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Show THE WORK THE MASTER WANTS US TO CONTINUE "As Thou hast sent even so world. " me into the world, have I also sent them into the (John 17: 18) world, send His Only From the foundation of the God determined to Begotten Son into this world with a specific work to do. It was not a haphazard assignment but one specified in the Old and the New Testament. That; one reason why we as believer in Jesus Christ cannot claim to be His genuine followers without reading and studying His unchanging Word. Jesus saw early on that the work He take came to do would than Him to get it done. So He enlisted twelve disciples, walked with more them for three years, training them by example, and empowered them to go forth and continue the work. That work Isaiah 61: 1-2 be summed up in Luke 4: 18 and 19: "The can or Spirit of the Lord is hath anointed me upon me, because he to preach the poor, he hath sent brokenhearted, me to the gospel to heal the to preach deliverance to captives, and recovering ofsight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are the bruised. to preach the the Lord. " W e will us and they acceptable year of have the poor among will need to hear some good always materially, some economically, some socially, some culturally, and some spiritually. Those who are spiritually poor have the greatest news. Some will be poor 2 need because their poverty relates not to stomachs or clothes or material things but my sisters and my brothers will take you out of here. We to sin. And sin, good news, for us in spite of need to know that God has some grace and mercy . our SIn. People will be brokenhearted at various times. Dreams will be shattered. Hopes will be lost. Expectations will un realized. Just when we think go everything is working out and coming together, we get bad news. We have been offered that job, but something comes up in the background check. W e have finished that last course, ordered our cap and gown, but we cannot walk across the stage until fee. It is a pay that one last student new car, but some drunk we 3 driver seems Our hearts to are come out of nowhere. broken and need to be put together again. Captives are tied up back and restricted by alien power. Weare not guilty of the conduct of our parents but children suffer because of the destructive ways of their parents. Some of us are captive to the old prejudices and hatred and mean-spiritedness and discrimination of days gone by. Often we are caught in a bad place because of our own choices, our own decisions, and our own shortcomings. Perhaps the worst kind of captivity is when you have tired yourself up. We need to know that mistreatment and there is a way out and that become members of the While we we can family of God. have eyes, many of us still 4 cannot We see. are privilege we enjoy. the love of God man. are so We the love for or We miss out beautiful by the great cannot recognize blinded on rose or some on fellow the joys of some budding short-sighted what we what is our tree. We cannot see the horizons. There are some important that what is on the surface. Only piercing eyes can see what is beyond the skin. Many of us like Humpty Dumpty things more have fallen off the wall of innocence. We are bruised so badly that our faith is gone. We just cannot seem to see our way. I remember some years ago, a friend of mine was thrown from his motorcycle on some gravel. He was so badly bruised, nothing broken, that he was in bed for nearly two weeks unable 5 to walk. Bruises sometimes rob you can of your health and your vitality. So, Jesus prays not in what you I the Lord's prayer but in the real Lord's prayer: "As thou hast mistakenly call sent me into the world, even so sent them into the world. " have I Jesus came great work and promise as He left that you and I would do even greater to do a things. As we start this new year, do not just make empty vows. Accept the assignment given to you be the Master Himself and continue the work He started. 6 |
