The sermon titled 'Joy to the World, the LORD is Come!' by Steve Hopkins explores the joy and worship associated with the birth of Jesus Christ. It highlights the significance of Christmas hymns and their expressions of joy, emphasizing the good news of Christ's coming and the beginning of the gospel. The sermon discusses the angelic announcement, the purpose of Christ's birth, and the impact of his incarnation. It calls believers to find joy in contemplating the wonders of God's love and to worship God through singing and praise.

Welcome back to Burnet Bible Church. With Christmas right around the corner, Pastor Hopkins will take a look at a few of the Christmas hymns that we've seen during this season. Hymns that proclaim the good news of Christ's coming and the beginning of the good news of the gospel. His sermon is titled, Joy to the World, the Lord has Come. Good afternoon again.

Turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Luke, if you would. And let's stand together and read Luke chapter two, verses eight through 11, which was also the text from our opening sentence this afternoon. Let's read together the word of the Lord. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a savior, which is Christ the Lord. Let's pray. Our Father, our hearts are filled with joy, Lord, at these good tidings of great joy, which were to all people. When we contemplate that the Savior of mankind, the Savior of the world, our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ was born 2,000 years ago in the city of David.

Oh God, we pray that you would take this time, use it for your glory, cause our hearts, oh God, to rise in worship and praise and fill us with joy, our hearts with joy and believing as we think upon this wonderful event of the appearing of Christ Jesus, our Lord, in the world and His birth at Bethlehem of Judea, for we ask it in His holy name, in Christ's holy name. Amen. Amen. Let's be seated. In the service last Sunday, in the message last Sunday, I said that in two weeks and in a day.

On December 25th, tens of millions of Christians all around the world will be joining together as one in celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. Well, today we're now one week and one day from the day and in that message I noted that there's been this long war and in this long war against God the world has been trying unsuccessfully for 2,000 years now to make people forget that it ever happened. That what we just read about from Luke chapter 2 never took place. In this long war against God the world has been trying to make people forget, everyone forget that the Son of God came to earth and that he was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the King. And I said that you know the the prince of this world has been working overtime to bury the news of it ever since.

And that his minions all over the world are in lockstep in the pursuit of stifling that news. Yet the glad tidings of great joy that were to all people, that the Son of God has come to earth, that Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, continues to circle the globe year after year, and I said we should thank God for it. We should thank God for the season and the opportunity afforded by the season to share Jesus with not only a lost and dying world but a dead and dying world, a world dead in trespasses and sins. This afternoon I want to talk about joy because our text this afternoon talks about joy and not only joy does our text talk about this afternoon but great joy if you look at the text great joy great joy in response to the angelic announcement of the birth of the Savior of mankind. The message of the incarnation and the birth of the second person of the Holy Trinity is the beginning of the good news.

His coming into the world, his birth at Bethlehem, his incarnation before his birth, being implanted by the operation of the Holy Spirit into the womb of the Virgin Mary. Christ's appearance in the world, the coming of the second person of the Holy Trinity to earth is the beginning of the good news. That's the beginning of it. The gospel is the good news, and the coming of Christ is the beginning of the good news. It is good tidings.

The words mean good news. It is good tidings of great joy. And it is good tidings of great joy to all people that is to all people upon whom God's favor rests It is good tidings of great joy to all people who being made sensible of their sins rejoice at the birth of one who alone can save them from their sins from both its penalty and power and reconcile them to God. In our opening text this afternoon the angel said to the shepherds, fear not. We also should not fear.

Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior which is Christ the Lord." Contemplation of the birth of Christ produces joy in the hearts and the minds of the people of God that the contemplation of nothing on earth can produce nothing equal to it that the Almighty infinite immutable eternally begotten Son of God one with the Father and one with the Holy Spirit, that he through whom all things were created and by whom, the scripture tells us, all things consist and are held together, that he before whom the angelic hosts of heaven bow and Veil their sight from the blinding light of his glory that he should condescend and take flesh that he should condescend and take flesh and dwell among men. And that for the purpose of saving and redeeming sinful men is a thought too wonderful for a sinner to really believe or receive if we didn't have God's word on it, assuring us of the reality of it, that it is truly fact. But it's true, and the contemplation of the wonders of God's love in it, that is, that the eternal Son of God should come to earth and take on a human nature to save his people from their sins, to save us from our sins, can only result in joy.

It can only result in joy, in joy inexpressible in the hearts of the people he came to save. And it's a joy that's been overflowing in hymns for 2,000 years. I was just sitting there earlier and going through our Trinity hymnal and marking up this brand new Trinity hymnal. I hope I didn't mark it up too bad here. Just going through the hymns of Christmas here and just circling the hymn numbers and the words that speak of joy, of joy.

You have Charles Wesley in 1744, hymn number 145, which we sang earlier. He's the hope of all the earth, the hope of all the earth thou art, the dear desire of every nation, the joy of every longing heart. Christ, and his coming into the world. 146, the savior of the world is here, life and salvation he doth bring, wherefore rejoice and gladly sing." The hymns of Christmas are hymns of joy. Hymns of joy written by those who knew the Savior of the world and were filled with joy at the contemplation of his advent, of his appearance, and of his birth at Bethlehem.

147, old Latin 12th century hymn. Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel shall come, of course, has come to thee, O Israel. He has come. Number 149, joy to the world. The Lord is come.

Let earth receive her King. Let every heart prepare him room and heaven and nature sing. 150, all my heart this night rejoices as I hear far and near sweetest angel voices Christ is born their choirs are singing till the air everywhere now with joy is ringing amen number 151 oh come all you faithful joyful and triumphant joyful and triumphant And they just go on and on and on. Number 154, William Dix, 1861, as with joy they hailed its light, leading onward, beaming bright. So most gracious God, may we evermore be led to thee fear not 156 name tate from 1700 fear not said he for mighty dread had seized their troubled mind glad tidings of great joy I bring to you and all mankind, to you and all mankind.

Amen. Wonderful, wonderful hymns, 159. Good Christian men rejoice with heart and soul and voice. Now ye need not fear the grave. Jesus Christ was born to save.

Amen. Rejoice, rejoice. God rest ye merry gentlemen. O tidings of comfort and joy comfort and joy Oh tidings of comfort and joy and I'll end with 168 Hark the herald angels sing joyful all ye nations rise join the triumph of the skies amen. Hark the herald angels sing glory to the newborn King.

These are hymns of joy that have been overflowing in the compositions and the authoring of hymns for 2,000 years now. The incarnation and birth of our Savior, Christ the Lord, has inspired some of the greatest hymns of joy ever composed on earth by men. In 1719, I just mentioned it a moment ago, Isaac Watts wrote the most widely known and widely published Christian hymn ever, Joy to the World. You realize that it's the most widely known and published Christian hymn worldwide in history. Joy to the world, the Lord has come.

Let earth receive her king. Let every heart prepare him room, and heaven and nature sing, and heaven and nature sing. Believers who struggle to live joyfully should consider singing this hymn not only at the time of Advent and the birth of Christ, but throughout the year. I find myself singing it often throughout the year, joy to the Lord, joy to the world, the Lord has come. Amen.

It was never intended by Watts, you know, to be a hymn exclusively for Advent. It's based on Psalms 96 and 98 and it sings triumphantly of both Christ's coming and his second coming. When sin and sorrows will no longer grow nor thorns infest the ground and how he comes to make his blessings known as far as the curse is found. The hymns of Christmas are hymns of joy. The hymns of Christmas are our hymns of joy.

And if you struggle, as many of us do, to live joyfully, to live joyfully every day, I would encourage you to sit at times no matter the time of year and open up your Trinity hymnal and read these hymns read through the the lines of these hymns of Advent and and of the Of the appearing of Christ and of the birth of Christ and as you read think on the scripture truths that they communicate Think on the scripture truths that are being communicated and then sing them, sing. And make melody in your hearts to the Lord as the apostle Paul says, as you consider the wonders of the incarnation of his appearing and of the birth of your savior, of your savior. Remember, it's the beginning of the good news. The coming of Christ is the beginning of the good news. It's the beginning of the good news.

The coming of Christ is the beginning of the good news. It's the beginning of the good news that Christ came into the world and the purpose of which he came into the world. His perfect life, his sacrificial death to atone for the sins of his people and his resurrection from the dead, the completion of his work. In our session last week we talked about how Christ came and was born in Bethlehem of Judea and then the purpose for which he came we looked at first Timothy chapter 1 of verse 15 How he not only came into the world, but he came into the world Mission he came into the world to save sinners And he accomplished the mission for which he he came into the world when you struggle with joy contemplate the person and the work of Christ but remember how it all began and the wonder and the glory of it all then when Quote beneath life's crushing load as we sang earlier in the old Christmas hymn, then when beneath life's crushing load, when our forms are bending low, who toil along the climbing way, daily life, with painful steps and slow, we can also be revived to heights of joy unspeakable and full of glory as we ponder the gracious words of the immemorial hymns of Christ's birth, making melody in our hearts to the Lord, along with all the body of Christ on earth, and in unison with the hosts of heaven above.

Look now, that old hymn says on page 146 of our hymnals, for glad and golden hours come swiftly on the wing. And rest, and rest, rest beside the weary road and hear the angels sing. It's saying put yourself back in Bethlehem for a moment with the shepherds and rest. You're toiling, you're on that climbing way. Things are weary, things are difficult in life.

Just take some time and just put yourself back there and rest beside the weary road and hear the angels sing. Just sit there with the shepherds for a few minutes. Our text goes on in verses 13 and 14 of Luke chapter 2 to say, and there suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will toward men. Some believe that the angels were not singing here, and so they say, well, we shouldn't sing these things either. The angels weren't singing here.

Some suggest that the angels were just talking loud together. They were talking like in unison together. That the angels of heaven joined the angel who had just proclaimed the birth of Christ, and they all came together and they just talked together. Really loud. But we should never ignore the scriptures that link the praises of God with singing.

We should never ignore those scriptures. Psalm 147 verse 1 for instance says, praise you the Lord for it is good to sing praises. Praise you the Lord for it is good to sing praises unto our God. And then in Job 38 verse seven we read of angels singing at the creation of the world. Quote, when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy.

This was before man was created. It's difficult to imagine that the angels of God were singing at the creation of the world, but they held back at the birth of him by whom the world's reframed. Our text tells us that there were with the angel who announced Christ's birth to that lowly band of shepherds, a multitude of the heavenly hosts, that is a massive number of the angels of heaven praising God. And the content of their praises is what has from antiquity been known and handed down to us as the Gloria in Excelsis Deo. Anyone familiar with that?

The Gloria in Excelsis Deo. Dr. Sproul writes concerning these words from verse 14, quote, this was the first singing of the Gloria in Excelsis Deo, that is the glory to God in the highest. Don't you just love to sing the Christmas carols, Sproul writes. Don't you love that hymn, angels we have heard on high, sweetly singing over the plain, and the mountains in reply echoing their joyous strain, Gloria in excelsis Deo.

Everyone know the hymn? Gloria in excelsis Deo. Glory to God in the highest. Charles Spurgeon comments on this passage that we just read from Luke chapter 2, Not with the stammering tongue of one who tells a tale in which he has no interest nor even with the feigned Interest of a man that would move the passions of others when he feels no emotion himself But with joy and with gladness such as angels can only know They sang the story out for they could not stop to tell it in heavy prose. In other words, Spurgeon is saying they were singing.

They were singing. That's why all these Christmas hymns have the angels singing. Yet in our modern time many say well no they weren't singing, they were just talking, they were just talking. I think they were singing. I go with the church of old.

They sang the story out, says Spurgeon, for they could not stop to tell it in heavy prose. They sang glory to God on high and on earth peace goodwill toward men and I think says Spurgeon they sang it with gladness in their eyes with their hearts burning with love and with breasts as full of joy as if the good news to man had been good news to themselves. Angels from the realms of glory, know how I love the joyful hymn, wing your flight o'er all the earth, ye who sang creation's story," that's referring to the passage in Job 38, I quoted a moment ago, you who sang creation's story now proclaim Messiah's birth. That's referring to the passage before us this afternoon. Come and worship, come and worship, worship Christ the new born King.

The singing of praises to God erupts spontaneously from within the hearts of those filled with the joy that comes from the Lord. You hear what I said? The singing of praises to God erupts spontaneously from within the hearts of those filled with the joy that comes from the Lord. You hear what I said? The singing of praises to God erupts spontaneously from within the hearts of those filled with the joy that comes from the Lord when we contemplate the truths concerning the person and the work of Christ in the good news.

And this is the beginning of the good news, as I've already said. I think that there are few things more sad than joyless Christians. Joyless Christians, that's pretty sad. I mean, we see sad people in the world, we see joyless people in the world, but a joyless Christian, that's really sad. Because we, of all people, should be the most joyful of all people on the earth.

We should, as sing with Isaac Watts, joy to the world, the Lord has come, with hearts just filled with joy and praise and glory. The hymns of Christmas are hymns of joy. And I've always been drawn to them, even as a child. I can remember walking into the little church we attended when I was five, six, seven years old as a boy. And I remember one evening I can feel and place myself right there right now.

It was dark. It was a little church house and I don't know why we were late or what was going on. We were coming in and I can remember just the sense, the feeling of it all of the people singing. They were already singing inside, and they were singing, oh come all ye faithful. Oh come all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant.

And it was a joyful chorus that was forever planted in the heart and mind of a seven-year-old I was about seven at the time and I can remember the joy that welled up within me at the words oh come ye oh come ye to Bethlehem. Come and behold him, born the King of angels. Born the King of angels? Just contemplating these things. And I could imagine that I was there at his birth.

O come, let us adore him. As if I was right there with the shepherds. Oh come let us adore him. Oh come let us adore him. Christ the Lord.

Brothers and sisters, joy and worship go hand in hand. Joy and worship go hand in hand. We need to be worshiping God. You say, I lack joy. Worship.

Worship Him. Worship Him. A joyful Christian is a worshiping Christian. A joyful Christian is a worshiping Christian. And there are no more joyful and worshipful hymns in my estimation, as I've been saying, ever written in the hymns of joy proclaiming the birth of the Savior of the world.

I was never really intrigued as a child by Santas and elves and reindeer, but these words, these words from these timeless hymns captivated me. From a child they captivated me. Oh, I hope that in the raising of our children that the hymns of Christmas, these lines from the hymns of Christmas have captivated the hearts and the minds and the souls of our children. O come, all ye faithful goes on with words that are straight out of the Nicene Creed. Do you know that?

Here we have words straight out of the Nicene Creed, which we looked at a little bit last week, 300 years after Christ, when you have, right, you have these guys that are battling with the false teachers that are tearing down the deity of Christ and making him a created being. These words make their way into the hymn, O come all ye faithful, straight out of the creed, burned at a time when Christianity overthrew the worship of pagan gods in Rome by the power of God, by the grace of God, as we saw in our session last Sunday. But these are words that intrigued that seven-year-old many years ago. Let me just stop for a second. So, you know, we talked about last Sunday how December 25th, according to Augustine, who lived at the time, and Who was as far removed from?

The the birth of Christ as we are from the launching of the Mayflower. Okay that at that time the holy days or set apart days for the pagan gods of Rome were overthrown and Christianity either co-opted them or Christianity started that day of worshiping and remembering Christ's birth and the pagan gods was a reaction to it, some believe. But I believe that they overthrew it. Either way, what has come down to us now for 1,700 years since then, When you just think about this, for 1700 years, is the name of Christ, as I said last week, stamped on the day, and the names of the pagan gods forgotten. Can anyone here remember one of the names of the pagan gods that was worshiped or venerated on December 25th?

I bet if you went out there in the world today and you asked people, tell me what are the names of those gods, their names have been forgotten. Christianity triumphed, And the name of Christ is still stamped on the day. Indelibly on the day. But these words, these words from the Creed birthed out of the triumph of truth concerning the deity of Christ lived on for 1,700 years now and eventually made their way into that anonymous old Latin hymn, O Come, All Ye Faithful. Listen to these words, and you've sung them before.

We sang them last week. God of God. This is speaking of Christ. God of God, light of light. Lo, he abhors not the virgin's womb.

Very God, that is true God, true God, speaking of Jesus, begotten, eternally begotten, not created. There was never a time when the Son of God was not, when Jesus was not. That's what's being proclaimed. That's what was proclaimed in the Nicene Creed about the deity of Christ and his equality with the Father and the Holy Spirit. That's what was being proclaimed and it made its way into that hymn and it's been sung in that hymn ever since.

Very God, very God, begotten, not created, oh come let us adore him, oh come let us adore him, oh come let us adore him, Christ the Lord. I remember again walking into that church house and hearing the joyful sound of hearts lifted to heaven in praise and wonder and glory, seeing choirs of angels. Oh, you just wanted to just be there with them. You wanted to be there with those shepherds, and I wanted to be there just singing with them, praising God with them. Seeing choirs of angels, seeing an exaltation, oh, seeing all ye citizens of heaven above, glory to God, glory in the highest.

Oh, the doctrine impressed on a little mind. Word of the Father. That's straight out of John chapter one. Word of the Father, the Word made flesh. Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing.

Straight out of the Gospel of John the incarnation in birth of Christ the Savior of the world is proclaimed in these hymns and doctrine is taught and I praise God for it. And oh the joy the very thought brings to the minds of God's redeemed. God's redeemed. We read these, we sing these hymns, and our hearts are lifted up just like that seven year old boy so many years ago. The King of Kings, the Savior of the world is here, George Weisel's old hymn from the 1600s proclaims, it's in our Trinity hymnal.

Life and salvation he doth bring, wherefore rejoice and gladly sing. How many are familiar with a man named Voltaire? Yeah, you guys like Voltaire? No. Wicked, evil, God-hating, oh philosopher, right?

Pagan, really? In the 1700s, God-hater. He hated Christmas because he hated Christ. Died a horrible death. You should read about it sometime, not from the wicked.

They don't really portray it as it was. Out of his mind, insane, screaming. Blasphemer of Christ, hater of Christmas, denier of the incarnation and the birth of Christ, denier of God, denier of the savior of mankind. But Voltaire longed, he expressed, and he wrote many, many books, and he longed to see the death of Christianity. He wanted to see the death of the Christian faith.

He wrote about it, he published book after book about it. Evil, evil man, He predicted before his death that within 100 years, the only Bibles that were left on earth would be found in museums. It was in the 1700s. The only Bibles left on earth are going to be found in museums. 50 years later, a Bible society purchased his house and used his printing press to print Bibles.

In fact some of the paper he had purchased that was in crates and all It was this really fine paper was going to be used to print his books. They took it and printed Bibles on it So much for his prediction You know He rules the world to him says with truth and grace and he makes the nations prove He makes the nations prove the glories of his righteousness and the wonders of his love, amen? The nations have been Proving the glories of his righteousness and the wonders of his love now for 2,000 years Joy to the world you ever struggle with joy As you contemplate the person and the work of your Savior and Lord Contemplate the word of these timeless hymns and sing them and make melody in your heart to the Lord. I'll just go through a few lines here as we close. Christ was born, as the old hymn says on 160 of our hymn, those page 160, to save us all from Satan's power when we were gone astray, amen?

He came to save us all from Satan's power when we were gone astray. Oh, tidings of comfort and joy. Oh, tidings of comfort and joy, think on it. God and sinners reconciled, as the old Wesley hymn goes. God and sinners reconciled.

Joyful all ye nations rise, join the triumph of the skies with the angelic host proclaim, Christ is born in Bethlehem. Oh, I love this line. Veiled in flesh, the Godhead see. See the Godhead, the express image of the Father, God the Son, the second person of the Holy Trinity, equal to the Father, equal with the Holy Spirit. The second person of the Holy Trinity veiled in flesh the Godhead sea.

Hail the incarnate, the incarnate, the enfleshment of deity, the incarnate deity, pleased as man with men to dwell, Jesus our Emmanuel. Emmanuel means God with us. Jesus our God with us. Joy to the world, the Lord is come. Let earth receive her King.

Let every heart prepare Him room, and heaven and nature sing. And heaven and nature sing. Let's pray. Father, we are among those, God, that you have brought to saving faith and caused our hearts to prepare in room. And we thank you for it, God.

We believe in the incarnate deity. We believe in Emmanuel, Jesus, God with us. Lord, our hearts rise in joy, and we join the triumph of the skies, O God. And we praise you, God, that you did save us from Satan's power when we were gone astray. And Lord, when we contemplate these things, they are tidings of comfort and joy to us.

They are tidings of comfort and joy. I pray, Father, that you would help us, Lord, as we move forward to the day with Christ's name stamped on it. Christmas. Lord, that we would just soar to new heights, Lord, of praise and joy, glorying in person in the work of your son and the beginning of the good news that Bethlehem. Lord fill our hearts with joy in this season.

Fill our hearts with joy in believing as we look to Christ and upon him coming into the world living a life we couldn't live, Dying a death we couldn't die, rising from the dead. Fill our hearts with joy and believing, for we ask it in Jesus' holy name, Amen.