These messages that I am preaching
today actually go together. There are
two messages in a series. This morning's message will be
on the subject, What Christ Came to Do. And tonight's message
will be on the subject, What His Ministers Are Sent to Do. I'd like for you to hear that
sermon tonight, What His Ministers Are Sent to Do. What Christ came
to do this morning will be heard Tuesday night on the radio broadcast,
and what His ministers are sent to do will be heard Thursday
night, the Lord willing, on the radio broadcast. Now turn back
to Luke chapter 4. Our text will be taken from Luke
4, verse 18, but I want to make two or three comments before
I read the text. Most people believe, most people
on this earth believe, at least to a certain extent, that a man
called Jesus Christ came to this earth 2,000 years ago. Most people
believe that. A man called Jesus Christ was
born in Bethlehem. They believe, most religious
people agree, that he was born of a virgin, supernaturally born,
came into this world, and was called the Son of God. Most people
believe, most religious people agree, that he lived a holy and
righteous life. And in order to find him guilty
and to convict him of death or of crimes worthy of death, they
had to hire false witnesses against him. And even then, after the
false witnesses had testified against him, the trial judge
said, I find no fault in this man. Nicodemus, one of the leaders
of the Pharisees, said, No man can do the miracles he does except
God be with him. And then he died on a cross.
He was crucified outside the walls of the city of Jerusalem
between two thieves, and many miracles occurred during his
hours of suffering and during the hour of his death, so that
at the close of his life, when he died, the Roman centurion,
the man who had helped nail him to the cross, stood and exclaimed,
surely this man was the Son of God. Some say he rose from the
grave. His disciples say that after
he arose from the grave he appeared to them and he appeared at one
time to over 500 brethren. And his disciples say that before
their very eyes he ascended to heaven with the promise that
he would come again. In fact, they said as he ascended
to heaven the angels appeared to them and the angels 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. His disciples wrote
that he ascended back to the Father where he sits today at
God's right hand, interceding for those who believe. Now then,
we agree that a man called Jesus Christ came to the earth. We
agree that he lived an exemplary life, a holy, righteous life.
We agree that he died on a cross. Most agree that he arose again,
and he's somewhere now. We believe at the right hand
of God. Now, the big question, the big question to be answered
here is this. Why did he come in the first
place? Why did he come to this world? We know the Father sent
him, for he said, As my Father sent me, even so send I you. We know the Father sent him,
and we know this, that whatever the Father sent him to do, he
did. because the triune God cannot
fail. The scripture says God cannot
fail. And when our Lord died on the
cross, he said it's finished. Whatever he came to do was finished.
Whatever he came to do, he did. Whatever God sent him to accomplish,
he did accomplish that very thing. Now the question is, why did
he come? What was he sent to do? And I
think the best place to go to find the answer to that question
is to find an occasion on which Jesus Christ dealt with this
himself. And that's what I tried to do
in studying for this message. The question before me was this.
Why did he come to this earth? Why did the Father send him?
What was his mission? What was his task? He did accomplish
it, I know that. He did whatever he came to do,
he did. If he came to be an example, he was the best example. If he
came to be a martyr, he died a martyr. If he came to perform
miracles, that's what he did. Whatever he came to do, he accomplished. What was his mission? What was
the task given him by the Father? And I think the best place to
find an answer to that is to find an occasion on which Christ
himself dealt with that subject. So I did in Luke chapter 4. Now look at it. Verse 18. The
Lord Jesus Christ said this, he said, the Spirit of the Lord
is upon me. Now where was he when he said
this? Well, the Lord Jesus was conceived by the Holy Ghost in
Nazareth. He wasn't born there, he was
born in Bethlehem. He was brought up in Nazareth
where he worked as a cartender. He left Nazareth and he went
throughout Capernaum, throughout Galilee, and by his ministry
and his miracles he acquired great fame. Word of these things
spread all over that section of the world. Word of his miracles
and his mighty deeds and his words spread all over that part
of the country, and these words came back to Nazareth where he
was brought up, where he lived. And on the Sabbath day he came
back to Nazareth, back to the synagogue, and as his custom
was, on the Sabbath day he went to the synagogue to worship.
Everybody knew he was back in town. Everybody knew that he
would be at the synagogue on the Sabbath day, because on the
Sabbath day, that's where he was. As his custom was, he was
in the house of God. And there was a great crowd on
hand to hear from him. And I know that buzzing through
that congregation before the service started, there must have
been questions like this. Who is this man? What's going
on here? What of these things that we
have heard, how the blind see, and the deaf hear, and the lame
walk, and the dead are raised? Is not this the carpenter? Do
we not know him? Do we not know his parents, his
family? He's lived here for thirty-odd
years. What's going on here? Just who
is this? And why did he come? And who
sent him? And then the Lord Jesus Christ
stood up and he deals with those questions, he answers those questions,
and he clearly defines his mission. And he starts out this way in
verse 18, "...the Spirit of the Lord is upon me." Now first,
he selected a Messianic prophecy. This is taken from Isaiah 61. Turn to Isaiah 61 while you hold
Luke 4. We'll come back to it, but in
Isaiah 61, all of the Jewish teachers, all of the Jewish leaders,
all of the Pharisees and teachers of the scripture agree that this
is a Messianic prophecy. This writing in Isaiah 61 is
written concerning the Messiah, the Deliverer, the Christ, the
Redeemer who was to come. This was written hundreds of
years before Christ came. And he chose this scripture.
This is what he read that Sabbath morning in the synagogue when
the word was handed to him. He turned deliberately to Isaiah
61, and he read, The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because
the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings to the meek.
He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty
to the captives, the opening of prison to them that abound,
to proclaim the acceptable year, the year of jubilee of the Lord,
and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all that mourn.
And every one of those Jews present in that service that Sabbath
morning knew that that was written of the Messiah. That was written
of the Messiah. And in Luke chapter 4, verse
21, he startled them again with this statement, in Luke 4.21,
and he said after he read that 61st chapter of Isaiah, he said,
This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. This scripture
is fulfilled this day. I am the Messiah. I am the Christ. I am the Anointed One. Jesus
Christ was no self-styled prophet. Jesus Christ was no self-styled
messiah like a lot of the so-called messiahs and prophets of the
past several hundred years, but he was the one who was chosen
of the Father, appointed of the Father, ordained of the Father,
and anointed of the Father. Turn to Hebrews 5. I want to
show you something here in the 5th chapter of Hebrew. It's talking
about the priesthood. It's talking about the Old Testament
sacrifices, and it says in Hebrews 5, verse 1, Every high priest
taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining
to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins,
who can have compassion on the ignorant and on them that are
out of the way, for that he himself also is compassed with infirmities.
And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for
himself to offer for sin." Now watch this. No man taketh this
honor unto himself. A man can't be a high priest
just because he wants to be. A man can't just proclaim himself
a high priest because he decides to be a high priest. No man takes
this honor unto himself. No man selects this job as a
vocation, as a profession, but he that's called of God. as was
Aaron. God the Father picks the high
priest, God chooses the high priest, God ordains the high
priest, God anoints the man who's to speak for Him and minister
for Him and intercede for the people. That's something God
does. No man takes this honor to himself. Look at verse 5.
So also Christ glorified not Himself to be made an high priest. The Father made Him the high
priest. That's the reason he said, the
Spirit of the Lord is upon me. He hath chosen me to be the Messiah. He hath chosen me to be the Redeemer. I am no self-styled Messiah. I'm no voluntary high priest. I have been chosen for this job. And then in John chapter 4, turn
over there just a moment. In the fourth chapter of John,
verse 25, our Lord was sitting there on the well talking to
this Samaritan woman, and he says in verse 24, God is a spirit,
John 4, 24, God is a spirit, and they that worship him must
worship him in spirit and in truth. And the woman said, now
listen, this is very solemn. And the woman said, I know. She
knew it, and all the other Jewish people and proselytes knew it.
She was a Samaritan, but she said, I know that the Messiah
which is called Christ, and when he comes he'll tell us all things. That'll be the answer when the
Messiah comes. And Jesus said unto her, I that
speak unto thee am he. I am the Messiah. The Spirit
of God is upon me. I know why I came. I know that
the Father chose me, anointed me, ordained me, and sent me,
and the Spirit of the Lord is upon me. There is no other Messiah.
There's never been one before. There's not one now, and there
won't be one hereafter. I am He. I am the Messiah." So
that's the first thing he set forth on this Sabbath morning
to that crowd of religious men and women. He says, I am the
Messiah. The Spirit of the Lord is upon
me. I am the sent one, I am the Redeemer,
I am the one of whom all the Old Testament prophecies speak,
I am the one to whom all of the Old Testament sacrifices point,
I am the one of whom Abraham wrote and Moses wrote, I am he. Now read on. He hath anointed
me to preach the gospel to the poor. Now Jesus Christ came to
proclaim the gospel. The gospel is the good news of
God's grace. Christ didn't come to enforce
the law. He obeyed it, he honored it,
but he came to proclaim the gospel. Jesus Christ came to proclaim
the good news of salvation, that a ransom has been found, that
God will be reconciled sinners. that forgiveness and mercy is
available through the blood of the Son of God to all who will
believe, that God is pleased to deal with sinners not in justice
but in mercy. I've come, Christ said, to preach
that. I've come to proclaim it. I've
come to declare it, the good news of God's grace. And I've
come to preach it to the poor. Now if you'll turn back to Isaiah,
chapter 61, you'll find that the prophet Isaiah said, when
he was writing of the Messiah, when he was prophesying of his
coming, that he would preach good tidings, good news, that's
the gospel, good news, to the meek. To the meek. And that's what this word poor
means here. It means the meek. It means those
who are poor in spirit. Christ said, I've come to declare
the good news of mercy and grace and salvation to those who are
poor in spirit, who are aware of their spiritual poverty. They
have humble thoughts of themselves. They have low thoughts of their
own righteousness. They can say with the Apostle
Paul, in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. They can say with
David, I was shapen in sin, I was conceived in iniquity, I was
brought forth speaking lies. They know that they are sinners. I've come to declare glad tidings,
good news, grace and mercy to those who are poor in spirit. Author Pink said, a man who is
poor in spirit is a man who realizes by the power of God's Spirit
that he has nothing, spiritually that is. that he knows nothing,
and that he can do nothing, that he is totally, completely, and
absolutely bankrupt, and there is no good thing dwelling in
him anywhere, and that, as Isaiah said, even his righteousnesses
are filthy rags. Have you ever seen that? Christ
said, to proclaim good news to the poor in spirit. George Whitfield was traveling
to an engagement to preach. This happened two or three hundred
years ago. He was the companion of John
and Charles Wesley, and he was traveling to a place to preach,
and he stopped to spend the night at a friend's house. This friend
was a fairly wealthy man. He had servants, and He preached
that night, and there was a young lady, one of the servants, who
heard him preach. He preached in this home. They
asked him to preach while he was there, and he did. And this
young lady heard him preach, and after the service she came
up to him and she asked if she could speak to him a few minutes,
and he said yes. And she said, well, she said,
I want to be saved. I want this salvation that I
heard you speak about. I want to have this relationship,
this interest in Jesus Christ that you talk about. What should
I do?" And Mr. Whitfield said, well, young lady,
he said, I'm coming back through here in a week or so. I'm going
to stop again, and I'm going to stop here and preach and visit
with these friends, spend the night. While I'm gone, I want
you to pray earnestly and sincerely unto God, Lord, show me myself. That's all you need to pray.
Ask God to show you yourself, to let you have a real look at
what dwells within you, in your heart, in your mind, in your
imagination. Ask God to show you what you
really are in his sight, without a covering, without his mercy. And so he left. He came back
in a week or so, two weeks, and came back to the home, and he
was speaking to the lady of the house, and he asked about this
young servant girl. The lady of the house said, well,
Mr. Whitfield said, shortly after
you left, she became despondent and wept all the time. She couldn't
do her work. She's here now, but she's not
of much use to us. She just weeps all the time and
moans and cries. And Whitfield said, well, could
you let me see her? Could you tell me where she is?
And so this lady took Mr. Whitfield to see the young girl,
and she was sitting in her room, weeping at that time. And when
he walked in, she jumped up and she said, Oh, Mr. Whitfield,
I did what you said. I asked God to show me myself,
and Mr. Whitfield, he has shown me what
an awful, wretched sinner I am. Oh, Mr. Whitfield, there's no
hope for me. God would never save a wretch
like me. He said, young lady, I want you
to pray this prayer now. Lord, show me thyself. You have
shown me myself, my sin, my guilt. Now, God, please show me yourself. Reveal to me your mercy and your
grace in Christ. Well, a short time later he was
back at that home, and this young lady had come to the knowledge
of Christ because she had seen the two most important things
that a man can see. First, his sin. Second, his Savior. First, his guilt. Second, God's
grace. First, his wickedness. Christ
said, I came to preach good news, God's grace, God's mercy. To whom? To the guilty, to the
poor in spirit. to those who are spiritually
bankrupt. Second thing quickly, why did he come? He goes on,
he says, he sent me to heal the brokenhearted. Now this is the
mission of Christ. This is why Jesus Christ came
to this earth. He came to preach good news to
the guilty and to heal the brokenhearted. Now turn with me to the book
of Psalms. Psalms chapter I want you to
turn and follow in your Bible, Psalm 34. Now listen to this.
If this is not the most important thing you'll hear today, I don't
know what the most important thing is. Now listen to Psalm
34, verse 18. The Lord is nigh unto them. Now
I want to get in right there, don't you? If you've got any
sense, you do too. The Lord is nigh unto somebody.
The Lord is near to somebody. To whom? Read on. The Lord is
known to them that are of a broken heart, and the Lord saitheth
such as be of a contrite spirit. The Lord hath sent me, Christ
said, to heal the brokenhearted." Turn to Psalm 51. Psalm 51, listen to it. In Psalm
51, verse 17, listen to this. The sacrifices of God are a broken
spirit. Now this world admires a proud
spirit, a haughty spirit, a cocky spirit, an arrogant spirit. But
God resists at the proud, and God gives grace to the humble.
Now you can choose to be arrogant and proud and cocky if you want
to, and God has ways of taking that out of you. But God is known
to them of a broken heart, and God's sacrifices are a broken
a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise."
Now turn to Psalm 147. It must be important, he just
keeps saying it. In Psalm 147, verse 3, listen
to this, "...he healeth the broken in heart, and he bindeth up their
wounds." He does. He does business with a man with
a broken heart. Now listen to me. I'm going to
define There are people who are broken-hearted because of failure.
Failure. They failed in their quest, in
their goal. They haven't attained their goal.
They fail, and they're broken-hearted over their failure. There are
people who are broken-hearted over disappointment. There are
people who are broken-hearted because they're lonely. There
are people who are broken-hearted because they're in sorrow. They've
lost loved ones. They've lost close friends. But
that's not what's meant here at all. When it says, Christ
says, I came to preach good news to the poor, to the meek, to
the poor in spirit. I've come to heal the brokenhearted. The brokenhearted here are not
those whose hearts are broken over failure or disappointment
or loneliness or sorrow. That's not meant here any more
than the first statement meant people who are in financial poverty.
Christ didn't come to preach the gospel to the fellow that
doesn't have any money. That's not what he meant. And
neither does it say he came to heal those whose hearts are broken
because of some sorrow or loneliness. The brokenhearted here are those
whose hearts have been broken and made contrite by the word
of God because of a deep awareness of their sins. Now, a man is said by the Holy
Spirit or by the Word of God to be under Holy Spirit conviction
when three things are true. Number one, when he acknowledges
his sin, not the world's sin, not the nation's sin, not the
city's sin, not the community's sin, not the family's sin, his
sin. My sins, David said, are ever
before me. God says, come, let us reason
together, though your sins be escorted." Yours, not mine and
yours, yours. And a man's under Holy Spirit
conviction when he can say, Lord, be merciful to me, be sinner. My sins. I don't know anything
about your sin, but I do know something about my sins. And
not a way in the world that you can prove, not a way in this
world that you can prove that I did anything wrong last week,
not a way in this world. But I can prove it because I
lived with it and experienced it and I know it and I feel it. And you are the only one who
can face your sins and acknowledge your sins. And then secondly,
a man's under conviction, turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 7. a
man is under conviction when he not only acknowledges his
sins, his sins, but secondly, he acknowledges that his sins
are against God. David said, O God, against thee
and thee only have I sinned. In 2 Corinthians 7, verse 9,
Paul said, I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, I don't
like to see you cry. Paul said, I'm not rejoicing
that you're blue and in despair and brokenhearted, but I'm rejoicing
that you're sorrowed to repentance, for you were made sorry after
a godly manner. Verse 10, For godly sorrow worketh
repentance to salvation, not to be repented of, but the sorrow
of the world worketh death. Two kinds of sorrow. Here's a
man who's sorry for his sins because he got caught. Here's
a man who's sorry for his sins because they were against God.
There's all the difference in the world. This man won't repent,
this man won't be saved, this man won't come to God, this man
will. Here's a man who's sorry for
his sins because somebody found out about them. He's sorry for
his sins because it cost him a lot of money. He's sorry for
his sins because it cost him his job. He's sorry for his sins
because it cost him his family. He's sorry for his sins because
it cost him his reputation. Here's a man who's sorry for
his sins because they were against God. He has offended a holy God. He has violated the law of the
living God. He has transgressed the principles
and glory of the living God. That's godly sorrow, and that's
real conviction. This man is sorry for his sins
if they're never discovered, if they're never exposed, if
they're never brought to light, if they're never revealed, he's
sorry for his sins. That's repentance. Thirdly, and
he's brokenhearted over them. Tears of sorrow. He's brokenhearted
because he has failed, miserably, utterly failed the living God. And he's sorry. His heart's broken.
And Christ said, I came to heal the brokenhearted. I came to
give comfort. I've come to pardon his sins
and give him comfort. Turn to Romans 7. Paul found
that comfort. Paul found that healing. Paul
found that balm. For he said in Romans chapter
7, listen to it, verse 23, Romans 7, 23, Paul says, I see another
law in my members. warring against the law of my
mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in
my members. O wretched man that I am! There
is first of all acknowledging my sins. O wretched people that
we are! That's not what he says. O wretched
man that I am! Who shall deliver me from this
body of death? Here is the joy, here is the
comfort, here is the healing balm. I thank God through Jesus
Christ, our Lord. Christ said, I came to heal the
brokenhearted, the man whose heart is broken over his sins. I came to heal him. I came to
give him a reason to rejoice. I came to give him a reason to
be glad. I came to give him a reason to
praise the Lord, because his sins are forgiven. Thy sins are
forgiven through Christ. It's all okay. And then in the
next place, Luke 4, let's look at it again. Spirit of God is
upon me, he hath anointed me to preach good news to the poor
in spirit. He hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted,
brokenhearted overseeing. He hath sent me to preach deliverance
to the captives. Who are these? These are captives
of sin. These are captives of Satan. These are captives of the law,
which we all are by nature. which we all are by choice, which
we all are by practice. Listen to Paul writing over the
book of Ephesians. It says, You have bequickened,
verse 2, verse 1, who were dead in trespasses and sin, wherein
in times past you walked according to the course of this world,
according to the prince of the pie of the air, the spirit that
now worketh in the children of disobedience, among whom we all
had our conversation, our behavior, in the lust of the flesh the
desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children
of wrath. We were captives of the law. Now, if a man goes out and breaks
the law, he commits a crime, and the police arrest him and
put him in prison. He's not a captive of the warden. The warden is just enforcing
the law. He's not a captive even of the
guards. He's not a captive even of the
stone walls. He's a captive of the law. The
law has that man in captivity and the law holds that man. He
happens to be in this particular place. If he were out running
as a fugitive, he'd still be a captive of the law because
they'd be after him. This man's in prison, guarded
and watched over as long as he's a captive of the law. When he
satisfies the law, he's set free, he's a captive no longer. The
warden can't come after him, the guards can't come after him,
the police can't come after him because he has satisfied the
law. The law says you serve ten years for your crime. He goes
to that prison, he's a captive of the law. He's not a captive
of the policeman or the state or the captive of the jail or
the guards, he's a captive of the law. And when the law has
been satisfied, when he fulfilled his sentence, when he served
it, he's free. He's free, he's delivered. You
and I are captive of the law. We've broken God's law. To offend
in one point of the law is to be guilty of the whole law of
God and the tears that we shed. and the pain that we feel, and
the distress of heart, and the anxiety, and even physical death,
and all of these things are brought upon us because of the curse
of the law, which we have broken, and we're under that curse. And
eternal hell is the result of that broken law. And everyone
who offends the law of God is under the curse of that law and
is a captive of that law. Christ said, I came to deliver
you, to deliver you. I came to set you free. Here's
a man in prison. He's a captive of the law. He's
broken the law. Now, he serves his full sentence,
his full ten years or twelve years or whatever he's in there
for. He serves the sentence. He's paid the debt. He comes
one day at the end of that time and they set him free. Nobody
can lay any charge to him. Nobody can condemn him. Nobody
can chase him down. Nobody can bring him back. He
paid the debt. Jesus Christ came down here to this world as a
man, and he satisfied the law. and he honored the law, and he
went to the cross and he died under the curse of the broken
law. As my representative, as your representative, he paid
the debt. He paid the full penalty of the law, which is death. The
soul that's in it, it shall die. And Christ Jesus paid the debt
and he set us free, free from the law, O happy condition. That's what the man says who
comes out of the prison, free from the law. free from prison,
free from captivity, free from these things. When Christ died,
he set us free from the law, O happy condition. Jesus has
died and there's remission, cursed by the law and bruised by the
fall, but Christ hath redeemed me once for all. That's what
I came to do. He said, I came to preach deliverance
to the captive. Men who've been held captive
by the law are released by Christ, and Christ said, I've come to
proclaim that. You're free. And Paul said over in Romans
chapter 9, who can lay anything, chapter 8 of Romans, to the charge
of God's elect. Who is he that condemneth? Christ
has died. So that man who served ten years
in prison paid his sentence. He'd gone out the gate. He passes
a policeman on the street. Policeman says, who are you?
He tells him his name. But he's not afraid because that
policeman can't lay anything to his charge. He paid his debt. He's not afraid. He doesn't fear
condemnation by the judge, by the jury, or by the policeman
because he paid his debt. And Paul could look at the law,
and Paul could look at sin, and Paul could look at heaven, and
Paul could look at him, and Paul could say, Who is he that condemneth? Christ has died. I'm not afraid.
My debt is paid. My sentence has been served,
and I'm free. Now the next line, quickly. Why
did Christ come? He says, I've come to preach
deliverance to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind. There's no better word to describe
the condition of this world, the condition of every unbeliever.
There's no better word than the word blind. Blind. Blind to our guilt, blind to
our condemnation, blind to the highest of all beings. blind
to our inability to satisfy His holiness, blind to the loftiest
and grandest of all truths, blind to the freeness of salvation,
blind to the death of the Son of God and what He accomplished,
blind to judgment, blind to the dangers of hell, blind to the
glories of heaven, men by nature blind. They call bitter sweet
and sweet bitter. They chase the soap bubbles in
their castles of this life and neglect that perfect, permanent,
pure home in glory. But I'll tell you, when Christ
comes, he opens our eyes. Thank God that one day on my
Damascus road to hell, he stopped me, unhorsed me, broke me, and
let me see his glory. And he that seeth the Son, and
believeth on him, hath everlasting life." It's not a physical vision,
it's a spiritual insight. He that hath seen me, Christ
said, he that hath seen me, hath seen my Father. I've come to open the eyes of
the blind. Oh, how blind is this world!
And then last of all, he said, I've come to set at liberty them
that are bruised. Now will you listen to a minute?
I've come to set at liberty them that are bruised. Some of you
have already found out that life here on earth is a bruising experience. Now this is what he's talking
about. Some of you have already found out that life is not easy. Life on this earth leaves you
with bruises and scars and many hurts. The battles of life leave
many bruises. Those who haven't already found
it out, I promise you, you will. You will. The problems of life
are many. As you get older, they get more
numerous, don't they? And the disappointments of life,
there are so many. And as you get older, they increase. The heavy sorrows are here, and
there are more of them to come. And each sorrow, and each tear,
and each heartache, and each misunderstanding, and each break
in fellowship, and each death, and each sickness, and each disappointment
leaves a bruise. It leaves a bruise. And Christ
said, I have come to set at liberty. them that are bruised. In Christ
we have victory over these disappointments. In Christ we have victory over
these problems. In Christ we have victory over
these sorrows. Listen to him in John chapter
16 as he talks to his disciples, and this is what he would have
me say to you this morning. I don't care how heavy the sorrow.
I don't care how heavy it is. I don't care how severe the disappointment,
I don't care how sharp the persecution, it doesn't matter. Christ is
able. He said in John 16, verse 33,
listen to it. These things have I spoken unto
you, that in me you might have peace, a quiet spirit. In the world you shall have tribulation. You're going to have it. Disappointment,
heartache, tears, solace, sickness, pain, death, hurt. You're going to have these things.
But be of good cheer. Be of good cheer. I have overcome
this world. Our Lord came to give light in
darkness. He came to give hope in despair. He came to give joy in sorrow. Be of good cheer. I have overcome
this world. We find in Christ our joy, we
find in Christ our light, we find in Christ our peace. And
the last thing, and I wish to close with this, and Luke 4,
why did the Lord Jesus come to this earth? He came to preach
good news to the poor in spirit He came to heal the broken-hearted. He came to teach deliverance
to the captives of the law. We're set free. Christ paid the
ransom, paid the debt, satisfied the law, served the Senate. It's
all over. He came to give us sight so we
could see these things, so we could see into the mysteries
of the gospel. The arm of the Lord has been revealed unto us
and set at liberty them that are bruised, to enable us to
overcome the tribulations and trials of this world and rejoice
in Christ. Rejoice when the way is the darkest. Rejoice when the road is the
most painful and sorest. Rejoice when we just can't even
see beyond the next turn, but rejoice because Christ is already
there. And then he said, I've come to
preach the acceptable year of the Lord. This is the year of
jubilee. This is the year of the return
and the restoration of a man's treasures and all that he has. And Christ, our kinsman, has
brought back all that we lost in Adam. Christ Jesus, the Lord,
has brought back our inheritance. He has restored to us everything
we lost. He says this is the fiftieth
year. This is the year of jubilee.
This is the acceptable time of the Lord. This is it! It won't
be any more. I've come to announce liberty, salvation, forgiveness,
mercy, pardon. This is it. This is the message. You're looking for another one?
You won't find it. Now is accepted time to hold
the day of salvation. This is the end. Our Father,
bless the Word. Thank Thee for Thy Word. Without
Christ, we are nothing. Without Christ, we have nothing.
Without Christ, we can do nothing. We find all of our joy and our
strength and our hope and our peace in Him. And we can, we
are enabled by his strength and by the hope which we have in
him to endure any trial, to suffer any disappointment, to bear any
tribulation, because we know this world is nothing. It passeth
away, but the word of our God endureth forever. He cannot fail. Let us witness a good confession
of our relationship with Christ. In his name we pray, amen.