1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,000 Amen. 2 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:32,000 Amen. 3 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:02,000 Amen. 4 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:28,300 Test, test, testing. 5 00:05:28,300 --> 00:05:35,300 . 6 00:05:58,300 --> 00:06:05,300 . 7 00:06:28,300 --> 00:06:35,300 . 8 00:06:58,300 --> 00:07:23,300 Joy to the world, the Lord. 9 00:07:23,300 --> 00:07:30,300 Amen. 10 00:07:53,300 --> 00:07:55,300 Amen. 11 00:08:23,300 --> 00:08:25,300 Amen. 12 00:12:53,300 --> 00:13:19,300 ...world, so if the kids want to make their way to the back. And Derek, it's a video, so if you just want to start it. Oh, yeah, I forgot. We're going to read Scripture first. Let's stand and let's read from Isaiah. We're going to read from Isaiah chapter 12. 13 00:13:19,300 --> 00:13:45,300 Behold, God is my salvation. I will trust and will not be afraid. For the Lord God is my strength and my song. He has become my salvation. With joy, you will draw water from the wells of salvation. And you will say in that day, give thanks to the Lord. 14 00:13:45,300 --> 00:13:55,300 Call upon his name. Make known his deeds among the peoples. Proclaim that his name is exalted. This is the word of the Lord. 15 00:14:15,300 --> 00:14:33,580 Joy to the world, the Lord is come. Let earth receive a King. Let every heart prepare Him room. 16 00:14:33,580 --> 00:14:44,580 And heaven and nature sing. And heaven and nature sing. And heaven and nature sing. 17 00:14:45,300 --> 00:15:15,280 Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns. Let men their songs employ. While floods, rocks, hills and plains repeat the sounding joy. Repeat the sounding joy. Repeat the sounding joy. Repeat, repeat, repeat. 18 00:15:15,300 --> 00:15:45,280 The sounding joy. No more let sin and sorrow glow. No thorns infest the ground. He comes to make His blessings flow. Far as the curse is found, far as the curse is found, far as the curse is found. 19 00:15:45,300 --> 00:16:15,280 Far as the curse is found, far as the curse is found. He rules the world with truth and grace, and makes the nations bring the glories of His righteousness. 20 00:16:15,280 --> 00:16:45,260 And wonders of His love, and wonders of His love, and wonders, wonders of His love. 21 00:16:45,260 --> 00:17:15,240 Let's pray. 22 00:17:15,240 --> 00:17:45,220 Let's pray. 23 00:17:45,220 --> 00:18:15,200 Go tell it on the mountain that Jesus Christ is born. The shepherds feared and trembled when low above the earth rang out the angel chorus that hailed the Savior's birth. 24 00:18:15,200 --> 00:18:45,180 Go tell it on the mountain that Jesus Christ is born. Go tell it on the mountain over the hills and everywhere. Go tell it on the mountain that Jesus Christ is born. 25 00:18:45,180 --> 00:18:52,860 Go tell it on the mountain that Jesus Christ is born. Go tell it on the mountain that Jesus Christ is born. Go tell it on the mountain that Jesus Christ is born. Go tell it on the mountain that Jesus Christ is born. God bless you. 26 00:19:15,180 --> 00:19:17,180 God bless you. 27 00:19:45,180 --> 00:19:47,180 God bless you. 28 00:20:15,180 --> 00:20:17,180 God bless you. 29 00:29:15,180 --> 00:29:30,180 As we prepare to come to the table together, I want to direct our hearts to the grace that we see in Jesus. So we're going to sing "Amazing Grace, My Chains Are Gone." 30 00:29:45,180 --> 00:29:47,180 Let's pray. 31 00:30:15,180 --> 00:30:41,180 Grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved. How precious did that grace appear, the hour I first believed. 32 00:30:41,180 --> 00:31:09,180 My chains are gone, I've been set free. My God, my Savior, has ransomed me. And like a flood, His mercy reigns. Unending love, amazing grace. 33 00:31:09,180 --> 00:31:37,180 The Lord has promised good to me. His word my hope secures. He will my shield and portion be, as long as life endures. 34 00:31:37,180 --> 00:32:05,180 The earth shall soon dissolve like snow. The sun forbear to shine. But God who called me here below will be forever mine. 35 00:32:05,180 --> 00:32:33,180 My chains are gone. I've been set free. My God, my Savior, has ransomed me. And like a flood, His mercy reigns. Unending love. Amazing grace. Unending love. 36 00:32:33,180 --> 00:32:47,180 Unending love. Amazing grace. Unending love. Amazing grace. 37 00:32:47,180 --> 00:33:01,180 Last week we were in Isaiah chapter 9. That picture that is so wonderful to us of light coming into the darkness. 38 00:33:01,180 --> 00:33:12,180 And that prophecy of Jesus that He will be the wonderful Counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace. 39 00:33:12,180 --> 00:33:23,180 And Isaiah chapter 9 written as a message and a picture of hope after the brokenness that we see in the first eight chapters of Isaiah. 40 00:33:23,180 --> 00:33:36,180 Of God's people turning away, trusting in themselves, trusting in foreign gods, trusting in their political plans and their armies and their warriors. 41 00:33:36,180 --> 00:33:40,180 And what they find in all that trust is brokenness. 42 00:33:40,180 --> 00:33:47,180 And in the northern part of Israel that was the first to suffer the darkness of the judgment of God, 43 00:33:47,180 --> 00:33:55,180 the promise is that they are the first to see the great light. 44 00:33:55,180 --> 00:34:02,180 Jesus in Nazareth will say this in the synagogue on a Sabbath. 45 00:34:02,180 --> 00:34:09,180 He will take the scroll of Isaiah and he will flip through the scroll until he finds this passage. 46 00:34:09,180 --> 00:34:16,180 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. 47 00:34:16,180 --> 00:34:26,180 He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives, the recovery of sight to the blind and to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 48 00:34:26,180 --> 00:34:34,180 and to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. 49 00:34:34,180 --> 00:34:45,180 And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him, and he began to say, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." 50 00:34:45,180 --> 00:34:58,180 That wonderful message of grace that into the darkness, not just of Israel's brokenness and sin, but of our brokenness and sin, 51 00:34:58,180 --> 00:35:14,180 our spiritual poverty, our spiritual slavery and bondage, our spiritual blindness, the burden of our sin and shame that crushed us down. 52 00:35:14,180 --> 00:35:25,180 Jesus comes in this remarkable and wonderful grace to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. Let's pray. 53 00:35:25,180 --> 00:35:35,180 Father in heaven, as we come to this table, may you nourish us. May you restore our souls. As we walk through those dry places in life, 54 00:35:35,180 --> 00:35:43,180 may you bring water and refreshment. As we walk through the tears of life, 55 00:35:43,180 --> 00:36:05,180 may you bring comfort. Help us as we consider the joy that is found in your son, that you would remind us of your grace and of the cross and of his death and of his resurrection. 56 00:36:05,180 --> 00:36:12,180 Be with us as we partake of this bread and this cup. May you help us to see 57 00:36:12,180 --> 00:36:18,180 this wonderful grace. We ask that you bless it in Jesus' name. Amen. 58 00:36:18,180 --> 00:36:27,180 If you would partake of the bread with me that reminds us and directs us to the body of Christ. 59 00:36:27,180 --> 00:36:39,180 If you would partake with me of the cup that directs us to this new covenant in his blood. 60 00:36:41,180 --> 00:36:48,180 And we eat and drink both with joy and remembrance and peace with God. 61 00:36:48,180 --> 00:36:55,180 And we seek to proclaim this into a world that desperately needs to hear it. 62 00:36:55,180 --> 00:37:00,180 We're going to begin this morning in Luke, the second chapter. 63 00:37:00,180 --> 00:37:08,180 And then we are going to go to the 126th Psalm, where we will spend most of our time this morning. 64 00:37:09,180 --> 00:37:17,180 And hopefully in this 126th Psalm, we will see the arrival and the advent of the joy of Jesus 65 00:37:17,180 --> 00:37:24,180 in a way that stirs our hearts and encourages us with the goodness of God. 66 00:37:24,180 --> 00:37:36,180 So Luke 2:9-10, there is this moment outside of Bethlehem, where shepherds are in the fields, and an angel of the Lord appeared to them. 67 00:37:37,180 --> 00:37:44,180 And the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 68 00:37:44,180 --> 00:37:54,180 And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people." 69 00:37:54,180 --> 00:37:57,180 This is the word of the Lord. 70 00:37:57,180 --> 00:38:03,180 Father in heaven, as we consider the good news of great joy this morning, the gospel of joy, 71 00:38:04,180 --> 00:38:14,180 may you encourage our hearts, may you give us strength as we remember your goodness, and as we see that future promises, 72 00:38:14,180 --> 00:38:19,180 and how we see the call to faithfulness as we live in joy. 73 00:38:19,180 --> 00:38:27,180 So help us this morning. Teach us, strengthen us, encourage us, just be with us. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 74 00:38:28,180 --> 00:38:37,180 There is something about being in proximity to something that is wonderful that over time causes us to take it for granted. 75 00:38:37,180 --> 00:38:47,180 And I was thinking about this over the last couple of weeks as we've been getting Christmas cards and as our kids on occasion will write letters to their friends and get letters back. 76 00:38:47,180 --> 00:38:57,180 And when I was in junior high, in the beginnings of high school, I would write letters to my cousins who were missionaries in Eastern Europe. 77 00:38:58,180 --> 00:39:08,180 And it was a long process because you had to have a special envelope, you had to pay extra postage, and you would write a letter, and it usually would take a couple weeks at least to get there and a couple weeks to get back. 78 00:39:08,180 --> 00:39:20,180 And it seems like over the course of the year you would only exchange just a few letters, not because you didn't want to write more, but because it took so long to get there and so long to get back. 79 00:39:21,180 --> 00:39:30,180 And all of a sudden, right, email became readily available, and I remember our first computer and sitting down and writing an email, and like an hour later, there's a reply. 80 00:39:30,180 --> 00:39:37,180 And it's like, "This is amazing." So talking back and forth to my cousins, and now, when I think about email, it's not with amazement. 81 00:39:37,180 --> 00:39:44,180 It's like, "Do I really have to open this? Do I really have to read this? And can I just mark it all as spam?" 82 00:39:45,180 --> 00:39:56,180 This wonderful technological breakthrough in communication has become, not just commonplace, but in many of our lives, just kind of annoying. 83 00:39:56,180 --> 00:40:06,180 And we can see it too, not just in things like technological advancements, but if we think about or remember back when we're children or see our children, 84 00:40:06,180 --> 00:40:13,180 and you say, "Hey, go find something to play with." And they go, "All my toys are boring." And then you go over to your friend's house, 85 00:40:13,180 --> 00:40:19,180 two doors down with the same exact toys that you have, and those toys are much more exciting. 86 00:40:19,180 --> 00:40:28,180 Or their sticks in the yard are much greater than yours because, right, you're not used to them. You're not in proximity to them. 87 00:40:28,180 --> 00:40:39,180 One of the things that happens when we hear this announcement, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people." 88 00:40:40,180 --> 00:40:48,180 And as it continues, "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord." We've heard this. 89 00:40:48,180 --> 00:40:52,180 We've been around it, especially if we've been in church. 90 00:40:52,180 --> 00:41:02,180 And what tends to happen is we hear this good news of great joy, and maybe we acknowledge it on an intellectual level. 91 00:41:03,180 --> 00:41:13,180 But somewhere in our soul, we miss this transformational and powerful message. 92 00:41:13,180 --> 00:41:20,180 It's so easy because of our proximity to hearing this message on a regular basis. 93 00:41:20,180 --> 00:41:29,180 That this wonderful and amazing thing, for many of us, it doesn't stir our hearts like it should. 94 00:41:30,180 --> 00:41:36,180 So what I want to do is I want to go to the 126th Psalm this morning. 95 00:41:36,180 --> 00:41:42,180 And it's a song of joy, and it's kind of a remarkable psalm of joy, 96 00:41:42,180 --> 00:41:48,180 because although it talks a lot about joy, there's not really that much joy. 97 00:41:48,180 --> 00:41:55,180 The first half is all about joy, and the second half is all about the deserts and the tears. 98 00:41:56,180 --> 00:42:00,180 Let's take a look at this psalm, and then let's talk about how joy transforms us. 99 00:42:00,180 --> 00:42:03,180 I'm just going to read the entirety of the 126th Psalm. 100 00:42:03,180 --> 00:42:06,180 A song of ascents. 101 00:42:06,180 --> 00:42:12,180 When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. 102 00:42:12,180 --> 00:42:16,180 Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue was shouts of joy. 103 00:42:16,180 --> 00:42:20,180 And they said among the nations, "The Lord has done great things for them." 104 00:42:20,180 --> 00:42:23,180 The Lord has done great things for us. 105 00:42:24,180 --> 00:42:26,180 We are glad. 106 00:42:26,180 --> 00:42:28,180 Notice the past tense. 107 00:42:28,180 --> 00:42:31,180 Now he's going to talk about now. 108 00:42:31,180 --> 00:42:37,180 Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like streams in the Negev. 109 00:42:37,180 --> 00:42:43,180 Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy. 110 00:42:43,180 --> 00:42:47,180 He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, 111 00:42:47,180 --> 00:42:52,180 shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his leaves with him. 112 00:42:53,180 --> 00:42:57,180 It starts with this picture of what God has done in the past, 113 00:42:57,180 --> 00:43:01,180 but very quickly moves into the dryness of the deserts 114 00:43:01,180 --> 00:43:06,180 and the sorrow of tears that seem to blur everything out around us. 115 00:43:06,180 --> 00:43:10,180 I want to begin by talking about the Song of Ascents. 116 00:43:10,180 --> 00:43:13,180 And the Song of Ascents are a collection, 117 00:43:13,180 --> 00:43:17,180 and if you're following along on your fill in the blanks, the answer is 15. 118 00:43:17,180 --> 00:43:21,180 They are a collection of 15 psalms 119 00:43:22,180 --> 00:43:26,180 that are traditionally sung during those three big feasts 120 00:43:26,180 --> 00:43:29,180 where Israel is called to go to Jerusalem. 121 00:43:29,180 --> 00:43:32,180 And Jerusalem, just like my parents walked to school, 122 00:43:32,180 --> 00:43:34,180 like it's uphill both ways. 123 00:43:34,180 --> 00:43:38,180 And so as they get to Jerusalem, you have to climb the hill into the city. 124 00:43:38,180 --> 00:43:42,180 They would sing these songs, these 15 songs together. 125 00:43:42,180 --> 00:43:45,180 And for us, we say, "Oh, isn't that great?" 126 00:43:45,180 --> 00:43:46,180 They sing these songs together. 127 00:43:46,180 --> 00:43:51,180 But I think we're missing the emotion and community that is found here. 128 00:43:51,180 --> 00:43:58,180 And I actually went back and found the video on YouTube in 2010. 129 00:43:58,180 --> 00:44:03,180 It's kind of embarrassing to say this, but I went to a video game convention in Boston. 130 00:44:03,180 --> 00:44:05,180 Like 80,000 people. 131 00:44:05,180 --> 00:44:10,180 And we were standing in line with several thousand people to go into the concert at night, 132 00:44:10,180 --> 00:44:14,180 which was also really dorky because it was like the video game orchestra. 133 00:44:14,180 --> 00:44:16,180 And as we're getting ready to go in, 134 00:44:16,180 --> 00:44:22,180 and somebody at one end of the hall starts singing the song from an end credits of a video game. 135 00:44:22,180 --> 00:44:24,180 And the song is called "Still Alive." 136 00:44:24,180 --> 00:44:29,180 So if you want to look it up on YouTube, try to spot Brandon, 2010, Still Alive, Boston. 137 00:44:29,180 --> 00:44:33,180 And all of a sudden, everybody around you starts singing the song, because we all know it. 138 00:44:33,180 --> 00:44:37,180 And we're all just standing there, several thousand people, right? 139 00:44:37,180 --> 00:44:43,180 Men and women, young people, old people, people from all over who have traveled to be there. 140 00:44:43,180 --> 00:44:49,180 And in that moment, there's this sense of community that's like, hey, I'm a part of something. 141 00:44:49,180 --> 00:44:54,180 I have no idea who any of these people are, but I know the same song. 142 00:44:54,180 --> 00:44:59,180 And here you are coming to something far more important. You're coming to Jerusalem, right? 143 00:44:59,180 --> 00:45:03,180 The place where God's presence dwells. And maybe you've never been there. 144 00:45:03,180 --> 00:45:08,180 Maybe it's your first time, and you're traveling from Greece or from Rome. 145 00:45:08,180 --> 00:45:16,180 And you walk up toward Jerusalem, and you begin to hear singing, and you get closer, and you go, I know this song. 146 00:45:16,180 --> 00:45:25,180 And all of a sudden, men and women, young and old, are all singing the same song, and you're reminded that you're part of the same family. 147 00:45:25,180 --> 00:45:34,180 That's what the Songs of Ascent are for, to remind us that we're part of the same family, that you're not alone. 148 00:45:34,180 --> 00:45:43,180 There's a group who surrounds you. And this particular Psalm of Ascent can be divided into sort of three very easy sections. 149 00:45:43,180 --> 00:45:51,180 It starts with a proclamation, it moves to a prayer, and it ends with a promise. 150 00:45:51,180 --> 00:46:00,180 So we want to begin with this proclamation of joy. A public announcement of God's blessing. 151 00:46:00,180 --> 00:46:13,180 If you have ever watched The Office, the manager of the branch of the paper company that the TV show The Office takes place in, is going through some financial difficulties. 152 00:46:13,180 --> 00:46:19,180 And so somebody comes in and says, "You know what, have you ever thought about bankruptcy, declaring bankruptcy?" 153 00:46:19,180 --> 00:46:26,180 And he goes, "What happens when I do that?" It's like, "All your debts are taken away." So he walks out into the middle of the bullpen in the office, 154 00:46:26,180 --> 00:46:35,180 stands on a chair, and goes, "I declare bankruptcy." And somebody goes, "You can't just say bankruptcy." 155 00:46:35,180 --> 00:46:43,180 He said, "I didn't say it. I declared it." Right? That's what's happening here. This is not just a proclamation of joy 156 00:46:43,180 --> 00:46:55,180 where somebody's like, "Hey, there's something joyful." Right? This is a shout, a declaration, very clearly saying that there is a reason for joy. 157 00:46:55,180 --> 00:47:03,180 Listen to what the psalmist says, "When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dreamed. 158 00:47:03,180 --> 00:47:11,180 Then our mouth was filled with laughter, our tongue the shouts of joy, and they said among the nations, the Lord has done great things for them. 159 00:47:11,180 --> 00:47:24,180 The Lord has done great things for us, and we are glad." And we're not sure the exact restoration of fortune that this refers to in verse one. It's likely 160 00:47:24,180 --> 00:47:31,180 that maybe it's the return of the captives from Babylon. They get to go home from being captives. 161 00:47:31,180 --> 00:47:40,180 But we're not sure, but we do know that there is a great joy. And I want you to see that at the center of this text, 162 00:47:40,180 --> 00:47:49,180 and the larger context of Psalm 126, is even though it talks a lot about joy, the center of this psalm is God. 163 00:47:49,180 --> 00:47:58,180 In verse 1, he's the one who restores. In verse 4, he's the one who will refresh and restore again in the desert. 164 00:47:58,180 --> 00:48:04,180 He is the one who, in the midst of our tears, guarantees a harvest. That's verses 5 and 6. 165 00:48:04,180 --> 00:48:17,180 I want you to see that God is the author of joy. And joy is the response and the result of God's work. 166 00:48:17,180 --> 00:48:24,180 And for the shepherds that we read about earlier, we might say, "What's their joy? That a baby has been born?" 167 00:48:24,180 --> 00:48:33,180 Right? That's generally accepted as good news, but it's really only joyful for those who are in very close proximity. 168 00:48:33,180 --> 00:48:46,180 Unless that baby is going to come. And to crush the serpent, and to bring light into the darkness, and take the burdens that are crushing us, and to restore our relationship with God. 169 00:48:46,180 --> 00:48:58,180 That's good news of great joy. It's not just that a baby has been born, but it is that a Savior has been born. 170 00:48:58,180 --> 00:49:11,180 And what we see in this text is that joy transforms. First of all, it transforms the perspective in both our suffering and our current situation. 171 00:49:11,180 --> 00:49:20,180 Notice what it says, "We were like those who dream." And people have in commentaries questioned, "What does that mean?" 172 00:49:20,180 --> 00:49:28,180 Are they talking about the fact that their suffering as they look back on it has grown dim? 173 00:49:28,180 --> 00:49:36,180 That those hard times and those broken times and those times full of hurt, that when God restores their fortunes, 174 00:49:36,180 --> 00:49:44,180 they look back and they go, "It was so small in comparison to the joy we have that it was like a dream." 175 00:49:44,180 --> 00:49:53,180 Or is it the fact that as they come into this restoration, they go, "Am I dreaming?" 176 00:49:53,180 --> 00:50:00,180 This is so wonderful. It's so wonderful what God has done. And the question that has been asked about this, 177 00:50:00,180 --> 00:50:07,180 is it talking about that our sufferings feel far away or that the blessings are so great? 178 00:50:07,180 --> 00:50:17,180 And the answer is simply yes, that God's work in our life transforms both our view of our struggle and our suffering, 179 00:50:17,180 --> 00:50:25,180 but it also brings amazement into this moment. And it's evident in the actions of the people. 180 00:50:25,180 --> 00:50:34,180 Our mouth was filled with laughter, our tongues with shouts, with joy, and it's unmistakable to those who surround them, the nations. 181 00:50:34,180 --> 00:50:47,180 And then what happens? The people sing. The Lord has done great things for us, and we are glad, right? 182 00:50:47,180 --> 00:50:56,180 The right response to the true and wonderful work of God is this picture of rejoicing. 183 00:50:56,180 --> 00:51:07,180 And there are times, maybe in this season or others, where we just don't feel very joyful, or maybe in this season we don't feel very Christmassy. 184 00:51:07,180 --> 00:51:15,180 Maybe we're overwhelmed. Maybe we're struggling. Maybe not now, but we have been, or maybe not now, but we will be. 185 00:51:15,180 --> 00:51:29,180 And the question, and the help from this text, is that it gives us a way to address our joy in those times when we don't feel very joyful. 186 00:51:29,180 --> 00:51:35,180 By reminding ourselves what God has done. 187 00:51:35,180 --> 00:51:43,180 I recently rediscovered, I've always liked it, I've always enjoyed words and putting words together in some cases, 188 00:51:43,180 --> 00:51:52,180 greatly to the embarrassment of my mom in the grocery store as a toddler, saying words and making up words very loudly as we're going through the grocery store. 189 00:51:52,180 --> 00:52:01,180 So I recently rediscovered that I really like to play boggle, right? You just got a bunch of letters, and you shake them up in the case, and then you make words. 190 00:52:01,180 --> 00:52:11,180 And it always starts with like the little small words, especially when you're learning, like is, has, you know, am, was, and then before long, 191 00:52:11,180 --> 00:52:19,180 you begin to see connections between all of these letters. And so you may be looking, and there's an S-T-O-R-E, and you're like, oh, store. 192 00:52:19,180 --> 00:52:26,180 But there's an S, so now it's stores. But there's an R and an E, and so you put it all together, and it's restores. 193 00:52:26,180 --> 00:52:32,180 And you keep seeing these connections, and your words get more frequent, and they get bigger. 194 00:52:32,180 --> 00:52:39,180 When you and I begin to look intentionally at what God has done, that's what happens in our life. 195 00:52:39,180 --> 00:52:49,180 We begin to see the small things at first, those little words. But as we look more closely at what God has done, and we begin to see how it fits together, 196 00:52:49,180 --> 00:53:02,180 our brain and our minds and our hearts become acclimated. And one of the ways in which we fight for joy is by intentionally seeking to remember. 197 00:53:02,180 --> 00:53:08,180 A couple practical things that help us in this, one of them is just keep track of our prayers. 198 00:53:08,180 --> 00:53:13,180 Whether it's a little notebook where we write down what and who we're praying for. 199 00:53:13,180 --> 00:53:20,180 And every month or every few months, we flip back through, and we go, "Man, we prayed for that." 200 00:53:20,180 --> 00:53:25,180 And look what God did. And we prayed for that, and He answered. 201 00:53:25,180 --> 00:53:29,180 Maybe not in the way we were expecting, but He answered. 202 00:53:29,180 --> 00:53:37,180 Another one that has been helpful to me, and it seems kind of silly, but with the advent of smartphones, which in a lot of ways 203 00:53:37,180 --> 00:53:41,180 seem like they have affected lives in not very good ways. 204 00:53:41,180 --> 00:53:45,180 But one of the things that's happened is all of us carry a camera all the time. 205 00:53:45,180 --> 00:53:47,180 And we're always taking pictures. 206 00:53:47,180 --> 00:53:56,180 And it's interesting because now what happens is you begin to see your pictures from a year ago, or five years ago, or ten years ago. 207 00:53:56,180 --> 00:54:02,180 And it's interesting because in August, Rachel and I were married. Luke was born. 208 00:54:02,180 --> 00:54:08,180 In August, a bunch of years later, Evelyn was born in September. Penelope was born in October. 209 00:54:08,180 --> 00:54:16,180 And so this time of year, especially for me, if I look back a few years, it's this picture of God's blessing. 210 00:54:16,180 --> 00:54:20,180 Just flipping through those ordinary family photos. 211 00:54:20,180 --> 00:54:25,180 It's like, "Oh, look what God did. Look at how far He's brought us. Look what He's done." 212 00:54:25,180 --> 00:54:30,180 And so one of the things that happens, especially when we don't feel very joyful, 213 00:54:30,180 --> 00:54:38,180 is our feelings oftentimes aren't very honest, is we need to be intentional about going and looking back 214 00:54:38,180 --> 00:54:43,180 through our lives and past to see what God has done. 215 00:54:43,180 --> 00:54:51,180 And so from this remembrance and proclamation of joy, we come to a prayer of hope. 216 00:54:51,180 --> 00:54:54,180 And I love this prayer of hope. Listen to what it says. 217 00:54:54,180 --> 00:54:58,180 "Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like streams in the Negev." 218 00:54:58,180 --> 00:55:05,180 And when we see God's work in the past, which we have just looked at, it gives us hope for the future. 219 00:55:05,180 --> 00:55:13,180 The situation of God's people here is not what it was in those first three verses. 220 00:55:13,180 --> 00:55:20,180 They've rejoiced in the past, but that's not where they are now. They are walking through the desert. 221 00:55:20,180 --> 00:55:26,180 Right? This is real life. And all of us have experienced that moment where it goes from joy to struggle. 222 00:55:26,180 --> 00:55:33,180 A simple one for us is we'll drive two or three hours to see some friends. 223 00:55:33,180 --> 00:55:39,180 We'll have like the most amazing time, but then it's time to drive home. 224 00:55:39,180 --> 00:55:49,180 And while you've had an amazing time, you're now two to three hours from home, and everybody's tired, and everybody's hungry, and nobody wants to sit in a car. 225 00:55:49,180 --> 00:56:00,180 Right? And you go from that time of rejoicing to this time of just grinding out the miles to try to get home. 226 00:56:00,180 --> 00:56:09,180 And what's happened to God's people is they have experienced this wonderful redemption and have praised God, but now they're going through the desert. 227 00:56:09,180 --> 00:56:13,180 That's what the Negev is. It's a place with no water. 228 00:56:13,180 --> 00:56:23,180 And it might be you at this moment, having come from joy and now are in need of refreshment, and you're walking through the desert. 229 00:56:23,180 --> 00:56:34,180 And so look at what they do. They pray in hope. Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like streams in the Negev. 230 00:56:34,180 --> 00:56:47,180 Our intentional cultivation of joy, by remembering how God works in the first three verses, will give us hope as we walk through the difficult places of life. 231 00:56:47,180 --> 00:57:02,180 Right? The picture here is that He's done it before. He can do it again. And our intentional cultivation of joy is going to give us strength. 232 00:57:02,180 --> 00:57:11,180 And notice the psalmist doesn't look at this and go, "Okay, because I have the past joy, I can be strong." 233 00:57:11,180 --> 00:57:21,180 He looks at this and he says, "Because of this past joy, I'm reminded that God is strong, and that my hope is in Him." 234 00:57:21,180 --> 00:57:30,180 And so the remembrance of joy leads directly to the prayer of hope, not because we're good, but because God is good. 235 00:57:30,180 --> 00:57:40,180 And this brings us to the promise of transformation in verses 5 and 6. 236 00:57:40,180 --> 00:57:55,180 "Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy. He who goes out weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him." 237 00:57:55,180 --> 00:58:15,180 Has any of you ever sung this song? I remember, and I don't know if this is like a thing that happened all the time, but I have a very clear remembrance of ending our church in Arizona as like a little younger than Luke by singing, right, bringing in the sheaves, right? 238 00:58:15,180 --> 00:58:24,180 We shall come rejoicing, bringing in, like we always, I don't know why we didn't start with bringing in the sheaves, but we left by bringing in the sheaves, right? 239 00:58:24,180 --> 00:58:53,180 That comes directly from this song. It's a wonderful promise. It's not a maybe. It's not a if we're lucky. It's not a if it all goes according to plan. This is for those who have focused on the joy brought by God, who have prayed in hope, and it results in this transformation. Tears to weeping. Tears to 240 00:58:53,180 --> 00:59:22,180 joy and weeping to shouts of joy. Notice this promise of transformation. Second, there's a call to faithful obedience. Even when we can't see a way forward because of our fears. Notice what it says. It's talking about planting, sow in tears, bearing the seed for sowing, coming out, weeping. 241 00:59:22,180 --> 00:59:37,180 Why would you plant in sorrow? Why would putting in your garden or your crops be a time where there was weeping? I've never gone out and planted our tomatoes and cried. 242 00:59:37,180 --> 00:59:51,180 We planted our apple tree earlier this year. There was no sorrow. And so what would bring people to this place where they are going out to plant and tears are streaming down their faces. 243 00:59:51,180 --> 01:00:04,180 They carry the seed out of their house. They're weeping. They're unconsolable. A lot of people have put forth a lot of ideas, but I think the psalm gives a clue. 244 01:00:04,180 --> 01:00:20,180 Remember verse 4? Restore our fortunes, bring back the refreshment of waters into a dry land. In this time, for most people, survival was dependent upon the harvest. Not grocery stores. 245 01:00:20,180 --> 01:00:27,180 A bad harvest means a lean winter, and your seeds for the next year are taken from this harvest. 246 01:00:27,180 --> 01:00:40,180 And I think what we have in these words is somebody who has walked through maybe a dry year, and they need a good harvest, and it doesn't come. 247 01:00:40,180 --> 01:00:49,180 And now they are faced in planting season with a choice. Do I have a few more meals with this seed? 248 01:00:49,180 --> 01:00:59,180 Or do I plant it in the ground, and do I trust God? Right? That's a big choice. 249 01:00:59,180 --> 01:01:04,180 And they're going out with tears because they're saying, "I'm trusting in God." Right? 250 01:01:04,180 --> 01:01:10,180 We can maybe eat this and eke out a little longer in survival, or I can bury it in the ground. 251 01:01:10,180 --> 01:01:18,180 But what happens in the uncertainty of the future? And what happens if the rains don't come? And what happens if we starve to death? 252 01:01:18,180 --> 01:01:33,180 This is not going out and planting. It's joy. It's going out and planting with the depths of sorrow, saying, "I'm putting everything out there. I don't have anything left." 253 01:01:33,180 --> 01:01:47,180 It's a picture of obedience in those hard times. And notice that in this sorrow, it's remarkable how the psalmist crafts this. 254 01:01:47,180 --> 01:01:55,180 Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy. He who goes out weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy. 255 01:01:55,180 --> 01:02:09,180 In the darkness of the desert and in the sorrow, the smallest burdens seem the heaviest. Those seeds, because they represent putting all your hope and trust in God. 256 01:02:09,180 --> 01:02:16,180 It seems like a heavy thing to carry in the sorrow. But then, when God has come and He has restored, 257 01:02:16,180 --> 01:02:23,180 as He has done in the past and as He has promised in the future, and as this foundation of joy leads to this prayer of hope, 258 01:02:23,180 --> 01:02:33,180 which now leads to this picture of obedient sacrifice, here comes the heavy burden that seems light because it is filled with joy. 259 01:02:33,180 --> 01:02:40,180 You're carrying the sheaves far heavier than the seeds, but you're doing it joyfully. 260 01:02:40,180 --> 01:02:45,180 I want you to see that God's action in the past lays for us a foundation of joy 261 01:02:45,180 --> 01:02:54,180 that allows us to pray and hope and live obediently, even in our tears, knowing that even in our tears, He saves and transforms. 262 01:02:54,180 --> 01:02:58,180 This psalm is the story of Christmas. 263 01:02:58,180 --> 01:03:05,180 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 264 01:03:05,180 --> 01:03:14,180 And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people." 265 01:03:14,180 --> 01:03:27,180 In the darkness of that night, in the smallness of Bethlehem known for its sheaves, because it's the house of bread, comes the bread of life. 266 01:03:27,180 --> 01:03:33,180 And God delivers in that darkness of that night and transforms to joy. 267 01:03:33,180 --> 01:03:37,180 You will do so in your desert places and in your places of sorrow. 268 01:03:37,180 --> 01:03:50,180 Advent doesn't just look back to the joy that is present in the birth of Jesus, but it looks forward to that promise of His return. 269 01:03:50,180 --> 01:03:58,180 Where if you've read through the Jesus Storybook Bible, there's a phrase that I love in there so much where all of the sad things come untrue. 270 01:03:58,180 --> 01:04:03,180 And there is this picture that we are living in between. 271 01:04:03,180 --> 01:04:21,180 We have seen the wonderful salvation and provision of the Lord, but we're still sometimes walking in need of refreshment and with tears in our eyes, but there is hope in rejoicing. 272 01:04:21,180 --> 01:04:32,180 I want you to look back intentionally to what God has done, and I want you to pray for hope and restoration and refreshment, 273 01:04:32,180 --> 01:05:01,180 and to live in obedience, trusting in what He will do. Let's pray. Father, help us. Help us remember joy. Turn our deserts into gardens with streams of water. Turn our tears into rejoicing. Help us to remember well, to pray in hope and to live faithfully. 274 01:05:01,180 --> 01:05:10,180 Empowered by the joy that comes from Your goodness and Your work in our life. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 275 01:05:10,180 --> 01:05:28,180 We're going to stand and sing a song that is very much a picture of this, very much a picture of this from the book of Job, as Job loses so much and says, "Blessed be the name of the Lord." So let's stand and sing. 276 01:05:28,180 --> 01:05:55,180 "Blessed be your name in the land that is plentiful, where your streams of abundance flow. Blessed be your name, in the land that is plentiful, where your streams of abundance flow. Blessed be your name." 277 01:05:55,180 --> 01:06:22,180 Blessed be your name. Blessed be your name. When I'm found in the desert place. Though I walk through the wilderness. Blessed be your name. Every blessing you pour out, I'll turn back to praise. 278 01:06:22,180 --> 01:06:49,180 When the darkness closes in, Lord, still I will say, Blessed be the name of the Lord. Blessed be your name. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Blessed be your glorious name. 279 01:06:49,180 --> 01:07:03,180 Blessed be your name. When the sun's shining down on me. When the world's old as it should be. Blessed be your name. 280 01:07:03,180 --> 01:07:16,180 Blessed be the name. On the road marked with suffering. Though there is pain in the offering. 281 01:07:16,180 --> 01:07:43,180 Blessed be your name. Every blessing you pour out I'll turn back to grace. When the darkness closes in Lord. Still I will say. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Blessed be your name. 282 01:07:43,180 --> 01:08:10,180 Blessed be the name of the Lord. Blessed be your glorious name. Blessed be your name. Blessed be your glorious name. 283 01:08:10,180 --> 01:08:13,180 Blessed be your glorious name. 284 01:08:40,180 --> 01:08:42,180 Amen. 285 01:09:10,180 --> 01:09:12,180 Amen. 286 01:09:40,180 --> 01:09:42,180 Amen.