2. Joy To The World Christmas 2014

3. Luke 1:46-56 Verse 47: "rejoiced“ – aor. act. ind. of agalliaō (G21) - To show or feel a lively or triumphant joy; to rejoice exceedingly; to be highly elated or jubilant. Now, This is in spite of the fact that Mary could have been stoned to death for being pregnant, or could have been put away (divorced) by Joseph. Mary's “Magnificat” may have been based on several passages of Scripture. The first is in Psalm 98.

4. Psalm 98 In verses 4, 6, and 8 we have the concept of rejoicing. The word rejoice in verse 4 is a present middle imperative in the Septuagint - the mood of command! It is the same Greek word (agalliaō) that Mary uses in Luke chapter 1. The Isaac Watts hymn, "Joy to the World!" is said to be from Psalm 98.

5. Habakkuk 3:18 Notice the context of verse 18 - all of chapter 3 is dealing with judgment. Yet Habakkuk is able to rejoice in the Lord and say, “The Lord God is my strength” in verse 19. This is very similar to Nehemiah 8:10b which says, “The joy of the Lord is my strength.” The heading in my Bible calls this chapter, “The Triumphant Faith of Habakkuk.”

6. I Samuel 2 Notice that this passage is very similar to the passage in Luke chapter 1, in that both women are praying concerning a supernatural pregnancy. Now Hannah did not have the best of circumstances - she had a rival wife that tormented her! (See 1:2, 6, & 7.)

7. Note that in none of these passages did rejoicing depend on circumstances. In John 10:10 Jesus says the thief does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy. Satan is that thief and he desires to steal and kill and destroy our joy because he knows that the joy of the Lord is our strength. He does not want strong warriors battling against him. Philippians 4:4 tells us to "Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say rejoice!"