Outpouring of Favour

How Jesus’ Mission is Ours for Today

By JACQUELINE GREY & KRISTY MILLS

In Luke 4:18-19, Jesus declares and defines His mission. He proclaims that jubilee had arrived:

‘The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’ (quoting Isaiah 61)

The jubilee year in the Old Testament was celebrated every fifty years. It was a time when every slave was set free, all debts were forgiven, and the land given rest (see Lev 5:10-13).

Following this announcement, Jesus then began his ministry of healing the blind, setting people free from evil spirits, preaching the good news that God was with people. Jesus secured the ultimate freedom for the world by conquering sin and death through the cross and resurrection. We are now set free from the slavery to sin to know His salvation.

Then Jesus left.

But before returning to the Father, Jesus gave His Spirit to the Church. Jesus promised the Holy Spirit to empower us to continue His mission. Fifty days after the resurrection of Jesus, the Holy Spirit was poured out on His followers (Acts 2). The Church was born into an overflowing, never-ending jubilee.

We are that Church!

We are in jubilee now!

A Church of Power

This is a powerful commissioning for us, the Church in the 21st Century! It is a clarion call to reach out to a world desperately in need. It is a call to Spiritempowered works of healing, deliverance, soul winning and God’s transformative favour coming upon individuals, families and communities - not through a special few, but through all believers.

Sadly, in recent times there has been a resurgence of doctrines, opinions and voices that say that these demonstrations of the heart of God have ceased - that healings, deliverance and the supernatural power of the Spirit died with the apostolic age. Even some in the pentecostal church have embraced these limitations! Yet the Holy Spirit is moving to restore His Church back to her purpose to be and do the mission of Jesus. With this we can expect to see:

• More healing, deliverance and supernatural activity;

• The Spirit-empowerment of all believers (the Joel 2:28-32 promise of men and women, people of all socio-economic means, old and young all moving in the gifts and the Spirit’s power);

• Salvations - many souls coming to Jesus, and the evidence of the Spirit at work through the church;

• Unity and community through sacrificial love being displayed in local church communities (Acts 2:42-47).

It is time to embrace our anointing! We, like Jesus, are anointed to move in power for the sake of those that He is reaching. It’s time to return to our true identity as the church - to live in Jubilee and to see God’s unlimited Spirit outpoured to fulfill Christ’s mission.

PROF JACQUELINE GREY is a lecturer at Alphacrucis.

PASTOR KRISTY MILLS is Executive Pastor of Horizon Church.

Resources:

• Gift and Giver by Craig Keener

• Paul, the Spirit, and the People of God by Gordon Fee

• Craig Keener website

• Bearded Pentecostal youtube channel