GOD’S WORD FOR JANUARY 19

 Luke 4:25-26 ~ ~ “But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land;  but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow”

  HIS MISSION IS OUR MISSION ~ ~ Dr. Michael Youssef in his book

In the fullness of time, the servant came to announce (quoting the messianic passage in Isaiah 61:1-2) in Luke 4:18-19:

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,

Because the Lord has anointed Me

To preach good tidings to the poor;

He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,

To proclaim liberty to the captives,

And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,

And the day of vengeance of our God;

To comfort all who mourn,”

Then He rolled up the scroll of Isaiah and said, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”  God had promised Abraham, “All peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”  Jesus the Servant, a descendant of Abraham, was the fulfillment of that ancient promise.

Israel did occasionally make proselytes, welcoming non-Jews into its community of faith.  But on the whole, Judaism never became a missionary religion as God intended.  Instead, the people tended to draw ever more tightly into themselves.

So, Jesus manifested a new Israel, a true Israel, after His resurrection when He told His disciples:

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”  (Matthew 28:18-20)

The Servant is revealed to be the King, with all authority in heaven and on Earth.  Now He sends us out to make disciples.

So we must ask ourselves: Do we really understand what it means to serve the Suffering Servant?  Do we take this calling seriously?  Are we willing to suffer with Him in order to carry out the commission He gave us?

Or, do we merely want a Jesus who is enshrined in stained-glass images and stained-glass doctrines?  Do we want a Jesus who asks nothing of us, who is our Savior but not our Lord?  A Jesus who lays down His life so that we might live in comfort and ease?  That is not the Jesus of the Bible.  That is not the Jesus who has called us into His Kingdom.

The Jesus of the Bible calls us to take up our cross and follow Him.  He calls us to lose our lives in order to find life.  He calls us to pray, “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done.”    We cannot take part in the Kingdom of the Servant unless we are willing to follow the Servant, and pattern our lives after His.

In our culture, we see churches that preach “gospels” of prosperity or political power, churches that seem to welcome only one ethnic community, churches that are unwilling to serve the poor and outcasts, and churches that seem to draw a line between “us” and “them.”  Meanwhile, most of the world is sliding into eternity without Jesus.

We say that advancing the Kingdom of God is our first priority – but can the people around us see our Kingdom values in the way we run our businesses, use our money, or show hospitality to strangers?  Do we, in our churches and homes, draw boundary lines between ourselves and the world?  Do we hand a “Do not disturb” sign on our church doors in order to restrict membership in the Kingdom to people who meet our strict approval?

Ancient Israel was not a welcoming kingdom.  It did not preach the good news of Yahweh to neighboring tribes.  It did not invite foreigners to join in worshiping the one true God.  Have we in the Church become an exclusive club like that?

The church that seeks to restrict its membership and keep out the “riffraff” is not following the Servant.  It is merely worshiping a small, strange god made in its own image.

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Helen Steiner Rice:

He lived in a palace on a mountain of gold, surrounded by riches and wealth untold.

Priceless possessions and treasures of art, but he died alone of a hungry heart.

For man cannot live by bread alone, no matter what he may have or own.

For though he reaches his earthly goal he’ll waste away with a starving soul.

But he who eats of the holy bread will always find his spirit fed.

And even the poorest of men can afford to feast at the table prepared by the Lord.

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Helen Steiner Rice:

My blessings are so many, my troubles are so few.  How can I be discouraged when I know that I have you?

And I have the sweet assurance that there’s nothing I need to fear — if I  but keep remembering I am Yours and You are near.

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Psalm 46:5

God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved;

God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.

Matthew 17:20

So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.

Isaiah 37:35

I will shield and save this city for my own sake and the sake of David my servant.”

Isaiah 42:1

Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased. Upon him I have put my spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the nations.

Isaiah 43:10

You are my witnesses—oracle of the Lord— my servant whom I have chosen To know and believe in me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, and after me there shall be none.

Isaiah 60:19

Eternal Light for Zion  (New Jerusalem)

No longer shall the sun be your light by day, Nor shall the brightness of the moon give you light by night; Rather, the Lord will be your light forever, your God will be your glory.

Isaiah 44:1

Hear then, Jacob, my servant, Israel, whom I have chosen.

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