They will be called

 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
    instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
    instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
    instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
    a planting of the Lord
    for the display of his splendor. – Isaiah 61:3

Last week, we talked about the time of favor and grace that Jesus came to proclaim.  However, we also talked about the day of judgment that Jesus taught would come.  While this is important to understand, it doesn’t tell us much about what we need to do in order to prepare for the day of judgment.  Isaiah 61:3 has a little more information to help us.

To provide…

First, this is a continuation of the previous passage.  That is important because it tells us who will be doing the work for those who have found themselves out of favor with God.  The speaker in this entire passage is the anointed One of God.  Those who listened or read from Isaiah in the time it was written might have assumed this to be Isaiah.  However, those who heard Jesus declare that this is fulfilled in Him, understand that He is the anointed one of God.  Therefore, the one doing the work in this passage is not us, but the anointed one.  The work that He is to do is, “to provide for those who grieve in Zion.”  This means that if God’s people find themselves far from God and mourn the result of our sin, God has anointed Jesus to provide the answer for this problem.  He then spends the next several phrases telling us how He will provide for us.

To bestow…

To those who mourn, Jesus has come to replace what we have with something better.  He is to bestow or present us with a gift in place of our objects of mourning.  Sackcloth and ashes were the common garments of those who mourn and grieve.  Israelites knew how to make themselves extra miserable and make sure that everyone around them knew the depth of their misery.  Jesus, God’s anointed one, will replace our objects of mourning with a crown of beauty, the oil of joy, and a garment of praise (likely much more comfortable than sackcloth).

They will be called

What is interesting is that many of us interpret the gifts of Christ and the grace that brings salvation as a gift of pardon without change.  However, God clearly takes away the old in order to give us the new.  Then, He tells us that we “will be called oaks of righteousness.”  This can be interpreted multiple ways.  One, we are often named by our fruit or outward appearance.  Therefore, the assertion that we will be called oaks of righteousness suggests that something visible has changed in us that displays righteousness.  Another interpretation of this is that this is a word of prophesy from the mouth of God.  Often, Jesus occasionally called his disciples something that identified the change in their lives and the plan that God had for the future.  For instance, in a moment of profound revelation, Jesus called Simon Peter and declared that He will build His church “on this rock.”  In this way, being called an oak of righteousness by the very God who spoke the earth into existence still suggests a profound difference.  If God says it, it happens.

A planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor

One thing is clear.  The change in us will be so profound that it is not possible to give the credit to our own righteousness or hard work.  It will be clear that what has grown out of our life has been put there by God Himself and it will therefore bring glory to Him and display His splendor rather than bringing glory to us.

Looking Forward

I can’t wait to share the final message in this series with you this coming week.  Join us for Easter Sunday.

www.abqnaz.org/planavisit

Pastor Pete

Year of the Lord's favor

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
    because the Lord has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
    to proclaim freedom for the captives
    and release from darkness for the prisoners
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
    and the day of vengeance of our God, – Isaiah 61:1-2a

Last week, we spent time talking about the promise of good news for the poor, healing for those who are brokenhearted, etc.  We talked about freedom for those who are captive, even to sin.  We talked about how dark it can be when there is no hope of freedom and that some of the most devastating predicaments are those when freedom has been proclaimed but the darkness is so complete that it is hard to believe that freedom is even possible.  However, as we read through this passage of hope, an ominous phrase appears that some may not know what to do with.  Isaiah says that the coming anointed one will also proclaim a day of vengeance.

To proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor…

Jesus stood up in the synagogue on the Sabbath and was handed the scroll of the prophet Isaiah.  He read this very text.  Then, when he had ready “to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,” he rolled up the scroll and sat down.  He then proclaimed that this scripture was fulfilled ‘today’ in their hearing.  We can make a lot of assumptions about this.  Many of us would like to assume that Jesus stopped at this phrase because He had not come to proclaim vengeance.  Rather, he had come to proclaim a new and gracious era in the dealings between God and man.  However, Matthew 24:42-46, tells us that Jesus talked about a coming day as he taught the people.

…and the day of vengeance of our God

In fact, this teaching must have featured prominently in Jesus’ teaching because 1 Thessalonians 5 and 2 Peter 3 feature the same teaching, even with very similar phrasing and illustration.  The Christian church from early on understood that Jesus had taught that there would be a day when he would return and on that day he must find us ready.

How do we reconcile these two phrases?

Many scholars read these two phrases as a declaration of two comings of the same messenger.  Jesus stood in the synagogue to proclaim that those who were listening to his words were experiencing the first coming.   This is a time when all of the past is wiped away.  This is a year of favor.  The debt that was owed is forgiven and it is no longer held against us.  However, there will be a day when Jesus comes again.  On that day, judgment will come on the living and the dead and we will be called to account for what was done in this world.  In fact, 2 Peter 3 says the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.  Jesus’ teaching about the importance of the master finding his servants doing what he has asked is one way for us to hear this.  The past is washed away, but when he returns, it will be a day of judgment.

Looking Forward

Just because that day in Luke 4 was not the day, does not mean that the day is not coming.  Let us not receive the grace of God in vain (2 Corinthians 6:1).  Rather, let us respond to the year of the Lord’s favor by putting the past behind us and turning to the call of God, that He might find us doing His will when he returns.

Pastor Pete

Freedom for Captives

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
    because the Lord has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
    to proclaim freedom for the captives
    and release from darkness for the prisoners – Isaiah 61:1

Isaiah 61 is a well-known prophetic text.  The prophet Isaiah spoke to a group of people who had fallen away from God and were about to experience the consequences of their sin, exile and captivity.  Israel would spend 70 years in a land not their own, unable to worship God in the way that they were taught.  Nonetheless, in the midst of the prophetic correction and consequence, the prophet brings a message of hope.  Good news is proclaimed of a God who cares.

Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.

Jesus proclaimed to the people of Nazareth, in Luke 4:21, that He is the fulfillment of this text.  So, although we are studying in the book of Ezra the rebuilding of the temple, Jesus says that the ultimate proclamation of freedom comes in Christ Himself.  He claims that the Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon Him!  It is He who came to bind up the brokenhearted!

Proclaim Freedom…

Although many of us would claim that we have freedom by virtue of living in America, it is common for us to blame other things for our problems.  It is always our boss, our mother or father, our landlord, or any other of a list of perpetrators who have wronged us and are at fault for the circumstances of our lives.  Unknowingly, every time we say these things, we are proclaiming the people who we have allowed to hold us in captivity.  Perhaps the worst captivity of all is proclaimed when we say “the devil made me do it.”  While Jesus affirms in John 8:34 that everyone who sins is a slave to sin, he also proclaims that if the Son sets you free, you are truly free (John 8:36).  This is the message that Jesus came to Earth to proclaim.  Whatever has had a hold on you, Jesus proclaims freedom for the captive.  If He has proclaimed you free, why would you remain behind bars?  You no longer need to remain in sin.  Rather, exercise your freedom from the bonds of sin!

Release from darkness

The only reason that I can imagine that people would remain in captivity when they have been given their freedom is if the darkness was so complete that it seemed impossible to find your way out.  Jesus has the answer for that too.  Where there is no hope, Jesus came to proclaim release from darkness! 

Looking Forward

Moving into the Easter season, we are going to spend a lot of time talking about the freedom and victory that Jesus came to bring.  Let this season be a season where Christ restores your hope in what is possible if He has His way in you!

Pastor Pete

When Opposition Comes

When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building a temple for the Lord, the God of Israel, they came to Zerubbabel and to the heads of the families and said, “Let us help you build because, like you, we seek your God and have been sacrificing to him since the time of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here.”

 But Zerubbabel, Joshua and the rest of the heads of the families of Israel answered, “You have no part with us in building a temple to our God. We alone will build it for the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, commanded us.”

 Then the peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building. - Ezra 4:1-4

I don’t like the way this passage starts!  The Israelites have just come through a great time of celebration.  They returned to Jerusalem and the surrounding areas and got settle.  Then, as soon as they were settled, they came to Jerusalem to worship and begin building the temple.  They had done exactly what God had told them to do and they seemed to have the favor of the leaders, particularly King Cyrus.  That is the kind of story I like because I want it to be my story.  However, the beginning of chapter 4 reminds us that there were enemies of the people of God.

Let us help you…

This does not sound like the suggestion of enemies.  I’m a pastor and I have begun teaching the leaders in our ministry the phrase “we need all the help we can get.”  One of the greatest leadership mistakes I’ve seen is that we are so worried about people not doing the job well that we do too much ourselves and don’t let willing people help.  The consequence of this is that ministry becomes very lonely and we don’t raise up the leaders we need.  We’ve often created for ourselves the problem that we complain about most.  In Matthew 9:37, Jesus told us that the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.  Therefore, we ought to pray for the Lord of the harvest to send forth workers.  Too often, Christian leaders send away the help that God has sent to answer our prayers!  However, in this passage, the people of God had good reason to tell these people that they had no part in the work that God had called them to do.

Who are these people?

At the risk of sounding like Jerry Seinfeld, I think it is important that we understand who these people were in order to understand why the Israelites did not allow them to help with the building of the temple.  2 Kings 17:24-41 tells us that there were people in the area who had been resettled there by previous kings.  In order to seek protection from God, they requested that the king send them someone to teach them to worship “the god of the land.”  However, they only worshiped God for protection and the scripture tells us that “they worshiped the Lord, but they also served their own gods in accordance with the customs of the nations from which they had been brought.”  Therefore, while these people claimed to be on their side and to worship the same God, they were not really who they said they were.  In the church today, we still have people to claim to be with us, but their priorities are really not the same because they continue to worship other Gods.  This should not be surprising since the scriptures tell us that “Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14).  Paul instructed the church about how to deal with those who call themselves brothers but allow idolatry to remain in their lives in the form of fulfilling sinful desires when he said “with such a man, do not even eat” (1 Corinthians 5).

In this world you will have trouble

When the Israelites drew a line in the sand, the people who had offered their assistance immediately understood that they were enemies of the Israelites.  The same is true of us if we draw firm lines regarding the Truth of God and His commands.  Those who had once tried to find commonality with us, now see us as something that needs to be destroyed.  Our very presence convicts them of their sin.  With enemies comes opposition!  We should not be surprised by this.  Jesus reminded us:

If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.   If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.  Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ (John 15:18-20).

Then later he told us that “in this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

Looking Forward

Don’t forget that, though you are nearly guaranteed to face opposition, God has promised ultimate victory!  The good news for the Israelites and for us is that this is not the end of the story.  In the next couple of chapters, God comes through for His people in a might victory of favor!  Remember that, when you are experiencing opposition, victory is in your future!

Pastor Pete

His love endures forever

When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests in their vestments and with trumpets, and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with cymbals, took their places to praise the Lord, as prescribed by David king of Israel.  With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the Lord:

“He is good;
    his love toward Israel endures forever.”

And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid.  But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple, wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy.  No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise. And the sound was heard far away. - Ezra 3:10-13

Secular leadership theories teach us the importance of celebrating small victories.  Sometimes it takes years to accomplish the goals that God has called us to.  It is easy to get discouraged before we are finished.  This was certainly the case for the people of Israel.  However, we see here that the Israelites chose to celebrate that the first steps.

He is good

Throughout this process, the Israelites’ actions mirror the building of the original temple in 1 and 2 Chronicles, including the building of the altar of sacrifice before the building of the temple!  Here, the Israelites even worship God in the way proscribed by King David.  They declare that God is good and his love endures forever.  This declaration is significant!  Israel is celebrating God’s faithfulness.  Although they turned away from Him and suffered the consequence of 70 years of exile, the declare God is good.  Unlike what is often heard in our world today, just because I’m punished doesn’t mean that the person who punishes me is my enemy.  Rather, it is possible that my punishment is for my own good.

His love endures forever

Then, God followed through on His promise to bring them back.  Their exile was only temporary.  In the mean time, they have learned something about God.  He is good and He still loves us even though we have done wrong.  This doesn’t mean that there isn’t consequences for sin.  Rather, it means that God loves us enough to allow consequences for sin so that we see the need to return to Him…and He is there when we return!  He is faithful.

No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping…

Perspective is a powerful thing.  The young people only remembered exile.  They were rejoicing at the sight of the foundation of the temple.  The older people remembered the former temple and were weeping because this temple did not appear to measure up to the glory that they had seen.  Isn’t this always the story?  While some of us celebrate progress in accomplishing God’s call, others remember a time when things were better in one way or another.  Haggai 2:9 addresses these concerns by promising that “the glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house.”  No matter what we’ve experienced in the past, God’s plan for our future is better than what we have experienced in the past!  He is involved and His plan doesn’t disappoint.

Looking Forward

This is a text of celebration.  However, it leads into a time of opposition.  The song of worship said that His love endures forever.  God’s call for us is to mirror His endurance and faithfulness no matter whether we are in a period of celebration or a time of opposition.

Pastor Pete