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JESUS SAID :
“I CAME TO SET THE CAPTIVES FREE.”
Highlight of this message :
Every time we have the holy season of Christ’s resurrection , we remind ourselves
of our own personal resurrection. If there is no resurrection the mission of Christianity would have been futile.
Christianity is the only faith, which promises the adherents the resurrection of the dead.
The main text of today’s message is taken from Luke 4:18-19: “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, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”
This reading is the summation of Christ’s mission and it was unveiled at the synagogue.
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Preamble:
Reading from John 6 : 37:
All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. (John 6 : 37-39).
Remember Jesus earlier had said : “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3 :16).
From many directions Jesus is restating many scriptural truths thereby making them more authentic and assuring.
Jesus told us that those the Father gives to him will come to Him and they that come to Him, He will in no wise cast out. Have you chosen Christ or are you sent by God for an overriding matter? He Jesus will receive you.
THE MESSAGE TODAY:
The Mission of the Christ.
What a great opportunity!
As many as come to Him, either direct from the father or on their own volition , He will not cast out. Those who come to Jesus in faith, consecrating their lives to Him , giving up sin and serving Him, will not be cast out.
Position of those who come to Jesus :
Some are:
Blind : those who are blind in body, soul and spirit in other words those in darkness,
or captives or oppressed: those who are completely shattered, oppressed and broken. The sick and traumatised. All these Christ has been annointed to heal. Jesus came to set them free and to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. Jesus also came to remind the world of judgement. This He mentioned, when He spoke about the acceptable year of the Lord, which is the year of His vengeance.
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Meditate on this before you continue:
Many of us are accepting every other thing Christ came to do, to heal, to deliver to open doors, bring about prosperity, but are silent about the acceptable year of the Lord, which will come on the judgement day. Jesus called that the acceptable year of the Lord.
Can you continue now?
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And here He said :
“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, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” (Luke 4 : 18 – 19).
Jesus is an exciting Saviour and no where else shall we find the grace which dwells in Him. No great man on this earth, has ever promised even a jot of what he promised.
We have a very great opportunity.
What are we doing about our condition? The essential thing to tackle are not the problems which confront us, but the concern is whether we shall be resurrected on the last day.
No one is excluded, those who come in faith are entitled to the benefits which Jesus is sharing to all humanity. He will not cast out anyone who comes in faith. (John 6 : 37 – 39).
This same Jesus was promised to mankind in Isaiah 61 :1-2, with the same words he proclaimed in Luke 4 : 18, in the synagogue.
“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; (Isaiah 61 : 1 – 2).
Three Stage Presence of Christ.
1. He came in the first advent and did all the work of physical and spiritual healing of men. He handed power to men to continue the preaching of the kingdom and doing what He did.
2. He died (shed His blood) and rose again and we remember this as we celebrate this Holy week called Easter among many peoples of the world. He promised to raise those who follow His steps. This promise He gave us in John 6 : 39 as follows :
“And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. ( John 6 : 39).
Every believer who celebrates this season, must remind himself that he will have his own experience of the resurrection.
3. Jesus will come again and as he went to heaven an heavenly visitor proclaimed His return:
“Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” (Acts 1 : 11).
This expectation was confirmed by the apostle Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4 : 16 – 17:
“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
The work has been accomplished.
We are waiting for our own resurrection . This is the ultimate of being a christian, that as Christ rose from the dead, faithful christians shall rise to meet Him in the sky at the rapture of the dead and the living.
This occasion shall come as a thief in the night. Are you ready for the rapture.
Song for the moment :
On the last day only true believers shall be raptured.
If Christ appears today, will you meet Him in the sky? Judge yourself, but we have been given an opportunity to do the will of the Father.
Miracle. Valley Sermons April 1st. 2018.
Rev. Prof. P. C. Nnaocha.
outreach.mvgm@yahoo.com
Website : www.mvgmng.org.
Kindly leave your questions and comments below.