“A Message Worth Sharing!” (Isaiah 61:1-3)

S‑1086 12/14/2008 3SIA/3B Hymns: (O)#58 vv. 1-3; (S) #58 vv. 4-9; L.S. #5; #87; #92 (C) # 75

Texts: Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24; John 1:6-8, 19-28

Theme: “A Message Worth Sharing!” (Isaiah 61:1-3)

Armour, SD. SOLI DEO GLORIA.

Question: “Have You Heard Any Good News Lately?”

Faithful followers of the Savior, Christ is Risen! He is Risen! Indeed! Alleluia! The text for our meditation is from the Old Testament Lesson: “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; 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; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD” (Isaiah 61:1-3).

Saints in Christ, Wheeling Gaunt was Born into slavery in 1812 on a tobacco plantation in Carrollton, KY. He had a hard life and at age 4 he was separated from his mother. Gaunt saved enough money, $900, over 32 years to buy his freedom. In the 1860s, he moved to Yellow Springs, attracted by the racial tolerance of the area and nearby Wilberforce University. Through hard work and frugality, Gaunt acquired several pieces of property and was one of the town’s wealthiest residents when he died at 82.

Wheeling Gaunt the slave man who became free before his death deeded nine acres of farmland to the village with the stipulation that rent from the land be used to buy flour to give widows at Christmas. Ever since 1894 the people of the western Ohio village have been giving this Christmas gift to its residents as a legacy of Christmas kindness to the widows. Today, there are over 110 widows who receive 10 pounds of flour and sugar in memory of a slave man. This is indeed a heart warming story and a message that needs to be told. As a matter of fact it was put to print so that people may read of the “Legacy of Christmas Kindness”. (AmericanProfile.com weekly magazine Dec. 7-13, 2008 p. 6).

In today’s text, the prophet Isaiah speaks to us about a message that we all need to hear. This is not just any message that you hear on the radio, watch on TV or spoken off at the mall or coffee shops. But a message that every broken heart, head and home needs so badly. This is the message the church is about and has been proclaiming since the death and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus.

Listen to the voice of God, as He uses Isaiah to share and important message—“A Message Worth Hearing.” “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; 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; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD.”

During these days of Advent with eyes of faith we behold the One the prophet Isaiah spoke about long ago in our text—the Babe of Bethlehem. Jesus the heaven-sent Savior when He lived on earth fulfilled the promises of old. He healed the sick, raised the dead and fed the hungry.

One day while Jesus was worshiping at His home town synagogue, He was given the scroll of the prophet Isaiah to read from. And He read the words of our text. Then He did an unusual thing. He said, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (Lk. 4:21).

Jesus spoke the words of the text to all of those who were needy, the blind, those who are held in captivity, the lame, the sick, the poor and the afflicted. But who are these people today? The down and out? The addicted and afflicted? The scum of the earth or the dregs of society? Where will we find them? How can we help them? You don’t have to look long and hard; just look around and you will it is US—you and me.

Study Scripture and you will hear a message that needs to be shared—a message of bad news and good news. The bad news is this: We are the ones of whom Isaiah speaks in the text. We are both poor and captive. But the good news is that He has come for such as YOU.

It may be the truth that we are this way, but here we find ourselves echoing the claims of the religious leaders of Jesus day. We Americans might say, “We are free. We haven’t ever been slaves to anyone!” But how wrong we are! We have all wandered away from Him. We have done what we thought we should and not the things we shouldn’t. We have elevated ourselves higher than God and told Him on more than one occasion we don’t need Him, but He needs us.

We are captive to the will and ways of the devil. At times we even boast of the shameful deeds we do. We at time rejoice in falling into the temptations that are dangling before us like honey comb. We allow our hearts to be taken captives by the forces of darkness and the lust of the flesh. All the time we pretend to be good and holy in the sight of God. But if we are honest and I hope we are. THERE IS NO GOOD IN US, NOT AT ALL.

But the message that we have been given by Isaiah which brings the knowledge of our slavery also brings us the message of forgiveness from the lips of Christ! The Spirit breathes life into the likes of us who are needy, captives, blind, and slaves, lost in sin and death. We have nothing to offer our gracious Lord, except our sinful deeds. We come as beggars with open hands and our broken hearts expecting Him to fill them with His mercy and grace. PAUSE.

And He does. The prophet Isaiah assures us of this in this text. Jesus confirms it through His Words. For this reason God sent Him our way as our long expected Savior, the heaven-sent messenger who will bring freedom and deliverance, healing and hope, life and light.

For Christ has come to the world in human flesh to the manger of Bethlehem so long ago. He was born in a stable and nailed upon a tree of shame and humiliation; so that He might be the life of all of the living and bring about the death of death. He took upon His holy shoulders the sins of all people who have ever lived, who are living now and who will live in the future and brought freedom from the captivity of sin by His cross and death. His great gift to us is His healing, His freedom and the richness of His mercy and grace. PAUSE.

Wheeler Gaunt worked and saved for 32 years to pay for his freedom. Once he became free he offered a gift to others to alleviate their burdens. Unlike Gaunt, our Savior lived for 33 years to bring about the freedom of all people. Unlike Gaunt He did not pay to free Himself. Instead He paid with His holy and precious life to free YOU from the prison cells of hell and the clutches of the devil. For 33 years He lived the perfect life to carry out the mission of His heavenly Father with the dawning of His grace that brought about a change for all people.

Beloved in the Lord, our sermon hymn written by Paul Gerhard said well:

Love caused Your incarnation, love brought You down to me;
Your thirst for my salvation procured my liberty.
O love beyond all telling, that led you to embrace
In love all loves excelling our lost and fallen race.

Today, you have heard the message that is worth hearing—a message of healing, of freeing, of forgiveness, of love, of grace, of mercy. What a wonderful message the Lord gives us to share with others. May the Lord fill our hearts with the desire to hear the Good News and share the Good News with others. Amen.

Now the peace…

S‑1086 12/14/2008 3MIA/3B Hymns: (O)#427; (S) #74; (C) # 75

Texts: Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24; John 1:6-8, 19-28

Theme: “A Message Worth Sharing!” (Isaiah 61:1-3)

Armour, SD. SOLI DEO GLORIA.

Question: “Have You Heard Any Good News Lately?”

Faithful followers of the Savior, Christ is Risen! He is Risen! Indeed! Alleluia! The text for our meditation is from the Old Testament Lesson: “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; 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; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD” (Isaiah 61:1-3).

Saints in Christ, Wheeling Gaunt was Born into slavery in 1812 on a tobacco plantation in Carrollton, KY. He had a hard life and at age 4 he was separated from his mother. Gaunt saved enough money, $900, over 32 years to buy his freedom. In the 1860s, he moved to Yellow Springs, attracted by the racial tolerance of the area and nearby Wilberforce University. Through hard work and frugality, Gaunt acquired several pieces of property and was one of the town’s wealthiest residents when he died at 82.

Wheeling Gaunt the slave man who became free before his death deeded nine acres of farmland to the village with the stipulation that rent from the land be used to buy flour to give widows at Christmas. Ever since 1894 the people of the western Ohio village have been giving this Christmas gift to its residents as a legacy of Christmas kindness to the widows. Today, there are over 110 widows who receive 10 pounds of flour and sugar in memory of a slave man. This is indeed a heart warming story and a message that needs to be told. As a matter of fact it was put to print so that people may read of the “Legacy of Christmas Kindness”. (AmericanProfile.com weekly magazine Dec. 7-13, 2008 p. 6).

In today’s text, the prophet Isaiah speaks to us about a message that we all need to hear. This is not just any message that you hear on the radio, watch on TV or spoken off at the mall or coffee shops. But a message that every broken heart, head and home needs so badly. This is the message the church is about and has been doing and will continue to do. Listen to the voice of God, as He uses Isaiah in sharing “A Message Worth Hearing.”

What is that message that is so important? Listen to Isaiah speak to your hearts: “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; 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; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD.”

During these days of Advent with eyes of faith we behold the One the prophet Isaiah spoke about long ago in our text—the Babe of Bethlehem. Jesus the heaven-sent Savior when He lived on earth fulfilled the promises of old. He healed the sick, raised the dead and fed the hungry and bound the brokenhearted.

One day while Jesus was worshiping at His home town synagogue, He was given the scroll of the prophet Isaiah to read from. And He read the words of our text. Then He did an unusual thing. He said, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (Lk. 4:21).

Jesus spoke the words of the text to all of those who were needy, the blind, those who are held in captivity, the lame, the sick, the poor and the afflicted. But who are these people today? The down and out? The addicted and afflicted? The scum of the earth or the dregs of society? Where will we find them? How can we help them? You don’t have to look long and hard; just look around and you will see it is US—you and me.

Study Scripture and you will a message that needs to be shared—a message of bad news and good news. The bad news is this: We are the ones of whom Jesus speaks in the text. We are both poor and captive. But the good news is that Jesus has come for such as YOU.

The truth is that we all are poor, captives, slaves and prisoners. Why you might ask? Because the truth needs to be told—we have all wondered away from Him. We have done what we thought we should and not the things we shouldn’t. We have elevated ourselves higher than God and told Him on more than one occasion we don’t need Him, but He needs us.

We are captive to the will and ways of the devil. At times we even boast of the shameful deeds that we do. We at time rejoice in falling into the temptations that are dangling before us like honey comb. We allow our hearts to be taken captives by the forces of darkness and the lust of the flesh. All the time we pretend to be good and holy in the sight of God. But if we are honest and I hope we are. THERE IS NO GOOD IN US, NOT AT ALL.

But the message that we have been given by Isaiah which brings the knowledge of our slavery also brings us the message of forgiveness from the lips of Christ! The Spirit breathes life into the likes of us who are needy, captives, blind, and slaves, lost in sin and death. We have nothing to offer our gracious Lord, except our sinful deeds. We come as beggars we open hands and our broken hearts expecting Him to fill them with His mercy and grace. PAUSE.

And He does. The prophet Isaiah assures of this in this text. Jesus confirms it through His Words. For this reason God sent Him our way as our long expected Savior, the heaven-sent messenger who will bring freedom and deliverance, healing and hope, life and light.

For Christ has come to the world in human flesh to the manger of Bethlehem so long ago. He was born in a stable and nailed upon a tree of shame and humiliation; so that He might be the life of all of the living and bring about the death of death. He took upon His holy shoulders the sins of all people who have ever lived, who are living now and who will live in the future and brought freedom from the captivity of sin by His cross and death. His great gift to us is His healing, His freedom and the richness of His mercy and grace. PAUSE.

Wheeler Gaunt worked and saved for 32 years to pay for his freedom. Once he became free he offered a gift to others to alleviate their burdens. Unlike Gaunt, our Savior lived for 33 years to bring about the freedom of all people. Unlike Gaunt He didn’t pay to free Himself, but paid with His holy and precious life to free us from the prison cells of hell and the clutches of the devil. For 33 years He lived the perfect life to carry out the mission of His heavenly Father with the dawning of His grace that brought about a change for all people.

Beloved in the Lord, our sermon hymn written by Paul Gerhard said well:

Love caused Your incarnation, love brought You down to me;
Your thirst for my salvation procured my liberty.
O love beyond all telling, that led you to embrace
In love all loves excelling our lost and fallen race.

(O Lord, How Shall I meet Thee p. 58, v. 4).

Today, you have heard the message that is worth hearing—a message of healing, of freeing, of forgiveness, of love, of grace, of mercy. What a wonderful message the Lord gives us to share with others. May the Lord fill our hearts with the desire to hear the Good News and share the Good News with others. Amen.

Now the peace….