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Isaiah 55:6-12 "Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake their way, and the unrighteous their thoughts; let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it. For you shall go out in joy, and be led back in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall burst into song, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands."
At the realization of God all creation must sing! This is the lesson of the angels "And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God" - suddenly, rejoicing!
This week of Advent begins and ends with great Joy.
First we must shed the secular idea that joy has something to do with just being really happy. Joy is not as fleeting as happiness - it is constant. Second - Joy is linked inseparably to God.
What then is this Joy we speak of?
Joy is our response to εὐαγγέλιον (God's good news), the Gospel. μεγάλη (great) χαρά (Joy) is the Greek for this response - it means more that just an emotional response. Joy in this sense is a response in a particular "ah ha" moment - a dawning moment in which God's Grace is finally known. χάρη is Greek for Grace; χάρη is derived from the same root as χαρά (Joy). God's Grace and our Joy are inseparable. Joy is the understanding of God's favour and knowing God's Grace. Any feeling separated from knowing God is not Joy - it is counterfeit - it is an illusion - it is a delusion. Yes, Joy is emotional! Yes, Joy is cognitive! Yes, Joy enlivens our spirit. Joy is comprehensive delight felt and found in the dawning realization of God's great Light.
I had coffee with a doctor recently. He told me of the most beautiful death he had ever attended. There was joy in both the living and in the re-telling of this story. I asked if he had known Elizabeth before her death. He asked me how I knew it was her he spoke of. I told him this: Elizabeth's Joy when facing death has inspired many people to seek to know God and His wonderful mighty Love for us. Her joy in death was literally tangible. I have had more than one conversation about the joy that surrounded Elizabeth even amidst the suffering that took her mortal life. Joy is the emotional response to knowing God's Grace and God's favour in all movements of life. Joy shines brightly and is not dimmed in any ebb or flow of this present darkness.
Today at New Hope Christian Fellowship my friend Peter led a song:
"Joy, unspeakable joy, an over flowing well no tongue can tell
Joy, unspeakable joy, rises in my soul never lets me go"
I felt Joy in that worship - Christ has come. Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again! Joy - unspeakable joy.
God with us. Joy never deserts us. The opposite of joy is not sadness; the opposite of joy is not knowing God. μεγάλη χαρά, great joy rises in knowing that born for us is a Saviour, the Messiah, the Lord, the Christ of Christmas.
Luke 2:13-14 "And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favours!'"
What then is this Joy we speak of?
Joy is our response to εὐαγγέλιον (God's good news), the Gospel. μεγάλη (great) χαρά (Joy) is the Greek for this response - it means more that just an emotional response. Joy in this sense is a response in a particular "ah ha" moment - a dawning moment in which God's Grace is finally known. χάρη is Greek for Grace; χάρη is derived from the same root as χαρά (Joy). God's Grace and our Joy are inseparable. Joy is the understanding of God's favour and knowing God's Grace. Any feeling separated from knowing God is not Joy - it is counterfeit - it is an illusion - it is a delusion. Yes, Joy is emotional! Yes, Joy is cognitive! Yes, Joy enlivens our spirit. Joy is comprehensive delight felt and found in the dawning realization of God's great Light.
I had coffee with a doctor recently. He told me of the most beautiful death he had ever attended. There was joy in both the living and in the re-telling of this story. I asked if he had known Elizabeth before her death. He asked me how I knew it was her he spoke of. I told him this: Elizabeth's Joy when facing death has inspired many people to seek to know God and His wonderful mighty Love for us. Her joy in death was literally tangible. I have had more than one conversation about the joy that surrounded Elizabeth even amidst the suffering that took her mortal life. Joy is the emotional response to knowing God's Grace and God's favour in all movements of life. Joy shines brightly and is not dimmed in any ebb or flow of this present darkness.
Today at New Hope Christian Fellowship my friend Peter led a song:
"Joy, unspeakable joy, an over flowing well no tongue can tell
Joy, unspeakable joy, rises in my soul never lets me go"
I felt Joy in that worship - Christ has come. Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again! Joy - unspeakable joy.
God with us. Joy never deserts us. The opposite of joy is not sadness; the opposite of joy is not knowing God. μεγάλη χαρά, great joy rises in knowing that born for us is a Saviour, the Messiah, the Lord, the Christ of Christmas.
Luke 2:13-14 "And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favours!'"
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