Good News for Those Being Saved

 A tour guide led a group up to the 102nd floor of the Empire State Building. On the elevator ride, one tourist was nervous. "What if the cables break? Will we go up or down?" The guide replied, "That depends. What kind of life have you been leading?" It's true that not everyone will go to heaven. And how we live does matter. The problem? No "good enough" will save us. It can't. Perfect is the only "good enough." The Good News about Jesus Christ is much better! No matter how much wrong we've done, & no matter how much good we failed to do, Jesus Christ can save us. And He wants to. That's Good News for those being saved. In Lk 4:17-21 Jesus hints that He's speaking in our verses. Let's look at Isa 61:1-4, 8-11. 1aThe Sovereign Lord's Spirit is on me. Spirit power! Why? 1bThe Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. The dirt-poor & the poor in spirit. The good news? 1cHe's sent me to bind up the brokenhearted. He'll mend the hearts of those so broken they have no hope. He'll 1dproclaim freedom for the captives. Freedom for sin's captives. He'll proclaim 1erelease from darkness for the prisoners. Those in a dark dungeon in some Babylon. To all the poor, brokenhearted, captives, & prisoners, He'll 2aproclaim the year of the Lord's favor & the day of vengeance of our God. A day of vengeance, a short time. But a year of favor. Forever! But notice in Lk 4:17-21. Jesus didn't proclaim the day of vengeance! That wasn't His mission! It won't happen till Jesus returns. 2000 years ago, He came on a rescue mission: the 2ayear of the Lord's favor. Jubilee. Freedom for all in bondage. It already began. We're still in it. Freedom & salvation are still available. The good news for those being saved? It'll last forever. Jesus came to 2bcomfort all who mourn their losses, 3ato provide for His people who grieve their sin. For all who mourn, Jesus will 3bcrown them with beauty to replace the ashes of our lives. He'll anoint us with 3cthe oil of gladness to replace our mourning. He'll wrap us in 3da garment of praise to replace our spirit of despair. How sure is all this? He signed the contract to buy us with His blood. He paid the price on the cross with His body. As His people, we already have a down payment: His Holy Spirit. He'll complete His purchase at our death or at His return, when we're fully united with Him. Then we'll receive all the fullness of His promises. For now? God is reversing & fulfilling what He announced in Jer 1:10, to 10"uproot & tear down, destroy & overthrow, build & plant." Jeremiah only saw God's people uprooted, torn down, destroyed, & overthrown. Building & planting didn't happen during His lifetime. Through Isaiah, God announces His reversal of the curses & His fulfillment of the blessings. It's more good news for those God is saving! 3eGod's people will be called oaks of righteousness. His Spirit enables us to stand firm in life's storms. We're all 3fa planting of the Lord to display His splendor. We're vessels for His Spirit, planted in us. We let His light shine on every hilltop, for His glory. 4aThey'll rebuild the ancient ruins & restore the places long devastated. Literally, this 1st happened for Israel when they returned from Babylon. It'll happen in fullness when Jesus returns. Figuratively, each area of lives sin that ruined is also being rebuilt & restored. 4bThey'll renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations. Literally, this happened again for Israel in 1948 when Israel became a nation. For us, problems we inherit through our parents are being healed. Can we count on these promises? Why will the Lord do all this? Because of Who He is. 8a"I, the Lord, love justice. I hate robbery & iniquity. He'll correct & regenerate all that's past. He'll end all injustice, oppression, violence, & sin. When will that be complete? On His day of vengeance-that short time of judgement. (The Tribulation?) All the while, God won't just correct the old. He's creating a Kingdom of priests & princesses & princes & loyal servants. A family to be with Him forever. Can we count on Him? He's faithful! 8bIn my faithfulness I'll reward those who are being saved. 8cI'll make an everlasting covenant with them. It starts now, for those being saved. We'll be people of the light, as Jesus describe us in Mt 5:14-16. 9aTheir descendants will be known among the nations & their offspring among the peoples. Those being saved? We are the light shining on a hill. Others are watching us. They see our good deeds & praise God. And God will bless those who serve Him. 9bAll who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the Lord has blessed." As Isaiah continues, it's the Suffering Servant, Jesus, who speaks. Hidden in these words, though, is more good news for those being saved. When we're united with Christ, these words are ours. 10aI delight greatly in the Lord. My soul rejoices in my God. Why now? 10bHe's clothed me with garments of salvation. As God the Son, Jesus is already holy. He's already righteous. He's 10carrayed me in a robe of righteousness. The good news for us? When we're united with Christ, the Father clothes us in in His righteousness. We become those being saved! Clothed in His righteousness, we can boldly enter His presence without fear! In Him, we are saved. His righteousness is ours robe-no ordinary robe. We're arrayed with splendor. In it, we're 10das a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, & as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. How beautifully are we adorned? We're dressed for a wedding! We're the bride of Christ. When's the wedding ceremony? When Jesus returns. It's an awesome promise! Can we count on it? It's as reliable as the laws of nature. 11aThe soil makes a sprout come up. A garden causes seeds to grow. The process is faithful. We can count on it. Just so, for those being saved, 11bthe Sovereign Lord will make righteousness & praise spring up before all nations. (He's the Vine; we're branches. He will produce fruit in us.) Jesus claimed Isaiah's prophecy as His mission to save us. It's good news for those being saved. Really good news. And we face life's most important question. How can His promises become ours? How can the good news be ours? How can we become one of those being saved? Mt 19:16 shows how countless people have tried. 16"What must I do to get eternal life?" In Mt 19:17 Jesus says, "If you want to enter life, obey the commandments." We all try. But in all generations, only Jesus has done it perfectly. Obedience is important. But it can't save us. Why? We keep on sinning. We keep finding ourselves in Paul's situation in Ro 7:19. What we do isn't the good we want to do. But the evil we don't want to do-this we keep on doing. In Ro 7:24, his cry becomes our question. 24Who will rescue us from this body of death? His answer in Ro 7:25 is the starting point in how the good news can become ours. We can't do it ourselves. Who will rescue us? 25Thanks be to God-thru Jesus Christ our Lord! His rescue mission. On our own, there's nothing we can do. It's as Paul says in 1 Cor 1:18. 18aThe message of the cross. 18bIt's foolishness to those who are perishing. Until we're saved, it'll seem like nonsense to us, too. But 18cTo us who are being saved it's the power of God. How will God's power work for us? Not what we do, say, believe, or even know. God's power to save is only released for you & for me based on who we know. Jesus explains in Jn 17:3. Eternal life is knowing God. It takes a relationship with the Father, Son, & Holy Spirit. In Jn 14:6, Jesus explains how to start knowing God. 6"I'm the way & the truth & the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Trust Christ & no other. Get to know Him in Scripture, in prayer, & through obedience. Why obedience? It's what we owe Him. As Jn 14:21, 23 says, it's the proof of our love. Our obedience is the entry point of our relationship with Father, Son, & Holy Spirit. What do we obey? Love God. Love others, heart, mind, & body. 2000 years ago, Jesus the Christ, our Messiah, came on a rescue mission. He lived a perfect life for ~33 years, then gave His life for ours. The Father raised Him. As He ascended commanded us. Go. Make disciples. Start in Jerusalem. Where we are. Go to Judea. People we like. Go to Samaria. People we don't like. Go to all nations. Reach them all with His message. God loves you. In His Son, you can know the only true God & have life eternal. Good News... for Those Being Saved - Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 Page 1 of 1