The Mission of Jesus
Notes
Transcript
There was once a loving God fearing couple who lived a modest life. They were excited for Easter and decided to buy a nice new outfit to wear. The wife bought a dress but didn’t tell the husband the price. Well, he found out, and he was livid!
He confronted his wife with the receipt for a $250 dress she had bought. “How could you do this!”
“I don’t know,” she said, “I was standing in the store looking at the dress. Then I found myself trying it on. It was like the devil was whispering to me, ‘Wow, you look great in that dress. You should buy it.’ ”
“Well,” the husband reminded her, “you know how to deal with the devil. Just tell him, ‘Get behind me, Satan!’ ”
“I did,” replied his wife, “but then he said, ‘It looks great from back there, too!’ ”
One of the things I love about Easter Sunday is that everyone looks so nice. It’s a wonderful day, and I’m thankful that you’re here. If it’s your first time, thanks for coming, you’re in the right place. If you’ve been coming here a long time, you’re in the right place too!
I want to start today by telling you a story I recently heard:
One day a famous Evangelist decided it was time for a haircut. So, he headed down to his normal place. He walked into the shop wearing his three piece suit, perfectly situated tie, and spit polished shoes. To his disappointment, his normal person wasn’t there to cut his hair, but they told him that the new girl, Julie, was there and had time. He agreed and sat in the chair. He looked up and saw her walking up to him.
Julie had purple spiked hair, piercings on her ears and face, she was wearing short shorts, had mismatched socks, and different shoes. He rolled his eyes, and thought, this’ll be interesting. He told her how he wanted his hair cut and then closed his eyes just waiting for it to be over with. He just prayed that his hair wouldn’t end up like hers!
As she started cutting, she asked him that line of work he was in. He reluctantly told her that he was a preacher and worked down the street at a well known outreach center.
She started crying. She told him that she had watched a christian movie about the end of the world and knew that if she died that she’d end up in Hell. In fact, she had been to the outreach center where he worked asking for information about how to get saved. She told him that her mother was a crack addict, her father had left when she was young, and that she had at one time been living on the streets. She said that she was lost and didn’t know the meaning of life.
This great evangelist couldn’t believe what he was hearing, and he couldn’t believe that he had been more concerned about his hair and her appearance than her soul. He apologized to this young lady, and told her about Jesus.
She found hope. Jesus changed her life.
I’m here to tell you that Jesus STILL changes lives.
You’ve made it to church today, and it’s not an accident that you’re here. The Lord wants to speak directly to you. The message today is FOR you.
I don’t know what you think about Jesus or what you’ve been told about heaven or hell, but today I want to share with you what Jesus said about Himself - from His own words.
If you listen to the words, and take them as truth, you won’t leave this place the same.
Jesus can change your life.
Jesus grew up in a small town. The bible doesn’t tell us too much about His childhood because the real story of Jesus didn’t start to unfold until He was 30 years old and He was filled with God’s Spirit after being baptized.
In Luke 4 we see Jesus standing in church reading a scripture from Isaiah chapter 61. This is really an important moment in the story of Jesus because it reveals His mission on earth. It actually reveals His mission for this morning!
Imagine Jesus was standing here. This is what he wants to tell you.
Let’s read what Jesus said:
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 broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed;
19 to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”
20 Then He rolled up the scroll, and He gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all those who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.
21 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Jesus was on a mission to change the world. Here’s what He came to do:
Bring good news to the poor
Bring Healing to the broken-hearted
Bring deliverance to the captives
Bring sight to the blind
Bring liberty to the oppressed
Bring the “Year of the Lord”
Today is resurrection Sunday. We gather together to Worship HOW Jesus accomplished His mission. He was an innocent man who was crucified on a wooden cross. He was laid in a tomb that was sealed by a great stone. After three days of being dead God breathed life into Him and He rose from death. This resurrection proved once and for all that Jesus was the Son of God who defeated death.
But why did all this happen? What did Jesus say was the point of it all? That’s what I want to talk about today because it involves you! We’re all part of His mission. So, let’s break down His mission together:
Good News to the Poor
Good News to the Poor
In the mid-1970s, a man named Ron Wayne had a 10% share of a new computer company startup. He decided that he didn’t want to be a part and sold his 10% for $2,300. His partners’ names were Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, and the company was Apple; today the shares would be worth about $35 billion. But Wayne is neither bitter nor sorry. Wayne says that if he would have stayed in the partnership he “was going to wind up the richest man in the cemetery.”
Jesus said that part of His mission was to come to preach “Good News” to the poor. He wasn’t talking about money. He was talking about people who were a different kind of poor.
We can have all the money in the world and still be poor. You can be physically rich but spiritually bankrupt.
I think people who put their trust in the worlds system can go a long time because it gives them goals to achieve, but in the end it’s always the same: there’s never enough to satisfy.
Jesus says, “I am enough”, I can give you REAL life because I give purpose that lasts for eternity.
28 If you are tired from carrying heavy burdens, come to me and I will give you rest.
Jesus came to those who were needy, physically, financially, emotionally, and spiritually.
Jesus came to bring good news to those who are at the end of their rope. Are you there today? Physically you’re ok, but Spiritually you are empty? Jesus says, come to me and I will give you rest.
Healing for the Broken-Hearted
Healing for the Broken-Hearted
Jesus came to heal what has been broken. I think one of the biggest lies the enemy throws our way is that God doesn’t care about us and what we are going through. ESPECIALLY when we go through hard times.
The day my sweet baby girl died in my arms was the worst day of my life. I’d love to tell you that a day goes by that I don’t feel the pain of watching her eyes close and hearing her breathe her last breath, but it’s not true. It hurts every day. And you know what? I think it will hurt for the rest of my life.
We are emotional people. We feel pain. We will all experience loss.
Jesus says He came to HEAL the Broken-hearted. This tells me that we ALL have the potential experience a broken heart. He didn’t say that He came to TAKE away the possibility for hearts to break. No, He said that when you DO feel crushed that He will be with you.
Why do bad things happen? Because this world is broken. Jesus came to heal it, but it’s not fully been restored. That day is coming, but we aren’t there yet.
So what are we to do when we are broken hearted? Turn to Jesus and remember these words:
7 God cares for you, so turn all your worries over to him.
Is your heart broken today? Do you look good on the outside, but inside you feel like you’re dying? Jesus says, I’m come for you, I will heal your broken heart.
Deliverance to the Captives
Deliverance to the Captives
The literal translation here gives us the picture of a person pinned up against the wall with a spear up against their chest. They have no where to go, the are trapped! Their lives are dominated and controlled by the enemy. There is no peace, no joy, and no comfort. Their lives are lived captive to sin and the evil desires of Satan.
Each of us can relate to this horrendous captivity. We were all born in sin and held captive by its ruthless grip. Some have been set free while others remain in their bondage.
Jesus is saying that there is an enemy of our soul named Satan and he has us trapped against the wall with our OWN sinfulness. We deserve to be trapped because we’ve all messed up. But Jesus is saying that He has come to make a way for us to escape the death that comes from our OWN sinfulness.
You see, sinners are held captive, they are in bondage to the devil. Let’s make it more personal. WE’RE held captive sometimes because we won’t let go of our sinful desires. We give in too many times instead of allowing the Lord to set us free.
Addiction cannot hold us. Lust cannot hold us. Greed cannot hold us. Envy cannot hold us. Un-forgiveness cannot hold us. Jesus can set us free.
What is holding you captive today? Let me remind you of a very important verse:
9 But if we confess our sins to God, he can always be trusted to forgive us and take our sins away.
You see, Jesus came to set the captive free. We can be free from the bondage of sin when we confess our need for Him!
Is there anything in your life that is holding you captive? Jesus wants you to be free this morning.
Sight to the Blind
Sight to the Blind
4 The god who rules this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers. They cannot see the light, which is the good news about our glorious Christ, who shows what God is like.
For hundreds of years the Jews had sought the Messiah. They had searched and longed for the day that He would come. Jesus came to them; He was the Christ, the One they longed to see. Sadly, many of them were blinded by the rituals and demands of the law. Jesus was rejected because most couldn’t see Him as the Son of God.
He came to open the blinded eyes. Jesus came to reveal God to man and Himself as the only begotten of the Father.
Too many times we look to other things to save us, we have been blinded to the fact that God is calling us to Him. He wants us to seek Him. Jesus is saying that He has come to open our eyes to recognize our need for Him as our Savior.
In the Gospels, we see Jesus take a special interest in healing the blind. In fact, Jesus heals more blind people than those with any other illness. Spiritual blindness comes from having a hardness of heart.
Listen again to the words of Jesus:
15 All of them have stubborn minds! Their ears are stopped up, and their eyes are covered. They cannot see or hear or understand. If they could, they would turn to me, and I would heal them.”
Jesus came so that we could SEE. But we must soften our hearts and turn to Him.
Have you looked everywhere else but to Jesus in your life? He wants to heal your sight so you can see the truth.
Bring liberty to the oppressed
Bring liberty to the oppressed
Jesus looked out over the people and saw that they were beaten up by life. Have you ever fallen before?
One time I was riding my bike and I hit a patch of gravel. Oh, I took a massive tumble. For days, I was finding bruises I didn’t know I had!
I believe that Satan is having a great time at the expense of God’s children. We have bruises, cuts, and scraps all over from his attacks.
If you have given your life to Christ, Jesus is saying that the enemy has NO RIGHT to trash your life. He has NO RIGHT to infiltrate your mind. He has NO RIGHT to devastate your life.
Through Jesus we have authority over him!
27 and don’t give the devil a chance.
or
7 Surrender to God! Resist the devil, and he will run from you.
Jesus is saying that you don’t have to be beaten up anymore! You can walk in victory.
57 But thank God for letting our Lord Jesus Christ give us the victory!
Do you feel oppressed this morning? Jesus is telling you that if you come to Him that you’ll find the victory you’ve been needing!
Jesus said He came to:
Bring good news to the poor
Bring Healing to the broken-hearted
Bring deliverance to the captives
Bring sight to the blind
Bring liberty to the oppressed
And here’s the last thing He said:
Bring the “Year of the Lord”
Bring the “Year of the Lord”
What in the world does that mean? Jesus said the Spirit had enabled Him to fulfill the prophecy in Isaiah 61 which included this Year of the Lord.
Another word for the Year of the Lord is the Year of Jubilee mentioned in Lev 25:8
8 Once every forty-nine years
9 on the tenth day of the seventh month, which is also the Great Day of Forgiveness, trumpets are to be blown everywhere in the land.
10 This fiftieth year is sacred—it is a time of freedom and of celebration when everyone will receive back their original property, and slaves will return home to their families.
Jesus mentioned that He was bringing this Year of the Lord where everything would be forgiven and given back to it’s original owner.
Let me tell you what that means for us today. It means that way back in the Garden of Eden when the first man and woman sinned against God they gave up the world to Satan.
But Jesus came to restore what has been taken away. All authority has been given to Christ and through Christ WE have been given authority.
18 Everyone was going to be punished because Adam sinned. But because of the good thing that Christ has done, God accepts us and gives us the gift of life.
19 Adam disobeyed God and caused many others to be sinners. But Jesus obeyed him and will make many people acceptable to God.
Here’s what you need to know:
Your life has been redeemed. You may have messed up, but Christ has paid the price. You can be forgiven, set free, and pardoned by the blood of Jesus.
Jesus said that it’s time for Jubilee. He is bringing freedom, we are going to receive back what God intended. Slaves to sin and death are going to be set free and return to the family of God.
I hope you hear the truth today. Jesus spoke to people that day who weren’t willing to receive the truth. They hated Him. They crucified Him. But Death didn’t win. On the third Day the Spirit of God Raised Jesus up from the grave.
Today is the day of Freedom. You can be set free.
One more scripture:
10 When Christ died, he died for sin once and for all. But now he is alive, and he lives only for God.
11 In the same way, you must think of yourselves as dead to the power of sin. But Christ Jesus has given life to you, and you live for God.
12 Don’t let sin rule your body. After all, your body is bound to die, so don’t obey its desires
13 or let any part of it become a slave of evil. Give yourselves to God, as people who have been raised from death to life. Make every part of your body a slave that pleases God.
14 Don’t let sin keep ruling your lives. You are ruled by God’s kindness and not by the Law.
Are you ready to live for Jesus today? He’s ready for you!
Jesus said He came to:
Bring good news to the poor
Bring Healing to the broken-hearted
Bring deliverance to the captives
Bring sight to the blind
Bring liberty to the oppressed
Bring SALVATION!
