Greetings dear friend, welcome to lesson 12 today.
In the previous lesson we looked at a summary of the gospel, seeing all that Jesus Christ accomplished through His death and resurrection. In doing so we summarized all that we have studied from Isaiah 61:1-3 up to this point.
Let’s look at our passage in Isaiah 61 one final time, and this time we will focus on verse 4:
Isaiah 61:1-4 NLT The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is upon me, for the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. (2) He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the LORD’s favor has come, and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies. (3) To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the LORD has planted for his own glory. (4) They will rebuild the ancient ruins, repairing cities destroyed long ago. They will revive them, though they have been deserted for many generations.
Question 1. As you read Isaiah 61:4, what do you see would be the right response to all that Jesus has done for you in the gospel?
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Let’s notice verse 4 again:
They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.
The responses I see here are that those who are set free at the cross and brought out of darkness by grace are to then “rebuild”, “restore” and “renew”. Let’s look at these together.
Rebuild the ancient ruins. When Jesus came and died on the cross He brought power to rebuild. We’re not talking about physical power to rebuild physical buildings but rather a spiritual power to rebuild ruined lives.
Maybe you’ve experienced this too, but my time in depression ruined many things. It ruined some relationships, ruined my job performance, ruined my body (becoming so overweight through inactivity) and many other things.
Question 2. Have you seen this too? If so, in what areas of your life have you experienced the ruining effects of depression?
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Harris writes, "Yes it ruined my ability to think and initiate. It ruined the appetite for life to program and organize my life."
Tori writes, "Yes, 1000%. It ruined my job performance, ruined my romantic relationship as I wasn't putting Christ first so it caused me to make my ex an idol, it ruined my body as my weight was always up and down and I would cope with eating poorly as I dealt with negative emotions. It ruined also my friendships as I would not have the energy to engage and isolate myself."