The Sunday Conversation | with Pastor Luke Okoro | 19. 12. 2021
Isaiah 61:1-3. Luke 4:16-19.
John 3:16. Romans 5:8.
16: And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up, and as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
17: And there was delivered unto Him the book of Esaias. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written.
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.
19: To preach the acceptable year of the Lord”…
21: And He began to say unto them, ” This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears”.
Luke 4:16-19, 21.
The coming of Jesus the Christ to earth is also a fulfilment of the prophecy of Isaiah in Isaiah 61 , which Jesus quoted in Luke 4, as outlined above. If Jesus didn’t come in human nature, Isaiah would have been declared a false prophet, And the Bible would have been rendered a fable, a book of mere stories like some other religious books which are the the make-up of deceitful men.
Today we have the blessed and convincing assurances of God of all that He has given us or promised us because Jesus came to authenticate them.
This doesn’t negate the place of faith in our walk with God. Indeed, believing in the Sonship of Jesus is also an act of faith. I had once preached Jesus to somebody : that He came to save him from sin and all that. The person looked at me and said: Did I ask your Jesus to come and die for me? Or to save me ? Please don’t tell that.
He walk away. And I pitied him and imagined what future lay ahead of him without Jesus. Many wallow in this unbelief and hubris.
Yes, many don’t believe our story and that is why other things that Jesus can do or establish or fulfil will pass such people by because of unbelief.
His birth, death and resurrection gave us wealth because Jesus took away our poverty here on earth , and gave us riches in glory by His Father who owns the heavens and earth. Whereas some of us may quarrel with the disproportionate emphasis on the prosperity aspect of the gospel to that of SALVATION, the truth is that Jesus became poor on Calvary that we might be rich. Those who have this understanding dominate their environment and live above poverty and lack, as well as above sicknesses and diseases, to the glory of God the Father. Deuteronomy 8:18 tells us that it’s God who teaches our hands to make wealth.
This is wisdom that comes from God. In Matthew 3:16-17, the Bible says that heavens were opened to Jesus immediately He was baptized. When a man gets an encounter with Jesus,such a man receives open heavens of favor, grace and mercy – all of which drive away poverty, disease and lack. I am a beneficiary by His grace.
But beyond the fact the Jesus the Christ proved to humankind the existence of God as we read in John 14, the arrival of Jesus on earth also affirms that God is everywhere. As a Spirit who dwelt among us, Jesus showed that God can be everywhere. The import of this should make mankind conscious of God in all they do. In Hebrews 4:13, the Bible says that the eyes of God are everywhere, and that the actions of men are open and naked before God with whom we have to deal with on the Day of reckoning. And the Bible asks,: if you Know this, dear brethren, what manner of man should you be?
Arising from His coming to earth is that God is all-powerful. This understanding should encourage every believer because we have a God who is all – powerful: to save, to deliver and to punish all wickedness and injustice against His saints. Those of us who usually leave vengeance to God can attest that occasionally God proves this point on our behalf to strengthen our faith to allow Him to fight for us. Years back a neighbor challenged us where we planted a Church. She boasted that she was a SENIOR WITCH, and that we should not try her.
God deleted her. And the Church stood. God is all-powerful.Jesus asked Paul in Acts 9,:why are you kicking against the brick? God’s power is incomparable. Put your trust in Him.
Going through the prophecy of Isaiah as captured in our quoted passage, Jesus also came to demonstrate God’s unfailing love to mankind. The Bible says : For God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten Son… . Yes love drove God to Sacrifice His only Begotten Son to take human nature to save mankind. For while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8. That is the highest price anybody can pay in love relationship.
But God did it , even for human beings who hated His Son, and also crucified Him to die a sinner’s death..on the Cross. At this point, I am persuaded to ask: How much do you love Him? How much is your sacrifice,? What is the value content of your service? If we reduce your love for God in Insurable entity, what will be the premium? God’s love came in form of a relationship with mankind. Have you established any relationship with Him? Having a relationship with the Father through Jesus the Christ makes answering the other questions cool and reasonable.
We must not forget that He is a just God ,who will deal with each man according to their investment with Him. A just God will not short- change anybody. He’s not like our earthly leaders who are nepotic, ethnocentric, partial and bias for one reason or the other. You can depend on Him to give you justice and to treat you as fairly.
The Bible says He knows all our fears. So Jesus came to feel our fears, and to help us overcome them because He was once here on earth. He knows how temptation feels. He knows how pain feels. He knows how human governments can be wicked and unGodly. Wherefore, you can trust Him to answer you because He is all- knowing.
We will conclude this Conversation on Jesus the Christ with a survey on the Wonders of His faithfulness, more so, as He came to heal the brokenhearted next week.
Happy Sunday. God bless.
(To be concluded next edition).
•Pastor Okoro can be reached on
08051000462.
Or: lukeokoro2005@ yahoo.com
December 19.
