Gtcotr/ss052216
Luke 4 NKJV
18 "The Spirit of the
LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the
poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the
captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who
are oppressed;
19 To proclaim the acceptable
year of the LORD."
20 Then He closed the book,
and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who
were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.
21 And He began to say to
them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."
This
passage holds a perfect picture of God’s Plan:
·
Past
– Connecting the prophecy of Isaiah 61 to Christ
·
Present
– Revealing the ministry on which Jesus was to immediately embark. Jesus was
about to “show us the Father” at work in everyday life. (John 1:18)
·
Future
– A prophetic glimpse of the finished work of Messiah:
o The symbolic closing of the book …
o The symbolic seating of the Author and the Finisher of our
faith. (Daniel 7:9; Hebrews 8:1; Hebrews 12:2; Psalms 110:1)
o All eyes now and from henceforth focused on the Messiah …
o “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Jesus
truly is the same yesterday, today and forever. (Hebrews
13:8) Jesus declared, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your
hearing.” (Luke 4:21), What a wondrous God
we serve, (Psalms 86:10). He is God, He Who
knows the end from the beginning, (Isaiah 46:10),
He hides Truth in plain sight, (Luke 10:21),
… He Who works all things together, (Romans 8:28),
to form His will, (Ephesians 1:11), and
brings hidden things to light, (1 Corinthians 4:5).
Our God is an awesome God, (Deuteronomy 10:17).
The
first sermon Jesus preached connected the past, present and future:
·
Jesus
revealed The Heart of God
o
Preach the Gospel to the poor …
§ God so loves the
world …
§ Jesus came in the
flesh …
§ Jesus lived a
sinless life …
§ Jesus died a
sacrificial death thus atoning, (fully paying), for the sins of all mankind
making forgiveness and salvation possible by reconciling us once again unto
God.
§ Jesus rose from the
grave on the 3rd day - victorious over satan, sin, death, hell and
the grave and He holds the keys of death, hell and eternity.
§ Jesus ascended to
heaven - where He sits at the right hand of the Father making intercession for
the saints.
§ Jesus is coming
again - to gather the Church unto Himself and rule as King of Kings and Lord of
Lords upon the earth.
§ At the appointed
time of the Father all mankind will be gathered to the final judgment.
§ There shall be a new
heaven and a new earth for the heavens and earth we know shall pass away and
melt with a fervent heat.
§ Every person ever
born on earth was born into sin and must be born again to become a new creation
in Christ and enter the eternal Kingdom of God.
§ We are saved by the grace
of God through our faith in Jesus. This salvation is a gift of God, not of
works, so that no man can boast.
§ Those who believe in
God and accept Jesus, His Son, as their personal Savior, will be saved and will
live eternally with the family of God forever and ever.
§ This is the Good
News!
This
is the framework into which other critical events spoken of by the prophets of
old and written by the Apostle John in his revelation fit without fail. Jesus came
from heaven to proclaim this Gospel! This is the same Gospel of Jesus Christ
which we preach today. Jesus continued His sermon by declaring that the heart
of His Father:
o To heal
the brokenhearted
…
o To
proclaim freedom for the captives …
o Recovery
of sight to the blind
…
o To
liberate the oppressed
…
o To
proclaim the year of Jubilee …
This
is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is a Today Word! Jesus is the same yesterday,
today and forever! His will, word and witness never changes. These blessings
are ours today without question and without consideration as to what you have
done, where you have been or how you got here. Today is your opportunity to
leave here changed to be a little more like Jesus. This Gospel we preach is the
power of God which leads men and women, boys and girls to the salvation which
can only be found in Him.
Please,
please, I beg you, (2 Corinthians 5:20), as one who was held captive by sin,
lost in a world without Christ and headed for torment in the life to come …
1.
Come to Jesus and begin a new life today!
2.
Open your mind to what your heart is telling you right now.
3.
Say to God:
o
“I believe in Jesus!”
o
“I receive Him as my Lord and my Savior!”
o
“I turn my life over to You, Heavenly Father!”
o
“Lead me with Your Holy Word and fill me with Your Holy Spirit!”
o
“Today I accept Your Will for my life!”
§
“I take charge of my thought life, my words, and my actions.”
§
“I will not allow unchallenged sin or selfishness to rule in my
life.”
§
“I will do my best to live my life pleasing to You, Father God.”
§
“Where I fail, I will repent, recover, and recommit myself to follow
Christ and become more like Him.”
§
“Help me, O Lord, to be a light and an encouragement to others.”
o
“Thank you Father; Thank you Jesus; and Thank you Holy Spirit.
§
Amen!”
