Joy

Opening prayer

Dear Heavenly Father,

We come before you today with joyful hearts, grateful for the opportunity to gather in your presence. As we enter into this season of Advent, a time of anticipation and celebration, we ask that you fill our hearts with an abundance of joy.

Lord, we know that true joy comes from you and you alone. Your Word reminds us in Psalm 16:11, "You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand." Father, we long to experience that overflowing joy that can only be found in you.

We thank you for the gift of your Son, Jesus Christ, who brings us everlasting joy. As we prepare our hearts to celebrate his birth, help us to reflect on the joy that comes from knowing him and being in a relationship with him. Open our eyes to the blessings and miracles that surround us each day, so that our hearts may be filled with gratitude and joy.

Lord, we also recognize that there are those among us who may be facing difficult circumstances or experiencing pain and sorrow. We ask that you would pour out your compassion and empathy upon them, and help us to be a source of comfort and support. Remind us to reach out in love and kindness, offering a helping hand and a listening ear to those in need.

Father, we pray that you would strengthen our communication skills, that we may effectively share the message of your love and joy with others. Give us the words to speak and the wisdom to know when to listen. Help us to be leaders in our communities, shining your light and spreading your joy to those around us.

Lord, we surrender our plans and desires to you, trusting in your vision and strategic thinking. Guide us in the ways we should go, and give us the flexibility and adaptability to follow your lead. Help us to walk in integrity and accountability, knowing that our actions and words have the power to impact others.

Father, we pray for strong interpersonal skills, that we may build relationships built on love and respect. Help us to be committed to personal growth, always seeking to deepen our relationship with you and grow in our understanding of your Word. Fill us with humility and a servant's heart, that we may serve others with joy and enthusiasm.

Lord, we thank you for the gift of teaching and mentorship. We ask that you would raise up leaders in our midst who can guide and inspire us, helping us to grow in our faith and walk in the fullness of your joy.

As we enter into this time of worship, may our hearts be filled with joy that overflows, spilling out onto those around us. May our worship be a sweet fragrance to you, as we exalt your name and celebrate the joy that is found in your presence.

In Jesus' precious name, we pray. Amen.

Introduction

You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout, I’m telling you why…

Who’s coming to town? Santa Claus? Heavens, no, Jesus Christ is coming!

For a group of desperate people, the Israelites needed some JOY in their lives, and knowing the Messiah was coming was going to bring them great JOY.

Joy is the keynote that gives the Song of the Servant its melody. Isaiah speaks of the “oil of joy,” “everlasting joy,” and the “joyful” soul.

Joy is an inner quality of life that depends upon a right relationship with God but, at the same time, is independent of external circumstances.

We understand the biblical meaning of joy when we read Isaiah 61. The song begins with the servant defining His redemptive task in the Year of Jubilee that brings joy to those who are forgiven and freed. Their joy is expressed in three freedoms: (1) freedom to live; (2) freedom to serve; and (3) freedom to celebrate.

By prophetic declaration, the Servant of the Lord sees the vision, states the mission, and sets the tone for His redemptive ministry. No job description has ever been more detailed or demanding. The fact that Jesus quoted this passage for the announcement of His public ministry (Luke 4:17–19) confirms the connection between Isaiah’s prophecy and Christ’s fulfillment.

No spiritual or secular leader has ever accepted and announced such a detailed and demanding task.

Every expectation is made public so that the Servant can be held accountable for His performance in every area of His ministry.

One of the tests of Jesus’ integrity is to ask, “Did He do what He said He would do and achieve what He set out to achieve?”

All the evidence of the Gospels supports the accountability report that He gave to His Father in John 17:4; “I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.” The effectiveness of Jesus’ performance is a model for all leaders.

We know that Jesus found joy in His work despite conflict, disappointment, and suffering. In John 17:13 He asks the Father that His disciples might have “My joy fulfilled in themselves.” Jesus prayed that He would communicate the joy He found in His work to His disciples so that they, in turn, might communicate it to others.

The Song of the Servant, in Isaiah 61, tell how joy is communicated through the forgiveness and freedom of the Year of Jubilee.

Freedom to Live

Israel still cowered in fear under the shadow of death. All the symptoms of a funeral hung over them—the symbol of ashes, the sound of mourning, and the spirit of heaviness (v. 3a). Their self-esteem had bottomed out. Not only did they suffer the indignity of being considered a “worm” by other nations, but they had come to believe it themselves. First, Israel needed freedom from its fears and restoration to the joy of living.

The redemptive work of the Servant begins with inner transformation. Isaiah gives us a comparative picture of a person who is prepared for a funeral and one who is dressed for a wedding. The symbol of ashes, the sound of mourning, and the spirit of heaviness are appropriate for a funeral.

Israel suffered these symptoms because the people had given up and considered themselves as good as dead.

The “good tidings” the Servant preached will change all that.

Imagine a woman dressed for a funeral who receives the message that an error has been made. The announcement of death should have been an invitation to a wedding. Immediately, she washes the ashes from her face, puts on her makeup, and crowns her head with a garland of flowers. Ugly ashes of death have given way to the beautiful crown of life. Something also happens to the sounds she makes.

Sympathetic moans are fitting for a funeral, but joyous humming and excited chatter precede a wedding. Isaiah likens this change to Zion putting on perfumed body oil that gives off a delicate sense of inner joy.

Then, instead of the rough and torn sackcloth that expresses the heaviness of the soul in mourning, Zion puts on an exquisite wedding dress as the “garment of praise” to symbolize the emergence of a transformed character. She is now the beautiful bride dressed for her wedding, not the sad mourner heading for her own funeral.

Freedom to Serve

When we are free to live, we are free to serve.

People who lack the self-esteem that results from a right relationship with God tend to be self-centered in their motivation and interest. They cannot take the risk of giving themselves away for the sake of others.

Isaiah defies the law of self-interest by foreseeing the freedom to serve as the natural corollary of the freedom to live. Acting out of the self-esteem of righteousness, Israel can become known as the “Priests of the LORD” and the “Servants of our God” (v. 6).

Neither priests nor servants act out of self-interest. In gratitude for the grace given to them by the redeeming work of the Servant, they become servants themselves and a channel of grace for others. Servanthood is never easy. Their job description calls for them to “rebuild the old ruins,” “raise up the former desolations,” and “repair the ruined cities” (v. 4).

A servant of the Servant will also work with rejects. Jesus set the example.

He transformed a tax collector into a disciple, a prostitute into a saint, a skeptic into an apostle, a madman into a family man, and a thief into a friend.

As a lesson of Scripture, we know that we are not fully forgiven until we forgive others. By the same lesson, we can say that we are not fully served until we serve others.

We should seek to serve those who represent the ruins caused by personal and social sin. To be true to our servant role, we must ask, “Where are the ruins that need to be rebuilt and the desolate places that need new life?”

If we intentionally asked that question and followed through as servants of the Servant, our priorities as institutions and individuals would be radically altered. But once self-interest is given up, double honor for God’s name and a double portion of God’s blessing would give us “everlasting joy”—the greatest reward of all.

How does this apply to the church today? First, the primary task of the church is to be the servant who serves others. Someone once identified the Church as the only human institution whose sole purpose is to serve others. If so, the self-serving church is a contradiction in terms.

From time to time, the church should put itself to the test, “Are we serving ourselves or serving others?” Second, and as companion to its primary task, the servant church exists to produce servants. A disciple is more than a convert of evangelistic effort. He or she is one who follows the example of the church by self-sacrificing service for others. If the Great Commission were taken seriously, church statistics would be revised to go beyond head counts of attendance, membership, converts, and baptisms. The most revealing statistic would come out of the question, “How many disciples in the church are actively serving others?”

Freedom to Celebrate

Not everyone can celebrate. In their doubt and despair, the children of Israel had sunk into mourning with its symbol of ashes and its spirit of heaviness.

Their social gatherings and religious feasts were more like a funeral than a wedding. Through the ministry of the Servant, however, all was changed. According to Isaiah, the children of Israel will celebrate a wedding rather than commiserate at a funeral. Rather than being represented by the symbol of a withered reed (42:3), they will be like the fresh green shoot that springs up overnight in a fertile garden.

Worship services that are graced by the presence of the Holy Spirit are just the opposite. With clear heads and open hearts, the worshipers come together to celebrate their freedom in Christ, to praise God for His grace, and to give Him the glory for His marvelous works.

Isaiah expands upon the preparation for a wedding, the most joyous of human events, to communicate what it means for the Church to celebrate its freedom.

We see the bride prepared for her wedding by putting on the garland of beauty, the oil of joy, and the garment of praise. Now, we see both the bride and the bridegroom clothed in the garments of salvation and the robe of righteousness as symbols of their purity of heart (v. 10b).

Although Israel had sinned against God and sullied its character, the Servant’s redemptive work forgives their sin and cleanses their soul.

Righteousness, not rebellion, is the quality of their character. Adorning the wedding garment are ornaments and jewels that accent their beauty. Perhaps, like the stars in the crown of the redeemed, the jewels symbolize their self-giving love as servants for others.

God desires the same spirit of celebration in His Church. Clothed as His bride in the garments of righteousness, adorned with the jewels of selfless servanthood, and radiant with the glow of His glory, God envisions the witness of “righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations” (v. 11b).

Amen