Joy
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Scripture
Scripture
Isaiah 61:1–3 (KJV 1900)
1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; Because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all that mourn;
3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, To give unto them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they might be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.
Intro
Intro
The Book of Isaiah is one of the most-loved books of the Bible; it is perhaps the best known of the prophetic books. It has great literary merit and contains beautiful descriptive terminology.
Isaiah spoke more than any other prophet of the great kingdom into which Israel would enter at the Second Advent of the Messiah. Isaiah discussed the depths of Israel’s sin and the heights of God’s glory and His coming kingdom.
Isaiah’s primary purpose was to remind his readers of the special relationship they had with God as members of the nation of Israel, His special covenant community.
9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.
11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Our focus today is on joy. Isaiah looks ahead to the time when glad tidings will be preached to the sad and the sorrowful, to the depressed and the despondent. To “proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” was a promise of a joyful jubilee. This must have been good news to those who were grieving. The “garment of praise” would replace the sackcloth of sadness. Ashes represent anguish while oil stands for joy in the Bible.
God’s people had been pummeled with problems and yet, in the midst of the mess they were in, these words filled them with a longing for something more. They had waited a long time for a special gift from God. That reminds me of the woman who frantically bought a box of 50 identical Christmas cards so she could get them in the mail on time. She hastily opened each card and signed her name without bothering to read what was printed inside. Several days after they had been mailed, she came across one leftover card and discovered to her dismay that the inside had these words: “This card is just to say, a special gift is on the way.”
Throughout the Old Testament, God declares: “This is just to say, a special gift is on the way.” On this second Sunday in Advent, our focus is on the joy that comes from the special gift of Jesus, announced to a group of shepherds in Luke 2:8-11. Let’s fast forward from the time of Isaiah to a hillside outside Bethlehem. The angelic announcement reverberates with the refrain spoken by Isaiah seven centuries earlier: “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.”
1. Good News. As the angel appears to the shepherds who are just out doing their jobs, his first concern is to calm them down because they are terrified. The reason they did not have to tremble was because the angel was about to make an enormous announcement: “I bring you good news…” This phrase means to “announce, declare, or show” the evangel, which is where we get the word “gospel” from.
Let me just point out that good news is only good news when it comes in response to bad news. The bad news is that we’re sinners. The good news is that the Savior has been born. Until you and I understand the depth of our depravity we won’t appreciate the good news of Christmas. We can’t appreciate amazing grace until we have first appreciated the fact that as wretches we deserve the wrath of God. And great joy won’t come until the good news of the gospel settles in our hearts. This good news is the best news possible!
2. Great Joy. Notice that this news is “of great joy.” The word “great” here is the word megas in the Greek. It has the idea of “mega joy” or super-sized “cheerfulness.” We could translate it as “humungous hilarity.” This good news is exceedingly exciting because God is bringing about the solution to the sin problem. They went from total terror to giant joy.
We tend to equate “happiness” with joy but they are two totally different ideas because they each spring from a different source. One comes from the world around me. The other originates directly from the Spirit of the Living God. Happiness is conditioned by and often dependent upon what is “happening” to me. If people treat me nicely, if things are going well in my life, then I’m happy. If my circumstances aren’t favorable, then I’m unhappy.
Joy, on the other hand, throbs throughout Scripture as a profound, compelling quality of life that transcends the delights and disasters which may dog God’s people. Joy is a divine dimension of living that is not shackled by circumstances. The Hebrew word means, “To leap or spin around with pleasure.” In the New Testament the word refers to “gladness, bliss and celebration.”
It’s hard to be merry about Christmas in our “Happy Holidays” culture, isn’t it? People are busy, shoppers are stressed, families are fractured and joy seems to be elusive. Friends, no matter how broke or busy you are, you can be joyful because it’s a choice to rejoice. Actually, it’s a command repeated twice in Philippians 4:4: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”
Recognize God as joyful. We can be helped greatly in our journey towards joy if we learn to see the Almighty not as a taskmaster, but as the God of the Universe with a smile on His face. Listen to how God feels about you from Zephaniah 3:17
17 The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; He will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; He will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.
21 In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight.
Remain close to Jesus.
11 Thou wilt shew me the path of life: In thy presence is fulness of joy; At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.
11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
Global Message. This good news of great joy is “for all the people.” God’s mega message was never intended to just be for one group of people in one part of the world. God’s good news of great joy is for all the people. It is “joy to the world.” That’s why we support all the missionaries we do as a church. One of the best ways to build joy into your life is by talking to others about Jesus. Philemon 6:
6 that the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.
Closing
Closing
The Messiah Announced
This is just to say, a special gift is on the way. Let’s fast forward about thirty years from the announcement to the shepherds to a scene in a synagogue. Jesus gets up to read the Scripture and do you know what He reads? He opens the scroll to Isaiah 61 written seven hundred years earlier. Turn to Luke 4:16-19:
16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,
18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
The gift that was on the way is Jesus who is the only way. The only way to have joy is to have Jesus. Some have defined JOY as Jesus, Others, You.
Turn to your other neighbor and say: “Neighbor, He’s given us joy for mourning. And he’s given us the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness”
This joy that I have
The world didn’t give it to me
This joy that I have
The world didn’t give it to me
This joy that I have
The world didn’t give it to me
The world didn’t give it to me
And the world can’t take it away
Turn to your neighbor and say: “I’ve got:
∑ troubles - But I’ve got JOY!!
∑ problems
∑ sickness
∑ trials
∑ bills to pay
∑ difficulties
But we rejoice because our names have been written in the lambs book of life.
What brings joy? When I think of the goodness of Jesus and all he’s done for me and how he saved my soul from a burning hell - that’s when I get joy.
∑ In the fiery furnace - joy
∑ In the lion’s den - joy, joy
∑ In the Red sea - joy, joy, joy
∑ In front of the walls of Jericho - joy, joy, joy, joy
∑ In prison in stocks and bonds after being beaten - joy, joy, joy, joy, joy
∑ In troubles - joy
∑ In sickness - joy, joy
∑ In financial difficulty - joy, joy, joy
∑ In problems on the job - joy, joy, joy, joy
∑ In the darkest hour of your life - joy, joy, joy, joy, joy
When I think of the goodness of Jesus and all he’s done for me
When I think of the goodness of Jesus and how he set me free
I will :
∑ shout
∑ dance
∑ sing
∑ clap