Drinking of God's Joy

Isa 12:1 You will say in that day: "I will give thanks to you, O LORD, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, that you might comfort me.

Isa 12:2 "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation."

Isa 12:3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

Isa 12:4 And you will say in that day: "Give thanks to the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted.

Isa 12:5 "Sing praises to the LORD, for he has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth.

Isa 12:6 Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel."

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Literal - This chapter is designed for worship. The first two verses have one person, most likely Isaiah, proclaiming to a congregation his personal faith in Yahweh, LORD, of heaven and earth, and his trust that the LORD has had mercy on him and now has turned to be the prophet's power, harmony, and deliverer. God instead of standing as just judge is come to be the one who will embrace and comfort in the middle of difficult times. Even as the Assyrians have devastated the Northern Kingdom and its ten tribes so now there is little in the news that is good. God has judged Israel. Will not Judah me next? What hope could we have? It is the LORD who saves!

Verse 3 is a call by the prophet to the congregation to drink of the joy of the good news of the LORD's amazing grace. The call of God is to drink in joy from the deep wells of God's rich salvation. Imagine, God calls us during worship to drink deeply of His salvation and to experience the joy, happiness, and thrill of being delivered from our sins.

In response to this call the people are told to respond. They are to sing together a song of thanksgiving, to seek the Lord in prayer, and to give witness to the great actions of the LORD so that His reputation will be known by all nations. The people's praise is to be loud, shouting, victorious, and filled with true admiration towards Yahweh. The only thing we have like it would be when a crowd of footballs fans see a 70 yard pass that brings victory to their beloved team. The fans stand spontaneously and wildly screaming praise for the quarterback. So the people of God are to see the just anger of God pass over them and be filled with wild praise for their graceful salvation.

Rarely, do we get in touch with such wild passion in our worship. Rarely do the salvation events of Christ dying for our sins impact us emotionally at this level. Perhaps if it was reported that lightening stuck Osama bin Laden dead and we saw it on national television then we would feel a moment of praise for God like what is outlined here. We need to ask the LORD to help us to see that He has come to save us in Messiah Jesus in wild ways beyond our wildest dreams. We need to seek to become a people of deep praise in light of God's grace that has come to us in Messiah Jesus!

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Christological: Luke 2:8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

Luke 2:9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear.

Luke 2:10 And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.

Luke 2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

Luke 2:12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger."

Luke 2:13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

Luke 2:14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!"

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Moral: We should drink deeply of the message of God's salvation so that we will be filled with holy joy

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Eternal: The final manifestation of the Kingdom of Heaven will be where we for all eternity are filled from head to toe with passionate worship that spontaneously springs from our hearts. \

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Prayer: Give me a thirst to drink from your well of salvation. Fill me with your joy!

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Contemplation: Open my eyes that I might see the greatness of your salvation

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Action: Go to the front of the church this week and decide to give the Lord the loudest praise you can. Ask the Lord to make the passion of your heart match the loudest of your voice.