ICS Daily Devotions
Followers of Jesus
Luke 4:18 (NKJV) 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;
Jesus accomplished a lot of things during His thirty-three years on earth, especially the last three years of his life. According to the opening Scripture, while on earth, Jesus’ ministry consisted of the following. Firstly, He preached the good news of salvation to the lost. Secondly, He ministered to the brokenhearted—those who were rejected, insecure, lost, confused, and hopeless. Thirdly, He ministered to the demon-possessed, and fourthly, He ministered to the sick. Jesus saw the needs of the people when He was ministering on earth and He uttered that the harvest was plentiful but the labourers were few.
Matthew 9:37-38 (NKJV) Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the labourers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into His harvest.”
Today, we are also seeing the needs of the harvest field—suffering, pain, isolation, depression, suicide, oppression, and hopelessness from people of all ages in society.
We are very blessed to be saved, have faith in God, and have the peace of God that surpasses all understanding which guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. His grace sustains us in the most difficult and dire situations in our lives. However, it is very different for those who are living in a world without God and hope in their lives.
The story of the good Samaritan gives us some clues as to how we can help them. Apart from the good Samaritan, nobody took the time off their busy schedules to help the person who was injured and robbed. Jesus asked us to do likewise as the good Samaritan.
1) He had compassion for the person in need.
2) He stopped to help despite his busy schedule.
3) He bandaged his wound with oil and wine.
4) He placed the injured on his donkey.
5) He took care of him at the inn.
6) He left money with the innkeeper and promised to return after his trip.
The church is the body of Christ and a conduit of God’s love and ministry to the people in the world. We are to love others with the Agape Love of God which is unconditional and has the highest good and intention for others.
God is calling on the church to reach out to the oppressed and set the captives free. If we are willing to respond to the call of Jesus Christ, it is an achievable task. We just need to be willing to share, testify, and lay hands when it is necessary. I hope that you will meditate on the mission of Jesus and your call to follow him and serve.
Sermon Series: What Can Jesus Do that I Can Also Do
