A Call for Proclamation

Good morning, Watermark.

If you do not know me, my name is Alfie,

and I'm one of the guys here on staff.

I help out with the university ministry.

And it was really great.

Thank you, Jordan and Iris, for sharing about our trip.

And in a way, they've done, you know,

I don't know, 40% of what I'm going to try to do today.

Talk about how the gospel transforms us,

how the gospel fills us with praise and worship,

that we would go out and we would be about God's mission in the world today.

We need to be about God's mission

because this is a world that isn't very hopeless,

isn't very hopeful.

It is hopeless.

There's a lot of hopelessness around.

You don't have to look far.

You open a newspaper, you look on Facebook,

you look at a magazine,

there is sadness around.

There is a longing for freedom from suffering.

There is a longing for a hope that is permanent,

that is tangible, that is eternal.

You know, this past week, there was a shooting in Orlando,

and that brought up many questions and many strong feelings.

There is anger, confusion, hurt, sadness.

I don't know how you felt.

How did you respond?

But it's not just far away in the U.S., it's here as well,

because Hong Kong is meant to be this land of freedom and opportunity

where if you come here and you can work hard enough,

you'll have a great life,

you'll have a great family,

and everything will be perfect.

But it seems that the stuff of life here in Hong Kong

drains our hope.

Whether it's people coming and taking our jobs

because they're trying to escape their hopeless situation overseas,

where they can't get jobs there,

they're coming to Hong Kong,

and now there's this huge competition for jobs.

Or maybe you're trying to find a home for your family,

but it seems like this unlimited amount of money is coming out of China,

driving home house prices up,

and you feel hopeless or trapped.

You know, it could be that you're looking for a husband,

but there aren't any quality guys around.

Or maybe you're a guy,

and you're just complaining that the girls are just far too picky.

All of this brings up feelings of hopelessness.

We feel trapped.

We feel stuck.

Like God has abandoned us.

Like he doesn't care about where we are.

He doesn't care about what we're going through.

We're alone,

and even when we look up to him,

we can't seem to reach or call out.

God seems far away.

Sometimes he feels,

it feels like he's abandoned us.

This isn't a foreign feeling,

I don't think, to many of us.

I think we've all been through times

where we feel hopeless about one thing or another.

Yet, with all of this,

we look at our key words at Watermark,

and we think we feel hopeless,

but we're supposed to be on mission.

How do we do that?

When I can't deal with the struggles of my life,

how am I supposed to go and spread this message of joy?

Anyway,

what I want to show you guys today

is that if we haven't received this message of freedom

and of hope in the gospel,

that we can't be people on mission,

for us to be a church

that is reaching out and loving

and sharing the gospel

and doing justice in our community,

that we need to be people who are captured,

who are amazed,

who are freed by the gospel.

So we've been in this series in Isaiah.

We've spent about five weeks on it,

and we've been going through this passage at the end,

the series of passages at the end of Isaiah,

which talk about this great news,

this hope for God's people.

But Isaiah starts early on in the beginning,

and it starts with Isaiah preaching

to the people of Israel.

The people of Israel have turned to follow idols.

They've turned,

and they've put their hope and security

in the horses of Egypt.

And Isaiah tells them in chapter one

that you are my children that I've brought up,

but you have rebelled against me.

He calls them to repent,

to turn back to God,

but they don't.

Isaiah calls to them again,

but they continue in their ways.

Eventually, these people are conquered

by the nation of Babylon,

and they're taken away in exile.

And while they're in exile,

they feel abandoned.

They feel stuck and hopeless.

And Isaiah calls these people,

and he says,

God has not left you alone.

He's not done with you.

Isaiah says that God is saying,

I am with you.

Fear not.

He says in chapter 41,

he says that your idols haven't saved you,

but I am going to be your salvation.

He says these things that you turn to

to look for hope and satisfaction and security,

they have failed you,

but I am your God.

I am the one that calls to you,

and I am the one that is going to bring you

out of Babylon.

After a number of years,

the Persian Empire comes in

and destroys Babylon,

and they begin sending back

the exiles to Israel.

And this is a passage

that we're going to be reading today,

the passage that these exiles

returning to Jerusalem

would have opened up

and read what Isaiah had written

many years ago.

We talked about how Isaiah

called the people of Israel

to be satisfied in God.

That was in Isaiah chapter 55,

Isaiah 55 · chapter mention

that the things that they were looking for

would not satisfy.

We looked in chapter 56

about how God had a big picture

for Israel's new hope,

that he was going to bring in

the outsiders,

the people who would normally

have been kept out

of Israel's society.

We saw how God was calling them

not just to be righteous

in their religious actions,

but to be doing justice

and calling people

who have been treated unjustly

to see a God who loves them

and cares for them.

And last week,

we saw a vision that God gave

for God's people

not just being defined

by their culture

or ethnicity,

but how God's glory

is made amazing and great

because he's bringing all people

from all nations

to himself.

And now we find ourselves

in Isaiah chapter 61,

Isaiah 61 · chapter mention

where God says

he is bringing good news

to the poor

and he is opening the prison

for the captives.

He's telling these people,

these exiles,

that they are a part of people

who are going to be

enjoying God's freedom

and his blessing over them.

So today,

we're going to have three parts.

Hopefully, you'll follow along.

We're going to talk about

what God's hope looked like

for the exiles

reading this for the first time.

Then we're going to

fast forward a little bit

and hear about

what this passage meant

for the Israels

reading it again

when they're oppressed

by Romans.

And we'll finish up

looking at

what this passage

has to say for us,

what it's calling us to.

Before we start,

I want to talk

a little bit about

a Japanese soldier

in World War II.

His name was Hiro Onoda.

And he was

an intelligence officer

and he was sent

to an island

in the Philippines

called Lubang.

And he was told

that he had

a very important mission

to go and sabotage

U.S. military installments

on the island.

And he went

and he was attached

to a group of soldiers

but in a couple of months,

all but a few

of his soldiers

had died.

The U.S. had come in,

they'd taken control

of the island

and he told his soldiers

to go and hide

in the jungles

and in the hills.

A couple of months later,

the war ended

and leaflets

were dropped

all over these islands,

all these places

where Japanese soldiers

were hiding,

telling them

the war was over,

that they could come out,

that they didn't have

to fight anymore.

Onoda and his men,

there were three of them left,

they found these leaflets

and they looked at them

and they were convinced

that it was a trick,

that the war wasn't really over,

that it was a way

to get them out of hiding

so that they could be killed.

And so for many years,

despite the war having ended,

they continued their little battle

in the hills.

They would occasionally clash

with Philippine

and American forces,

but they lived their lives

in constant fear.

They lived their lives

afraid of what would happen,

afraid of an enemy

that would kill them.

This is how Israel lived

when they came back from exile.

They lived in fear

of an enemy.

They lived in fear of Babylon.

They lived in fear

of slavery.

You can read about it

in books like Ezra and Nehemiah,

where the people,

instead of going

and rebuilding Jerusalem,

instead of rebuilding

the rubble

and the ashes

of their temple,

of their walls,

they paneled up their houses

and made little forts

where they would be safe,

where they would be hidden.

They were worried.

They were in fear.

They felt abandoned.

And God calls out to them.

God calls out to them

and says,

I have come to bring good news.

And Isaiah 61,

he says,

he has sent me

to bind up the brokenhearted,

to proclaim liberty

to the captives,

to these slaves,

to open up the prison

for those who are bound,

to proclaim the year

of the Lord's favor,

to comfort those

who are mourning.

This message of hope

from God

says that after all

their struggle,

that they could live in hope,

they could live in freedom.

It's good news.

It's healing.

It's comfort

for these people

who have been liberated

from years

of Babylonian slavery,

people who felt

abandoned

and hopeless.

But he doesn't just

give them this message

of hope.

He shows them

what this hope

is supposed to do.

In verse 4,

he says that

these people

are going to build up

ancient ruins,

the things

that the Babylonians

had destroyed,

the things that

the surrounding nations

had picked away

from the ruins,

that they were going

to be people

that would build up

former devastations.

They would repair

ruined cities.

And it's not just

an instruction

that Isaiah is giving them,

that God is giving them.

Other prophets

and leaders

would call these people

to say,

hey, look,

God has set you free.

He used the Persians

to free you

from the Babylonians.

You don't have to hide

in your holes anymore.

You can live

like free people.

Build up the walls.

Build up the temple.

Worship God.

Find your security.

And your identity

in Him.

But Israel was afraid.

They felt abandoned.

They felt alone.

They were living

in fear.

They had called,

they had been called

to live

as free people.

But they continued

to live

as if

they were slaves.

You know,

back on

Lubang Island,

Hiro Noda

and his three

remaining soldiers,

they spent

many years,

almost 28 years,

fighting

against

an enemy

that wasn't there.

They spent

their years

in fear

of nothing,

fighting

against nothing,

hiding

from

nothing.

Again,

leaflets were dropped

and this time

and this time

it had pictures

and letters

from their family members

saying,

the war is over.

Please come home.

They looked at these letters

and they said,

no,

this is another trick.

This is another trick

to get us out of hiding.

The war is still

going on.

In a couple of years,

the remaining soldiers

that were with

Hiro Noda

died

and he was left alone.

So he hid,

he fortified his defenses

and he continued

to live

in fear.

Hiro's story

is an interesting one

because

if he's right,

if the war

is still going on,

then what he was doing

makes perfect sense.

What he was doing,

hiding

and trying to keep safe

is the right thing

to do

in a war

when an enemy

is looking for you,

hunting you

and trying to kill you.

But

if the war is over,

if what these leaflets

said was true,

then to continue

to live in fear

is the wrong thing.

That he is free.

He is free

from his orders.

He is free

from fear

of the enemy

around him.

But Israel

acted in the same way.

They acted

in fear

when they were free.

They acted like slaves

when God

had brought them

good news.

Many of us Christians,

we act

like these Israelites.

We feel like

we are not free

from the burdens

of our past,

that we are not

free

from the struggles

that we face today.

But the gospel

says that

if your hope

is in Christ,

then you're free

from guilt,

from shame,

that you're free

from the expectation

to be perfect

because God

has given us

righteousness.

God says

that you are

loved

so you don't need

to look for it

in other places.

He says that

you're forgiven

so you have no need

to prove yourself.

But as Christians,

so many times

we live that way.

We live,

we do things,

we act

and we believe

in a way

that we still need

to earn

our salvation.

We live

as if we are

still slaves

to sin.

We live

as if we're

still slaves

to our guilt.

We live

as if

God

doesn't care

about us,

that he's

abandoned us,

that

he isn't

going to call

us to him.

The gospel

says,

Isaiah 61

says that

there is

liberty

for the

captives.

Christians,

if you

are in

Christ,

then you

need no

fear of

sin.

You need

no fear

of the

enemy

because God

has defeated

him.

He says

it's over.

Just like

he told

Israelites,

just like

the leaflets

told the

Japanese

soldiers,

it's over.

You

are free.

The Jews

living in

exile here,

continue to

live as

slaves under

Babylonian

masters.

But if

they were

free,

then they

could enjoy

their freedom.

They could

enjoy what

that meant,

being able

to worship

God,

being identified

with him,

finding their

security in

him.

The

Babylonians

who had

enslaved them

were gone.

They did

not need to

fear them

anymore.

Christians,

if you

are in

Christ,

the sin

that

enslaved

you

has no

power over

you anymore.

Don't give

an opportunity

for your

dead

former

master

to have

power

over you

because

Jesus has

come

and he

has said

that you

are free.

Now,

we go

500 years

forward

and now

these

Israelites,

they've tried

to rebuild

their city,

they've rebuilt

the temple,

people,

but they

find themselves

oppressed

by a

different kind

of master.

They find

themselves

under the

Roman Empire

and these

Romans

are

exporting

Greek

culture

and trying

to destroy

what is

left of

the identity

of God's

people,

their Jewish

identity,

their identity

as God's

chosen people.

And in the

midst of that,

the people

themselves

became divided.

You have

on one

side

these

religious

Pharisees

and they're

the people

that they

found their

freedom in

ethnic and

religious purity.

They

increased the

laws to this

almost unattainable

standard.

They're the

kind of people

that would

whisper under

their breath

when they

saw something

going wrong.

They're the

kind of people

that would

post on

Facebook

about all

the wrong

things going

on in the

church today.

On the

other side

was another

group of

people.

These were

the cultural,

the social

elites,

these sinners.

They made

the best

of a tricky

situation.

They would

join up

and cozy

up with

the Romans.

And their

morality was

defined by

whatever got

them ahead.

These are the

kinds of

people who

would lie

to get a

promotion.

Those who

wouldn't worry

about others

suffering around

them as long

as they looked

good, as long

as they were

comfortable.

And between

these two

groups,

those who

couldn't be a

religious elite

or an elite

in society,

were the

poor and

the sick

and the

hungry,

who fell

between the

cracks and

suffered the

worst of

Roman oppression.

And into

this backdrop,

Jesus walks

in.

And it says

that one day

while he's in

the synagogue

in Nazareth,

he opens up

the scroll.

You can read

about it in

Luke 4.

and he

finds this

passage,

Isaiah 61,

and he reads

it to the

people.

It says,

the Spirit of

the Lord is

upon me to

proclaim good

news to the

poor.

He sent me to

proclaim liberty

to the

captives,

recovering of

sight to the

blind,

liberty to

those who

are oppressed,

to proclaim

the year of

the Lord's

favor.

God's

favor.

He rolled

up the

scroll,

and he

looked at

the people,

and he

said,

today,

this

scripture has

been

fulfilled

before you.

People

looked at

him,

and they're

a bit

confused.

And they

said,

isn't this

Joseph's

son?

Jesus

comes,

and he

quotes this

passage,

and he

says,

what Isaiah

left for

those exiles

so many

years ago

is about

me.

It's about

what I am

going to

do.

It's my

manifesto.

It's the

things that

I am going

to spend

my time

doing.

I'm going

to spend

my time

preaching

about.

And we

see this

throughout

the

gospels.

We see

how God

healed

people.

He brought

sight to

blind

people.

He forgives

the sins

of the

paralytic

and tells

them to

stand up

and walk.

One

moment,

he tenderly

calls to

a Samaritan

woman and

shows her

where she

can find

living water.

And another

moment,

he calls to

the Pharisees

to turn

away from

their hypocrisy.

Jesus spent

his time

preaching this

gospel,

addressing all

the wickedness

that sin had

brought into

the world.

And he

said,

this is

about me.

I am your

freedom.

I am where

your hope

is.

Your hope

isn't in

being able

to follow

these laws

perfectly.

Your hope

isn't in

escaping the

laws and

living your

life your

own way.

He looks to

them both

and he says,

I am your

freedom.

I am the

place where

you can find

hope.

The people

heard this

and they

were divided.

Throughout his

ministry,

you saw people

coming to

Jesus because

they knew

that he

was the

hope for

their sick.

He was the

hope for

their poverty.

They knew

that he

could feed

them.

Again,

other people

came to

see what

they could

get from

him.

And when

they didn't

like what

he had to

say,

they walked

away.

Other people,

as we see in

this passage,

tried to kill

him.

After Jesus

read this

passage in the

synagogue,

the people

were enraged.

A riot

started.

They dragged

Jesus and

they tried to

take him

over to

this cliff

and throw

him off.

But it

says that

Jesus passed

through the

crowds and

he went on

his way.

He went

to do what

he had said,

to bring good

news to the

people, to

bring liberty

and freedom

to those who

are lost.

The religious

people, they

didn't like

Jesus because

he didn't

stand for

what they

did.

He didn't

hate the

Romans like

they wanted

him to.

In fact, his

agenda was

completely

different.

But they

couldn't see

the rescue

that they

needed, that

it would

come from

Jesus.

They didn't

see that he

would bring

the freedom

that they

wanted, that

their laws

would only tie

them and

keep them as

slaves.

The sinners

and the social

elites, they

didn't like

Jesus either

because he

didn't seem

concerned about

the here and

now, about

their comfort

and their

satisfaction

because he

looked forward.

He was

looking to

an eternal

kingdom and

that wasn't

the kind of

freedom that

they wanted.

Jesus brings

a message of

freedom to

all people,

but many of

us, we

don't like it.

we don't

like it

because Jesus

says uncomfortable

things about

who we are,

about our

sinful nature,

about the

state of our

hearts and

our souls

before him.

After three

years of his

ministry,

after three

years of

good news,

of hope and

freedom,

eventually the

people would

take him to

another hill

where they

would kill

him.

Where Jesus

had been

spending his

life correcting

the wrongs

that sin had

caused, in

his death, he

would get to

the root of

the problem.

On the cross,

where these

people thought

they were

killing God's

messenger,

instead God

was killing

sin.

We see in

the Bible that

three days

later he

rose again

and showed

the people

who trusted

in him,

the people

who had

hope and

the freedom

that he

would bring,

that their

freedom wasn't

just from

the Roman

oppressors,

the freedom

wasn't just

from the

Pharisees'

oppression,

the freedom

wasn't from

the sinners

who took

advantage from

them,

their freedom

was even

over death,

that those

who had

hope in

Christ had

a freedom

that goes

beyond the

life we

live,

to an

eternity

where God

is restoring,

where we

get to see

what Isaiah

talks about,

we get to

see in its

fullness,

in its

beauty,

perfect good

news,

perfect hope,

perfect freedom

for those who

are bound.

the Bible

says that we

are in a

state of

spiritual

poverty,

we need

God's

good news,

that we

are blind

to our

sin,

we need

God to

open our

eyes,

the Bible

says that

the rules

we follow

cannot save

us,

and neither

can our

freedom

outside

them.

And if

you are

not a

Christian here

today,

then Jesus

calls you

and he

says,

I have

good news

for you,

because

where your

imperfection

haunts you,

God says

that in

me you

are perfect.

Where you

struggle for

approval from

other people,

God says,

you don't

need that

because I

love you.

Where we

fail at

work and

at home,

Jesus says

that my

strength,

my grace

is enough

for you.

On the

cross,

God fulfills

what he

says in

Isaiah 61.

He says,

trust in me

because while

everything else

is going to

let you

down,

while your

work and

your family

and your

nice two

bedroom flat

are eventually

going to

fail you

and let

you down,

I will

not.

I will

give you

freedom and

hope beyond

this life.

I will

give you

unimaginable

love.

I will

bring you

into a

family that

lasts forever.

forever and

I will

give you

forgiveness

for every

wrong,

for every

sin.

This is a

hope not

just for

the exiles

who are

hearing this

in Isaiah

61.

It's not

just for

the people

in that

synagogue

at Sabbath

hearing Jesus

in Luke 4.

It's a

hope for

us.

It's a

hope that

we have

heard from

the mouth

of God

himself.

In

1974,

a young

Japanese

guy,

his name

was

Nariyo

Suzuki,

decided that

he would

travel to

Lubang Island

to go

and find

Onoda.

He searched

and after a

couple of

days he

found him

hiding in

the jungle.

And this

is the

first person

that Hiro

Onoda had

spoken to

in over

two years.

And Suzuki

shared with

him the

good news.

The war

is over.

You don't

have to

hide.

But Onoda

wasn't

convinced.

And so

Suzuki went

back to

Japan,

found Onoda's

commanding

officer,

the guy

that had

sent him

out on

this mission

and brought

him back

to Lubang

and said,

the war

is over.

You don't

have to

follow these

orders anymore.

You're

free.

You can

come out

of hiding.

He turned

over his

weapons.

He came

out of the

jungle.

And he

returned to

Japan,

where he

lived not

in fear of

Americans who

were going to

kill him,

not in fear of

being found

out, not

struggling in

the jungle,

but living a

free and

full life.

Jesus'

message hasn't

changed.

What he said

to the people in

the synagogue that

day is the

same message

that he has

for us today.

real freedom,

real good

news.

And he

came so we

could hear it,

not just from

a second-hand

messenger, but

he came that we

would hear it

firsthand, that

we would hear it

from him, that

we would see in

him our hope.

as Christians,

are our lives

showing that

hope?

Do our lives

show that we

are really

saved?

Do our lives

show that

we have

confidence in

God?

do we walk

around in

fear or

in trust?

Do we live

our lives in

guilt or

in confidence?

I love what

Isaiah talks

about in

verses 10 and

11.

He says,

the people who

have experienced

God's freedom,

they rejoice in

God.

They say,

my soul will

exalt in my

God because he

has given me

clothes of

righteousness.

He has given

me robes of

salvation.

He says that

God's people

who have

experienced his

love, God's

people who have

experienced his

salvation are

like a plant

that sprouts

forward with

righteousness and

praise, that

their lives are

a fountain of

God's love, of

God's grace.

Do we?

Do we look

like that?

Do we?

Sound like

these people

who are

rejoicing?

Do we wear

these robes?

Are we trees

in a garden?

Often in the

church, and

if I want us,

I'm talking

about myself,

we look for

other things

other than

Jesus, other

than his

righteousness and

his salvation.

Just like the

Israelites hid

in their holes

and paneled

their homes,

or just like

the religious

people clung

to their

laws, or

Hiro Noda

stuck with

his orders.

We look for

things that can

save us, like

our boss's

approval, where

if he will

like us

enough, then

we can have

freedom.

Or maybe it's

our grades at

school.

Or perhaps it's

the love of our

friends and our

family, and we

serve these things

hoping that they

will free us.

But if God is

our hope, if

what Jesus says

is true, that

there is freedom,

then our work can

be different.

It means that when

we're stuck between

a terrible boss and

tough working hours,

we can look and

know that our God

hasn't abandoned us,

that he's there,

that we know that

we can pass our

exams at school,

or we can fail them

spectacularly, because

either way, God's love

is enough, and he will

provide, and he says

that you are free.

And he says,

this hope in God

propels us into

mission, because when

we see our hope, when

our lives are rejoicing

in our difficulty, when

our lives are rejoicing

in our struggle, we can

look up, and we can

see other people who

are trapped, slaves to

their work, to others'

approval, slaves to the

struggles that they're

facing today.

We can look up and

see the things that

we've been talking

about the past couple

of weeks.

We can look up to the

thirsty, and we can

tell them where to

find true water, true

life.

We can look to the

outsiders, those who

are ignored by others,

and bring them in to a

family where they are

loved and accepted.

We can go out, and we

can see injustice, and

because our hope is not

in our ability to do

something about it, but

in God who promises to

right the wrongs.

We can love those who

have been treated

unjustly.

If our mission is

fueled by our own

motivation, we're going

to fail.

But if our mission as a

church is fueled by God's

hope, then we can do

amazing things, rejoicing in

God and knowing that he is

in control.

When you go to work, and

you see someone who comes

in like, it's the end of

the week, and it's only

Monday, or they look

defeated at their desk the

moment they sit down, what

hope can you share with

them?

How can your friendships and

relationships be different as

you're pointing people to the

true satisfaction?

What about the disadvantaged

people in your neighborhood?

How can your community group go

out and share hope and share

freedom and share love with these

people?

What about the mother in your

child's play group who looks

like there's no hope?

Or the neighbor across the

hallway who's just lost their

spouse to cancer?

All of our lives can be about

God's mission because in every

moment, in every struggle, in

every sadness, we know that we

have received this message of

hope, good news for the poor,

freedom for captives.

Jesus says in Isaiah 61 that

God's Spirit is upon him to bring

good news.

And if we are God's children,

then God's Spirit is on us so we

can proclaim good news to the poor

and liberty to the captives, that we

can bring comfort to the

morning.

We can look to those around us and

say that there is true freedom and

hope in Christ, that you don't have

to fight your war anymore because

Christ has done it.

You don't have to search and look for

love because God has all that you

need, that you don't have to be

perfect because he gives you

forgiveness.

Let's pray.

Father God, I thank you for your good

news.

I thank you that you speak to us in

our trapped lives, in our

hopelessness, in our slavery.

And you say that we can come to you,

that we can find hope, that we can

find relief.

And I thank you for the words that

you share with us in Isaiah 61,

that you have brought good news.

I pray that we would be people who

receive this good news, who are

shaped by your great love for us,

who are shaped by the amazing

freedom and hope that you give us in

Jesus.

In his name, amen.