Pastor Dan Eddy

Isaiah 61:1-4

Living Liberty and Justice, under God

7-3-11

Peace, grace, and mercy be multiplied unto you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

I. Introduction – How Pledge sounds without the words “under God”

“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands one nation, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.”

What’s missing?

Notice how different the pledge sounds very different without the words “under God” in it.

Millions of golf viewers noticed the difference when NBC-TV Sports edited the words out of a clip featuring children reciting the oath. The video clip was presented during recent coverage of the U.S. Open Championship. Viewers took to Twitter and various blogs to express their displeasure at the editing out of the words, “under God”. During the broadcast, NBC executives apologized for the omission.

I’m not here to debate whether NBC did this intentionally or not. I have my opinions which, if you want, I can share during coffee hour.

But the reason I bring this up is because it got me thinking how different liberty and justice are when they are not “under God.”

II. What is God’s Liberty?

Liberty is the main theme of our Old Testament text from Isaiah 61. The Hebrew word, דְּר֔וֹר means “flowing,” “free run,” “release.”

The prophet Isaiah was predicting some 150 years before happened that the Israelites, or more precisely the Judahites, or Jews would be released from Babylonian slavery. They would be held captive for 70 years….their land destroyed, their families exiled. They would be imprisoned. They just wouldn’t be poor economically. They would be poor in spirit, demoralized, relegated to live as a second or maybe third class citizens in a country not their own. Can you imagine if a foreign power invaded and did that to us?

And part of the reason they were there was because they didn’t pass on God’s liberty to their own countrymen. Judah, in its last days, was like every other country in the world. They didn’t take care of the poor and powerless. They didn’t pass on God’s blessings to all people. They didn’t dispense the Lord’s justice to all. Wealthy people favored themselves, relished in their riches; put their trust in military power and alliances. All this manifested itself in totally lacking trust in the Lord as the only one God. He was reduced to second status while other gods were worshipped along side of or above the only God. Their version of liberty and justice did not match the Lord’s. Sound familiar?

So God allowed them to be enslaved by a foreign power. As a result, the Jewish captives were in a state of constant mourning. In the ancient world when people mourned they did so with ashes, signifying death.

(Pick up ash cloth)

They would wear ashes wrapped in sackcloth and put them around their heads and body. They were lamenting their sins. They knew they were not just the victim of a tyrant invader but they too contributed greatly to their own demise. They were humbled because of their iniquities. All their arrogant pride had dissipated. Do you feel like this some days?

But, under God, or more specifically the Holy Spirit His Word would bring freedom to those who were in this constant state of being broken and bound. This Good News promised to take the rough and jagged edges of life and smooth them out. Those who had been saddled like a horse would be free from the constraints of tyranny. Something our forefathers fought for 235 years ago.

And God would free the Israelites by taking His revenge out on the Babylonians, defeating them and putting in a new world power, the Persians. And they would send the Judahites back to their homeland. Imagine if you were one of those Jews. Your city invaded. Your home destroyed. Your land taken. And now it’s all over. You’re free. The mourners would finally be immensely comforted.

They could replace their musty, dusty, ash-infested head garb with a beautiful headdress anointed with pleasant scented expensive oil.

(Show Bridal headdress)

Haaa…finally restoration and reconciliation. Have you ever experienced those?

So what does this true ancient prophecy proclaimed 2700 years have to do with you and your life today?

Well this Word of God given to Isaiah just didn’t apply to Jews coming back from exile. This prophecy was fulfilled as I had stated. But it was a prelude, a typology, a rehearsal for something much, much bigger.

Because once again we live in a world where liberty and justice look a lot different without God than under God. We live in a world where even the poorest among us in the United States are still considered rich, and yet we have felt the strains of a faltering economy with all its unemployment, depressed property values, inflation, rising national and personal debts, and uncertainty. We are saddled by our own materialistic lifestyles, and we’ve learned that we can’t rely on human institutions. Many of us are challenged economically, but really many days we are bankrupt or depleted in spirit. We are demoralized by our lives and some days we feel we are second or third class citizens in a country that doesn’t feel like our own.

As we reflect on our lives…how often have we failed to pass on the Lord’s liberty (freedom), God’s justice (good news) to others? How often have we pray for or with those suffering physically, mentally, or spiritually? How hard have we worked for justice for those who have been foreclosed on, demoralized, harassed, or disabled? How often do we worship me, myself, and I along side of or above the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?

How much does the fulfilling of our own needs and the needs of our family overshadow the needs of others? We are enslaved by our lifestyle, and our American materialistic culture. How many of you today feel more like ashes in sackcloth than a pleasant smelling white headdress? How many of you are humbled by your transgressions…as your pride has dissipated?

You see some 500 years after the Jews returned and rebuilt their homeland they were still slaves until among them a man was born unlike any other in human history. For this man was also God.

God the Father put the Holy Spirit on Him and anointed Him to bring Good News not just to a few thousand people two thousand years ago but to the billions who have lived since and are living today. As our Gospel showed this King was empowered to bring freedom to those who are in a constant state of being broken and bound…who don’t or didn’t see much real meaning and hope in life. This Proclaimer’s Good News takes the rough and jagged edges of our sins and smoothes them out with forgiveness. So that we, who are saddled by our iniquities, can be freed from their constraints.

And how did God do this? The Holy Father could have taken out His vengeance on us for the wrongs we have done, but instead put it on the One He anointed, His Son with Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross. That’s true justice, under God.

And, Christ in turn, took His vengeance out on Satan, defeating death by rising from the dead. And He stripped Satan of his power over us, and will ultimately take His vengeance out on Satan when He tosses him and his minions into the eternal “Lake of Fire” (i.e. Hell) on the Last Day. Now that’s the ultimate in justice that gives you and me true liberty today, under God.

True liberty, real freedom, and the complete release of your sins was given to you, under God, at your baptism where He took your musty, dusty, ash infested head garb of your sins and replaced it with a beautiful headdress anointed with pleasant scented expensive oil to give you eternal life. He gave you His purity by faith in Him alone.

And when our headdress gets infested with the ashes of our sin…Christ, in His Word, cleans you up. You are kept free, kept from the bondage of sin when you eat His true body and drink His true blood. That’s renewed liberty, under God.

It is only by true faith in Christ that we can really be comforted from our sins, and truly be freed, under God.

And as a result, our faith in Christ pledges allegiance to the Lord’s liberty, God’s freedom, so we can, under God, can bring liberty and justice to all.

III. Living God’s Liberty brings true justice to others

So how exactly do we, under God, bring liberty and justice to all? Verse 4 ESV, the final verse of our text, provides guidance.

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.

The Jews came back to a city and temple that had been so destroyed it looked like the most damaged areas from the recent tornado that hit Joplin, Missouri. It took years to rebuild the city and the temple. There were setbacks, but every time they called on the name of the Lord in prayer…liberty and justice came. It came in the form of money, hard work, and military protection from their enemies. Read the books of Nehemiah and Ezra sometime and see how living God’s liberty brought true justice to others.

So how can we do that today as believers in Christ?

One, by encouraging our government to keep freedom of religion, free. For example in the Houston area the Department of Veterans Affairs has been consistently censoring veteran’s prayers prayed at funerals. The government doesn’t want them saying words like “God” or “Jesus” during funeral services at the Houston National Cemetery. Thank God a U.S. District Court judge told the government bureaucrats they couldn’t censor a pastor’s prayer for a Memorial Day service. Living God’s liberty does not mean forcing our faith on others, but allowing all to express theirs so the Truth (point to the cross) that sets all people free can be heard.

Second, as a congregation, we can continue living God’s liberty by supporting Christian organizations bringing justice to the poorest of the poor, economically and spiritually. That’s why we financially and prayerfully supported the Herth’s mission trip to the Appalachian area to help rebuild lives of those who have lost hope.

That’s why Sandi Schipul is organizing the Fall Fashion Fling and set a goal to raise $10,000 for the Ruth House in Brockton…a home that takes pregnant teenage girls out of hostile and violent environments and gives them refuge at this home. The Ruth House lives liberty and teaches justice by having the moms complete their high school education and an Associates degree, and provides them with guidance on how to be good moms to eventually live independently without relying on the government.

That’s why we raise over $5000 last year to support Kenyan missionaries Dan and Patty Smeltzer as they take 9 to 12 year old homeless boys, vulnerable to sex and drug abuse and work hard to get them reunited with their families…resolving economic and family conflicts.

The Kelley family has shown us how to live God’s liberty. They have been a support through the Gold Star families, offering comfort and support to those who have lost loved ones to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. As they offer God’s comfort to others, they, too, have been able to grieve Michael’s death in more positive ways.

And just last week, Colleen Kelley talked to Cheryl Foote and me about another way we can live God’s liberty by showing the Lord’s justice to others. Colleen heads up a family readiness unit. Michael’s unit has been dispatched again overseas, but this time to Iraq. Colleen works with the families left behind here in the United States and is encouraging them when they have a problem…blown transmission on the car, furnace or air conditioning goes out, or troubles in the family to call her…not to contact their husband or wife serving overseas by phone or Skype. She would rather be burdened with their troubles than to have them burden the soldier. A distracted soldier could be a dead one. And so she is asking if we, as a congregation, can provide reverse care packages to these families to let them know our prayers and supports aren’t just for the soldiers but for them as they live day-to-day while their family member is serving aboard. This is something I hope we will consider supporting.

By the way, the Kelley family will be awarded the United State National Guard family of the year for their efforts God has done through them to help military families.

IV. Conclusion

Our faith in Christ pledges allegiance to the Lord’s liberty so we can bring justice (God’s good news) to others.

So what are you passionate about? Where can you better live the God’s liberty in Christ Jesus? We can not have true liberty and justice without it being under God.

This morning as you leave you will receive the card I gave to the children which has the pledge of allegiance to the flag:

“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands one nation, under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.” Amen.