Our sermon text today is found in Isaiah chapter 61.
That's page 581 in the Pew Bible, if you want to turn there with me.
This morning we're going to look at the first four verses of Isaiah chapter 61.
Let me pray as we come to God's Word together.
Father, long ago, at many times and in many ways, you spoke to your people by the prophets.
But in these last days, you've spoken to us by your Son, our Lord Jesus.
Father, we pray in the next few moments you would help us by your Spirit to hear again
through your written Word, the voice of your incarnate Word, Jesus,
so that we might know you better and love you more
and find our deepest joy and purpose in you just as you created us to.
We ask all this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
So Isaiah chapter 61, verses 1 through 4.
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,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
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.
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.
Well, waiting can be really hard, can't it?
If you're like me,
whenever you're in a situation where you have to wait,
wait for a ride,
wait in line at the store,
wait for a meeting to start,
what's the first thing you do?
Well, you pull out your cell phone, right?
I mean, that's what we do when we wait.
We check our email,
we flip around on a few websites.
We can't just wait.
We have to do something, right?
Waiting is hard work.
Of course, now that Christmas Day has come and gone,
the big wait of the season is finally over.
The presents are opened.
And the family visits have happened.
But you know, Advent is about much more
than just remembering Christ's first coming.
It's also about anticipating Jesus' second coming,
his coming again in glory.
In other words, Advent's about learning how to anticipate,
how to wait.
It's about learning to wait.
And we're not so good at waiting.
What exactly are we supposed to be doing as we wait?
Today we're looking at the last text in our short sermon series in Isaiah
about the messianic prophecies of Isaiah.
And this text that we're looking at today
comes right in the middle of the third and final part of Isaiah's book,
chapters 56 through 66.
Now, very broadly speaking,
chapters 1 through 39 of Isaiah have highlighted the great problem of human sin.
And chapters 40 through 55 have highlighted the even greater answer of God's grace.
And now these last 11 chapters, Isaiah 56 through 66,
are going to tell us what we do while we wait.
While we wait for God's glorious future to come in full.
The glorious future that Jesus,
the King and the servant of Isaiah's book,
has won through his atoning death and his resurrection.
The future that Isaiah will call in these climactic chapters,
he'll call them the new heavens and the new earth.
Where evil and injustice are no more.
Where God's people are radiant with God's glory.
Where death is defeated and joy is everlasting.
That's what's coming, Isaiah says.
That's what we're waiting for.
But Isaiah wants to answer the question of what we do
while we wait for it.
And what we see in Isaiah 61 is that the life God has for us
in this in-between time, in-between Christ's first and second coming,
is so much greater than just standing around
metaphorically checking our cell phones.
Isaiah 61, which is the center and heart of this last section of the book,
brings us face to face with the great mission of the Messiah.
A mission that we enter into when we are united to him and to his people in the world.
Isaiah is saying, this is what it means to wait,
to anticipate the glorious future God has in store.
It means to be on mission with the Messiah,
with King Jesus.
And we're going to look at these four verses and see that this mission has three parts.
First, there's gospel proclamation.
Second, there's personal transformation.
And third, there's communal restoration.
So we see the first part of that mission in verses 1 through 3, the gospel proclamation.
Here in these verses, we have the voice of the Messiah speaking in the first person,
the spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
declaring that the Lord has given him a mission of proclaiming, of bringing good news.
Now, how do we know that this voice in verse 1 is the voice of the Messiah?
Could Isaiah be portraying some other figure here?
Who is it that's speaking in these verses?
But you know, as you look over Isaiah as a whole,
you have to ask who else in Isaiah is said to possess the spirit of the Lord like this?
Back in chapter 11, verse 2, we see that it is the one called the branch of Jesse,
the future king in the line of David, the Messiah himself,
that the spirit of the Lord will rest upon.
And then as we jump ahead to the second part of Isaiah's book,
in chapter 42, verse 1, God says,
Behold my servant whom I uphold, I've put my spirit upon him.
So there it's the great servant of the Lord.
So here, in the third and climactic part of Isaiah's book,
when we hear a voice saying,
The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, who else could it be?
But that same king and that same servant of the Lord
that Isaiah has told us so much about.
Here again, we have the long-awaited Messiah now speaking in his own voice,
declaring that he's been anointed to bring good news.
And notice who this good news is for.
It's good news for the poor,
and for the brokenhearted,
for the captives,
and for all who mourn.
This good news that
the Messiah brings is not for those
who think they have it all together.
It's for those who know they're sick,
who know they're needy,
who know they need to be rescued.
And in the context of Isaiah,
we know that the poor and the brokenhearted
and the captives aren't just mourning their circumstances.
Above all, they're mourning their sin.
One commentator put it this way,
and I thought this was good.
He said,
Who are the poor?
Here in Isaiah,
who's he referring to?
Who are the poor?
Those who are so broken by life
that they have no more heart to try.
Those who are so bound up in their various addictions
that liberty and release
are a cruel mirage.
Those who think that they will never again
experience the favor of the Lord
or see his just vengeance meted out
against those who have misused them.
Those who think their lives hold nothing more
than ashes, sackcloth,
and the fainting heaviness of despair.
They are those to whom the Messiah,
the servant, shouts good news.
But is this message just that?
Is it just words?
Is it mere talk?
But you have to remember who it is
who's speaking these words.
This is the king of Isaiah chapter 9.
The one called Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God,
Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace.
This is the servant of Isaiah 53
who has borne our iniquities.
And will make the many to be counted righteous.
When this king proclaims liberty,
it's not just mere talk.
It's an announcement of what is now true.
After all, when a judge pronounces a verdict,
when the gavel comes down and it says,
not guilty.
Or when a head of state pronounces amnesty
for those who are convicted of crimes.
Is that mere talk?
No.
It produces the reality that the words declare.
And friends,
if the words of a mere human being,
a mere human judge,
a mere human king,
can produce that kind of life-changing reality,
how much more true must it be
of the very words of Christ?
His announcement of liberty
must bring the reality of liberty.
So this is the mission of the Messiah
that Isaiah foresees,
to bring good news.
And when Jesus began his ministry in Nazareth,
it was this very text in Isaiah 61
that he took up and read in the synagogue.
As we read earlier in the service from Luke 4,
Jesus took the scroll of Isaiah,
read these verses,
and then said,
today this scripture has been fulfilled
in your hearing.
Imagine what they must have thought
at such a declaration.
And throughout Jesus' ministry,
he healed the sick
and made paralytics walk again
and opened the eyes of the blind,
even raised the dead,
all to demonstrate this great truth
that he had come to set the captives free.
That the year of the Lord's favor,
grace, and restoration
had arrived in his own person and work.
Here it was.
The thing you've been waiting for.
It's right now.
Of course, as many point out in Luke 4,
Jesus actually stopped reading Isaiah 61
right before the words in verse 2
about the day of vengeance of our God.
Sort of a curious thing.
Why did Jesus stop the reading there?
Well, the reality is,
is that Jesus' work of judgment
was reserved and is reserved
for his second coming,
not his first.
In his first coming,
Jesus had come not to judge,
but to save.
After all,
he didn't want his fellow Israelites
to think that he'd come to judge the Romans,
to start a military war.
That would have been the first thing
they thought of.
He wanted to make very clear
that that's not why he came at first.
He had come to do something much more profound,
to grant a liberty and a comfort
that would be eternal.
Isaiah 61 verse 3
gives this beautiful image
of what that would be like.
It says that Jesus has come
to give a beautiful headdress
instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness
instead of mourning,
the garment of praise
instead of a faint spirit.
It's actually wedding imagery,
believe it or not.
It's being decked out
for the day
of a marriage,
of a wedding,
of being united
to the one you love.
And instead of ashes
and mourning
and a faint spirit,
all the things that describe
our hopeless
and hurt
and lost condition
were given in exchange.
Beauty
and joy
and praise.
And how on earth
does Jesus accomplish that?
Something so much greater
and something so much more lasting
than a mere change
of political circumstance.
Well, as we see
as the gospels unfold,
we see that Christ
does this great work
through the cross.
Because it's at the cross
where Jesus takes upon himself
our ashes
and our mourning
and our faint spirit.
He takes all of our sin
and in return
he gives us his beauty
and his gladness
and his praise.
Look at the end of Isaiah chapter 61.
Look at verse 10.
It says it so well.
Here Isaiah
is now leading us
in a song of praise
for what the Messiah would do.
And in 61 verse 10
he says,
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.
What an image.
Taking our sin
upon himself
in return
Jesus gives us
a robe
of righteousness.
Friends,
this is the great exchange
at the heart
of the gospel
for all who believe.
My sin
in exchange
for his righteousness.
that on the cross
he would be clothed
with my moral failures
and bear their penalty away
and in exchange
I would receive
a robe
of his perfect righteousness.
So you see,
Jesus comes
not just
proclaiming good news.
He is the good news.
He can bring good news
because he is it himself.
He is our freedom
and our comfort.
He is our liberty
and our joy.
And this is exactly
what we proclaim
as we enter
into the mission
of the Messiah.
We proclaim
the good news,
the freedom
that Jesus has won.
Freedom from sin's penalty,
freedom from sin's guilt,
freedom from sin's power even.
All accomplished
through Jesus' death
and resurrection
and applied to our hearts
by the Holy Spirit
and faith.
that's why Paul can say
living in light
of Jesus' death
and resurrection,
he can say
I'm not ashamed
of the gospel
for it is
the power of God
for salvation
to everyone who believes.
Notice that Paul
is saying that the gospel,
the message about Jesus,
isn't just about
God's power, right?
He's not even saying
that it conveys God's power.
He's saying that
the gospel
is God's power.
Proclaiming what Jesus
has done in his life
and death and resurrection
that he lived a perfect life
of obedience to God
in our place,
that he died on the cross
to bear sin's penalty
in our place,
that he rose to life
on the third day
conquering death
and securing our salvation,
proclaiming this good news,
this gospel,
is God's power.
Power to comfort
those who mourn
and power to liberate
those who are bound.
So as we think
about our mission,
about joining Christ
in his mission today,
we must be about
the work
of gospel proclamation.
As the new year
is about to begin,
I wonder,
are there two
or three coworkers
or neighbors
or friends
or even family members
whose conversion
you will particularly
pray for this year?
And will you pray
that God will give you
an open door
and well-seasoned,
well-timed words
to invite them
to church,
to speak to them
about the liberty
that Christ has brought us?
Perhaps a good goal
this year
in addition to prayer
and in sharing the gospel
is to read one good book
about personal evangelism
this year.
That is sharing the gospel
in the context
of our friendships.
There are lots
of good ones out there.
One I've been reading lately
is by Max Stiles
called Speaking of Jesus.
It's kind of an oldie
but goodie,
but it's a good one.
Max Stiles,
Speaking of Jesus.
But why not take up
one book
that will help equip you
to be about
this great work
of gospel proclamation?
If you want
some more recommendations,
you can come talk to me
after the service.
But being about
the work of gospel
proclamation
is more than just
about one-to-one
conversations.
It's about creating
a church life,
a loving church culture
where non-Christians
feel welcome
to ask questions
and explore
spiritual things
and learn about
Jesus for themselves.
It's about this place
and this space
being open to those
who are seeking
and being ready
to be patient
with their questions
and with their
searchings
and their explorings
to welcome those things,
to be honest
about our own doubts
and misgivings at times
and our own journey.
So when we gather
on Sundays
or in small groups
or in other settings,
do we assume
that everyone there
is already a Christian
or do we speak and act
as if there are curious
non-Christians
present as well?
All of that
is what it means
to be on the mission
of proclaiming
the good news of Jesus.
But the mission
of the Messiah
doesn't actually
just stop there.
This passage
shows us
that the good news
of Jesus
creates profound change.
The second thing
we see here
is that
this mission
of proclamation
is also a mission
of personal transformation.
We see this
at the end
of verse 3.
This message
of the gospel
goes forth
in these opening verses
with the result
at the end
of verse 3
says that they
may be called
oaks of righteousness,
the planting
of the Lord,
that he,
that is the Lord,
may be glorified.
God's creating
oaks of righteousness.
In the first chapter
of Isaiah,
the people there
were described
as being
like an oak
whose leaf
withers.
In other words,
because of their
self-reliance
and their self-centeredness,
the people had become
spiritually dry
and lifeless
and near to death.
But here in Isaiah 61,
a great transformation
has happened.
how will we go about
living this life
that God wants us to live?
Will it be in our own strength?
Will it be in our own power?
Will we just pull ourselves
up by our bootstraps
and get about the work?
No.
God says,
I'll produce in you
that fruit
that I want to see.
My grace will give you
a new status,
but my grace will give you
a new nature.
And now,
as a result
of the gospel,
the ones
who were once
oaks
with withering leaves
have become
oaks
of righteousness.
Friends,
being in a relationship
with Jesus Christ
really does
change people's lives.
If you've been around
the church
for a long time
and you've seen
a lot of hurt
and brokenness
and struggling,
sometimes you doubt that.
But it's helpful
to take a step back
and see the good
that is produced
by the Holy Spirit
through the gospel
of grace.
Being in a relationship
with Jesus
really does change us
from the inside out.
Think of an oak tree.
A healthy oak tree
is stable,
isn't it?
It withstands
the rains
and the storms
that come.
You know,
with Christ
in your life,
you no longer
need to rely
on the shifting sands
of other people's approval
and you don't have to
ride the roller coaster
of worldly success.
You don't have to live
for the gods of career
or family
or money.
All those things
will come
and go.
But Christ
remains
faithful,
loving,
ever-present,
ever-merciful,
ever-strong.
And being rooted in Him
gives you a stability
like nothing else.
And oak trees
are also fairly permanent,
aren't they?
Apparently,
oak trees can live
and flourish
for hundreds of years.
You know,
we've got an oak tree
in our backyard
and it's stunning
to think that that oak tree
has been there
probably longer
than the house
that I live in.
Most of what we do
in our lives
will probably be forgotten
in a generation or two.
Don't you think
about that sometimes?
But here's the wonderful
good news of the gospel,
that in the Lord Jesus,
our labors
are not in vain.
Because of His resurrection,
even our most mundane
labors
have eternal significance.
And on top of it all,
Christ offers us
eternal life.
In Him,
you will live
forever.
no more
do our lives
need to be haunted
by the fear
of dying
or by the many
lesser fears
that are like it,
those fears
of missing out.
In Christ,
your best
is always still to come,
which gives you
a permanence
like nothing else.
But oak trees
aren't just stable
and permanent,
they're abundant,
aren't they?
Oak trees
can produce
thousands of acorns,
as you know,
if you've ever walked
under an oak tree
after a heavy wind,
right?
We've had so many acorns
in one spot
that you almost
trip on them.
It's like a sheet
of marbles.
You just sort of
go flying.
They're everywhere.
Friends,
that's what happens
when the new life
of Christ
is at work in us.
God starts to do
an abundant
and total work
in our lives.
It changes all of us
from the inside out.
Now,
of course,
sometimes that change
takes time,
right?
I think there's a reason
why God often uses
agricultural
or organic metaphors
to describe our growth
in righteousness,
our growth
in godly character.
Because it takes time
for things to grow.
Mighty oaks
of righteousness
don't just pop up
overnight.
it takes time.
And sometimes
it's hard work.
Farmers need to
get up early
and go to bed late.
I would be a terrible
farmer.
I don't like getting
up early.
So I'm told.
But it can be hard work,
this growth
in righteousness.
But you see,
ultimately,
one of the beautiful
things about the
organic metaphor
isn't just that it
takes time,
isn't just that
sometimes it takes
some hard work,
but ultimately
that it's the Lord's
doing.
There's a confidence
we can have in Christ
that God is going
to produce in us
the righteousness,
the holiness
he desires in us.
Sometimes it will be
a much more painful
process than we
would ever imagine,
but he's going to
finish what he started.
And as a result,
the Lord will get
the glory.
He will make us
more and more
into his image,
and as others
see Christ in us,
Christ will be
praised.
One of the most
important things
that we can do
to share Christ
with our city
and to see the
gospel go forth
is to live lives
of godliness,
friends.
to live
holy lives.
And that is the
mission of the Messiah,
to make us
something new.
It's a mission
of personal
transformation,
of becoming more
and more godly
in our character.
So again,
let me ask,
as a new year
begins,
how will you
cooperate with God
to cultivate
this growth
in your life?
What fruit
of the Spirit
are you longing
to see more of
in the year ahead?
What vices
or sins
are you hoping
to see less of
in the year ahead?
And not just
in your own life,
how do you plan
to cooperate
with God
to cultivate
this growth
in the lives
of those around you?
Perhaps there's
a sin
that you need
to confess,
something that you
need to tell
a trusted Christian
mentor or pastor
so they can pray
for you
and point you
to the right avenues
for help and change.
If there's a deeper
besetting sin
that you're wrestling
with,
perhaps you need
to get connected
with a recovery group,
with an addiction
recovery group
who can help you
walk in the paths
of God's grace
together.
Again,
come talk to the pastors.
Let us help
resource you
into the help
that you need.
Or maybe you just
need to be more
transparent with
your Christian friends
or your spouse
about how you'd like
to grow in Christlikeness.
The work of
personal transformation
is not a solo sport.
We need each other.
We need each other
to help apply
the grace of Christ
to our hearts
and we need each other
to fan into flame
the Spirit's work within.
So how will this year
be a year of personal
transformation for you?
But there's one last
element to this mission.
Do you see the progression
that's happening
in this passage?
We see that the
mission of the Messiah
begins in gospel
proclamation.
It extends to
personal transformation
and then out
in verse 4
into community
restoration.
Look again at verse 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 Isaiah's
immediate audience
was the exile generation.
He was writing ahead
to the generation
that would see
Jerusalem destroyed
and the people
carried off
to captivity.
So this image
of city being rebuilt
would have been
a powerful image
for them
of what renewal
and repair
and new life
looked like.
But notice that
the vision here
encompasses more
than just Jerusalem.
It's all in the plural,
isn't it?
Ruins,
devastations,
cities.
In other words,
what Isaiah has
in view here
is that wherever
sin has brought
its wreckage,
there the gospel
is meant to go
and produce
restoration
and renewal.
Broken marriages,
broken families,
broken churches,
broken workplaces,
broken neighborhoods,
broken cities,
broken regions,
wherever poverty
and racism
and joblessness
and fear
and despair
and addiction
rear their ugly heads,
there the gospel
is meant to go
and bring hope
and repair
to make something
new
out of what's
old,
to make something
whole
out of something
that's been torn.
So you see
the progression
in these verses.
Jesus is the one
proclaiming
and the one
proclaimed
and when he is
proclaimed
and received
in repentance
and faith
there's liberty
and there's comfort
and then the gospel
begins to produce
personal change
and those transformed
by the gospel
go out
and do this work
of rebuilding
and repairing.
In other words,
the gospel changes
people who then
go out
and change the world.
The church really
is meant to be
salt and light
as Jesus said.
So friends,
this new year
where will you seek
to build up
the ancient ruins
and repair
the ruined cities?
How will you use
the gifts and talents
God has given you
to do good
to your neighbors?
Both your Christian
neighbors right here
in your church family
and also your
non-Christian neighbors too.
One day Christ
will return
and make all things new.
How can you be at work
to anticipate
that great day
through love
and service
and justice today?
When the King comes,
friends,
let us not be waiting
with our hands
in our pockets.
merely checking
our email.
Let us be about
the mission
of the King.
Christ has rescued us
for a great purpose
to join Him
in this work
of freedom
and joy,
proclaiming liberty
to the captives,
living transformed lives,
seeing the ruins
become rebuilt
and restored.
Lord,
where will you
join the mission
in this coming year?
What good goals
will you set
to be about
the mission of Christ?
Friends,
soon
our King
will return in glory.
How will He
find you waiting?
May He find us
joyfully
and passionately
engaged in His mission
and may He say to us
all on that day,
well done,
good and faithful servant.
Let's pray together.
Come,
thou long-expected Jesus,
born to set
thy people free.
O Lord,
thank you that you've
come to set us free.
Father,
I pray this morning
for those who are here
and maybe they're not sure
about the claims
of Christianity,
but they do know
what it's like
to be stuck
and they do know
what it's like
to feel like
they're in captivity.
O God,
I pray that by your Spirit
you'd give them
eyes to see
the sweet freedom
of the forgiveness
of sins
that's offered in Jesus,
the offer of your Holy Spirit
at work in their lives.
I pray that you would
open their hearts
to receive you today.
And Lord,
I pray for us
who have already
heard that message
and responded in faith.
O Lord,
would you give us
courage this year
and boldness this year
to be about the work
of your mission.
Lord,
help us to see the ways
in which our workplaces
can be avenues
of rebuilding
and restoring.
Give us eyes
to see areas
of our hearts
that need to change.
Give us eyes
to see the relationships
you've providentially
placed around us
where gospel proclamation
can happen.
And O God,
give us the confidence
that you indeed
are doing this work
that you will accomplish
the purposes
that you have said
for your great glory.
We pray this in Jesus' name.
Amen.