Joy
Notes
Transcript
Have you ever received really good news from someone that completely changed your life?
And how did you respond to that good news?
I remember one of the times Arika told me she was pregnant it was really good news.
But let me tell you it definitely changed my life. A lot.
And not just that but once we found out our responce was we wanted to tell our family, friends, I would be at the grocery store and there would be a random person with a kid and I would tell them Im having another in April.
I mean when you have good news you get excited about it right?
And I know almost all of us can relate to this:
when you heard the words will you marry me?
When you got a letter from a college saying you were accepted
When you got a call from the interview and they said “you got it”
I mean we love good news.
And today in the passage we are in it tells us what is considered the best news.
And this news changes our lives. And not just that but like we heard this morning this week in advent is actually called the week of Joy and because of this news we are going to be talking about.
So we are in Isaiah 61:1-4 and 8-11 and we are actually just going to be focusing on the begining and the end of this chapter today.
So we are starting in the first half witch is verses 1-4 and it says this:
1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; 2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; 3 to grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified. 4 They shall build up the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.
Now whats amazing is this part of the passage we just read is talking about something called the year of the Lord or some of you may have heard it called the year of Jubilee.
And what they did in the Old Testament is they would celebrate this year of the Lord every 50 years and it was a big deal.
Because this was a sabbath that was observed for an entire year
And not just that but all debts are forgiven
Any land that was taken would be returned
people were released from prison
And really in a sense all of the Jewish people recieved a clean slate.
And so whats happening in this passage is the person writing is announcing this amazing news that they are getting this fresh new slate.
But what makes this all even better is that these 4 verses are also a prophecy that Jesus quotes in Luke 4:17-21.
Because Jesus is teaching at a synagogue and He is quoting this passage and He is reading all of the amazing things that the year of the Lord did.
and then all of the sudden He pauses and stops
And the people are confused because it was not the end of what he was quoting
and Jesus looks at the people and tells them that he is the fulfillment of this scripture.
which implies that this scripture we read was only giving a small glimpse into what Jesus came to do and now He has come to give humanity a fresh slate.
Because Jesus recognizes that every human is in debt because we have sinned.
And because we have sinned we are not just in a little debt, but we are in so much debt that we are paralyzed and have no way to get out and are lives are ruined.
Its almost how this past week I was reading an article about a loan company and it was almost a complete scam because they would give anyone a loan, but the intrest rate would be so high that even if they paid every payment, the loan would actually increase still.
And so you have these people whose lives are ruined because they were tricked by this loan that was easy to get, but it ended up ruining their life.
Because they are stuck with it.
But you know thats what sin has done to our life. Because sin destroys and it is something that promises one thing (it promises greatness or pleasure) but delivers pain and brokenness.
But here is the good news that I was talking to you about because while we are in debt, Jesus tells us in Luke that in a way He is the year of the Lord.
Meaning He is the person that has come to set us free, but instead of it being every 50 years Jesus is saying I have come to fulfill this whereI want to give you a clean slate every second of your life.
I mean I don’t know about you but that is some amazing news.
That you are not separated from God but you are made free in God.
Well lets get back in Isaiah because what I love is that Isaiah who is saying all of this in the passage we are reading he discovers it is the year of the Lord and He is excited where he can not help but tell the world.
And so He is saying this good news is going to heal the broken hearted, it will proclaim liberty to the captives, its going to comfort the people mourning, even people whose lives are in ruins are going to be built up.
And Isaiah is excited to tell people about this because he realizes the impact it will have on their life.
And this is what I want you to get because If Jesus has completely come into our lives I mean we should be excited! Right?
I mean how can we blaim kids for running in the sanctuary...
But even more important then that we want to tell others about what He has done in our life and what He can do in theirs.
Because like I said we love to share good news.
I mean when Arika and I are shopping and she gets a good deal on clothes or a gift; you know what she does usually before we even get to check out?
She is calling and texting people letting them know about the good deal she just got at the store!
But you know if we are telling our friends good news about a deal we got on somthing, how can we not tell them about how our live has been completely changed by God and about how theirs can be to.
You know the Bible uses an interesting word to describe the church.
It calls the church the body of Christ meaning we are the hands and feet of Christ
which means that God uses us to play a role in healing the broken hearted
in freeing the prisoners and building up the lives that just appear to be in ruins.
And it is so neat.
But we have to be willing to share the good news.
Well look at the second half of this passage which is verses 8-11 because it says this:
8 For I the Lord love justice; I hate robbery and wrong; I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. 9 Their offspring shall be known among the nations, and their descendants in the midst of the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge them, that they are an offspring the Lord has blessed. 10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
I love this part of the passage because in verse 10, Isaiah is saying the Lord has clothed me.
meaning the God is the one that decides how I look or how I live.
You know it is so important to dress correct for specific occasions isn’t it?
I mean if I came to church on a Sunday preaching in sweat pants and a bro tank some of you would be a little confused or upset because I am not dressed correctly
If you were interviewing for a job you would dress nice right?
Why? because you need to dress for the role you are trying to get.
And what this passage is saying is the way we act as Christians needs to match how God has changed us.
and in verses 8 and 9 God is saying the way we are supposed to live when we have accepted Him is loving Justice and hating wrong in our life.
And not just that but we are supposed to live where our lives actually stand out to the people around us where people will know we are Christians!
I mean if how you lived was what you wore are you dressed the way God desires?
Are you living the way that God has called you to, not in doing wrong, but doing what is right?
Well I want to close with verse 11 because this was something we talked a little bit about last week and the theme continues today.
Because when we are being the hands and feet this verse tells us something grows. It says this:
11 For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations.
You know this passage is once again talking about God’s kingdom growing here and now.
Because when we are faithful we will begin to see God’s kingdom sprout here on earth.
Even when we are saying how can that be? Don’t you know whatt my life looks like? Don’t you know what the world we are in looks like. God’s kingdom can begin to sprout and grow.
And this morning I believe God wants to grow in your life. God wants to see this sprout in your life take root and change your life.
I mean is that somthing you want to see?
Is that something you want to see in our world?
Because we live in a world where people are living in this sin and debt and because of it they are paralyzed, but what would happen if God let us be part of His plan to free them?
I believe God will completely change their life and our world.
As we close I just want to close on an important fact that our Bible actually starts in a garden, but whats amazing is the Bible ends in a city in Revelation.
This morning God wants to grow you.
Will you pray with me?
