If you have your Bibles with you, I ask that you open up to Luke chapter four, Luke chapter four. We are not going to be in 2 Peter. I know y'all are used to me being in the Bible study hour in 2 Peter. We are not in 2 Peter this morning. We're gonna be in Luke chapter four, verses 18 and 19. This text has often been referred to as Christ's mission statement, or his motto, or what he's going forth in, his ministry, his mission. Many churches do have their ministry statement or their mission statement, one that would frame or explain the ministry. But here is Christ, verses 18 and 19. And it's drawn from Isaiah chapter 61. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind to set free those who are oppressed to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord. Amen. Let us pray. Father we We come before you this morning. And Father, we are asking for you to come as you already have, Lord, but continue, remain with us, O Lord, we pray, and work in our hearts and minds. Lord, we want to be good hearers. And Father, I pray that you would please work in the souls of men, women, children here in this place. Lord, I pray that Lives would be transformed, Lord. I do pray even for the salvation of lost ones. And Lord, I ask for strength and for clarity. I need it. I need your help, Holy Spirit, to guide me and to lead me here this morning. So I pray this in the name of Christ. Amen. I want us really to leave this morning with is a greater love for our Savior. A greater love for who Jesus Christ is and what he has come to do. You'll hear familiar truths and familiar accounts within scripture this morning. But don't let that familiarity disrupt or distract you from the truth that is being written here before us and that will be said this morning. This message is for believers and unbelievers both the same. The same message goes forth. It's look to Christ. It's see what he has done and go to Christ. I want us first to quickly see the context that Luke chapter 4 is in. And we need to do that by looking at what Luke is doing in bringing forth the ministry and the statement of Jesus by looking in chapter one. We're gonna look in chapter one, and there is what? The great announcement of this great prophet coming, the birth of John the Baptist. And the announcement of the birth of Jesus Christ, the greater prophet following, the Messiah. And in chapter two we see the birth of Jesus, we see the birth of Christ, followed by him being presented in the temple. And there we find Simeon and Anna, Simeon and Anna waiting for the promise of the Lord Jesus Christ, eagerly awaiting the promise of the light that will come to the Gentiles. And then from his presentation at the temple, Luke jumps ahead to Jesus being 12 years old and at the temple again, listening and asking questions to the teachers. In chapter three, there is John the Baptist preaching, baptizing while all along he's pointing to the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. And Jesus is baptized and he's publicly declared as the beloved son of God. This is followed by his genealogy, his lineage, which is important, and it's depicting that although he's the son of God, that he is also very much man. And so we have the God-man presented to us, and being full of the Holy Spirit. And in chapter four, he is led into the wilderness, and there he is tempted by the devil. Emerging, though, from those temptations in the wilderness, Christ proves that he is indeed the second Adam and the true Israel. He is the obedient son of God in whom the father is well pleased. He alone fulfilling the plan of redemption and undoing that which was done. Where Adam and Israel failed, Jesus Christ has victory. He is victorious. And so if we continue on and see that in the power of the spirit, Jesus returns to Galilee, and he begins teaching in the synagogues and is praised by all. And then he goes back to his hometown in Nazareth. And he enters the synagogue, and he stood up to read. He took the book of Isaiah, which was handed to him. He opened up and found Isaiah chapter 61, and he began reading. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. This morning, I want us to see these first two sentences as found in Luke chapter 14. And I will intermingle with the rest of the text here in verses 18 and 19, but I want us to see primarily these three things, that Jesus Christ is the Spirit-filled preacher. And number one, he is the anointed one. Number two, he's the preaching one. And number three, there are the poor ones. And so the anointed one. Well, the anointed one is the set-apart one, the consecrated one. And this is who Christ is, the chosen one of God. Luke doesn't hide from us the reality that God is really at work prior to the coming of Jesus Christ on the scene. in Luke chapter 14. There's a move of the Holy Spirit that Luke details for us and that the Holy Spirit is preparing the way for the Messiah to be born in a sin-filled world in order to conquer death, eradicate sin, and to redeem his bride. But just a few references where Luke draws our attention to the work of the Holy Spirit prior to the coming of Christ. We see it written, and if you could go in your Bibles, you can highlight that where you see, and the Holy Spirit, or the Holy Spirit. It's John the Baptist in Luke chapter one, verse 15. It's Mary in Luke chapter one, verse 35. It's Elizabeth in Luke chapter one, verse 41. It's Zacharias in Luke chapter one, 67. And it's Simeon in Luke two, 25 through 27. This should grab the reader's attention. And in such a way that they, we, begin to think something wonderful, something magnificent is about to happen here. And indeed, something is about to happen here, isn't there? It's Jesus Christ. You see him at his baptism. This is something significant because it is there that the ministry is made public. And where he consecrated, where he is consecrated or set apart for his messianic ministry. And in just those two verses in Luke chapter one, verses 21 and 22 there, we read some theologically rich truths there. After all others have been baptized, here comes the last one, who is really the first one, Jesus Christ. He, Christ, prays the heavens open We don't know what he prayed, but he prayed. But as he prayed, the heavens opened. Heaven, the dwelling place of God, opens up. Christ, having direct access to the Father, is praying. And the Holy Spirit descends upon Christ as this is happening. This does not mean that up to this point he was without the Spirit. No. Rather, this is an anointing. This is an empowerment. setting aside for a purposeful ministry, the most important ministry, the most effective ministry, the most lasting ministry. It is the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ and his gospel. But see with me, after the Holy Spirit descended on him, then a great voice from heaven is heard. And of all the things that the Father could say to the Son in this moment, he says this, are my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. I love you and I'm with you. The love of the Father for the Son. The assurance and the love of the Father for the Son in the power and in the unity of the Holy Spirit. This assurance and also the anointing of the Holy Spirit is something that was needed for what lied ahead. We know this because it was the wilderness temptation that follows. But throughout his ministry as he performed miracles, healings, casting out demons, but especially there even in that garden where Christ was praying, he was in agony at the garden. And there on the cross when he cried out those words, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? He is the chosen one of God. and the anointed one. So he has been set apart to fulfill the threefold office as prophet, priest, and king. The prophet that will speak the word of God with directness, clarity, purity, and power. The priest that will not offer an animal but his own body as the acceptable sacrifice to be offered on behalf of the people of God. And he is that king that will establish his kingdom in which he will rule, in which he will reign until all his enemies are made a footstool. He is the spirit-filled one entering the scene as a long-awaited prophet of God, as the anointed priest, the great high priest, the greater priest, and as the king of kings who establishing his kingdom. Truly, the spirit was upon him like no other. And what a privilege we have this morning that we have the Word of God that details that out for us. What a gift. The way he spoke with such authority and power. They were clinging to every word that came out of his mouth. The way he performed signs and wonders, they were amazed. They marveled that he can even forgive sins. The way he told parables, nobody speaks like this man speaks. The way He rejoiced greatly as He was worshiping His Father in heaven. What did that joy look like upon His face? It was by the Spirit, in Hebrews it says, it was by the Spirit that He offered His body on the cross for our sins, and it was raised, in Romans, and it was raised to give us eternal life. I think in Acts 10, 38, Peter summarizes it well. You know of Jesus. of Nazareth, he says, how God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. This is Christ. This is the Messiah, which really means the anointed one. He is the spirit-filled preacher. This is our Emmanuel, God is with us. Here, now, even today. He is the first, right? He is the last. We know that he's the beginning, he's the end, he's the alpha, he's the omega. He's the Holy One of Israel, the Holy One of God. He is that pillar of fire and the mighty one in the furnace as well. He is that glory cloud and the captain of the Lord's hosts. He is the great shepherd of the sheep and He is that sacrificial lamb. He is the Lord Jesus Christ and He is our Savior. These titles will never change. It is who He is and will be forevermore. So who is He to you this morning? Who is Jesus Christ to you? How do you perceive him? How do you see him when you read scripture? As Brother Dean even said this morning, the mention of his name, what does that do to you? Anything at all? Does it stir something within you? It should, because the Holy Spirit dwells within you. So let us ever be ones that are in awe of this anointed one, the Lord Jesus Christ. To me, he is all of that, and he is even more. He's that precious preacher. He's the preacher that brought the good news of the gospel to this poor soul of mine. He is the preaching one, the one who has been anointed by the Holy Spirit to preach the gospel. We see that there. That's part of his, the Spirit of the Lord is upon me. To do what? Well, he's anointed me. To do what? To preach the gospel. To preach the gospel. That's why Christ came. We see him after his baptism and in time in the wilderness that in the power of the Holy Spirit, he returned and he began teaching in the synagogues. It is also mentioned by Luke that this was his custom to go to the synagogue and teach. I love how, just as a side note, how the disciples carried that custom through, that in every city they went to, they went and preached in the synagogues and the churches there. But this was Christ's mission. I mean, he said it in chapter four of verse 43 of Luke. He says, I must. I must preach the gospel, I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose. Notice chapter five as well, that the teaching and preaching of Christ is central to his ministry. He says in verse one, we see this, the crowd was pressing around him, or pressing around Christ, and listening to the word of God. He was preaching the Word of God. He is the Word of God made flesh. And also in verse three he says, he sat down and began teaching the people from the boat. But what was this message? What is this gospel? We know it's the good news. It's the good news. It's the good news that Gabriel proclaimed to Zacharias, that his son John, John the Baptist, is preparing the way for the coming of the Lord. It's the good news that the angel said will bring great joy for all the people. It is the good news of which John the Baptist himself was preaching to the people to behold and believe, repent and believe. Look to Christ, look to the Lamb. The good news is Jesus Christ himself. The good news is found in the person and in the work of Jesus Christ. Let me tell you something, what makes the message of the spirit-filled preacher so wonderful is he himself is so wonderful. There's no one like him. There he is in his hometown. He opens up the scroll and he reads. He reads what we just read. And then he rolls it back up, it says, and he handed it to the attendant and he sits down. All eyes are fixed on Christ. All eyes on Him. I want to tell you that Christ didn't do anything different from the custom of that day. But were eyes fixed on Him because of the surety of His voice as He read? Was it the way that He rolled up that scroll and He handed it back? Or maybe yet the way he walked back to his seat to sit down. I tell you, eyes were on him, fixed on him, because they were waiting to hear what he had to say. He read something pretty remarkable. And the passage from where he read in Isaiah has everything to do with the promise of God for salvation. And so he sits in with one clear statement, no hesitation in his voice. Our Savior, with full authority and confidence, filled with the Spirit, he begins preaching with one line, today the scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing. That's it, today. Did the people sitting there realize what he just had said? Do we realize what he said? There in their midst stood the son of God in the flesh. Jesus just announced that he was the fulfillment of all that Isaiah had just said. He is the promised Messiah, the anointed one, the savior, the deliverer, the servant of God. The one who has the words of life, living water that you will never thirst again. Bread for the hungry. There in the midst stood someone greater than that very temple, than that very place. Greater than Jonah, greater than Solomon. We can use that Matthew 12 language because he is the greater one. There's no one greater than this Savior. And with him comes the greatest news of all, brethren and friends. This news is for the poor. It's for the captives or prisoners. the blind and the oppressed. That's what he says. He says, I've come to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind and to set free those who are oppressed. I think what is important to see in the ministry of Christ is that he didn't come to just offer words of life. but that he also went around doing good and healing many. And this only substantiated that or placed more weight and meaning on the words that he spoke. What good is a preacher if his life doesn't reflect what he teaches? We would call him a false teacher. His ministry though, Christ's ministry was one that manifested itself in both word and deed. to the glory of God. But these healings that he did, these deliverances, casting out demons, are only pointing to something more. Something that is beyond physical. Christ said it himself, it is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick. And then, very next statement, how does he clarify that? He clarifies that by saying this, sinners to repentance. And so Luke does something for us. Following the dialogue of Christ in the temple, reading from Isaiah, he immediately changes the scene in verse 31 there. And he gives an example of what this mission statement of Christ really is. What does it look like practically? He just read from Isaiah, but now, okay, the reader's paying attention, you're paying attention. What does that look like practically? And I want us, for the sake of time, just see the statement there where he says, I have come to release the captives. I want us to just work with that one statement, not the blind, not the setting free of those who are oppressed, but the release of the captives. See with me there in verses 31 through 37. Jesus had just left Nazareth. This is where Luke has taken us. He just left Nazareth and came to Capernaum. There in the synagogue, in a place where the Jews would gather to read and teach from scripture, there was a man. There was a man that had a spirit of an unclean demon in him. He, the demon with the voice of the man, cries out in verse 34 there. He says, let us alone. There's probably more than just one demon in there. Let us alone. What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God." Amazing. The knowledge and the accuracy of the demon, of who Christ was. The demon identified Christ rightly. He knew that this man, that was standing there in their midst, in front of him, came with power and authority, and that Christ, he can destroy this demon to nothing. He tells Christ to leave them alone and asks Christ, what business do we have with each other? But the great physician, he sees this man, this demon-possessed man, and leaving him alone is not an option. He has business with the demon because of that man he possesses. That man belongs to Jesus Christ. His body, his mind, his soul, his everything, it's Christ, the whole of man. And that demon has held him captive for long enough and Jesus has come to give that man life, for that man to really live. And Christ demonstrates his authority. He tells the demon to be quiet and to come out of the man. The demon throws the man to the ground. He came out, but he didn't do any harm to the man. And people saw this and they were amazed. They were amazed. Scripture says in verse 36 that they were talking to one another and saying, what is this message? What is this message? They knew that what they saw was not ordinary. There is a message. There is a meaning, there is something more to all of this. And the message is the good news of Jesus Christ. He has come. And this is the messiah that's bursting forth in authority and power. The stronger man has arrived, and the stronger man has entered into the house of the strong man, and he has indeed bound him. Scripture attests to this. He, Christ, has overcome the world. Through death, he has destroyed the one who has the power of death, that is the devil. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame by triumphing over them, over them in him. He has crushed the serpent's head. In Ezekiel chapter 34, verse 16, he says this, and this is Christ's fulfillment. I will seek the lost. I will bring back the scattered, I will bind the broken, and strengthen the sick. How will this be done, Ezekiel? How will this be done, Lord? He, God, made him, Jesus, who knew no sin, to become sin, to be sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God in him. That's how it's done. The good news, brethren, The good news, friends, is not any complex news. It's not difficult news. It's not foreign news. It's not hard-to-reach news. It's not happy news today and sad news tomorrow. It's not inconsistent nor changing news. It's the greatest news. It is where sinners who deserve the wrath of a holy God are now at peace with God. It's where sinners are transformed by the power of God from the darkness, from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of his beloved son. This is possible because of what Christ has accomplished in his life and death. It's where sinners are brought near to God by the blood of Christ. It's where sinners become saints because of the righteousness of Christ. It's where sin is forgiven and remembered no more. It's where the children of God rejoice in the God of their salvation. and live to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever. The good news is eternal life in Christ Jesus. So those of you here this morning that are in Christ Jesus, do those words spoken of our Savior, that He brings good news, that He brings deliverance, that He brings healing and restoration, does your heart rejoice this morning in those things? If not, why not? Listen, the good news is not a one-time type of news. It's not read-all-about-it news or it's passing news or old news. It doesn't expire. Jesus Christ is the same today and forevermore. Be encouraged this morning. What is it that troubles your soul? What is it that weighs you down? What is it that consumes you? Is it the cares of this world? Why is your heart not joyful in the Lord? Why don't you come to Jesus? Come to him again and again. And again, keep coming, keep coming, keep coming to Jesus. We say we believe the good news of the gospel, right? But somehow we've detached the message and the messenger. That's not the gospel. The mission statement of the Lord Jesus Christ is still valid today. He is able. We can't let these thoughts, those thoughts and distractions overwhelm us from this truth that he is ruling and he's reigning right now. That He doesn't save us to leave us. He gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit. David mentioned in John 14, or Brother Dean, I am not going to leave you as orphans. I'm going to come to you. And that's going to take place in the gift of the Holy Spirit. Do you believe that He who saved us is the one that is able to also sustain us? I think some of us need to cry out to the Lord and say, oh Lord, restore to me the joy of your salvation. And uphold me with a willing spirit. Cast your cares on him because he does care for you. What an exchange. What a Savior. But if you're here this morning and you have not trusted in the dear Savior, and there are some in here who have not trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. Be it a child, children, it may be you, it may be a young person here, it may be an older person. If you are unchanged or unmoved by this great news, I ask that you don't leave this place without hearing and taking hold of the greatest news that could change your life forever. It's eternal. Come to the Lord Jesus Christ. See yourself as you really are, poor and needy. It is to these that Christ came to preach the gospel. It's to the poor, it's to these, that's what Christ says. The poor, Luke has much to say about the poor. And in that statement, preaching the gospel to the poor, Christ has much to say about the poor. But what is meant by the poor? Is this a reference to a certain class or social standing? I say it is that, but not only that. Not mostly that, there's much more, it goes deeper. Certainly there were poor people, there were common people of the land, those who were living on very little, or those that were helpless. In themselves, they were at the mercy of those who were well off, the rich, the powerful. But this is all depicting the outside state of an individual. There is something more than what is on the outside or the living conditions one find themselves in. There is a spiritual poverty that goes deeper than the skin. And so Jesus begins even the Sermon on the Mount and with these words, blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. The word for the poor here is really showing one who is utterly ruined and helpless. Same word used for Lazarus who was begging for crumbs. This word depicts the desperate and pitiful state of a person. There it is, the poor in spirit are those who see their desperate and pitiful state. They see their need like the prodigal son when he came to his senses. He came to the realization that all resources have been exhausted. His friends forsook him. People cannot help. Riches perish. He must return to his father. The poor are those who see their sin as it really is. It's an offense against the most holy God. That in them, the poor, nothing that is good is found. And that if they remain in that, they will be ruined forever. They are those who see their need for someone greater. So all that there is to do is to cry for mercy from the mercy giver. I want to give you an illustration of this. And it's from the word of God because this is what best illustrates what it means to see oneself as poor and needy. Some of you may be sitting here this morning thinking, I have everything. I have everything this world has to offer. I have no want. And so why would I need Jesus Christ if I have everything? I'm in a comfortable home and nothing's pressing. I have everything. You're missing everything. And Peter, in chapter five there, it's a remarkable account, the account with Jesus calling Simon Peter and John from their boats to follow him. Jesus was teaching the people from Simon Peter's boat, and after teaching, he tells Simon to put out to the deep to catch some fish. Peter was hesitant to do that. And he made a truthful statement that he worked all night and caught nothing. In our own strength, in our own might, with man it is what? Impossible, but with God all things are possible. I worked all night and I got nothing, says Peter. But Simon is putting it on Jesus, isn't he? He says, because you said it, master, I will do it. I'll do it. And they caught a large number of fish. Peter was really moved by this. He was moved by this, not because of the fish necessarily, but because of the one who was standing in his boat. He falls down at the feet of Jesus and he cries out to him, depart from me. For I am a sinful man. Leave, please. I can't be in your midst. I am unclean. I am not worthy to even be in the same boat as you. Depart from me. It's not because Peter didn't catch any fish. And it's not because he caught the fish. You see, Peter saw his need and utter ruin in the presence of Christ. And he pleads and prays to Christ to leave. But no, Christ does not answer his prayer. He doesn't. He does the opposite. He draws near. Why? Because a broken and contrite heart the Lord will not despise. And that poor man, Peter, he left everything and followed him. followed Christ. This is because he is worth more than everything else. It was because he saw the glory of Christ. It was because he saw the excellence of Christ. It was because it was him who called him, Jesus Christ, that he said, I will follow you because you have everything that I need. So you who are here this morning, if you're not in Christ, would you come? Why delay? Why not come? And you who are in Christ but have been distracted by or put your confidence in anything else but Christ, the pleading is still the same. Come. I want to finish with this one thing. Jesus said that he came to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord, the year of grace. I want to tell you something that it's been a long year, And as Peter would say, it's because he has patience with each one of us, and patience for those sinners to repent and come to him. When Christ finishes making that statement, as we already saw, he sits down and he began to say that today the scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing. This is quite remarkable because first, by making that statement, it is without doubt, it is very clear that he is identifying himself as the fulfillment of what he just read from the scroll of Isaiah. Everyone in that place knew it. He didn't sit down as another one would have and began talking about, if somebody else would have read that and began talking about it, they would have just said, talking about, there is a promised one that is coming. And this is how he will be marked. We'll know him because the Spirit of God is upon him. We'll know him because when he comes, he's gonna bring the good news and he's gonna preach it to the poor. And when he comes, he's gonna release the captives, he's gonna give sight to the blind, and he's going to give freedom to the oppressed. He will redeem, he will restore, he will conquer, and then they'll go on and they'll say he will, he will, he will. But I'm telling you, Christ sat down and he said today, Today, here in your midst, this scripture is being fulfilled. It is fulfilled because he is the I am. And secondly, by him making that statement, well, that puts all those that are listening in a very interesting, peculiar position of having to make a choice. Because there is no gray, there's no in-between, there's no indifference with Christ. But what was the response of the people there in the synagogue? What did they say after he had just made those declarations? At first they were all speaking well of him. We read that there. In verse 22, and they were wondering at the words of grace that were falling from his lips. They never heard anything like this and they were no doubt impressed. This man was a persuasive speaker. He just said something very clear and there's no wiggle room in what he said. You can only take it one way. But see where they got hung up. What gave them pause? Luke tells us. Is this not Joseph's son? Is this not Joseph's son? I mean, we know his family, we've seen him growing up, and now he comes and he makes this statement? You see, the question that keeps coming up in the Gospel of Luke is this, who is this Jesus? And what does he want with me? And the answer is everything. Do we, the readers, believe that he is the Son of God? That he is the Savior that he claims to be? If so, are we willing to follow him? Are we willing to come to him in faith? Are we trusting him for all things in this life and for glory? Have we relinquished our own ways and thoughts? Do we see ourselves as the poor and needy and him as the one who is rich in mercy and grace? Or will we just reject him or just chalk it up to, is just Joseph's son? There's a song that I would want us to sing. I want to just read a verse in the refrain. And it's quite, come ye sinners, poor and needy, weak and wounded, sick and sore, Jesus ready stands to save you, full of pity, love, and power. I will arise and I will go to Jesus. He will embrace me in his arms. In the arms of my dear Savior, oh, there are 10,000 charms. And as you arise and you go to Jesus, know this, that there is this wonderful grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor. that you, through His poverty, might become rich. 2 Corinthians 8-9. You won't find that anywhere else in the world, but in Christ. Amen.