Luke 4:17-21, "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."
Can you imagine the scene in the synagogue? It's truly one of those "WOW" moments we read about in the Bible. While many marveled at His sayings, some took it as an opportunity to reject Jesus as the Messiah.
Are you ready for another "WOW" moment? This too comes from the Bible, but involves you. In John 20:21 Jesus said, "As the Father has sent Me, even so I am sending you." The same commission that was given to Jesus when He came to this earth has been passed on to us. We have been given the mandate to proclaim the good news to the poor, liberty to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, liberty to those who are oppressed, and to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.
That a huge task. How is it possible? It's possible in our lives the same way that it was possible for Jesus. At the very beginning of this passage from Isaiah we read the key to unlocking this ministry: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me..." As followers of Jesus Christ, we have this same Spirit - this same anointing. God ensured that His followers, the ones who came to Him through faith in Jesus would be empowered the same way that Jesus was. What is discovered in the life of Jesus is what was lost in the fall of Adam. The ability to walk in authority and dominion has been recovered.
Your faith will take on a whole new dimension when you realize that you were not saved just to go to heaven. When we read Scripture we understand that what God accomplished through Jesus was to set everything back in order. Jesus reclaimed what Adam lost by becoming the sacrifice for our sin and being raised from the dead. He told the disciples that all authority had been given to Him and that He was sending them in that authority. They to walk in the earth as those who had been anointed by God, empowered by the Spirit of God, and enabled by the grace of God. We are to release the kingdom of heaven here on earth. We are His anointed ones! We are His sent ones! It's our turn.
The prophet Joel made it clear that when God's Spirit was poured out that sons and daughters would prophecy, young men would see visions and old men would dream dreams. Every male servant and female servant would have God's Spirit poured out upon them and they would prophecy. This outpouring of God's Spirit is not just for the "select" - God means for all of those who know Jesus as Lord and Savior to walk in His power. While most of us believe the latter part of His prophecy "All who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved", many struggle to believe the former (that all may prophecy).
Yes, this means you. If you know Jesus then you have been commissioned. When you received salvation then you also received a calling. You and I are to be the sons and daughters of God walking the earth. We are to proclaim His good news, set at liberty those who are captive and oppressed. We are to preach, teach, heal, and proclaim. Peter told the church that we are a royal priesthood. It was always God's intention to have a nation of prophet-priests who would minister for Him and unto Him. How's that for a "WOW" moment?
Are you ready? The Spirit of the Lord is upon YOU because He has anointed YOU to do this. Take your place child of God among those who are walking in the revelation of who they are in Christ.
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