Today's Passage - Luke 4:16-24

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Luke 4:16-24   "He went to Nazareth... and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: 'The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.'"   In this passage, Jesus proclaimed the beginning of His mission. In verse 18 and 19, He quoted text from the Book of Isaiah, which clearly indicates the work on Messiah Savior, the savior whom the Israelites have been waiting for since Old Testament time. After reading the passage from Isaiah, Jesus said "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." He clearly proclaimed that He is the Savior who was to come, the Messiah whom Israelites have been waiting for. On the other hand, Jesus also wanted to clearly proclaim who He really was before He started His ministry, and then He would reaffirm who He really is through what He would do. From the work and word of Jesus, we know that He for sure is the Messiah promised in the Old Testament, and also our Savior.   The work that the Lord did on earth was to "preach good news to the poor." We may not look poor from the outside, but we are often poor inside, so we need to humbly come before God to acknowledge our needs, and be willing to receive the grace given by the Lord. He wants to free the prisoners, heal the blind and release the oppressed. Freeing the prisoners means the salvation of the soul; people who are in bondage of sin cannot have true freedom in their heart and spirit, and Jesus is here to free our souls from the authority of sin. Healing the blind means the healing of the body; people often lose hope when they are in all kinds of illness, but Jesus not only will save our spirit, but also heal our body, for the stripes He suffered on the cross will bring healing to us. Releasing the oppressed with freeing our soul; many people have bondage in their soul and emotion, and they live in the wound from the past that they cannot be freed from. Jesus will save our spirit, heal our body, and also free our soul. Hallelujah! His salvation is for our spirit, soul and body, and all our needs will be completely satisfied by Him!           Pray with Pastor Tong           Dear Lord, I ask that you fill everyone who's heard or read this message with the joy of salvation. Please bring forth salvation of our spirit, freedom of our soul and healing of our body. Let your power and authority be manifested in each of us, so that we may experience the truth and salvation from you in our life. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!