12/10 Sermon - Gaudete, Rejoice!

Gaudete, rejoice!

Isaiah 61:1-3, 10, 11

Rejoice in Jesus, Rejoice in our new clothes, Rejoice in God’s plan

- Do you see the candles we have in front? Why is one pink?

- There IS a reason. Advent was a season of fasting, and one pope decided to gain popularity and stopped fasting regulations for a week. He choose the third Sunday of Advent because it was ‘gaudete’ Sunday. A similar tradition already existed in Lent. Rejoice! You can eat food!

- It makes you think, though, right? The people were happy because they could eat food for a week during a season of fasting.

- What makes us happy? Good food. Vacation. Spending a couple hours on your favorite hobby, like woodworking, music, or pottery.

- There is a difference through, between joy and happiness. Happiness is temporary: eating your favorite pie, watching a movie, relaxing for an afternoon. That’s all good! It’s temporary, depends on something. Joy lasts forever. It’s a condition. It comes from a deeper place in your heart. You can have joy no matter how bad life is.

- The third Sunday in Advent is traditionally called “Gaudete” Sunday. That is the Latin word for ‘rejoice.’ On this Sunday, we look at the joy we have in our coming king, Jesus, and how we can rejoice today.

Rejoice in Jesus (v. 1-2)

The Spirit of God is on me, the LORD has anointed me to preach to the poor, the broken, the captive, the imprisoned, the day of God’s wrath.

- These verses are obviously about Jesus. He is the anointed one, the Messiah, the chosen servant of God sent to do God’s will.

- People do not always find joy in Jesus. They don’t! Jesus and rejoicing do not, by necessity, go hand in hand. Why? Look at v. 1 & 2.

- But look to whom he is sent. How are they described? Poor… brokenhearted… captive… the prisoner... a day of wrath!

- Does anybody like being described like that? Let me do it to you, see how you feel.

- You are a poor, miserable, unfortunate, wretch. You need all the help you can get. You are lost on your own.

- Your heart is broken. It’s like your dropped your favorite mug and it broke into 100 pieces. You can glue it back on your own, but it will look ugly. That describes your heart without Jesus.

- You are captive to this world. You are controlled by TV, media, social media, your friends, your past WAY more than you think. You’re not a consumer in this world, you’re a captive to this world, there’s no escape.

- You are imprisoned in darkness. Not only you are captive to this world, but this world is evil. This powers of this world will drag us to hell.

- A day of wrath is coming, A day when God will bring judgment on all those who disobey him. And we are included in that number.

- Does anybody like being talked to like that? Do you? I don’t think so.

- Joy, true joy, comes when we confess our sin. We can rejoice when we are honest about how broken, poor, and captive we are through Jesus.

- He says, “I have come to proclaim good news to the poor, bind the broken of heart, free the captive, release those in prison, proclaim the year of God’s favor.”

- We were poor, miserable wretches, but Jesus has achieved our salvation for us, he has died on the cross for our sins.

- Our hearts were broken, shattered into a 100 pieces, but Jesus healed our hearts, he has bound our wounds, we are whole and healthy in him.

- We were captives, but Jesus has made us children of God, he has given us the power to live lives of love for God and for others.

- We were imprisoned in darkness, on our way to hell, but Jesus has opened the doors of heaven, we have the hope of eternal life.

- Gaudete, rejoice, in Jesus, in what he has come to do for you.

Rejoice in our new clothes (3, 10)

- Do clothes make the man? You’ve heard that proverb. Is it true? Scientific studies show that yes, they do. People almost always perform better at a job when they are dressed for it. Clothes give confidence.

-  There was a study done where two groups took a test. The group they dressed in lab coast always did better. Clothes matter.  

- For Christians, clothes matter as well. In fact, our joy today comes from our new clothes. We can rejoice in our new clothes! Look at v. 3. This is a good example where knowing the Hebrew can help understand a text. Our joy is compared to a wedding that replaces a funeral.

- A ‘crown of beauty’ is actually a headdress that a groom would wear in the Middle East for their wedding. The “ashes” are the ashes you would put on your head to mourn at a funeral. God gives us a crown to wear, like a groom wearing a fancy headdress (a bride with a veil).  

- The ‘oil of joy’ is what happened to the groom. On joyful occasions, like weddings, oil was poured on someone to make them look beautiful. The word for ‘mourning’ is actually the mournful rituals that happen at a funeral. God anoints us with oil that makes us beautiful and happy.

- The ‘mantle of praise’ is what the groom would wear. The ‘spirit of despair’ is the general attitude at a funeral. God gives us a beautiful coat, a 3 piece suit to wear.

- What does all this mean? God gives us wedding clothes to wear, a fancy headdress, oil that beatifies us, a luxurious coat. What exactly does this mean? It’s meant to comfort us, but what does it mean?

- v. 10 tells us. “God has clothed me in garments of salvation, in robes of righteousness.” The weddings clothes are a picture of what God gives to you, of what Jesus has done for us.

- Jesus’ blood means that you have salvation. Jesus came to this world and shed his blood on the cross for our sins. When God looks at you, he doesn’t see any of your sin because it has been taken away. We are clothed in garments of salvation, washed with the blood of Jesus.

- Jesus’ life means that you have righteousness. Jesus lived a perfect life in our place, for us. When God looks at you, he sees only the perfection of Jesus that coves you. We are clothed in robes of righteousness.

- “Like a groom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.” Just like a bride or a groom dress in their best clothes, we are always dressed in our ‘best’ clothes, clothes given to us by Jesus: Salvation and righteousness.

- And so we rejoice. We rejoice just as a bride or groom does on their wedding day. We rejoice in our new clothes given to us by Jesus.

- We can mischaracterize the world sometimes. We imagine that anyone who is non-Christian is miserable and unhappy. That’s not true. Often, with enough money, by our own power, we can be pretty content. People don’t necessarily need Jesus to be happy.

- But they don’t have joy. Soon enough, the cracks start to show. Old age, sickness come, inevitably, and show us how weak we really are. We store up money and things, but they never really give us lasting contentment. We try to make the world a better place, but again and again our actions are undone by a sinful world. People place all their hope in this world, but forget that eternal life is found only in Jesus.

- We rejoice, we find joy, in what Jesus gives to us: robes of righteousness, garments of salvation. We are holy in God’s eyes, our sins are forgiven, we hope in eternal paradise. Gaudete, rejoice!

Finally, rejoice in God’s plan. (3, 11)

They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.

- We have two oak trees on our property. I didn’t quite realize this until we bought the house, but oaks trees don’t drop all their leaves in fall. They drop them throughout winter and into spring. No one quite knows why they do this. But the picture here is obvious, right? Oaks are strong, long-lived, beautiful trees. If I compare you to an oak, that is a good thing. I’m giving you a pretty high complement.

- We rejoice because in Jesus, we are oaks of righteousness. Because of what Jesus gives us, clothes of righteousness, because God planted, tends, cultivates us in his garden, we are just like oak trees. We are strong, beautiful, eternal, joyful, blessed people. Gaudete, rejoice, you oaks of righteousness, and give God glory.

- That’s God’s plan. God’s plan is to take care of you, to grow you as an oak of righteousness, strong in our Savior. We rejoice in God’s plan.

For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.

- Gardening is hard. It takes knowledge to know how plants grow, which ones are delicate, the amount of sunlight and soil and water plants need.

- On the other hand, gardening is easy, in a sense. I grew some grass this past fall. Every year, fields abound with corn, beans, and wheat. It’s easy: you put seed in the soil, you add water and sun, it grows. That is a law of nature.

- That’s God’s plan. God will take his message of salvation: forgiveness in Jesus, clothes of righteousness given by Jesus, and he will grow his church over the whole world. He does it here. Every Sunday we get to hear about Jesus and hear God’s Word. With the same confidence we have that the ground will sprout seed, we trust that God’s church will grow, that people will believe in Jesus as their savior.

- And we rejoice in God’s plan. Salvation isn’t just for us. We won’t be alone in heaven. There will be a multitude of people, from every nation, all dressed in the wedding clothes that Jesus gives. People who believe in Jesus as their Savior.

- Gaudete Sunday. Rejoice! That’s the theme. That’s what the pink candle represents. I hope that when you think of the pink candle, you think of joy. I hope that when you walk away today, you will rejoice. Rejoice in Jesus. rejoice in our new clothes. Rejoice in God’s plan.