LUKE 4:14-15 NLV
14 Jesus went back to Galilee in the power of the Holy Spirit. People talked about Him so much that He was well known through all the country.
15 Jesus taught in their places of worship and was honoured by all people.
Today I want to commence a brand new series based on this portion of scripture as we enter into the month of June and in particular the celebration of the Day of Pentecost.
For those who are not aware, the Day of Pentecost is really the day the Christian Church was birthed and came onto the scene in all it’s power but I will say more about that next Sunday.
One of the hallmarks of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is that the Holy Spirit fills a person with POWER ACTS 1:8 NKJV And you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. Dunamis in the Greek which means MIRACULOUS POWER.
The Bible dictionary says this about dunamis Power through God’s ability which is needed in every scene of life to really grow in sanctification and preparation for heaven.
Jesus was Baptised in Water in the river Jordan by John the Baptist but He was also baptised in the Holy Spirit. Immediately after He was baptised in water and the Holy Spirit Jesus went into the desert to fast an pray for 40 days and 40 nights where He also engaged in spiritual warfare. After this…
LUKE 4:14 NLV says Jesus went back to Galilee in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus was now ready for ministry to the world and to fulfil His God given assignment on the earth and that was to preach the Gospel of Salvation, Healing and Deliverance.
Let’s pick up the story in LUKE 4 once again…
LUKE 4:14-18 NKJV
14 Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.
15 And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.
16 So He came to Nazareth where He had been brought up. And as His custom was He went into the synagogue (Jesus went to Church) on the Sabbath day and stood up to read.
17 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:
18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me Because He has anointed Me…To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed.
Now you will notice that there were 5 very important things Jesus did in His ministry by the power of the Holy Spirit. Look at verse 18 once again because this was His assignment and mission.
The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me because He has anointed Me…The name Christ means ANOINTED ONE and the anointing on Jesus’ life was not with oil but the Holy Spirit enduring Him with supernatural authority.
Jesus did not carry out this ministry with natural strength but with supernatural God-given authority and power and what you need to know about the ANOINTING of God is that according to Isaiah…
ISAIAH 10:27 NKJV “It shall come to pass in that day That his burden will be taken away from your shoulder, And his yoke from your neck And the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil.”
God’s ANOINTING is for a purpose and that is to REMOVE BURDENS and DESTROY BONDAGES over people’s lives. You must remember this it was not Jesus as God who performed miracles of salvation, healing and deliverance. It was Jesus as a MAN anointed by the HOLY SPIRIT who performed miracles.
That same ANOINTING is available today through the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Now getting back to LUKE 4:18 NKJV notice what the ANOINTING on Jesus which is the BURDEN REMOVING YOKE DESTROYING power of God will do…
1. To preach the Gospel to the poor. LIVELIHOOD
2. He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted. EMOTIONS
3. To proclaim liberty to the captives. SALVATION
4. And recovery of sight to the blind. HEALING
5. To set at liberty those who are oppressed. DELIVERANCE
And it’s in these 5 areas that I want to minister on over the next 5 Sunday’s dealing with one per week as we study the Gospels and see examples of Jesus carrying out this assignment.
I am also seeking to minister in these 5 areas as well and I am praying that you listening to this message will also receive a personal breakthrough and miracle in your life.
Firstly Jesus came ‘To preach the Gospel to the poor.’
Now, this was the very first area that the Bible says Jesus was anointed to deal with…POVERTY and we should never leave this out or think that it’s just describing the type of people Jesus preached to. Clearly Jesus did not just preach to the poor but to the wealthy and influential as well but to the poor He had a message to get them out of lack.
The Greek word used here for POOR is ptochos it means to be deeply destitute lacking in resources. In its purest sense, it means to be in LACK. To not have enough is to be in lack.
When we speak about divine healing and Jesus healing the sick and delivering people of demons we tend to forget that He also PREACHED THE GOSPEL and here it says specifically that He preached the Gospel to those who have lacked.
But what Jesus preached and taught had the ANOINTING on it and that is the big difference between God’s word and worldly wisdom.
Lack is without question a huge cause for frustration, anger, anxiety, fear, criminal activity and depression. It can cause a person to fall into despair not know ing how they are going to survive. It has the potential to put devastating pressure on a marriage causing divorce and depression amongst children growing up without.
Lack, poverty, or need whatever you want to call it is the source of tremendous stress for many people’s lives including many Christians.
The Bible does not say that Jesus was anointed to GIVE TO THE POOR but that HE PREACHED THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR.
Now, remember that the ANOINTING is the burden removing yoke destroying the power of God, and when the message of the Cross has preached the power of God is released to destroy lack.
Preach the Gospel to the poor means that Jesus gave hope, faith, and importantly instruction into how to escape from being poor.
No Child of God should be suffering from lack but sadly today many Christian’s who are suffering are actually suffering from lack but in the area of revelation knowledge of what God’s Word say’s to prosper.
HOSEA 4:6 NKJV My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Because you have rejected knowledge.
And prosperity is a Bible word that should not be shunned or rejected because of the excesses of a few. Remember it’s not ‘money’ that is evil but the love of money that is A root of all kinds of evil’.
1 TIMOTHY 6:10 NKJV “For the love of money is a (there are others) root of all kinds of evil for which some (not all) have strayed from the faith in their greediness and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”
1 TIMOTHY 6:10 PASSION “Loving money is the first step toward all kinds of trouble. Some people run after it so much that they have given up their faith. Craving more money pushes them away from the faith into error, compounding misery in their lives!”
Money in of itself is not evil but your motivation for it and what you do with it can be but the Bible recognises money as earth’s commodity for trade. I believe that God uses money as a TEST in our lives. He watches to see what comes first MONEY or GOD.
As a Pastor of a Church, it would be irresponsible for me as a Church leader caring and overseeing God’s people to not preach, teach and give instruction on being a GOOD STEWARD (MANAGER) of money from a Biblical perspective. Jesus did this and that is the heart of what I am saying.
Anointed preaching and teaching on God’s economy to get you out of debt and into a life that has no lack so that you can be blessed to be a blessing. Amen!
Now, remember what LUKE 4:14 NLV “Jesus went back to Galilee in the power of the Holy Spirit.”
It’s in the POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT that will enable you to have a personal breakthrough in this area.
The great minister of the Gospel SMITH WIGGLESWORTH said: Everyone who has received the Holy Ghost has within them great possibilities and unlimited power also great possessions not only of things which are present but also of things which are to come.
Now let me share with you principals from God’s Word to break the spirit of lack over your life so poverty will not have a hold over you.
Deliverance is not just for the BODY and SOUL but also in the area of FINANCES because as I said it can be the source of incredible frustration, anxiety and depression in people’s lives and if you are finically secure don’t let it become a point of your trust or confidence as this can become an idol.
1. YOU MUST HAVE THE SPIRIT OF POVERTY BROKEN OFF YOUR LIFE.
And you know you can be RICH and have a poverty spirit because you can’t give it away freely unless it’s an invoice. JOHN 10:10 NKJV the Bible say’s that Satan comes to rob, kill and destroy.
It’s mentioned again as the result of a curse in MALACHI 3:11 NKJV And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field Says the Lord of hosts.
The ‘devourer’ is an evil spirit that comes because you have no covenant with God in the area of your finances.
Well how did that CURSE enter in this context? Because God’s people failed to TITHE. They were withholding what belonged to God and His Kingdom.
MALACHI 3:9-10 NKJV
9 You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation.
10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this, Says the Lord of hosts, If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.
Tithing or giving back to God ONE out of TEN or 10% was instituted way back in the book of Genesis. It pre-dates the Law of Moses by 400 years (remember Moses made it a Law so that the people would prosper and not be cursed).
This is why it says in ROMANS 7:12 NKJV “Therefore the law is holy and the commandment holy and just and good.”
But in God’s eyes giving because you have to is not the same as giving because you want to and I tithe not because I’m under any law but because I love the Lord and His Church.
2. YOU MUST RECEIVE A SPIRIT OF GENEROSITY.
Because without a spirit of generosity you will never be moved to obey God’s Word when it comes to being a good steward.
PSALM 51:12 NKJV “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.”
It’s been my observation with people before I was saved and now as a Christian for over 30 years that you either have a generous heart or you don’t.
I personally believe that a generous heart comes from observation whilst growing up. Watching your parents being generous or the lack of is what creates a generous heart in a person I believe.
I have also observed that people who generally have everything done for them are usually not very generous because they have never had to exercise giving because it’s always done for them so they just expect it to be given.
Parents one of the best things you can do is to demonstrate your generosity to your children. by showing acts of giving. The greatest financial lesson I can give my children is the revelation and demonstration of TITHING and OFFERINGS.
My children see how Lissa and I TITHE and give OFFERINGS. They have it ingrained in their spirit. They are generous and they know how to TITHE and give OFFERINGS and bless others.
Their greatest investment in life financially speaking will always be what they sow into the Kingdom of God.
PROVERBS 22:6 NKJV “Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.”
Parents the way you conduct yourself when it comes to God and Church will greatly affect the way your children will view God and Church because a child’s greatest influence is their observation of their parents in almost everything in life.
3. YOU MUST RECEIVE REVELATION OF GOD’S ECONOMY.
The Kingdom of God operates very differently to the way the world operates when it comes to being a good steward with your finances.
Now I keep saying a GOOD STEWARD because it’s in this area where most people with lack have no revelation or wisdom in. Put simply you can’t manage money.
Jesus said this in LUKE 16:11 NLT “And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven?”
God’s Economy is about God’s Financial Stewardship program. Here is a very basic and simple formula for final ical success.
1. TITHE – Because it releases the Blessing of God in your life.
– Tithing enters you into a financial covenant with God.
– LEVITICUS 27:30 NKJV “And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s. It is holy to the Lord.”
2. WORK HARD BUT DON’T TOIL Because toiling is exhausting and leaves no time for God, family and yourself. You are not under the curse of toiling any longer you are blessed.
– PROVERBS 10:22 NKJV “The blessing of the Lord makes one rich And He adds no sorrow with it.”
3. SPEND LESS THAN YOU EARN and you will always be ahead. This is called being a good steward with money.
– 1 PETER 4:10 NKJV “As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”
I live by these principals and it has kept me in good stead all my Christian life. Now you can work those 3 areas more vigorously and see great success financially but that’s up to the individual and what they want out of life.
Well, today under the anointing of the Holy Spirit I want to break any poverty spirit and also pray for people to be released from any curse of poverty that could be running in your family.
1. COME TO JESUS.
2. REPENT OF THE SIN OF LOVING MONEY.
3. RENOUNCE REBELLIOUS LIVING TO GOD’S WORD.
4. ENTER INTO A COVENANT WITH GOD THROUGH TITHING.
5. RECEIVE THE BAPTISM FO THE HOLY SPIRIT FOR POWER.
1. COME TO JESUS AND BE SAVED.
2. REPENT OF THE SIN OF LOVING MONEY. Lord Jesus I repent of any wrong attitude I have held towards money. I repent of loving money, trusting in money or holding on to money for selfish purposes. I repent of not being generous and ask that you help me to be renewed in my mind and thinking when it comes to being a good steward of finances.
3. RENOUNCE REBELLIOUS LIVING TO GOD’S WORD. Lord Jesus I renounce all rebellion and lawlessness towards You and Your Word. I renounce withholding more than what is right according to Your Word. I pray that any curse of poverty, lack or need be broken over my life today in Jesus name.
4. ENTER INTO A COVENANT WITH GOD THROUGH TITHING.
Heavenly Father today I choose to not only make You Lord over my life but also Lord over my finances. I enter into the sacred covenant of God’s Economy through Tithing and Offerings. I make you a partner with me when it come sot my livelihood. I put my complete trust in Your Word and ask for Your blessing to rest upon my life in this area off finances.
5. RECEIVE THE BAPTISM FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT FOR POWER.
