Sword of the Spirit                                                                                                       1003

“Anointed and Sent”

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; – Isaiah 61:1-2

This prophetic word from Isaiah refers to the Messiah. Jesus confirmed this passage at the start of His ministry when He read from the scroll and declared this Scripture to be fulfilled. And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” – Luke 4:17-22

Jesus’ ministry lasted approximately 3 years. So what happens after that? Who is the Spirit of God upon now? Who is anointed and sent as Jesus was now? The simple answer is, we are.

During His ministry Jesus set the stage by anointing and sending first the twelve (Luke 9:1-6) and then later the seventy-two (Luke 10:1-17) to minister. After Jesus had ascended into heaven, on the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit gave a fresh anointing to send the apostles out to carry on the ministry of Jesus. (Acts 2)

Are we not also anointed and sent? Contemplate for a moment on the awesome truth of the Word that the fullness of God was in Christ and that the fullness of Christ is in us.…For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell…; …to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ…to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ…- Colossians 1:18; Ephesians 4:11-14

The fullness of Christ in us is truly a treasure not to be taken lightly. But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. – 2 Corinthians 4:7

Far too many of us have allowed the world and the things of the world to choke out the Truth and power of the Word of God in our lives. We are like foreign diplomats behaving badly and then declaring diplomatic immunity by the Blood of Jesus. This is a disgrace to God’s grace for us.

As citizens of heaven we are sojourners here on earth and we need to hold loosely the things of this world and not allow the lust of the flesh to hinder the ministry of Jesus through us. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. – Philippians 3:20; 2 Corinthians 5:20

The church is much more than a structure. We are the church, the Body of Christ and as such we are each called to be anointed and sent to be salt and light in this dark world.

May the Holy Spirit anoint you, equip you and send you to carry the Truth of the Gospel to those whose hearts He has prepared to receive it. May you carry the light and love of Christ to everyone you meet wherever the Lord leads and sends you.

May you be the church.