E2 -Hope’s Harbor Gritty Bible Devotions Heart and Mind of Jesus –His Commission – Lesson 1 – (Covering task 1)
Date: 4/12/2021
Contact: info@hopesharbor.net
Key verse(s):
Luke 4:18: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,…”
· Most Christians know Jesus died on the Cross to save sinners. Let me ask: what else did He come to the earth to accomplish? And what bearing does His commission have on us today?
· First, let me give a friendly warning about not listening: The Levite serving in the temple who Gabriel announced the coming birth of his son didn’t listen. The Levite’s name was Zacharias and his son became John the baptizer.
· Also, those who first heard Jesus preach didn’t listen, either.
· Let’s not be like them. The evidence we listen to GOD through His Word is whether we obey what we learn each time we read it or hear it taught.
Lesson point: Jesus accomplished 5 tasks
· As we go through these 5 tasks, ask yourself what effects this had on human history. Also, what effects are those 5 accomplishments having on you today?
Task 1) Preach the Gospel
Task 2) Heal the brokenhearted
Task 3) Proclaim Liberty to the captives
Task 4) Recovery of Sight to the Blind
Task 5) Set at Liberty those who are Bruised
Over the next few weeks, we’ll look at each task in detail.
For this week:
Task 1) Preach the Gospel
· The gospel means good news, bring good tidings, evangelize.
· What good news did Jesus bring? Salvation was at hand.
· However, the Jews of that day did not understand their Savior would die at the hands of their own religious leaders
· Within 3 years those leaders handed over Messiah to the occupying army of the Roman government.
· When Jesus did not conform to their expectations they rejected him.
· Furthermore, Jesus went out of His way to reveal the unbelief and rebellion in the hearts of His fellow Jews when he told them these facts and this is a warning to us:
I’m reading from Luke 4:22 - 28
Luke 4:22 And all bore him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph's son?
Luke 4:23 - And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country.
Luke 4:24 - And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.
Luke 4:25 - But I tell you the truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land;
Luke 4:26 - But unto none of them was Elijah sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.
Luke 4:27 - And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian.
Luke 4:28 - And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath…’
A commentary on 4:28 reads: ‘The people of Nazareth understood exactly what He meant (by these examples). They were infuriated by the mere suggestion of favor being shown to Gentiles. Bishop Ryle comments:
Man bitterly hates the doctrine of the sovereignty of God which Christ had just declared. God was under no obligation to work miracles among them.’
***
(This is a good reminder when praying. GOD does not answer to me.)
· The good news found in Luke 4:18 begins with Jesus’ declaration:
‘He came to preach the gospel to the poor;…’
· The Son of God came to bring us salvation, but it’s more than forgiveness of sin.
· It is new life, eternal life and that life begins now. Today if anyone chooses.
· The way to experience new spiritual life, eternal life, is found in John 3:15-18 when Jesus answered a religious leader who visited his camp at night.
· John 3:15 - that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
· John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
· John 3:17 - For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
· John 3:18 - "He who believes in Him is not condemned;
Believe in these verses and in the context of salvation is:
Believe - From G4102; to have faith (in, upon, or with respect to, a person or thing), that is, credit; by implication to entrust (especially one’s spiritual wellbeing to Christ): - believe (-r), commit (to trust), put in trust with.
Faith – G4102: persuasion, that is, credence; moral conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), especially reliance upon Christ for salvation; abstractly constancy in such profession; by extension the system of religious (Gospel) truth itself: - assurance, belief, believe, faith, fidelity.
· This is not complicated, but even then salvation is often misunderstood.
· To believe is more than the intellectual assent, though it certainly involves our minds. If belief stops with the mind nothing of eternal value happens.
· Why do I say this? Because the Bible says in James 2:19 & 20 – ‘You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!
· James 2:20 – ‘But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?’
· Now, we have to be careful here and use wisdom.
· James is not writing we are saved from hell by good works. If that were possible why did Jesus die on the cross?
· What he means is that having saving faith in Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection results in good works.
· In other words, we are to live a good life evidenced by obeying GOD’s commands in the Bible.
· And on that topic, I know people in our day do not like the word Command.
· Well, let’s look at the number one command, according to the Bible:
· It’s found in Matthew 22:37 (and also Mark 12:30 and Luke 10:27) I’ll read down through verse 39.
· Matthew 22:37 – ‘Jesus said to him, 'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.'
· Matthew 22:38 - This is the first and great commandment.
· Matthew 22:39 - And the second is like it: 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.'
· There are several things to look for within ourselves if we want assurance we are forgiven. To know our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
· We will love GOD by complying with His teachings in the Bible.
· This means we must read the Bible.
· It also means we will love others by the way we treat them, yes, even in traffic.
· But also how we show mercy, or forgive, or help those in need.
· The possibilities are endless.
· Let me add: it takes time to develop a strong confident faith. It takes going beyond belief, something we look at in Episode 6 -
Summary:
· GOD appeared in human history in human form during Luke’s time. One reason He came as a man is so we can relate to Him. He is a being of love and light and this can be hard to comprehend.
· But if you will study the Gospels by scanning through to find all the interactions Jesus had with hurting people, an awareness of Jesus’ deep love for people begins to form in the heart.
· Love is more necessary to us than food though not so apparent.
· Light in the physical realm is necessary to live and in the spiritual realm, it represents truth. Without the truth of the Gospel, we die in our spirits, eternally.
· Many people around us are the walking dead and don’t even know it.
· I want to leave you with this question: We who know the saving power of the Gospel – we have experienced new life, what will we do for those who will spend forever in pain and darkness if we don’t shine light upon their souls?
Action to consider:
· Set aside a quiet moment away from all distractions. If you don’t have a ready place, and it’s okay to laugh at this, but a clothes closet works because the clothing absorbs sound.
· Anyway, read the accounts of Jesus’ crucifixion. Think about what it took for the Almighty Son of GOD to submit to that heinous crime, and the pain He endured.
· He did it all for us you know, for all who believe in Him. For all who have yet to trust Him.
· Contemplating the Cross should give us an understanding of the blessings we inherited through the Gospel Jesus proclaimed.
· At the very least this should bring joy, if even in small measure.
Next week’s episode: Hearing His Voice -