Episode #72 You’re a Planting of the Lord (and why that matters) – Seed Sowing Summer

Hi friends. Today we are talking about a unique perspective when it comes to planting seeds and seeing growth in a harvest, and that is that we are planted by the Lord. That we are displays of his beauty and his glory. And I have found that for some of us, me included, it can be easy to understand that other people are displays of the Lord's glory, are displays of his beauty. But it can be hard to accept and reconcile the reality that we are too. That you are too.

The Lord's beauty is on display in you. Because of who he is. It's on display in you because he's created us as humans, as his image bearers, and it's in display in you because of his care for you and his transformative work that is already on display and active in your life.

We're actually going to look at a passage from Isaiah 61, and Jesus himself quotes that when he's teaching. And I'll read for us, Luke 4:16-22 says,

and he, (this is Jesus) "he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed me

to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives

and recovering of sight to the blind,

to set at liberty those who are oppressed,

to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.'

And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, 'Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.' And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, 'Is not this Joseph's son?'"

And then it continues where the townspeople actually have a problem with Jesus giving these words. They feel like they know him better, and the people of Jesus's hometown actually reject him. He seems too familiar to them as the son of Joseph. They can't understand how this could possibly apply to this Jesus, who they knew.

I'm starting here and I think it's a familiar passage to a lot of us, as a prophecy about the coming Christ. This is a prophetic proclamation before Jesus is even born on earth, that he is coming and what his ministry will be to the world.

Jesus himself says, this is being fulfilled in your hearing. He's proclaiming to them, "I am the one that you have waited for. This is the ministry that I am fulfilling even now."

So in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus is quoting from Isaiah 61 and I'll read through 1-3,

"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,

because the Lord has anointed me

to bring good news to the poor;

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;

to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,

and the day of vengeance of our God;

to comfort all who mourn;

to grant to those who mourn in Zion-

to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,

the oil of gladness instead of mourning,

the garment 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."

Or as it says in the note of my Bible, "the planting of the Lord that he may display his beauty."

So, these verses are already fulfilled. Jesus says, "Hey, these have been fulfilled in your hearing today," back in the New Testament days. This is the ministry of the Messiah. What Jesus came to do; this is his ministry to the world. And as Christ followers, this is his ministry to us as well.

And so, I want to carry that thought through to perhaps a place that you may not have considered before. I know I haven't always considered it this way. I can look at these areas and say, okay.

God brought me good news.

God healed places where my heart has been broken.

He has brought me freedom where I was held captive.

God has done all of these things for me.

But when I look at the very next part of that verse that says that they may be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord that he may be glorified, sometimes my own familiarity with me, with myself, with my limitations has disqualified me from that part of the verse.

Not all together differently from how the townspeople decided to disqualify Jesus from being who God says he is.

Because of Christ's ministry, we get to receive this identity as oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord that he would be glorified. The people doubted because they thought they knew him better. Sometimes I doubt for the same reason. I'll look at a verse like this and disqualify myself from it because I feel like I know me better. There's no way this could possibly apply to me, but God says something different. Let's talk with him about it.

God, how is your beauty on display in me?

Have a good talk.

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