JOY
Notes
Transcript
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJsE63PIWjU Comfort and Joy by Joyful Noise 4:10
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJsE63PIWjU Comfort and Joy by Joyful Noise 4:10
A psalm. 1 Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. 2 The Lord has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations. 3 He has remembered his love and his faithfulness to Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. 4 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; 5 make music to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, 6 with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn— shout for joy before the Lord, the King. 7 Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. 8 Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy; 9 let them sing before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity.
Prayer
Advent Candle Lighting: Pink Candle
(Reader 1) The third candle is pink and called the "Shepherd's candle" representing joy! The lonely shepherds who responded with awe and joy illustrate a proper response to the coming of God in Christ Jesus.
(Reader 2) (Light the first, second purple candles, and third pink candle the during above line. When the candle is lit, proceed with the following line.)
(1) 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,
(2) "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in manger."
(1) Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
(2) When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.
(1) They found the baby lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.
(2) How could something that began as quietly as Jesus' birth become common knowledge to billions of people? Part of the answer lies in how the eyewitnesses responded to what they saw. They told everyone they know. And now nearly the whole world knows. Such is the importance and power of our witness.
Opening Hymn:
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1 “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. 2 See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. 3 Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. 4 “Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the hip. 5 Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come.
Worship Set
9 Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, 10 and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” 11 He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” 13 Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus. 15 Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. A large crowd followed him, and he healed all who were ill. 16 He warned them not to tell others about him. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: 18 “Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations. 19 He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets. 20 A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he has brought justice through to victory. 21 In his name the nations will put their hope.”
Prayer Chorus
Prayer
Worship through the Word:
JOY!
JOY!
There are many beautiful songs that we enjoy humming or singing. Sometimes it is the lovely melody that draws us. Sometimes there is something in the lyrics that we identify with. Unfortunately, just because we like the way it sounds or may relate to a portion of it, does not mean it is a good song.
Music can be very deceptive. Melodies and lyrics reverberate through our minds. We may unconsciously dwell on it without realizing it is sinking its deceptive message into our hearts.
Christian songs can be just as bad. We have to be very careful to what we allow to come into our minds.
This week, as I was looking for a worship song to open our service, and allow me to remind you that I choose songs to help us begin to turn our minds from general conversation, to the focus of our mornings worship. I would once again encourage you that when you hear the music begin, to discontinue your conversation and listen carefully to the lyrics so it can move you to be ready for worship of God. If you must talk, I know sometimes visitors come in late and I do want you to take time to greet them, but please do so quietly so others can begin to calm their minds and preparing for worship.
As I was looking for a good song to open today’s service, I found one I had not heard before. It had a wonderful message accept for the last and main line. It said, Jesus came because He knew we needed comfort and joy.
I loved the melody. I loved the lyrics all right up to that point. But every time she sang that line, I cringed! That is a heretical message. Jesus came not because He wanted to bring us comfort and joy. He came because He knew we needed saved from sin. He didn’t come to make us feel good, but to help us see that we are sinful and unable to save ourselves. We are on a road of destruction and only He can free us from that path of destruction. Only He can release us from the chains of sin.
If this image makes you think of Jacob Marley in Charles Dickens “A Christmas Carol,” well it should. However, even that story is heretical because it leaves you with the impression that we are saved by doing good deeds. But there is no good deed we can do that is good enough to safe us. Only Jesus was able to do that. The comfort and joy that we feel is our reaction to His salvation. The fact that we had no hope, but He came and paid the price for each of us so we could be saved and free eternally from sin.
It was the angels message of salvation that brought the shepherds joy, but even they, in that moment, did not fully understand exactly what this Savior would do on their behalf. That understanding would not come until after His resurrection.
This morning, I am reading from Isaiah 42. It is a prophetic message of hope given to help us to understand what Jesus had come to do. Please stand as we read today’s text.
1 “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations. 2 He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. 3 A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; 4 he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his teaching the islands will put their hope.” 5 This is what God the Lord says— the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it: 6 “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, 7 to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness. 8 “I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols. 9 See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you.”
The Word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God!
Amen
10,000 Sermon Illustrations Too Easily Pleased
C. S. Lewis gave us the following insight:
Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition, when infinite joy is offered to us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in the slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.
The Agony of Deceit by Michael Horton, Editor, Moody Press, 1990, p. 49
If only Israel had understood this from the very beginning. But I suppose, if they had, we may not have had anyone to cry out for Jesus death. Someone had to object to Him so we could have the final reward. However, Israel wanted God to give them an earthly kingdom when God wanted to give them a Heavenly kingdom. The heavenly kingdom is so far greater than what we have ever experienced that none of us can equate it to its full measure. The best C. S. could come up with was a “holiday at sea.” But instead of waiting on God to see what the prize is He offers us, we too often demand only what we can understand which is far short of what God offers.
Up to this point in Isaiah, when God spoke of “My servant,” He was speaking of the nation of Israel. Israel was supposed to be a light to the nations to help the nations to know God. But Israel became proud. They felt they were better than others because they were God’s people. They became like Haman did last week, thinking too highly of himself and wanting respect and worship from others. No matter what God says or does, they just do not seem to get it. So, then we come to Isaiah 42 and God moves from His servant being a nation to be a person.
1 “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations.
Notice the personal pronoun here. “I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations.” This is a prophecy of Jesus who is yet to come. This prophecy comes some 700 years before Jesus was born.
Let me ask you a question. Who do you share your dreams and plans with? You do not share with just anyone or everybody. You share with those you are closest to. God shared with Abraham what He was doing with Sodom and Gomorrah. Why? Because Abraham was God’s friend. In Isaiah 41:8 God says,
8 “But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, you descendants of Abraham my friend,
God delights in sharing with His friends, His people, what He is doing, just like we enjoy sharing with those we are close to. Jesus arrival was a mystery and totally unknown thing to other nations, but God had shared with His people many times that One was coming who would bring salvation. Though even though God shares with us, it is still sometimes hard to understand. It is because there are things we cannot fully understand until the time arrives, but God gives us all we need to know to watch and to recognize it when it comes.
Prior to Jesus arrival, prophecy was somewhat confusing because it seemed to contradict itself at times. That is because it was describing two different events but the people thought it was one event. I can make my point with the next verse.
2 He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets.
Yet in Isaiah 40:3 it says...
3 A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Most believed this was to be the same person, but they were not. They were two different people. John the Baptist came and he cried out like an old time evangelist from a street corner, “Repent and be baptised for the kingdom of God is near.” However, Jesus was a Rabbi/teacher. He often sat with others around Him and He taught them. He healed the sick. He made the lame to walk. John did none of these things.
Prophecy sometimes described God’s servant as coming like a gentle shepherd but in other places His coming is described with judgement, woes and destruction. For this reason they thought there would be two Messiahs. One was be crying out and bringing judgement while the other would be gentle like a shepherd. What they did not understand was that there was one Messiah who would come at two different times. The first time He would come as a shepherd, the second time He would bring justice.
Even Jesus followers were sometimes confused, just as the shepherds and others were confused about what kind of salvation Jesus was bringing. They expected Jesus to depose the Romans and put the Jews in leadership. Even John the Baptist. He was a prophet, but he was also only a man. Some say when he asked Jesus if He was the one to come, or if they should expect another, that he was thinking Jesus was one of two who were coming. We have no way to know what exactly was in him mind. I have always been inclined to think he was discouraged. He probably expected Jesus to free him from his prison and when that had not happened, he wondered if he had things wrong. We all have had moments of difficulty when we think, “Did I understand that correctly?” Which ever the case, we need to remember that John was just an ordinary person like you or I. He had the same struggles we do. God just used him in a magnificent way.
Another misconception about Jesus was that they expected Him to take up with the Jewish leaders but He did not. He went to the poor, the lame, the down trodden. Look at the next verse.
3 A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;
Why did Jesus go to these folks? Because they were the ones most inclined to listen to Him. Think about it. The Sanhedrin and the Pharisees seemed to have it all. They had power, wealth, and the Pharisees had a certain amount of respect. People looked at them thinking they were so virtuous and righteous. How could they ever measure up to the Pharisaical devotion to God? The Sanhedrin was more a political power. They were not that concerned with the religious part, even if they were priests. However, the Pharisees were a different story. But they were not humble. They were puffed up with their own sense of righteousness. By the time we come to Matthew 12 read earlier, it is the Pharisees who are plotting on killing Jesus because He challenged their sense of righteousness. They deemed themselves worthy of God and Jesus looked at them and called them hypocrites.
We can learn from Jesus. He didn’t argue, but He did speak His mind and He did not mince words. He called these just as they were. Jesus was direct with them, but they were always trying to deceive Jesus. They worked to set Him up to fail, but no matter how hard they tried, He always came out ahead. This went on until they were so desperate, they conspired with the Sanhedrin. It is interesting that enemies were always coming together because of Jesus. The Sanhedrin and Pharisees were completely different and neither party cared for the other. Pilot and Herod had not gotten along, but became friends after Jesus trial brought them together. It is an interesting side note.
But let’s move on.
4 he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his teaching the islands will put their hope.”
Do not be confused by the term “island” here. Others translate this as “coastlands.” But what I want you to understand here is that Jesus never failed nor was He ever discouraged. He experienced frustration. He got angry at times. He was sad at times. I believe He even experienced fear. Someone recently told me, “I am not afraid of death because I know where I am going. But I am afraid of going through pain that could bring death.” I think many of us can relate to that, but even as I was agreeing with her, I immediately realized that Jesus felt the same way. He cried out in anguish and shed blood from the stress of thinking what He was about to endure while He prayed in the garden that final night. But, He stayed the course! He voiced His fear to His Father, but He was determined to go through with it because His love for us was more important that the pain He would suffer temporarily, no matter how painful it would be.
And He brought justice. He laid it all out in the Sermon on the Mount, “blessed are the poor...”, blessed are they that mourn...”, “blessed are the meek...” and so it continues.
We so often think of justice as punishment. However, justice is also equity. Justice turns bad into good. It makes things right.
When the Trubek family was here, David and I were talking about the second coming of Jesus and He told me that the Jew holds a different perspective from the people in the U.S. We focus on the coming. We see it as delivering us from all the things we do not like in this world. We look at the second coming by looking backwards. The Jew is focused on what comes after the second coming. They are focused on the millennial kingdom where they will reign with Christ. In other words, they are looking forward.
To put this in better perspective, let me put it this way. At least, as I have thought on it, this is what I see. In the U.S., too many Christians, including me, are trying to live the most comfortable life we can now with hopes of something even better later. We have lived too comfortably! In the past couple years, I have been giving this a lot of thought in respect to my own life. If I could do it again, I would have lived more simply. I would have lived with less and given more. God was always so good to provide me what I asked for and I think it pleased Him to do so. But I have to ask myself, how much more pleased He would have been if I had said, “I do not need a trailer, instead, let me give that money to missions or some compassionate ministry.” What if instead of buying a comfortable, fancy car, I bought something smaller with less amenities, so I could have more to give to the church ministries? I think God enjoys giving good gifts, but I think if we sacrifice those things now to give to ministry, He will make up for it later on.
On the other hand, the Jews have lived under persecution all their lives. They have been the target of men and nations ever since God chose them to be His unique people. They have had no peace. Many believe God has given up on them. Even some Christians believe that and believe that the church in general has replaced them. I do not believe that. God made many promises specific to Israel that have not been fulfilled yet. To say that God has rejected Israel and replaced her is to say that God lied. God never lies and always keeps His promises. I believe the Jews will have a very important part to play in the Millennial reign on earth. I believe God has something extra special for her. After all the suffering the Jews have experienced, no wonder they long for the Millennial reign.
Jesus declared His justice while He was here, but He will bring it fully to fruition when He returns. And who is sending Jesus. We are told in the next two verses.
5 This is what God the Lord says— the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it: 6 “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles,
God sends Jesus to be a new covenant that will not be only for the Jew, but will also be offered to the Gentile. That includes you and me. Israel was to be a light to the nations, but Jesus is a light to all peoples. Jew, Gentile, Red, Yellow, Black or White, we are all precious in His sight. And what does He come to do?
7 to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.
While on earth, He opened blind eyes physically, but also spiritually. He helped us to see and understand what God’s purpose was all along. He came to set us free from Satan’s reign and the sin that pins us there. To release us from the darkness to see clearly the truth. So, who is this Jesus whom God is sending? Verse 8 declares the truth.
8 “I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols. 9 See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you.”
Jesus is none other than God Himself.
1 Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan— 2 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.
Conclusion
Jesus may not be among us physically, but His light still shines in this dark world through us.
I have been reading a book this past couple week’s called, “The Days of His Presence: Experiencing the Fullness of Christ as We Enter the Fullness of Time ” by Francis Frangipane. Allow me to share something out of it that I feel is important for us to understand this morning in light of our coming Christmas celebrations.
“Jesus said the days prior to His return would be as the days of Noah. Let us look again at Noah’s life. God did not give Noah a predetermined date specifying when the flood would come. The Lord gave Noah two things: A task, which was to build the ark, and time to get the job done....The priority of God was focused not on what was to be destroyed but on what was being built.
Too many of us are so focused on what the devil is doing that we fail to see what God is doing. The focus of the Lord is not on how dark evil becomes but how Christlike the church becomes! There is a grace streaming from God’s heart. In the midst of great darkness the Lord has purposed to bring glory to Himself and protection to His people.
God told Noah to build the ark. When the task was completed, then the flood came. We also have a task, a vision from God: build the house of the Lord and participate in the harvest of the nations.”
There are two things I wish you to catch out of this. First is our focus.
Our focus is to be on the task God has given us, not on what evil things are happening in our world. I understand that they frustrate us. Jesus was frustrated by them also, but He never lost His focus. He stayed on task.
Notice next, God’s focus:
“The focus of the Lord is not on how dark evil becomes but how Christlike the church becomes!” God’s not focused on Satan. He already knows what Satan is doing and He knows that He has it taken care of. God is focused on His church, looking for it to become what it is supposed to become. Later Frangipane writes, “To fulfill the purpose of God is to fulfill the heart of God…What does it mean to be Christlike? To live for one purpose: To give pleasure to God.”
This Christmas, lets not focus on the excessive evil in our world. Instead, let’s focus on being God’s church. Doing the work He has called us to do that we may bring pleasure to our God! I promise you that if you do, you will experience true comfort and joy!
The song I played at the beginning of today’s service was new to me also. But it really encompasses well all of today’s service. So, take a moment to listen and think about it as we close out this service today.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJsE63PIWjU Comfort and Joy by Joyful Noise
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJsE63PIWjU Comfort and Joy by Joyful Noise
Pray
Have a great Advent week!
Have a great Advent week!
