JOY TO THE WORLD
And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.” — (Luke 1:41-44 NKJV)
Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.” — (Luke 2:8-10 NKJV)
When they saw the star, they were thrilled with ecstatic joy. And on going into the house, they saw the Child with Mary His mother, and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then opening their treasure bags, they presented to Him gifts—gold and frankincense and myrrh. — (Matthew 2:10-11 AMP)
The whole Christian/Christmas message is based and rooted in JOY:
Even in the womb, the baby John, who would become known as John the Baptist, leapt for joy in the presence of the unborn baby Jesus.
The angels announced glad tidings of great joy to the world, singing and worshiping the Lord. This word "great" here in the Greek is "megas" and means: exceedingly, great; greatest; high; large; loud; mighty. (We get our word "megaphone" from the same root word as the word "great" here)
When the wise men saw the star they were filled with ecstatic joy. The KJV says exceeding great joy. The Greek word for "exceeding" means: vehemently; in a high degree; much. The word "great", as in the previous scripture, means: exceedingly, great; greatest; high; large; loud; mighty.
So their joy was as big and loud as joy can get!
Wherever the presence of the Lord is, there is JOY – whoever the Lord touches is filled with JOY.
- Psalms 16:11; Acts 2:28; Psalms 2:4; Job 5:22; Acts 13:42
Jesus faced and endured the cross for the JOY set before Him.
- Hebrews 12:2; Acts 2:23; Matthew 25:21-22
No matter what Jesus had to endure, He chose to obey His Father. He knew that He would face death, but His hope was in the fact that the Father would never let Him remain in the grave. He knew what great joy lay on the other side of obedience and He expected to experience that joy! Eternal joy awaits the faithful, in the presence of the Lord.
Those who know and serve the Lord have many reasons to be full of JOY.
- Luke 10:21-22; Luke 10:20; Isaiah 61:10
God's Kingdom—here on earth—is a JOYFUL, JOY-FILLED Kingdom.
- Romans 14:17; Galatians 5:22-23; 1 Peter 1:8
No matter what you go through, you can still be filled with JOY.
- John 16:22; Job 8:20-21; Proverbs 14:12-13; Psalms 5:11; Psalms 126:1-6; Philippians 4:4
True joy can only be experienced by those who fully serve God. The sinner can never experience this joy; the backslider is the most unhappy person on the earth!