THE JOY OF THE KING Series: Humble King December 16, 2018 Edgar King Joy, Humility, Childbirth Luke 1:39-45, 2:10-13 I watched a funny video of dad s in the delivery room with the moms. I just realized that maybe it would not be a good idea to have it on slides. But it was hilarious to see these guys fainting. You would think that they are experiencing the worst parts of the agony of labour. You know people debate on whether father experience the weight of pregnancy and the agony of childbirth and that video is proof. It is so bad for some men they pass out. It was funny watching some of the moms in labour trying to comfort the passed out dad. One even asked the dad to take some deep breaths. Because they needed that more. So it is my understanding that the longing and expectation of a child during pregnancy is big deal. The moment a couple learns that they are expecting a child and beginning to share the news with family and friends. A few years back people would not know the gender until the baby is born. So there was also an expectation associated with waiting to know if it was a boy or a girl. The agony of labour and the experience of joy at Childbirth. Yesterday I evening I was with one of my friends who is a midwife at the General hospital here. He says the pains is excruciating sometimes the moms assault them. Crazy how so many things can happen in just that season. I hear it is the season where women get to order any weird combination of food and just blame it on the unborn child. My friend told of a mutual friend whose wife insisted in the middle of the night that she was craving for fries from a particular shop in town, I was still in Nairobi at this point. So he gets up and makes his way to town gets some fries and when he was back home. The baby did not want the fries any more. And I bet it s a time filled with many emotions. Longing, pain, peace, worry but one important emotion among them is joy. There is so much joy in the process. It has become an industry because you can trust capitalism to try milk profits from anything. So there is party to announce that couple is pregnant, then there is a baby shower I am not sure what that one is for especially because the baby is not born yet and then there is a gender reveal party. And then after the baby is born Kenyans have a special one called Baby s Tea. And I am all for partying at any time. In fact, we wanna be a church that celebrates everything. Get a reason to throw a good party and invite the world to experience God s love with you. However, I am not a huge fan of what we turn these things into a source of unhealthy comparison and people get into debt just to please others. They become a source of agony and debt. Now that is not a good idea. 2018 Edgar King Page 1 of 7
On my last trip when all the hard stuff was done, I was going to visit my mom. Booked a ticket to one state only to learn that she does not live there anymore but my brother s family still does. So a few days later we were driving to where my mom had moved to. She kept calling us just to find out how far out we were. And I was loving her excitement and expectation to see us. And more so, me, because we had not seen each other for 2 years. In my mind, I imagined that she had cooked chapati and meat and was just longing to hug me and say, My son, I have missed you and made a feast for you We get there and my mom had indeed made a feast but then she said, Don t seat down guys we will be late for the baby shower My mom had prepared a feast, not for me but for one of her friend s baby shower and she had even without my consent committed me to attend it. I did not even know who they are let alone knowing what baby showers are really about. So I was sitting there in a large party, no one I know but my family. There is a joy that comes with the welcoming of babies into the world. The humility of God coming as a baby is one of those things that God is boldly declaring. He is bringing joy to the world. Just like a baby does not only bring joy to the parent but to the whole community, God was bringing joy not just to the family of Joseph, not just to Israel but joy to you and me and Joy to the world. Joy to the world the Lord has come, Let Earth, receive her King. (Take joy parcel to tree) Let s Pray Through this season of Advent, we have been focusing on the humility of the birth of Jesus Christ. This was God becoming man. And Paul says it this way it was an incredibly humbling process. And after being human and taking the form of a servant, he stayed human. We have also been looking at the expectation of the Kingdom of God that filled Israel then and fills all of humanity now. The King of all Creation was coming. There was the announcement of the birth and the long period of expecting it and the birth itself. Tells us a lot about our own journey of faith as we expect the kingdom of God to show up in our daily lives and the eventual unveiling of Jesus when he comes again. And by this God was declaring very important things throughout creation. He chose humility so that we can find hope, he chose humility so that we can learn how to trust him and have peace. He chose humility so that we can find Joy. There is a new podcast by our friends at Vineyard worship USA. Called Ferment. It focuses on the worship and its roll in our spiritual formation. And one of the questions Adam the host has promised to ask all the people on the show is what their most joyous moment in life was. And on the first one, he was hosting David Ruis some of you might know the name. And David said the day he saw the birth of his son. 2018 Edgar King Page 2 of 7
And Adam says that most people he asks have always said their most joyous moment was when they received news of a child or when they became parents. And this is the kind of joy that is for the whole community. So God chose humility, to come like helpless babe declaring joy to the world because it s something we all can relate to. The joy of a baby is big and it belongs to the whole community. I want us to read two narratives of the birth of Jesus together. And this is important, in my journey with the Bible and leading a community of faith that treasures the Bible, I have realized that so many people actually do not know what the Bible says or the stories in there. And before we ever had a written document to call the Bible, these stories were important as they stirred up faith amongst people. So let s read them Luke 1:39-45 Mary immediately got up and hurried to the hill country, in the province of Judah, where her cousins Zacharias and Elizabeth lived. When Mary entered their home and greeted Elizabeth, who felt her baby leap in her womb, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Elizabeth (shouting): You are blessed, Mary, blessed among all women, and the child you bear is blessed! And blessed I am as well, that the mother of my Lord has come to me! As soon as I heard your voice greet me, my baby leapt for joy within me. How fortunate you are, Mary, for you believed that what the Lord told you would be fulfilled. So the Birth of Jesus has just been announced to Mary. Who had also been pregnant by God s grace? And I think this is one of those cases where you don t take someone s story seriously or that significant until you have experienced the same. So Mary gets a visit from an angel who refers to Elizabeth s pregnancy and she realizes that he has to go see her. Now, granted the announcement of pregnant is not the same for everyone. It s such a tense moment for people. You know, it depends on the circumstances, what it means to the family economically, what it means to the relationship between the soon to be parents. A lot of things happen in women's hearts when they hear they are expecting. And the enemy has sometimes stolen that joy from people. I am sure even here. Some families have had a strained relationship at the announcement of a pregnancy. And surely for Mary, there was the potential for this pain because of her wedding was yet to happen. It was hard. But God has redeemed this. Because Joy has nothing to do with our circumstances. She is full of joy that can only come from God, the King. And I just love how infectious that joy is. You know babies are so aware when they are still just fetuses. They respond to music, they respond to the voices of the parents, they respond to the mom s moods only that they have to take the blame for it. 2018 Edgar King Page 3 of 7
But John inside Elizabeth s womb realizes that the King was visiting, that the Kingdom of God was breaking through. And John kicks, and this was no usual kick. Elizabeth knows it s a celebration kick. It s a leap of joy. Because God s joy is infectious that all of creation around us responds. And when she says that to Mary, do you know how she responds? She bursts into singing. Have you come across those kinds of people? Hey, how are you doing? I am a mountain, down in the valley oh R-Kelly Those people are usually kind of annoying in a fun way. They live life as if it s a High-school musical where you break out in a song anywhere. But again one of the reasons we love high school musicals is just the joy the singing spreads. They have this joy that keeps them singing and it kinda just spreads. This is how full of joy Mary is. Her response is in a song which has become known as Mary s song. It s the kind of joy that just cannot be bottled up. Here is another story. One we read last week Luke 2:8-15 Nearby, in the fields outside of Bethlehem, a group of shepherds were guarding their flocks against predators in the darkness of night. 9 Suddenly a messenger of the Lord stood in front of them, and the darkness was replaced by a glorious light the shining light of God s glory. They were terrified! Messenger: 10 Don t be afraid! Listen! I bring good news, news of great joy, news that will affect all people everywhere. 11 Today, in the city of David, a Liberator has been born for you! He is the promised Anointed One, the Supreme Authority! 12 You will know you have found Him when you see a baby, wrapped in a blanket, lying in a feeding trough. 13 At that moment, the first heavenly messenger was joined by thousands of other messengers a vast heavenly choir. They praised God. 14 Heavenly Choir: To the highest heights of the universe, glory to God! And on earth, peace among all people who bring pleasure to God! Again, the announcement of the Birth of Jesus is accompanied by joyous singing by angels. And the birth of Jesus is not just joy to one family. Like most births, it is a celebration to the whole community. So the angel announces that this was news of great joy. And you know joy is one of those things you cannot hide for too long. Have you seen some ladies right after their engagement? They are so full of joy every selfie accidentally by intention has to have the ring finger showing. Coz unspeakable joy just cannot be bottled. No wonder there is an outburst of a song all over the story of the birth of Jesus. No wonder I am having fun singing carols. 2018 Edgar King Page 4 of 7
And in this case, the whole community is all of God s creation. So the angels are singing. And I don t think the angels like appeared just so that the shepherds could see, rather the shepherds were enabled to see what was going on in heaven. So heaven is having a party because the son of Man has been born. All of heaven and earth and all of creation is partying and singing. Then the shepherds respond exactly how people respond to extreme joy. When people experience extravagant joy, the little things of life seem to stop being a bother. Some people even quit their jobs when they experience real joy. And these shepherds stopped watching their flock to go see what happened. I joyful enough to quit or at least to let interfere with life as usual. And I can imagine Mary going through the agony of labour, the worry of the politics in the country at the moment. What some in their family have been saying about her. And all that fade into nothing when she hears the first cry of her baby and she gets to hold him for the first time, to feed him. Scientists say that childbirth changes women in every way. Their moms are completely transformed as they bond and fall in love with their children. There is an explosion of joy and satisfaction in them that overshadows the pain they have just had to endure. This was Mary s story at this point. Mary s joy was not just the joy of childbirth but that and the joy of the coming of God s kingdom. And I guess the picture is that as we surrender to God s Kingdom. The expectation of it and its manifestation even through the pain of labouring in it will completely transform us, just like a mother is transformed by childbirth. The joy of God s Kingdom will completely transform us. The joy of God s Kingdom comes packaged in so much humility yet it takes humility to fully experience it and allow it to take over you. When I was a young boy we lived with one of the relatives. And you know people who you live with know who you truly are because you cannot pretend at home. At least not for too long. So every time we would be in a worship environment I would feel God s presence and I just wanted to throw all care away and lift my hands in singing and adoration and sometimes I would start and then I would open my eyes and see her and I would feel embarrassed. I later started to realize it was not embarrassment that was keeping me from the singing and the Joy of God s presence. It was pride. She knew me, she knew my faults and how stubborn I was. I just was not sure I wanted her to ask if I really loved Jesus despite my faults. You see, proud people seldom sing, they cannot burst in joy. They have an image to maintain. They have walls to keep up. So they remain resistant to joy. And unfortunately they are unaware of what transformation joy, the joy of God s kingdom can bring. Don t Let Pride Keep you from God s Joy. Don t let the feeling that you have an image to protect keep you from being free in God s presence. If you have to work hard to protect it, it probably is not your true image to begin with. 2018 Edgar King Page 5 of 7
When we were doing the God is love series I experienced such overwhelming outbursts of God s love. I started walking home and to the office so that I could have some time to just listen to good music because that is one of the ways I experience the beauty of God. There were some evenings when walking home I was so overcome by joy that I was singing out loud on my way home and dancing. And if you know me, the one un-african thing about me is that I do not know how to dance so surely it was a pitiful sight. And at some point, I remember thinking that someone might drive past me and would leave convinced that Edgar was walking home very drank. That tells you how much joy I had and how terrible my dancing is. And I thought I needed to contain myself. But that is the thing, pride tells me I have a reputation to maintain, humility tells to fall headfirst into the joy God is bringing. Pride tells me to pretend I don t care about all my faults and so I will pretend to be unmoved. Humility tells me that there is joy because God s kingdom has come with forgiveness. Pride tells me I cannot be mad and make it everyone s fault that nothing is working out. Humility tells me to receive God s joy because it transcends my current situation. The Kingdom of God brings joy and humility frees me to burst into song in that joy. And I think this is why we should sing and celebrate Christmas. The announcing of the coming of God s Kingdom. The expectation of God s Kingdom and the joy that brings to the community and the eventual coming of God s Kingdom that has Burts of joy that overshadows all the pain we may have to endure now. So be full of celebration in this season. And come for the carols and candles on the 23rd. Let s be open to God s joy. God is inviting us to joy. So let s come to surrender. But I know that for some families, the announcement of a babies birth came with strain. Some rejected by people they loved, some rejected by family. Some became pregnant through unusual circumstances. Some the pain of losing a child or not being able to have a child. Yet even that pain is dwarfed in the light of the glory we are being invited too. Don t let pride harden your heart from God s joy. Don t let pride that makes us want to hold on to our brokenness and the desire for vengeance and retribution keep you from letting songs come from your heart in joy. Some mothers struggle with Trauma after childbirth. And in this culture people just expect you to love babies. So some have been silenced in pain and branded bad mothers because of their inability to bond with their children. And it has stolen your joy in silence And I just wanna encourage you guys, that there is healing in God s Kingdom to experience joy. A few months back one of the girls from the beehive shared her story and her struggle with losing her baby and the turnaround of that as God healed her. And she is one girl who does not shy away from bursting in God s joy of you have met her. Some of us, are kept in the pride of keeping our reputations. So you can feel the invitation to fall into worship and sing, to dance, to clap, to life your hand but pride just won t let you. 2018 Edgar King Page 6 of 7
Accepting that you are only human and you have failed a couple of times can really free you to experience joy even around people who think you deserve none. Don t let pride keep you there. Let s come to surrender as we worship and if you need prayer our prayer teams are coming up front Closing Prayer 2018 Edgar King Page 7 of 7