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Within
the book of Acts, we find out how the early church was established and
what mighty works they had done. But, most importantly the church is to
be like the Master himself.
How did
the Lord begin His ministry?
·
First, He was baptized, filled with the Holy
Spirit and returned in the power of the Spirit. (Luke 3:21-23, 4:1,14)
When all the people were baptized, it
came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the
heaven was opened. And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a
dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said,
“You are My beloved Son; in You I am well
pleased.” Now Jesus Himself began His
ministry at about thirty years of age…Then Jesus, being filled with the
Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the
wilderness. Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee,
and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.
·
Second, He went to preach the Word of God,
confirmed the Word with signs, healings, miracles, and began to instruct
the first disciples of the early church
(Luke 4: 15-21) “And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by
all. So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His
custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up
to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He
had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:
“The Spirit of the Lord upon me, because He has
anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the
broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of
sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to
proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”
Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down.
And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He
began to say to them, “Today this
Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” As
you read along in the four gospels, you will find all the healings,
miracles, and instruction of the Lord during His earthly ministry. Jesus
and His disciples (Matt. 9: 35-39 to 10: 1, 7-8) “ Then Jesus went about
all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the
gospel of the Kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease
among the people. But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with
compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep
having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples,
“The harvest truly is plentiful, but the
laborers are few. “Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out
laborers into His harvest.” And when He
called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean
spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all
kinds of disease. “And as you go, preach,
saying “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” “Heal the sick, cleanse the
lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received,
freely give.”
·
Third, He always done the will of the Father and
finished His call to redeem mankind (Matt. 36: 39).
(Gal. 1:3-4) “Grace to you and peace from God the
Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He
might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of
our God and Father. (John 5:30; 6:38-39; 8:28) “I can of Myself do
nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do
not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent me. I have come
down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent
Me. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given
Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. Then
Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the
Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of
Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things.”
Is
the Lord calling you to do a mighty task for His kingdom? Are you ready
to fulfill the mission that He has called you to do? Let’s be like our
Master and not only receive salvation, but experience the fullness of
the kingdom of God, while we are here on earth. His new covenant is for
the Body of Christ now as the old covenant was for Israel before the
resurrection of Jesus. His Kingdom come, His will be done, on earth
as it is in heaven. ·
What
has the Lord commissioned the Body of Christ to do?
The Body of Christ should be preaching the
repentance and remission of sins to all nations and should be endued
with power from on high to fulfill the commission.
(Luke 24: 46-49) Then He said to them,
“Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary
for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and
that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to
all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these
things. Behold I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in
the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”
·
The
Body of Christ are commissioned to make disciples teaching them to
observe the His commandments and to preach the Word of God with the Lord
working with them confirming the Word with these signs: they should be
baptizing, casting out demons, speaking with new tongues, have the best
immune system from poisons, raise the dead, lay hands on the sick and
raise them up. (Mark 16:15-20) And He
said to them, “Go into all the world and
preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized
will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these
signs will follow those who believe: in My name they will cast out
demons; they will speak with new tongues; They will take up serpents;
and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they
will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was
received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they
went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and
confirming the word through the accompanying signs.
(Matt. 28: 18-20) “Go therefore and
make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Teaching them to observe
all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even
to the end of the age.”
There
have been too many times that Christians tried to do the work of God
with their own strength and failed. It is now time for Christians to
work with God being the vessel as the Holy Spirit supplies the power to
reach the dying world. Only then will we be able to fulfill the
commission and ministry that the Lord calls us to do.
I pray
right now that you will take the steps in faith to go out and reach the
dying world by the Word of God being filled and in the power of the Holy
Spirit. As you work with the Lord may the Holy Spirit confirm the Word
spoken by signs, wonders, and miracles. May the anointed One always be
with you. Amen |
