Mark Batterson - Overjoyed

On Christmas Eve, Pastor Mark uses childhood memories of wanting a Schwinn bicycle and C.S. Lewis's four stages of enchantment with life to illustrate how we can lose and rediscover joy. Drawing from the wise men's overjoyed reaction in Matthew 2 upon finding Jesus, he reminds us that true, unspeakable joy comes from encountering Christ—the greatest gift God offers, restoring the wonder and delight of salvation.

Christmas Toys Through the Decades
If you were a kid in the '60s, it was an Etch A Sketch or an Easy-Bake Oven. In the '80s, a Nintendo; the '90s, Tickle Me Elmo; the 2000s, man, you need that Xbox, don’t you? And in the '10s, let’s be honest, Apple took over: iPad, iPod, iPhone. But if you were a kid in the '70s, I know what you wanted. I know what you needed. It looked a little bit like this: a banana seat Stingray frame, high-rise handlebars, Schwinn bicycle. That’s what I’m talking about! Woo! This takes more courage than you think.

A Childhood Christmas Memory
I was four years old, and we had a little Christmas tradition where we would go over to my grandparents' house in Fridley, Minnesota, and we would open gifts on Christmas Eve.

Now, if you’re a Christmas morning traditionalist, you can boo, but I got to open my gift before you did! So we rolled into my grandparents' house, and there it was: a box too big to fit underneath the tree. I sized it up; it’s too big to be this, too small to be that, just the right size. You aren’t going to believe this! Anybody want to guess what it was? It was a banana seat Stingray frame high-rise handlebars Schwinn bicycle for my brother! It still hurts a little bit, but I think I’m better, not bitter.

C.S. Lewis on the Four Stages
Now, in 1946, C.S. Lewis wrote a little essay called «Talking about Bicycles.» It’s not as famous as «The Chronicles of Narnia» or «Mere Christianity,» but Lewis outlines what he calls the four stages of life: the unenchanted age, the enchantment age, the disenchantment age, and the re-enchantment age. I’ll explain these. When you’re knee-high to a grasshopper, this bike doesn’t mean anything to you. If you’re a toddler, it’s unimportant and insignificant because you can’t ride it. That is the unenchanted age. But the day comes when all you want is that bicycle! And man, when you get the bicycle, do you remember this moment? The world is your oyster; at least your neighborhood is, right? I remember biking down Utah Avenue North and saying, «Look, Mom, no hands!» We saw how many sidewalk squares we could pop a wheelie on, and we lived for that bike. It was all the enchantment of that bicycle.

But the day comes when you don’t really want to ride the bike to school in winter, uphill both ways, right? And that is the disenchantment stage, where the bicycle loses a little bit of its luster—not just a bicycle, right? Life can do that to you. But C.S. Lewis said that there are rare people who rediscover the joy of a bicycle, and I think I have my kids to thank for that. We love mountain biking; it reawakens that joy of getting back on a bicycle, being a little kid all over again. C.S. Lewis likened it to just a renewed appreciation for the simple pleasures of life, which he called «a delicious whiff of memory.» May the Lord remind you this Christmas of the goodness of God, the miracle of life, and His faithfulness to you. Honest question: which stage are you in now? I hope you get what you want for Christmas. I hope you get the banana seat bike. But there is a gift that only God can give.

The Simple Christmas Story
Can we keep it simple on Christmas? I have a spiritual father, Dick, 82 years old, and he summarizes the Christmas story this way: «God left His place, He came to our place, He took our place, and then He invites us back to His place.» That’s beautiful, isn’t it? And that’s what we celebrate at Christmas: the Word became flesh; the Son of God became the Son of Man. We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted and tried in every way just as we are, yet without sin. And He loves you. His name is Jesus; He is the reason for the season.

My hope and prayer, as I look across a space like this, is for everybody in the house, and shout out to those online here, there, and everywhere. You know what? Each one of us has walked a very individual journey to get to where we are. I don’t know where you are in that spiritual journey, but my hunch is a few of you are in that disenchantment stage. I just want to say thanks for showing up on Christmas Eve. My hope and prayer is that you would rediscover the God who is bigger than big, closer than close, better than good.

The Wise Men's Joy
And maybe you will rediscover Him in this Christmas story: Matthew 2:1. After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea during the time of King Herod, wise men came from the East to Jerusalem. They made a little pit stop. They must have had some serious diplomatic credentials because they got to see King Herod, and he pointed them toward Bethlehem.

And it says, verse 9, after they heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the East went ahead of them until it stood over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. Now, depending on your translation, do we have any old-school KJV in the house? I think it says they rejoiced with exceeding great joy! I mean, how many adjectives can you have in one sentence, right? They are jumping for joy; they’re overwhelmed with joy. It’s just to the moon and back joy! This is a joy that’s really tough to quantify. Forgive me for this, but I’m going to—it’s a little bit of a stereotype— but they’re called the wise men, which tells me probably of a more intellectual bent, which I tend to think of as maybe being a little bit more emotionally reserved. Did I just get in trouble, or is that okay?

So it’s not the reaction I was expecting. By the way, a few years ago, someone sent me a Christmas card, and on the front, it said, «The results of your IQ test are in.» I flipped it open, and it said, «You’re definitely not one of the wise men.» Well, Merry Christmas to you too! These wise men are like little kids on Christmas morning. They discover the Messiah.

Joy in the Game and in Faith
And I think I want to step back right here. A week and change ago, I did a chapel for two teams that were playing on Monday Night Football, and I enjoy that; I’ve done a lot of them over the years. Usually, I don’t do both teams. One of them listened a little bit better than the other, and so Laura was with me.

I think it was the first time she’s been to a chapel with me, and it caught me a little off guard because the chapel happened right before the offense, defense, and special teams did their final game planning. So they’re in game mode—like, pretty serious about the game—and we’re getting ready to walk in, and we’re like, «Wait, wait, wait! Are they dancing?» Yes, they were practicing just in case the defense got a turnover. They were practicing a very large coordinated dance just in case they got the turnover, which they did! They did that dance, and I’m thinking, «What does the coach think about this?» But I listened to his press conference, and here’s what he said: «You can’t play at a high level without joy. If guys aren’t enjoying themselves, they aren’t playing to their full potential.»

Can I just say this? If your life lacks joy, ain’t nobody want what you have. I think a relationship with Jesus is all about the joy of the Lord, the joy of our salvation. Do you know that the Westminster Catechism says that the chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever? Wait, so you’re telling me that God wants us to experience joy? Yeah, He’s the one who gave us that emotion! He wants us to experience joy unspeakable and full of glory.

Rediscovering Joy at Christmas
I think sometimes we can hit this disenchantment stage, and honestly, a lot of the time it’s disappointment with people that let us down. And I better say it on Christmas Eve: do not put your trust in me! There is not a perfect church because there aren’t any perfect people. But we put our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, and He wants to give us that joy.

There are those who believe that God is a cosmic killjoy, and nothing could be further from the truth. A guy named G.K. Chesterton said, «Joy is the gigantic secret of the Christian. It’s our secret weapon; it’s our secret sauce.» C.S. Lewis said, «Joy is the serious business of heaven.» I kind of like how my son-in-law says this: «How many smiles per gallon are you getting?» Do you know that studies have found that children smile about 400 times a day and adults smile about 20 times a day? So somewhere between childhood and adulthood, we lose 380 smiles per day! I think as we come into this Christmas season, I’m praying that the Lord would give you that joy back.

A long time ago, a man named King David made a pretty big mistake, and he said, «Restore unto me the joy of my salvation.» May the joy of the Lord be your strength. This is the day that the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it. Jesus said, «I came that your joy may be complete.» May God give you the joy of a relationship with the Creator who knows your name. In fact, your name is tattooed on the palm of His hand. He knows the number of hairs on your head and collects your tears in His bottle. You are seen, heard, and loved by God, and that’s enough to celebrate on Christmas Eve! In Jesus' name, amen.