wk 51: 90 Year Birthday Now What? Joy

Greetings: Mickey

As we look toward Christmas, we will find ourselves around people who are worshipping the coming of the new Savior of mankind—in one way or another.

So, as we look forward into 2024, it should natural for us to continue to worship the King…

We must be a family of faith that will be found guilty of being worshippers who worship 24/7 in 2024.

The songs we sing will continue to tell the story of the church and our journey of Faith.

So, please join me as we sing this song that says it all!

Set 1

Joy to the World

Greetings: Mickey

Connection Card

Offering envelop

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Scripture...

ADVENT CANDLE: JOY

Through Jesus Christ we have Hope, we have Peace, and today we look into the third candle…Joy.

Set 2

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

O Little Town of Bethlehem

O Holy Night

We Fall Down

verse 1

That first verse breaks down in a powerful way...

Joy to the world! the Lord is COME; Let earth receive her King; Let EVERY HEART prepare him room,

These next to lines I always imagine that the people we are singing to are deaf and that they need to hear this Declaration over and over to join in to the Good News— the JOY OF

OUR SALVATION,

OUR DELIVERANCE,

OUR FORGIVENESS, AND

OUR ACCEPTANCE!

“And heaven and nature sing, And heaven and nature sing, And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing”

DECLARING THIS GREAT JOY TO THE WORLD

let's Go back to the magnificent Christmas carol — Joy to the World

The facts:

Isaac Watts, an English hymn writer, wrote the lyrics in 1719.

Joy to the World based on Psalm 98 in the Bible.

The Christmas carol was first published in 1719 in Watts’ collection.In in 1839 Lowell Mason used an older melody as music to Watts’ lyrics.

According to Wikipedia, Since the 20th century, "Joy to the World" has been the most-published Christmas hymn in North America.

Additional Background...

Surprisingly, this hymn was not written for Christmas. Rather, Isaac Watts wrote the hymn as a paraphrase of the last five verses in Psalm 98 for his 1719 publication, The Psalms of David Imitated.

Psalm 98 NLT

A psalm. 1 Sing a new song to the Lord, for he has done wonderful deeds. His right hand has won a mighty victory; his holy arm has shown his saving power! 2 The Lord has announced his victory and has revealed his righteousness to every nation! 3 He has remembered his promise to love and be faithful to Israel. The ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God. 4 Shout to the Lord, all the earth; break out in praise and sing for joy! 5 Sing your praise to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and melodious song, 6 with trumpets and the sound of the ram’s horn. Make a joyful symphony before the Lord, the King! 7 Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise! Let the earth and all living things join in. 8 Let the rivers clap their hands in glee! Let the hills sing out their songs of joy 9 before the Lord, for he is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with justice, and the nations with fairness.

In this hymnal, Watts rewrites many of the psalms using a Christological lens and he holds true with Psalm 98.

His rhyme and reason of Psalm 98 is no different. Verse nine of the psalm reads,

“…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.”

Watts unapologetically interprets this as a reference to Christ. The theme of “Christ coming” made it an apt hymn to be sung at Christmastime, and it has since become one of the most beloved Christmas carols.

Albert Bailey writes, “It is one of the most joyous Christmas hymns in existence; not in the sense of merry-making but in the deep and solemn realization of what Christ’s birth has meant to mankind” (The Gospel in Hymns, 54).

verse 2

“Joy to the world! the Saviour reigns; Let men their songs employ;

To work, commit to with labor, to make use of…Everything we do...

While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains

While in the Market Place, fishing, climbing in Corporate America, or any common place— be busy...

“Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.”

verse 3

Over the years, Watt’s text has almost been left untouched by editors, with one exception.

The line “far as the curse is found” is left out of many hymnals, since there is no reference to this “curse” in the actual psalm. However, when seen through the eyes of the New Testament and Gospel message, the reference to Genesis 3:17-18 becomes quite clear.

Genesis 3:17–18 NLT

17 And to the man he said, “Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it. 18 It will grow thorns and thistles for you, though you will eat of its grains.

Let’s remember the curse has been dealt with.

Genesis 3:15 MSG

15 I’m declaring war between you and the Woman, between your offspring and hers. He’ll wound your head, you’ll wound his heel.”

This is the first messianic prophecy in Genesis 3:15 is that “he will crush your head.”

That is, the seed of the woman will crush the serpent’s head.

The Amplified Bible makes it clear that “the woman’s seed” is more than mankind in general; it is an individual representing all mankind:

“And I will put enmity (open hostility) Between you and the woman, And between your seed (offspring) and her Seed; He shall [fatally] bruise your head.” The second messianic prophecy in Genesis 3:15 is that “you will strike his heel.” That is, the serpent will bite the heel of “the woman’s seed.” The heel-bite is set in contrast to the head-crush, as the Amplified Bible brings out: “And you shall [only] bruise His heel.”

THUS...

“No more let sins and sorrows grow, Nor thorns infest the ground...”

There is a part we are to play. He has empowered us to overcome evil, to not let sorrow overtake us— no matter what the case…we are strengthened by the Holy Spirit to STOP THE INFESTATION. Don’t let the bad continue to grow… Overcome evil with Good!

“He comes to make His blessings flow Far as the curse is found, Far as the curse is found, Far as, far as, the curse is found.”

He states here that we are not suppose to tell the good news just in pleasant place, just in church or around family— No, look for where the curse is active and TELL THE GOOD NEWS! LET JOY OVERTAKE YOU AND EVERYWHERE YOU WALK.

verse 4

“He rules the world with truth and grace, And makes the nations prove The glories of His righteousness, And wonders of His love, And wonders of His love, And wonders, wonders, of His love.”

TRUTH AND GRACE— THE DEMONSTRATION OF GOD’S LOVE WILL BE SEEN IN EVERY NATION. The whole world will see Father’s Wondrous Love— and that will lead us into next weeks forth candle: LOVE!

PROJECTING A VOICE OF “JOY” FOR THE FUTURE TAKES TIME, TESTIMONY, AND TOUGH FAITH!

3 T’s

TIME

That is investing over a long period.

TESTIMONY

That is telling not just the story of Jesus, but also our story.

TOUGH FAITH

This is persevering even in difficult times.

“Long-suffering”

Closing

What part of Joy to the World will you focus on this week?

preparing room for him

declaring that our Savior reigns

that the curse has been overcome

His truth and grace

or better yet…BE THE JOY FOR OTHERS TO SEE!

LET’S PRAY.