassette back in the day, and this music was going. And I started laughing and I started laughing uncontrollably. And I thought.

And the thought hit me. If anybody walks into this church right now, they’re going to take me away in a padded wagon or something. But it’s just like. More Lord. Come on, just say it with me.

More Lord. More joy. Lord, I declare over you the most joyful Christmas you’ll ever have to this point. This year, 2025. I know what the statistics say, and I know what it.

Put those aside. Joy on your Christmas, joy on your family, joy on this season in your life. Somebody shout, amen. When does joy come? Joy comes also when we see God touch other people.

When we see God touch other people, it causes everybody to get excited. Turn with me to the book of Luke. Let me show you something. In the book of Luke, Jesus is eating with sinners. And when he goes to eat with these sinners, the religious people are gathered around and it flips them completely out.

Luke, chapter 15, verse 1. Then all the tax collectors and the. Sinners. Drew near to hear him. And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, this man receives sinners and eats with them.

And Jesus knew exactly what their problem was. And so he gave three parables. The first one was about a shepherd. He said, what man of you? Verse 4.

Having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the 99 in the wilderness and go after the one which is lost until he finds it. When he’s found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, rejoice with me, for I found my sheep, he says. And likewise, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 just persons who need no repentance. Verse 8 There’s the parable of the lost coin.

A What? Woman having 10 silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully till she finds it. When she’s found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, rejoice with me, for I found the peace which I lost. And likewise I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. Then there’s the parable of the lost son.

One son, the youngest, comes and demands his inheritance from his father, which is the ultimate disgrace in the ancient world, and it would be in the modern world. And then he goes out and he lives it, and he blows that money on wild living. And then he wants to come back to his father. And so he says in verse 19, I’m no longer worthy. He comes back, says, Father, verse 18, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son.

Make me like one of your hired servants. And he rose and came to his father. This was his speech. And when he saw, when he was still a great far away off, his father saw him and had compassion and. Ran and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.

And the son said to him, father. I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and I’m no longer worthy to be called your son. But the father said to the servants, bring out the best robe and put it on him. And put a ring on his hand, sandals on his feet. Bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry.

And then the older brother comes and complains. What Jesus was hitting at was the Pharisees were like the older brother. They came and complained. The older brother came and complained and. He said, I’ve been with you always, dad, and you’ve never done this for me.

And the dad said, son, don’t you realize you’ve always been with me. But this one who was lost has now been found. This one who was. I’m about the lost now. Notice in each story.

The lost sheep, the lost coin, the lost son. There was a party. There was a party. And then there was a party. Whole lot of partying going on.

Let’s walk through this again. There was a party. The lady calls up her friends, I found the coin. Sorry, I found the sheep. Second, I found the coin.

Third, I found my son. Why does Jesus give us those parables? Because that’s the heart of the Father. That when a lost one comes home, heaven erupts. In praise, Heaven erupts in praise.

The best way to set on fire a church is to get lost people saved. It’s the best to see lost people come in. All of a sudden, your judgment about. The service goes out the window. All of a sudden, the little idiosyncrasies you’ve been talking to neighbors about about the church mean nothing anymore because there’s a greater purpose on the table, and that is lost people need Jesus and, and need to come home.

And God forbid if we don’t rejoice and celebrate and crank up the band and shout and cry and pray with them and welcome them with open arms. That is what the kingdom is all about. You want some joy in your life? Go lead somebody to Jesus. Go witness to somebody, tell them about what God’s done in you.

Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Let me give you another one here. When sick are healed, heaven rejoices. When sick are healed, it causes great joy over and over and over and over again, all through the Gospels, through the book of Acts.

But when people were healed, it was cause for great joy in all the city. Think about Philip who went down to the city of Samaria, led people to Christ, cast out devils, healed the sick, and great joy was in the city. Think about the apostles when they went city to city and great, great revolt broke out because people didn’t receive them. And great joy broke out with those who did receive them. And then in that beautiful passage In Luke chapter 10, Jesus sends out the 70 and says, you go out, heal.

The sick, cleanse the leper, raise the. Dead, preach the kingdom of heaven is at hand. And they go out and they do that, and they have miraculous results and. They come back to Jesus. And when they come back to him, the Bible says he was full of.

Joy through the Holy Spirit. Luke 10:21. He was full of joy through the Holy Spirit. Now, I don’t know. I’ve looked at the original language here, and there’s a nuanced meaning here.

There’s more to it than the English seems to convey. I don’t know that it goes this far, but I was preaching on TV with one minister and he said he had studied it and it actually has. The idea of Jesus leapt and and spun around. I know that doesn’t mesh with our view of the solemn, reverent Jesus, but it said he was rejoicing in the Holy Ghost. Can you imagine the Lord being so happy that he jumps and spins around and he celebrates what they did and.

How sick were healed and lepers were Cleansed and demons were cast out. It’s the heart of God to help people. It’s the heart of God to help suffering people. It’s a kiss from heaven to see him heal the sick. It’s a kiss from heaven to see somebody possessed set free.

Heaven rejoices at this. And when we see that happen, we. Should get stoked and joyful as well. Man, Y’ all will get that after lunch. I declare it’s going to one other time that joy is seen in the New Testament.

And that’s when people are persecuted for their faith. This is what’s wild. People are persecuted and great joy comes because the apostles in Acts chapter 13 went into the city and the city didn’t receive them. And they shook the dust off from their feet and were filled with joy. With the Holy Spirit, they were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

When they left being rejected, Piece this together. When they left after being rejected, they. Rejoiced with joy and were filled with joy. And the Holy Ghost, Jesus said, when. You’Re reviled and persecuted, rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven.

Paul said in 2nd Corinthians 7, in. All our troubles, my joy knows no bound. Through everything I’ve been through, I’ve got so much joy, I can’t contain it. What can do that except supernatural joy? When the writer of Hebrews was talking to the Hebrews, he said, you joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property.

And then he goes on and says, like Jesus, who, for the joy set before him, endured the cross. Why? Because James said we should consider it. Pure joy when we face trials. That means the Christian.

The joy knows no boundaries. Even when things get tough or we face opposition, or the enemy comes against. Us, we can back up and rejoice in the middle of all of it. That’s why Paul, even in death, he said, you don’t grieve as those who have no hope. We don’t go to a funeral like the rest of the world.

We go to a funeral, especially if it’s a saint that dies, knowing that we’re going to have some sorrow for the moment. But sorrow only lasts for the night. Joy comes in the morning. It passes through, but it can’t stay. Because I’ve got something that counteracts that in my life.

Hallelujah. I know that this life is not all there is. But when a Christian passes through this life, they just step over into the real glory of God. Hallelujah. And there’s going to be A great resurrection day when all the dead in Christ will rise first.

Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together to meet them in the air. We know this isn’t the end. Come on, somebody raise your hand and just give him praise in here. Hallelujah. Joy.

Christmas is about joy, joy, joy, joy, joy, joy, joy, joy. So let me bring this down to a close here and just talk about one thing. I’ve talked about this before at our church, but it’s worth reiterating. And that is the Bible tells us in numerous passages to shout for joy. Yeah, Yeah.

I don’t shout in church, Brother Hans. Do you shout at ball games? Do you shout watching WWE wrestling? Do you shout when your child graduates high school? I got a better reason than all those to shout.

I have a better reason than all those to shout. Let me throw a couple passages at you. Psalm 5, verse 11 but let all those who put their trust in you rejoice. Let them ever shout for joy because you defend them. Let also those who love your name be joyful in you.

You have someone defending you. The King of heaven is defending you, and because of that you can shout. Psalm 32:11 Be glad in the Lord and rejoice you righteous and shout for joy, O you upright in heart. Psalm 33:3 I was playing in a Pentecostal church in Kentucky years ago, and I was playing guitar, and one of the deacons came up and he said, I found you, Brother Hans, in the Bible. And this isn’t King James.

King James says, sing unto him a new song. Play loud and play skillfully before the Lord. This says, sing unto him a new song. Play skillfully with a shout of joy. Psalm 35, verse 27 Let them shout for joy and be glad who favor my righteous cause.

Psalm 66:1 Make a joyful shout to God all the earth. Psalm 81:1 Sing aloud to God our strength, and make a joyful shout to. The God of Jacob. Psalm 98:4 Shout joyfully to the Lord all the earth break forth in song, rejoice and sing praises. Psalm 101 Make a joyful shout to the Lord all you lands.

The psalmist here in different passages is. Calling for all the earth to do. What they are created to do, and that is to worship God. To worship God. He’s calling all the nations to worship.

That’s when we will fully come into unity. That’s when we will fully see the purposes of God fulfilled, when all the nations bow before him and shout praises to him. I’ve given you, the nations as your inheritance. Psalm 2. That’s the inheritance of the Messiah.

The nations of the earth. Can somebody shout Hallelujah. So when you’re happy, you should shout. When you don’t feel happy, you should still shout. When things are going just smooth and copacetic and everything’s right, you should shout.

And when people oppose you and talk about you, you should shout all the more. When all bills are paid and money is in the bank, you should shout. When it’s getting t. Shout anyhow. Amen.

Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. No bounds to joy. There’s no bounds to joy.

There’s no. We can’t put. We can’t contain it. Amen. We’re just going to be joyful people.

We’re just going to rejoice. We’re just going to shout. Hallelujah. I feel a shout coming on right now. Yeah, I feel like we’re going to shout right here in a minute.

Hallelujah. And you know what shouting does when you raise your voice and shout. So you think back to war. It’s a sign of war that the enemy comes. When an army would come, they would raise a shout to put fear in the heart of the other enemy.

Can. That’s what happens, really, when we shout for the Lord, it lets the enemy know. The prince of the power of the air know we’re here. You’re defeated. We have the trump card.

Jesus rose from the dead. He made a show of you openly. And we announce to all of the powers of the air, Jesus reigns. Jesus is Lord. Jesus is Lord.

Hallelujah. You know, there was a prophetic commercial years ago when I grew up, and it was for the detergent shout, because I remember these commercials. And if you had a problem, you just shout it out. If you had a problem, you needed to look at your neighbor and say, right now, I think you just need to shout it out. Hey, it’s such an honor to have you join us for service.

I pray the word was a blessing to you and I pray you avail yourselves to the resources we have online. And if you’re ever in the Elizabeth City area, or I mean Outer Banks or Tidewater, Virginia, make the drive, come visit us one Sunday. We would love to welcome you here and you can experience this yourself. As one man used to say, can’t be explained, can only be experienced. There’s some truth into that.

Anyhow, thank you for watching. I pray the Lord will bless you. And that you grow in your faith and fulfill the call that God has on your life. We here at Fountain of Life love you.