Beauty From Ashes: Living The Resurrected Life

INTRODUCE THE TEXT:

My big question to you this morning is: Are you living the resurrected life?

So many live life as if the Resurrection doesn’t exist.

Others say they believe in the Resurrection, but live as if they don’t.

As a result so many Christians walk around defeated.

Maybe life has been so hard, that you’ve become discouraged and skeptical.

Maybe you’ve stumbled into sin again, and find yourself drowning in regret and guilt.

Maybe you’ve never really turned your life over to God and you’re just a slave to yourself and your circumstances.

Well today, I’ve got hope for you.

God wants to turn the ash heap of your devastation into something beautiful.

God wants you to rise up from the ashes and live a resurrected life.

God wants to turn your sorrows into joy.

He wants to turn your defeats into victory.

And He does that through the Resurrection of Jesus Christ!

Christianity is in its very essence a resurrection religion. The concept of the resurrection lies at its heart. If you remove it, Christianity is destroyed.

John Stott

The Resurrection is a core essential to our faith. If it never happened, then we are believing in vain.

1 Corinthians 15:17–19 NASB95

and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.

We are still in our sins and have not been forgiven anything on an eternal scale.

Those who have died are still dead and will never rise from the dead.

We are fools to be pitied for believing a lie.

But Paul assures us, and last year I gave many proofs as to how we can know this factually, that He did indeed rise from the dead.

1 Corinthians 15:20–22 NASB95

But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.

And usually when we think of the Resurrection we think of our resurrection from the dead and eternity in Heaven someday, and rightly so.

We think about no more aches and pain, no more tears and mourning, and no more death and suffering.

We think about having glorified bodies like Christ.

Philippians 3:20–21 NASB95

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.

6. But what we don’t always ponder and embrace, is that Christ’s resurrection is for us today in the present.

It is not something we are just waiting for.

It is something we can live in now.

We can live in His resurrection power.

And it should change our thinking, our lives, and our pursuits in this life.

Philippians 3:10 (NASB95)

that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection...

1 Peter 1:3 (NASB95)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

Romans 6:4 (NASB95)

Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.

Romans 7:4 (NASB95)

Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.

Ephesians 2:6 (NASB95)

and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

Fellowship with Christ is participation in the divine life which finds its fullest expression in triumph over death. Life is a larger word than resurrection; but resurrection is, so to speak, the crucial quality of life.

William Temple (bishop)

READ THE TEXT:

Isaiah 61:1-4

GIVE THE CONTEXT:

Messianic Prophecy

What we see in Isaiah 61 this morning is a Messianic Prophecy.

God is working through a local historical situation in the life of Israel to depict future events in the life of the Messiah, Jesus.

What was that situation?

Simply put, in spite of all that God did for them, they didn’t want to follow Him.

Instead of loving God and following His way, they did it like Frank Sinatra’s Song, My Way.

For what is a man, what has he got? If not himself, then he has naught To say the things he truly feels And not the words of one who kneels The record shows I took the blows And did it my way

Israel did it their way, and even though God warned them over and over to change their ways, they refused and so God had no choice but to punish them.

The result of their punishment? What I am calling the ashes today...

Afflicted

Brokenhearted/oppressed

Captive

Prisoner

Weeping/Mourning/Grieving

Despair/Depression

Devastation

Ruin/Forsaken

Shame/Despised

Humiliation/Dishonor

Now being that this is Messianic Prophecy, this is what we would call typology.

Isaiah and Israel’s real historical condition is a type of the Messiah and the Church.

Therefore, the situation Israel is in is the same situation we find ourselves in when we are running our own life apart from God.

We find ourselves in a situation where we try to fix it on our own, doing it my way, but in the end, it’s even worse.

The beauty of the rest of this message is seeing how much God loved you so that that list can be changed.

Jesus’ Fulfillment

We see Jesus refer back to this text in Luke 4:16-21 and again in Luke 7:18-23 clearly applying this text to Himself and its spiritual application.

So we see verses 1-2a refer to His first coming.

Verses 2b-3 refer to His second coming.

And verses 4-12 referring to the Millennial Reign of Christ.

And yet, hidden one layer deeper is the ultimate fulfillment of the whole bride of Christ, both Jew and Gentile in the New Heaven and New Earth.

EXPOUND THE TEXT:

Let’s look at the 2 Proclamations first

2 Proclamations - Is 61:2

There are only 2 Outcomes Possible

A Day Of Vengeance Of Our God

Ashes - keeping the list in mind…imagine experiencing this exponentially for eternity.

While foreshadowing the future final judgment and vengeance on the enemies of God physically – the immediate fulfillment occurred on - the Cross

God’s wrath was poured out on Christ and is a picture of God’s vengeance on the spiritual enemies, which we looked at in depth on Thursday night so I’m not going to repeat it now.

The Favorable Year Of The Lord – Year Of Jubilee.

Here’s the first part of Beauty this morning.

Historically, the Year of Jubilee only happened once every 50th year, but it began on the Day of Atonement:

This the day when the High Priest would go in behind the curtain to sprinkle blood on the mercy seat as a propitiation for the sins of the people.

Debts cancelled. Sin removed.

We don’t have to walk in sin or in the shadow of sin any longer.

We’re forgiven. Any obligations on our life have been cancelled.

We no longer owe God anything except the continuing debt to love others as He loved us.

Land returned. Inheritance restored.

What we lost in the Garden of Eden through the disobedience of Adam and Eve, God has restored.

What Israel lost in the Promised Land through their disobedience to God, God has restored.

It’s just waiting for us to come and get it. Metaphorically there’s a sold sign, or better yet a “bought with the blood of Christ sign” on the land and it’s just waiting for us to move in.

Slaves set free. Freedom granted.

We’re free.

We’re free from condemnation.

We’re free from death.

We’re free from hell!

There is nothing holding us back any longer.

The prison door is open and our chains are gone!

Which of course Jesus fulfilled as a result of His death on the cross.

It’s what we have gained and what we look forward to.

But again, it’s alot of what we think of when we think about Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection.

But the rest of this morning is focusing on the second part of Beauty, experiencing the power of His resurrection in our lives now.

The Beauty of Jesus’ Mission: Is 61.1-2

Since Jesus quoted this text at the beginning of His ministry and then again as He was actually fulfilling it, we discover that this text was Jesus’ MO, this was Jesus’ mission to us.

We are going to look at each pile of ashes and see how God makes it beautiful.

The question I want to answer in this part is: Where do we find victory in each of these areas?

Bring Good News To The Afflicted (Poor)

Poor - Humble - positive

Those who understand their poor spiritual condition and are willing to come to Jesus for help.

This is the cure for the pride that Satan deceives us into holding onto.

God wants to set us free from our pride so we can freely accept His gift of Good News!

Those who are distressed and have lost hope due to being oppressed.

Satan may have lost your soul, but he can sure make you miserable.

Those who are spiritually thirsty God gives the Good News

God sent Jesus to save us from our sins.

God sent Jesus to give us hope.

God sent Jesus to satisfy our spiritual thirst.

The Resurrection Victory is receiving a contented peace that can only come from the Holy Spirit.

Satisfaction that comes from God and not from favorable circumstances.

A state of being that is marked by fullness from God.

Bind Up The Brokenhearted

Trials of life, even for a believer, can leave one brokenhearted.

Oppressed - To be crushed or bruised. Jesus’ used this in Luke

Where have you been wounded?

What has crushed your strength?

What has bruised you?

· Hurt, bitterness, guilt, fear, false expectations, insecurity, inability

Bind up / Set Free - To release one from what is holding him back from accomplishing the mission God has given him.

The Resurrection victory is that God wants you to be healed emotionally and psychologically.

But we’ve got to bring it to Him and let Him heal us.

We have to give Him our hurts and disappointments.

What wound or bruise do you need to give to Him?

Psalm 34:18 NASB95

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Psalm 147:3 NASB95

He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds.

Proclaim Liberty To The Captives

Liberty - same word used in the year of Jubilee

Captives - Prisoner of war – Satan has captured us.

Apart from Christ, we are slaves of Satan.

In Christ, we keep letting Satan have a foothold in our lives.

Maybe we have let a besetting sin get the better of us.

Setting us free from the cords (of sin or addiction) which have us bound.

Jesus doesn’t want us to be enslaved. He wants us to be free! Free from sin and addiction.

The Resurrection victory is that Jesus proclaims to Sin and Satan - Let My People Go!

What bond do you need to let Jesus break in your life?

Freedom to (Release From Darkness For) The Prisoners (Recovery Of Sight To The Blind)

On one hand this is similar to the last one, except this is less with sin and more with weaknesses

implication - To be bound with a cord.

What’s holding you back from being and doing all God wants for you? Fear? Doubt?

It also means to be unable to see clearly as if in a fog or blinded by smoke

Figuratively of the mind meaning ignorant or slow of understanding.

What lies of Satan have you been listening to?

The Resurrection Victory is that God can wants to set us free from fear, doubt, worry, guilt.

The Resurrection Victory is that in the name of Jesus and by the power of the Holy Spirit we can take captive the lies of Satan, reject them and stand on the truth of God’s Word.

Comfort All Who Grieve

Specifically, in the Resurrection story, over what they had lost

The women grieved the loss of their Lord, the men grieved the loss of their Teacher, all lost their hope that Jesus was the Messiah come to set up His kingdom.

When the women came to the tomb there was light, life, angels, the enemy dispersed, they hadn’t really lost anything and had truly gained everything!

Luke 24:5–6 (NASB95)

and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead? “He is not here, but He has risen...

We, too, often walk around the dead.

Christ is not there.

Christ is not in death.

Why do we wander in death and dead things thinking we’ll find Jesus.

He is not there! He is alive and we are to go find Him!

Don’t live in the past.

Focus on what’s ahead. If not you’ll get in a wreck.

Don’t forget that Jesus is making all things new.

What are you grieving today? What have you lost?

The Resurrection Victory is that God promises to comfort us in our grief and sorrow

In the name of Jesus receive that comfort this morning.

The Oil Of Gladness Instead Of Mourning

The Garment Of Praise Instead Of A Spirit Of Despair/Fainting

Grieving and mourning can lead to despair and depression.

Instead of garments of weeping, we can put on garments of praise.

The Resurrection Victory is that in spite of our grief we can sing songs of praise.

The Resurrection Victory is that as we sing songs of praise, He fills us with joy.

The Final Victory

So They Will Be Called Oaks Of Righteousness

A symbol of God’s initiating love and ongoing support and provision.

Growing a tree does not always come easy.

Stresses, disease, drought…So is our lives, but as those roots get established and grow deep…

Everything God blesses us with now is a taste of what He will bring to pass in the future.

We therefore are “allowed” to experience these things in some capacity now as a deposit of hope of what is to come.

The Planting Of The Lord, That HE May Be Glorified.

Everything God does He does for our good and for His glory!

If He plants it, He will tend to it.

He will protect it.

He will care for it.

He will make sure it stays alive!

The Final Resurrection victory is that God stakes His reputation on all of it.

Men’s warehouse: “I Guarantee it!”

APPLY THE TEXT:

We Can Live the Resurrected Life!!!!

We don’t have to live lives of defeat. Christ has won the victory!

We don’t have to live lives of despair. Christ has given us hope!

We don’t have to live lives of doubt. Christ set us free from the lies of Satan.

We don’t have to live lives of damnation. Christ set us free from sin.

We don’t have to live lives of death. Christ came to make us alive.

Jesus Didn’t Turn Our Ashes Into Beauty Just For Our Sakes.

He did it so we could be His hands and feet in order to bring the message of the Gospel and the power of the Holy Spirit to others.

He wants to use us to bring His healing to those who are wallowing in the ash heap of their own lives.

Jesus wants us to be God’s conduits of grace so that beauty can rise out of their ashes.

John 14:12–13 NASB95

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. “Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

Closing Song:

Rest For Your Soul

When Death was Arrested