Friday, March 07,
2014, 4:25 a.m. – the Lord Jesus woke me with the song “Songs in the Night” playing in my mind. Speak, Lord, your words to
my heart. I read Isaiah 61 (NIV).
To Proclaim Freedom
The
Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to proclaim good news…
What is this “good news”? Jesus Christ, the one to whom this
passage is referring as being anointed of God to proclaim the good news, is the
Son of God, the second person of our triune God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
He left his throne in heaven, came to earth, took on human flesh, suffered as
we suffer, and was tempted in like manner as we are tempted, yet without sin. He
was despised and rejected of humankind, a man of sorrows and acquainted with
suffering (See Is. 53). He was hated so much by the religious leaders of his
day that they had him hung on a cross to die, as though he was a criminal. Yet,
when he died, he took upon himself the sins of the entire world. He crucified
and buried our sins with him, and when he rose from the dead, he triumphed over
Satan, hell, death and sin. Amen!
…
to the poor.
So, who are the intended recipients of this “good news”? This
passage indicates that they are the poor, but did Jesus come only for the poor
of this world? – No! God so loved the world (that is everyone) that he gave his
only begotten Son, that whoever
believes in him might have eternal life (See Jn. 3). God is not willing that
any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (See 2 Pet. 3:9). As
well, in the book of Hebrews we read over and over again that Christ died “once
for all.” Jesus died for the sins of the entire world, not just for a select
few. So, who are these “poor”? The word translated as “poor” here literally means
“meek” – humble, afflicted, needy – i.e. those who recognize their need for
God. Did Jesus preach only to the humble, though? – No! Yet, it is those who
are humble and meek of heart, who know they are in need of help, who will be
the ones to receive the gospel of salvation, so in that sense, those are the
intended recipients of the “good news.”
…
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted…
Jesus was also sent to bind up the brokenhearted. This word
literally means “broken; crushed; in pieces; shattered (in heart).” If
something is broken it can be lacking parts necessary to be complete; lacking
order or harmony; imperfect; not whole; not in working condition; lacking
continuity; destroyed, etc. (See Encarta Dictionary). Truly this is a picture
of all of us when we are still in our sin. We are destroyed, split apart,
separated from God, not in harmony with him, and spiritually devastated without
him. Jesus came to heal us, to make us whole, to restore us to himself, and to
secure us in Christ Jesus unto salvation from our sins. And, he continues to
encourage, strengthen, help, guide, nurture and comfort those of us who are his
in our times of sorrow, grief, and in times when our hearts are broken - hurt
by the sins of others, or even by our own sin and rebellion against him; hurt by
death or illness of loved ones, by injustice or betrayal, or over the sinful
condition of mankind, or the adulterous condition of Christ’s church, or just
generally by the trials of life.
… to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners…
He was also sent to proclaim freedom and release for
captives; for those who are prisoners to sin, who are still walking and living in
darkness, and who have not yet come into his light. This message of freedom and
release is the essence of the gospel of our salvation. Jesus Christ did not come
just to give us the hope of heaven, but he came to set us free of bondage
(slavery) to sin, so that we may be free to walk in victory over sin, and be free
to walk in fellowship with him, in obedience to his commands, and in his righteousness
and holiness daily, while we still walk the face of this earth. If we are not
getting this message, i.e. that the purpose of our salvation is not just to
give us the hope of eternal life in heaven, but it is to release us from our
prisons to sin while we are still here on this earth, then that is truly not
the “good news” we are hearing, but is a false gospel and a false hope, too.
…
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God…
When Jesus quoted this passage of scripture, during his time
of ministry on the earth, he left out this last sentence concerning vengeance
(judgment), yet he did not leave that subject out of his teaching. He spoke of
it often, warning the people that false religion, commitment to forms of
religious practice only, good works only, hypocritical faith, and/or no faith
at all would land them in eternal punishment or in the lake of fire, without
God, and without hope if they did not come to him in true faith, forsaking
their lifestyles of sin, and if they did not give HIM their lives in submission
to his will, surrendered and obedient to his commands (See Mt. 6:13-14, 24-27;
11:20-24; 12:38-45; 13:36-43, 47-50; 15:1-20; 18:1-9, 21-35; 21:33-44; 22:1-14;
Mt. 23-25, Jn. 9:23-25, etc.). And, there are many more passages of scripture,
where he gave similar messages, which are not listed here.
So, when people tell you that Jesus went around just “loving
on” everyone, and that he accepted everyone right where they are, for who they
are, and that his message was all love and grace, don’t believe them. Jesus
told his brothers that the world hated him because he told them that what they
did was evil. That is why the people killed him. His message was grace to the
repentant and to the humble of heart (good news to the poor), but it was a
message of judgment to the religious hypocritical liars, to those following the
gods of humankind, and/or to the unbelieving. And, that is still his message
today.
For Those Who Grieve
…to
comfort all who mourn,
and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to
bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the
oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and
a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They
will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord
for the display of his splendor…
Now, this is truly Good News! When we come to faith in Jesus
Christ, by God’s grace, and we allow the Spirit of God to transform our hearts
away from lifestyles given over to self and sin to lifestyles given over to
following after Christ and his righteousness, he changes our repentant sadness
to joy, our grief over sin to peace in Christ, our darkness to light, our gloom
to praise, our despair to hope, and our weakness to strength, endurance and steadfastness;
and our bondage to freedom. We now live our lives, no longer for the praise of
humankind, but for the praise, honor and glory of our creator, Jesus Christ. Amen!
Priests and Ministers
And
you will be called priests of the Lord,
you will be named ministers of our God…
This is awesome! Not only does Jesus save us from our sins,
give us the hope of eternal life with him, free us from our slavery, turn our
sadness to joy, and our weakness to strength, and put a new song in our hearts –
a song of rejoicing over his great salvation – but he then makes us into his
kingdom priests and ministers of his love and grace. The Spirit of the Lord is
now upon us, and is inside us, and is welling up inside of us unto eternal life.
Now we have been anointed by God to preach (share) the good news with those
willing to listen; to bind up the brokenhearted, to preach freedom to the
captives, and to tell about God’s grace. We also must warn of judgment and hell,
because his salvation from sin also means deliverance from eternal punishment.
In other words, we are to do what Jesus did. We are to give
much the same messages as what he taught. We are not God, but we are his
representatives here on this earth, thus we are his witnesses, commanded by
God/Jesus to go into the entire world, and to make followers of Christ of the
people of all nations, baptizing and teaching them to obey Christ and all that
he commanded us. So, this is what we must do.
And, all the glory and praise and honor are to go to God; to
Jesus Christ, for all that he has done! Amen! He is our Savior, our Lord, our
healer, our comforter and our joy!
Songs in the Night
/ An Original Work / December 18, 2013
“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing
hymns to God,
And the other prisoners were listening to them.” Acts
16:25 NIV ‘84
Lord, I praise You forevermore.
You, my Savior, I now adore.
Hope in heaven awaiting me,
Because You died at Calvary.
I have been forgiven,
And I’m bound for heaven.
Jesus set me free from
All my sin, I say.
I will praise Him always!
Lord, I love You for all You’ve done:
Overcame death, my vict’ry won!
Jesus saved me, and now I’m free!
I rejoice in His love for me.
I will walk in vict’ry!
My sin is but hist’ry!
I am free to please Him
With my life today.
I will love Him always!
Lord, I thank You for giving me
A new life bought at Calvary.
Loving Jesus, I meet with Him.
Tender mercies now flow within.
Lord, I am so thankful;
Through my Lord, I’m able
To sit at His table;
Fellowship with Him.
I will thank Him always!
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