“Joy to the world! The Lord is come—Let earth receive her King
Let every heart prepare Him room and heaven and nature sing.”
Jesus is come to earth as a King and is to be worshipped and praised and honored.
“Joy to the earth! The Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ, while fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains repeat the sounding joy.”
Jesus is ruling and reigning on the earth. People are singing His praise to the point that all creation is echoing in.
“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.”
He is here to put an end to sin and suffering. He is here to undo the curse that God placed on the earth as a result of Adam and Eve’s sin.
“He rules the world with truth and grace and makes the nations prove the glories of His righteousness and wonders of His love.”
Jesus is sitting on the throne and ruling and reigning the world. All the nations of the world bow before Him and recognize His righteousness and love.
When Isaac Watts wrote that hymn in 1719, he didn’t write it as a Christmas song. As a matter of fact, he published it in a book called, “The Psalms of David Imitated in the Language of the New Testament.” He didn’t write it as a Christmas carol, he wrote it as a paraphrase of the 98th Psalm. And the 98th Psalm isn’t talking about the first coming of Christ. It’s talking about the second coming of Christ. When Jesus came the first time, the earth didn’t receive her King. John 1:11 says that He came unto His own and His own received Him not. When Jesus came the first time, He didn’t come as our reigning Savior. Isaiah 53 says that He came as a suffering servant. When Jesus came the first time, He didn’t come to reverse the curse. He came to atone for it. He came to pay for it with His blood. When Jesus came the first time, He didn’t rule and reign on the earth. In John 18:36, Jesus answered to Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.” Jesus didn’t come the first time like that. That’s not what happened that first Christmas morning. But since that’s not what happened that first Christmas morning, does that mean we can’t sing Joy to the World? Of course not. Because even though Isaac Watts wrote the hymn about Jesus’ second coming, it is still based on the joy that comes from Jesus’ first coming. Many of you met my father-in-law when he was in last week. I remember when Sonny still worked as a mechanic for the power plant there in Pueblo. Because of the nature of his job, the eye doctor prescribed him a special pair of glasses. They were upside-down tri-focals. At the time, I had never heard of tri-focals, much less upside down ones. But they were set up with three lens strengths. When he looked through the top, he could see things close up. When he looked through the middle, he could see things at normal distance. And when he looked through the bottom, he could see things far away. They were opposite because all of his close up work was done over his head while trucks were on the lift. But the glasses had three distinct views. He could look at the same thing and see it three different ways based on the lens he was looking through. That’s the way Christmas is. Silent Night is a wonderful Christmas song because it talks about the joy of Christmas past. The Joy of that holy night when God came to earth wrapped in the flesh of a baby. Go Tell it on the Mountain is a wonderful Christmas song because it talks about the joy of Christmas present. The joy of telling the whole world the good news of Jesus’ birth, death and resurrection. And Joy to the World is a wonderful Christmas song because it talks about the joy of Christmas future. The joy of Jesus’ second coming. The time when He will rule and reign. The time when He will remove the curse of sin and sorrow. The time when every knee will bow before Him and every tongue will confess that He is Lord. So, let me ask you—do you have tri-focal joy this Christmas? When you see all the trappings of Christmas around you, do you see three views of Christmas joy? You can. All you have to do is look through three lenses. The first lens sees the joy of Christmas past.
Most of the time, this is the only lens we look through at this time of year. We see Jesus as the Baby in the manger. We see Mary and Joseph. We see shepherds and sheep and cows and donkeys. We even see three guys we call wise men. It makes for a pretty picture, but is that what really happened on that first Christmas? Historically, it’s pretty close. Of course, Luke 2 is the most in-depth historical account we have. When the Holy Spirit inspired Luke to write the passage, he wrote it as an overall event, so the timeline has been flattened. It wasn’t as clean and nice a scene as the typical manger scene presents it. And they certainly weren’t lily-white Europeans. They were dark-skinned Jewish people. But those aren’t the details we really need to focus on. Those aren’t the details that show the true joy of what happened that night. What happened that night was that God Himself came in the flesh. John 1:14 tells us what was so joyful about that night. “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” This baby who was fully God, yet fully human in every way. Why? Because He had to be. Hebrews 2:17 says, “Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.” This baby. This baby who was like every other baby, except that He was born without a sin nature. He was born without a sin nature because it had not been passed to Him through the seed of a man. Because He was conceived apart from the seed of a man. Joseph was there at the birth of Jesus. He just wasn’t there at the conception. Because that was what was required for Jesus to have been born without the sin nature passed down from Adam. This baby. God in the flesh. Conceived of the Holy Spirit. Born without sin. Immanuel—God with us. Born, as the angel of the Lord told Joseph, to “save His people from their sins.” This baby. This baby who was born to live a perfect and sinless life. Who was born to endure every temptation, go through every disappointment, suffer every pain. Hebrews 4:15 says of Him, “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” This baby. This baby who was born to live a sinless life. Who was born to die a cruel death. A death He willingly went to in order to give you a relationship with God that you could never earn. No amount of personal devotion or sacrifice could ever give you what Jesus’ death gave you. Hebrews 9:14 says, “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” That is the joy that came to Bethlehem that night. That is the joy we sing about at Christmastime. That is the joy of Christmas past. The joy of God coming to earth in flesh to provide a way of salvation. But that’s not the only view of Christmas joy. We know the Christmas story so well that I’m afraid that’s where we leave it. Many times we leave the joy of Christmas in the manger. If that’s the case for you, then you need to look through another lens. This one is talked about in our passage this morning. That lens sees the joy of Christmas present. Look with me at 1 Thessalonians 5:16-22
1 THESSALONIANS 5:16-22
The joy of Christmas present. I didn’t say Christmas presents. Those are fun, but many times the fun doesn’t last as long as the payments. Presents wear out. They break. Sometimes they don’t fit. Sometimes they’re the wrong thing. Sometimes you get exactly the right thing in the right size and everything. But a few months later, it’s not quite as exciting as it was on the commercial. No, I didn’t say, “the joy of Christmas presents.” I said, “the joy of Christmas present.” Sometimes joy can be a difficult concept to get our arms around. Is it happiness? No, some of the most joyful people I’ve ever met were going through some of the most miserable circumstances you can imagine. Of course, some of the most miserable people I’ve met have had everything in the world going for them. Joy doesn’t have a lot to do with your circumstances. Paul knew that. That’s why he could write in Philippians 4:11-12 that he had learned to be content in whatever state he was in. Whether he was at the top of the mountain and everything was going great—which didn’t happen very often for him. Or if he was beaten and battered and stuck in a cold damp hole without even an outer garment. Paul had learned by the grace of God to be content in all things and in all circumstances. So when Paul tells us to rejoice evermore in verse 16—he means it. This isn’t just some phony “smile God loves you” statement. This is one who was in prison more than once. He had been beaten more than once. He had been left for dead a few times. Yet he still said, “rejoice evermore.” How could he do that? Because the One who came that first Christmas day gave him the strength. Jesus gave him the strength. Jesus gave him the joy. Jesus gave him the contentment. And the joy that came from Jesus enabled him to live like Jesus wanted him to live. And living like Jesus wanted him to live fulfilled his joy. Are you experiencing joy in your life right now? Maybe you point to an experience in your past and look back on that for joy… but you’re not experiencing joy in your life right now. If that’s the case, I’ve got good news for you. You can have the joy of Christmas present. You can have joy in your life right now—today—every day. How? Verse 17 says, pray without ceasing. Always have an attitude of prayer. Have seasons of dedicated, devoted prayer… but always have an attitude of prayer. How can you have joy in your life right now? Verse 18 says, give thanks for everything. Things you think of as bad… God’s in control… thank Him for how He’s going to work those things together for His good. Things you think of as good… don’t take credit for them… God is in control… thank Him for them as well. How can you have joy in your life right now? Verse 19 says, don’t quench the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit prompts you or convicts you or draws you—respond. Don’t put Him off. Don’t tell Him you’ll do it later. Don’t tell Him you have to do something else first. Answer Him—respond to Him—do what He prompts you to do. Without hesitation. Without qualification. Without delay. How can you have joy in your life right now? I like this one in verse 20. Listen to the preacher. When the Word of God is accurately and prayerfully laid before you… you need to hear it. You need to listen eagerly. You need to listen expectantly. You need to come with a willing, clean, hungry heart. There have been times I’ve gone into a service as a skeptic. That’s OK if the Word isn’t being preached. That’s why Paul followed verse 20 with verse 21. You need to test everything you hear against Scripture. Not against your opinion. Not against tradition. Not against your taste or personality or preference. But against Scripture to see if what is being preached is indeed prophetic. And the only way it will be prophetic is if it exactly lines up with the written Word of God. But after you have lined up the teaching with Scripture… When the Word is preached, anticipate what the Word is going to say to you. Eagerly seek how it’s going to deal with you and work to apply it to your life. Hold fast that which is good. When the translators used the words “hold fast” that was probably the strongest words they could come up with. But it’s not strong enough. It’s more than even a clinging to that which is good. It’s holding on to good teaching the way a prison holds on to its prisoners. Even the way a drug holds on to its addict. There is joy in holding fast to good teaching in that way. There is also joy in avoiding even the appearance of evil. Does that mean you have to become a legalist? No. It means that you apply the teachings you’re holding fast to. It means that you are sensitive to the Spirit’s conviction. It means that you are abstaining from pride by giving thanks to God for everything. It means that you are abstaining from the sin of self-sufficiency by praying without ceasing. That is how you can have joy in your life right now. That is how you can have the joy of Christmas present. Joy isn’t fake happiness and pasted on smiles. Joy is the overflow of Christ in your everyday life. That is the joy of Christmas present. But there is still one more lens to look through. That’s the lens that sees the joy of Christmas future. Look with me at verses 23-24:
1THESSALONIANS 5:23-24
The joy of Christmas future. Do you want joy in your life? I can think of no greater joy than the assurance that God is in control. I can think of no greater joy than knowing that He has got it all worked out. No matter what is going on in your life right now, God knows about it. And He’s not just sitting back wondering what to do about it. You might be, but you can rest assured that He isn’t. He isn’t, because He has made you a promise. The creator and sustainer of the universe has promised you that if you trust Jesus as your Lord and Savior, He will save you. And not only will He save you, verse 23 says that He will sanctify you wholly. That means that one day, He will make your posture equal your position. Right now, if you are saved, you wear the robes of the King. But you’re not a king. You don’t look like a king and most of the time you don’t act like the King. But one day you will. He has promised that one day you will wear the crown of righteousness. You will not only be clothed in the righteousness of Christ, you will be righteous even as He is righteous. You will be wholly sanctified. Your whole self… your spirit will be reunited with a glorified body to form a new and eternal living soul… a new and eternal living soul that will be forever in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ. What joy there is in that! There is joy in the fact that God is faithful. There is joy in the fact that when He calls you to His saving grace and you respond in faith believing, He will keep you. As verse 24 says, He’s going to do it. That is the joy of Christmas future. The joy that comes in security. The joy that comes in assurance. The joy that comes in the faithfulness of Christ.
Joy to the world, the Lord is come. Will you receive your King? If you will, you will have the joy of Christmas past. You will have the joy of Christmas present. And you will have the joy of Christmas future. But it all hinges on what you’re going to do this Christmas season. Will you receive the joy of salvation that Jesus came to give you?
