A Kingdom Vision Sermon Week 3 - A Kingdom View of Racial Justice

Intro/Welcome

In a series called “A Kingdom Vision”

See as God sees

Ask “Given all that is happening, what is God up to?

We’ve been in Isaiah 6

1st Week - Isaiah’s Radical call to Ministry

2nd Week - Idolatry & Pandemics

This week — Current Events: Racial Justice

What does a Kingdom View of Racial Justice look like?

Some may want to check out— but don’t.

We desperately need a Biblical Vision of Racial Justice

There are so many talking heads

Opinions, books, etc.

But what does God’s Word say!

Proposition: True Justice comes through Jesus Christ.

We’ll be in Isaiah 42

My name is Justin

Let’s pray

Pray

pray. truth. grace. Heal this land.

Isaiah 42 and Book Structure

We’ll be in Isaiah 42.

Isaiah Broken into Three Major Sections

I. Ch’s 1-39 — Isaiah to his contemporaries

II. Ch’s 40-55 — Isaiah to the exiles, those oppressed abused.

Mysterious figure of the Lord’s servant emerges.

1st time in Isa 42, also Isaiah 53

III. Ch’s 56-66 — The Eschatological Kingdom — The end of Time

Revelation

Prophets have a lot to say about JUSTICE

calling the People of God to live in light of who God is

Justly and Fairly

READ ISAIAH 42

God is Speaking

Isaiah 42:5 CSB This is what God, the Lord, says— who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk on it—

God the Creator of all things of Genesis 1

The Lord revealed to Moses in Exodus 3

God has all the Authority

A Kingdom View sees God as the one who has the right to speak.

and we should listen!

Racism is anti-God

Isaiah 42:6 CSB “and I will appoint you to be a covenant for the people and a light to the nations”

God’s plan has always been for ALL THE NATIONS — THE ETHNE

Not just a New Testament thing

It was always the plan.

Genesis 12: CSB I will bless those who bless you, I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.

It’s what we see in Revelation

Revelation 7:9 CSB After this I looked, and there was a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, which no one could number, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands.

Having a Kingdom Vision is to see that any form of racism is antithetical to God and his purposes

Racism, the exaltation of any race as better than or superior to any other for any reason

Justice

So what about Justice then?

How do we pursue justice in light of a Kingdom Vision?

God will bring Justice

Isaiah 42:1 CSB “This is my servant; I strengthen him, this is my chosen one; I delight in him. I have put my Spirit on him; he will bring justice to the nations.

1st thing we see is: God WILL BRING JUSTICE to ALL PEOPLES.

This is to an oppressed people.

GREAT COMFORT — God will bring every work into judgment

Justice will come. Nobody is getting away with anything.

Isaiah 40:1 CSB

1 “Comfort, comfort my people,” says your God.

He will do it through his servant.

Chosen, delighted in, Spirit filled — Jesus.

Matt 12:18-21 (longest OT quote)

applies this text directly to Jesus.

Jesus and Justice

What will this look like for this servant?

By way of application: This is what it looks like for the Church.

Jesus was not just the path to justice he was the pattern.

Humility

Isaiah 42:2 CSB2 He will not cry out or shout or make his voice heard in the streets.

Jesus was not calling attention to himself

He was not glorifying himself, but God the Father.

constantly telling people to ‘not speak of this’

Ultimate solution was a not a political, social, or intellectual…it was spiritual.

In the Church’s response we need to be HUMBLE

pursue political, social and intellectual means, but realize the ultimate problem is spiritual.

This election is not going to solve all the problems of racial injustice

Only the Church can bring healing and justice.

Compassion

Isaiah 42:3 CSB3 He will not break a bruised reed, and he will not put out a smoldering wick; he will faithfully bring justice.

This means he didn’t come to crush, but to lift up

To care for the needs of the poor, oppressed, marginalized and disenfranchised.

The Church has always been for the poor, oppressed, marginalized and disenfranchised

This was where the church had its root in the Roman Empire

We cannot understand the Reformation apart for the injustices of the Roman Catholic church through he exploitation of the poor through indulgences.

Sacrifice

Isaiah 42:4 CSB He will not grow weak or be discouraged until he has established justice on earth. The coasts and islands will wait for his instruction.

Jesus wouldn’t just identify with those who experienced injustice

he would experience it himself.

He would sacrifice himself by taking all injustice on himself.

He would lay aside his ‘place, power and privilege’ to serve and sacrifice

The Church should take the same approach

be willing to sacrifice on behalf of those in need

because we have a God who will meet our ever need.

Having a Kingdom Vision means we approach Justice as Jesus did

Jesus became Justice

How would Jesus bring Justice to the Nations?

This is both marvelous and terrifying

It is the heart of the very Gospel.

God promised to bring justice

and through Isaiah 40-66 he begins to reveal how.

God’s justice will come in one of two ways for every single human being who has ever lived.

At the Cross of Christ

Before the Throne of Christ in the Final Judgment

Isaiah 42:6 CSB “I am the Lord. I have called you for a righteous purpose, and I will hold you by your hand. I will watch over you, and I will appoint you to be a covenant for the people and a light to the nations,

“A light to the Nations”

Light: He would reveal truth, expose sin, offer forgiveness

The same thing Isaiah experienced in Isaiah 6

To all peoples: every tribe, tongue, nation and people.

Isaiah 49:6 CSB he says, “It is not enough for you to be my servant raising up the tribes of Jacob and restoring the protected ones of Israel. I will also make you a light for the nations, to be my salvation to the ends of the earth.”

Salvation, mercy not justice, is offered to the nations

it’s available to anyone and everyone.

A covenant for the people

Jesus would be God’s promise of mercy and acquittal on the final day

Becuase Jesus suffered for Sin, everyone who believes in him would not, but would have eternal life.

What would this accomplish?

Freedom and transformation

Isaiah 42:7 CSB in order to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon, and those sitting in darkness from the prison house.

‘eyes that can see’ — freedom from idolatry

release from prison — physical, yes maybe, but Spiritual!

John the Baptist in prison, asks if Jesus is the one, he is suffering in prison.

This John that Jesus says is the greatest man who ever lived.

He would die in prison, but his heart was set free in Christ.

This is the Promise of God, freedom fro Spiritual Oppression, not necessarily physical

Our greatest need is not freedom from worldly oppression, it is freedom from spiritual oppression.

Don’t hear this from me, but From Jesus, who was an ethnic jews, poor and homeless, from a no name town under the oppression of not just the religious leaders of his day, but under the oppression of the Roman Empire.

What this means is there is no political, institutional, or educational system that is going to achieve true Justice.

True justice and freedom only come from Jesus.

Why?

For the glory of the Lord.

Isaiah 42:8–9 CSB8 I am the Lord. That is my name, and I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols. 9 The past events have indeed happened. Now I declare new events; I announce them to you before they occur.”

Application

What does this mean for how we approach Racial Justice in our society?

Let me offer a couple practical suggestions.

1. Understand Biblical Justice

Recognize the Limits of non-biblical Justice

True and lasting justice will only come from God at the end of time.

What does the bible say?

Secular Justice will never achieve justice because it does not take into account whole person.

They assume that man is basically good in need of some direction. The Bible teaches us that we are sinners in need of a Savior.

No system will be free of sin, b/c it’s made up from sinners

True problem is Spiritual — Our true battle with with flesh and blood, but powers and principalities (Eph 6:12)

We need to keep these in mind as we address injustice.

2. Biblical justice is the narrow path not the wide.

Wide and easy is the path to destruction, but narrow is the path to life.

Addressing injustice is a very complex issue with multiple facets and considerations.

be wary of any approach that offers a simple solution.

Do the hard work of listening and learning.

3. Take a Both / And approach vs. Either / Or approach.

Not EITHER the individual (personal responsibility) OR systemic injustice

it is BOTH - AND

Political commentators and activist tend to make it one of the other

The the true solution is a both / and approach.

This requires relationship and productive conversation with each other.

Watson Quote: “Under our Skin” after the Michael Brown incident in Ferguson

This problem of black and white in our world is not a black-and-white issue.

It’s complex. It’s NOT about winning an argument. It’s usually not about either/or—“this person should have done this” or “that person should have done that.”

It’s about both/and.

I BELIEVE that it must be very difficult for white cops to maintain order in a predominantly black town without legitimate police work being perceived as racially motivated.

AND I believe it’s likely that sometimes police work is racially motivated and biased. Both can be true.

I BELIEVE that white people look at law enforcement and assume it is good, based on their experiences and interactions with the police.

AND I believe that black people look at law enforcement and assume—based on patterns and history and experience—that someone is out to get them. I believe both are true.

I BELIEVE we are still segregated.

AND I believe that if we were less segregated, some people would be less likely to run and others less likely to shoot.

I don’t say these things to avoid the controversy. I truly believe that often there is a both/and view of events that reflects the complexity of the issue.

That’s why the problem of black and white in our world is not a black-and-white issue. Both/and captures the anger and agony of events like Ferguson.

B. It is BOTH the sin in ME and in them.

The problem is not just out there, it is in here

The problem is not just in here, it is also out there

Isaiah 6:5 CSB

5 Then I said: Woe is me for I am ruined because I am a man of unclean lips and live among a people of unclean lips, and because my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Armies.

When we approach the conversation approach it like Matt 7

Take the beam out of your eye, before you address the speck in another.

Listen to me: I’m not talking to the other person.

I am talking to YOU

If everyone did this, we could make progress.

C. Repent of your own Sin AND

INDIVIDUAL SIN

Idolatry: Power, comfort, control, security

What fears do you have?

What do you think you will lose?

ILL: My fears as a preacher

God is the ultimate provider of all these things

Matthew 6:33 CSB

33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.

CORPORATE SIN

Pursue Better systems & policies that reflect the Kingdom.

God gives us guidance for how to live.

What if we all just followed it?

4. Seek to Live as Jesus lived, by the power the Jesus gives.

Jesus gives us the pattern, but he also gives us the power.

Humility

Compassion

Sacrifice

By the power of the Holy Spirit, in biblical community, with a Kingdom Vision.

This is the practice of biblical justice

5. Pray & Preach

This is the most important thing we will do

Ask God to move.

Preach the Gospel, share Jesus.

He’s the only source of true change and transformation

Jesus is the only true source of justice.

Let’s Pray

Big Idea:

What does a Kingdom View of Racial Justice look like? This week we look at Isaiah 42:1-9 to see that God’s plan has always been for every tongue, tribe, nation and people and so racism is antithetical to God’s purposes. We also saw what biblical justice looks like and how we can apply it to our current context.