JOY TO THE WORLD

 

God has sent us immeasurable joy, fit for immortal minds. This joy from heaven will never be reversed, it is a lasting joy, a joy that will ring down from one generation to another, the echoes of which shall be heard forever!

 

When God sent forth the angel in His brightness to say, “I bring you good tidings of great joy, which be to all people,” he did as much as saying, “From this time forth it shall be a joy to the world; there shall be peace to you, and goodwill towards you forever and ever, as long as there is glory to God in the highest.” 

 

This joy is expressly associated with the glory of God, by the Words, “Glory to God in the highest,” we may be quite clear that it is a pure and holy joy. No other better joy would an angel have proclaimed, and, indeed, no other joy is joy. 

 

Why was Jesus’s coming has to do with joy to the world? Jesus coming has to do with joy to the world because God came in union with man and put on flesh to become man so that God and man would constitute one divine and incredible personality. Hallelujah!

 

Sin had separated man from God but the coming of Jesus to the world bridges the separation: it is an introduction to the atoning sacrifice, but it is an introduction full of the richest hope the world could ever imagine. 

 

It’s a joy to the world because when God looks upon man, He will remember that His own Son became a man. When He beholds the sinner, if His wrath should burn, He will remember that His own Son, as man, stood in the place of sinners, and bore the sinner’s doom. 

 

As in the case of war, disputes usually come to an end when the opposing parties intermarry, so there is no more war between God and us because God has taken a man into intimate union with Himself. The promises made in the time of old were also the hope and comfort of God’s people.

 

There was that ancient promise made in the garden of Eden to the first sinners of the human race, that the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent’s head; another promise made to the Father of faith; Abraham, that in his seed should all the nations of the earth be blessed, and promises uttered by the mouths of prophets and of saints since the world began. 

 

Now, the announcement of the angel of the Lord to the shepherds was a declaration that the covenant was fulfilled, that now in the fullness of time, God would redeem His word, and the Messiah, who was to be Israel’s glory and the world’s hope has come. 

 

Be glad ye heavens, and be joyful O earth, for the Lord hath done it, and in mercy hath He visited His people. The Lord hath not suffered His word to fail but hath fulfilled unto His people His promises. The time to favour Zion, yea the set time, is come.

 

But the angel’s word had in it the reason for joy; for our Lord who was born in the city of David came as a Saviour. “Unto you is born this day a Saviour.” God had come to earth before, but not as a Saviour. 

 

Remember when three angels went into sodom in the evening, Then the Lord said, “I will go now and see whether it be altogether according to the cry thereof.” (Genesis 18:20-21) He had come as a spy to witness human sin, and as an avenger to lift His hand to heaven, and Call down fire to burn up the accursed cities of Sodom and Gomorra.

 

There were smokes in Sinai when the law was proclaimed, the earth itself shall experience great persecution and roll away after the second coming of Christ. But now, not as an angel of vengeance, but in His mercy, God has come; not to spy out our sin, but to remove it; not to punish guilt, but to forgive it. 

 

The Lord might have come with thunderbolts in both His hands, and He might have come like Elijah to call fire from heaven; but no, His hands are full of gifts of love, and His presence is the guarantee of grace. 

 

The baby born in the manger might have been another prophet of tears, or another son of thunder, but he was not so: He came in gentleness, His glory and His thunder alike laid aside to bring joy to the world.

 

You will never know the fullness of the joy which Jesus brings to the soul, unless under the power of the Holy Spirit. He will cause joy to be felt in your heart. Allow Jesus to be your all in all, and make Him the fountain of your interest delight.

 

Let your loudest boast be; “He is my Saviour, my Christ, my Lord,”. Then the joy, the angels spoke about will be revealed in your heart and stay with you forever.

 

 In Christ, there is deep and lasting joy. The gospel is for the poor, rich, great, small and mighty, there is a joy and unspeakable bliss of which thousands can speak with confidence that they declare what they do know, and testify what they have seen. Hallelujah!

 

My words to you today, for true peace and lasting joy, come now to Jesus Christ. He became the Man of Sorrows, the substitutionary sacrifice of our sins. Come to Him little children, boys and girls, come to Him; for He was also a teenager.

 

“The holy child Jesus” is the children’s Saviour, and saith still, “Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not. Come to Him young women and those ready for marriage, still in your morning of beauty, and, like Mary, rejoice in God your Saviour. 

 

The virgin bore Him on her bosom, so come and bear Him in your hearts, saying, “Unto us, a child is born, unto us a son is given.” And you, men in the peak of your strength, remember how Joseph cared for Him in His tender years; devote yourself to His cause as a Father and an assistant to give your strength to His service.

 

 And you women advanced in years, you matrons and widows, come like Anna and bless the Lord that you have seen the salvation of the whole world. 

 

Come and take the Saviour into your heart, adoring Him as your Saviour and your all. The shepherds, the simple-hearted, those who toil for their daily bread, come and adore the Saviour; and don’t stay back you wise men, you who know by experience and who by meditation peers into deep truth, come and make it your honour to pay honour to Christ the Lord. 

 

On my part, the Lord Jesus is all my hope and trust. I have seen the world’s religion at the fountainhead, and my heart has sickened within me. I studied Law to be a lawyer but came back to dedicate myself to the simple gospel of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 

 

I take you Lord to be mine forever! May all who read this message, through the rich grace of God, be led to always do your will. And my Lord, may they all become yours when you appear to the world again, for your love’s sake. Amen.