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 (Part 1)
耶稣的跟随者
路加福音 4:18“主的灵在我身上，因为他用膏膏我，叫我传福音给贫穷的人，差遣我报告被掳的得释放、瞎眼的得看见，叫那受压制的得自由，
耶稣于祂在世的三十三年里完成了许多事情。在祂生命的最后三年里尤其如此。根据开篇的经文, 耶稣在世上的事工包括以下几项。首先，祂向所有失丧的人传讲了救赎的好消息。第二，祂服事了那些心碎的人。那些被拒绝、缺乏安全感、迷失、困惑和绝望的人。第三，祂服事那些被魔鬼压迫的人。第四，祂服事生病的人。耶稣在世上服事时看见人的需要，祂说要收的庄稼多，而做工的人少。
马太福音9：37-38 于是对门徒说，要收的庄稼多，作工的人少。所以你们当求庄稼的主，打发工人出去，收他的庄稼。
今天我们仍然看见庄稼地里的需求，来自社会各个年龄段的需要 – 患难，痛苦，孤独，抑郁，自杀，受压制的和绝望的。
我们何等蒙福得了救赎，对神有信心，拥有神所赐出人意外的平安，在基督耶稣里保守我们的心怀意念。在我们生命中最困难与悲惨的境况中祂以恩典扶持我们。然而对于那些活在一个没有神，生命中没有盼望的世上的人们，他们的光景又是多么的不同啊。
好撒玛利亚人的故事给我们一些线索，让我们知道如何去帮助别人。除了那个好撒玛利亚人，没有人从繁忙的日程中抽出时间来帮助那个受伤和被抢劫的人。耶稣要求我们效法这个好撒玛利亚人，做同样的事。
1）他同情那个困境中的人。
2）尽管日程很忙，他还是停下来帮忙。
3）他用油和酒为那人包扎伤口。
4）他把伤者放在他的驴子上。
5）他在旅馆里照顾他。
6）他留给旅馆老板一些钱，并答应旅行结束后再回来。
教会是基督的肢体，是向世人传递上帝的爱并服事世人的管道。我们要以上帝无条件的爱去爱别人，对他人总是怀有至善的意念和意图。
上帝呼召教会向受压迫的人伸出援手，释放被掳的人。如果我们愿意回应耶稣基督的呼召，这是可以完成的任务。只要我们愿意分享，做见证并在需要时伸出援手。希望你默想耶稣的使命，以及要你跟随耶稣并事奉的呼召。
讲章系列：如何效仿耶稣（第一部分）
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