Arrival: Joy

Joy to the World!!!

In the first half of the 18th Century in England, many of the hymns that we still fondly remember and sing today were written. Some of them were popular from their inception and kept with the traditions of their day. Others sought to make adjustments respective to a changing and adjusting people and were met with great criticism. Interestingly enough, of those that continue to survive and be sung today, the most prolific hymn-writer was one of these ’radicals.’ Isaac Watts, the author of such hymns as ’O God, Our Help in Ages Past,’ ’I Sing The Mighty Power of God,’ ’When I Survey The Wondrous Cross,’ ’At The Cross,’ ’We’re Marching to Zion,’ and many others, was met with great controversy by his own contemporaries. In fact some of the church leaders of his day insisted that no ’sound Christian’ should ever sing a hymn written by Isaac Watts!

One of his earliest and most controversial songs, however, grew to become one of today’s most popular and endeared Christmas carols - "Joy To The World," written in 1719. What, you may ask, could be so controversial about "Joy To The World"? In Watt’s day many of the most prominent Christians (especially the Calvinists, of which Watts himself was), taught that ALL songs sung in church MUST be very close, literal word-for-word translations of the Psalms. When Watts wrote "Joy To The World," he based the lyrics on Psalm 98. However, rather than write it as a very close, literal word-for-word translation, he re-wrote it as an expressive paraphrase.

Why would Watts so ’buck’ the traditions and conventions of his day, especially in relation to communicating Scripture? It starts with his experiences as a teen, where he became increasingly frustrated that so few people seemed to be genuinely showing or understanding their faith while they were singing the psalms in the traditional form. He began to write his own hymns in order to bring more life and understanding to worship. To accomplish this, he sought to write songs that remained true and accurate to Scripture, but that would also be expressed in words and ways that people would more easily understand, remember and celebrate.

Olivia when I get home...

Joy came in the ordinary

Don’t miss the importance of Luke 2:8 “And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.”

The news of most amazing and joyous thing that has ever happened in the history of the world- the birth of the Messiah comes to the shepherds and fills their life with joy and amazement- while they were doing the same thing they did every. single. day.

Their job was far from glorious; they were far from celebrities; they had a mundane task; surviving as lower middle class; in fields far away from the rest of the society.

Their day was just like any other day- watching sheep. They were doing what they did every day.

How many of us are guilty of trying to escape the every day to try and conjure up joy? If I could just get away on a tropical vacation- that would bring me joy; if I could just hit the lottery and never have to work again- then I would have joy; sitting sideline at the Super Bowl; or front row at the concert- those things would change my life and fill me what what I am missing.

Yet the story of the shepherds shows us that God showed up not in the extraordinary; but the extraordinary.

Brene’ Brown once said that “joy comes to us in ordinary moments. We risk missing out on joy when we spend too much energy chasing the extraordinary.”

Joy from the right things

Many people look for joy in things- they chase the wind as the Bible says. While some of these things may bring us temporary happiness or contentment; it is the presence of God that brings joy. David wrote in Psalm 4:6–8 “There are many who say, “Who will show us some good? Lift up the light of your face upon us, O Lord!” You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound. In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.”

The angels proclaimed that they were bringing Good News of Great Joy- Where did the joy come from? From the Good News literally the Gospel. in the NT used especially of the glad tidings of the coming kingdom of God, and of the salvation to be obtained in it through Christ, and of what relates to this salvation

What is the reason for their joy? John 3:16 ““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

We Christians really do need to remember the “reason for the Season” and the reason for the season is Jesus!

Our joy is centered in the coming of Jesus then, and the promised second coming of Jesus later.

Our king has come, and we should rejoice!

Olivia when I get home....

Don;t get me wrong, there is a lot of cool stuff at Christmas; the gathering of family and friends, the food; the gifts; the lights- but those things should all be expressions of our joy- not the source of our joy.

Joy is not just for you

Finally notice what the Shepherds do in response

Luke 2:15–17 “When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.”

There is a really popular saying these days “don’t let anyone steal your joy.” Amen- I don’t want anyone to steal my joy- but I sure do want to give it away.

Friends joy is not something we are to hoard, hide, or keep to ourselves. Joy is to share!

Jesus brings joy, and Jesus lives in us so we should bring joy too.

Grumpy Christians:

Billy Sunday said, "To see some people today you would think that the essential of Christianity is to have a face so long you could eat oatmeal out of the end of a gas pipe."

William Barclay said that "A gloomy Christian is a contradiction in terms, and nothing in all religious history has done Christianity more harm than its connection with black clothes and long faces."

C.S. Lewis wrote, "It is not so much the joy of the Lord we are seeking as the Lord of joy Himself."

There was once a young boy who went to spend the week with his grandfather on the farm. While walking around he noticed the chickens, they were scratching and playing around. The little lad said, “They ain’t got it”. Next he saw a colt in the field playing and kicking up its heel’s to which he replied, “He ain’t got it”. After examining all of the animals on his grandfather’s farm and see that none of them had “it”, this boy finally found the old donkey in the barn. When he saw the donkey’s long, frowning face and the way that the donkey just stood there he screamed for his grandfather to come quick. “I found it, I found it” the boy kept yelling. When his grandfather asked what he had found he said, “Pawpaw, I found an animal that has the same kind of religion that you have.”

Man, church, this is our time to shine! There are built in places to share the Gospel everywhere!

Foster joy??