Joyfully join the Messiah in His cause

Sermon Transcript

INTRODUCTION

Citylight – I am overjoyed to tell you that as of Friday we have a finalized agreement of sale on the property at 4889 Umbria Street, just over a mile from here in Manayunk. Tomorrow we begin a two-month due diligence period on the property. The property has multiple income-generating buildings that will help Citylight pay our mortgage, and one 20,000 sq/ft warehouse that, Lord-willing, will be built out into the long-term place where Citylight will gather for God’s glory and from which we will serve our region, make disciples of Jesus, and plant more churches for years to come!

Before we go any further, as we do every Sunday, let’s pray because Jesus says that apart from him we can do nothing. Please grab the people around you and take one minute to pray for God’s kingdom to come and his will to be done in and through this property as in heaven. Don’t worry about introducing yourselves, just jump in and pray, but definitely introduce yourselves before heading out today. Pray.

As I mentioned while freezing half to death in the video, Citylight is embarking on a journey called The Reach Initiative. Reach is a two-year generosity initiative designed to help Citylight acquire a long-term facility where we can reach deep through gathering, reach more through growing, reach out through serving, and reach far through sending. And today we are beginning the six-week Reach sermon series.

You may be wondering why your pastors have chosen to pair a sermon series with a generosity initiative. Is this merely a six-week financial ask with some Bible sprinkled on? While purchasing and building out 4889 Umbria will require financial generosity on the part of each of us, the answer to the question is “absolutely not.” The reason why we are pairing a sermon series with our generosity initiative is because Reach isn’t ultimately about finances or a building. Reach is about what God intends to do in our hearts before he does something through our hands, and God does his work in us through his word. From our earliest days as a church ten years ago, we’ve sought for God’s word, not our ideas or ingenuity, to set the agenda and chart our future. We want it to be no different with Reach. The Reach sermon series will immerse us in what God’s word says about everything we have (time, treasure, and talent), so that we can use it all for God’s glory and our deep satisfaction. Lord-willing, a long-term facility and the finances necessary to acquire it will be a wonderful, critical byproduct of that. But the most important thing is what God intends to do in us by his word and then through us for his glory in our region. That’s what Reach is all about and that’s why we are taking six-weeks to let God’s word chart the course and set the vibe for Reach. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could have both; hearts immersed in God’s word and a long-term facility that we can steward for God’s glory? That’s what this series is all about.

One particular passage from the Bible that has been very significant for your pastors as we’ve been praying for Reach and our future as a church is Isaiah 61. And the big idea of Isaiah 61 is actually God’s invitation to each of us as we begin the Reach journey, no matter who we are. Joyfully join the Messiah in His cause. This morning we will explore through wonderfully encouraging reasons to joyfully join the Messiah in His Cause: 1. His cause is good news, 2. His cause is glorious, 3. His cause can’t fail.

HIS CAUSE IS GOOD NEWS

Isaiah 61 has a future tilt to it. It’s about 700 BC and Isaiah is preparing God’s people for the coming glory of the Lord. The star of Isaiah 61 is a Spirit-anointed preacher. Isaiah 61:1 – The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor… The Hebrew word translated “anointed” is “messiah.” Isaiah is writing in the words of the coming Messiah who had been promised to and hoped for by God’s people since Adam and Eve first sinned in the Garden of Eden. Fast forward 700 years from Isaiah’s writing to a Jewish synagogue in the small Israeli town of Nazareth and a no-name upstart preacher whose parents named him Yeshua (Jesus). Luke 4:16-20 – And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. 17 And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed,19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” 20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” The Anointed Preacher speaking in Isaiah 61 is none other than The Lord Jesus Christ, the one and only Son sent by the Father, truly human and also truly God.

And the Messiah’s cause is very good news for all who embrace him with the empty hands of faith. Look with me at the wonderful news of his cause in vv.1-3. Isaiah 61:1-3 – The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor… Isn’t it wonderful that Jesus did not come preaching good advice about what we need to do to measure up?! He came preaching good news of salvation and eternal life for all who are poor in spirit and know that they have nothing to offer God and not hope of measuring up. Let’s continue reading. …he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted…- In a world of sin and suffering, who hasn’t had their heart broken and felt forsaken by God? Jesus came to heal our broken hearts by reconciling us to the One we were made for. …to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; 2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor… Pastor and OT scholar Ray Ortlund explains, “Back in the Old Testament, God was already hinting at this. He established an institution called the Year of Jubilee (Leviticus 25:8-55). Every fiftieth year Israel was to take the whole year off, cancel all debts, return to its original owners all family property that had been sold, and generally be kind and generous to everyone. “Proclaim liberty throughout the land” (Leviticus 25:10) — that was everyone’s job for a whole year. It foreshadowed the liberation of Christ (Galatians 5:1). Isaiah is saying that the Messiah brings that liberation to its fullest realization through the gospel. The cross cancels all our debts. God says we’re free to leave the past behind and move on with joyful relief.” That is good news! …and the day of vengeance of our God; Not all of these promises were fulfilled at the same time. Jesus will come again and when he does, the door of grace will be closed and he will enact the eternal day of God’s vengeance for all who have not received and rested in him alone for salvation. But to all who embrace Jesus with the empty hands of faith and have their sin-debts canceled forever, the result is joy unspeakable both now and forever! …to comfort all who mourn; 3 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; Now maybe my favorite part. …that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified. Jesus takes morally flimsy sinners and, by his grace and for his glory, makes us oaks of righteousness. What a picture for a church. Oaks of righteousness; strong, long-lasting, beautifully grand, far-reaching, and reproducing. I want to be part of that. I want to joyfully join the Messiah’s cause because His cause is good news. And the first step in joyfully joining His cause is simply to welcome Him. Let go of trying to measure up to God or fix your problems and embrace Jesus – the good news of his sinless life, his atoning, and his victorious resurrection – as your only hope in life and in death. That’s the first step in joyfully joining the Messiah’s cause because His cause is good news. The second reason we joyfully join the Messiah’s cause is…

HIS CAUSE IS GLORIOUS

Not only is his cause glorious, he accomplishes his glorious cause through us, his redeemed people, his oaks of righteousness. Let’s look at the glory of what is now our cause. Isaiah 61:4-7 – 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. 5 Strangers shall stand and tend your flocks; foreigners shall be your plowmen and vinedressers; 6 but you shall be called the priests of the LORD; they shall speak of you as the ministers of our God; you shall eat the wealth of the nations, and in their glory you shall boast. 7 Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion; instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot; therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion; they shall have everlasting joy. After God’s people returned from the Babylonian exile, they literally rebuilt the devastated ruins of the city of Jerusalem. Jerusalem was so significant because it was the place where God dwelt with his people and where sinners could come to meet the one true God and have their lives put back together. Since the coming of Christ, God no longer dwells with one people-group or in one city. The Bible says that the church, the new people of God through Christ, is where God’s Spirit now dwells. And so when we believe in Jesus, join his church, and give our time, treasure, and talent to building it up, when we bring the good news of Jesus into our homes, our city, and our world, we are doing nothing less than rebuilding the ruins of one another’s lives and bringing new life and everlasting joy to our ruined world as people meet the real Jesus and see the difference that he can really make. That is a glorious cause and in this life it’s never fully accomplished. But when our Messiah comes again, he will take all of our imperfect ruin-rebuilding efforts and perfect them in a new heaven and new earth where every last vestige of death will be no more.

Question: What cause are you giving your life to? Whether consciously or not, everyone gives their life to some cause. What cause are you giving your life to? The cause of fun? The cause of comfort? The cause of family? The cause of wealth or success? The cause of just getting through it all? Those are good things, but you’re far too amazing for any of those to be your cause? Why not join Jesus’ cause? Why not leverage everything, including your family and your money, to be part of a church that is an oak of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified as he rebuilds our ruined world through us? You were made for nothing less. Cheerfully join the Messiah’s cause, second, because His cause is glorious. And we can step into this glorious cause with confidence, not matter what the odds look like because, third and finally…

HIS CAUSE CAN’T FAIL

Why can we be overwhelmingly confident as we joyfully join the Messiah in his cause? Isaiah 61:8 – For I the Lord love justice; I hate robbery and wrong, I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. We can be confident because the Lord loves justice. He loves human life and society the way it was created to be. He loves strong, lasting, grand, and life-giving churches making a real difference for the cause of Christ in the world. He loves us, the church, his people so much that has eternally committed himself to us. He has made an everlasting covenant promise to love us, be with us, and use us for his glory in the world and he sealed that covenant promise in his blood. His cause quite literally cannot fail. And that’s why we can join his cause not with a spirit of guilt, gloom, or compulsion. We can join his cause with freedom, reckless abandon, and a joy that laughs at the difficult days because His cause cannot fail. Friends, let’s resolve together to joyfully join the Messiah in his cause. His cause is good news, why should we be afraid? His cause is glorious, why should we give our lives to any lesser cause? His cause cannot fail, why should we hold back? Joyfully join the Messiah in His cause.

Before we respond in worship, I want to say a few words about how Isaiah 61 invites us into The Reach Initiative. Reach is a two-year generosity initiative that I believe is at the heart of the Messiah’s cause in and through our church for his glory. After all, Reach is about God working within us so that together we are able to acquire a long-term facility where ruined, devastated lives are raised and put back together by God’s grace and for his glory, and from which new churches are planted to do the same. As I mentioned in the video, our primary goal is 100% engagement. The Messiah accomplishes his cause not through an individual, but through all of us, his people, his church. That’s why 100% engagement is our primary goal. Our second goal is raising of $4.3M over the course of two years. $2.5 Million will go directly toward our new long-term facility (between your end of year giving and the generosity of some Citylight alumni and friends, we raised over $400K of this $2.5M in the last eight weeks). $1.8 Million represents two years of Citylight’s operating budget. I’d like to show you how this will work (explain commitment card). How does Isaiah 61 invite us into Reach? Joy! Joy! Joyful openness, joyful resolve, and joyful expectation. After all, we are joining the Messiah’s good news cause! Pray.