Good Monday morning (10-04-10),

When I read the Gospels, I can’t help but notice how much of a revolutionist Jesus Christ was. The man had a major and sudden impact on the establishment with ideas which, though always true, were not usually understood or practiced, especially among the preachers of His day. God reasserted through the teachings of Jesus His intention to completely annihilate every work of darkness in creation.

In the synagogue, at the beginning of His ministry, Jesus stood before an unfriendly crowd and announced that 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, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”

Then He closed the book, gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them in the synagogue were fastened on him as he concluded by saying, “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.”

On that day, Jesus made clear the distinction between the coming Kingdom of Heaven and the demise of hell’s power.

Darkness had filled the earth through poverty, brokenheartedness, bondage, slavery, blindness, sickness, violence, and ignorance of every kind. These works were intended to disrupt and destroy men’s lives. As a result of those works, people spend their whole lives in fear of death, unable to change the course of that destiny.

But that all changed when Jesus received His authority to go into the world and preach His Gospel. The Gospel is the proclamation that God has recovered humanity from the death sentence brought on by our rebellion against Him. Now, anyone who comes to God through Christ can recover that which was lost, to be precise, our inheritance in God’s kingdom.

Christians hear a lot about the “Kingdom of Heaven.” Unfortunately, it can become nothing more than a familiar byword or a philosophy if we fail to understand how real and tangible its authority is. In truth, God’s Kingdom is realer than the governments of this world, thankfully. One day soon they will pass away, but Christ’s Kingdom has no end.

The Kingdom of Heaven is God’s dominion in the affairs of this earth.

Christians are filled with its power and walk in its authority so that we can preach the gospel to the poor, and bring deliverance to the captive, and heal the brokenhearted plus the blind and sickness of every kind, and so that we can set free all who are enslaved. But most importantly, we have the Holy Spirit in us that we might boldly proclaim to the world that the cycle of salvation is now complete.

God’s people need not to be victims of darkness, but rather we can vanquish the powers of hell. It may be true that darkness advances through new and ingenious methods. But never forget that what Jesus began He will soon complete; particularly once He physically returns and extinguishes every flame of hell’s iniquity. That day is coming soon!

But until that day, Christians must aggressively resist satan by populating our world with all the good works we are foreordained to walk in.

What Jesus proclaimed on that day in the synagogue was just the beginning. We are called to walk in even greater works. Beware, and be not deceived by adopting the mentality which says, “It’s too late to make a difference.” God’s people must often remind themselves that they have the power and authority to impact every establishment with the Gospel.

Many of our families and towns and cities are crumbling under the weight of immortality, an immorality which seeks to assassinate the resolve of those who would otherwise stand toe to toe against hell’s authority. Today is the acceptable time; today is the day of salvation. Even though naysayers deny the obvious, Jesus has granted authority to His people by which they are authorized to destroy every work of darkness.

Immediately before the resurrected Jesus ascended to the Father, He rebuked the Apostles because of their hardness of heart and unbelief, commanding them to go into the world and preach the Gospel.

Jesus spelled out the terms of our Gospel. Men shall be saved, but unbelievers shall be condemned. Signs will accompany all those who believe, signs of the Kingdom. Demons will be cast out, and believers will speak with new tongues. No weapon which is formed against us shall prosper, and we will lay hands on the sick and they shall recover.

I would like to further point out the rest of Isaiah 61’s covenant. In addition, Christians are commissioned to complete what Jesus started. Not only are we to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, but we are also to warn men of the day of God’s vengeance!

We are to Comfort all who mourn, give beauty for ashes, and the oil of joy for mourning. The Church is to be adorned with the garment of praise instead of the spirit of heaviness, that we might be called the trees of righteousness, the plantings of the Lord. In us, God will be glorified!

And finally, we are called to build up that which has been ravaged by sin’s deceptions. What was formerly desolate, we shall repair. God’s people are called to restore waste cities and the desolations of many generations.

Nations and cities, communities and families, moms and dads, children, whosoever will come, these are those God is calling to restoration.

But those who take the name of the Lord upon their lips, yet fight against Him with their deeds, beware. “…Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he comes shall find so doing. Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath.

But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delays his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looks not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.” Luke 12:42-46

Wayne Witcher