Joy to the World

Christmas Mixtape is our series for Advent this year. My name is Renee, another one of the pastors here at Twin Lakes Church. So we're going to kick this series off today, but first I have a couple of pretty exciting announcements to make.

First, I want to thank you because we had an astonishing contributions from all of you to our food drive this year. Second Harvest came up and their trucks picked up 11 of those giant bins overflowing with food. That is the most physical food we have ever collected during a food drive. So thank you so much for that. You were amazing.

Now when it comes to the funds that we collected, well, we're still counting, and we hope to have a representative from Second Harvest Food Bank. We're going to present them with the giant foam check on December 13th and 14th. We're excited because this is a witness to the community of the love of Jesus Christ and of the power of a healthy local church. So thank you so so much for your generosity. Really looking forward to that presentation in a couple of weeks.

And here's another special announcement that I'm actually even more excited about. Many of you know that we have a Spanish congregation that's a part of Twin Lakes Church. TLC en Español meets every Sunday morning at 11. Right now over next to loft and soon once the Hope Center is finished they'll be moving back over here to Monsky Hall and we have many many other Spanish offerings.

What we try to do is to literally whatever we are offering to our English congregation offer that or a version of that to our Spanish congregation as well. That includes translating all of our books, bulletins, website, everything because we want to be one church in two languages, the other major language that's represented here in our locality. This is thinking like a missionary, right?

Well, our leadership council at TLC en Español, many of them are here on stage as you see in this photo, sharing the news last weekend to the church that after looking at many candidates in the year following our beloved Pastor Julian's passing, we have found a person who has accepted our call. Pastor Ray Azofaifa will be beginning January 18th as our next pastor of TLC en Español. We are so excited about this.

Ray has been the Spanish pastor for the last 14 years at North Coast Church. This is one of the largest churches in California and really in the whole country. North Coast Church, North County, San Diego. And he's been doing exactly what we're going to be asking him to do down there up here. He's been doing it down there and we'll be asking him to do it up here at Twin Lakes Church.

His wife Jenny is a licensed marriage and family therapist with a specialty in trauma recovery. And they have two delightful kids, Jonas and Jasmine, 11 and 12 years old. They are so easy to love, so humble, and yet so eminently qualified. I know that this is the right person to both build on Pastor Julian's legacy and lead us into the next era.

How many of you are on board with this vision, one church in two languages? That's what we want to do here. So can I ask us, let's just pray for God's blessings on this ministry.

Heavenly Father, we're so excited about Ray coming here and God, I just pray that you would bless his family during the move and I pray that when they arrive mid January that you will help them find a great place to live. That is a big prayer request, that the kids and Jenny and Ray would just immediately develop friendship networks and would feel comfortable here and that you would bless them. And Jessica Pizarro as she continues in her role as worship leader over there, what a dynamic duo the two of them are going to be. And we just know you're going to bless that ministry. Thank you Lord for this vision in Jesus' name. And the whole church said, amen.

All right, Christmas Mixtape. So here's the idea behind this. We're looking at the stories behind familiar Christmas carols as a gateway into less familiar Christmas scripture. And honestly, the way it came about was I was looking back over what I preached on the last several years at Christmas. See, if you're not a pastor, you don't understand every single year this is a challenge for us pastors because it's like, well, I did the Gospel of Luke, Gospel of Matthew, Gospel of Luke, Gospel of Matthew, Gospel of Matthew, two times in a row, Gospel of Luke. So is there a way to expand what we talk about during the Christmas season?

Yes, because there's so many other great verses in the Bible about the incarnation and about God's love for us. And so a lot of the songs that we sing at Christmas were based on those scriptures. And that's what this series is all about. And we're launching it this weekend with one of the most familiar Christmas carols, Joy to the World. And we sang a couple of versions of it already. We'll be singing another one momentarily as soon as the message is done.

Does our world need joy today? Yes, that should be unanimous. I saw an interview with Bruce Springsteen the other day and he said, America just feels joyless. We've lost our mojo, our fun, our happiness. Where did all the joy go? And if you kind of feel like that, you're not just imagining it.

CBS News last week reported that the American happiness rate is falling at the fastest rate in the developed world. And they were reporting on the World Happiness Index. So every year they survey thousands of people in 24 nations to see how happy people say they are. In 2012, the USA was 11th happiest in the world. This year we plummeted to dead last. This is in self-reported happiness.

And this is no small thing. Joy is so important. 225 scientific studies show that more joyful people in life are more productive. They're more effective leaders. They tend to live longer. And of course they're more resilient in trauma. So I want joy because I want to be all those things. I don't know anybody who's like, nope, got enough, don't need anymore.

So how do I get it? Well, again, scientifically speaking, the research shows there's four or five activities that enhance your sense of joy and your sense of happiness. Here they are, very simple: socializing with people in real life, serving others, singing new songs and learning new things, and seeing a bigger perspective, not just being in your own head and your own feelings all the time.

So look at these four things. Where in the world could you find all four of these for free every week? Right here at church, right? But today what I want to do is really hone down on that final point, seeing a bigger perspective. And that is actually what the song Joy to the World is all about.

Spoiler alert, this song is actually not about the first advent, about Christmas. It's about the second advent, primarily the return of Jesus Christ, and here is the story.

It starts in Southampton, England. A genius was born while his father was in prison. Isaac Watts, he was born in 1674. An unusual person from day one, he was a tiny frail child with a big robust brain. He became fluent in Latin at four years old, in Greek at nine, in Hebrew at 13. Question, what were you doing at 13 years old? I was still wondering if Gilligan was ever going to get off the island.

And then when some French refugees moved into the neighborhood, he thought, well, I want to speak to the refugees. So he taught himself French. All his life he was a precocious intellect, prodigiously smart, and he became a pastor and began writing hymns that are the songs we sing today. 300 years and counting, we're still singing his music.

Isaac Watts was also frustrated. He was frustrated by the stale worship in Christian churches. And honestly, my soul mate, because so many churches back then would only permit congregations to sing parts of the Bible set to a melody. That was considered worship. But these were really simplistic songs, and so Isaac Watts wanted to reinvigorate the joy.

One of his first hymns was based on Psalm 98. That's where Joy to the World comes from. Isaac Watts was doing what's called a Christological reading. That is looking at an Old Testament passage through the lens of Jesus Christ and what Jesus said. Let's read this together. This is Psalm 98.

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; make music to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, with trumpets and the blast of the ram's horn. Shout for joy before the Lord, the King. Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy; let them sing before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity.

Sound familiar? It is Joy to the World, but the author of the Psalm had not yet heard of Jesus. So what was the Psalmist's word picture here? And what do you think Isaac Watts saw when he looked at this psalm through a Christological lens?

In 1719, three years after Isaac Watts had written the lyrics, along comes Lowell Mason. He wrote the tune. By the way, that is the classic Joy to the World melody you're thinking of. But that wasn't even the original melody. There was a much earlier melody that nobody listens to anymore because it wasn't as catchy. So in a way the two should share credit. Isaac Watts did the words, but this guy did the infectious tune 100 years later, and that's what became a Christmas classic.

But remember, this wasn't about Christmas primarily. In fact, this isn't even a Christmas carol. Christmas is when Jesus first appeared. Jesus will appear a second time, and the passage that Watts is pointing to is all about that. Can we be honest? The song is about Christ's return. What does that have to do with me? It seems so other, so far in the future that it has no practical relevance to me now. Maybe something you'll think about when you're closer to dying.

Let me show you what it has to do with you and me. Let's think about this. Why is Jesus coming back? What's going to happen when he comes back? Because the answer to those questions is where your joy comes from. God is here to remember us, not to forget us. God rules the world with truth and grace. God restores the earth. That's what Jesus is coming back to do.

Let's look at these one at a time. God remembers. In Isaiah 49:14-16, we see one of the saddest verses in all scripture. "But Zion said, 'The LORD has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.'" Have you ever felt that way? Have you ever felt forgotten? There's your church in exile, and the question is, how's God going to respond to that? "Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands."

God remembers us. We're engraved on his hands. He will not forget us. So when Jesus returns, it's him remembering that we are here and coming to get us. God rules. The phrase "he rules the world" comes right out of this Psalm. Psalm 98:9: "He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity." That word judge may feel scary, but it shouldn't. It was a thrilling word in the original context.

Imagine for just a second you are one of the oppressed of the earth, like literally a peasant in a kingdom. As a peasant you can be mistreated without any recourse, because the courts are all rigged in favor of your oppressors, who are buddies with the king. But then somebody comes onto the throne who actually does care about truth and equity, and you know he's actually going to run the courtroom like a courtroom. He's going to judge fairly.

If you are the oppressor, it's terrible news. But if you are the oppressed, it's amazing news. He will rule the world in righteousness, with truth and grace. The judgment of God is good news because real justice is coming. He makes his blessings known as far as the curse is found. Someday God is going to set everything right. Joy to the world.

That brings us to point three. God restores. The dominant theme of the New Testament's description of heaven isn't what we think of. It's not floating on clouds and playing harps. That's actually more a Greco-Roman pagan idea than a Judeo-Christian idea. Real heaven is a renewed physical earth. And it is dynamic and exciting. Even the fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains that Isaac Watts mentions repeat the sounding joy.

In Romans 8:19-21, the Apostle Paul writes, "The creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God."

Even the earth itself is groaning, waiting for the renewal that's coming. And so the mountains and hills sing for joy in Isaac Watts' imagination because they too are being renewed. What will that look like? Isaiah 65:17: "See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind." And then in Isaiah 65:21: "They will build houses." So there's architecture, construction, art. "And dwell in them. They will plant vineyards and eat their fruit."

It gets better. In Isaiah 25:6: "On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine, the best of meats, the finest of wines." Now we're talking. This is a little bit better than angels with harps. Red meat without the cholesterol and wine without the alcoholism. It's amazing.

You know what word picture Jesus uses most often to describe heaven? A feast. So heaven is less like floating on clouds and more like friends and family and feasting on a restored beautiful earth. Joy to the world. This is the reality that God's grace is pulling us into.

But still, what does all this have to do with joy now? The idea that God has a plan, God remembers his plan, God rules to enact his plan, and God's going to restore everything in the end. What happens to my joy level when this captures my imagination on a practical level?

I heard a sermon on this by Martin Luther King, Jr., and he was very, very transparent. He said, "Every now and then, my friends, I doubt. Every now and then, I get disturbed. I become bewildered. I begin to despair. And I wonder why it is that the forces of evil seem to reign supreme, and the forces of goodness seem to be trampled over."

Ever wonder that? And then I can hear something saying, "King, you're stopping at Good Friday. Don't you know that Easter is coming? What are you worrying about? Jesus has fixed that up eternally. Evil will not triumph in the universe because one day all of the children of God will be able to stand up on the third day and then cry, 'Hallelujah! Hallelujah!' Because it's the resurrection day."

And then off in the distance I could hear singing, "All hail the power of Jesus' name, bring forth the royal diadem and crown him, Lord of all, and he shall reign forever and ever. Hallelujah, hallelujah. Oh, I wish this morning that you would go away saying in terms that cry out across the generations, that God reigns. He reigns supreme, the Lord God omnipotent, reigneth."

And the point he's making is not just that it brings you up emotionally, it's that it sends you out actively, right? Because you want to start going, "Won't you get on board this train? This is something so beautiful." And you start wanting to give people a little peek of this, like this week, when TLC en Español cooked the Thanksgiving feast for New Life Community Center here in Santa Cruz, which helps people recover from drug and alcohol addiction.

See that Thanksgiving feast, effectively, even without words, is an invitation to the heavenly feast. It's not just that something will happen. It's that something is happening. The Kingdom of Heaven isn't just a future location. And by anticipating it, it's already breaking through into the world and is being lived out by Christians today. Every time we love, every time we care for the weak, every time we help restore the world. And that's why Isaac Watts wrote, "The Lord is come," not "the Lord will come." Heaven is breaking into earth now when it becomes a reality to us.

It's kind of like this. I was visiting Switzerland this last summer. I have a lot of family there, so I spent a lot of time visiting. I have learned when you're taking one of these amazing Swiss trains, one side has a view, the other side is on a cliff. It's on a wall because the country's horizontal. And so you've got to ask the conductor before every trip which side is the good side, and they'll tell you.

Because on the train, you can either stand out and gaze at an amazing view of the Alps that will take your breath away, or you get to stare at a blank wall. And I've noticed even when people are sitting on the good side, some of them are not looking. And honestly, it kind of gets to me sometimes. You are on a Swiss train!

But they may be lost in their own thoughts or worries or just stuck in some digital world, their eyes on their phones, right? But others are experiencing what is happening, seeing the scenery start to change, anticipating glory ahead. Do you see the metaphor here? This is like life. Those who trust in the Lord are on a train going somewhere.

That is what the song Joy to the World is about. Living in reality now of the glories then, looking out the window at your destination. That changes your experience of the whole journey.

And this is what Peter the Apostle was getting at back in the first century, writing to the very earliest Christians who were just being slammed by the Roman Empire. Peter wrote in 1 Peter 1:3-6, "In his great mercy, he, God, has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade." This inheritance is kept in heaven for you. Watch this. "In this, you greatly rejoice," your anticipation about where this train is going, "though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials."

And in 1 Peter 1:8: "Because even though you do not see him now, you believe in him, and so you are filled with" what? "An inexpressible and glorious joy." See when you know, one day justice will prevail. One day all questions will be answered. One day it'll all make sense. One day my wounds will all be healed. That brings joy now.

Isaac Watts knew this personally. He had plenty of deep heartbreak. He was a genius, but he was also openly ridiculed for his looks. Someone who knew him says he was unusually short. He was barely five feet tall in boots with lifts. They say he had a very large head for his small body, which was amplified by the large wigs that he liked to wear. He was physically frail with health problems his whole life. And the nickname people gave him was "the ugly poet." How'd you like that to be your brand?

He found love. Elizabeth Singer Rowe was another famous British writer, and for months they wrote each other, and eventually these became love letters, but they had never met in person. Finally, she traveled to meet him, stayed there for some months, and he fell even more in love and proposed marriage. But she was repulsed by his looks. As she wrote, "If only I could say that I admire the box as much as I admire the jewel it contains." That is ice cold right there. "I see a diamond inside you, babe. Too bad it's in such an ugly box." I mean, thanks for nothing. Terrible. And Isaac was devastated.

Yet, he wrote this to a friend. "I am persuaded that in a future state we shall take a sweet review of these scenes which have been involved in the thickest darkness, and trace those footsteps of God when he walked with us through deepest waters. This will be a surprising delight to have those perplexing riddles laid open to the eyes of our souls, and read the full meaning of them in characters of wisdom and grace."

What was he doing? Looking ahead to the joy that will make sense of it all. And by the way, he did fine, lived to a good old age despite his health troubles, and wrote over 600 hymns. And I wonder if any will be sung in heaven. I'm sure. Can you imagine that? "Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns, our immortal songs employ while fields and floods and rocks and hills and plains repeat the sounding" what? Joy.

Let's pray together. Would you bow your heads with me? Heavenly Father, help us to live joyfully in light of the promised new heaven and earth. And I pray that the joy that people see in us draws them into faith in you, the source of all joy. And I pray that if anybody here is thinking, "Well, I don't know that heaven is my foreshore destination," that they would just receive that free gift of the water of life today. And pray something like, "Father, I don't understand it. I'm not worthy, but I want that. And so I give my life to you. Help me to follow you with all my heart. Bless me with joy. I accept Christ's atoning sacrifice for me on the cross, and I anticipate his restoration at the end of time and the resurrection where we will all sing with joy to the Lord." In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.