Luke 4:14-19 Disciples’ Literal New Testament
Jesus Returns To Galilee And Begins Teaching In Their Synagogues
14 And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit. And news about Him went out throughout the whole surrounding-region. 15 And He was teaching in their synagogues, while being glorified by all.
Jesus Comes To Nazareth And Reads Isaiah 61:1-2 In The Synagogue
16 And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought-up. And in accordance with the thing having become-a-custom with him, He entered into the synagogue on the day of the Sabbath, and stood up to read. 17 And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to Him. And having unrolled the scroll, He found the place where it had been written [in Isa 61:1-2]: 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because of which He anointed Me to announce-good-news to poor ones. He has sent me out to proclaim a release to captives and recovery-of-sight to blind ones, to send-out with a release ones having been broken[a], 19 to proclaim the acceptable[b] year of the Lord”.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
For The Work of the Ministry
Luke 4:18-19 Complete Jewish Bible
18 “The Spirit of Adonai is upon me;
therefore he has anointed me
to announce Good News to the poor;
he has sent me to proclaim freedom for the imprisoned
and renewed sight for the blind,
to release those who have been crushed,
19 to proclaim a year of the favor of Adonai.”[a]
Jesus began His ministry in the cities around the lake of Galilee. He then made an extensive journey into Judea where he did many miracles. He soon gained a reputation throughout the land as a doer of good deeds, a worker of miracles.
Word had come back to Nazareth, his hometown, of the remarkable things he had been doing. Now he has returned and everyone in town knows that he will be in the synagogue on the sabbath day. They all turn out to hear him for they are anxiously hoping he will do some of the miracles he has done in other cities.
But in the synagogue, instead he calls for the scroll of the prophet Isaiah and unrolls it to what we know as Isaiah 61.
Isaiah 61:1-9 Complete Jewish Bible
61 The Spirit of Adonai Elohim is upon me,
because Adonai has anointed me
to announce good news to the poor.
He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted;
to proclaim freedom to the captives,
to let out into light those bound in the dark;
2 to proclaim the year of the favor of Adonai
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn,
3 yes, provide for those in Tziyon who mourn,
giving them garlands instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
a cloak of praise instead of a heavy spirit,
so that they will be called oaks of righteousness
planted by Adonai, in which he takes pride.
4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins,
restore sites long destroyed;
they will renew the ruined cities,
destroyed many generations ago.
5 Strangers will stand and feed your flocks,
foreigners plow your land and tend your vines;
6 but you will be called cohanim of Adonai,
spoken of as ministers to our God.
You will feed on the wealth of nations,
and revel in their riches.
7 Because of your shame, which was doubled,
and because they cried, “They deserve disgrace,”
therefore in their land what they own will be doubled,
and joy forever will be theirs.
8 “For I, Adonai, love justice;
I hate robbery for burnt offerings.
So I will be faithful to reward them
and make an eternal covenant with them.”
9 Their descendants will be known among the nations,
their offspring among the peoples;
all who see them will acknowledge
that they are the seed Adonai has blessed.
What is the meaning of Cohanim? verse 6
How can other people tell when the Spirit of God is at work in a person’s life?
Will it be by the display of some strange phenomenon, or by a miraculous manifestation?
No, the Spirit-filled ministry will be the kind of ministry described by Isaiah. First, the work of the ministry is to proclaim the good news that God has not left the human race to struggle hopelessly in bewilderment, pain, and darkness.
God has done something about our condition.
He has acted to deliver us from darkness to light through his Son. The Lord of the Universe has gone to the cross and taken our sins upon him. Through the resurrection, he has given us his own life, which empowers us to truly live.
To tell this story is to preach the good news. To preach it to the poor doesn’t mean only those who are below the poverty line. The rich and the wealthy need to hear this good news too! Obviously, the prophecy goes echelons beyond mere physical poverty, penetrating deep to the spiritual poverty of men and women.
Then we’re to rather resoundingly proclaim freedom for the prisoners
, recovery of sight to the blind.
Release and recovery and life of sight. Liberty and light.
Do we know any captives, any people who are bound by outlooks and attitudes which hold them in captivity? Do we know of anyone who is struggling to free himself from hurtful habits which hold him in a vise-like grip? Do we know of any people who are locked into a pattern of poisonous hate or possessive greed which they seem powerless to break? Are you and I, we, such people ourselves?
There is good news! Savior Jesus Christ is able to set you free and give you sight.
The final element of a Spirit-filled ministry is to set at liberty those who are oppressed. At first glance this seems similar to proclaiming release to captives.
It is true that the end result is the same: liberty.
But the problem of oppression is a much deeper and far more serious one than mere captivity. Oppression has a demonic element about it. It is more than mere tyranny, there is also a terrible cruelty involved. It results in a sense of burden, of dejection, depression and division, coupled with helplessness, hopelessness.
Whose Doing the Work of the Ministry in the Church?
Ephesians 4:11-16 Disciples’ Literal New Testament
He Gave Gifted People To Equip The Saints To Build Up The Body of Christ To Maturity
11 And He Himself gave some as apostles, and others as prophets, and others as evangelists, and others as shepherds and teachers, 12 for[a] the equipping[b] of the saints for the work of ministry[c], for the building-up of the body of Christ 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature[d] man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, being tossed-about and carried-around by every wind of teaching, by the trickery of people, by craftiness with-regard-to[e] the scheme of [f] error[g], 15 but that while speaking-the-truth in love, we may grow as to all things into Him Who is the head— Christ, 16 from Whom the whole body, being fitted-together[h] and held-together by every joint of supply according to the working in measure of each individual part, is producing the growth of the body for the building-up of itself in love.
Former President of the United States John F. Kennedy famously once said,
“Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.”
Most Christians come to church with the consumer mentality that motivates them in the rest of life.
“What does this church … or that church have to offer me? Whichever one offers to meet my needs, I will go there.” Even the term “Church Service” no longer means, “A place where I can serve” but rather, “A place where I am served.”
Pastors and churches that want to be large often cater to this mentality.
They give up biblical preaching.
They only speak to felt needs.
They rarely talk about sin, judgment, the marriage of Christianity and politics, or anything that might make a person feel uncomfortable.
Since people do not seem to come to church to get what they really need, many churches have started to offer what society, culture, the people think they want.
Yet nationally, church numbers are still shrinking. Why? Because God did not design His church to be a place that focuses primarily on meeting felt needs.
God wants us to meet needs that most people do not even know they have.
For unbelievers, their greatest spiritual need is to hear that God loves them, forgives them, and thinks nothing but good about them. They need to hear that they can have eternal life, a relationship with God simply by believing in Jesus.
And one of the best ways for the church to share this message of God’s love and acceptance is to personally invite them to at least listen once, show it to them.
The church is the hands, feet, and voice of God, and people primarily learn about God’s love for them by how the church functions in this world.
But the church also has another function, and that is to teach and train those who believe in Jesus. God designed His church as a place where all believers can, should be taught God’s Word and be given opportunities to put it into practice.
The Great Commission in Matthew 28:16-20 commands us to make disciples—not just converts.
Matthew 28:16-20 Disciples’ Literal New Testament
Jesus Commissions The Eleven To Make Disciples of All Nations
16 And the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus ordered them. 17 And having seen Him, they worshiped Him. But the[a] ones doubted[b]. 18 And having come to them, Jesus spoke to them, saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth was given to Me. 19 Therefore having gone, make-disciples-of [c] all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to keep all that I commanded you. And behold— I am with you all the days until the conclusion of the age”.
So the primary functions of the church are to invite unbelievers to believe in Jesus for eternal life, and then to invite believers to follow Jesus in this life.
This entire process is called “salvation” in the Bible, and it is not just about how to go to heaven when you die, but also how to serve God, others, while we live on earth. The church must tell people how to be saved so that they can serve.
This understanding is critical for the life, health, and future of the church.
If we want to get back to being a triumphant victorious, life-changing church, each and every person within the church needs to begin by asking, in the words of John F. Kennedy, not what your church can do for you, but what you can do for your church. And that is exactly what Ephesians 4:11-16 covenants us to do.
As these unbelieving people come to believe in Jesus Christ alone as their Lord and Savior for eternal life, they become a critical part of the church structure—they become what we could term the living walls and the roof of God’s church.
And then we learned that the pastor/teachers are responsible for providing light and heat to the church.
They do this by speaking and living our the Word of God to Christians, thereby training Christians not just to know the Word of God, but apply it to their lives.
John 3:16-21 Disciples’ Literal New Testament
God Sent His Son Into The World That All Believing In Him May Have Eternal Life
16 “For[a] God so[b] loved the world that He gave His only-born Son, in order that everyone believing in Him may not perish, but may have eternal life. 17 For God did not send-forth the Son into the world in order that He might judge[c] the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. 18 The one believing in Him is not judged. But the one not believing has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only-born Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment[d]: that the Light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their works were evil. 20 For everyone practicing bad things hates the Light, and does not come to the Light in order that his works may not be exposed. 21 But the one doing the truth comes to the Light in order that his works may become-visible— that[e] they have been worked in[f] God”.
No one can ever accuse God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit of being indecisive, lazy or apathetic, or lacking any zealous desire for Church to be United and be Active and Sharper than any two edged sword ever forged.
The Anvil Of God’s Word — Does the Bible Change?
https://www.onlythebible.com/Poems/the-Anvil-of-Gods-Word-the-Bible.html
Last eve I passed beside a blacksmith’s door
And heard the anvil ring the vesper chime;
When looking in, I saw upon the floor,
Old hammers worn with beating years of time.
“How many anvils have you had,” said I,
“To wear and batter these hammers so?”
“Just one,” said he; then with a twinkling eye,
“The anvil wears the hammers out, you know.”
And so, I thought, the anvil of God’s Word,
For ages, skeptics blows have beat upon;
Yet, though the noise of falling blows was heard,
The anvil is unharmed – the hammers gone.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 100 Complete Jewish Bible
100 (0) A psalm of thanksgiving:
(1) Shout for joy to Adonai, all the earth!
2 Serve Adonai with gladness.
Enter his presence with joyful songs.
3 Be aware that Adonai is God;
it is he who made us; and we are his,
his people, the flock in his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
enter his courtyards with praise;
give thanks to him, and bless his name.
5 For Adonai is good, his grace continues forever,
and his faithfulness lasts through all generations.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 