Pastor Tim Brown, Calvary Chapel Fremont, Wednesday June 16, 2010

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Isaiah 61 - Part 2

Vv1-3  This is a spiritual Genesis 1:1-3.  Isaiah has been describing people who are formless/void – afflicted/broken hearted/ imprisoned/mourning – w/o God’s grace.  Isaiah has also been describing the ministry of Jesus in the anointing of the Holy Spirit.  Maybe you feel like the earth in G1:2 – formless/void/in darkness.

The lesson is clear: There is no formlessness that God can’t give shape to.  There is no void that God can’t fill.  There is no darkness that God can’t enlighten.  Even as the spoken word brought life to this planet, so the Living Word will bring life to your life.

3  Mourn: preoccupied w/ sorrow/loss.  Grant = to bring about a change.  God wants to bring about a change in those preoccupied w/ death/loss.  Do you have a mourning spirit?

Preoccupation w/ what is lost | Ashes – past is burned up     Marriage/family/finances/health/relationships/opportunities

Overwhelmed w/ sorrow | Mourning – present is filled w/ sorrow – things can’t be fixed | Things not happening for me/no traction

Abiding sense of hopelessness | Spirit of fainting – future can’t be faced    

Jesus desires to take a spirit of mourning and change it n2 a spirit of thanksgiving.  Do you have a spirit of thanksgiving?   

How can I walk in a spirit of thanksgiving?

We are instructed, and rightly so, to praise God for our blessings.  But sometimes it seems as if no blessings are being experienced.  The wife is bent out of shape/kids are out of order/finances are in the tank/health has taken a turn for the worse… “Pastor, why should I praise God?”

The normal counsel is: “Remember Calvary.”  It’s like the Lord is saying, shaking His head: “After all I have done 4u and you can’t walk in a spirit of praise in the midst of a little trouble.”  And so, properly put in our place, feeling beat up, we weakly/feebly/sheepishly praise the Lord.  But arm twisting praise/reluctant thankfulness/guilty/bribed praise doesn’t glorify God or ennoble me.  “Remember Calvary” doesn’t go far enough.
 

Calvary is not a point of reminder, but a place of surrender.  It is not a place we return to in trouble, but a place we live in by faith.  We r2 live in the truth of Calvary, it is 2b our most immediate reality.  Everything else lay outside of it, not disturbing its hold on our lives.  Paul/Silas lived surrendered/thankful lives – Acts 16.   

The place of surrender is a place of joy.

Garland of grace – the surrendered life is a surrounded life/beauty.  I am covered by the beauty of His love.  The garland of grace gives birth to a spirit of thanksgiving.  This isn’t due to anything that is happening in my life, but due to the fact that I live in the center of God’s love for me.  Those who live in His love will be filled with His praise.  This is the surrendered life.  The garland of grace replaces ashes – that which has been destroyed/failure/former glory departed.  My preoccupation w/ the past/its pain has been broken.  Garland can also be tr. turban.  Zech. 5:5 …put clean turban on his head…

Calvary isn’t a place of reminder, but a place of surrender.  It’s not a place we come to, but a place we live out of.   

The phrase instead of has the sense of one thing displacing another thing by reason of use.  The spirit of thanksgiving displaces the spirit of the mourner/victim.  Surrendered to Calvary/surrounded by Calvary, His victory/strength is always ours.  Paul/Silas in prison – praise displaced the darkness.

Mantle – speaks of calling – cf. Elijah/Elisha.  You have a calling to praise the Lord.  This is your ministry.   

3b  The place of surrender is a place of stability.

You will be called an oak of righteousness.  An oak tree was a landmark.  Certain oaks served as boundary lines in the partitioning of Canaan.  If you want to live a landmark life, lose the spirit of the victim and come n2 the joy of the Lord.

That He may be glorified… The guidance of God is unto His own glory.  Our blessing is not His highest priority – His glory is.  He didn’t say, “Where can I put Tim where he will be the happiest?”  Rather, “Where can I put Tim where I will receive the most glory?”  Cf. Jn. 21:19 Peter’s death glorifying God.

4  The place of surrender is a place of restoration.  Repair of ruin - brokenness healed.  Describes the millennial glory of Israel.  This is a time of rebuilding/restoration – moving n2 the fullness of what God had promised.   

It seems like a time of renewal/revival always follows vv1-3.  When the ashes/mourning/spirit of fainting are driven away by the oil of gladness/mantle of praise, God revives His church and she moves n2 what she was always meant 2b.   

5 The place of surrender is a place of provision.

Strangers : The basic thought is of non-acquaintance or non-relatedness. twot

When Israel didn’t have a heart for God, all she had were her flocks/farms/vineyards.  Now, she has to let others n2 her life and release these things to them so they can get on w/ their real calling – 2b priests – to represent God to man.  When you have a heart to truly serve God, He will supply all your needs.  That doesn’t mean that all are called n2 full time ministry, it means Mt. 6:33.   

6  The place of surrender is a place of fulfillment - released to true calling.  It’s one thing to call yourself something, it’s another thing when someone else does it.

7  The place of surrender is a place of abundance.

Reversal of judgment - humiliation/shame is exchanged for the joy of the double portion.   

8-9  The place of surrender is a place of faithfulness.

God fulfills His covenant promises.

10-11  The place of surrender is a place of fullness.

Isaiah rejoices at the faithfulness of God.  By faith, he begins to experience the fullness of God.

He that lives in hope dances without a fiddle.