The Real Meaning of Luke 4

All right, this evening is a continuation of last Friday's topic, which is the Holy Spirit painting. And today is part two, and we pray that we'll be able to finish it this Friday by the grace of the Lord. Last week, my beloved, we spoke about filling of the Holy Spirit or being filled by the Holy Spirit and leading of the Holy Spirit.

And we said that filling of the Holy Spirit or being filled by the Holy Spirit, it is to do with the building of the human being and leading of the Spirit is to do with overcoming temptations and overcoming Satan or the devil. And we read in Luke four, verse one, that when Jesus being filled with the Holy Spirit, if we can have it, it's on the screen, when Jesus being filled with the Holy Spirit returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. So Jesus was filled and Jesus was led by the Spirit.

So and we said there were four points when we spoke in Luke chapter four, verse one, verse 14, 18 and 19. And we saw there are four things that is relating to the Holy Spirit. One, being filled by the Holy Spirit, two, being led by the Holy Spirit, three, the power of the Holy Spirit, and fourth, the control of the Holy Spirit.

Today we'll be taking the next two points. Last week was being filled by the Holy Spirit and led by the Holy Spirit. Today will be the power of the Holy Spirit and the control of the Holy Spirit.

And we stopped at leading of the Spirit last week. When you are led by the Spirit, what happens? Jesus came back from the wilderness victorious. He was tempted.

He fasted for 40 days and 40 nights. And then he was tempted by the devil. And after all that, the Lord Jesus put the devil to shame and came back victorious.

Why? Because when he went to the wilderness, he was led by the Spirit. That's why he came back victorious. If the Holy Spirit leads your life, rest assured, you too will come back victorious, like the Lord Jesus himself who has done it in the flesh.

Now, after the Lord Jesus came back from the wilderness victorious over temptations, over the devil, where did he go? Well, he came down to Galilee and then to Nazareth, where he lived most of his life on earth. He came down to Galilee and down to Nazareth. But came down in what? He came down in the power of the Holy Spirit.

He came down in the power of the Holy Spirit. Verse 14, if we can have it on the screen. Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee.

So he came back, he was victorious in the wilderness, came back down to Galilee and then to Nazareth, but this time he came back in the power of the Spirit. Now, there is a difference between leading of the Spirit and the power of the Spirit. What is the power of the Spirit? In Luke 24, 49, which is not on the screen, in Luke 24, 49, he says, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you.

But tarry, meaning remain, in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from above. The power of the Spirit is for evangelism, to evangelize, to preach. So how is a person, a Christian person, able to preach the word of the Lord by the power of the Holy Spirit? Now, the Lord Jesus entered the synagogue of Nazareth.

The moment he entered the synagogue, he was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And it happened to be Isaiah 61 and verses 1 to 2, but the first half of verse 2 only, not the entire verse 2. So the Lord Jesus read from Isaiah 61, verse 1, and the first half of verse 2. And it is so beautiful that St. Luke paints all of this and says in Luke 4, 16, and if we can have Luke 4, 16, it's not on the screen either. In Luke 4, 16, he says, so he came to Nazareth where he had been brought up, where Jesus was brought up in Nazareth.

He came down to Nazareth where he was, where he has been brought up, and as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read. And as his custom was. What do we learn from this, as his custom was? It tells me and all of us that from the time the Lord Jesus was born till the time he came back from the wilderness victorious, every single Sabbath the Lord spent it in the synagogue.

So in other words, he went to the synagogue every Saturday without fail. Do we go to church every Sunday without fail? Well, we need to walk in the footsteps of the Lord Jesus. You need to be consistent with your faith.

You need to be consistent with your church. Don't go once, disappear ten times. If you want to find result, fruitful result in your Christian life, in your spiritual life, consistency pays off.

Consistency pays off. As his custom was, every Saturday without fail from the time he was born till the time he came back from the wilderness victorious, Jesus never missed a synagogue on a Sabbath. Never missed it.

Now, the Lord Jesus used to go to the synagogue every Sabbath. One would ask, why this time in particular he was given a book to read, yet throughout his life, every Saturday he's been to the synagogue, he was never asked to read the book until this time only. So for the first time only, after coming back from the wilderness, he was given a book to read.

First time ever. Why? Question is why? Now, the Lord Jesus went to the River Jordan to be baptized by John the Baptist. Now, people have seen him growing up in Nazareth, and they all came to know him being the son of Mary, the son of the carpenter, or Father Joseph the just, even though Joseph was his father by law.

Now, so they saw him and they came to know him that he is the son of the carpenter, son of Mary, son of the carpenter. All of a sudden, after 30 years had gone by, Jesus became a mature adult. He goes to the River Jordan, and then heaven opens, the voice from heaven, the Lord says, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased, and then the Holy Spirit descends on him as the dove, and all of this takes place suddenly at the age of 30 at the River Jordan.

The words travel very fast and very far. People do gossip, and when people gossip, especially my beloved daughters, when you talk, be very careful. I don't think the entire Pentagon are as fast as you are in spreading the word around.

So, the word traveled around that this Jesus, son of the carpenter, all of a sudden they're saying that God the Father from above said, this is my beloved son, and then the Holy Spirit descends on him as the dove. What is this? Is this true? Can't be. We know he's just a normal human being.

He's son of Mary and son of the carpenter. What do you mean he's the son of God? People started talking. It got to the authorities.

It got to the Pharisees, the scribes, the priests, you know, the hierarchies of the temple. So, they need to know what's going on. So, they started questioning it, and they even said it in Luke chapter 4, 22, that they were saying, this is not Joseph's son.

We know he's Joseph's son, not the son of God. So, and the Lord Jesus replied to them in verse 24 of chapter 4 and says, assuredly I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country. You are without honor only in the midst of your own people.

Strangers worship you and re-honor you, but your own people deny you and reject you. Isn't that the case? Always it's the case. At home, you are without honor, but in the midst of strangers, you have an extreme great honor there.

After this talk about Jesus, the carpenter, you know, spread. They sent people searching for him. They searched everywhere for him without prevail.

They couldn't find him. Why? Because at that time, the Lord was in the desert fasting for 40 days and 40 nights. So, they looked for him everywhere frantically to find out if what they heard is true or not.

So, we want to question Jesus. We want to bring him in, call him in, and question him what is going on. Tell us who you are.

So, they searched for him frantically. They could not find him anywhere because he was in the desert for 40 days. Suddenly, out of nowhere, when they gave up searching for him, suddenly, they see him walking in with his own feet all the way to the synagogue of Nazareth on a Sabbath.

Big shock! Oops! This man whom we've been looking for frantically, he comes in by himself. Hello! Hello! That's why they gave him the book to read this time for the first time ever. Yet, he's been to the synagogue every Saturday for 30 days.

Never gave him a book. Only this time. Because of the word that got spread around at the River Jordan.

What took place at the River Jordan. So now, when they saw Jesus walking into the synagogue, between themselves, I'm telling you this as a simple story. I'm trying to simplify it.

I'm paraphrasing to make it very simple. They started whispering and talking between themselves. They said, Oh, this is the man.

This is the man. Shall we go and ask him, Are you really the Son of God? They said, No, no, no. Come on.

Are we out of our mind? Why should we go and ask him and put ourselves in a very uncomfortable situation? You know what? The best thing is, we're going to go to the leader of the synagogue and ask him to give him the book to read and let us see what is he going to say. Socrates, one of the greatest philosophers of the Greek world, once he said to a rich man's son, Socrates, once he said to a rich man's son, he said, Son, talk so I can see you. Not talk so I can hear you, but talk so I can see you, not hear you.

Why? Because if a person does not speak, you don't know what is in their mind, what is in their heart. When will you find out the moment they start speaking? Because once you talk, the word reveals what's inside of you. So talk so I can see you.

This is exactly what these people in the synagogue decided to do. Give him the book, let him talk, and once he talks, we will find out what we've heard, if it's true or not. So they gave him the book.

Come on, Jesus, you do it. Why should we do it for you? Reveal yourself by yourself. Let's go to verse 18.

Verse 18. The Lord, it happens to be that they gave him the book of Isaiah. And in the in the Bibles we have now, it is chapter 61 verses 1 and the first half of verse 2. Look what the Lord says.

The spirit of the Lord is upon me. The spirit of the Lord is upon me. Now before I go any further, the Lord Jesus came down to Galilee in the power of the Holy Spirit.

And what did we say the power of the Holy Spirit is to do with? Preaching. That's why when he entered synagogue, coming in the power of the Spirit, then he has to preach. He has to talk.

He has to preach. When you come in the power of the Spirit, you will preach, baby. You will preach.

So they gave him, they handed this book of Isaiah to him. It begins with the spirit of the Lord is upon me. This is the fourth point.

The spirit of the Lord is upon me, meaning the control of the Spirit. He came down in the power of the Spirit to preach. And now he is under the control of the Spirit.

The spirit of the Lord is upon me. In the church language, we call it the laying of the hand. The laying of the hand and the laying of the hand is what we call ordination.

The laying of the hand, ordination or consecration. But the spirit of the Lord is upon me. It's the laying of the hand or the control of the Spirit.

My beloved, the right of ownership is one of four things. To have the right to own something, you need to be qualified in one of four things, legally speaking. Number one, ingenuity of the invention, meaning you are the first person that has invented this product, this thing.

No one before you ever invented it. You are the first one. You have the right to own it because you are the first inventor ever.

That's one. Number two, buying and selling. When you buy something, you own that thing lawfully.

Number three, inheritance. When parents give something to me as an inheritance, whether it's a land, it's a property, when the parents give it over to their children, the children own that thing lawfully. And the fourth one is the laying of the hand.

The laying of the hand. Now let's talk about them. Ingenuity of the invention.

When it comes to the invention, we share this with all of the world. We share it all together. Why? Because the whole world is created by God.

God is the rightful creator to this world. No one created the world prior to Him because there is no one else before Him. He is the first and the last.

So, as the creator, He is the rightful owner of the entire world. In this, all of us share the invention. God created us all.

We belong to Him. All of us. The whole world.

Number two, in buying and selling, Christians are distinguished in this. Only Christians are different to the rest of the world when it comes to buying and selling. Why? The Lord Jesus purchased us with His precious blood.

He gave Himself to the whole world, but purchased those who accepted Him. John 3.16 And for so God, for God so loved the whole world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. So God the Father gave His only begotten Son to the whole world, for the whole world, but who was purchased by the blood? The one who accepted Jesus Christ.

Not the whole world has been purchased, but Jesus gave His life up for the whole world, but He purchased those who accepted Him. So when it comes to buying and selling, we were purchased, bought by the blood of the Lamb of God. Who are the ones purchased by the blood of the Lamb of God? Christians only, not the whole world.

Now, inheritance, third point. In this one, the inheritance is not for all Christians. Now when it comes to buying and selling, it's for all Christians, but inheritance is not for all Christians.

What is inheritance then for? It is for the Christians who live the second birth. In other words, it is for the Christians who are born of God. They are the inheritors.

Christians are all baptized, but do they live their Christ? All the baptized souls? No. So many Christians are lost. So many Christians have no idea who Jesus Christ is.

They are just Christian by name, but absolutely not Christians by deed. So when it comes to inheritance, for you to inherit your heavenly Father, you better live the second birth, the sacrament of the holy baptism, the ones who are born of God. Now the laying of the hand, the fourth one, to claim ownership is for the servants, the true, genuine, faithful Christians, the servants.

You can never serve Christ unless you truly love Him and believe in Him. You can never serve Christ unless you truly love Him and believe in Him because serving Christ is not an easy path. It's a very narrow door.

It's a very narrow path. It's not easy. So who are the ones that are going to last till the end and serve the Lord faithfully? Are the ones who truly, genuinely love Him and live for Him, not for themselves.

Now let us come back to verse 18. Can we have verse 18? Oh, it's already there. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.

Here the Lord Jesus wants to show us the sixfold of the Holy Spirit painted so elegantly by St. Luke. In verse 18 and verse 19 we will find six things the Holy Spirit does. Six things the Holy Spirit does.

But it's painted stunningly by the great painter St. Luke, the Gospel writer. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because He has anointed me to number one, preach the Gospel to the poor. Number two, He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted.

Number three, to proclaim liberty to the captives. Number four, and recovery of sight to the blind. Number five, to set at liberty those who are oppressed.

And number six, to proclaim the acceptable ear of the Lord which is in verse 19, which is in verse 19. Six things the Lord Jesus spoke of in chapter 4. Six things the Lord Jesus spoke of in chapter 4 and the Lord Jesus fulfilled all six things in chapter 5. All these things He fulfilled them in chapter 5. I don't know if you recall last week we said that the Gospel according to St. Luke consists of 24 chapters, 13 paintings. The first chapter, one painting.

The last chapter, 24 is one painting. We are left with 22 chapters. 22 chapters, every two chapters with one painting, that's 11.

And to 13 paintings making up 24 chapters. And we said, as a painter, St. Luke does not write in a historical order. He brings things that happened yesterday and brings things that happened two years ago, five months ago, a year ago and puts them together as a brilliant painter and brings out a stunning painting called the Holy Spirit painting.

So chapter 4 and 5 is number 3 painting in the Gospel of St. Luke. So what the Lord spoke of in chapter 4 about the six things the Holy Spirit does, Jesus Himself as the perfect man fulfilled them all in chapter 5. So now, let's come to the first one. To preach, can we go back to verse 18 please? To preach the Gospel to the poor.

What does this mean to preach the Gospel to the poor? Who is preaching the Gospel to the poor? Well, the Lord Jesus is the preacher. He came down to Galilee in the power of the Spirit and the power of the Spirit is to do with preaching. That's why the Lord's ministry, He was preaching everywhere.

So to preach the Gospel to the poor, to understand who are the poor, you'll find this in Matthew 5 verse 3. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Now to know who is the poor in spirit, you need to come and see who is the poor in the flesh.

To be poor physically, two things will qualify you to be a genuine street beggar. To be a genuine street beggar, two things must be found in you. Number one, that you are fully paralyzed, unable to work, unable to do anything.

You cannot rely on yourself at all. Number two, you have inherited absolutely nothing from your parents. Because if I was fully paralyzed, and mom and dad left me money and properties and possessions, I can live off of that.

But if my parents left me with nothing, and I physically am unable to work, then I qualify to be a street beggar. I rely on you. If you don't help me, I'll eventually die.

The Lord Jesus came to preach the Gospel to the poor. So the poor are the ones who claim and acknowledge they have no inheritance from their parents, and they are physically unable to work. All of us, we were born from our parents Adam and Eve in sin.

Sin made us all bankrupt, and sin made us all paralyzed, unable to work spiritually. Now we are poor. The Lord says, Blessed are you if you say, I am bankrupt, Lord, and I am good for nothing.

I came for people like you. Now, the Lord Jesus entered the realm of materialism to lead us out into the realm of spiritualism. The Lord Jesus entered the realm of materialism, which is our realm, to lead us out into the realm of spiritualism.

In Luke 5, you see, every single point of this in Luke 4.18, you will find the answer to it being fulfilled in Luke chapter 5. The Lord fulfills them. So 4 and 5 go hand in hand. In 4, the Lord says what He's doing.

In 5, the Lord did what He said in Luke 4. Are you with me? You're too quiet, you're scaring me. Alright, so in Luke 5, verses 1 to 10, it talks about the first point. The first point, to preach the gospel to the poor, the Lord fulfilled this point in Luke 5, verses 1 to 10.

How? When you read in Luke 5, from verse 1 to 10, you'll find this. The Lord Jesus comes to the sea of Galilee, and He sees two boats. One belonging to Simon Peter, the other one belonging to James and John, the sons of Zebedee.

The Lord decides to enter the boat of Simon Peter. And then He says to Simon Peter, Can you just put your boat a little bit into the water there? I want to preach to the multitude standing on the shores. Because people used to gather wherever Jesus went.

So when the Lord Jesus saw the multitude, He came into the boat of St. Peter, and He said, Just go a little bit into the water. St. Peter said, Why? He said, I want to preach to the people. So St. Peter sat on the boat, while Jesus is standing and preaching in the power of the Spirit.

He started preaching to them. Once He finished preaching to the people, He says to Simon Peter, Now take the boat into the deep and cast your net to catch fish. Simon Peter looks at the Lord Jesus.

He says, With all love and respect, You're a carpenter. I, Peter, am the fisherman. You know, I'm the expert in here, sorry.

What you're saying logically makes no sense, Jesus of Nazareth. Why? Because all night long we were trying to catch fish. We did not catch not even Nemo.

The little tiny fish. We caught absolutely nothing, Jesus, all night long. Now, you're saying, During the day now, it's no longer night time, It's during the day now, You're saying, Go to the deep and cast your net to catch fish.

We know as fishermen, During the day, fish hide away. We can't find them. That's why we go at night time to catch them.

But, since you entered my boat, I'll take you as a guest. And it is kind of rude from me, I, Simon, To really disrespect my guest. Since you're my guest, that's okay.

I'll do what you say. Yet, I don't believe in what you say. So he casts the net.

And then before he realizes, The net is full of immense fish, big ones. And the Bible, Holy Bible says, The net was close to be torn apart from the weight of the fish the net caught. You know why the Lord Jesus did that? The Lord Jesus is fair in every way.

Even when it comes to materialistic things. The Lord says to Simon Peter, I used your boat and I used your time. Don't ever think I'm not going to pay you for it.

So since I used your boat and I used your time, I caught you plenty of fish. That's the payment. I don't do it for free.

When Simon Peter saw all the fish, Simon said, Lord, please get out of my boat. I'm a sinner. This is too much.

Lord, we as professional fishermen, All night long, we were not able to catch one fish. You as a carpenter know nothing about fishing. You brought us endless blessings.

But these blessings are what? Material. The Lord Jesus entered into our life using material things to lead us out of materialism into spiritual things. So, Lord, you brought us plenty of blessings.

But this blessing is what? Material. Fish is material. The Lord Jesus said, Simon, I did not bring you material things, but I brought you material things in order through them, I get you to spiritual things.

Therefore, Simon, I'll say this to you. You see all this fish? Yes. He said, Yes, Lord.

I caught them for you, correct? He said, Yes, Lord. From this moment onward, you will catch people for me. Spiritual.

I came into your life through material. I came into your life through the things you do in order to get you to do the things I do, not you do anymore. Are you with me? Yes? You're too quiet.

Do you want me to tell you a joke or to wake you up a bit or something? Man, man. Or maybe you're too focused. Thank God for that.

Just like I caught the fish for you from this moment onward. I'll make you catch people for me. So who are the poor here to preach the gospel to the poor? The poor are the twelve apostles.

These are the poor. Whom the Lord chose himself. These are the poor.

Are the twelve apostles. Now, these poor apostles. Whom nobody ever heard their voices.

Psalm 19 verses 3 to 4. Look what Psalm 19 verses 3 to 4 says about these twelve poor apostles. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Nobody knew who they were.

Nobody even knew that they ever existed. Nobody cared about them. Their line has gone out through all the earth.

And their words to the end of the world. And after 21 centuries later, their words are reaching the ends of the world. They became fisher of men.

Because Jesus entered their life through materialism to lead them out of that materialism into spiritualism. From fisher of fish to fisher of men. That's what the Lord does.

When you let Him. All Simon did allowed Jesus to enter his boat. And are you going to allow the Lord Jesus to enter the boat of your heart? Are you? What are you afraid of? What are you worried about? You see the problem sometimes we become entangled with is we worry about our materialistic life.

We're concerned who's going to pay the bills? Who's going to buy the house? Who's going to get me this? I've got a wedding coming up. Are you going to get me another brand new dress? Am I going to wear the same dress over and over again? I want to go out. I want to dance with somebody.

I need money. So we are too entangled with our materialistic life. Leave it to the Lord.

And let the Lord handle it for you. Because He will not only provide materialistic things for you. But He'll give you something no money can buy.

When you start changing people's life. You cannot buy people's life with money. But you're able to change it, save it with the love of Christ.

When you allow Him to enter your heart. You start changing people. This money can't buy.

Do you think for a moment that Christ who lives in you. That Christ who walks through you. Who speaks through you and changes people through you.

Do you think He'll leave you sleep one night hungry? Are we out of our mind? What is your financial problem? Compared to what Christ has done for you. Please have faith. Have faith.

Have faith. I can dwell on this forever. But I need to move on.

There's plenty to. Point number two. To heal the broken hearted.

Please pay attention. This is gems. Pearls here.

Pearls. To heal the broken hearted. Point number two.

To heal the broken hearted. The Lord Jesus fulfilled this in Luke 5 verses 12 to 16. Now.

What breaks the heart? Who can tell me? My name is King Julian. Let's move it, move it, move it. I just want to make you laugh a bit, man.

I'm scared you're too quiet. What breaks the heart? If you tell me, I will get you a nice gift from Madagascar. What breaks the heart is the distortion of the human's image.

When the human's image is distorted, the heart is broken. What do I mean? Well, when we read in Luke 5 verses 12 to 16. We see in here.

They brought to the Lord Jesus a leper. A man with leprosy. And Saint Luke is the only gospel writer that says he was full of leprosy.

This guy is a painter. Sorry, he's not a guy. This saint is a painter.

That's the language of the 21st century. Sorry, Saint Luke. I'll take it back.

This holy, mighty apostle of Christ, the gospel writer, is a painter. He says, this man whom they brought to the Lord Jesus was full of leprosy. Now, this leper at the time, when he used to walk, people would avoid him.

People would despise him. People would walk away from him. He is rejected in his own society, in his own community.

So therefore, this leper, wherever he went, he walked with a broken heart. Because he saw that he is not wanted. People are afraid of approaching him, getting close to him.

Less be they are contagious and get that leprosy from him. So they walked away from him. He found himself, by himself, rejected, not wanted, not loved, refused.

Broke his heart. Why? Because he has leprosy. And the Lord Jesus came to heal the broken hearted.

And the Lord healed that leper. So now, if you are poor, you will start bringing people to Christ. But if you are a broken hearted, the Lord Jesus came to heal your doubts about him.

If you are poor, the Lord will use you to bring souls to him. But if you are broken hearted, the Lord has come to heal your doubts about him. What breaks the heart? Doubting God is what breaks the heart.

My beloved, when they brought this leper to the Lord Jesus. Listen to this, you read that in Luke 5, 12-16. The leper said to the Lord, I know you can heal me.

I know you can heal me. But what was his problem? His problem was one thing. I know you can heal me, but are you willing to heal me? And all of us fall into this trap.

We know the Lord is able, but is he willing? See, there is a difference between the Lord is being able and is willing. We know and believe the Lord is able, but where we doubt is, is he willing to do it for me? The moment we start doubting his willingness to helping me, I end up with a broken heart. And I start saying, when will the Lord come? Will, see? When will the Lord do this? When will the Lord save me? When will the Lord change my life? When will the Lord do this for me? When? I'm not saying, can he do it? No, because I believe he can.

But my issue is, I'm not sure if he's willing. But the Lord says in Luke 4.18, I came to heal the broken hearted. I came to heal every doubting heart about my willingness.

When this man said, I know you can heal me, are you willing Lord to heal me? The Lord says, I am willing. Read it, I am willing. What did the Lord Jesus say about Jerusalem? Jerusalem, how many times I was willing to help you, but you did not want.

Don't ever doubt that Christ is willing to be there for you. He already came for this. He will never walk away from this.

He came for it. I came to heal the broken hearted. I came to heal the doubting hearts that are doubting my willingness.

Oh yes, I'm willing, but are you willing? That's the question. The problem lies within you, my child, not me. Within you.

Now, and the Lord Jesus said to this leper, I'm willing. Be healed. And he got healed instantaneously.

And he said, go and show yourself to the priest. Don't go to anywhere else, but to the priest. That's another topic.

I came to heal the broken hearted. You see, leprosy, my beloved, distorted the external appearance. And sin distorted the internal image, which God had created us with.

In Genesis 1.26, God says, let us go down and make man in our image according to our likeness. God created us in his own image. Sin distorted that very image.

The distortion of that image of God within us broke our heart. And every time we make a mistake, we walk broken hearted, feeling sad, miserable, empty, disappointed, disorientated, hating oneself, doesn't know what to do. That's what a broken heart does.

The Lord came to heal that broken heart, so that you are no longer living in misery, no longer in disappointment. But let me tell you this. The number one enemy of love is disappointment.

The number one enemy that wipes love away is when a person is disappointed. Disappointment can lead a person to suicidal thoughts. Love gives life.

Disappointment takes love away. Therefore, the very life which love gave. The Lord came to heal the broken hearted.

Don't feel disappointed with yourself. I came to put you back on your feet, my child. Be strong.

Have faith. Whatever happened, happened. Duster off and walk away.

Move forward. Don't ever look back. Don't dwell on the past.

Don't carry the luggage of the past with you into the present and into the future. Leave them where they belong, behind. Go forward.

Be strong. Amen. Now, point number three.

To proclaim liberty to the captives. To proclaim liberty to the captives. Now, who is the captive? The paralytic.

We find this in Luke 5, 17-26. Everything the Lord said in Luke 4, He fulfilled in Luke 5. So, to proclaim liberty to the captives. The Lord Jesus did it in Luke 5, 17-26.

Who are the captives? The paralytic. Paralytic here? Quadriplegic. Quadriplegic meaning He is unable to move neither a hand nor a leg.

Fully paralyzed. Fully paralyzed. Unable to do anything.

That is a paralytic. Quadriplegic. Revelation 3.1 You have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.

The Lord is saying to the leader of one of the churches in Asia Minor. You have a name that you are alive, but the way I see you, you are dead. You are paralyzed.

Fully paralyzed. Like a dead person, unable to move. Unable to do anything.

What happened with this story when we read it in Luke 5, 17-26? Four men came carrying this paralyzed man in his bed. Carrying him. They brought him to where the Lord Jesus was.

The Lord was in this house. And they came to walk in. The house was packed with people.

They could not enter. The four men who were carrying this paralyzed man did not give up. So, to cut it short, they took him onto the rooftop.

They opened the roof and lowered him all the way to where Jesus was sitting on that floor. And they placed the paralyzed man right before the Lord Jesus' feet. Now, the Lord Jesus, look at this.

He looks at the faith of these four men. And then He looks at the paralyzed man. And He says to this paralyzed man, Your sins are forgiven you.

The people who were sitting in that house, when they heard the Lord Jesus saying to the paralyzed man, Your sins are forgiven you. They got angry and upset. They said, Oh, what's going on bro? If we were searching for someone to forgive this man's sins, We would have taken him to the temple of God.

And offered a sacrifice on his behalf. And led the high priest or the priest there to pray for him. So that God may forgive his sins.

We didn't bring him to you to forgive his sins. We brought him to you to heal him. Jesus, who said this? The scribes and the Pharisees.

What a great title they are, man. There's plenty of scribes and Pharisees and priests in our time and age. Don't ever end up a religious figure.

Religious people destroy the church. Just like those religious people destroyed the temple. Live Christ.

Don't just talk and speak eloquently with big words. And yet live none of them. Rather be quiet and live the Lord.

Don't talk too much and live very little. Live the Lord and shut up. I just wanted to make you laugh.

Alright. I'll ask the scribes and the Pharisees. May the Lord permit me.

I say scribes and Pharisees. You guys are very well embedded into the scriptures of the Old Testament. Which was the only part of the Bible available at that time.

So you are very well embedded into the scriptures. And especially you Pharisees. You memorize the book of Psalms by heart.

Like our beloved Theo. Memorized Psalm 91 and 23. He's not here with us today unfortunately.

So I'll ask you my beloved Pharisees. Since you've memorized the entire book of Psalms. Can I ask you what Psalm 103 verses 1 to 3 says? Can you please tell me? Psalm 103 verses 1 to 3. Looks like you have not memorized the scripture very well.

And the book of Psalms very well. Otherwise you wouldn't have asked this question wrongly. Psalm 103 verse 1 to 3. It says the following.

Listen. Bless the Lord O my soul. And all that is within you.

Bless His holy name. Bless the Lord O my soul. And forget not all His benefits.

Listen now. Who forgives all your iniquities. Your sins are forgiven.

Who forgives all your iniquities. Who heals all your diseases. What does the Lord do? Naturally forgives.

Then heals. The scribes and the Pharisees said to Jesus. Heal the man.

Wrong. The Lord must forgive his sin. In order to heal him.

Because Psalm 103 says. The Lord forgives sins. Then heals the disease.

The Pharisees asked the wrong question. They did it the other way around. They said heal him.

The Lord looked at him and said. Your sins are forgiven. Because I am the Lord of the Bible.

My name is Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Not me. My name is Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

I am the Lord of the Bible. Psalm 103 talks about me. I am the Lord.

Who forgives sins first. Then heals. They said.

Who can forgive sins? It is only God alone. Jesus said to them. I'm God.

That's why I forgive sins. Because I'm God. And since I forgive sins.

Then I will heal him later. So when the Lord Jesus said to this man. Your sins are forgiven.

What did the Lord do after that? He did three things for this man. Number one. He said arise.

Arise meaning. You're healed. Because he was paralyzed.

He couldn't move. Now that you're able to move. What does that mean? I've healed you.

Why? Because I forgave your sins. Then the next step naturally that follows through. Is healing.

So now arise. You're healed. And then.

Take up. Take up your bed. I give you power.

And then go. I give you. Conduct.

Arise. I healed you. Pick up the bed.

I gave you the power. To live. For me.

Not for you anymore. Your behavior. I've changed.

The reason why you ended up being paralyzed. Because you lived. Your way.

Not my way. That's why. Your way.

Is sinful way. And sin paralyzed you. I came to forgive that very sin.

In order to give you healing. In order to give you power. To get up.

And then go. And live for me. No longer for you.

Lest you be paralyzed once again. The Lord Jesus did all this. For the captives.

And set them. Into liberty. Point number.

Four. Recovery of sight to the blind. Recovery of sight to the blind.

We find it in Luke 5. Between verses 27 and 32. Please. When you go home read.

Forum 5. And then read the entire Holy Bible. Luke 5. 27 to 32. Now who is this blind? I came to give sight.

Or recovery of sight to the blind. Who is the blind here? Levi. Levi.

The word Levi. Means. The meaning of the word.

It means companion. And this companionship. It talks about marriage.

He is your companion. In a matrimonial bond. That's what the word Levi.

In Arabic. They use the word Quran. Quran in Arabic means.

Matrimonial bond. Companionship. In holy matrimony.

So the word Levi means companion. In matrimonial bond. And the tribe of Levi.

Their portion. Was the Lord. That's what the Lord said to them.

Levi your portion is me. You don't inherit anything. Because I am your inheritance.

I am. So the Lord. Is supposed to be.

The portion of Levi. And Levi. Ended up being.

A tax collector. In the New Testament. Levi.

Who later on. Became Matthew. The gospel writer of the gospel.

According to Saint Matthew. His name was Levi. Now the word Levi.

Meaning the Lord is your portion. The Lord is my holy companion. But he ended up being.

A tax collector. And tax collectors. Love one thing.

Money. Money. Money.

Honey. Make me money. In this big wide world.

Tax collector. Instead of God. Instead of the Lord.

Being Levi's portion. Money ended up being Levi's portion. Now look at Saint Paul.

Advising his disciple. His son Timothy. In 1 Timothy 6.10. Look what Saint Paul says.

As a father, spiritual father. Advising his spiritual son. He says.

For the love of money. Is a root of all kinds of evil. For the love of money.

Is the root of all kinds of evil. The Lord Jesus. Came.

To the blind. In order to see. The love of money.

Makes you blind. My child. I came to give recovery of sight.

To the blind. I came to set you free. From being a slave to the dollar sign.

Don't ever make money your God. When does money become God? Or when does anything become your God? When you love that thing. More than God.

You see love. Was supposed to be given to God first. And then through God.

To everyone else. But what you put first in your life. Becomes your God.

So if you love money. Then money is your God. If you love a person.

Then that person becomes your God. Whoever and whatever. You put before God.

That thing and that person becomes your God. Tax collectors. Their God was money.

Because they worship money. They loved money. Don't ever be greedy.

The Lord says. Not me. You know why? Because he'll take with you absolutely.

Zero. Nothing. Why are you greedy? Give.

With a big heart. With an open hand. Give.

In a very charitable way. And let the Lord bless you. More and more.

The more you hold on to. You live with nothing. What kind of a wisdom is that? Not very big at all.

Now listen to this. The Lord came to give recovery of sight to the blind. Levi is blind now.

He loves money. He made money. His God.

The Lord Jesus comes and stands before Levi the tax collector. The lover of money. And he looks at Levi and he says.

Follow me. The Lord is incredible. How he deals with every single one of us.

Depending on what are our weaknesses. Or what is the greatest weakness in us. He'll come and hit the sensitive cord in you.

In me. In all of us. To get us out of that weakness.

To deliver us. So he stands before the tax collector. And he says follow me.

Now. This tax collector. He will not take one step forward until he says what's in it for me.

What do you mean follow me? Alright. What am I going to get? I make a thousand dollars. Am I going to make four? I make ten grand.

Am I going to make a million? If I'm not making any more money than what I am now. I'm following nobody baby. Even if you're God.

But look at Levi. The moment he hears the Lord Jesus says to him follow me. On the spot he gets up and follows the Lord.

The only disciple out of the twelve who followed Jesus with no heartaches, with no headaches is Levi. Please put your hands together for Levi. It took the Lord two words to convert Levi.

Follow me. Levi gets up. Now will come.

I want to ask Levi a couple of questions. If you allow me, my beloved Levi. What made you get up and follow the Lord on the spot Levi, tax collector? Levi will answer in this way.

He says all of my life I have gained a great deal of big things and little things. I gained so much in my life. Yet throughout my entire life I have never ever experienced happiness until I heard the voice of this man saying to me, follow me.

When his voice hit my ease and went deep down into the crevices of my being, my soul I experienced happiness for the first time in my entire life. Yet I've gained a lot of richness, a lot of wealth and I made an empire for myself. But all of this empire gave me no happiness whatsoever.

The voice of this man I experienced happiness for the first time in my life. That's why when I heard the voice saying follow me, it opened my eyes because the Lord came to give recovery of sight to the blind. When I heard his voice the voice opened my eyes and made me realize one thing that whatever I used to say with my own eyes this is the most expensive thing.

I've realized when this voice opened my eyes I realized that the only most expensive thing in existence is Jesus Christ. That's why when I've realized he is the most expensive, he opened my eyes with his voice. That moment I hated money, I hated the very table I sat at, I hated all the books of my accounting and I dropped everything and I walked because I thought when I gained this and I gained that and I built this and I built that that this is the glory.

I've realized the glory of this world is fake. There is only one true glory the voice of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. This is the only true glory.

Not what you have it's who you have. My eyes are open. That's why I got up and walked because I've realized the glory, the true glory lies within this man.

I followed him and I never looked back. And blessed are you blessed is the soul that denies itself for you shall find it in the end. Your name was Levi by following me.

You are now Matthew the Gospel writer and the first one in the New Testament. That name will never be wiped but Levi is dead long ago. Matthew lives forever.

This is the glory Christ came to give you. When he opens the eyes of the blind you'll realize the world and everything in it is nothing but filth. It's filth.

Step on it to gain Christ. Amen. Amen.

Alright. That same night look at Levi. He did not even wait till the following day.

That same night he invited the Lord Jesus to his house. When the Lord came in he saw the house filled with tax collectors. What Levi is saying to the Lord he says, Oh Lord the world is full of blind people.

Open their eyes the way you did with me. Instead of criticizing people. Instead of retaliating at people who are against us.

Who hurt us. Who speak badly about us. Instead of going and fighting with them.

Beg the Lord to open their eyes because I was one of them. I was like them before when I was blind. Blinded by the temptations of this world and Satan the ruler of this world.

I was blinded as well. I used to do the same even worse. But when Christ opened my eyes I've realized it is all fake.

It is all a lie. It is all a piece of filth. I need to chase the true glory.

I followed you Lord and I will follow you by your grace and mercy till the end of this life on earth and forevermore in heaven in the kingdom to come. Lord the way you opened my eyes. I'm begging you open the eyes of my enemies because they're blind.

Father forgive them for they do not know what they're doing. Forgive them. Yet they shredded the body of Jesus Christ on the cross.

They shredded him. He never said nothing but father I beg you forgive them. He continued talking to his heavenly father.

He did not talk to nobody even those who hurt him immensely. He loved them till the end. The death of the cross he loved them.

Now that is a man I want to follow. That is the man I want to follow. His love never fails.

His faithfulness never fails. His loyalty never fails. His friendship, companionship never fails.

And his word is awesome and powerful. Changes darkness into light. The blind man into someone who can see the truth not the reality of this world which is fake.

Fake. Number five to set at liberty those who are oppressed. To set at liberty those who are oppressed.

The Lord Jesus fulfilled this in Matthew 5 verses 33 to 35. To set at liberty those who are oppressed. Who are the oppressed? The broken spirit.

The broken spirit. What do we align this with? What do we align this with? In chapter 5 verses 33 to 35 they ask the Lord Jesus, why are your disciples not fasting? Here we see how St. Luke paints this painting so beautifully. What has this got to do with the broken spirit? Why are your disciples not fasting? You see, the way St. Luke writes if you do not understand the structure of the gospel you will misinterpret it.

You'll misunderstand it. You'll say this is making no sense. I came to set at liberty those who are oppressed.

Why are your disciples not fasting? What has this got to do with setting people at liberty who are oppressed? They said, why aren't your disciples fasting? Look at John the Baptist disciples, they all fast. Look at the Pharisees disciples, they all fast. What are they? Are they special? Why aren't they fasting? Why are they breaking the law? You know what he said to them? He said, for as long as the bridegroom is with them, they can't fast.

Wow. For as long as the bridegroom is with them, don't ask them to fast. Do you go to weddings fasting? Do you sit in a wedding fasting? Not eating, not drinking? It's a joyous occasion.

There is the groom, there is the bride. Everybody's laughing, talking, and eating, and drinking, and dancing. And if you're a Syrian, and if you're Lebanese, come on brother.

So, it's a happy occasion. I'm in the presence of the bridegroom. I can't fast.

He said, but a time will come when the bridegroom is lifted up, then they will fast. But as long as he's with them, they can't fast. But when he's taken away from them, they will fast then.

When the bridegroom comes, and then when he's taken away, what do we learn from this? He will then set at liberty those who are oppressed when he comes and is taken away, he will set at liberty those who are oppressed by coming and going up to heaven. In the olden days, a girl living in her father's house, she lived like a maid. In the olden days, girls were not allowed to work.

Girls were not allowed to leave home and live like men. So, all the men, the father and the sons would go out to work, the girls would stay at home. So staying at home, what would they do? They cook, clean, wash, do all the work.

She is the daughter of the father, but the way she lives at home, she is exactly like a maid. She's a servant. She serves at home.

That was in the olden days. When is she set? She's oppressed. When is she set at liberty? When the man comes and says to her father, I'm asking for your daughter's hand.

I want to marry her. When the groom shows up. When the bridegroom comes and marries that girl, that girl who was a maid in her father's house, oppressed, she was set free at liberty.

Anyway, I was going to say something, but I'll leave it. Not for now. We're going to be doing relationships later on.

So, when the groom comes, sets the girl free when he marries her. I'll give you an example. Rebecca, she was the daughter in her father's house.

What did she do? She washed, cleaned, got water from the well, brought it back home to cook and do whatever. So she worked as a maid. So one day, Rebecca went to get to draw water from the well.

Abraham, our father, sent his servant, Lazarus, said, God, I want you to find a girl for my son, Isaac, from Mesopotamia, Iraq, where I come from. The Assyrian baby. So he said, I'm Assyrian, I will not marry my son with a stranger.

I want from my own people, Middle East, Iraq. So he sent his servant to Iraq, Mesopotamia. This servant is walking and he's saying, I don't know, how can I find a girl for my master's son? If I find the wrong wife for my master's son, he's going to chop my head off.

So he was begging God, God, please, give me a sign. I'm walking and I can see a well in the distance. God, please, as I get to the well, I pray to you, God, that you bring a girl there, that when she sees me, she'll say, I'm going to give you water and to your camel as well.

To your flock as well. This is the girl chosen by you, God, for my master's son, Isaac. He gets to the well as Rebecca is approaching, and he looks, she looks at him, and she said, are you thirsty? He didn't ask, are you thirsty? Let me get water for you and for your animals.

He says, hallelujah. Thank you, God, for making my job easy. Now I can go back to my master, Abraham, and I said, I didn't choose the girl, God chose her.

If she's not good, fight with God, don't fight with me. Rebecca worked at home in her father's house as a mate. She used to draw the water.

When Isaac married her, did she continue drawing water from the well herself? No, she had so many servants who did the job. She sat like a queen. She was set free from oppression by the heavenly bride's group.

When you are united to the heavenly bride's group, you're set free from oppression. You're no longer a slave. You're no longer a maid.

You're set free. Why? Because what happened with this heavenly group? When he went up to heaven, what happened? Someone else came down and dwelt in us called the Holy Spirit. And when the Spirit of God, wherever the Spirit of God is present, there is freedom.

You get set free when you live in the Spirit, not in the flesh. Flesh is slavery. People who live for the flesh, for this world, are slaves.

Slaves to everything the world offers. Slaves to pornography. Slaves to gambling.

Slaves to alcoholism. Slaves to men and women. Slaves to in-between.

Slaves. When are you set free? When the Spirit is in you. When the Spirit comes down upon you.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. And wherever the Spirit of God is, there is freedom. You've been set free from your oppression.

Before when I walked past a club, I used to shake. I had to go in. I was addicted.

Now I see clubs. I step on them. And it worries me not.

Before when I used to see the scotch on the rock, I couldn't handle myself. I had to get it. Now I laugh at it.

The Holy Spirit sets you free. But you need to be united to the Heavenly Groom. Because the Holy Spirit will never come down on you until the Groom goes up to send you the Holy Spirit.

If you are not united to the Heavenly Groom, the Holy Spirit will not work in you. Because the Holy Spirit is the ambassador of the King, Christ. The King.

And the ambassador does whatever the King tells him to do. The Holy Spirit will do things in you that are relatable to Christ only. Anything you ask that is not in the interest of Christ, the Holy Spirit will not answer you, will not grant you.

The Holy Spirit will only grant you what glorifies the King, Christ. If the things you're asking are not glorifying the Lord Jesus, don't ever think you'll get them. Never.

Never ever. We need to learn how to live for the Lord Jesus. For the Lord's sake, stop living for yourself.

Stop being selfish. Live for the Lord. Say, Lord, I can't do it.

But you can. I have to let you go, even though I don't want to. Number six, and the last one, which is verse 19, can we put it on the screen please? The last verse, the last one in verse 19 of chapter 4 of St. Luke.

To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. Acceptable year of the Lord, to proclaim it. What does that mean? They asked the Lord Jesus and said, why are your disciples plugging the heads of grains and eating them on a Sabbath? Again, these Pharisees and scribes.

They saw the disciples of the Lord Jesus, and it happened to be a Sabbath. The Lord Jesus deliberately got them through, walking through the wheat fields, and they got hungry. It's a Saturday Sabbath, they're not supposed to work.

So they started plucking those grains of wheat, rubbing them off and then eating them. That is classified as doing a, you know, you're working now on a Sabbath. You can't work on a Sabbath.

Our beloved Jews, till this day, on a Sabbath, even the lift, you know the lift in hotels, they will never press the button of the lift because that is breaking the Sabbath. So they will program the lift to stop at every level automatically, so you don't press the button. When you go to Israel and you see a lift stopping at every level, this is for our beloved Jews, don't get in it.

Because some of them will not like it. Yeah, some of them will not like it. They say, hey, you're pagan, what are you doing here? So go to the ones that you press and keep on pressing and you wait for the lift and you get frustrated, you start dashing it.

That is your lift. The other ones are very cute, very beautiful, they are very friendly. They'll come, they'll open, please come on in, they'll close the door without you doing anything.

Anyway, they said, why your disciples are breaking the Sabbath? They're plugging the grains of wheat and they're eating them. Well, the Lord Jesus said to them, have you not read how David went into the house of God and ate the showbread? Yet it was only meant for the priest, not for him. He broke the Sabbath, why don't you go and blame him? Why are you blaming my disciples? And then the Lord says to them something profound.

He says, and the son of man, I'm talking about himself, is the Lord of the Sabbath. The son of man is the Lord of the Sabbath. You came to me criticizing me through my disciples that they are breaking the Sabbath.

If you had your eyes opened and understood and realized, I, the son of man, am the Lord of the Sabbath. I'm greater than the Sabbath. It is not the son of man that was made for the Sabbath.

It was the Sabbath that was made to serve the son of man. If you had realized, Sabbath is not a day. Sabbath is the person of Christ.

And the word Sabbath means rest. And your rest, my children, is when you are in Christ. Not in a Saturday.

The day can't give you any rest. It is Christ who gives you eternal rest. True rest.

The Sabbath is me. What are you talking about? Plugging grains of wheat. Pressing the button.

Come on! Because our eyes are not open. We're not realizing who is the true Sabbath. I'll finish.

I'm going to show you. I'll finish. And when you are resting in Christ, this is the acceptable year of the Lord.

If you are not in Christ, then you are not in the acceptable year of the Lord. Your name will not be written in the book of life. The Lord gives us rest here on Earth and forevermore in the Father's house.

He gives us rest on Earth. You know how? Around us, everything is chaotic. Around us, everything is going wrong.

But inside of me, I'm at rest. I don't have a problem. I'm not angry.

I'm not confused. I'm not hurt. I'm not disorientated.

I'm at peace. Because I'm resting in Christ. Christ is much greater than any and every situation you go through.

He's much greater than that. Rest in Him and let everything go to hell. If everything around you is hell, Christ is much greater.

He will step on hell and He will burn hell with His holy fire. He will burn it. Nothing stands in the Lord's way.

You lose an eye, He'll give you another one. He can and He will. I believe in both.

Just leave it to the Lord. Whatever you're going through right now, just leave it to the Lord. Do your best.

Don't get me wrong. Do your best. But don't do it without the Lord.

Rely on Him. Ask Him. Beg Him.

Lord, You lead. I follow. Don't ever lead and leave the Lord behind.

He will never accept it. For He is the only true shepherd. And the shepherd must lead the flock.

We are all His flock. He is the true shepherd and we are His sheep whom were purchased by His own precious blood. Amen.

And in this, we will live in the acceptable year of the Lord. And we come to the end of our topic that took two weeks. By the grace of the Lord, next Friday, we will start our Relationship in Christ series.

When I say Relationship in Christ, I'm talking more so about marriage. I'm not looking forward in a way to it because I hope I'm not going to break a lot of hearts. I'm just kidding.

If I break your heart, then the Lord came to heal the broken heart. It's a good sign. But if you hear things and you say, Oh no, I wish I was never married.

Tough luck. Too late. We don't have divorces here.

We only marry people. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God, Amen. Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.

Whether it's hatred, let me sow love. Whether it's injury, pardon. Whether it's doubt, faith.

Whether it's despair, hope. Whether it's darkness, light. Whether it's sadness, joy.

Oh Divine Master, grant that I may not sow much. Seek to be consoled as to console. To be understood as to understand.

To be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive. It is in pardoning that we are pardoned.

It is in dying that we are born again to eternal life. Amen. Next Friday, Relationship in Christ.

May the Lord Jesus bless you. Guide you and protect you all the days of your life. Now and forevermore.

Amen. God bless. Go in peace.

The peace of Christ be with you always, my beloved. God bless.