The Goal
Notes
Transcript
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.”
Introduction:
Jesus had just read from Isaiah chapter sixty one.
Then He closed the scroll and said - “today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Now that I’ve read the same scripture to you, I could by all right, close the book and say to you, today this scripture is being fulfilled in your hearing.
And yet, this is not blasphemous, because what Jesus was saying is that He as the prophesied Messiah, who this scripture was about, had come and was present with them.
But to think that He completed it on that day, would not be correct, for we who are the body of Christ, have been given the task of continuing what the Lord began, until He comes back!
Looking closer at this scripture, we can see that Jesus had a goal in mind, and the goal was part of the plan of God, for the redemption of the souls of mankind.
But I believe the western church has been extremely narrow minded when it comes to this goal, because it has preoccupied itself with a sterile version of the gospel!
And because of this, the other essential parts have gone undone!
I believe that the church has failed to realize that this scriptural prophecy is one and should be taken as a whole and not a list of pick and choose items.
So today, is the first of a three part series - “Living Faith”
So let’s look at the four part goal Jesus had in mind for us:
I. Preach the gospel to the poor.
I. Preach the gospel to the poor.
We may need a reminder as to what the gospel is.
It is simply the good news!
The good news that God has come. “and they shall call His name Emmanuel”.
We have all kinds of warped ideas about the gospel.
Some think it’s just fire insurance from hell!
Some believe it’s about living good lives!
Others present it as though God is an angry judge that will only love you if you become a Christian like them.
The fact is, the gospel is the remedy for separation from God because Jesus loved us so much that He was willing to give Himself for us.
It’s a love story!
Yes, the gospel is a love story!
But you will also notice that it is directed toward the poor.
Not that the gospel isn't for the those of wealth, but the emphasis being to the poor, contrasts how Judaism at the time did not throw a favorable light on the poor.
And after all, James says -
5 Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?
II. Heal the Brokenhearted.
II. Heal the Brokenhearted.
Secondly, He says that God has sent Him to heal the broken hearted.
I’ve been under the teaching that says that if you just get saved, Jesus will heal your broken heart!
We seem to use the gospel as a bandage for every ailment out there, but the truth is, there are many Christians with broken hearts, many Christians that deal with sadness, depression, addictions, etc. every day.
It takes a mature seasoned Christian to find healing without human intervention, and they usually break down eventually.
I remember a common saying among fundamental Christian leaders, it goes like this:
Win them - Wet them - Work them!
What are we, mules?
No, Christ gave us great examples of this type of healing!
Every time He raised the dead or healed the sick, there were family members who’s grief was healed.
When He called those to Himself those who were laboring and heavy burdened at heart, he was healing.
His parables were filled with compassion for mankind giving us an example of how we should act in this present world.
As much as we are to proclaim the gospel, we are to heal broken hearts, and the two go together.
III. To proclaim liberty to captives, and recovery of sight to the blind.
III. To proclaim liberty to captives, and recovery of sight to the blind.
It is the person who is wrestling with their own sinfulness that Jesus promises freedom to.
These are captives!
They are controlled by there own sin.
14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.
But also He says to proclaim recovery of sight to the blind.
he is not speaking of the physically blind, but the spiritually blind!
And we would cry out, “Oh that they could see?”
But how will they see, without an example?
Blind people need to see true Christian examples of genuine kindness and love, with no strings attached.
And so, as with the gospel and healing hearts, these two are also part of the gospel.
IV. To set at liberty those that are oppressed.
IV. To set at liberty those that are oppressed.
There are many that are oppressed today!
Racism, bigotry, hunger, abuse, they all take there toll on the innocent.
We are the ones with the answer!
We are the ones that must join ourselves to them and set them free from the tyranny at hand!
It doesn’t matter what we think about them or the situation. Anyone that is oppressed is the target of our mercy!
If we allow our politics to dictate where we will liberate, then we’ve become guilty of judging and exercising partiality.
Jesus never did this!
Daniel Strickland, Canadian Author, speaker, and Justice Advocate, gives this testimony of how her father would always root for the underdog, regardless of affiliation, when it came to sports.
Her upbringing in this kind of philosophy is what created a passion in her heart for marginalized people.
Conclusion:
These four things are the goal for every believer in Christ.
This is what makes us Christlike!
My question to you today is, when will we really get into the ministry that Jesus called us to?
Next week we will look at the remedy that is needed to get there.