Hope City Church

Overcoming Fear Through the Joy of Jesus | Ken McIntyre

• Ken McIntyre • Season 2024 • Episode 50

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Learn how to prepare your heart this Advent season to experience the fullness of joy in Christ.  This week, Pastor Ken shares the message of joy from Luke 2:1-11. The angels’ announcement to the shepherds was good news of great joy for all people. Discover how the birth of Jesus turns fear into joy and why true joy is found in the presence of God.

Challenge of the Week: Each day, take a moment to reflect on a specific area of your life where fear has taken root. Write it down and pray for God’s presence to replace that fear with joy. Share your journey with a friend or on social media using #AdventJoyChallenge and tag us to join the conversation.

Last Week's Sermon: Missed last week's message on finding peace in God's promises? Listen to Pastor Phil's insights on anchoring your heart in the Prince of Peace here.

Engage with us and others as we journey through Advent together!

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Ken McIntyre:

You know, we hide ourselves in our comfort. And amidst our comfortable life that just seems to drive so much of our life, God will call out to you

Phil Kniesel:

Hey, this is Phil Kniesel, lead pastor at Hope City Church. Thanks for tuning into our podcast. My prayer is that this helps and encourages you, gives you some practical ways to live out your faith, and ultimately fills you with hope. Enjoy the message.

Ken McIntyre:

We are in our third week of our Advent series. And Advent is a Latin term that was used in ancient Rome to refer to a king or an emperor who would descend upon a city. And it was a really big deal. It involved music and celebrations and grand processions and, and messengers, you know, proclaiming the king is coming. The king is coming. Christians in the fourth century, they took this term Advent and they reinterpreted not to refer to an earthly king, but instead a heavenly king. The king is coming. The king is coming. So we talk about Advent, we really are talking about two different arrivals, two different appearings. We're talking about number one, Jesus's birth, and we're also talking about Jesus's return. There are two Advents in Christ. So at Christmas, we look back at the birth of Jesus with awe, but we also look forward to the return of Jesus with anticipation. I proposed to my wife roughly 16 years ago, and it was the best decision that I've ever made. However, how I proposed to her was the worst decision that I ever made. Now I'm not going to tell you the story because I will die of sudden embarrassment. Like I'll just drop dead, but I will say it was a killer sermon illustration. Okay. That's all I'll give you. I remember how excited I was to marry her. I mean, I loved her and I remember picking up the ring. And I remember going to her dad's office in downtown Calgary and asking for her hand in marriage. And I remember getting down on one knee and saying those four words, will you marry me? And I remember the excitement of her saying, yes. It was one of the highlight moments for sure. And well, why? Well, it, it, it was the beginning of a promise together, right? Together. We are going to be forever. We're going to spend the rest of our lives together. There's something so joyful about that. It was hard to match. But it was matched. It was only matched by the anticipation of a future day, right? Our wedding day, where that promise that was made down on one knee was going to be finally fulfilled. The first advent, it's like an engagement. It's the beginning of a promise from God to you. A savior has been born to you. Jesus has come. His life and his death will be the way that you can have relationship with God. Now, you could spend your entire life plumbing, you know, the depths of that first advent, and you would never be able to uncover all of the joy and wonder of that event. It just, it's just so marvelous. But it's matched by the anticipation of Jesus coming again, when that promise that he made to be together forever will be realized. So in Jesus, now there is hope, but that's going to be fulfilled in the future. In Jesus, now, in this life, there is peace. But that's going to be realized even more and perfectly in the future. In Jesus right now, there is joy, but that's going to be completed in the future. So the first advent is marked by grace, but the second advent, it's marked by glory. In the first advent, Jesus comes in meekness and obscurity. This is how the Bible describes it. It says it's the true light. John 1, the true light, that being Jesus, that gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. The world did not recognize its creator. In his first advent, Jesus comes in meekness and obscurity, but in his second advent, he's gonna come in power. And everyone's going to know who He is. Again, this is how the Bible describes it. At the name of Jesus, when they see Him, when He returns, at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth. And every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. So during the Advent season, we think about two arrivals. We think of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who took on flesh, who lived and died and rose again, and He ascended to the Father. We think about that. But we also think about, with anticipation, Jesus's completed work, when he returns, and he gathers people unto himself, when he totally defeats evil, and he makes all things new. This is the hope of the church, and this is Advent. And so traditionally, Advent focuses on four themes. Hope and peace, which we've covered the last two weeks. Today we're covering joy. And then during our Christmas Eve services, we are covering, uh, love. But today we're covering joy. There isn't a person in here or online who doesn't want joy in their life. It's on all of our Christmas wish lists, right? This is what we want more than anything in the world. We want to live a life of joy. But my guess is that you've settled. You've settled. You want joy. We all want joy. But we settled. We settled for happiness. Happiness is good. Joy is better. Because happiness is temporary, but joy lasts. Happiness is emotion, but joy is a choice. And everybody here wants joy. And the good news is that God wants to give it to you. So we're going to go into Luke chapter 2. It's a famous Christmas story passage. And I'm going to read it to you uninterrupted, and then we're going to dive in and kind of pick it apart. But these first three verses that I'm going to read to you, okay, prepare yourself, because this is going to tug on your heartstrings. You're going to be blessed by these first three verses. So I'm going to read them to you, but just hold on to your seats, okay? You got those little things beside you? Hold on to them. Here we go. In those days, Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. This was the first census that took place while Cornerius, the governor of Syria, and everyone went to their own town to register. I told you, that's good stuff. Anyway, we'll move on. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea to Bethlehem, the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him, and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all people. Today in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you. He is the Messiah, the Lord. If you could condense the Christmas story to six words, these would be them. Good news, great joy, all people. What is the Christmas message? Well, it's good news. What, what happens in us when we hear it? Oh, great joy. And who's it for? It's for all people. So let's kind of dive in here and see what we can see. Again, verse one says this. In those days, Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. This was the first census that took place while Canaris was governor of Syria. And everyone went to their own town to register. It's like, well, who cares? Like, why, why, why are we talking about this? This is Luke's way, who wrote this gospel, this is Luke's way of saying, fact check me on this. I dare you. The Christmas story doesn't begin with once upon a time. That's how we start fairy tales. That's not how we start the Christmas story. Because the Christmas story happened in history, with real historical people in real historical places. You know, if you're watching a movie, and it's a good movie, and you wonder to yourself, I wonder, is this based on a true story? And so you Google it, and you find out it's not based on a true story, and it's like, well, the story's still good, but you feel let down a little bit, you kind of wish it was a true story. The Christmas story is not going to let you down. Because it's not even based on a true story. It is a true story. And so when you hear the Christmas story, what's so wonderful about it, is that it's not just an idea. It actually happened, and that's really good news. The Christmas story does not let you down. Verse 4 says this. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem, the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. So this is a long journey from northern Israel, kind of the Sea of Galilee, all the way down to Judea, which was about 130 kilometers to the Dead Sea. So it's a long journey. And they're going to Bethlehem because this is where Joseph's ancestral town was, which was kind of how they did censuses back then. Verse five. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger because there was no guest room available for them. Now in 63 B. C., Rome conquers, uh, Israel and becomes the governing force in the land. And Augustus is the emperor at the time. And so, the Romans conducted the census for the purposes of taxation. Essentially, let's count all the people so we can see what we can rely on for governing purposes. So, they don't have turbo tax. Right? They can't just do it online. So they gotta travel to their hometown. Now, for Joseph and Mary, that's about a 130 kilometer journey, mostly on donkey. Okay? This is a tough journey, and Mary's far into her pregnancy, so this is a really uncomfortable journey for them. Now, 700 years prior to this moment that's captured by Luke, an Old Testament prophet named Micah describes where the birthplace of this Messiah, where Jesus would be. This is fascinating. This is what he says in Micah 5 too. He says, But you Bethlehem Ephrathah, Ephrathah was just the region that Bethlehem was in, but you Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be the ruler over Israel, a true king, whose origins are from old, from ancient times. So 700 years in advance, God gives this little seemingly insignificant detail to Micah about where the Messiah is going to be born. And again, it's kind of like, who cares? Like what does that matter for me now today? But as I was reading that, I just kind of got this picture that God would just like tap you on the shoulder a little bit. Just tap you look, do you see what's going on? Look, it's not Mary and Joseph who are in control. It's not even the most powerful person on the planet. It's not Caesar or Augustus. And it's not the most powerful political regime known to man. It's not, it's not Rome. They're not in control. It's like, look, guess who's in control? God would say, it's me. God's in control. And He's still in control. And I don't know what you're walking through this Christmas, but I just wanted you to know that God is in control. God wants you to know that He still sits on the throne. And so if you're going through heartache in your family, with your kids, or your spouse, or extended family, if you're walking through a financial scare, or a health scare, or a job uncertainty, whatever it is, I just want you to know that God is still in control, that He sees you. And he's in control. This is what Jesus says in Matthew six. It says, therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life. Hardest, you know, command in almost all the new Testament. Don't worry about your life. What you will eat or drink or about your body. What you will wear is not life more than food and the body more than clothes. And he's like, look, look at the birds. Go look, look at them. Uh, they don't, so they don't reap or stow away in barns. And yet your heavenly father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they see? We live in fear. We just do. It's like our default. We're afraid of not having enough. We're afraid of the future. Sometimes we're afraid and we don't even know why we're afraid, but the reason why we live sort of with this underlying fear as a foundation of a lot of our lives is because life is scary. And so fear becomes default. And we see this in the shepherd story. This is what it says in verse eight. There were shepherds living out in the field nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shown around them and they were. They were terrified. That was the result. They were terrified. But the angel said to them, Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all people. Good news, great joy, all people. What's the good news? Today, in the town of David, in Bethlehem, a Savior has been born to you. He is the Messiah, the Lord. It's interesting that of all the people in the world, that the greatest announcement ever made, the birth of Christ, God has come in the flesh that this is given to the shepherds. Now, in the first century, being a shepherd was not a job that anyone wanted. Okay, if you were a shepherd when you grew up, you know you didn't make it, that you failed somehow. It was a dirty job, it was lonely, it was dangerous. They slept and they lived outside and they didn't make much money doing it. First century shepherds had a terrible reputation. So I want you to think in your mind of the slimiest reputation you can imagine. Don't say it out loud. Okay, you never know. Okay, don't say it out loud. But just think about it in your head. The slimiest reputation or slimiest profession. That was a first century shepherd. They were assumed to be dishonest and thieves. They would go for months at a time, unsupervised. And so they'd be accused of stealing from the increases of the flock. People would be warned, do not buy wool, do not buy milk from a shepherd under the assumption that it's, it's hot goods, right? It's hot milk. You don't want it. It's probably stolen. A Jewish commentary of the time said this, there is no more disreputable occupation than that of a shepherd. So what's going on here? The last people that we would announce it to, God chooses first. What's happened? Well, at least it's this, at least it's this. God is saying Christmas is for everyone. If the shepherds aren't left out of this announcement of this good news, that causes great joy. If the shepherds aren't left out, then you need to know that you are not left out either. But did you catch the response, the effect that this news, or at least its appearance of the angel had on these shepherds? What was it? It was terror. I love the way that the Greek text originally puts it. It says that they were phobos phobo, okay, which is double fear. It was a way of saying they were filled with great fear. They were terrified. And for good reason. I mean, imagine you're a shepherd. Nothing ever happens. I mean, it's pitch black. It's dead quiet. There's no, like, hum of the city or lights. I mean, it is just dark, dark, dark. Like, they don't have a phone to distract them. I have no idea how they pass time. Just like thumb wars and staring contests. Like, I don't know how they use time. But out of all of this boredom, out of this darkness, all of a sudden, the angel of the Lord and the glory of heaven just shines on where, where they are. And they're terrified. Now, if you're a shepherd and you're maybe one of these slimy type shepherds, the last thing that you want is God's light shining on you. What you want is to be hidden. You don't want to be confronted by God. You If that's who you are. See, what's happening in this story is, is, is more than just what's happening in this story. It's not just showing us that, that the shepherds were afraid of the light of God. What, what the Christian story is showing us is that people are afraid of the light of God. One of the themes of the Bible is that men and women, we love darkness and the light of God terrifies us. This is what it says in John 3. It says, Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light. Because their deeds were evil. We're not talking about physical darkness. We're talking about spiritual darkness. The Bible is saying that, that we're comfortable. We're versed. We find some sort of safety. We can hide ourselves in our own sin. It's just natural. I can't tell you how many people that I know, and you probably know as well, who there'd be okay with having a conversation with God. There's even interest there. But the idea of coming and sitting in church terrifies them. Maybe you've invited someone to Christmas Eve and it's like, no. There's terror there. What if I melt when I walk in? Right? It's there. And it is kind of funny because we're here and we're like, well, yeah, but, but for a lot of people, like, I don't want to come under the gaze of God. You know, the fear of praying your first prayer. If you've, you know, been following Jesus for some time, maybe we forget about this, but that fear. You know, if you've never cried out in desperation to God, and you're filled with some sort of guilt or shame about your life, to come under the gaze of God, and just to say, like, God, here, that idea of coming before God in prayer, that's terrifying. You know, maybe even you're here today, and there is some form of spiritual darkness. There's some hidden sin in your life. And you could be here in a physical, like, general way. But again, the idea of opening yourself up to God, Of being confronted by his light, being confronted by his holiness. That actually just, that's fearful. Even just me talking, your heart's beating a little bit, because there's, there's fear there. I don't want to come under the gaze of God like that. And so this reaction from the shepherds, this terror, it's just a picture of the way all men, all women are before God. It's an echo of the story of Adam and Eve. They enjoyed, we read, perfect fellowship relationship with God. But they ruined it. They decided to reject his leadership and instead they were the leaders of their life. They made the calls. They were the captain and so that that rejection of God had this profound and lasting effect. But what is it? It's it's phobias phobo, right? It's this terror. That's what it is. And what do you do when you're afraid? Like what's it? What do you do when you're afraid? Listen, listen to what happens. God calls out to Adam, right? Where are you Adam? Where are you? And how does Adam reply? He goes, I heard you in the garden. And I was afraid, so I hid, so I hid. In our fear, we hide from God. Like Adam, like, like the shepherds. The closer God gets, the more we want to hide, because the more afraid we become. The New Testament, Hebrews 10 says this, It's a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a living God. It's like, why? Why is that so fearful? Why is that so terrifying? Well, it's because God's light exposes us. It's like, why? Right? What does it expose? It exposes our hiding, our hiding spots. You know, we don't maybe hide under, under bushes and trees like Adam did, but we all have our own hiding spots. We hide ourselves in our calendars, right? We hide ourselves in our busyness. We overcommit at work and we know it. We over program our kids life and pretend we have no, you know, control over that. Our calendars are always full. It's like, well, why? What's going on here? What's the compulsion to keep yourself so busy? And God would call out to you amidst your busyness and say, where are you? And maybe for you today, that's a scary thing to be confronted by that. You know, we hide ourselves in our comfort. We love comfort. We buy things that we probably don't need. We take trips that we probably can't afford. And amidst our comfortable life that just seems to drive so much of our life, God will call out to you to say, where are you? And that could be a fearful thing. You know, we can hide ourselves in our distraction. Right, our, our phones sort of, they rule our lives, we go from show to show, or game to game, or book to book, or we, again, we overcommit at work, work ourselves to death. And God would call out in the middle of your distractions, why are you hiding? Where are you? And that can be a terrifying thing. And so we hide ourselves, and all of these different things that we think bring us some sense of safety, but we still are afraid because we know those hiding spots, they're no good. They're not going to do the job. They're not going to hide us from the gaze of God. And so, maybe today you're here and you're living with some sort of fear before the Lord. But God would say to you today, the same thing that He said to those shepherds so long ago on that hillside. Don't be afraid. Listen, you don't have to be afraid. And as I've been praying and thinking about this this week, that's just what has kept on coming up in my heart towards you. Don't be afraid. You don't have to. It's like, well, why? Why don't you have to be afraid anymore? Because Christmas is here. Because Christmas marks the end of fear. Why? It's good news. Great joy. All people. What's so wonderful about Christmas, this first Advent, is that God takes what we hate most, that fear, that hiding, and he replaces it with what we want most. Joy. That's the exchange at Christmas. That's the announcement to these shepherds. I'm going to take your fear. Don't be afraid. And instead, I'm going to put joy where there used to be fear. It's a beautiful exchange. And joy is underrated, right? Nowadays, you don't really ever hear people talking about joy. We talk about happiness all the time, but really people don't talk about joy. It's like we don't really know how to talk about it. So we don't really know how to grasp it. It just, it just isn't there for us. Joy isn't primarily an emotion, but joy It's a gift. Joy is primarily a gift, and it's such a precious gift that it's only given to us under a particular occasion or a particular setting. Right? We get this. There are some gifts that are only demanded under a particular setting. You know, take, for example, an engagement ring, right? A diamond ring. An engagement, of course, is a really good reason to give someone a diamond ring. If your wife successfully, you know, parallel parks the car, that's not really an occasion for a diamond ring, right? That's not really like, oh here, right? You don't do that. That's like, that's not really the appropriate gift for that occasion. My wife can parallel park. I'm not saying that. I'm just saying, just, I was just thinking of a random situation. I realized that that could have come off in a certain way. That's not what I meant. There's a particular setting in which God gives us joy. And there's really, you can't get it anywhere else. That's the thing. It's only within this circumstance that God gives us joy. And so you can't manufacture it. You can't buy it. You can't, you, you, it's, it's a gift that God gives us, but it's only under a particular setting that you'll ever get it. It's like, well, what is that? It's like, tell me. Well, it's the angel's announcement. The only way we can ever enjoy joy is in God's presence. God's presence is where we receive the gift of joy. That's it. That's the only place. This is what Psalm 1611 says. In your presence there is fullness of joy. And this is the announcement to the shepherds, right? Today. Today, in the town of David, in Bethlehem, a Savior, Jesus, has been born to you. The Savior has been born to you. He is the Messiah, the Lord. This is the, this is the promise from the angels, right, to the shepherd. God's presence is now with you. Jesus has been born unto you. It's like, well, wait a minute. Didn't you just drone on about saying that God's presence brings fear? And now you're saying that God's presence brings joy. It's like, get your act together. Like, like, which one is it? It's Is it, is it joy, or is it fear that God's presence gives us? Well, it depends. I mean, it's both, but it, but it depends. Well, it depends on what? It depends on if you receive the angel's announcement. It depends on if you receive the Christmas message. If you reject the Christmas message, your state before God is fear. But if you receive the Christmas message, your estate before God is joy. Well, what's the message? God has come. God's presence is here. Jesus has been born to you. Jesus has come to save you. A savior has been born. Well, save you from what? Save you from guilt? From shame, from embarrassment, from striving, from worry, from being wearied, from wandering, from fear. You don't have to be afraid anymore because God has saved you in Christ. Christmas means you don't have to hide anymore because in Christ, you are loved by God. In Christ, you are accepted by God. In Christ, you are forgiven by God. And that's good news. You don't have to hide. You don't have to be afraid because God loves you. That's good news. That brings great joy to all people. So what do we do? How do we respond? How do we take in this good news? How do we interact with it? That Christ has been born unto us. What an idea. I'm reminded of that song that we sang to start today, the joy to the world, that that famous Christmas song, joy to the world. The Lord has come. Let earth receive her King. Let every heart prepare him room. The response to the good news of the angel. is to prepare a room in your life for Christ. Said another way, the most famous passage in all of scripture, which also is a perfect summation of Christmas, John 3, 16 says this, For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. Today, you can exchange your fear for joy. That's the Christmas promise. How? By putting your faith in God's one and only Son, Jesus Christ. If you have never prepared your heart to receive Christ, I want to encourage you to do that today. I want you to think about doing that today. And understand, as you do that, as you come into contact with God's presence, as you come into contact with Jesus Christ, the gift that you will receive is joy. Because in God's presence, there is fullness of joy. If you're here today, and maybe you have put your faith in Jesus, but Uh, this season, there's, there is still some residual fear in your life. Maybe you've allowed the, the fears and the worries of this world to kind of creep in this holiday season. Today, I want to encourage you as well. Can you re receive, can you re commit to receive Jesus Christ? And expel that fear from your heart and receive joy in a fresh way today. Can you stand with me? I'd like to pray with you. God, I'm, I'm thankful for, for this word. I'm thankful for the Christmas story. For this first Advent. The promising of Jesus Christ who has come. Emmanuel, God with us. Your announcement through the angels that we don't have to fear any longer because you're here. And if we receive you, we can receive joy. So God, I pray across this place that we would receive Jesus Christ in a fresh way. Lord, for those who have never walked with Jesus and maybe are here for the first time and just sensing God's presence in a real way and wondering what to do, God, I pray right now that you would speak to their heart and remind them and let them know that they are loved by God. That Christmas means that they are loved by God so much that you sent your only Son, Jesus Christ, into the world. And so, God, when we believe in Him, we have life that starts now and lasts forever, and a life that is marked by joy. But God, you ask us not just to believe, but to repent of our own life and begin to obey you. So God, I pray for my friends here who have never repented, who have never given up leadership of their own life. And that's a tough thing to do. But God, I pray that you would just impress upon their heart that they can trust you in a fresh way. And so God, I pray that you would fill every heart in this place with the joy that comes from knowing Jesus Christ. That joy can't be bought or manufactured. But it comes from being in the presence of God. And so we thank you this Christmas that we have Emmanuel, God with us, your presence, who can fill our hearts and fill our life with joy. So I pray joy over people here today, people whose lives are, are, are just in a tough season. Lord, if there are people who are walking through this season and there's, there's pain in their family, there's sickness in their family, there's brokenness, God, I pray right now that you would let every heart know that they can trust you, you're in control, and even joy is possible amidst the hard circumstances, because joy is not an emotion. Joy is a state before God. It's a choice that we choose to lean into. God, I pray for those who are facing tough things with their job, Uh, tough things with their finances or, or something else in their life that's just robbing them of joy and creating fear in their life. God, I pray that you would give joy to them as well. That they would understand that you are still upon the throne. You're still, nothing's changed. The Christmas story is you're still in control and you're with us and you love us. So God, again, I ask for fear to be expelled and joy to take residence in every heart this Christmas season. We pray this in the wonderful name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Amen. Today, if you're here and you've never put your faith in Jesus, but you just did during that prayer or you want to learn more, I would encourage you to come and speak with one of our pastors or leaders up at the front left, or you can scan that QR code on the screen if you're online or in a seat back if you're in person. We'd love to talk with you. Thank you for being in church today. Next week, we're starting our Christmas Eve services. Invite somebody. Okay, invite somebody and pray Conor McDavid comes. That'd be cool, too. Okay. All right. See you guys