Joy to the world

Scripture

Isaiah 35 NIV

The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God. Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.” Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow. And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it. No lion will be there, nor any ravenous beast; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there, and those the Lord has rescued will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

Introduction

Youth Director caroling. I cannot stand caroling. I cant sing…I forget the words. I look stupid.

There was this picture that someone took and I look miserable.

Later on I would learn that Joy is more than emotion, it is more than happy. It is a mindset.

What are the bad expectations you have about joy? Specifically at Christmas is it that everyone would be around the same table or under the same roof? We still know there is always something lacking. Every time my family goes to pray for these moments it is sobering in that when we pray for those that cannot be there, some have been taken to soon, others are behind a jail cell, etc. What does it really mean to have joy? Or be joyful? To rejoice?

Biblical Joy

Understanding biblical joy is a little tricky. There are numerous words in greek and hebrew that are translated to our english joy, rejoice, joyful, etc. Each word has some different nuance but they basically mean what we think of for joy or happiness. We will work a little to think about advent-joy and joy in the context of , our text for the day.

Psalm 65:11–12 ESV

You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with abundance. The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy,

Psalm 65

Try not to Amen this one out loud....

Psalm 11

Psalm 104:15 KJV 1900

And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, And oil to make his face to shine, And bread which strengtheneth man’s heart.

Or at a wedding...

Jeremiah 33:11 NIV

the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those who bring thank offerings to the house of the Lord, saying, “Give thanks to the Lord Almighty, for the Lord is good; his love endures forever.” For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were before,’ says the Lord.

Or in children...

Proverbs 23:24–25 NIV

The father of a righteous child has great joy; a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him. May your father and mother rejoice; may she who gave you birth be joyful!

However the biblical world is not just a joy fest…the Bible and our own experience tell us that we live in a time where joy is difficult to muster. What do we do with joy when things are difficult, what does joy look like when things go wrong? Is joy simply just be happy and grateful for what you have? Is joy something that just is when perfect circumstances come together?

No, the bible argues for something different.

Joy is not just happiness in a vacuum but instead it was an attitude that God’s people adopt, not because of happy circumstances but because of their hope in God’s love and promise....

Joy in is different! Look at the first couple of verses again....

Isaiah 35:1–2 NIV

The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God.

These verses are direct references or imagery of the people coming out of slavery in Exodus.

Pilgrims in a dry land

bleak environment and the promise of something more.

All of this is pointing back to

There is this beautiful song of Moses in the middle of this....even as they are scrambling out into the wilderness, the unknown before them, no plan, no leadership structure because of the oppression that they are leaving and yet they begin to praise.

Joy in the wilderness was a defining moment for the Israelites,

For Israel and I believe a Biblical Joy is this:

Joy is a gifted attitude rooted in relationship with a faithful God looking forward with anticipation to a promised hope

We will spend the rest of our time considering this statement…repeat it.

Joy is learned

Remember the first verses are looking back to what God has already done.

The Israelites look back to the Exodus and remember the deliverance that God brought his people. Joy is learned by repeatedly experiencing the deliverance of God. Joy is learned in consistent relationship with Him. Joy is learned in trusting the one that has been with you all along the way.

Example: As a part of ordination and all this seminary, I have written about myself so much. Yes about God as well but learning about calling and seeing God working in your life is important. So I have written my story out in depth and prayerfully consider what God has been up to…Looking back I can see his presence and guidance when I was in the wilderness

He was with me in that jail cell years ago

He was with me when my brother spiraled out of control and went to prison

He was with me when I floundered all my school stuff

He was with me when my relationship with Lauren fell apart while we were dating

He was with me when I was dead broke and fearfully chasing a call

Time and time again, I came through the wilderness because of His faithfulness. So when Luke got sick, God helped me to see things through a different lens.

Joy is learned, but it is also looks forward...

Joy is based in the future

Joyful people are the ones that seem to have a little more information than everyone else.

I suspect, and Lauren can attest, I am one of the worst to watch a movie with if I have already seen it. I provide color commentary throughout…explaining significance of details…”ohhhhh watch this, this is my favorite part” alluding to some significant plot twist about to take place.

I think that is what its like being around someone who is full of joy because they see something the rest of us cant yet see. They have an imagination that is rooted in the promised hope that God will redeem all things. Look at what the prophet does with his imagination....

Isaiah 35:5–8 NIV

Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow. And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it.

Example: Joy to the world. Did you know that this Christmas hymn is not about the birth of Jesus at all. Written by Isaac Watts famous poet and hymn writer penned this hymn based on . When Watts was just a boy he was very critical of the hymns being sung in worship. This is the early 1700s. His dad challenged him to do better if he could. So he did and he began writing a new hymn for every Sunday. 20 years later he penned Joy to the World, not about advent, but about the 2nd advent....the 2nd coming of Christ. Joy to the world is with imagination for the future, knowing that God will make all things new. That is why we sing it today.

Joy is given

Joy is a gift that we receive. Particularly for those in the wilderness, Joy is a gift.

Look at the petition of the prophet:

Look at the petition of the prophet:

Isaiah 35:3–4 NIV

Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.”

Isaiah 35:

The prophet knows that Joy comes from God and so He asks for it. Too often I think our prayers are full of “God get me out of this mess.” Sometimes I know this is true of me. And for whatever reason God allows us to spend time in the wilderness. What if we turned our prayers to “God strengthen my weak hands and steady my knees…take away my fearful heart.

John 15:11 NIV

I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

Joy is a gift! Fruit of the Spirit....

Galatians 5:22–23 ESV

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Galatians 5:22 ESV

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

Joy is an attitude that we practice

Joy is both given and chosen. I think Joy is a gift of the Spirit…planted in us like a seed....a promise, but it is up to us to live into it and develop it.

Joy is not some unrealistic pursuit… it is Not turn your frown upside down...

In the text, the Israelites had to choose it didnt they. There is reason for doubt and fear all around them.

Aunt Cindy: She was gifted by Joy. I imagine she was practicing it much longer before that day.

What if we started to develop joy before the wilderness?

Stealing my Joy

What are the influences of your life that are taking your joy? Practically, what needs to go? How do we live this out? Well we receive it and practice it but there are also things in our life that zaps our joy.

Cynicism

Cynicism is the ultimate robber of joy. And it is something that eats away at our insides. We become jaded in the wrong direction.

“We must rid ourselves of soul’s cancer, cynicism. The cynic cloaks himself in the the wise disguise of a realist. Truth be told, realism is just another name for a defeated idealism. Cynicism is the bitter fruit of a desecrated imagination. Cynicism treats the sickness of our hopelessness with the topical ointment of our thinly veiled anger.

“We must rid ourselves of soul’s cancer, cynicism. The cynic cloaks himself in the the wise disguise of a realist. Truth be told, realism is just another name for a defeated idealism. Cynicism is the bitter fruit of a desecrated imagination. Cynicism treats the sickness of our hopelessness with the topical ointment of our thinly veiled anger.

That’s what cynicism is, dead people who still have a pulse.” - JD Walt

“I don’t deny that there should be priests to remind men that they will one day die. I only say…it is necessary to have another kind of priests, called poets, actually to remind men that they are not dead yet.” - G.K. Chesterton

Example from exodus…it wasnt long until they were complaining and had no imagination

2. Your Imagination is Broken

All you see is desert.

Lion King. Simba is overcome with everything around him....all of the enemies and feelings of failure. Rafiki tell him to look into the water and all he can see is himself, his failures, etc. Rafiki tells him, “look harder...” And he sees his father. His imagination flickers back on and he looks beyond the desert. For some of you, all you see is desert. And the answer is to look harder.

3. Lost in the Wilderness

You are trying to get out of the wilderness by yourself.

Maybe God leaves you in this desert or maybe in the journey he has something for you. But your joy is gone because you are trying to do it all by yourself.

Maybe God leaves you in this desert or maybe in the journey he has something for you. But your joy is gone because you are trying to do it all by yourself.

At advent our imaginations are turned back on. We get to look around us and see the potential and the “in-process” redemption that is before us. We have joy given to us by the Spirit as we imagine what is already accomplished in Jesus Christ. Today we receive and practice joy.