The coming of Messiah was going to be a time of great joy, the whole world was going to rejoice at his birth.

The prophet Isaiah made this proclamation concerning his birth in Isaiah 35:1-10 chair bible page 477

Isaiah 35:1–10 NASB 2020

1 The wilderness and the desert will rejoice, And the desert will shout for joy and blossom; Like the crocus 2 It will blossom profusely And rejoice with joy and jubilation. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, The majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They will see the glory of the Lord, The majesty of our God. 3 Strengthen the exhausted, and make the feeble strong. 4 Say to those with anxious heart, “Take courage, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance; The retribution of God will come, But He will save you.” 5 Then the eyes of those who are blind will be opened, And the ears of those who are deaf will be unstopped. 6 Then those who limp will leap like a deer, And the tongue of those who cannot speak will shout for joy. For waters will burst forth in the wilderness, And streams in the desert. 7 The scorched land will become a pool And the thirsty ground springs of water; In the haunt of jackals, its resting place, Grass becomes reeds and rushes. 8 A highway will be there, a roadway, And it will be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean will not travel on it, But it will be for the one who walks that way, And fools will not wander on it. 9 No lion will be there, Nor will any vicious animal go up on it; They will not be found there. But the redeemed will walk there, 10 And the redeemed of the Lord will return And come to Zion with joyful shouting, And everlasting joy will be on their heads. They will obtain gladness and joy, And sorrow and sighing will flee away.

Are you ready for the message God has for us?

Cool, let’s begin!

Notice the great joy in world and in the region of Israel when Messiah would come.

Three words stood out to me in verse 2 rejoice with joy and jubilation! Isaiah 35:2

Isaiah 35:2 NASB 2020

2 It will blossom profusely And rejoice with joy and jubilation. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, The majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They will see the glory of the Lord, The majesty of our God.

Rejoice - to shout with exultation, shriek ecstatically, to go in a circle

Joy - the emotion of great happiness and pleasure

Jubilation - to produce a song with the voice as a response of joy

Do you see the picture!

You ever get a totally unexpected surprise?

Sierra once got me tickets to Eric Clapton! This is the response in my body!

This passage of Isaiah reminds us that the Lord’s return will overwhelm us with happiness and joy

For Israel the gift of Messiah was going to be a totally unexpected and amazing gift of joy!

The Gift of Joy

Joy is closely related to gladness and happiness.

Joy is state of being, a result of a choice

This makes joy part of the experience of being a Christian

When we look into scripture we find joy frequently

It occurs in songs of praise that we find people in the bible proclaiming to God

It is seen a great deal in the Psalms as well, for that reason

The experience of deliverance and the anticipation of salvation provide the most significant occasions for rejoicing among the people of the God in the Old Testament!

The people of Israel were waiting for this day to come because the joy of salvation and deliverance provided hope!

The gift of the Messiah, who delivers His people and brings salvation becomes the basis for joy in the New Testament!

Seeing Joy in the Birth of Jesus

I am reminded of what the angels said to the shepherds that night

Luke 2:10 NASB 2020

10 And so the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people;

Charles Spurgeon said, “If the birth of Jesus was so gladsome to our cousins the angles; what should it be to us?”

Today and everyday of Advent should be a day of joy!

In fact everyday should be a day of joy!

Thinking of the birth of Jesus and remembering the words of the angels should bring us great joy everyday!

It’s good news

Luke is telling us a new time has come the birth was good news of great joy!

Joy in Christian Life

The appearance of Messiah bringing salvation to everyone permeates every book of the New Testament!

As we read through the New Testament we learn that the life of a disciple is a life of increasing joy.

Joy in growing in faith

Joy in helping others grow in faith

Joy as we fulfill our mission to love God and love people

We see joy differently than the world

Wikipedia - the word joy refers to the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune and is associated with feeling of intense, long lasting happiness.

However, we find joy in the face of God as we come into his presence

I think of the joy that the shepherds must have felt as they looked on the face of Jesus, not knowing it was the face of God

See the good news of great joy?

Messiah has come!

The long awaited fulfillment of prophecy has come!

Messiah in a little baby lying in a manger

Born not to the wealthy with all the pomp of the brith of a firstborn royal son

Instead to a lowly family, in a manger, where animals live and eat!

Isaiah 35:1–2 NASB 2020

1 The wilderness and the desert will rejoice, And the desert will shout for joy and blossom; Like the crocus 2 It will blossom profusely And rejoice with joy and jubilation. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, The majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They will see the glory of the Lord, The majesty of our God.

Note the emphasis Isaiah gives that all creation will blossom and rejoice in anticipation of God’s reunion with us!

Conclusion:

That is the amazing gift of joy!

Joy given in the birth of the Son of God, born to Mary and Joseph, destined to die on the cross so that people can have forgiveness and be reconciled to God!

That is Joy, unspeakable joy, An overflowing well, No tongue can tell, Joy, unspeakable joy, Rises in my soul, never let's me go…

Are you looking for joy?

Do you want a reason to rejoice?

Come to the altars and leave your burden of sin with Jesus and give your life to him!

Then you will have occasion to rejoice with joy and jubilation!