ISAIAH 61
OPENS WITH JESUS CHRIST SPEAKING ONCE AGAIN....TELLING ISAIAH WHAT HE WILL DO.
Verse 1a tells us the EMPOWERMENT of the Messiah's ministry.
"The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me."
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me...
Right here, Isaiah prophetically speaks for the Messiah, and the Messiah announces that He is blessed and empowered by the Spirit of the Lord GOD.
In Luke 4:16-22, Jesus spoke in the synagogue of Nazareth, His hometown. He opened up the scroll to Isaiah 61 - perhaps an assigned reading, perhaps chosen by Him - and read from the beginning of the chapter through the first line of verse 2. When He sat down, He simply said today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.
Jesus Christ IS the person described in Isaiah 61:1-3 and He IS the one the Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon.
If Jesus, the Son of God and God the Son, perfect in both His deity and humanity, needed the Spirit of the Lord GOD, how much more do we!
Because the LORD has anointed Me...
This identifies the speaker as the Messiah, because Messiah means "Anointed One."
AND REMEMBER passages such as 1 Samuel 2:10 refer to the Messiah as His anointed.
AND DID YOU KNOW...The word "anoint" means to rub or sprinkle on; apply an unguent, ointment, or oily liquid to. Persons in the Old Testament were often literally anointed with oil.
For example, priests were anointed for their special service to the LORD in Exodus 28:41. Literal oil would be applied, but as a sign of the Holy Spirit upon their lives and service. The oil on the head was only the outward representation of the real, spiritual work going on inside them.
As Christians under the New Covenant, we also have an anointing.
WHERE?
1 JOHN 2:20, "But you have an anointing from the Holy One."
In the New Testament sense, anointing has the idea of being FILLED with, and BLESSED by, the Holy Spirit. This is something that is the common property of ALL Christians, but something we can and should become more submitted and responsive to, AMEN?!
Verses 1b-3 tells us of THE ministry of the Messiah.
"To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified."
AND OUR JESUS CHRIST PERFECTLY FULFILLED THIS, AMEN?!
The Messiah announces that He is here to HEAL the damage that sin brings. Sin has done great damage, so there needs to be a great work of redemption.
Because sin impoverishes, He will preach good tidings to the poor.
Because sin breaks hearts, He will heal the brokenhearted.
Because sin makes captives, He will proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound.
Because sin oppresses, He will proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.
Because sin is a crime that must be avenged, He will proclaim … the day of vengeance of our God.
Significantly, Jesus stopped reading before this sentence.
He stopped in the middle of the prophecy, because to proclaim … the day of vengeance of our God is relevant to His Second Coming, not to His first coming.
The comma in year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance has stood for almost 2,000 years. This shows us something of the nature of Biblical prophecy: it may "shift gears" and time frames quickly, and without warning.
We can compare a whole year of grace to a single day of vengeance.
Because sin brings grief, He will comfort all who mourn.
The extent of the comfort and restoration is beautifully described.
Instead of the ashes of mourning, He gives His people beauty.
Instead of the mourning itself, He gives His people the oil of joy.
Instead of the spirit of heaviness, He gives His people the garment of praise.
SO, WHT do we sit in the ashes, why do we mourn, why do we indulge the spirit of heaviness when Jesus gave us something so much better?
The word BEAUTY has in mind a beautiful crown or head ornament.
It is translated exquisite hats in Exodus 39:28 and headdresses in Isaiah 3:20. In mourning, ashes would be cast upon the head told to us in 2 Samuel 13:19.
Here, the ashes are replaced with a beautiful crown.
That they may be called trees of righteousness...
The restored place of God's people is glorious. They are as strong, beautiful, and useful as trees - and trees of righteousness at that. Most wonderfully, when people look at the trees, they see they are the planting of the LORD.
NOW JESUS TELLS ISAIAH WHAT HIS PEOPLE WILL DO.
Verse 4 tells us God's people will rebuild what is ruined.
"And they shall rebuild the old ruins, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations."
They shall rebuild the old ruins...
God loves to restore ruins. He wants to use His people to restore and rebuild things that broken down and ruined. Under the empowerment of the Spirit, and the ministry of the Messiah, God's people will be rebuilders.
The desolations of many generations...
Even if the rubble has stood for many generations, God can still use His people to rebuild.
AND REMEMBER A beautiful example WE HAVE ALREADY STUDIED - and partial fulfillment - of this is Nehemiah, who took the decades-old rubble of Jerusalem's walls and rebuilt the walls, AMEN?!
Verses 5-6 tells us God's people will be set apart to serve the LORD.
"Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the foreigner shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. But you shall be named the priests of the LORD, they shall call you the servants of our God. You shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory you shall boast."
You shall be named the Priests of the LORD, men shall call you the Servants of our God...
God's people, under the anointing of the Spirit and the ministry of the Messiah, have a holy occupation. They are Priests of the LORD, and Servants of our God. God provides others to take care of the flocks and to be your plowmen and your vinedressers.
Verse 7 tells us God's people will rejoice at God's great blessings.
"Instead of your shame you shall have double honor, and instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their land they shall possess double; everlasting joy shall be theirs."
What a change under the anointing of the Spirit and the ministry of the Messiah!
No more shame. Now, you shall have double honor.
No more confusion. Now, they shall rejoice in their portion.
Indeed, everlasting joy shall be theirs, a joy that can never be taken away.
NOW JESUS TELLS ISAIAH OF THE EVERLASTING COVENANT.
Verse 8 tells us the heart behind the covenant.
"For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery for burnt offering; I will direct their work in truth, and will make with them an everlasting covenant."
For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery for burnt offering...
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
The LORD explains how sacrifices such as a burnt offering can really just amount to robbery if the heart isn't right. Instead, the LORD loves justice. Sacrifices alone, and the sacrificial system in itself, are not enough.
JESUS has an alternative to the sacrificial system...
I will direct their work in truth, and will make with them an everlasting covenant. As THE LORD directs the work, and as He makes an everlasting covenant, then His heart will be fulfilled among the people.
Verse 9 tells us the covenant brings prominent blessings.
"Their descendants shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people. All who see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the posterity whom the LORD has blessed."
They are posterity whom the LORD has blessed...
This everlasting covenant brings blessing, and blessings so prominent that the blessed shall be known among the Gentiles. In fact, all who see them shall acknowledge them.
AND REMEMBER HEBREWS 13:20-21 pronounces a blessing regarding this everlasting covenant too. "Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen."
Verses 10-11 tells us the covenant brings salvation and righteousness.
"I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful 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 ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its bud, as the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations."
I will greatly rejoice in the LORD...
The blessed one's joy isn't in the blessing itself, but in the LORD. He could must have been reading Philippians 4:4, where Paul writes "Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!"
For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness...
The granting of salvation and righteousness to God's people is represented by the picture of clothing them.
These are glorious garments...As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
YOU NOTICE These are GIVEN garments: For He has clothed me … He has covered me.
The blessing of God grows. It isn't manufactured, but it grows.
Even as the earth brings forth its bud … so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.
There is a sense in which we can NEVER make something grow.
WHAT DO I MEAN?
No one can get inside of a seed and "turn on" the genetic component that makes the seed spring forth, and bud. The blessing of life and growth is miraculously WITHIN the seed.
But we can provide the right environment for the seed to bud, grow, and be fruitful.
THE LORD IS TELLING US RIGHT HERE That's also how we receive and flourish in HIS blessings.
We can't "make" or "manufacture" them. But we can put our hearts and minds in the right environments of faith, fellowship, and obedience, to see blessing grow and flourish.
ISAIAH 61, IS AMAZING RIGHT?
ONCE AGAIN JESUS HIMSELF IS SPEAKING TO ISAIAH, THE NATION OF ISRAEL AND HIS FAMILY...CHRISTIANS THEN AND NOW.
HE HIMSELF TELLS ISAIAH AND US RIGHT HERE IN THE OLD TESTAMENT 700+ YEARS BEFORE HE WAS BORN IN A MANGER IN BETHLEHEM....SO MANY POWERFUL THINGS TO CLING TO AND TO REMEMBER.
HE WAS ONCE AGAIN TELLING THE JEWS AND US AS WELL...YOUR RITUALS, YOUR SACRIFICES, YOUR CHURCH ATTENDANCE MEAN NOTHING TO ME...I AM ONLY INTERESTED IN YOUR HEART AND YOUR MOTIVE...IF YOU DO NOT DO ALL THINGS FOR LOVE AND HONOR OF ME...THEN I REFUSE IT.
JESUS ONCE AGAIN TELLS THOSE WHO TAUGHT THEN AND SADLY STILL TEACH TODAY THAT HIS LOVE AND HIS SALVATION AND ETERNITY IN HEAVEN MUST BE EARNED...HE IS CRYSTAL CLEAR ....HEAVEN CAN NEVER BE EARNED...WE CAN NOT EVER EARN JESUS.
BUT HE IS A GIFT TO US...A GIFT WE MUST CHOOSE TO RECEIVE OR REJECT.
JESUS ALSO TELLS US RIGHT HERE IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, YOU CAN NOT EARN THE RICHES OF HEAVEN, YOU CAN NOT EARN BEAUTIFUL CROWNS, BEAUTIFUL GARMENTS, RIGHTEOUSNESS...THEY ARE ALL GIFTS FROM ME THAT I GIVE TO YOU.
JESUS TELLS US THAT HE AND HE ALONE, SEES EVERY TEAR, EVERY SADNESS, EVERY TRIAL WE FACE AND DEAL WITH...AND HE PROMISES TO ONE DAY GIVE US BEAUTY FOR ASHES.
JESUS ESTABLISHES RIGHT HERE IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, JUST AS HE TAUGHT WHEN HE WALKED THE EARTH...THAT THOSE WHO LOVE HIM, CALL HIM LORD, SAVIOR, MASTER ARE GIVEN HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS BEFORE HIS FATHER...ARE GIVEN HIS LOVE, HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, HIS GRACE, AND HIS BLESSINGS, HIS FAVOR, AND HIS SALVATION.
THOSE WHO LOVE HIM ARE CO-HEIRS WITH HIM. THEY ARE CALLED CHILDREN OF GOD. THEY ARE CALLED HIS FRIENDS. HIS VERY OWN BROTHERS AND SISTERS.
THERE ARE THOSE WHO TAUGHT THEN AND SADLY STILL DO TEACH NOW, THAT WE WILL CRAWL AND BE ADMITTED INTO HEAVEN FILTHY BUT GRATEFUL...UNWORTHY BUT ACCEPTED.
BUT JESUS GIVES ALL RIGHT HERE A GLIMPSE INTO WHAT IT WILL BE LIKE...ALL OF HEAVEN WILL STAND...WE WILL BE RECEIVED AS ROYALTY. WE WILL NOT CRAWL, BUT BE USHERED INTO HEAVEN WITH HONOR.
THOSE WHO LOVE JESUS CHRIST, WILL NOT ENTER HEAVENS GATES, THE THRONE ROOM OF GOD AS PAUPERS BEGGING, BUT AS BELOVED PRINCES AND PRINCESSES OF THE MOST HIGH GOD.
WE WATCH THE MEDIA, WHENEVER PRINCE HARRY AND PRINCESS KATHRYN, OR THE QUEEN OF ENGLAND GOES ANYWHERE...AND WE ARE AMAZED AT THE POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE, THE ELEGANCE, THE ATTENTION, AND THE HONOR THEY ARE PAID BY HEADS OF STATE, AND RULERS OF COUNTRIES, AS WELL THE GENERAL POPULACE AS WELL...BUT FOR ALL ITS SPLENDOR, AWE, AND WONDER...SUCH CELEBRITY, AND ATTENTION....WILL PALE IN COMPARISON TO THE RECEPTION AWAITING US WHEN WE ENTER HEAVENS GATES.
AND REMEMBER WHAT I CORINTHIANS 2:9 PROMISES AND REMINDS US, "But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him."
THIS IS JUST ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF WHAT JESUS SAYS AND MEANS WHEN HE SAYS THOSE OF US WHO LOVE JESUS CHRIST, AND CALL HIM LORD, SAVIOR, MASTER, AND FRIEND ARE SET APART...WE ARE ROYALTY IN HIS, HIS FATHER, AND ALL OF HEAVENS HOSTS EYES.
REMEMBER ALWAYS THAT THIS IS AN EVERLASTING COVENANT, THE LORD JESUS ESTABLISHED RIGHT HERE IN ISAIAH...AND OUR JESUS KEEPS HIS WORD.
YOU ARE HIS AND HE IS YOURS....ACT LIKE IT!
ISAIAH 61OPENS WITH JESUS CHRIST SPEAKING ONCE AGAIN....TELLING ISAIAH WHAT HE WILL DO.Verse 1a tells us the EMPOWERMENT of the Messiah's ministry."The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me."The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me...Right here, Isaiah prophetically speaks for the Messiah, and the Messiah announces that He is blessed and empowered by the Spirit of the Lord GOD.In Luke 4:16-22, Jesus spoke in the synagogue of Nazareth, His hometown. He opened up the scroll to Isaiah 61 - perhaps an assigned reading, perhaps chosen by Him - and read from the beginning of the chapter through the first line of verse 2. When He sat down, He simply said today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.Jesus Christ IS the person described in Isaiah 61:1-3 and He IS the one the Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon.If Jesus, the Son of God and God the Son, perfect in both His deity and humanity, needed the Spirit of the Lord GOD, how much more do we!Because the LORD has anointed Me...This identifies the speaker as the Messiah, because Messiah means "Anointed One."AND REMEMBER passages such as 1 Samuel 2:10 refer to the Messiah as His anointed.AND DID YOU KNOW...The word "anoint" means to rub or sprinkle on; apply an unguent, ointment, or oily liquid to. Persons in the Old Testament were often literally anointed with oil.For example, priests were anointed for their special service to the LORD in Exodus 28:41. Literal oil would be applied, but as a sign of the Holy Spirit upon their lives and service. The oil on the head was only the outward representation of the real, spiritual work going on inside them.As Christians under the New Covenant, we also have an anointing.WHERE?1 JOHN 2:20, "But you have an anointing from the Holy One."In the New Testament sense, anointing has the idea of being FILLED with, and BLESSED by, the Holy Spirit. This is something that is the common property of ALL Christians, but something we can and should become more submitted and responsive to, AMEN?!Verses 1b-3 tells us of THE ministry of the Messiah."To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified."AND OUR JESUS CHRIST PERFECTLY FULFILLED THIS, AMEN?!The Messiah announces that He is here to HEAL the damage that sin brings. Sin has done great damage, so there needs to be a great work of redemption.Because sin impoverishes, He will preach good tidings to the poor.Because sin breaks hearts, He will heal the brokenhearted.Because sin makes captives, He will proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound.Because sin oppresses, He will proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.Because sin is a crime that must be avenged, He will proclaim … the day of vengeance of our God.Significantly, Jesus stopped reading before this sentence.He stopped in the middle of the prophecy, because to proclaim … the day of vengeance of our God is relevant to His Second Coming, not to His first coming.The comma in year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance has stood for almost 2,000 years. This shows us something of the nature of Biblical prophecy: it may "shift gears" and time frames quickly, and without warning.We can compare a whole year of grace to a single day of vengeance.Because sin brings grief, He will comfort all who mourn.The extent of the comfort and restoration is beautifully described.Instead of the ashes of mourning, He gives His people beauty.Instead of the mourning itself, He gives His people the oil of joy.Instead of the spirit of heaviness, He gives His people the garment of praise.SO, WHT do we sit in the ashes, why do we mourn, why do we indulge the spirit of heaviness when Jesus gave us something so much better?The word BEAUTY has in mind a beautiful crown or head ornament.It is translated exquisite hats in Exodus 39:28 and headdresses in Isaiah 3:20. In mourning, ashes would be cast upon the head told to us in 2 Samuel 13:19.Here, the ashes are replaced with a beautiful crown.That they may be called trees of righteousness...The restored place of God's people is glorious. They are as strong, beautiful, and useful as trees - and trees of righteousness at that. Most wonderfully, when people look at the trees, they see they are the planting of the LORD.NOW JESUS TELLS ISAIAH WHAT HIS PEOPLE WILL DO.Verse 4 tells us God's people will rebuild what is ruined."And they shall rebuild the old ruins, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations."They shall rebuild the old ruins...God loves to restore ruins. He wants to use His people to restore and rebuild things that broken down and ruined. Under the empowerment of the Spirit, and the ministry of the Messiah, God's people will be rebuilders.The desolations of many generations...Even if the rubble has stood for many generations, God can still use His people to rebuild.AND REMEMBER A beautiful example WE HAVE ALREADY STUDIED - and partial fulfillment - of this is Nehemiah, who took the decades-old rubble of Jerusalem's walls and rebuilt the walls, AMEN?!Verses 5-6 tells us God's people will be set apart to serve the LORD."Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the foreigner shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. But you shall be named the priests of the LORD, they shall call you the servants of our God. You shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory you shall boast."You shall be named the Priests of the LORD, men shall call you the Servants of our God...God's people, under the anointing of the Spirit and the ministry of the Messiah, have a holy occupation. They are Priests of the LORD, and Servants of our God. God provides others to take care of the flocks and to be your plowmen and your vinedressers.Verse 7 tells us God's people will rejoice at God's great blessings."Instead of your shame you shall have double honor, and instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their land they shall possess double; everlasting joy shall be theirs."What a change under the anointing of the Spirit and the ministry of the Messiah!No more shame. Now, you shall have double honor.No more confusion. Now, they shall rejoice in their portion.Indeed, everlasting joy shall be theirs, a joy that can never be taken away.NOW JESUS TELLS ISAIAH OF THE EVERLASTING COVENANT.Verse 8 tells us the heart behind the covenant."For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery for burnt offering; I will direct their work in truth, and will make with them an everlasting covenant."For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery for burnt offering...WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?The LORD explains how sacrifices such as a burnt offering can really just amount to robbery if the heart isn't right. Instead, the LORD loves justice. Sacrifices alone, and the sacrificial system in itself, are not enough.JESUS has an alternative to the sacrificial system...I will direct their work in truth, and will make with them an everlasting covenant. As THE LORD directs the work, and as He makes an everlasting covenant, then His heart will be fulfilled among the people.Verse 9 tells us the covenant brings prominent blessings."Their descendants shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people. All who see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the posterity whom the LORD has blessed."They are posterity whom the LORD has blessed...This everlasting covenant brings blessing, and blessings so prominent that the blessed shall be known among the Gentiles. In fact, all who see them shall acknowledge them.AND REMEMBER HEBREWS 13:20-21 pronounces a blessing regarding this everlasting covenant too. "Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen."Verses 10-11 tells us the covenant brings salvation and righteousness."I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful 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 ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its bud, as the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations."I will greatly rejoice in the LORD...The blessed one's joy isn't in the blessing itself, but in the LORD. He could must have been reading Philippians 4:4, where Paul writes "Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!"For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness...The granting of salvation and righteousness to God's people is represented by the picture of clothing them.These are glorious garments...As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.YOU NOTICE These are GIVEN garments: For He has clothed me … He has covered me.The blessing of God grows. It isn't manufactured, but it grows.Even as the earth brings forth its bud … so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.There is a sense in which we can NEVER make something grow.WHAT DO I MEAN?No one can get inside of a seed and "turn on" the genetic component that makes the seed spring forth, and bud. The blessing of life and growth is miraculously WITHIN the seed.But we can provide the right environment for the seed to bud, grow, and be fruitful.THE LORD IS TELLING US RIGHT HERE That's also how we receive and flourish in HIS blessings.We can't "make" or "manufacture" them. But we can put our hearts and minds in the right environments of faith, fellowship, and obedience, to see blessing grow and flourish.ISAIAH 61, IS AMAZING RIGHT?ONCE AGAIN JESUS HIMSELF IS SPEAKING TO ISAIAH, THE NATION OF ISRAEL AND HIS FAMILY...CHRISTIANS THEN AND NOW.HE HIMSELF TELLS ISAIAH AND US RIGHT HERE IN THE OLD TESTAMENT 700+ YEARS BEFORE HE WAS BORN IN A MANGER IN BETHLEHEM....SO MANY POWERFUL THINGS TO CLING TO AND TO REMEMBER.HE WAS ONCE AGAIN TELLING THE JEWS AND US AS WELL...YOUR RITUALS, YOUR SACRIFICES, YOUR CHURCH ATTENDANCE MEAN NOTHING TO ME...I AM ONLY INTERESTED IN YOUR HEART AND YOUR MOTIVE...IF YOU DO NOT DO ALL THINGS FOR LOVE AND HONOR OF ME...THEN I REFUSE IT.JESUS ONCE AGAIN TELLS THOSE WHO TAUGHT THEN AND SADLY STILL TEACH TODAY THAT HIS LOVE AND HIS SALVATION AND ETERNITY IN HEAVEN MUST BE EARNED...HE IS CRYSTAL CLEAR ....HEAVEN CAN NEVER BE EARNED...WE CAN NOT EVER EARN JESUS.BUT HE IS A GIFT TO US...A GIFT WE MUST CHOOSE TO RECEIVE OR REJECT.JESUS ALSO TELLS US RIGHT HERE IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, YOU CAN NOT EARN THE RICHES OF HEAVEN, YOU CAN NOT EARN BEAUTIFUL CROWNS, BEAUTIFUL GARMENTS, RIGHTEOUSNESS...THEY ARE ALL GIFTS FROM ME THAT I GIVE TO YOU.JESUS TELLS US THAT HE AND HE ALONE, SEES EVERY TEAR, EVERY SADNESS, EVERY TRIAL WE FACE AND DEAL WITH...AND HE PROMISES TO ONE DAY GIVE US BEAUTY FOR ASHES.JESUS ESTABLISHES RIGHT HERE IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, JUST AS HE TAUGHT WHEN HE WALKED THE EARTH...THAT THOSE WHO LOVE HIM, CALL HIM LORD, SAVIOR, MASTER ARE GIVEN HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS BEFORE HIS FATHER...ARE GIVEN HIS LOVE, HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, HIS GRACE, AND HIS BLESSINGS, HIS FAVOR, AND HIS SALVATION.THOSE WHO LOVE HIM ARE CO-HEIRS WITH HIM. THEY ARE CALLED CHILDREN OF GOD. THEY ARE CALLED HIS FRIENDS. HIS VERY OWN BROTHERS AND SISTERS.THERE ARE THOSE WHO TAUGHT THEN AND SADLY STILL DO TEACH NOW, THAT WE WILL CRAWL AND BE ADMITTED INTO HEAVEN FILTHY BUT GRATEFUL...UNWORTHY BUT ACCEPTED.BUT JESUS GIVES ALL RIGHT HERE A GLIMPSE INTO WHAT IT WILL BE LIKE...ALL OF HEAVEN WILL STAND...WE WILL BE RECEIVED AS ROYALTY. WE WILL NOT CRAWL, BUT BE USHERED INTO HEAVEN WITH HONOR.THOSE WHO LOVE JESUS CHRIST, WILL NOT ENTER HEAVENS GATES, THE THRONE ROOM OF GOD AS PAUPERS BEGGING, BUT AS BELOVED PRINCES AND PRINCESSES OF THE MOST HIGH GOD.WE WATCH THE MEDIA, WHENEVER PRINCE HARRY AND PRINCESS KATHRYN, OR THE QUEEN OF ENGLAND GOES ANYWHERE...AND WE ARE AMAZED AT THE POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE, THE ELEGANCE, THE ATTENTION, AND THE HONOR THEY ARE PAID BY HEADS OF STATE, AND RULERS OF COUNTRIES, AS WELL THE GENERAL POPULACE AS WELL...BUT FOR ALL ITS SPLENDOR, AWE, AND WONDER...SUCH CELEBRITY, AND ATTENTION....WILL PALE IN COMPARISON TO THE RECEPTION AWAITING US WHEN WE ENTER HEAVENS GATES.AND REMEMBER WHAT I CORINTHIANS 2:9 PROMISES AND REMINDS US, "But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him."THIS IS JUST ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF WHAT JESUS SAYS AND MEANS WHEN HE SAYS THOSE OF US WHO LOVE JESUS CHRIST, AND CALL HIM LORD, SAVIOR, MASTER, AND FRIEND ARE SET APART...WE ARE ROYALTY IN HIS, HIS FATHER, AND ALL OF HEAVENS HOSTS EYES.REMEMBER ALWAYS THAT THIS IS AN EVERLASTING COVENANT, THE LORD JESUS ESTABLISHED RIGHT HERE IN ISAIAH...AND OUR JESUS KEEPS HIS WORD.YOU ARE HIS AND HE IS YOURS....ACT LIKE IT!