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Isaiah 61
9-5-2011
I had a dream that I was at the Burning Man gathering. In the dream, there was a room full of “burners” and there were Christians mixed in with them. I began to preach Isaiah 61. I began to declare why the Spirit of the Lord was upon us. As I began to preach, all the burners began to leave. They didn’t have time for another preachers sermon. Very soon, all that was left were the Christians. In the dream, I was devastated because I had come to draw the “burners” to Jesus and now I was “preaching to the choir”. I immediately understood that it wasn’t my job to preach Isaiah 61 to people that don’t know the Love of Jesus but to preach it to the church, that the church is to do Isaiah 61 for those that don’t yet know Him and in that context the lost would turn to Him.
“The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because He has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent me to heal the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.” -Isaiah 61: 1-3
“He has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor.....”
Bridling Our Tongue
Preaching requires the skillful use of the tongue. It is what James is talking about when he teaches about the tongue in James chapter 3 (read it).
What are glad tidings?
In Luke 2:10 those glad tidings were that the deliverer of mankind that would save us all from our sins was born. The war was beginning to end. The war between man and his creator. The good tidings in Luke 2 were that the Messiah, the deliverer of Israel was born. There was one born who could set captives free and wash away the sins of mankind. The angel of The Lord told them that He brought them good tidings of great joy. Great joy was associated with these good tidings. The anointing of the Holy Spirit is on us, as Jesus’ church so that we could bring a message of good news, a message of hope. If this what we are using our mouth to do? Do we use our mouths to bring hope to hopeless people? Or do we use what God gave us for another reason? Do our words bring hope in the hearts of the hearers?
Another way of saying glad tidings, is good news. They are one in the same and they basically mean the same thing.
“As cold water to a weary soul, so is good news from a far country” -Proverbs 25:25
As Jesus’ church, we are anointed for the purpose of bringing good news to weary souls and our words are to be to them as a cup of cold water to a weary soul. The lost around us are weary under the tyranny of sin and the oppression of the harsh task master of the spirit of the age. We, as Jesus’ church, those that Jesus has delegated authority to, are to be the ones loosing them from the prison system of sin and to bring them the glad tidings of the Savior of mankind. To bring them the good news that there is a deliverer that can set them free and that they don’t have to live under the oppression of the powers of sin and death. We can tell when we are doing this right when our words are like cold water to a weary soul. I want my words to have that kind of effect on everyone around me. This is our calling and one of the primary reasons for the anointing of the Holy Spirit.
Christian, do your words have that kind of effect on lost, weary souls? Do your words bring relief and hope to those around you? Or do they break them down? Are your words that of the God that so loved the world that He gave all the wealth of His own house, His only begotten Son that they may be saved? Or are your words that of the accuser of the brethren? Are your words furthering the interests of Jesus Christ or are they furthering the interests of that satan that wants all lost souls to burn in hell for eternity? When you examine your life, do you look more like a liberator of the lost or a prison guard, holding the keys to the freedom of lost souls and pointing your finger at them, thus keeping them in prison and marring the character of the God you say you represent? It’s time to repent and return to the Lord our God as a church that this broken generation would know the Love of their Savior through us.
Why is it that every time we try and picture a revival preacher that saves souls, they are mean and angry looking. Why are they always yelling? Where do we get this picture from? The last time I read my bible, the only time Jesus talked to and related to lost people the we do, that is being really mean to them and making them feel bad about themselves is when He was speaking to the hypocritical religious leaders of His day that named the name of God and totally marred His character. The Spirit of the Lord wasn’t on Jesus so that He could point fingers at and be mean to lost people like we have been doing.
The Spirit of the Lord was on Him and is on us so that we could be the answer to the poverty that has stricken the human race. The Spirit of the Lord is on us so that we can in turn, use that strength to serve the lost and lowly. It’s not so that we can be known, but so that the heart of God would be made known. It’s not to build our reputation but to display the goodness of the God who’s name is Love that those that don’t know Him might turn to Him and find live. That the Son of Man would receive the reward of His suffering!
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon us so that we can have what it takes to truly comfort those who mourn around us.
The lost have no strength to deliver themselves. They need a deliverer. This is why the Holy Spirit has anointed us. That the lost would be delivered. That the poor would be comforted. That those stuck in prisons would go free in the name of Jesus.
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