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Thoughts Archived > The Declaration


12 Feb 2012

                                                                                              

 

February 12, 2012

The Declaration

 Luke 4: 14 - 30 

 

 

Luke

Then Jesus returned to Gallilee, filled with the Holy Spirit's power.  Soon he became well known throught the surrounding country.  He taught in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.

When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures.  The scroll containing the messages of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him, and he unrolled the scroll to the place where it says:  "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has appointed me to preach Good News to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the downtrodden will be freed from their oppressors, and that the time of the Lord's favor has come."

He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down.  Everyone in the synagogue stared at thim intently.  Then he said, "This Scripture has come true today before your very eyes!"

All who were there spoke well of him and were amazed by the gracious words that fell from his lips.  "How can this be?" they asked.  "Isn't this Joseph's son?"

Then he said, "Probably you will quote me that proverb, 'Physician, heal yourself' - meaning, "Why don't you do miracles here in your hometown like those you did in Capernaum?  But the truth is, no prophet is accepted in his own hometown.

Certainly there were many widows in Israel who needed help in Elijah's time, when there was no rain for three and a half years and hunger stalked the land.  Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them.  He was sent instead to a widow of Zaraphath - a foreigner in the land of Sidon.  Or think of the prophet Elisha, who healed Naaman, a Syrian, rather than the many lepers in Israel who needed help."

When they heard this, the people in the synagogue were furious.  Jumping up, they mobbed him and took him to the edge of the hill on which the city was built.  They intended to push him over the cliff, but he slipped away through the crowd and left them.   

 

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Thoughts.....

 

What's the first thing that comes to your mind when you read this?  Would you think this guy is nuts stepping out to do as Isaiah did?  Would you be one of the many listening to him thinking, 'this guy is out of his mind, self-proclaiming'?  How dare he declare who he is, what he is called to do, and by whom?  But IS he....self-proclaiming?  Nope.  As Isaiah, Jesus said "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me".  Did he have to quote Isaiah?  Nope.  But it was wise because it set precedence.  It showed the people to whom he was speaking that someone else....a leader of their religious history....did the same.  And you, my Brothers and Sisters, and I, are to do the same.  John 14:12 quotes Jesus as saying, "The truth is, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.  You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, because the work of the Son brings glory to the Father.  Yes, ask anything in my name and I will do it."

Let's go back to the first paragraph.  Paramount to doing the will of the Father and Jesus is being filled with Holy Spirit's power.  How do you do this?  You ask for it.  If you have not received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, you only have to ask God to baptize you with his Holy Spirit.  There are some that will say that you need to have hands laid upon you to have Holy Spirit come upon you to receive the gift(s).  Hogwash.  Just ask....and you shall receive.  There are some who will tell you that you must show evidence of such by speaking in tongues.  Hogwash.  God knows....he gave you his Holy Spirit.  The utterance you need is merely to be able to say Jesus is Lord and start preaching, sharing, teaching that he is indeed the Messiah, Lord, Savior.  'Don't you have to be ordained?', you ask?  You ARE, when you receive the Holy Spirit and he gives you utterance.....the ability to speak for and with him.  It doesn't matter whether that is by English, French, Spanish, German, or any other language in the world including Sign Language....or the written word.  In 2 Corinthians 1: 21-22 Paul tells us:  "It is God who gives us, along with you, the ability to stand firm for Christ.  He has commissioned us, and he has identified us as his own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the first installment of everything he will give us."  This is your ordination....straight from the Word of God.  

It is God who ordains us.  So, whether Isaiah speaks it, or Jesus quotes Isaiah and steps into the commission having been identified and ordained by God and evidenced by utterance, or WE step forth doing the same, KNOW THIS:  GOD HAS CHOSEN US, GOD HAS COMMISSIONED US, GOD HAS IDENTIFIED US, AND GOD HAS ORDAINED US to go forth....to teach, preach and heal....IF we have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and asked God to fill us with his Holy Spirit.  We then have an ABSOLUTE RESPONSIBILITY to go forth.  To not do so, thumbs our noses at God, all he has done for us and given us....starting with our life.

So, assuming you have accepted what God gave you, life, Himself, Jesus, and Holy Spirit has come upon you because you have asked, as Isaiah, and as Jesus, you are, and, I am, "to preach Good News to the poor, proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the downtrodden will be freed from their oppressors, and that the time of the Lord's favor has come."  Jesus said, "This scripture has come true today before your very eyes!"  Are you willing to say this has 'come true today', also?  

People WILL stare at you intently, too.  I am quite certain of that.  Did it deter Jesus?  Nope.  Should it deter you?  Nope.  Should you carry on?  Yup.  Just like Jesus.  Use gracious words, words of the Father.  Will folks be amazed and speak well of you?  Maybe.....maybe not.  Will they wonder as they did with Jesus, 'How can this be?'  And refer to you as an 'anybody' type of person ["How can this be?  Isn't this Joseph's son?"]?  Oh ya.  Should it matter?  Nope.  It sure didn't matter to Jesus.  AND Jesus wasn't just Joseph's son.  He was/is the Son of God!  So, tho' you are your father's son OR daughter, you are the child of God....a Promise Child!  

Jesus being a prophet, could clearly tell what they were thinking.  He even called them on it saying, "Probably you will quote me that proverb, 'Physician, heal yourself' - meaning, 'Why don't you do miracles here in your hometown like those you did in Capernaum?'  But the truth is, no prophet is accepted in his own hometown."  He goes on to give evidence that God sent Elijah, a prophet, to another town, and Elisha was also sent to another town to do his work for God.  So, as Jesus, you are about to enter the secrets of minds and bodies.....tho' that sounds spooky...and may be, you will be able to understand thoughts, know agendas, comprehend things you never thought you would, address issues you would have never dreamed possible with your education, upbringing, experience....because Holy Spirit is in you and God will be directing your paths, while Jesus walks with and is in you....and you walk with him.  As Jesus was called a Physician, you must expect that you will be called upon by Holy Spirit to heal others as well, as he works through you.  In and with God, you will be a physician, a prophet, a teacher, and more. 

I must address at this point the topic of doubt.  If you doubt that God has placed you in this position of authority to go forth, you may not acknowledge all that he has given you in gifts and fruits and 'titles' and therefore not walk in the fullness of the Lord God.  Another thing that may occur, if all things are not manifest, is that God is 'growing you' and therefore will not give you more than that for which you are prepared.  Can a baby eat a steak?  No.  So sometimes, you may not see everything manifested because it is not time for you, or you are not prepared.  Our God is not a God of overwhelm.  [Keep your eyes fixed on him!]  So don't be concerned wondering how you will do it all.  What you need to do a job for God will be given you when it is needed.  But stay mighty close to him, so you know when he calls and can feel his annointing and can then step and where. 

Another thought is from 1 Corinthians 12: 27-31 indicating that not everyone has all the responsibility at all times.   It provides a list of some of the members in the body of Christ.  Paul implies that some will be prophets, some teachers, some physicians, etc., but that not everyone will have all within them at one time, that we each may have a title or responsibility to bring to the table.  He clearly makes it sound simple....which one are you....in essence.  But as you grow in the Lord, you will find that you have been given strong shoulders to bear much.  At any one moment, you may need to be all things to all persons as God calls.  So, if you have accepted God, be willing to accept all God is willing to give you to bring him glory.  To be that voice in the world....the one that goes forth.

I've gotta tell you....like the guys in the synagogue....there will be....not may be....but will be folks who will have a fit over your responsibilities....your calling.  They will think you are a nut case, a defamer, an imposter, the devil incarnate, a trouble maker, a divider, any number of things, and laugh at you, call you names beyond what I have mentioned, throw you out and more.  Matthew, in Mark, and Luke indicate that Jesus said that you should just wipe the dust off your feet and move on.  Well put.  Go in humble, stay humble.  You will be blessed by God for acting on your faith, belief, his calling upon you.  They are lost.  Woe to them!  But you should rejoice because your names will be registered as citizens of heaven!  See Matthew 10:14, Mark 6:11, Luke 9:5 and 10:11.  See also Acts 13:51.  I encourage you to read the complete chapters for each of these references.

Jesus said to the disciples going forth, "Anyone who accepts your message is also accepting me.  And anyone who rejects you is rejecting me.  And anyone who rejects me is rejecting God who sent me." 

Who will you be?  A sayer or a naysayer?  Will you declare the Spirit of the Lord is upon you?  Will you declare God's appointment upon you to preach Good News to the poor, proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the downtrodden will be freed from their oppressors, and that the time of the Lord's favor has come?" 

You do not have to work military intelligence to do this.  You do not have to be the authority figure that allows captives be set free in your country or state.  You do not have to own a newspaper to spread good news.....it is different than THE Good News.  Nor do you need to be a surgeon to correct blindness, or a psychiatrist to remove depression.  You have only to look around you.  IS the Spirit of the Lord upon you?  Will you declare God's appointment upon you?  Then you will see!  And you will want to go forth!   You will see the poor around you....poor of Spirit, poor economically.  You will see those bound to Satan rather than God, can help them be released from bondage to Satan, and, preach Good News of a new freedom in Christ!  You will open the eyes of the lost, the atheist, those not knowing or understanding about Jesus Christ, Savior, Messiah, Lord of the world.  You will reach out to the downtrodden to free them from their oppressors:  those on drugs, alcohol, those abused, withholding pain of their past, the sorrow of their present and more.  You will free them from prisons within and around them.  You will pray for them and they will be healed.  You will tell them that the time of the Lord's favor has come!  You will tell them that God gave them life and Jesus gave them a new life, that they can be reborn.....yes today.....right now!  They've only to believe that Jesus died to set them free.....forgive them of their sins, and wants to give them eternal life.  Yes, miracles will occur.

IF you are ready to declare....or renew your previous declaration....pray with me now.....   

           

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Let Us Pray

 

Lord God, I'm ready!  Count me in!  I'm ready to declare:  I'm yours, I'm appointed by you to preach Good News to the poor, proclaim the captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the downtrodden will be freed from their oppressors, and the that the time of the Lord's favor has come!   The Scripture of Isaiah and Jesus has come true today before your very eyes!  I'm ready to go forth....and I'm grateful for the times I've been going forth in your name.  Today, I'm ready for the new journey.  The one that takes our relationship to a new level.  The journey that sends me on to the next task you set before me....the next door that will open....the next village or religious community you set before me.  The journey that may take me to a solitary life.  I bow down to you, O God.  You are my maker, you are divine, you are the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.  Certainly you were at my birth, you knit me in my mother's womb.  You will be at my life's end, to set me on my new journey of a new life....eternal life.  Dear God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, mere words cannot convey my gratitude for trusting me, pruning me to bring me to you....this journey....the privilege to be counted as yours....the gift of being called by you, for you, to be with you....to go forth to bring glory to you.  Thank you.  To begin this journey anew and prepare me to be an open vessel for you to work through, please forgive me of my sins.  Now raise me to new heights of your glory that I may perfectly love you and worthily magnify Your Holy Name.  Please do not leave me, nor forsake me, and please earnestly I pray, help me not forsake you.  I will never leave you.  I am not perfect, I fear.  Please remove from me fear and anything that is not of you....bind it and cast it away farther than the heavens are from the earth.  Now please, fill me to overflowing with your Holy Spirit, and all you have to give me, so that I may do the work you've called me to do.  Be clear....Satan tries to disrupt your voice.  Be loud, for the world surrounds me.  Be exacting, because I have traveled my own ways far too long.  Be complete, that I may not stumble lost or falter.  Be loving please.....for I may fall.  And forgive me, for I may sin under satanic attack of confusion as to which step to take, when and where.  PLEASE help me to not be attacked any more.  Surround me with your presence and guardian angels at all times and do the same for my loved ones please....oh please.  Thank you for the part of me that you bring out.  JOY!  The LORD has come!  The Spirit of the Lord IS upon me!  Alleluia!  I love you.....here WE go.....Amen!       

  

Lord,LordJesJeJeJJjEJJJ     JJThe LORD is king!  Let the nations tremble!  T***

 

More love.... 

  Benediction....Blessing

 

Let us hear from Paul as he prays:  

When I think of the wisdom and scope of God's plan, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.  I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit.  And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him.  May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love.  And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is.  May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it.  Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Now glory be to God!  By his mighty power at work within us, he is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope.  May he be given glory in the church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever through endless ages.  Amen.  Ephesians 3:14-21 NLT         

 

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Scroll down to read Jesus' Prayer of Thanksgiving...'The Unforced Rhythms of Grace'.

 

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Definition of a Christian:  Anyone who believes in God, Jesus and Holy Spirit, and accepts Jesus as Lord and Savior.  Regardless of church name or religious affiliation. 

It is not how we worship, but that we worship....the Trinity!   

 

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If you feel that the Church of the Holy Spirit has inspired or helped you, we'd like you to prayerfully consider tithing regularly to us or gifting us, so that we can further the work and carry out the will of the Father as proclaimed in Matthew 28:19-20 NLT

 to

 "Go and make disciples out of all the nations

baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you.  And be sure of this:

I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

 

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  Our Current Cause

 

It is time to reach into the community and the world around you to see wherein lies the greatest need.  As you choose to focus on these areas, do so with a servant's heart.  Whether the need is for children, adults, or animals, or any cause in between that will help those in need, ask God how you can best serve his needs, what path you must take, and how long you should persevere.  Sometimes we are to be in the lives of others merely as stepping stones.  Sometimes we are to touch those lives forever.  Whatever journey you are called to take, whatever team you will be a member, know this:  God is with you always...even til the end of time.  He loves you, is grateful for you, and will help you along life's way, especially if you are helping others along theirs, persevering with a servant's heart. 

Please accept my sincerest thanks....and God's....and may God richly bless you!   

 

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    One last thing....

 

 Jesus' Prayer of Thanksgiving

'The Unforced Rhythms of Grace'

 

"Abruptly Jesus broke into prayer:  "Thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth.  You've concealed your ways from sophisticates and know-it-alls, but spelled them out clearly to ordinary people.  Yes, Father, that's the way you like to work."

Jesus resumed talking to the people, but now tenderly.  "The Father has given me all these things to do and say.  This is a unique Father - Son operation, coming out of Father and Son intimacies and knowledge.  No one knows the Son the way the Father does, nor the Father the way the Son does.  But I'm not keeping it to myself; I'm ready to go over it line by line with anyone willing to listen."

"Are you tired?  Worn out?  Burned out on religion?  Come to me.  Get away with me and you'll recover your life.  I'll show you how to take a real rest.  Walk with me and work with me - watch how I do it.  Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.  I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn how to live freely and lightly.

 

  Matthew 11:  25-30

  The Message

 

And the people said,

"Amen."

 

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I now write most prayers in the position of ' I ' (first person) because most people are sitting at their computer alone, not in groups, and it allows those reading and praying to personalize the prayer as coming from them going to God.  Variations may appear on holidays when families may wish to use the prayer provided. 

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  Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996.  Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189.  All rights reserved.

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Bible Authors and Minister