Fourth Sunday of Easter

SERMON - Jesus Lives! His Activity in our Lives Is Vital!

INI

Text: Isaiah 61:10-11

I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its bud, as the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.

In Christ Jesus, the source of our righteousness, dear fellow redeemed:

“Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness my beauty are, my glorious dress!” (TLH 371:1) Those words, which you have just sung and which were written by Count von Zinzendorf almost three hundred years ago, take their inspiration from our text. Isaiah, speaking on behalf of every child of God, rejoiced in “the garments of salvation” and “the robe of righteousness” which are ours by virtue of our living Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ! The Easter gospel that JESUS LIVES is so very personal, for it proclaims His activities within our lives—activities which are absolutely vital for both our present and our future lives! The Easter gospel speaks both to our salvation and our sanctification. Let us, therefore, consider the fact once again that JESUS LIVES! HIS ACTIVITY IN OUR LIVES IS VITAL, for through it He bestows righteousness upon us and by it He causes righteousness to flow from us!

I. He bestows righteousness upon us!

The fact that JESUS LIVES speaks to our salvation! In our Sunday morning Bible Class we are considering Paul’s Epistle to the Romans. We are currently considering the first portion of that epistle, which addresses our utter sinfulness and need for a Savior. Our problem with sin is not a minor matter, nor is it easily solved. In fact, our problem with sin is so serious that as Paul explains: “There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one!” (Romans 3:10-12) He then concludes: “Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin!” (Romans 3:20)

Human beings, while recognizing and admitting that sin exists, do not by nature understand the truths Paul expresses. Rather, most human beings like to take this stance—“Well, I know I’m not perfect, but in comparison to others, I’m really not that bad!” Consequently, most human beings are easily led to think that if only they do enough good things to make up for the bad—they will without doubt earn God’s favor and gain eternal salvation. Again—listen to Paul: “By the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight!” (Romans 3:20a) He is absolutely right on when he then goes on to say: “There is no difference (between people); for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God!” (Romans 3:23) But how wonderful is the truth that Paul then reveals to us as we are confronted with the reality and seriousness of our sin. He states that all have been “justified freely by His (God’s) grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus!” (Romans 3:24)

That redemption comes to us in two parts—the first is that Jesus through His sufferings and death has paid for our sins. The apostle John tells us: “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7b). The second is that Jesus bestows upon us by faith His own righteousness, so that when God sees us, He does not see us as lost and condemned sinners, but rather He sees us as His children and saints. Paul, once again in Romans, explains: “As through one man’s (Adam’s) offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s (Jesus’) righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life” (5:18).

It is in this gift of righteousness that Isaiah rejoices in our text. He says: “I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness.” Jesus’ righteousness covers you and me just like a brand new, perfectly clean set of clothes! Isaiah then goes on to compare his joy and our joy in this gift of righteousness to a bridegroom and a bride. He says: “(We rejoice) as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.” In ancient Israel it was customary for grooms to wear an elaborate turban (hat) to their weddings. The word translated “ornaments” refers to this turban. We can well imagine a groom all dressed and ready for the wedding standing before a mirror adjusting his hat—taking great pleasure in that final bit of adornment that completes his manly presence. In the same way brides today spend much time and go to great expense to find that perfect wedding dress and then the perfect accessories—necklace, earrings, and so forth to go with it.

How delightful it is to know that our God does not look down upon us with anger and wrath in view of our sins, but rather sees us as clothed in the righteousness of His own dear Son and takes as much delight in us as a bride does in her groom, and as a groom does in his bride! Yes, JESUS LIVES, and HIS ACTIVITY IN OUR LIVES IS VITAL, for He bestows righteousness upon us when we embrace Him by faith, and in so doing the certain promise of life everlasting is ours!

II. He causes righteousness to flow from us!

Jesus’ activity in our lives, however, is not only vital for our eternal salvation, but He is also active in our lives each day. Yes, JESUS LIVES—HIS ACTIVITY IN OUR LIVES IN VITAL, for He causes righteousness to flow from us! Isaiah concludes our text with these words: “For as the earth brings forth its bud, as the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.”

Spring has been slow in coming, and yet earlier this week one of our members mentioned to me that the spring flowers are beginning to push through the soil in her flower gardens. As the sun warms the earth, it causes the seeds to grow and the plants to bud. Many of us enjoy gardening. We get out there on our hands and knees and plant our seeds—radishes, carrots, beets, and potatoes. We take great delight in seeing those plants spring forth and provide our tables with fresh produce. In the same way, Isaiah says, “The Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations!”

This Sunday in the church year is known as “Jubilate” Sunday. “Jubilate” is a Latin verb in the imperative form urging us to rejoice in the Lord! That is why I chose Psalm 96 for our Pre-Service Mediation today, and why we read responsively the first three verses of that Psalm. In view of our eternal salvation we have every reason to “sing to the LORD a new song,” and to “bless His name!” (Psalm 96:1-2a).

As God’s children and heirs, however, we have an even greater reason for expressing our joy in the LORD! He has chosen us, as the Psalmist expresses “to proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day” and to “declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples” (Psalm 96:2b-3). This is nothing other than our great commission—to “preach the gospel to every creature,” and to “make disciples of every nation, baptizing them…(and) teaching them” (Mark 16:15; Matthew 28:19-20). My dear friends—as Jesus works in us individually and corporately as a congregation He causes righteousness to flow out from us for others to see.

Jesus causes “righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations” when we worship each week. He does so not only within our hearts and among those who attend, but when we come to this house of worship we are testifying to our neighbors who see us going to church that the grace and goodness of God are worthy of our praise. When this service is broadcast on CCTV, when the summary of the sermon is broadcast on KTOE God is causing “righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.” People in our community see and hear our worship and praise of God. When our sermons are placed on the internet for people around the world to hear and read them, our living Savior is causing “righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.”

Each and every day, however, our living Savior causes righteousness to flow from us and out to others in the world around us. He does so as we each pursue our given calling. Righteousness flows out from those of you who are teachers—whether in our parochial school or in the public school—as you interact honorably and effectively with your students in a way that leads them to make productive use of their talents. God’s name may not always be mentioned, but your faithfulness reflects His faithfulness, and your love reflects His love. When you who are in business serve your business customers well with honesty and integrity your righteousness is springing forth before the nations. When you who are in the medical field bandage wounds and provide care for the sick and you do so with compassion and consideration, Jesus is causing righteousness to flow from you to those people you serve. Jesus says: “You are the light of the world…. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14a,16). We are to be lights in every facet of our lives!

How are we doing? How are you doing? How am I doing? As we examine our hearts and lives, we will no doubt recognize our own failures. Those failings can be a source of bitter sorrow for us, but let us remember that JESUS LIVES! Jesus lives, as the hymn-writer says, “to bless me with His love, He lives to plead for me above, He lives my hungry soul to feed, He lives to help in time of need” (TLH 200:3). Yes, JESUS LIVES and beckons to me, urging me to come and to confess those failures knowing that He forgives them. He then will strengthen us and enable us to go on.

Do we find ourselves troubled by selfishness and anger, by short-tempers and a lack of self-control? Remember, JESUS LIVES! Turn to Him, rely upon Him, trust in Him, pray to Him, rejoice in Him! He has promised to send us the Helper—the Holy Spirit! Listen to His promise: “If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth” (John 14:15-17a). Notice how Jesus ties His promise of the Helper to our loving desire to keep His commandments. As we remember that JESUS LIVES and as we seek to follow Him, the Spirit will work righteousness within us! After all, the apostle Paul tells us that the “fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, (and) self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23a). As the Spirit causes these virtues to flow out of our hearts and into our lives, do you think anyone will notice? Of course they will—our families first, but then also those people with whom we work, and those neighborhood people among whom we live! Every time anyone notices such Christ-created, Spirit-driven righteousness in our lives God’s name will be glorified!

My dear friends, JESUS LIVES! HIS ACTIVITY IN OUR LIVES IS VITAL! May we rejoice in the righteousness He bestows upon us by faith; and may we foster that righteousness which He causes to flow from us for the blessings of those around us! Amen.

—Pastor Paul D. Nolting
To God alone be the glory!