A little while ago I was talking with a co-worker about his spiritual life and his experience with Christ. He said he was disheartened by the actions of other so-called Christians. That he had lost the fire he once had and was questioning his relationship with God. I talked with him for quite some time, sharing my own experience with similar thoughts and feelings and tried to offer what little support I could. After this conversation, I began to think of all the others who might be going through similar times. Not only those on the street, but the ones who might be right here at home. I have tried to offer solutions to several different trouble spots, but I have neglected one key component; fire. Something to bring back in me and us the drive, the zeal, the overwhelming lust to bring others to Jesus.
I could dig up a million different areas that need improvement in our lives; I might even be able to give some assistance in fixing the problems, but if we do not have the motivation to do so, what is the point? Perhaps we have wandered away from the true flame, the One who sets us ablaze with His power and glory. So much so that while the love and obedience may still be there, that close intimate relationship with the Life-Giver is waning in its intensity.
One of the things I wrestle with quite often is how to have a closer relationship with God. I know that the only way to receive fullness in life is an intimate relationship with Him, but it seems hard sometimes. I can pray, read the Bible, study my lesson, attend church. All the obvious things Christians do to walk closer with God. Still, there are times I don’t feel connected. I know God is there and that He cares for me, but it seems like a long distance relationship.
It seems that we overlook a lot of the things that make God special to us. We get caught up in the cliches of Christianity. Have you heard the saying “Can’t see the forest for the trees.” Meaning we can’t see the big picture for the details. I think we have just the opposite problem. We see the big picture, that is easy, but we overlook the details. We tell ourselves and others that Jesus saves us and has an everlasting home waiting for us. Now don’t get me wrong, these are fundamental to our belief as Christians. But what about right now? While the answers may or may not be simple to us, they are definitely not clear to the unbeliever, to whom we are trying to reach. For Jesus said He did not come to save the righteous, but the lost. What about all those who have not had the blessings we have enjoyed? And what about those among us whose faith is being put to the test, whose steps are faltering? What do we tell them, or us, Jesus can do immediately.
While the reward of heaven is beyond our comprehension, I can’t sit back and wait. My faith is weak and it is today I am suffering. Today I have lost my way. It is now my world seems to be crumbling around me. It is now I need. Although we are not to be of this world, we must be in it. Thus, we must share in the same trials and tribulations as our brothers and sisters. What do we tell others about the work and the blessings of Jesus? What do we tell ourselves?
For a job descriptions of Jesus and the work He is waiting to perform in our lives, turn to Is. 61. This and the surrounding chapters, I believe, to be one of the most beautiful areas of the Bible. It was written during a time when hope was fading, the enemies of God were closing in, and the people had lost the fire in their bellies. After numerous rebukes, warnings, and prophecies of destruction, we come to the light at the end of the tunnel. Passages that hold so much power, blessings and hope for all who claim them and the Messiah of which they speak.
This is an age of information. We as westerners are obsessed with information. From books, the internet, to the scores of tv news programs. One of the primary pieces of info we want, especially when meeting someone new, is to know what they do. This is not what do they like to do, as in hobbies, but what do they do as a career or occupation. From this we, for the most part, conceive a notion as to their character. For instance, you meet someone who is the 22nd inspector at the underwear factory. Not a whole lot there to work with. However, if you continue finding out about this person and he or she proves to have similar interests and provides pleasant company, we are pleasantly surprised. Our review of this person probably goes something like, “Yeah I met Joe, he is a really interesting person, and he’s an underwear inspector. As if underwear inspectors are of some sub-category of human life. On the other hand, someone introduces themself as a pediatric nuero-psychiatrist and we are instantly intrigued. But would be totally shocked to find them to be of low moral character and not that interesting to talk to.
Imagine meeting Jesus. He introduces Himself as Jesus, Son of God, Savior. Just as most of us would be lost as to the functions of a pediatric nuero-psychiatrist, many are confused as to the role of a savior. That is what I want to look at tody. Not merely a cold job description, but something that applies to each of us individually. For while we are all in need of salvation from sins, each one of us has our own private enemies that we cannot defeat alone.
I hope that you have turned to Is. 61 and have looked over the verses. Let me read them again as we cannot hear them enough.
These are not only words of comfort for the Hebrews hounded by the Babylonians; nor only for the Jews of Jesus time that heard Jesus declare the fulfillment of this prophecy. It is also a personal resume to each one of us. To know, even just the little we can fathom, of God’s character and the work He has set out to do. They are words to comfort the downtrodden. Words to enlighten the ignorant. And words to empower God’s people.
Matthew Henry says this about Is. 61. “In this chapter we are sure to find the grace of Christ, we will find the glories of the church. And find that righteousness and salvation shall be the eternal matter of the church’s rejoicing and thanksgiving.” He goes on to comment that “If the Jewish church was ever thus blessed, much more so shall the Christian church, and all that belong to it.
He came to preach the good news to the poor. What is that good news? That ladies and gentlemen, this is not all there is. That we have a home waiting for where there is no pain, no war, only goodness and light. News that we are never alone. For He is there to catch us if we fall. The news that all mankind have the opportunity for salvation, no matter who we are or what we have done. Who are the poor? The poor are those who do not have. We do not have. We own nothing, we know nothing, and compared to the great expanse of the universe, we are nothing. Only with God and the affection He shows us can we have all this, and share in the eternal life He wants us to have.
He will bind up the broken hearted. Do you know the number one killer fo all time? Hopelessness, despair, and dejection. In some cases physical life is lost. In most other cases the spark of life is blown out. While people continue to exist, they are daily consumed with suffering, loneliness, and heartache. Christ came to give hope back to the hopeless. Hope that tomorrow will be a new day. Hope that this pitiful existence is only a temporary stop on the way to glory. This country is overwhelmed with mental disorders. Not that they are new, only now we have names for them. Daily I see the faces of the heartbroken. People who have lost the will to carry on, to hope for something better. Jesus is waiting to heal those wounds. The saying that time heals all wounds is a lie, time only numbs the scar. Jesus is the only one who can heal all wounds and He is the ultimate plastic surgeon. My wife had thyroid cancer a few years ago and had to have her thyroid removed. Luckily she had a plastic surgeon close the wound leaving it almost unnoticeable. When Jesus heals there is not scar whatsoever. Carl Jung said that consciousness comes through suffering. I believe this to a point, for eventually the suffering must end. This is what Jesus is there to do; cease suffering that we may come to the realization that He is the only way to happiness and fullness of life.
He came to proclaim freedom and release the prisoners from darkness. I see commercials for these debt relief agencies, promising help for overwhelming credit card debt. I hear stories of people who have $20,30,000 and upwards in credit card debt. It baffles me as to how someone can accumulate that much debt on a little piece of plastic. I mean I have a Sears card with a $2000 limit. But the thing that really gets me is these people knowingly put themselves in this predicament. Then I think, we do the same thing everyday as well. We knowingly and willingly make ourselves slaves and prisoners to sin. Jesus came as a deliverer and a revolutionary to lead a coup against the self-proclaimed ruler of this world. He is the king of kings. Declaring to His friends peace and liberty to us captives of sin. For though we have sold ourselves into sin, Christ let us know He has made satisfaction to divine justice for that debt, that His satisfaction is accepted, and if we plead that and depend upon it, and give ourselves and all we have to Him, we will find pardon and take comfort in it, for we are no longer condemned to sin. When we are dominated by sin we are bound to the power of satan, but Christ let us know he had defeated satan and gives us grace sufficient to enable us to shake off the yoke of sin and free ourselves from the chains of death. He is ready to make us free. We are not only loosed from the captivity of sin, but given all the rights and privileges of a citizen of the kingdom of heaven.
This is the gospel in a nutshell. In ancient Israel they had what was called a Year of Jubilee . During this time debts were cancelled and slaves were set free. This time has come for all of us. When Jesus declared to the Jews at the temple that all these things were fulfilled, He was announcing, not only the year, but eternal jubilee for all of us. Liberating us from our debts, freeing us from slavery, and giving us reason to rejoice. The year of the Lord’s favor is the day of our salvation and redemption; restoring us to our proper owner and ruler.
He not only declares favor to His friends, but war to His enemies. Most of the time we view vengeance as a bad thing, however, when God says He will take revenge, we should rejoice. For the powers of darkness, we cannot defeat, but God will smite down upon sin, satan, death, hell, and all powers of darkness with holy vengeance, destroying them once and for all. These powers were defeated when Jesus triumphed on the cross. His last breath uttered “It is finished.” This was a two fold message. The first was for us, telling us the time for sin’s dominion was over. That though there may be times we suffer and are pushed to the breaking point, Christ has won the victory for us. That there is nothing to fear any longer. Many people live in fear today. Fear of the evening news; fear of death or losing everything; fear of the unknown. Jesus said this was over. He has led us like Moses through the wilderness of sin and death to the land of promise flowing with milk and honey, and it is almost time to go to our promised homes.
The other part of the message was for satan and his cronies. For this was not a statement of defeat for Christ, but the blow of death for satan. He told satan that once and for all his reign was over. That no matter what satan tried, Christ’s victory was sure. He laid open the pits of hell to destroy it inhabitants, to put them to shame, and to make a spectacle of them for the entire universe to see. That whatever pathetic attempts satan would make on us or against God, did not matter anymore, for he had lost and would soon be blotted out of existence.
Jesus is also a comforter sent to give solace to those who mourn. Those who lament a loss, and who has not suffered some type of loss. Take it to the Lord and He will take away your grief. He stands ever ready to take us in His arms and shield us from the hurt of this world. As little kids say, “kiss it and make it all better.” He is there to let us know that anything that hurts us in this world is only temporary, no more than a passing thought, for He will take away all pain. He will take away the hurt that comes from sin, and take away the feelings of guilt, shame, and desolation. Ps. 56:8 says He will put our tears in His bottle.
He will not only hear and comfort our sorrows, but go once step further, turning our grief to joy; our mourning to praise. It says He will give us beauty for ashes. The Hebrew here is significant. The word for beauty is pheer, the word for ashes is epher. He will turn our sorrow into joy as quickly and easily as rearranging a couple of letters to make a new word.
Do you know how one looks after crying for a while? The nose is red, the eyes are puffy and hollow looking. Jesus takes all this away. He not only consoles our grief but makes us into things of beauty. Part of the appeal of a walk with Christ should be our countenance. The world walks around with tear stained cheeks, while we should live beaming with joy. Whereas, others may mourn in secret, we will be unable to hid our exuberance for the Lord, for it will show through our faces. We will trade in our clothes of mourning for garments of praise. Most of the time black is the acceptable attire for a funeral. The color black is the absence of light. We cannot be friends of Jesus and be cloaked in black, or be without light, for He is the source of light.
Finally, God is a planter. He will do all these things for His people, cure our wounds, release us from bondage, and comfort our sorrows that we may be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord. When you think of a tree you think of something eternal, solid, and strong. A tree provides food, shelter, and life. Trees provide most of the oxygen we breathe. He will make us into life giving trees. And believe me if God plants us, we will grow. I’ve tried to grow things, but it doesn’t work. I can’t make things grow, but I can kill the toughest of plants. God is the ultimate gardener, and if He plants us as trees of righteousness, we can be sure that righteousness will reach to the heavens and have its roots in the solid rock.
Now I could go on for days discussing all the messages of hope of the last part of Isaiah. Just look at some of the chapter titles. But my time is limited. I want to touch on one other thing God will do for us. Look at verse 4. Churches in this area have and are still going through some trying times. But look what God can do. He will bring back the splendor of our church. Restoring anything that has been broken and make us new again. It shows here that though we may have been damaged, we are not destroyed, and the master carpenter will rebuild us and our church and restore all the power that lies within these walls.
So how will all of these things affect us and our relationship with the Lord. Verse 10. This song of praise is for the change in us and our world cause by Christ’s triumphant grace. The reason for our joy is salvation. Christ has adorned the church with garments of salvation, justification, and sanctification, that all the world may see that we are forgiven or our sins and thus released from all those side effects. We are mad holy in the eyes of God, which gives us access to eternal glory. Look also, that this is not only for a select few, but for all nations. This is why we are here, to be ambassadors of God’s will and models for His clothing line. Just as people must have the latest designer jeans they see on tv; so too should others want the clothes we are wearing, for they are salvation. And believe me, salvation feels good.
I urge each one of you here today who may be struggling in your relationship with Jesus to search your hearts. Let Him know what you are feeling and let Him take over. I promise, you will see a change in your life. He will relight the fire inside you and cause you to give off a glow that will draw others to you that you may bring them to Christ and that He may bring us all home someday soon.
