Text: Luke 4:16-21
(16) And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
(17) And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,
(18) The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
(19) To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
(20) And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.
(21) And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
The Spirit of the Lord…
Ezekiel 47:1-5
(1) Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar.
(2) Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side.
(3) And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles.
(4) Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins.
(5) Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over.
Ezekiel’s vision was of waters to swim in, but these waters began flowing from under the threshold…then they deepened every 1,750 feet.
According to Albert Barnes:
The deepening of the waters in their course shows the continual deepening of spiritual life and multiplication of spiritual blessings in the growth of the kingdom of God. So long as the stream is confined to the temple-courts, it is merely a small rill, for the most part unseen, but when it issues from the courts it begins at once to deepen and to widen. So on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended upon the company of believers, little then but presently to develop into the infant Church in Jerusalem.[1]
This small stream steadily deepens to ankle depth, knee depth, waster deep, and then
Waters to Swim In
How many times have we been the beneficiaries of such waters.
We find ourselves overcome in the presence of the Lord.
His Spirit is so manifest that we just swim in the current of His power.
The Church, born on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2, is a Spirit-filled body of believers.
We have enjoyed the deepening of those waters and we can frolic, swim, rejoice, and celebrate in them.
But – There’s more to this river than the satisfaction of our own spiritual highs
These waters carry with them a purpose for the anointed of God.
Ezekiel 47:6-12
(6) And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river [The Dead Sea / The Salt Sea].
(7) Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other.
(8) Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed.
(9) And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh.
(10) And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from Engedi even unto Eneglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many.
(11) But the miry places thereof and the marishes thereof shall not be healed; they shall be given to salt.
(12) And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.
The Temple
Your Body is the Temple of the Holy Ghost
Every Spirit-filled believer has an anointing resting on them.
Psalms 1:1-6
(1) Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
(2) But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
(3) And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
(4) The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
(5) Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
(6) For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
Wherever this river flows there is healing, growth, bounty, and all manner of fish are caught…where once the waters were polluted
Now the Spirit of God moving from and through the Church brings life
Let the River Flow
Let the River Flow
So, Jesus goes to church one day, as His custom was…
He’d just finished a 40 day fast following his baptism in the River Jordan…
He was full of the Holy Ghost…
He was handed the scroll of Isaiah and begins read these words…
Luke 4:18-21, “(18) The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, (19) To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. (20) And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. (21) And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He hath anointed me to do something for somebody else.
I am not a receiver of spiritual experiences whose only purpose is to keep them all to myself.
The anointing flows through me and I become a tributary, a river, a bridge between God and man.
“…He hath anointed me…” = The anointing is from God, it is not a result of my own merit, but of His pleasure.
He hath anointed me – “…To preach the gospel to the poor…”
To share the Good News of the Gospel to the “…spiritual zeros—the spiritually bankrupt, deprived and deficient, the spiritual beggars, those without a wisp of religion.”[2]
To tell them that Jesus Christ has come to seek and to save all that are lost – including them.
Jesus did not go to the fashionable and the rich, but to the poor.
Those who exclusively pursue the rich and the so-called elite of society are doing so to “get something” from them.
Jesus went to the poor to “give something” to them.
It was a ministry for their benefit, not His benefit.
He hath anointed me – “To set at liberty them that are bruised…”
2 Cor. 3:17, “Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”
Not only is Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, but He is also the Giver of that Spirit.
John 4:24, “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”
It is a mistake to think that because you’ve been “anointed” that you’ll automatically be lead of God to the highest peaks of ministerial power.
Jesus was anointed and then driven or led into the wilderness.
If you are presently in a wilderness experience then it is a sign that you are being prepped by God to be a vessel of His anointing.
Any time we read about a demonstration of anointing it was and is preceded by a trying and a crushing and a preparing of the vessel for the Holy Ghost flow.
It is not the plan, will, or divine intent of God for us to hoard to ourselves these ecstatic experiences of the Holy Ghost, the shouts of joy, the running and dancing and victory parades, but…
He has sent me to heal the broken-hearted.
Not just to look at them
Not just to weep and mourn with them
Not just to feel sorry for them – – to pity them
He has sent me to heal the broken-hearted.
He has not me sent to folks who already have it made, or that think they do, but…
But to preach deliverance to the captive.
To preach recovering of sight to the blind
To set at liberty them that are bruised.
This is what He has filled me with His Spirit to do…
Out of your belly flows living water…
It is the Holy Ghost in you…
He has given you the power, delegated His authority to you and through you…like a flowing river…
to proclaim good news to the poor.
to proclaim liberty to the captives
recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.[3]
How? The anointing.
Acts 10:38, “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.”
Anointed Preaching and Anointed Deeds
Acts 2:22, “Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you…”
Anointed preaching is common among us
What we are in short supply of is anointed deeds
Mark 16:17-18, “And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”
We need, in 2023, a powerful ministry of God-directed anointing that delivers people
Not self-anointing, but God-anointed.
Quit guarding the Holy Ghost
Let it flow……..
[1] Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible. Ezekiel 47:1.
[2] Dallas Willard. The Divine Conspiracy.
[3] ESV
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