The Spirit of the Lord is on me.
The last few times I have spoken, I have looked at Isaiah and especially the second part of Isaiah which has parallels with the New Testament.
Firstly I looked at the Father’s heart for people in Isaiah 58. Then I looked at Jesus at the cross in Isaiah 53 and now I’m going to look at the Spirit in Isaiah 61 but through the passage as quoted in Luke 4.
First the context.
Chapter 3 of Luke tells us of John the Baptist quoting Isaiah 40 “Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting, “Clear the way through the wilderness for the Lord! Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God! Fill in the valleys, and level the mountains and hills. Straighten the curves, and smooth out the rough places.”
Isaiah 40:3-4 NLT
https://www.bible.com/116/isa.40.3-4.nlt
Jesus is then baptised and he then goes into the wilderness to defeat Satan as he tries to tempt him into following him and not the Father.
So then we pick up the story from Luke 4 v 14 “Then Jesus returned to Galilee, filled with the Holy Spirit’s power. Reports about him spread quickly through the whole region. He taught regularly in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures. The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written: “The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the LORD’s favor has come. ””
Luke 4:14-19 NLT
https://www.bible.com/116/luk.4.14-19.nlt
If you look at the Luke 4 version then you see that Jesus finished at proclaim the time of the Lords favour. The verses were only added in the 16th century so Jesus finished where he knew the Father had said to stop. The next line will come when Jesus returns so it is a clear statement. We live in the time of Gods favour.
How do we live in the time of Gods favour?
The Spirit of the Lord is on me. God wants someone with the Spirit of the Lord on people who work in the co-rotating twin screw industry, in the engineering industry, in the arts, in schools in hospital. In short everywhere. Jesus said you will do greater things I don’t think this is quality but He will do greater things in volume through us and through us being filled with the anointing Spirit of the Lord.
Heard recently how people find the first few months of their new born again lives cleaning up the past and then turning to face outwards to tell others. The same thing happened to Paul.
What I feel God wants to say to us as a church is that he wants us to continue to be filled with the Spirit afresh. We are to have the boldness of the spirit wherever we are.
The poor in spirit, the materially poor, to see the captives freed. That is captives to sin.
Take the opportunity to look to God to be filled with the Spirit.
Have no doubt he wants to fill you with his Spirit.
Don’t be afraid of the Spirit you are made righteous by Jesus at the cross.