Psalms 98:4-9
Joy to the World the Lord has come.......
Isaac Watts wrote this song almost 300 years ago: “Joy to the World.” We think of it as a Christmas song, but looking at the lyrics of the psalm, it only hints at Jesus’ birth. We could easily use it as a general-purpose song of praise. The words were inspired by the Psalm 98.
Let’s face it, Christmas can be a stressful time for most adults. For some it is a time of intense loneliness or crushing grief because of a loved one who is gone. Even at its best, Christmas means parties to plan, gifts to buy, elaborate meals to cook, long trips to take, or out-of-town guests to host. Instead of bringing JOY, Christmas can bring frustration.
I heard a story about a woman who was doing her last-minute Christmas shopping at a crowded mall. She was tired of fighting the crowds. She was tired of standing in lines. She was tired of fighting her way down long aisles looking for a gift that had sold out days before. Her arms were full of bulky packages when the Elevator door opened. It was full.
The occupants of the Elevator grudgingly tightened ranks to allow a small space for her and her load. As the doors closed she blurted out, “Whoever is responsible for this whole Christmas thing ought to be arrested, strung up, and shot!” A few others nodded their heads or grunted in agreement. Then, from somewhere in the back of the elevator came a single voice that said, “Don’t worry. They already crucified him.”
We need to remember who is responsible for Christmas. Christmas is all about how God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son so that who ever believes in Him might have eternal life. John 3:16
It is unfortunate that so many people leave the Saviour out of Christmas. Instead of looking to Jesus for the Joy He brings, they look for JOY anywhere and everywhere else.
An interviewer once asked the entertainer, Madonna, this basic question: “Are you a happy person?" She replied, "I am a tormented person. I’m wrestling a lot of demons. But I want to be happy. I have moments of happiness. I am working towards knowing myself …. I assume that will bring me happiness."
It would seem that everybody wants happiness and why not? All want to be happy. In fact, people do what they do for the purpose of finding happiness. People work hard to acquire the possessions which they feel will make them happy. Happiness is sought in entertainment, in hobbies, sports, passions and various addictions. Or … like Madonna … they look deep, deep, deep within … thinking maybe that’s where that elusive happiness is hiding. Considering that happiness seems to be the main goal for people in this life it seems surprising that the Bible doesn’t talk much about happiness.
But the Bible says a lot about something that can be confused with happiness. The Bible says a lot about JOY. JOY and the JOY the Bible talks about is much deeper far more lasting than mere happiness.
You see happiness deals with what is happening. Happiness depends on circumstance. In fact, for most people happiness is nothing more than a temporary interruption to boredom. We’ve all heard children who complain, “I’m bored.” That means, “I want some happiness, and I’m not finding it!”
Real joy, on the other hand does not depend on what is happening. Joy is an inner sense of well-being that has nothing to do with circumstance. The kind of JOY the Bible describes cannot be found in possessions or entertainments or even in looking deeply into your inner self. The first line of “Joy to the World” sums it up. There is one reason --- and only one --- that we can find JOY in this world. As the song says, we can have joy because The Lord has come!
If you receive Christ as King of your life, He provides Joy. In the same way that your body craves food, exercise and rest, so the Spirit craves a relationship with God. Without that relationship, your soul will become famished and restless. As Billy Graham used to say I believe that there is indeed a God-shaped hole in every life. If we look deeply within ourselves, we will not find happiness, but we will find that space that only God can fill.
If we try to fill it with anything besides God, we will always be unsatisfied.
THERE IS JOY WHEN THE KING IS RECEIVED--"Joy to the world! The Lord is come! Let earth receive her king;
let every heart prepare Him room, and heaven and nature sing."
Historically, we know that not everyone was joyful when Jesus was born. King Herod was anything but joyful when the Magi from the East inquired about the birthplace of a new King. To Herod, Jesus was a threat. Herod was already so paranoid about someone trying to usurp his throne, rob him of his Kingship, that he had murdered three of his own sons. So he was not about to tolerate a rival king …........even if he was a baby.
In a similar way, a lot of people today reject Jesus as their King. To them Jesus is a threat to their plans. They see Jesus as a threat to their individual freedom, to their lifestyle, their passions and longings, their habits. Think of how different Herod was from the Wise Men.
• First of all who were they? The Wise Men came from regions around Babylon (modern day Iraq). It is likely that they dabbled in astronomy, sorcery, and magic arts … which is the reason they were called Magi (magicians).
• How many were there? No one knows. But it is true that 3 kinds of gifts are mentioned. They brought Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh as homage to the infant King. Three Wise Men fit nicely in a nativity scene…
•But, were they at the Manger when Christ was born? That is very unlikely. They probably arrived in Bethlehem about a year after Jesus was born. By that time Mary and Joseph had probably moved out of the barn and into a house somewhere in Bethlehem.
• What made these Wise Men travel to Israel? After all, they were not Jews. They were Gentiles. But they had read the writings of a Jewish prophet named Daniel. While in Babylon, Daniel wrote predictions about the coming Messiah. And these Wise Men believed the prophecies.
While Herod looked upon Jesus as a Threat, the Wise Men saw Jesus as the promised Saviour, and they came to worship Him.
THERE IS JOY WHEN THE SAVIOUR REIGNS--"Joy to the earth! The Saviour reigns! Let men their songs employ;
while fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains, repeat the sounding Joy."
Receiving Christ is the important first step. But then we must go on to let Jesus Reign in our lives. While he was living here on earth, Jesus encountered large crowds who were ready and willing to receive him...... But many were not at all ready to let him take charge. They still wanted Him to do things their way ….......
Folks are like that. There are a lot of people today who are more than willing to receive all the good things Christ wants to offer them. But they don’t want Him to try to take charge of their business ethics, their entertainments, the language they use when under pressure, or their public image. They don’t want Jesus to be in charge of where they live, or who they date, or who they marry, or what kind of career they choose.
If you try to RECEIVE Christ without letting Him REIGN in your life, you will miss out on one thing: JOY. You see, indecisiveness and hypocrisy can actually zap the JOY out of life. There comes a time when you have to admit that you are not fooling anybody.
Besides that, many of us do a pretty poor job of running our lives on our own. Jesus knows what will give you JOY. He knows the person who will suit you best in marriage. He knows the kind of work that is made for you. It has been said that Joy is the by-product of obedience. That sums it up pretty well.
THERE IS JOY WHEN THE TRUTH RULES WITH GRACE--"He rules the world with truth and grace, and makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness and wonders of His love."
This last verse tells why Jesus brings JOY. JOY comes because He rules with a perfect balance of TRUTH and GRACE. You see, sometimes truth is not very gracious. When I hear someone say, “Well, I just told it like it was,” I know they probably just offended someone by going heavy on the TRUTH and light on the GRACE. I like this old saying:
“Truth without love is dogmatism,
Love without truth is sentimentality,
But truth with love is true Christianity.”
Jesus brings joy because He is the perfect balance of truth and grace. He is the truth, the life, and the way.
Joy to the World the Lord has come.......
Isaac Watts wrote this song almost 300 years ago: “Joy to the World.” We think of it as a Christmas song, but looking at the lyrics of the psalm, it only hints at Jesus’ birth. We could easily use it as a general-purpose song of praise. The words were inspired by the Psalm 98.
Let’s face it, Christmas can be a stressful time for most adults. For some it is a time of intense loneliness or crushing grief because of a loved one who is gone. Even at its best, Christmas means parties to plan, gifts to buy, elaborate meals to cook, long trips to take, or out-of-town guests to host. Instead of bringing JOY, Christmas can bring frustration.
I heard a story about a woman who was doing her last-minute Christmas shopping at a crowded mall. She was tired of fighting the crowds. She was tired of standing in lines. She was tired of fighting her way down long aisles looking for a gift that had sold out days before. Her arms were full of bulky packages when the Elevator door opened. It was full.
The occupants of the Elevator grudgingly tightened ranks to allow a small space for her and her load. As the doors closed she blurted out, “Whoever is responsible for this whole Christmas thing ought to be arrested, strung up, and shot!” A few others nodded their heads or grunted in agreement. Then, from somewhere in the back of the elevator came a single voice that said, “Don’t worry. They already crucified him.”
We need to remember who is responsible for Christmas. Christmas is all about how God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son so that who ever believes in Him might have eternal life. John 3:16
It is unfortunate that so many people leave the Saviour out of Christmas. Instead of looking to Jesus for the Joy He brings, they look for JOY anywhere and everywhere else.
An interviewer once asked the entertainer, Madonna, this basic question: “Are you a happy person?" She replied, "I am a tormented person. I’m wrestling a lot of demons. But I want to be happy. I have moments of happiness. I am working towards knowing myself …. I assume that will bring me happiness."
It would seem that everybody wants happiness and why not? All want to be happy. In fact, people do what they do for the purpose of finding happiness. People work hard to acquire the possessions which they feel will make them happy. Happiness is sought in entertainment, in hobbies, sports, passions and various addictions. Or … like Madonna … they look deep, deep, deep within … thinking maybe that’s where that elusive happiness is hiding. Considering that happiness seems to be the main goal for people in this life it seems surprising that the Bible doesn’t talk much about happiness.
But the Bible says a lot about something that can be confused with happiness. The Bible says a lot about JOY. JOY and the JOY the Bible talks about is much deeper far more lasting than mere happiness.
You see happiness deals with what is happening. Happiness depends on circumstance. In fact, for most people happiness is nothing more than a temporary interruption to boredom. We’ve all heard children who complain, “I’m bored.” That means, “I want some happiness, and I’m not finding it!”
Real joy, on the other hand does not depend on what is happening. Joy is an inner sense of well-being that has nothing to do with circumstance. The kind of JOY the Bible describes cannot be found in possessions or entertainments or even in looking deeply into your inner self. The first line of “Joy to the World” sums it up. There is one reason --- and only one --- that we can find JOY in this world. As the song says, we can have joy because The Lord has come!
If you receive Christ as King of your life, He provides Joy. In the same way that your body craves food, exercise and rest, so the Spirit craves a relationship with God. Without that relationship, your soul will become famished and restless. As Billy Graham used to say I believe that there is indeed a God-shaped hole in every life. If we look deeply within ourselves, we will not find happiness, but we will find that space that only God can fill.
If we try to fill it with anything besides God, we will always be unsatisfied.
THERE IS JOY WHEN THE KING IS RECEIVED--"Joy to the world! The Lord is come! Let earth receive her king;
let every heart prepare Him room, and heaven and nature sing."
Historically, we know that not everyone was joyful when Jesus was born. King Herod was anything but joyful when the Magi from the East inquired about the birthplace of a new King. To Herod, Jesus was a threat. Herod was already so paranoid about someone trying to usurp his throne, rob him of his Kingship, that he had murdered three of his own sons. So he was not about to tolerate a rival king …........even if he was a baby.
In a similar way, a lot of people today reject Jesus as their King. To them Jesus is a threat to their plans. They see Jesus as a threat to their individual freedom, to their lifestyle, their passions and longings, their habits. Think of how different Herod was from the Wise Men.
• First of all who were they? The Wise Men came from regions around Babylon (modern day Iraq). It is likely that they dabbled in astronomy, sorcery, and magic arts … which is the reason they were called Magi (magicians).
• How many were there? No one knows. But it is true that 3 kinds of gifts are mentioned. They brought Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh as homage to the infant King. Three Wise Men fit nicely in a nativity scene…
•But, were they at the Manger when Christ was born? That is very unlikely. They probably arrived in Bethlehem about a year after Jesus was born. By that time Mary and Joseph had probably moved out of the barn and into a house somewhere in Bethlehem.
• What made these Wise Men travel to Israel? After all, they were not Jews. They were Gentiles. But they had read the writings of a Jewish prophet named Daniel. While in Babylon, Daniel wrote predictions about the coming Messiah. And these Wise Men believed the prophecies.
While Herod looked upon Jesus as a Threat, the Wise Men saw Jesus as the promised Saviour, and they came to worship Him.
THERE IS JOY WHEN THE SAVIOUR REIGNS--"Joy to the earth! The Saviour reigns! Let men their songs employ;
while fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains, repeat the sounding Joy."
Receiving Christ is the important first step. But then we must go on to let Jesus Reign in our lives. While he was living here on earth, Jesus encountered large crowds who were ready and willing to receive him...... But many were not at all ready to let him take charge. They still wanted Him to do things their way ….......
Folks are like that. There are a lot of people today who are more than willing to receive all the good things Christ wants to offer them. But they don’t want Him to try to take charge of their business ethics, their entertainments, the language they use when under pressure, or their public image. They don’t want Jesus to be in charge of where they live, or who they date, or who they marry, or what kind of career they choose.
If you try to RECEIVE Christ without letting Him REIGN in your life, you will miss out on one thing: JOY. You see, indecisiveness and hypocrisy can actually zap the JOY out of life. There comes a time when you have to admit that you are not fooling anybody.
Besides that, many of us do a pretty poor job of running our lives on our own. Jesus knows what will give you JOY. He knows the person who will suit you best in marriage. He knows the kind of work that is made for you. It has been said that Joy is the by-product of obedience. That sums it up pretty well.
THERE IS JOY WHEN THE TRUTH RULES WITH GRACE--"He rules the world with truth and grace, and makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness and wonders of His love."
This last verse tells why Jesus brings JOY. JOY comes because He rules with a perfect balance of TRUTH and GRACE. You see, sometimes truth is not very gracious. When I hear someone say, “Well, I just told it like it was,” I know they probably just offended someone by going heavy on the TRUTH and light on the GRACE. I like this old saying:
“Truth without love is dogmatism,
Love without truth is sentimentality,
But truth with love is true Christianity.”
Jesus brings joy because He is the perfect balance of truth and grace. He is the truth, the life, and the way.
