JOY TO THE WORLD
Advent 2007: “Christmas in Song and Story”
Week #2
Psalm 98:4-8
Sermon Objective: Joy is evidence of the presence and applause of God.
This is our second week of Advent. This year’s theme is “Christmas in Story and Song.” We will use a different Christmas Hymn/Carol each week as our theme.
Last week we looked at O Holy Night. We discovered that even though many rejected the song because it was written and arranged by “secular people” that God claimed it and transformed the secular into the sacred. It is often God’s good pleasure to use the foolish things of the world to shame the wise (1 Corinthians 1:27) and we would do well to remember that `What God did cleanse, … declare not thou common;’ (Acts 10:15 YLT).
In coming weeks we will look at:
• Come, O Come Emmanuel
• Come All Ye Faithful Silent Night
• Silent Night (Christmas Eve Service)
Today’s theme is Joy to the World.
JOY TO THE WORLD: LYRICS
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,
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.
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,
Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.
No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.
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,
And wonders, wonders, of His love.
SERMON INTRO:
His name is Phillip Pullman. Pullman is no friend of the Church or of the Christian faith. In fact, in his own words … he is out to “Destroy God.” At present, his agenda is to “Kill God in the minds of children.” Please understand: those are his words not mine. They come from his lips and his pen.
Pullman has been in the news a lot lately because the first of his three children’s books (designed to kill God in the minds of Children) has just been released as a full length Children’s movie called “The Golden Compass.” It came out in theaters just this weekend.
“The Golden Compass,” is the first novel in Pullman’s trilogy called His Dark Materials.
Pullman has not been shy about verbalizing his beliefs — or his intentions in writing the "Dark Materials" novels. The novelist has said they are in response to C.S. Lewis’ "The Chronicles of Narnia," the popular children’s fantasy series of which "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" is the first book. The Narnia books were written by Lewis to teach Christian ideals to kids.
"I loathe the ’Narnia’ books," Pullman has said in press interviews. "I hate them with a deep and bitter passion." He has called the series "one of the most ugly and poisonous things" he’s ever read.
He is quoted in the Guardian Unlimited newspaper of England as saying “I am all for the death of God.” And, as has also stated that if God is indeed like the Christians describe him then God needs to be “put down.”
As I said, you need not take my word for this. You can find complete treatises and opinions on his website.
It is sad (but not surprising) that at Christmas, the time when we celebrate the incarnation, that Pullman would release an atheistic movie just for children. But what is even sadder is that Pullman would have such a distorted view of God that he would want God “killed in the minds of children.”
If Phillip Pullman knew the God I know he would not be trying to eliminate all knowledge of God, rather, he would be proclaiming Him as good, grace-full, loving, and living!
This is where today’s hymn comes in. What I wish Pullman could experience is the radical transformation that takes place when God’s joy replaces anger, bitterness, skepticism, and/or guilt. If Pullman was to experience that – his desire to see God eradicated from human existence would cease.
Isaac Watts was inspired by Psalm 98 when he wrote “Joy to the World”.
Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise. Sing unto the LORD with the harp; with the harp, and the voice of a psalm. With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the LORD, the King. Let the sea roar, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together (KJV)
Watts’ life was not necessarily easy or comfortable. He was frequently attacked for his poetry. He was called a “Tool of the Devil” and a heretic for the 600 plus songs he wrote. Many are in our hymnal and are ANYTHING but heretical.
So, in the midst of criticism, suspicion, and accusation Watts found … joy. No wonder he could write hymns like “My God, The Spring of All My Joys”
My God, the Spring of all my joys,
The Life of my delights,
The Glory of my brightest days,
And Comfort of my nights!
In darkest shades, if He appear,
My dawning is begun,
He is my soul’s bright morning star,
And He my rising sun.
The opening heav’ns around me shine,
With beams of sacred bliss,
While Jesus shows His heart is mine,
And whispers, I am His.
Watts’ life and words illustrates Biblical joy. They stand in contrast to the “Dark Materials” of Philip Pullman.
As 1 Peter 1:7-9 (NIV) says: These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
I noticed a few traits about Joy in the Scriptures that I‘d like to share with you this morning.
JOY IS ANCHORED IN THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
NOT HUMAN EFFORT.
• But the fruit of the Spirit is … joy (Galatians 5:22)
• 1 Thessalonians 1:6 says: You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.
• Romans 14:17 says: For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,
• Joy is not experienced by “living the high life”… that is more descriptive of an emotions like bliss.
• Joy does not come when one sits back and rests from their years of labor … that is more descriptive of emotion like happiness.
• God is characterized in Scripture one who rejoices and possesses joy.
† God imparts that same joy to His people.
† It is evidence of Divine presence.
† Joy is a spiritual state that gives confidence in God throughout all of life’s ups and downs. It imparts a positive outlook to life and living in spite of what the state of things appears to be and in spite of the † influences of others.
† That is why it can only come from God Himself and is given by the Holy Spirit.
• JOY IS ANCHORED IN THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT NOT HUMAN EFFORT.
Therefore:
JOY IS NURTURED WHEN ONE LOOKS TO GOD
NOT OTHER SOURCES
• If you look to other sources for purpose or solace you will be sorely disappointed.
† All other sources are temporal solutions and inadequate.
• Psalm 16:8-11 (NIV) says: I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
• Seven times in the Bible you can find joy and strength in the same verse. There is a connection. The clearest articulation is Nehemiah 8:10 for the joy of the LORD is your strength.
• JOY IS ANCHORED IN THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT NOT HUMAN EFFORT.
• JOY IS NURTURED WHEN ONE LOOKS TO GOD NOT OTHER SOURCES
JOY IS MAINTAINED BY A LIFESTYLE OF HOLINESS.
• When a Christian is out of fellowship with God there are clear indications. One such indication is divine chastening. Another is the absence of joy. These two indicators are closely linked.
• Psalm 32:1-5 (KJV): “Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit. When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD’ -- and you forgave the guilt of my sin.”
• John 15 (NIV) says: If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.
• If your walk does not please God then it is naïve to expect divine joy to be present. Just as there is no harmony in a home when people are living out of step with each other so, too, there can be no divine blessing when we live out of harmony with God’s ways.
• If you want to see joy return it will require you to repent of sin follow God without reservation.
• JOY IS ANCHORED IN THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT NOT HUMAN EFFORT.
• JOY IS NURTURED WHEN ONE LOOKS TO GOD NOT OTHER SOURCES
• JOY IS MAINTAINED BY A LIFESTYLE OF HOLINESS.
JOY IS DESCRIPTIVE OF CHRIST’S CHURCH
• The New Testament is clear that the Church should be characterized by joy and rejoicing. When it is absent there is reason for concern.
† We are instructed to rejoice together when the word is preach and taught
† We are instructed to rejoice together when the Gospel is proclaimed (Philippians 1:18)
† We are instructed to rejoice together when believers mature and grow in Christ (2 John 4 and 3 John 4)
† We are instructed to rejoice together when backslidden Christians repent of sin and begin living in obedience (2 Corinthians 7:9; Romans 16:18)
† We are instructed to rejoice together when we live together in unity and harmony (Philippians 2:2)
† We are instructed to rejoice together simply because we have Christian friends (Philippians 4:1, 1 Thessalonians 2:19f.)
• You get the feeling Paul is just looking for reasons for Christians to rejoice together don’t you? That’s because it is a norm in the Kingdom of God and should be a norm in the church!
• It is an anomaly, a perversion of truth, and sin for the people of God to live in continual tension.
• There can be no joy in the church when you cannot even look at others you worship with or when you carry a grudge, seething anger, or dislike for one another.
• Such behavior does not describe God nor can it describe a local church where God and His joy dwell.
• In fact, it is a primary objective of God that we live in love and harmony – not just existence – with each other.
• Jesus said, "Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.” (Matthew 5:23-24)
Jesus said, “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins." (Mark 11:25)
• Jesus said, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” (John 13:35, KJV)
WRAP-UP
• JOY IS ANCHORED IN THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT NOT HUMAN EFFORT.
• JOY IS NURTURED WHEN ONE LOOKS TO GOD NOT OTHER SOURCES
• JOY IS MAINTAINED BY A LIFESTYLE OF HOLINESS.
• JOY IS DESCRIPTIVE OF CHRIST’S CHURCH
JOY IS FOUND IN A RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS
NOT IN CIRCUMSTANCES.
• The Bible says: That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. (1 John 1:3-4, KJV)
• Jesus’ joy is said to be “not of this world” (John 18:36) and of such an essence that the world cannot take it away from you (John 16). It is not determined by circumstances.
† Paul writes about joy in the book of Philippians. It must be noted that he wrote this book while in prison. Joy is not associated with one’s circumstances … that is more closely linked to happiness and is another issue altogether.
† Peter writes to a church that is enduring hardship and persecution. He describes them as rejoicing with joy unspeakable and full of glory: (1 Peter 1:8, KJV)
† Isaac Watts wrote many of his hymns without public acclaim or even approval. They came from another source … something other than “they love me!” The source was nothing other than presence and approval of Jesus Christ.
• In fact, Joy is closely linked to suffering in the New Testament. Not because that is the only time we have it but because it is then that it shines forth so brightly and in such contrast to the circumstances that surround us.
• In 2 Corinthians 7:4 Paul says: … I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulation. In the midst of grief Paul found solace and joy in Christ. This is a paradox that believers cannot exactly explain but do experience.
• Billy Sunday observed "If there’s no joy in your religion, you’ve got a leak in your faith."
• In the New Testament joy is always associated with one’s relationship with Jesus Christ.
• If joy is absent the solution is not to “chose” to be happier; the solution is to draw near to God.
As we close today, I want to invite you to come to God through Jesus Christ. It is only there that the inner joy you have been seeking can be found. What better time to experience a new birth than as we celebrate Christ’s birth.
• As we close today, I want to invite you who believe to rekindle your faith by turning to God.
† Confess you sin if you are backslidden.
† Reconcile relationships if they are strained.
† Until you do … your joy cannot be complete.
• Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. (Philippians 4:4)
Time of Reflection and Communion
This sermon is provided by Dr. Kenneth Pell
Potsdam Church of the Nazarene
Potsdam, New York
www.potsdam-naz.org
JOY TO THE WORLD: A MORE COMPLETE HISTORY
Two brilliant songwriters – although they never met – together created one of Christmas’s most lasting songs. Each of these two musical icons ignored the established way of doing things and blazed new trails in every facet of their work. Moreover, the men who brought the song to the world were both trying to bring religious music into a new era. Since they live f half a world away from each other and were separated by almost half a century, little did either of these revolutionaries realize that through their collaboration they would create a timeless holiday classic for very age and very audience. As a matter of fact, Isaac Watts and Lowell Mason probably didn’t even know they had given the world a Christmas anthem at all.
Isaac Watts was born on July 17, 1674, in Southampton, England. His father, also named Isaac, was a revolutionary protestant church figure in Britain. Strong-willed and stubborn, the elder Watts, a cobbler and tailor by trade, resides in prison when his son was born. He was a criminal nonconformist, having been found guilty of teaching radical ideas that were not approved by the Church of England or established scholars of the time. At a very early age it was obvious that the senior Watts had passed his free-thinking ways onto his son.
Isaac Watts grew up worshipping at Southampton’s Above Bar Congregational Church. Most British children who displayed Isaac’s intellectual potential would have been assigned to Oxford or Cambridge; yet because he was not am member of the Church of England. Isaac was sent top the Independent Academy at Stoke, Newington. There – no doubt spurred on by his father’s example – he continued to display his rebellious nature. Not content to allow things to remain status quo, Watts questioned everything. He demanded to know why he or anyone else should be satisfied with the way things were when they could be so much better. Although he did well in his studies, Isaac left the Academy at the age of twenty after learning Greek, Hebrew, and Latin, and returned home to live with his father.
Like most young people, Watts found church music of the period to be uninspired and monotonous. He saw no joy or emotion in the standards sung by choirs and congregations. Yet, while most of the new generation kept quiet, Isaac complained bitterly to this father about the archaic language of the psalms sung in church. The elder Watts, never one to stand on tradition, challenged his son to come up with something better. This challenge initiated a creative burst that would not end until Isaac had composed more than 600 hymns and hundreds of other poems.
“Behold the Glories of the Lamb” was the first Isaac Watts hymn. IT was followed by scores of others. For a while, most of his work was met with contempt: no one wanted new translations of the Scriptures. Some even viewed young Watts as a heretic or tool of the devil. Yet he refused to give up. He constantly challenged those around him with new songs and new ideas on faith.
After spending several years making his living as a personal tutor, Watts became the assistant to Dr. Isaac Chauncey at Mark Lane Independent Chapel, London. Within three years the now 26 year old Isaac became the minister. Thanks in part to his work ethic, as well as his new ideas, the church grew rapidly. With his new position and respect that accompanied it, Isaac was finally able to publish his songs.
Through his hymns and theological writings, Watts became one of the best known clerics in England. Yet, he never married. Rather he poured himself into his writing. It was while studying Psalm 98 that Watts was inspired to write his most famous song. In verse 4, Watts studied the phrase, “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.” Focusing on this verse and the five that followed it, watts penned a four stanza poem called “Joy to the World.” Set in a common meter, the poem was usually sung to the tune “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” Yet because Isaac had dared to rewrite the psalms, few British Christians of the time embraced the song.
Watts did not give up in his efforts to make church music more meaningful to the common man. He continued, in the face or f growing criticism, to write and publish new songs. These songs eventually inspired people like Charles Wesley and John Newton. Thought watts died in 1748, “Joy to the World” stayed alive. It also began a revolution in modern Christian musical thinking.
Forty-four years later, Lowell Mason was born in Orange, New Jersey. As a teen, he directed his church choir and taught at singing schools. Though musically gifted, it was not a way to make a living. Lowell, instead, became a banker in Georgia and wrote music and arrangements in his spare time. His favorite composer, Handel, influenced his music. He eventually sent a book of his compositions to a Boston publisher that was rejected for being “too classical.” After this, he directed his passion for music toward Sunday school and church.
Imagine his shock when in 1827, he discovered that not only had his music found a publisher, but that the Handel and Haydn Society of Massachusetts had orders for 50,000 copies of his song book! He immediately moved to Boston. For the next 20 years, Mason was a mover and shaker in New England music circles. Like Watts, he saw himself as a revolutionary and battled the established music world. Because of his ideas, music schools ignored his music. Rather than be discouraged by this, Mason used his own money to initiate the first public school music program in Boston. Thus public school music programs were born!
Mason kept composing and pushing the envelope in the music world. In 1836, he wrote “Antioch” an exuberant ode inspired by Handel’s Messiah. Yet it had no words. Three years later, Mason linked the lyrics of one Watts psalm-inspired lyrics to his tune. This time, the people were ready for “Joy to the World,” though it was not considered a Christmas carol.
It wasn’t until 1911, when Elise Stevenson, a well known singer, joined the Trinity Choir for a Christmas release of “Joy to the World.” The song climbed to number 5 on the music charts and became a hit. No one really knows how this hymn became a Christmas carol because it contained no words alluding to the birth of Christ, except, “the Lord is come.” Nevertheless, for some reason Americans embraced “Joy to the World” as a holiday standard, perhaps because of its jubilant spirit. It has become one of today’s most loved Christmas carols.
This sermon is provided by Dr. Kenneth Pell
Potsdam Church of the Nazarene
Potsdam, New York
www.potsdam-naz.org
