Thoughts on Isaiah 61

Isaiah 61 has long been one of my favorite passages in all of Scripture. There is so much promise, so much hope in this passage.

This is also the passage that Jesus chooses to quote in Luke 4 as he announces his public ministry here on earth. There's something sacred in that, out of the whole of written Scripture, it was this passage that Jesus felt best captured His mission. As we all seek deeper ways to follow Christ, a commitment to live out this verse is a great place to start.

As I was reading this passage again last week, however, I had one of those "a-ha!" moments. I was reading along through verses 1 - 3 and absorbing all of the directives and mandates given prophetically to Christ (and subsequently to us as His followers) and realized that, just because He was sent to DO all of these things doesn't mean these things were always RECEIVED.

Just because He was sent to "preach good news to the poor" didn't mean the poor had ears to hear the Good News.

Just because He was sent to "bind up the brokenhearted" didn't mean the brokenhearted always trusted Him with their hearts.

Just because He was sent to "proclaim freedom for the captives" doesn't mean the captives walked out of their prisons.

You get the idea...

HOWEVER, for all those who WOULD receive these things, he promises a "crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garmet of praise instead of a spirit of despair."

And here was my "a-ha" moment: It is those who will RECEIVE this ministry of Jesus who will be called "oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor." Not everyone who "prays the prayer" gets to be an oak! Only those who receive the FULL work of Christ.

You see, Christ didn't just come for our forgiveness, He came for our restoration! Forgiveness is just the doorway. In fact, "forgiveness" isn't even mentioned in this passage. It is assumed as a sort of "first step".

Then, for all who receive this full work, this is what we get to be a part of:

We get to "rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated" and "renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations." We will be called "priests of the Lord" and "be named ministers of our God." There is no way we can rebuild the foundations of ancient ruins if we refuse to examine our own foundations or not allow Christ to restore the devastation of generations past.

(There is a whole other line of teaching concerning this rebuilding, restoring, and renewing that I could follow in regards to what God seems to be doing in the Church these days that I will save for a later time)

I can say with certainty that I don't want to be a part of anything less than God's restorative mission in this world. "Status quo Christianity" that allows me to stay in my brokenness and captivity while "appearing" to have it all together holds no interest for me whatsoever. There is simply no restorative power in that "gospel".

The act of receiving all that Christ has for us is not always comfortable - it is often painful and is always disruptive to the things that have seemed to make life "work" for us. Exposing the ways we have literally been "godless" in the way we approach our life is often the way He gets us to see our own neediness. I've learned through the years that its much better to submit to this process than have this process thrust upon me out of God's love for me...He loves me too much to leave me as I am.

The blessing and the invitation to join God in His larger story of rebuilding and restoration far outweighs the healing pain of walking through our past and all the brokenness therein. But it is ultimately each individual's choice.

Just because Christ was sent to bring us healing, freedom and Good News doesn't mean we always receive it.

But the adventure waiting for those who do is beyond description!

Awakening to the Times

A new experience today! I've never posted to a blog before... so maybe this is the 'easy way out' but I read this message from Francis Frangipane today and felt that some way it may apply to so many of us today.

I know I found myself to be the topic of several paragraphs.
Praying this finds you all WIDE AWAKE and excited!
Trusting,
Don

Francis Frangipane: "For Dreams to Come True - You Must Wake Up!"
by Francis Frangipane
Jun 20, 2008

Spiritual Drowsiness

Just because we walk and talk does not mean we are truly awake. Zechariah was not sleeping when an angel roused him "as a man who is awakened from his sleep" (Zechariah 4:1).

Perhaps we too need to be shaken from our slumber to possess the promises of God! Amazingly, in spite of all the signs, wonders, and warnings announcing that we are truly in the last days, Jesus also said there is a mysterious drowsiness that we have to overcome. Indeed, immediately after highlighting the various evidences of the end (see Matthew 24), He compares the Church to virgins who "all got drowsy and began to sleep" (Matthew 25:5).

Virgins sleeping at the end of the age: this seems incomprehensible with all the signs in the Heavens and wonders upon the earth, not to mention the increasing presence of Christ. Yet this phenomenon is something we each battle: the tendency to become spiritually drowsy and lose our focus as we wait for the Lord's return.

There is a subtle activity of the enemy that dulls our perception and seduces our zeal. Our vision takes a backseat to other less important aspects of life. From the beginning, the voice of satan has had this lulling effect on mankind. Eve's excuse for disobedience was, "The serpent hath caused me to forget" (Genesis 3:13 Young's Literal Translation).

This sense of spiritual forgetfulness, of drowsiness, is the cloud of blindness that we each must discern and overcome. It was in regard to this that the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart through the following dream.

"If You Want Your Dream to Come True, You Have to Wake Up"

There was a temple standing in an open field. My view of the temple was from its side, about 200 yards away. I could not see its front, yet it must have been completely open because great light flashed out from the inside; it pulsed like lightning, yet was solid like sunlight. The block of light issued straight out, and I knew this light was the glory of God.

The temple was so close that I knew that with a little effort I could enter the glory of God. His holy presence was clearly within my reach. There were also others directly in front of me that I recognized as people from church. Everyone seemed very busy. And while the temple and its light were visible and readily accessible to all, every head was bent downward and turned away from the light; each was occupied with other things.

I heard one person say, "I have to do laundry." Another said, "I have to go to work." I could see people reading newspapers, watching televisions, and eating. I was sure everyone could see the light if they wanted to - even more sure that we all knew His glory was near.

There were even a few people reading the Bible and praying, but everyone maintained the downward thrust of their gaze; each had a mental barrier of some kind between themselves and the place of God's presence. No one, in fact, seemed capable of standing up, turning, and steadfastly walking into the very near glory of God.

As I watched, suddenly my wife lifted her head and beheld the temple in the field. She stood and walked without pausing toward the open front. As she drew closer to the light, a garment of glory formed and thickened around her; the closer she went, the more dense the light surrounding her became until she stepped in front of the temple and turned completely toward the blazing face of God.

Oh! How jealous I felt. My wife had entered the glory of God before me! At the same time I realized that there was nothing stopping me from approaching God's presence - nothing except the pile of things to do and responsibilities that, in truth, ruled my life more than the voice of God.

Pushing the weight of these pressures from me, I determined to rise and enter the temple myself. But, to my great regret, in my dream as I rose up, I suddenly woke up!

The longing and disappointment within me seemed unbearable. I had been so close to entering God's presence. How I wanted to enter the temple and be swallowed up in His glory!

I cried, "Lord, why did You let me wake up?"

Instantly, the word of the Lord responded to my cry. He said, "I will not have My servant's life fulfilled by a dream. If you want your dream to come true, you have to wake up."

Breaking Passivity - Setting Priorities

Beloved, today, God is awakening us to the reality of His presence. The promises the Lord gives us in the Scriptures must become more to us than dream-like realities only reserved for the hereafter. Moses frequented the glory of God! Israel's seventy elders ate and drank in God's resplendent glory (see Exodus 24:9-11). Jesus unveiled God's glory on the Mount of Transfiguration! Paul says that we all can behold the glory of God and be transformed by it (see 2 Corinthians 3:18).

For this reason, the Scripture says, "Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you" (Ephesians 5:14). If we truly want Christ to "shine" upon us, we must arise from the distractions that entomb us in lethargy and spiritual darkness.

Right at this moment, the presence of the living God is near enough to hear the whisper of your heart. But if we want our dream of standing in the presence of God to come true, we must wake up.

Francis Frangipane

Redefining "Outreach"

I love how our community is redefining "outreach". Growing up in the institution of the church - and more recently, in the "church growth" era of the institution - outreach has always been defined as a program or event designed to bring people to US and not really much about us going OUT into our community.

While I'm sure these events and programs are well-intentioned, one need only look at the fruit to judge the effectiveness of this approach. Numbers of people in worship are in a steady decline and the church has never been more anaemic in its influence of our culture. Its almost as if the church has settled for doing its own thing and if people outside our circle show up, GREAT! If not, at least WE were entertained!

As skeptical as I can be with the way things have been in the past, I am optimistic that things are changing. In fact, I've never been more confident that things are changing! A member of our community asked me last night if her and her husband could oversee the outreach focus of The River. Now, she wasn't talking about organizing carnivals or scheduling some major recording artist for a concert (although there is nothing inherently wrong with these things).

No, she was thinking about things that would, in the truest sense of the word, reach out to those in our neighborhood, in our state, in our nation and in our world without expecting anything in return. I believe this is the only way that we'll ever earn the right to speak the truth of the gospel into the lives of those who don't yet have a relationship with Jesus. I'm sure you've heard the old adage - "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." I really believe that. The question then becomes, do we care enough about others to step out of our comfort zones (and into their world) and serve them?

We're past the age that people will be argued into the Kingdom by propositional truth alone. Its only when people experience the unconditional love and acceptance of Jesus through His followers that they will be drawn in to relationship and walls will be broken down. This paradigm of outreach actually reaches out...not just expects others to come to us.