“A New Way In The New Life”

Scripture: Isaiah 61:1-11

When we consider the relationship that we have with God, and that God has with humanity, we usually speak of it as a “covenant”. A covenant is more than just an agreement; it is much stronger than a contract; it isn’t a pact that can be modified or broken. A Covenant is about a new relationship, an entirely new approach to life - it is mutually beneficial, and it is eternal.
In Isaiah 59:21, we read a few thoughts on the covenant that God has made for us. The words are generally seen as a promise to Israel, but the truth is that they are for all who come to the Lord, whether as the Chosen People of God, or as redeemed Gentiles who come to God through Jesus Christ. He has placed his Spirit upon us, and his word is on our lips, and it will not depart for generations to come. This fits with God’s word in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:6), “.. showing love to a thousand generations, of those who love me and keep my commandments.”
God’s covenant – his offer of relationship – his newness - is unlike anything created by humanity, and it never ends.

Read Isaiah 61:1-3

God’s covenant is unique in yet another way, in that it always seems to be oriented toward those who are not powerful, who are anything but worthy. And while his covenant is certainly mutual in it’s make up, the benefits are heavily weighted in our favor. These first 3 verses from our text today describe what God is and will be doing for our world, but we also must note that he does it through us. “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor, ..”, and the prophet continues to list those things that the Spirit will do through those who claim God’s Holy Spirit. His people are anointed, commissioned, if you will, to carry God’s good news, his gospel message, to the masses. This preaching isn’t just scripture, but it is, in the fullest sense of the word, about being God’s representative to the world in every way possible. Let’s look at these words again to see what they are trying to tell us:
First, we are to “preach good news to the poor” – not necessarily with words, although we need to be ready to do that, but the most important way is in the way we live our lives. We are to be the reflection of God to everyone we come in contact with, and to be the good news for those who have yet to hear it. There are no exceptions as to who we share the message with, but, again, our emphasis will be on the “poor” – those who have been rejected by worldly standards.
Next, we are to “bind up the brokenhearted, proclaim freedom for the captive, and release from darkness for the prisoner.”
I put these 3 together because each one is about being the means of comfort and restoration and release for those who are severely burdened with life. These folks come with many faces – they are the deserted and abandoned, the abused, the shut in, the infirm, the challenged. They are our family and they are our neighbors, they live next door and they live far away, some have no place to live and others are shut away from the world. They have lost all of their family and friends, and they have no one left to love them. And we are the ones who Christ calls to bring them a sense of freedom and joy and hope.
We are to share the “year of the Lord’s favor and the day of his vengeance.” We are to be sure that others understand that both are coming, and that even though vengeance is for a day, it doesn’t mean that it will end in 24 hours. But we are to also proclaim that the year of favor will be far greater than anything we can imagine – it will be glory to eternity! And the choice is up to each and every person – it isn’t God who decides which we will receive, but it certainly is the Lord who will respond in whatever decision we make.
We are to be part of the lives of those who are distressed. And not just to make them comfortable, but to show them the joy that awaits them in Jesus Christ. We aren’t expected to take them out of their situation, we aren’t called to make everything better, but Jesus does expect that we will walk with them through their trials. We are to help them to see that the struggles of today will, one day, end, but that the glory of Christ can be theirs forever. Isaiah writes about the “crown of beauty” and the “oil of gladness” and the “garment of praise”. These are the alternatives to the dejection and the mourning and the despair that this life can bring to us; they are the better ways of life, and we are to help others to discover them. It isn’t that the trials are to change drastically – it is simply that our vision and our response to them is to change.

The next section of our text describes our lives when we do follow and carry the good news into the darkness of the world.

Read Isaiah 61:4-7

These verses speak of the glory that comes to those who put the old ways behind and begin to live in the Spirit of the Sovereign Lord. But don’t take them too literally – I believe that the references to rebuilding are intended to indicate what will become of our lives, not necessarily our cities. It is about the rebuilding of our hope, the gift of salvation, that new place in eternity that Christ has won for us. It’s about the discovery that we are working with others who we may have never thought much about before – we may have even despised “those people” in the past, and now we find ourselves walking together and serving together in Jesus name, moving in the same direction and in the same Light.
And we will be seen as priests and ministers of the One High God. Now I know that those words scare a few of you, but ministry is simply doing all of those things in the first 3 verses, and giving the Lord all the glory and credit for what they accomplish.

A number of years ago, several ministers were invited to visit the Ringling Brothers Circus at its winter quarters in Venice, FL. Coming in via the performers' entrance, they passed by the elephant area. Someone noticed that the ropes around the elephants' feet were not tied to anything.
This oversight was pointed out to the handler. “Oh”, he said, “don't worry. We never tie them up. We just tie a rope around their leg and drop it, and they think they are tied up.”

How many of us imagine ourselves tied up to something from which we cannot get away, when in truth the ropes are in our head and heart, not on our hands and feet?
--Thanks to J. Walter Cross, Bradenton, Florida, for this illustration.

Think about it – God wants us to represent him in so many ways that it boggles our minds! He wants us to experience grace instead of disgrace, mercy instead of condemnation, glory instead of rejection, joy instead of fear. And as richly as we may be blessed, it is never for our edification – it is for the benefit of others. It isn’t about dragging others kicking and screaming into the kingdom of God – it is about revealing the choices that they have before them, and showing them what the choice that we have made have brought to us. But we hesitate to take that step, because our head and heart is tied to both the failures of our yesterdays and the fears of our tomorrows.
The truth is, though, that these “ropes” that hold us back aren’t tied to anything except our own sense of limitation.

Read Isaiah 61:8-11

If we can just throw off those self-limiting ropes and chains, if we could begin thinking in a new way and living in a new life, just think what the church could become! The text says that the Lord hates robbery and injustice. And if the truth was known, these are the very things that keep us from being all that the Lord has created us to be. When we deny the Lord’s call to serve him, aren’t we robbing the Lord of our ministry? When we claim that “we can’t go out and share the Good News with others”, aren’t we creating a bias, and injustice against those who are still walking without the Lord?
He has offered an everlasting covenant to not only us, but to all the world, and when it is claimed, in its entirety, without reservation, it is then that ministry begins to happen and grow without bounds. But we can’t continue to imagine that our lives are chained to this earthly existence. We must vigorously deny the limitations of earth, and eagerly claim that we live in the soil that God has created, and that our greatest desire is that the garden that Jesus Christ has planted in us might bear wonderful fruit day in and day out.
“For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.”

We have the opportunity to be the means of allowing healing and comfort and beauty and praise and righteousness to come into the lives of this world. But we need to let the garden of Christ’s covenant in us become a new way, to be a glorious new life that sprouts and grows and blossoms and yields so that the nations can truly see the glory of God in a fresh and new and truthful way.

The Spirit of God is on us, and the Word of God is within us. So what are we going to do with them? Hide them and keep them safe? Or take them out into the world and expose them to the light of this day? Will we keep them “high and dry”, or will we dare to let them get dirty and worn and used?
It’s up to each and every one of us, and we need to make a conscious decision about them every single day.

What will you do with them? Will you minister with them, will you share them? Will you keep the Good News of Jesus Christ poised in your heart and on your lips, ready to spring into the life of the seeker?
It’s all up to you, you know! It’s all up to you.