Dec. 28, 2025

“GREAT JOY”

LUKE 2:8-14  

Luke 2:8-14 “Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, 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, goodwill toward men!”

How many people do you meet that describe their life as being full of great joy? Yet this is the proclamation by the angels to the shepherds:

Luke 2:10 “Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.”

Even John the Baptist leaped for joy in his mother Elisabeth’s womb:

Luke 1:44 “For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.”

Circumstances contribute to joy, but they do not control joy:

1.   We Must Understand Who We Are.

2 Corinthians 3:5 “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God.”

2 Corinthians 12:9 “And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

You are not an accident, God created you on purpose. Notice what the angel said:

Luke 2:11 “For there is born to you this day…”

1 Timothy 3:16 “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory.”

Ephesians 6:10 “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.”

2.   We Must Understand The Promises Of Scripture.

The birth of Christ in Bethlehem was a fulfillment of Scripture, Jesus is the Word of God.

John 3:16, Romans 5:8, 10:9-10,13, Ephesians 2:8-9 Romans 5:1, 1 John 5:12

C.S. Lewis said, “that God must find our prayers too weak when considering all the promises offered to believers.”

3.   We Must Understand Pardon From Sin.

King David said in:

Psalm 32:1 “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered.”

Peter warns against growing nearsighted and blind having forgotten the cleansing of past sin:

2 Peter 1:4-9 “by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 5But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 8For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.”

Jesus is the Savior of the world, and His salvation produces great joy.

4.   We Must Understand Fellowship With The Believers.

A wise man once said, “Friends double our joy, and divide our grief.”

Luke 2:20 “Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.”

Hebrews 10:24-25 “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”