The Spirit of the Lord Is on Me Luke 4:17-19, NIV The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Hallelujah! I would like to share the grace of God under the title, “The Spirit of the Lord Is on Me,” based on Luke 4:17-19. Could you please repeat after me? “The Spirit of the Lord Is on Me. The Spirit of the Lord Is on Me.” We have not gathered here by coincidence to worship the Lord. God has chosen every one of us and led us by His grace to this place today. Everything is due to God’s grace. We owe what we are to the grace of the Lord. Everything is due to the grace of the Lord?from the beginning to the end. We cannot live an hour, not even a moment, without the grace of the Lord. We exist according to the grace of the Lord. We must give thanks to the Lord throughout our lives for saving us. Jesus came to earth, prepared himself for ministry for 30 years, and completed the work of salvation on the Cross, after His three-and-a half-year ministry of preaching, teaching, and healing?all by the grace of God. Jesus went to the desert and prayed for 40 days and 40 nights before starting His public ministry at the age of 30. He resisted the temptations of the devil and went to Nazareth to preach the Word. Today’s Scripture was His first sermon. Through today’s Scripture, we can clearly understand why the Lord Jesus came to earth and what He did on earth. This Scripture is a word of blessing and a mission for us. First, Jesus came to preach good news to the poor. Luke 4:18 says, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.” Jesus came to earth and preached good news to the poor. There are many poor people in the world. Even a government cannot resolve the problems of poverty. Poverty is a hopeless and irrevocable curse that humankind has faced ever since the Fall. The Lord Jesus came to earth and preached the Gospel to the poor. The Greek word for “gospel” is uangelion (euaggelos?), meaning “good and joyous news”. It means blessed news. The news states that Jesus is the Savior. Indeed, it is good and joyous news. It is the good tidings of God’s blessings upon us. The Lord came to earth and preached the Good News to the poor. Jesus preached the Good News to the poor in Nazareth?a Jewish slum area in those days. The poor, the hungry, the oppressed, the outcast, the rebels against the Roman Empire, and criminals were living in Nazareth. Jesus went there and preached the Good News to the people who were in despair. In those days, the poor suffered in more than one way. They suffered because they were poor. They also suffered emotionally, because they were despised and harassed by the rich. It was for them?the poor?that Jesus came and preached the Good News. Even though people may have turned their backs on the poor, the Lord Jesus went to them and preached the Good News about love, healing, forgiveness, and salvation. They heard the Good News and received the Lord Jesus. Then their lives were changed. They could enjoy the blessings of God. 2 Corinthians 8:9 says, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” Jesus came to earth, took poverty on himself, and died on the Cross. He brought God’s blessings to us through His death. The beginning of Yoido Full Gospel Church was the same. Pastor Cho started the tent church in a slum area at the far end of Seoul. They put straw mats on the floor. On rainy days, there were more frogs in the church than there were people. When the Gospel was preached, however, so many poor people came to church and gained hope and strength. Their problems were solved. They were blessed. The church grew so explosively that it moved to Seodaemun. The church continued to grow. A few weeks ago, I told you about a woman who was selling fish in a nearby market. She came to church and was greatly blessed. She is Mrs. In-Soon Kim, 82 years old, and a senior deaconess now. She used to bring her unsold fish to church when she came to worship the Lord, putting her fish basket under the pew. The fish odor was very strong, but she cared more about worshipping the Lord than about the odor. She worshipped the Lord, crying and shouting to God in her prayer. Mrs. Kim’s whole family was saved. She was a widow, trying to make a living while raising little children. Her younger brother is an elder in our church, Elder Young-Shin Kim. Her nieces, Ji-Young, Ji-Eun, and Ji-Hae, are choir members. Her granddaughter is a violinist, now studying in Germany. She is 82 years old, but she is very healthy, and her children honor her. Her children are living in Korea and in the United States, so she travels to and from America while serving the Lord. Her toil and poverty of the past has long been gone. When the Good News was preached to the poor, she received great blessings from God, since God was with her. This is true. When the gospel of the Lord enters into our lives, poverty will be driven out. The Lord came to earth and preached the Good News to the poor. Moreover, the Lord Jesus preached the Good News to the poor in spirit. He preached the Good News to both the materially poor and the spiritually poor. “To be poor in spirit,” means to be humble in heart. The poor in spirit seek the grace of God. We must seek the grace of the Lord whenever we come to church. We must pray to the Lord during Sunday worship services, “Lord, pour Your grace upon me. Help me live successfully throughout the week by Your grace.” We must pray at early morning prayer meetings, “Lord, pour Your grace upon me.” We must seek the grace of the Lord during worship services on Wednesdays, Friday nights, and in cell group meetings, saying, “Lord, pour Your grace upon me.” When we seek the Lord, He will pour His grace and blessings upon us. The first of the Beatitudes in Matthew 5 is the blessing given to the poor in spirit. Matthew 5:3 says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” The Scripture says that the poor in spirit will receive the kingdom of heaven. God blesses those who are poor in spirit and those who seek God’s grace. God will fill them with His wonderful grace. Seek the grace of the Lord?even when you are suffering from financial problems. You will be freed from poverty through the blessings from God. Then as the children of God, you will be able to take care of the poor and despised around you. We need to be poor in spirit?even when we are blessed and prosperous. We must seek the grace of the Lord. We must pray to God whenever we come to the Lord, saying, “Pour Your grace upon me. Help me to live victoriously by Your grace.” We will be filled with joy, thanksgiving, and grace when we worship the Lord?even if we are tired and weary when coming to church. We will be overjoyed when we leave, with all our cares left at the Cross. I pray that you will go out into the world and manifest the glory of God as faithful servants of the Lord. Second, Jesus came to set the prisoners free. Luke 4:18 says, “He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners.” Jesus proclaimed freedom for the prisoners. All people are prisoners of something to some degree. Some have become prisoners of material wealth, while some have become prisoners of worldly power, gambling, alcoholism, pornography, or Internet games. Young people are so obsessed with Internet games that they spend hours playing games on the Internet. While parents are busy working, their children fall into despair. Our children must be freed from such an addiction. They must be freed from the prison of Internet games. What is most serious is that we have become prisoners of sin. We cannot be freed from sin by our own power. Apostle Paul says in Romans 7:19-20, “For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do?this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.” No matter how hard we try not to sin, we cannot keep from sinning. Apostle Paul lamented in Romans 7:24, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” No matter how hard we may struggle, we cannot free ourselves from sin, debauchedness, gambling, or alcoholism. Who can free us from the state of slavery to sin and hopelessness? Only Jesus Christ the Lord can free us. Only Jesus Christ can free us from sin and hopelessness. The moment we believe in Jesus, we will be freed from sin. We will be freed from hopelessness. We will be freed from worry and problems. When we accept the Lord Jesus, the bondage of sin will be loosed, and we will be freed. Then we can be blessed spiritually and physically, enjoying the blessings in our circumstances. John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, declared that Jesus is the one who frees humankind from its slavery to sin. This is true. We will be freed from all sin when we believe in Jesus. Elder Chank-Ik Ko of the Yon-Dong Church was one of the elders in early Korean Church history. He had been a gambler, alcoholic, and swindler. One day he was taken to a police station and flogged severely for his crimes. He was so severely beaten up that he could not talk. Since he was compelled to pay off his debts, he drank poison in order to kill himself but survived. He met Missionary Gayle who was serving the Yon-Dong Church around that time. The missionary gave him a leaflet with the title, “What Is Your Name?” The leaflet carried the story of Jacob. He took it home, put it away in his house, and fell asleep. A person in a white robe appeared in his dream and asked him, “What is your name?” He said, trembling, “It is K-K-Ko, sir. My last name is Ko. I am a gambler, alcoholic, and hopeless. I do not know who you are but save me, please. Forgive me.” Then the person in the white robe said, “You are my son from now on.” Ko suddenly woke up. He read the leaflet repeatedly and went to the missionary. He accepted Jesus and became a faithful servant of the Lord. Later, he became an elder. Since Ko was a talented shoemaker, he would make shoes and take them to people, saying, “I was a thief and a swindler. I have become a new person by believing in Jesus. I am giving these shoes to you. Put them on and come to the church I go to.” He changed his personality and brought many people to the Lord. Indeed, Elder Ko used to be a prisoner of alcohol, gambling, deception, and swindling. However, he was totally freed from them by believing in Jesus. We cannot change ourselves. Only Jesus and the power of His blood can free us from all snares, by the authority of His name. Third, Jesus came to recover sight for the blind. Verse 18 says, “…to proclaim…recovery of sight for the blind.” Upon hearing that Jesus was passing by, a blind beggar, Bartimaeus, began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me! Have mercy on me!” Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus was leaving the spot, surrounded by many people. He stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called him. Throwing his cloak aside, which was his only possession, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.” “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight. In John chapter 9, there was a man who was born blind. He opened his eyes after meeting the Lord Jesus. Jesus did not only open his eyes but also told him that he was the Christ. John 9:39 says, “Jesus said, ‘For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.’ ” There are many who can see but are spiritually blind, unable to see the spiritual realm. How thankful we should be! Since our spiritual eyes are open, we can behold the mysterious things in heaven. The Lord Jesus came on earth to proclaim the recovery of sight for the spiritually blind. In the book of Revelation, the Lord rebuked the church in Laodicea, the richest church among the seven churches in Asia Minor. Revelations 3:17 says, “You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.” Even though they were living in material opulence, they were spiritually blind. The Lord reprimanded them, saying, “You are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.” We should never lose our spiritual eyesight after being blessed by believing in Jesus. Remember that we are likely to lose our spiritual eyesight if we neglect to pray or worship the Lord. Keep your spiritual eyes open so that you can look to the Cross of the Lord Jesus. I want you to march forward toward heaven. “Lord, fill me with the Holy Spirit. Open my spiritual eyes to look to you, pray, and gain victory through faith. Do not rebuke me the way You rebuked the church in Laodicea. Warn me if I neglect to pray or worship the Lord because of material opulence. Do not let me step back in serving You, Lord.” We need to keep our spiritual eyes open. In 2 Kings, the Aram army went to Dothan to capture Elisha. They went by night and surrounded the city. When Elisha’s servant got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh, my lord, what shall we do? The Aram army is surrounding us. We are dead,” the servant said. “Do not be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes so he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. The servant was not afraid any more. The Israelites had great victory over the Aram army. Do not be afraid. Do not worry. Even when you are surrounded by hopeless situations and problems, even when such things look hopeless and beyond your power, when we look at them through spiritual eyes, we will find a solution to the problems. We can see the Cross of the Lord Jesus. We will find the power of Jesus is with us. Do not be disappointed. Do not despair. Do not give up. The Lord is with you. The disciples of the Lord Jesus opened their spiritual eyes after receiving the Holy Spirit. Before, they used to hide behind locked doors. After receiving the Holy Spirit, however, they went out from their hiding place and preached the Gospel, leading thousands of people to the Lord in a single day. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, our children will prophesy, young men will see visions, and old men will dream dreams. We will become witnesses of the Gospel, preaching the Gospel to the ends of the earth. The Lord opens our spiritual eyes and makes us devote ourselves for the glory of God. Ephesians 1:17 says, “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.” “Heavenly Father, give me the Spirit of wisdom and revelation. Open my spiritual eyes so that I may see God, the Cross of the Lord, and the kingdom of heaven, marching forward by faith.” When worry and anxiety try to blind your eyes, be filled with the Holy Spirit, and open your eyes of faith and hope. When doubt tries to blind your eyes, be filled with joy in the Lord by opening your eyes to the Word. When sin tries to blind your eyes, blocking your vision, open your eyes by the power of the Cross, and be filled with the grace of God. As children of God, we must open our spiritual eyes, go into the world, preach the Gospel, and lead the hopeless to the Lord. Fourth, Jesus came to release the oppressed. Verse 18 says, “…to release the oppressed.” The Lord came and released the oppressed and those who were suffering. First, our minds are oppressed. We do not have joy or peace in our hearts. Many people are so depressed that they sigh all the time. Their heavy sighs only deepen their hopelessness, causing those around them to be depressed as well. If you have time to despair or sigh, come to the Lord and cry out to Him in prayer. He will release you from your oppression. In April 2006, Christian Broadcasting Station featured a segment about research done on the average life span of ancient kings of the world. Roman Emperors lived an average of 35 years, Chinese kings lived 36.7 years, and Korean kings lived for 43.3 years. Today, most of us are living longer than the Roman, Chinese, and Korean kings lived. The kings must have eaten all the good and rare food. They must have been treated by all the good medicine. Why could they not live longer? It was because they were under great stress, burdens, and worry. They became ill, because they could not handle the pressure and oppression. When we are stressed, it will make us gloomy and bring hopelessness to our hearts. It will cause various diseases in our bodies such as cancer, cardiac disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure. Physicians say that 60% of disease, especially cancer, comes from stress. Do not be stressed out lest you should get cancer. Cast out all your stress on the Lord, and be healed in the name of Jesus. The only way to be released from stress or worry is to believe in Jesus Christ. Believe in Him and trust in Him. Trust in the power of the blood of Jesus. Proclaim in the name of the Lord, “Worry, go away! Burdens, go away! Stress, go away!” Leave all your cares to the Lord. Why should we suffer from carrying all our burdens when we cannot do anything about them? Psalm 55:22 says, “Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.” The Lord tells us to cast our cares on Him. The devil tries to oppress us, making us ill and poor. He tries to deprive our homes of happiness. He oppresses our human relationships, causing conflict and confrontation among us. He oppresses the politicians, making them fight with each other. We must pray ardently to God. We should not be oppressed by the devil, the enemy. We must pray and be released from his oppression. The sick must be healed! Problems must be solved! Homes must be restored! We must behold the work of God’s forgiveness. Joseph Scriven was a pessimistic young man. He would start a fight with anybody he met. He was always alone. Since he was so violent and brutal, no one wanted to be close to him. Originally, Scriven was a nice, gentle young man who loved literature. However, there was a reason for his transformation. He loved a woman, but she drowned the day before their wedding. I do not understand why she was swimming the day before her wedding, which caused her death by drowning. Scriven began to curse God and people, starting fights with everyone he met. He was filled with anger, hatred, resentment, and unsatisfied desires. Later, he moved from Ireland to Canada, and he met Jesus there. When he met the Lord Jesus, the fury and pain disappeared from his heart. Jesus healed his wounds. Scriven left all his cares to the Lord and wrote Hymn No. 487, What a Friend We Have in Jesus, with enormous gratitude for the grace of the Lord Jesus. What a Friend we have in Jesus, All our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry Ev’rything to God in prayer! O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry Ev’rything to God in prayer. Hallelujah! Let us leave all our cares to the Lord. Let us leave everything to the Lord?our secret agony, the disease in our bodies, problems in our homes, our troublemaking children, and problems in our workplaces and businesses. The Lord told us to cast our cares on Him. When we do so, He will resolve all our problems. Fifth, Jesus came to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. Luke 4:19 says, “…to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” After being anointed by the Spirit, Jesus proclaimed the year of the Lord’s favor. “The year of the Lord’s favor,” means the year of Jubilee in the Old Testament, which was celebrated every fiftieth year. It was the year at the end of seven cycles of sabbatical years. At the sound of the trumpet throughout the land, they proclaimed God’s blessing, releasing all the oppressed. Since all debts were lifted, Jewish slaves were freed and returned home. They reclaimed their own property as well, returning to his family property and each to his own clan. When the year of Jubilee was proclaimed at the sound of the trumpet, they were released from all oppression and debts, receiving the blessing of the Lord. Jesus came to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. God will abundantly bless us in the year of the Lord’s favor. Leviticus 25:10 says, “Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; each one of you is to return to his family property and each to his own clan.” Suppose parents had sold their children as a payment for their debts. They would have greatly regretted doing that and would have spent their days weeping and sighing. When the trumpet sounded in the year of Jubilee, their children could return to them, leaping with freedom and joy. They could gain back their own property. The year of Jubilee is a year of blessing, hope, miracle, freedom, and liberation. We are now blessed with the year of Jubilee by believing in Jesus. When Korea gained its independence on August 15, 1945 after 36 years of Japanese control, Koreans came out waving national flags and shouting, “Hail to independent Korea! We are free! We are free!” Hallelujah! The moment we believe in Jesus, we are released. We are released from sin, hopelessness, all problems, and all diseases. We are free! We are released! Hallelujah! 2 Corinthians 6:2 says, “For he says, ‘In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.’ I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.” We are living in the year of the Lord’s favor, the year of Jubilee. When we believe in Jesus, the year of Jubilee does not come once every fifty years. Every moment belongs to the year of Jubilee. Every day is a day of miracles, blessings, freedom, and liberation. The freedom and blessings are upon you today. As soon as we believe in Jesus, He will come into our hearts as the Master of our lives and set us free from all the snares of sin. He frees us from all oppression. He will open our spiritual eyes, filling our hearts with joy and peace. We have received God’s wonderful blessings in the year of the Lord’s favor. You, your children, your workplaces, and your businesses are blessed. Let us proclaim with confidence, “I am free in the Lord Jesus. I am liberated. I am renewed. I am released from all problems. I am blessed by the year of Jubilee.” I pray that you will be blessed by the year of Jubilee throughout your lives. When Jesus said 2,000 years ago, “It is finished,” the gift of the year of Jubilee was given to all humankind free of charge. Through His word, “It is finished.” We are freed from sin. We are freed from curses. In addition, we are freed from all diseases. Therefore, when we believe in Jesus, the blessing of the year of Jubilee will be upon us, and we will enjoy spiritual and physical prosperity. We have received the blessing of the year of Jubilee. We are freed. We are renewed. God’s grace, miracles, and blessings are upon us. Jesus came to earth to preach the Good News to the poor, to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. The year of the Lord’s favor is ours. We are released. We are freed. We are blessed. I pray that you will enjoy the blessing of the grace of the year of the Lord’s favor, living victoriously. It is my earnest prayer for you in the name of the Lord. Let us pray. Our Father of infinite love, grace, and mercy, we thank You for saving us through the blood of Jesus Christ. Thank You for making us Your children and blessing us. Lord, You preached the Good News to the poor. You delivered us from poverty. Lord, when You proclaimed freedom for the prisoners, we were freed from hopelessness. You proclaimed recovery of sight for the blind, and we opened our spiritual eyes to see You. You released the oppressed, and we have been released from all pressure. We are renewed! Glory be to You alone. Help us to enjoy, be thankful for, and proclaim the blessing of the year of Jubilee. Bless all those who participate in this service through various media. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.