1The Spirit of the Lord and King is on me.
The Lord has anointed me
to announce good news to poor people.
He has sent me to comfort
those whose hearts have been broken.
He has sent me to announce freedom
for those who have been captured.
He wants me to set prisoners free
from their dark cells.
2He has sent me to announce the year
when he will set his people free.
He wants me to announce the day
when he will pay his enemies back.
Our God has sent me to comfort all those who are sad.
3He wants me to help those in Zion who are filled with sorrow.
I will put beautiful crowns on their heads
in place of ashes.
I will anoint them with olive oil to give them joy
instead of sorrow.
I will give them a spirit of praise
in place of a spirit of sadness.
They will be like oak trees that are strong and straight.
The Lord himself will plant them in the land.
That will show how glorious he is.
4They will rebuild the places that were destroyed long ago.
They will repair the buildings that have been broken down for many years.
They will make the destroyed cities like new again.
They have been broken down for a very long time.
5Outsiders will serve you by taking care of your flocks.
People from other lands will work in your fields and vineyards.
6You will be called priests of the Lord.
You will be named workers for our God.
You will enjoy the wealth of nations.
You will brag about getting their riches.
7Instead of being put to shame
you will receive a double share of wealth.
Instead of being dishonored
you will be glad to be in your land.
You will receive a double share of riches there.
And you’ll be filled with joy that will last forever.
8The Lord says, “I love those who do what is right.
I hate it when people steal and do other sinful things.
So I will be faithful to my people.
And I will bless them.
I will make a covenant with them
that will last forever.
9Their children after them will be famous among the nations.
Their families will be praised by people everywhere.
All those who see them will agree
that I have blessed them.”
10The people of Jerusalem will say,
“We take great delight in the Lord.
We are joyful because we belong to our God.
He has dressed us with salvation as if it were our clothes.
He has put robes of godliness on us.
We are like a groom who is dressed up for his wedding.
We are like a bride who decorates herself with her jewels.
11The soil makes the young plant come up.
A garden causes seeds to grow.
In the same way, the Lord and King will make godliness grow.
And all the nations will praise him.”
Sermon
Early on in his work, Jesus went to his home town, Nazareth, and he was asked to read in the synagogue. He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah and this is what he read. As he read it , he said ‘This has been fulfilled today.’ In other words, Jesus is the one who does all of these things. So we will look at what Jesus does, and how he does it.
Jesus is good news. That news is really, incredibly good. Do you want to know your creator? You can. DO you want to know that death is only the opening of the door into a beautiful, eternal reality? It’s true. Jesus is the best news that ever came to earth. You can know God through Jesus. All you sin, your evil, your wrong is taken away when you believe in Jesus. You become a child of God. You might be frustrated, or you might face great challenges. But none of these can take away the good news of Jesus. But who does it come to? It comes to poor people. What does this mean? It means that it comes to people who know that they have nothing. They know that they’re not good people. They know that they are sinners. They know that their money can’t save them. They know that they need Jesus. It’s not just about being materially poor. It also means knowing how much you need Jesus. Jesus calls the process of turning to him ‘repenting’ and ‘believing’. Repenting means turning away from other things, and believing means trusting him. When we do this, God does amazing things in us and for us. We have comfort. All of our dreams might end in disappointment. But God never disappoints. He reminds us that his love is eternal and unchanging.
Jesus says that he will set us free. Without Jesus we are trapped. Sin becomes our master and separates us from God. But with Jesus, we are free. Jesus’ death on the cross sets us free. Now we have the Holy Spirit. But we might not feel that we are free. Perhaps you feel as if you are trapped. Maybe it is an addiction a worry, or bitterness. Jesus comes to take away the power of all sin. Discuss how Jesus sets us free from sin.
This is another list of contrasts. The main contrast is joy with sadness and sorrow. There is the same pattern that we saw before. Jesus sets us free from sadness because of objective truth and reality. Our greatest sadness is death. Without faith, death ends all of our hopes. But Jesus has gone into death and has risen again. That means that death is only a way into an extraordinary life with God forever.
As well as an objective truth, we are invited to live in that truth. So God changes our reality and then he changes our emotions. Once we truly know what God has done for us, we are glad. We learn to praise God. We are full of gratitude and joy. Is there something in your life now which is making you sad? Of course, I’m not saying that we should ignore medical advice if we’re depressed. God does want to give us joy, and praise and thankfulness is a way of giving us joy. It reminds us of who God really is and invites the Holy Spirit to do his work. Take a moment to thank God for his incredible mercy in Jesus.
Next, God wants us to be spreaders of the message. God has chosen us – he has given us good news, he has set us free from prison, and given us a new life. He has taken away all the pain of death. But all around us there might be ruins. There are ruined lives. It is not just drugs, alcohol and bad decisions. It is also all of the things that our unbelief has destroyed. God wants you to bring faith where there is no faith. God wants you to bring his hope and his Holy Spirit into places where people don’t believe in him. Notice that Jesus says he has been anointed by the Holy Spirit. This means that God’s power is at work. It isn’t our work, it’s God’s work. We can’t rebuild, but God can.
Think about some of the ruins that you see around you. Sometimes it’s something that has been messed up for a very long time. Perhaps it’s someone who once believed but who didn’t believe. In this country, many people were Christian 60 years ago. These are generations of ruins. These ruins weren’t destroyed by politics or by war. They were destroyed by unbelief. They won’t be rebuilt by political change. They will be rebuilt by people who trust God, who communicate his message, and who pray. This is a picture from Alexandria in Egypt. It was once the world’s greatest city. Then it disappeared and was abandoned. Then it was rebuilt. But the central part of the city is partly ruined. God is looking for people who can bring his power into desperate situations.
God wants to plant and establish you so that you can bring the light and love of God into dark places. Do you accept that call?
