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Joy to the World (Psalm 98)
31 Plays1 year ago
Sunday Message recorded 03 December 2023
by Associate Paster Josh Shell
First Baptist Church -- Columbus TX
1700 Milam St.
Columbus, TX, USA 78934
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Psalms 98 and Advent Series
00:00:06
Speaker
It is a joy to be with you guys this morning. If you have your Bibles, go ahead and get those out. We're going to open them up to Psalms, Chapter 98. That's where we're going to be spending our time this morning, Psalms, Chapter 98. But man, what a time of worship. It was cool to see all those kids up here, guys, just belting it out. Let's go. That's right. There you go. I am excited, though, because, man, we are entering into
00:00:36
Speaker
You know, what many of us would say is our favorite time of year. And there's really no reason why it shouldn't be our favorite time of year, right?
Significance and Joy of Advent
00:00:43
Speaker
The season of Christmas.
00:00:46
Speaker
And the season of Christmas, it brings so much joy and light into the dark times. We actually began a series over at the youth house this past week on the Advent, right? And what Advent is all about. And one of the things that, it's a series that we're going through with J.D. Greer, and one of the things he says in his video was that it's ironic how Christmas comes during the darkest time of the year. Not necessarily spiritually, but physically.
00:01:12
Speaker
With the time change and things like that, we go throughout the darkest time of the year, we celebrate the lightest and brightest, most significant event in all the world to see.
00:01:24
Speaker
And it speaks to us and how we as Christians should be the light into the darkness for anyone who has Christ in them, right? But as victory leads you, we're going to push the pause button on Hosea. As we go into this Christmas season, we're going to be beginning this series on, come let us adore him.
00:01:48
Speaker
And so this morning is my opportunity, it's a great opportunity to usher us into this series as we go through this Christmas season and we reflect and we give thanks for the greatest gift that this world has ever seen in the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Understanding Advent as Arrival
00:02:07
Speaker
But as I said, many of us often refer to this season as the Advent season. Advent meaning arrival. Advent is a four-week season and the church calendar is dedicated to the anticipation of the arrival of the long-awaited Messiah, Jesus Christ, our Emmanuel.
00:02:30
Speaker
Not just our Emmanuel, but our wonderful counselor, our mighty God, our everlasting Father and our Prince of Peace, as Isaiah refers to it in chapter nine. Advent prepares our hearts for the day of Christmas, the day that the advent of Jesus took place. So again, this is a season for us to prepare our hearts for the greatest day that this world has ever seen, the arrival of our Messiah.
Essence and Commercialization of Christmas
00:02:59
Speaker
So as we begin this series and as we kick it off today, my goal for us is to bring us from way out here, get our thoughts, our hearts, and our minds prepared for what we're ultimately gonna be looking toward in the weeks to come as Victor continues the series on, come, let us adore him. For that is the reason of Christmas. That's the reason for the season. It's for us to acknowledge and to adore our Messiah who came
00:03:29
Speaker
who lived a perfect life, lived and died the perfect death, was buried and resurrected and now is sitting in the right hand of the Father and preparing a way for us to come to Him forevermore. That is why we celebrate Christmas. So this morning though, I wanna start us off with the topic of joy.
00:03:54
Speaker
Because when we think about Christmas, there's no other word that can really describe it other than joy. Let me ask you this. How many of you guys in this room today celebrated Thanksgiving with a Christmas tree in their living room already? Yeah. Have you guys noticed how every year, as this time of year rolls around, everybody tends to forget about Thanksgiving and they look forward to Christmas? They start putting the decorations out and things like that. Why is that?
00:04:21
Speaker
It's because there's something about this season that brings so much joy. Again, this is a season of where all the lights come out when we light up the darkest time of the year, the season. And so we long and we desire to experience joy in the fullness that we can obtain it.
00:04:43
Speaker
And the only way we can find that is in this time of year where we celebrate the birth of Jesus.
Isaac Watts and Joyful Hymns
00:04:50
Speaker
Now granted, we'll talk about this in just a minute, but Christmas nowadays has become very, very commercialized, very consumer driven to where many people often overlook the true meaning of Christmas and it's about self rather than Christ. But we still long for that joy, right?
00:05:11
Speaker
But along this topic, though, there's a man throughout history that some of us may have heard of, and I pray that we all have heard of this guy because we've seen several of his hymns, but there's a guy named Isaac Watts. Isaac Watts was born July 17th, 1674 in Southampton, Hemshire, England.
00:05:30
Speaker
And he was born into a religious nonconformist household. And I know many of you guys are probably thinking, what does that mean? What is a religious nonconformist household, right? Well, it's a religious nonconformist is a Protestant Christian who did not conform to the governance and usage of the state church of England, which was Anglican.
00:05:53
Speaker
So he grew up in a Christian household that wasn't submitting to the Church of England. And so as he grew up and as he went to school and as he gained knowledge and became a man, he oftentimes was
00:06:11
Speaker
ostracized because of the fact he did not fall underneath the Church of England with his theology, with his thoughts, with his knowledge, because it didn't line up, right? So he was a well-educated man who had a propensity for rhyme. And as you can tell, we sing many of his hymns today, so there you go.
00:06:34
Speaker
And as I said, because of the way that he grew up as a non-conformist, religious non-conformist, he was considered a revolutionary, not in a good way, but a revolutionary in the musical world, with the way that he approached the hymns, the way he approached the music. But I would love to tell you about a time where a moment in his life that
00:06:59
Speaker
All of it came to a head for him, and it is that he was sitting in the church one day, and back then when they were doing worship, all the music was sung. It was all the music that was sung were psalms or passages of scripture that were put to music. Now we do that very similarly today, but back then when he went into the sanctuary, it struck him hard because of this. This is a quote from him.
00:07:28
Speaker
says, to see the dull indifference in the negligent and thoughtlessness in the air that sits upon the face of the whole assembly, while the psalm is upon their lips might even tempt a terrible observer to suspect the fervency of their inward religion. In other words, their worship was emotionless.
00:07:51
Speaker
It was monotonous. And Isaac Watts wanted something more. He desires something more. There was something about the word of God and about the spirit that lives within him that it should be more than just us reciting words just out of duty.
00:08:11
Speaker
but rather we should be doing it joyfully from the overflow of the Spirit in us as the precious words of God penetrate our heart. He deserves our praise with great joy.
'Joy to the World' and Psalm 98
00:08:25
Speaker
So because of this, this moment in life, and through the challenge that was given to him by his father, because he approached his father and he was like, hey, if you don't like it, maybe you should do something about it. He was like, you know what, I will. Have you guys ever had that moment with your father before?
00:08:41
Speaker
Right? He said, all right, I will. And so he began a lifelong journey creating these lyrics that would exalt Christ and remind Christians of their hope and his saving work on the cross. And as a result, we now have many hymns that he has written, such as, behold, the glories of the Lamb. When I survey the wondrous cross and the one that we're going to be looking at today, when we all have come to know and to love is joy to the world.
00:09:12
Speaker
Joy to the world.
00:09:16
Speaker
Now, I thought, as I was prepared this week, I thought it'd be fun for us to sing this song together, but don't worry, we're not gonna do that this morning, okay? I've been kind of fighting some sign of stuff all week. You don't want me singing right now, okay? But this song is so beautiful, and it has become a timeless Christmas carol for all of us because of the words that it says. And I would love to read those words to you guys. And if you guys have them up on the screen, you gotta pull them up, John.
00:09:48
Speaker
But listen to the words of this hymn, of this classic Christmas song. Verse one, joy to the world. The Lord is come. Let earth receive her king. Let every harp repair him room and heaven and nature sing. And heaven and nature sing. And heaven and heaven and nature sing.
00:10:11
Speaker
goes on in verse two says, Joy to the earth, the savior reigns. Let men their songs employ while fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains repeat the sounding joy. Repeat the sounding joy. Repeat the sounding joy. Verse three.
00:10:31
Speaker
No more let sins and sorrows grow, no thorns infest the ground. He comes to make his blessings flow, for as the curse is found, for as the curse is found, for as far as the curse is found.
00:10:48
Speaker
And verse four, he rules the world with truth and grace and makes the nations prove the glories of his righteousness and wonders of his love. And wonders of his love and wonders, wonders of his love. How can you not sing this song and not be joyful? When you think about the fullness of what he just described in the song of the coming of a Messiah and what our Messiah came to fulfill,
00:11:20
Speaker
He came as king to prepare the world for His kingship, His lordship. And now He reigns, and there is no more sin or sorrows, no more thins festering the ground, or thorns festering the ground. This brings so much hope and joy into the hearts of men when we sing this song.
00:11:48
Speaker
This is a joyous hymn. And this is exactly what he desired as he was writing these things was for him, for us to have these lyrics where when we do sing, it's not monotonous or emotionless, but rather we feel the spirit within us.
00:12:08
Speaker
This song was actually written, though, out of inspiration of Psalm 98. And that's why I would love for us to turn our attention to this psalm because it speaks to these words that Isaac Watts wrote. We see where his desire, where his passion came from. And as we read through this psalm, I pray that it will reignite the passion and the fire in us of why we celebrate this Advent Christmas season.
00:12:37
Speaker
Because it's so much more than, like I said, the consumer mind is so much more than what we have created it to be in our culture today. There's so much power in this season that we as Christians often overlook to express to those around us. So let's read this song together. If you guys don't mind, stand with me in honor of God's word. And if you're able.
00:13:08
Speaker
And we'll pick up in verse one. The psalmist says this, O sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things. His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. The Lord has made known his salvation. He has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations. He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel.
00:13:38
Speaker
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Make a joyful noise to the Lord all the earth. Break forth into joyous song and sing praises. Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody, with trumpets and the sound of the horn. Make a joyful noise before the king, the Lord.
00:14:05
Speaker
Let the sea roar and all that fills it, the world and those who dwell in it. Let the rivers clap their hands. Let the hills sing for joy together before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with equity. Will you pray with me?
00:14:27
Speaker
Father, we thank you so much for this season that we are walking into, this Advent season, the arrival of your son, Jesus. But Lord, as we celebrate this season, I pray that we'll be reminded of the fact we are not anticipating the arrival of Jesus as the first time, but Lord, He has come.
00:14:52
Speaker
He has come and he has died and he has risen from the grave and he is now sitting at your right hand preparing a way for us and preparing a place for us. And Lord, this is the reason why we celebrate Christmas. And I pray that's exactly what we will recognize today. And as we read through, as we study through this song,
00:15:12
Speaker
Lord, I pray that you open our hearts and our minds so that we can truly experience the joy that we have in Christ now as he has arrived and as he has died and as he's sitting back in the throne with you. Lord, I love you. We praise you. We thank you. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you, guys. You may be seated.
00:15:37
Speaker
So the title in my Bible, at least, and I'm sure in yours, or it may say something in a very similar manner, says this. It says, make a joyful noise to the Lord. Make a joyful noise. Well, why should we make a joyful noise? Well, I feel like the psalmist walks us through that, and that's what I would like for us to do this morning. As we go through this Christmas season, this Advent season, I pray that we will make a joyful noise.
00:16:07
Speaker
Because there should be no other position. There should be no other place that we should be within this season, but then to sing with a joyful noise. And he starts off there in verse 1 and says, oh, sing to the Lord a new song. And why should we sing? We sing joyfully because of what we see in verses 1 through 3. It's because of God's deliverance. That's why we should sing joyfully in this season.
Joyful Anticipation of Jesus' Return
00:16:36
Speaker
In verses one through three, we see this played out. It says, sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things. What are those marvelous things that he's done? Well, he's brought about salvation. Some translations actually say victory. He has come and he has brought victory for his people.
00:17:00
Speaker
It says this, says, the Lord has made known his salvation. He has revealed his righteousness in the side of the nations. And he's done this by going back to verse one where it says, his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.
00:17:14
Speaker
meaning that God is not just sitting up in the heavens being a passive God, but rather he is looking down on his people. And you gotta remember, this is in the Old Testament context. These Jews were still awaiting the Messiah during this time. As we read it, we're reading it on this side of the cross. So for us, we know the victory that has been brought through Christ. Whereas the psalmist, as he's writing this,
00:17:42
Speaker
Christ hasn't come yet, but he knows that God's victory has already been made. He trusts in God. And because of his trust, he finds joy in God's mighty arm and his mighty hand that brings about salvation.
00:18:00
Speaker
Because you got to remember, this victory, this salvation, what she is bringing here has been foretold for generations before that. From the very beginning of the earth, God knew that he was going to have to send his son, Jesus, to come and to die on the cross for our sins. Every time God made a covenant with his people, he promised them that he would redeem them, that he would restore them. And God never held back from his promises.
00:18:29
Speaker
God was there with Abraham. God was there with Moses. God was there with David. He was there with all of them. And he is here with us today through the New Testament covenant. So this is why as we read this, this is why the psalmist was able to write these words with such confidence, with such conviction, because he knew who he was trusting in. That's why he had joy.
00:18:59
Speaker
The Lord made known his salvation and revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations." So it's not just his people, but rather the entire world. God has demonstrated and revealed his righteousness and his victory, his salvation to the nations. All are without excuse.
00:19:23
Speaker
And it goes on to verse three, it says, he has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. So we have, what the psalmist is communicating to us right now is that we not only have a God who brings salvation, who has brought victory, but rather he is a God of great remembrance. This is crucial for us.
00:19:50
Speaker
Because as we live in days that oftentimes look dark, they look like they're overwhelming, that there's no hope for us, we must remember that God remembers His promise. How do you think the nation of Israel made it through countless hurdles throughout their history?
00:20:15
Speaker
going from being created a nation, going into Egypt, and then going into enslavement for hundreds of years, only to be brought out, to be brought into the promised land, and as they're going to the promised land, it's been 40 more years in the wilderness because of their disobedience. And when they finally enter into the promised land, eventually the promised land gets taken away from them and they go into captivity again with Babylon.
00:20:44
Speaker
How do you think they made it through all of this? It's because God remembered them and God was with them. And just as God was with the nation of Israel in every situation that they encountered, God is still with us today. Except today, we have a much more personal relationship because we have the Holy Spirit who lives inside of us.
00:21:12
Speaker
So this is the reason why we can sing joyfully because God has delivered us because of God's deliverance. Nothing you have done, nothing this world has done, nothing our leaders have done, nothing any other nation has done, only what God has done. That's why we sing joyfully because of God's deliverance.
00:21:47
Speaker
The second thing I want us to see here, though, why we sing joyfully is not just because God brought deliverance, He brought victory, and He remembers us, but rather it's because God is King. As a result of His deliverance, as a result of His promise to us, He has instituted His Lordship over us.
00:22:09
Speaker
And that is another thing that we see here in verses four through six that the psalmist is declaring to us. And we actually see it overflow into verses seven and eight, where it says, make a joyful noise to the Lord all the earth, break forth and joy a song and sing praises. And why is that? Because of what it says there in verse six, right there at the end, it says, make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord.
00:22:38
Speaker
The psalmist goes from inviting us to singing a new song about the Lord because of his salvation and deliverance, which is a personal invitation, to now a greater acknowledgement from the world because of the fact that he is the universal king.
00:22:54
Speaker
So again, he's not just declaring this to like-minded believers, but rather he's now turning his attention, the psalmist says, to everyone. Everyone who has breath in their lungs needs to praise the Lord because he is the king of the universe. He is the creator of it. He is the author of it. He formed and fashioned everything perfectly and intricately. The God who created all of this deserves our praise.
00:23:25
Speaker
And what the psalmist is recalling, is challenging us to think about and to ponder on is this, is that everyone is without excuse. We as believers, we should definitely worship God. We should definitely sing joyfully because of the promises that we have in Him and the salvation that we now have in through Christ.
00:23:46
Speaker
But what the psalmist is saying is that it's not just for the believers, but all man, all creation. Because he does it, and if you hear the words, it doesn't just stop with man. It goes to all creation, right? Right there in verse seven to eight. Let the sea roar and all that fills it. Let the world and all those who dwell in it. Let the rivers clap their hands. Let the hills sing for joy together. Now are the rivers actually gonna clap their hands?
00:24:14
Speaker
Probably not. They don't have hands. I don't know if you guys do that, but the reality is that God's creation has no other position but to sing joyfully for Him, to make music for Him. Did you guys catch that, by the way? It's okay to make music for God. It's okay to use instruments. David was a master musician.
00:24:41
Speaker
But He desires us to come before Him and to sing praise and to worship Him joyfully. We also see this in Isaiah 44, verse 23, where it says, Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done it. Shout, O depths of the earth. Break forth into singing, O mountains, O forest, and every tree in it, for the Lord has redeemed Jacob and will be glorified in Israel.
00:25:13
Speaker
So again, why should we sing joyfully to the Lord? Not just because of His deliverance and His salvation, but because He is keen.
00:25:22
Speaker
He is king overall, and He always will be. Nothing will change that. It doesn't matter how hard you try to fight it, or how hard you reject it, or how hard you try to deny it, or how hard you try to convince yourself that God isn't for you, that He doesn't love you, or that He is never there for you. God is there for you. He remembers His promises, and He desires to fulfill them.
00:25:51
Speaker
You just have to surrender to it and trust it as the psalmist did. You gotta trust him and walk faithfully to him. And as a result of that, sing joyfully. Our lives need to be an announcement of joy. Always and forever as Christians.
00:26:20
Speaker
So again, the psalmist is trying to communicate here that salvation that God's bring forth is not just for his people, but it's for the entire world. But for us as believers, as we receive this salvation, it should serve as a light or a beacon of hope to those who are walking in darkness around us.
00:26:44
Speaker
And I pray that that will be our desire as we walk through this Advent and Christmas season. That as we encounter those that we know are lost, or those that we, let me rephrase that. As we encounter everyone that we go around with, we should sing joyfully and be a beacon of light into the darkness. Because let's be honest, people can act like they know God.
00:27:12
Speaker
People can act like they are saved, but the reality is we don't know their heart, only God knows. So we should never miss an opportunity to shine a light of the gospel into the lives of others. Whether it's each other here in this building today, or those that we know for sure who are lost in the world. Does that make sense? We are called to be put on display for the gospel. Psalm 98 is an Old Testament calling to the New Testament message.
00:27:42
Speaker
God's redemptive plan from the very beginning was and always will be for all the earth and is only completed through the finished work of our Messiah, our Emmanuel, Jesus.
00:27:59
Speaker
These verses are calling us to acknowledge our need for the one true king, the creator of the heavens and the earth and all that's within them, the one who came to seek and to save the sinful and lost by taking on flesh, the one who dwells inside of us today and continues to lead us through his spirit, our holy and perfect trying God. We need to acknowledge these things. So that's why we sing joyfully.
00:28:29
Speaker
And there's a third reason I want us to see here in these verses, and it's in verses seven through nine. So we sing joyfully, not only because of his deliverance and salvation, not only because he's a king, but because of one final act that still remains. And that is out of anticipation for Jesus' return. That's why we sing joyfully during this season.
00:28:58
Speaker
As we read here in these verses, right? Verse seven says, let the sea roar and all that fills it. Let the world and those who dwell in it, let the rivers clap their hands. Let the hills sing for joy together before the Lord, because He comes to judge the earth. He will judge the earth or He will judge the world with righteousness.
00:29:19
Speaker
and the peoples with equity. This is a future event that the psalmist is talking about. He's talking about the day when Christ will come and to establish His kingdom forevermore. So this isn't talking about the first coming of Christ as Messiah, but rather this is talking about the second coming of Christ as King.
00:29:47
Speaker
we should sing joyfully always out of anticipation for Christ's returning again. And this time when he returns, it's not that he's just gonna forgive sins, it's that he's gonna extinguish sin forevermore and he's gonna establish his eternal reign here on earth. And it's gonna be wonderful.
00:30:10
Speaker
And this should be a joyful thought for us. That's what I'm saying, we should sing joyfully for this. If you're in this room and you think about the return of Christ and it scares you, I mean, I get it. When Christ returns and when you think about the magnitude of that event, and you think about all those who we love in this world who don't know the good news of Jesus,
00:30:39
Speaker
It can be scary because we don't want to lose those who we love. We don't want to see others suffer, right? But at the same time, for those of us who are in Christ, we have been sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. And we now have eternal life in Christ. So we should not fear Christ's return. But rather, so instead of walking in fear, we should be walking in urgency.
00:31:05
Speaker
With great joy, I know that sounds kind of weird, but we should be walking with urgency, with great joy, to share the gospel message as much as we possibly can, while we still have today. Because again, Christ will return. And when He returns, what does it say there? He will judge the world with righteousness.
00:31:30
Speaker
So when judgment comes, it's not that God is being a mean, wrathful judge. No, it says that He's coming with righteousness. He's coming with justice. He has every reason to come and to judge sin and to extinguish it. So for any of us who are in this room and we are walking in sin and when Christ returns and we are judged, we deserve it because of the sinfulness in us.
00:31:57
Speaker
But for those of us who have Christ, we have been sealed, as I said, with a promised Holy Spirit. And we are no longer judged by our sin, but we are judged by the righteousness of Christ in us.
Christmas as Anticipation of Christ's Return
00:32:10
Speaker
So again, that's why we should have a position of great joy. So he says he's gonna come and judge the world with righteousness in the peoples with equity, with truth.
00:32:29
Speaker
So we should sing joyfully this season, not just because of God's deliverance and salvation, not because he's just king, but because of the anticipation of Jesus' return and the promises that come with it. There's great joy in the gospel message. There's great joy in this Advent Christmas season.
00:32:58
Speaker
And the reality and the truth is, is that we should be living this way year round. Not just for the four weeks that we celebrate Christmas. This should be a lifestyle for us. But as we wrap up our time this morning,
00:33:30
Speaker
I'm gonna go back to the song that Isaac Watts says, Joy to the World. And as we were reading those lyrics, did you guys catch something? The lyrics that he wrote, they weren't words that were speaking to the arrival of Christ as Messiah. They weren't talking about Christ incarnation. They weren't talking about the birth of Jesus on Christmas.
00:33:56
Speaker
Actually, Joy to the World, when it was written, was actually not even a Christmas song. It's something that we have created throughout the history, or throughout generations. It's become a timeless Christmas classic, because that's what we've created it to be. And praise God for that, because I said it's such a joyful song for us to sing during this season. But that's not what his original intent was. When Isaac Watts wrote this song, it was out of declaration and anticipation for the second coming of Christ.
00:34:25
Speaker
Again, when you read these lyrics, think about it. Verse one, joy to the world the Lord has come, let earth receive her King. Did the earth receive her King when Christ came? No. Actually, it says this in Isaiah, it says that he was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
00:34:56
Speaker
So again, these words that we sing in Joy to the World doesn't line up with Christ's first coming. The second verse says, Joy to the World, the Savior reigns, let men's their song employ. Do we feel like that's what we're doing today? Is the world declaring the goodness of God?
00:35:20
Speaker
The church should be doing that. And I pray that we are all doing that. But right now, as a whole, I don't feel like that's what we're experiencing. If anything, it's not that we're, if anything, the world is not displaying God for all to see. If anything, they're trying to defame God. They're trying to get rid of Him.
00:35:44
Speaker
And then verse three it says, no more let sin and sorrows grow, no thorns infest the ground. I don't know about you guys, but it doesn't take much to look out and see that there's still sin and sorrow. There's still brokenness in this world, right? So as you go through this song, we see that this song itself is not about the birth of Jesus, but rather it's about the second coming of Christ and what He will do when He comes and reigns forevermore.
00:36:11
Speaker
So as we wrap up our time, I pray that our hearts and our minds will have a shift as we go through this Advent season.
00:36:21
Speaker
Now, as we continue this series on, oh, come, let us adore Him, that our minds will make a ship, and that when we come and see and when we adore Christ the Lord, that it won't be just this innocent little baby that was born into a manger, but rather that when we gaze upon Jesus, that we will see Him as King of kings and Lord of lords.
00:36:45
Speaker
The Alpha, the Omega, the one who came to get rid of sin forevermore and to establish his eternal kingdom. So when we celebrate Christmas, we're not, we're not celebrating or sorry, when we celebrate Christmas, we're not anticipating the arrival of Christ as Messiah, but rather we are anticipating Christ as Messiah King. That's why we celebrate Christmas.
00:37:17
Speaker
Now pray that we as the church will not sit back idly and let this world continue to overlook the true meaning of Christmas. Yes, Christmas was a special day as the kids were seeing earlier because of the birth that was given. The birth of our Messiah Jesus.
00:37:48
Speaker
but it's so much more than just that birth of Jesus. Because Jesus, He went from being a baby to being the perfect man, the perfect sacrifice, to dying the perfect death, to being buried, ultimately to resurrect from the grave. And why? Why would He resurrect from the grave?
00:38:10
Speaker
So that way His role as Messiah would be fulfilled and completed and that sin will no longer have reign over our mortal bodies for all who confess and believe in Him. So Christmas is so much more than just a little innocent baby coming, but rather it all prepares the way for Christ to return and to establish His kingdom forevermore for us as believers.
00:38:36
Speaker
And again, I pray that we will feel the urgency of the gospel message while we still have today. That we will share the good news to those who are missing the most incredible good news that this world has ever received in Jesus. So as we go into this time of invitation, I'll ask some musicians to come back up. I pray that
00:39:05
Speaker
If you're in this room and you don't know Jesus as Messiah, you've heard the story of Christmas thousands of times. You may have even heard the gospel message hundreds of times. But if you're in this room and you don't know Jesus, our Messiah, as Lord and King of your life, I pray that you will surrender to Him today. It's super easy.
00:39:32
Speaker
It doesn't require anything on our behalf because the reality is that Christ already paid the fullness of our debt on the cross. Because of that, all we have to do is come before Him and confess with our mouth and believe in our heart that He is Lord and we shall be saved. It's as easy as that. No strings attached.
00:39:56
Speaker
If you want the peace of Christ, if you want to experience the fullness of this joy by which we are talking about today, despite the pain and the sorrow and the evil and the wickedness that's still in this world, if you want to experience the fullness of this joy, I pray that you will receive Jesus today. You can come talk to me, you can come talk to Victor, you can talk to somebody that you know for sure that is a believer in Jesus. I pray that you will speak to them, that you will ask the right questions and that you will come to know Him personally.
00:40:26
Speaker
But for the rest of us in this room as believers, I pray that we will feel the challenge of what this psalmist has been saying, that we will go throughout our days making a joyful noise. I pray that every day we wake up, we will sing a new song because of the greatness of God and what he has done for us through his son, Jesus. Let me pray over us.
00:40:54
Speaker
God, we thank you so much for your word and your message and how it is living and active. It never fails. Lord, it meets us here today. It penetrates our hearts. And I pray that all of us in this room, whether believe or not believe it, that we will fall flat before you in great praise, because Lord, there is gonna be a day where we all will do that. And it's gonna be wonderful.
00:41:21
Speaker
But I pray over those in this room today, Father, who do not know you personally. And I pray, God, that they will come to know you and surrender their life to you so that when the day does come of judgment, that they won't be judged for their sin, but God, that they'll be judged for their righteousness in Christ. That's the reason why we have joy today for those of us who are in Christ, is because of your finished work, Jesus. We love you, Lord. We praise you. We thank you for this time. It was in Jesus' name.
Conclusion and Church Invitation
00:41:49
Speaker
Amen.
00:41:57
Speaker
This is a ministry of First Baptist Church, located at 1700 Milam Street, Columbus, Texas.