The Gospel of Jesus (Sent 13/1/2010) “...The Spirit of the Lord (is) upon Me, because He has anointed Me (the Anointed One, the Messiah) to preach the good news (the Gospel) to the poor; He has sent Me to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed (who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity), To proclaim the accepted and acceptable year of the Lord (the day when salvation and the 4:18&19
free favors
of God
profusely
abound)...” – Luke
“...So He (Jesus) replied to them, Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the good news (the Gospel) preached to them” – Luke 7:22
In these passages we see our Lord Jesus outlining the primary purpose of His ministry in the earth. We see him laying out various needs and what He did to meet those needs... The captives are released... the blind receive their sight... the lame walk... the lepers are cleansed... the deaf hear... the dead are raised up... and the poor have the good news (gospel) preached to them. Let’s be down to earth and not allow religious thinking make us ascribe any other spiritual meaning to the Word of God because this is literally what God did, and continues to do, come down to earth and our level to raise us up to His level...
What is good news to a
poor man? Simply that he does not need to be poor anymore...
When John the Baptist doubted if Jesus was really the Messiah, He literally said the same
the primary message of the gospel is financial empowerment to establish God’s covenant on the earth (Deuteronomy 8:18). When John the Baptist asked things to them... I will submit to you that
the people to bring forth fruits meet for repentance, that is real evidence of their change of heart, the first thing he mentioned was to give to those who don’t have (Luke 3:811)... The church for generations has seen and preached the gospel as primarily the
`new birth` for generations while thinking the only need the poor had was for immediate financial aid... Yes the poor need immediate financial help, but they also need something more than this to ensure they do not return to the same state again... They need the root causes of their poverty dealt with which on the whole is the wrong type of thinking... `a poverty mentality`... a mindset fixated on lack and need... a constant state of helplessness to their circumstances in life... This is not the major message of
the gospel... It is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes regardless of race, gender or social class (Romans 1:16). The primary message of the gospel is not only a preparation for life after leaving this temporary world, but an empowerment for victorious living here on earth for us and the least of Jesus’ brethren (Matthew 25:40)...
Putting this simply, the poor are poor because they think they are poor (Proverbs 23:7)... You could well say, I agree Temisan but what about all the social injustices in many countries that cause needless poverty... To which I would answer, well if the poor knew they had
direct
access to the Judge of the whole earth they would not feel as helpless as they do... If they knew they could cry to the Lord of Saboath and have their immediate and swift justice here and now (James 5:4), instead of waiting for the resurrection they would feel empowered... If they knew God could even use the hard hearted tyrants to meet their personal needs, there would be a brighter sparkle in their eyes because they would know that not only are their immediate needs being met by God’s people, they are progressively being empowered to be in a position to get off the charity and be in a position to meet the needs of others... But how will they know if the gospel is not preached...
“...As the Scriptures tell us, `Anyone who trusts in Him (Jesus) will never be disgraced.` Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, Who gives generously to all who call on Him. For `Everyone who calls on the Name of the LORD will be saved.` But how can they call on Him to save them unless they believe in Him? And how can they believe in Him if they have never heard about Him? And how can they hear about Him unless someone tells them...” – Romans 10:11 – 14 New Living Translation
Your brother In Christ, Temisan
“...You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavour? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. You are the light of the world-like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father...” – Jesus Christ (Matthew 5:13 – 16) New Living Translation