Glynlea Grace United Methodist Chruch

SCRIPTURE

Isaiah 61:1-4 & 8-11

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good tidings to the afflicted; 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; ² to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; ³ to grant to those who mourn in Zion -- to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified. ⁴ They shall build up the ancient ruins, they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations……

For I the LORD love justice, I hate robbery and wrong; I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. ⁹ Their descendants shall be known among the nations, and their offspring in the midst of the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge them, that they are a people whom the LORD has blessed. ¹⁰ I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall exult 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 a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. ¹¹ For as the earth brings forth its shoots, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.

Luke 4:16-21

And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up; and he went to the synagogue, as his custom was, on the sabbath day. And he stood up to read; ¹⁷ and there was given to him the book of the prophet Isaiah. He opened the book and found the place where it was written, ¹⁸ "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, ¹⁹ to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." ²⁰ And he closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. ²¹ And he began to say to them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."

FOCUS and FUNCTION

Focus: God hates oppression and loves justice. This makes sense when you consider that

God loves all people. As a lover of all people, God hates to see one group of

people mistreat or oppress another group of people. Just search the Old

Testament prophets and you will see that this is true. This is why, near the

beginning of his ministry, Jesus identified himself as the fulfillment of Isaiah’s

prophecy (Luke 4:16-21). By doing this, Jesus made a stand against oppression

and placed himself on the side of justice. As followers of Jesus, we must defend

the weak, free the oppressed and care for the needy. It is often said that love

came down at Christmas. However, it is also true that justice came down at

Christmas.

Function: To encourage the congregation to look for ways to help the weak, oppressed,

poor and marginalized people in our society.

The Sermon

I. Introduction: Story of the two times when Dad would get angry with us kids

A. My dad was a First Sergeant in the U.S. Army. You would think he would have been the strict disciplinarian in our household but..

B. My mom was the strict disciplinarian

· I suppose dad was tired when he came home from work, so he let my mom run things when he got home

· When dad watched us kids, we got away with almost anything.

1) We stayed up late

2) Ate what we anted

3) Watched whatever we wanted on t.v.

· There were, however, two things that would make my dad extremely angry. They were…

1) Disrespecting my mom and…

2) Fighting with each other

C. My dad hated it when his kids fought each other

· My dad had five kids and he loved each one of us. He absolutely hated to see us fight. It was one of the very few things that could make him cry.

· He would always say, "Brothers should not fight!!!"

D. It's the same way with God.

· God loves every one of us. God loves all people.

· For this reason, God hates it when one group of people oppresses or mistreats another group of people.

· Because of His steadfast love for all people, GOD HATES OPPRESSION and LOVES JUSTICE! Just look through the Old Testament Prophets

1) In the Psalms there are over 19 references to God' love of justice and hatred of oppression

2) Psalm 10:17-18: You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, ¹⁸ defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more.

3) Psalm 82:3-4: Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. ⁴ Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

4) In Isaiah there are over 30 references to how much God loves justice and hates oppression

5) Isaiah 1:16-17: wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong, ¹⁷ learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.

6) Isaiah 10:1-2: Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, ² to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless.

7) Isaiah 58:6: Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?

8) Jeremiah 22:3: This is what the LORD says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of his oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the alien, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place.

9) Jeremiah 22:15-17: "Does it make you a king to have more and more cedar? Did not your father have food and drink? He did what was right and just, so all went well with him. ¹⁶ He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?" declares the LORD. ¹⁷ "But your eyes and your heart are set only on dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood and on oppression and extortion."

10) Amos 5:24: But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!

11) Micah 6:8: He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

II. When God came to this earth in the person of Jesus Christ, He brought Justice with

Him. This is why Jesus identified himself as the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy

A. Near the beginning of his ministry, Jesus walked into a synagogue, pulled out the scroll with Isaiah's prophecy on it and then declared He was the fulfillment of that prophecy. What he read was, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, ¹⁹ to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”

B. When you look at this passage from Isaiah, it becomes clear that it is a call for justice. This passage from Isaiah goes on to say, “For I the LORD love justice, I hate robbery and wrong; I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.”

C. It is often said that at Christmas, love came down. Well, it is also true that, at Christmas, justice came down.

III. As followers of Jesus Christ, we are called to stand up for justice and fight against

oppression. We should look for opportunities to do this. This could mean…

A. Standing up for the weaker person. If someone at work is being mistreated speak against it.

B. Helping the poor get back on their feet

C. Visiting those in prison

D. Protesting unjust laws

E. Helping the elderly, handicapped or very young with financial, legal or other administrative matters

F. Helping victims of rape, slavery and sexual exploitation. Good book on this subject is Just Courage, God’s Great Expedition for the Restless Christian, by Gary A. Haugen, founder of International Justice Mission (www.ijm.org)

IV. Conclusion:

A. This Christmas, let’s remember the poor, oppressed and marginalized

people in our society.

B. Let’s pray and ask God for the opportunities to stand up for justice and oppose oppression

C. Once God presents us with these opportunities, let’s act!!!