Joy to the World

Today, we’re kicking off a brand new series called Carols. Now, before we dive in, I want to say this. We aren’t just singing fun Christmas songs and talking about them, but we are taking a look at some of the ones typically sang this season, and looking at the basis of the songs from the scriptures that inspired them!

Carols are usually the ones we sing the most, but understand the least. So, in order to “get it” this season, we’re going to look at the meaning and then the passage that inspired the song.

Today, we’re kicking off with Joy to the World.

And even saying the word Joy, I’m reminded that this is something we want the most, but something we’re able to get the least.

Joy just feels ELUSIVE to us, right?

Joy: a feeling of great pleasure and happiness.

Even saying that, I’m sure we can think of times we’ve felt joy, and times we’ve felt happiness. But also times they’ve both felt far away.

Hey, where are you today with joy or happiness?

Green heart for high up there, yellow heart for a “meh,” and a red heart for, you could be better.

Sometimes though, Joy feels elusive, right?

In the Declaration of Independence, we say that we’re endowed to inalienable rights...

Guaranteed Life, Liberty, and the PURSUIT of happiness.

Life = check.

Liberty = check.

Happiness/Joy = GOOD LUCK! You can at least pursue it.

Often times, if we being real transparent and honest, we look for and try to obtain joy in and through our jobs, right?

I think that’s a bad approach, but if you are in search of joy in your job right now, I want to give you some perspective that will probably help you have joy in your job, no matter what that job is...

“On your way home after work, stop at your pharmacy and go to the section where they have thermometers. You will need to purchase a rectal thermometer made by *Q-Tip. Be very sure that you get this brand. When you get home, lock your doors, draw the drapes, and disconnect the phone so you will not be disturbed during your therapy.

Change to very comfortable clothing, such as a sweat suit, and lie down on your bed. Open the package containing the thermometer and remove the thermometer and carefully place it on the bedside table so that it will not become chipped or broken.

Take the written material that accompanies the thermometer and as you read it you will notice in small print the statement that: *every rectal thermometer made by Q-Tip is PERSONALLY tested.*”

Now close your eyes and say out loud five times, "I am so glad that I do not work in quality control at the Q-Tip Company."

Makes your job have some more joy, right! :) Seriously though, joy feels elusive, right?

I think it feels elusive because we’re placing our joy in the wrong things. Far too often, our joy rests in the things that the world provides. And the big idea for you today is to remember this...

Joy TO the world means our joy doesn't rest IN the world.

That’s actually the whole PREMISE of the song JOY TO THE WORLD.

Joy to the World means that when the world tries to steal it, we have to remember where it comes from.

Joy to the World was written by a man named Isaac Watts just over 300 years ago, and little did he know that here today it’s the most popular Christmas Carol of the 21st Century.

Watts was a pastor, and is actually credited to writing some 750 hymns. He’s basically the GodFather of English Hymns. He actually got the inspiration for Joy to the World from Psalm 98.

So, if you have a bible with you today, turn to Psalm 98. If you don’t, that’s okay, you can download our JPC App in all App Stores and hit Bible to follow along with us. That’s also where you can see past messages, follow along with today’s message notes, and for those that call JPC home, that’s where you can give back to God what is his. When you give to JPC, you’re giving THROUGH JPC and we get to do things like help provide 87 turkey’s to the Denver Rescue Mission last week due to your faithfulness.

A reminder also for our Annual Missions Offering going on from now until the end of the year.

So, let’s do this as you’re turning to Psalm 98, we’re going to pray, then look at 3 truths this Christmas Carol gives us through Psalm 98.

PRAY

One of the truths Watts gives is that...

The Lord has come, so we don’t have to go.

Joy to the world, the Lord is come

Let earth receive her King

Let every heart prepare Him room

And heaven and nature sing

And heaven and nature sing

Psalm 98:4–6 CSB

4 Let the whole earth shout to the Lord; be jubilant, shout for joy, and sing. 5 Sing to the Lord with the lyre, with the lyre and melodious song. 6 With trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn shout triumphantly in the presence of the Lord, our King.

The Lord is COME. Man, I think this is a statement that we just SAIL right past, but I’d love to break down the implications of it. This means that if you’re a follower of Jesus today, you really have the only joy there is to have when it comes to religion.

You see, JOY came to us, we don’t have to go and search for it..

Watts writes, Joy to the World, the LORD has COME… Not Joy to the world, now go get it...

Let earth receive her king.... not expecting us to go get it or DO anything for it...

Now let’s compare that to every other worldview of religion. If you’re still processing your thoughts about Christianity this morning, I want to do a quick comparison.

Islam - obedience to the 5 pillars in order to work your way up to achieve paradise.

Buddhism - 8 fold path that if you’re devoted enough and disciplined enough, then you can achieve Nirvana.

Hinduism - Karma and the rules of being kind enough to get to Matcha and escape from samsara - which is ONENESS with the universe or the spirit.

Even mormonism, who believe that salvation is from the grace of God AND their own actions. Part of the work of salvation has been done by the atonement of Jesus Christ, in that all human beings are guaranteed resurrection, but to attain the full quality of eternal life, they believe that human beings also have work to do.

And by the way, this isn’t too far from some legalistic views of Christianity that make you think you have to work your way to God. Some would make you think that God’s level of acceptance of you is dependent upon your level of obedience to him. And if you adhere enough and do the right things, then you can work your way up to God.

These faiths are all focused on a works based salvation. You must do a certain amount of things or GO to God in order to receive the salvation they claim to have.

But the first Christmas said that we didn’t have to work our way to him, but he was coming down to us… JOY TO THE WORLD, the Lord has COME.

Buddha’s dying words in fact were, “Strive without ceasing.” But Jesus’s dying words.... “IT IS FINISHED.”

The follower of Jesus can rightfully say that joy TO the world means our joy doesn’t rest IN the world, because He has COME to us.

The Lord has come, so we don’t have to go!

Watts also reminds us though of another truth...

The Savior reigns, so we can surrender.

Joy to the world, the Savior reigns

Let men their songs employ

While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains

Repeat the sounding joy

Repeat the sounding joy

Psalm 98:7–8 CSB

7 Let the sea and all that fills it, the world and those who live in it, resound. 8 Let the rivers clap their hands; let the mountains shout together for joy

Jesus reigns. That means that He is in control. Jesus is in charge. He is what the bible calls sovereign. So like, if you’re a CROWN Netflix watcher, he’s Queen Elizabeth on steroids and yet actually has control and ability to effect change in our lives and in the world.

And He REIGNS, which should actually bring us JOY. He came to the world so that He could REIGN.

Jesus reigning means that we can surrender the thought that we need to be in control. You see, the joy in our life at times get’s stolen because we feel like we need to be at a certain place or position, right? If we’re being really honest, we feel like we’re in charge of our lives, and when we don’t end up where we “feel” like we should be, we start to have resentment and regret.

We resent people that are in places that we desire.

We regret decisions we make because they don’t get us where we think we need to be.

With Jesus reigning, we have to understand that He uses all things together for good. Therefore we must not regret.

It is impossible to be regretful and joyful at the same time. say again… It can’t happen.

And what’s crazy, is I’d venture to say that most of the decisions we regret are ones that we were making because we were trying to take things into our own hands.

I took jobs based on financial status. - joy is in the world.

I made poor decisions with alcohol in order to have a different type of joy - joy IN the world.

I made decisions without even seeking the Lord on them, because I thought I reigned and I was in control - my joy was IN the world.

But if you will just surrender to the truth that Jesus is sovereign, that He is reigning and in charge, then you don’t have to try and be in control and you can rest. And in that surrender, in that rest, you have true JOY. A joy that came TO the world, and isn’t IN it.

Jesus has come, so we don’t have to go.

Jesus reigns, so we can surrender...

and...

He rules, so we can be redeemed.

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

Psalm 98:9 CSB

9 before the Lord, for he is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world righteously and the peoples fairly.

You see, there is a truth here in that Jesus is our judge.

And I know, even saying the word judge to some of you makes you want to tune out. You’ve been burned. You’ve probably been burned by Christians before that you felt were judging you. If that’s you, I apologize right here and now for them. But listen up..., they don’t rule.

Jesus does. Not only does Jesus reign, but he is ruler also, which means he holds the only position around that can rightly “judge.” And he does it with truth and grace. The Psalm passage says that HE is coming to judge the earth. It doesn’t say that he send his followers to do that. Jesus as ruler is a position that only he holds.

What that means though, is that with Him as our ruler, our judgement is based on whether or not we’ve been redeemed. Judgement here doesn’t mean that he’s judging the things we did and whether we’ve “done enough” to have a right relationship… we handled that in the first truth, right?

Judgement here means he is judging whether or not we’ve placed our faith in Him and what He’s done in order for our wrongs to be redeemed by His work on the cross.

He’s talking about separating those that have SAID YES to being a follower of Jesus and those that have not yet said YES.

Jesus came, to bring us joy, and that joy rests in the work that he did through his life, death, and resurrection on the cross.

He lived a perfect life, so that He could take our place, and redeem our actions of living outside the way God desires, freely, so that we could have a right relationship with God forever in eternity.

You don’t have to worry about the judgement of others when He is our judge.

And listen, his rule is fair. Psalm 98:9 says he judges the world righteously and the peoples fairly. It’s not based on what you’ve done, who you are, the status you have, or the control you have… it’s based on what HE’S done.

Your Move

Stop working your way to Jesus.

Surrender to His reign over your life.

Ask yourself, have I truly been redeemed. - if you haven’t done 1 or 2, I’d venture to say you’re not redeemed.

You see, when your joy rests in the world, your true joy is stolen. Joy TO the world means our Joy doesn’t rest IN the world. Things IN the world never have the final say in our lives, but JESUS does.

Cancer

Doctors

Ex-Spouses

Bosses

Managers

Employment Status

Dating Status

Bank Accounts

Cars or homes

NONE of those have the final say in your life, but JESUS does and the word that he bring is JOY!