Sermon - Jeff Raines - Discover Joy [Luke 2:8-14]

First Baptist Shreveport

Discover Joy - Luke 2:8-14 - Dr. Jeff Raines

We don't have to manufacture joy or hold onto joy but instead discover joy because it's not an emotion we have to figure out how to feel. Our impulse and our world says that joy is found in youth, in money, in getting things, in feeling good.

But joy comes more in the seeking and in the struggle. Joy is what happens when the Holy Spirit intersects the human heart.

In Luke 2, the announcement of good news comes to the shepherds- the outcasts, on the fringes of poverty.

Joy often comes in the unexpected. When we're serving or creating or building- sometimes when we're engrossed with something joy surprises us.

Joy often comes in the midst of a struggle. James 1:2-4 implores us to "consider it pure joy... when you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your fairy produces perseverance..." Growth and maturity can sometimes only comes through being broken.

Joy often comes in obedience to God. Going to see an infant wasn't convenient for the shepherds, but the errand brought great joy. God's work intersected them in a surprising way.

How's your joy today? Sometimes it takes opening our eyes to see it. Sometimes it takes closing our eyes and asking God to reveal it to us. Sometimes it takes letting go of our idols. Sometimes it takes taking the next step in obedience. God's joy is available to all of us. It's there for us to discover.