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Daily Devotion: Isaiah 61:1-4

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Isaiah 61:1-4    "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;  (2)  To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;  (3)  To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.  (4)  And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations."

Last Friday, we looked at these verses from the perspective of them being fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Indeed He is the Healer, the Helper, the Deliverer, and everything else we need in life. But today, I want us to look at this from the perspective of God-called men who proclaim the goodness of God. Though we have no power to heal, true preaching points God's people toward Christ. If the Spirit of the Lord God is not upon us, there is no preaching.  If we are not anointed of the Holy Spirit, there is no preaching. If God does not bless, there is no preaching. But if those things are upon the man of God, then there is power in the Gospel to declare that salvation belongs unto the Lord. There is power in the Holy Spirit as He applies the message of God's grace to encourage the meek. There is power in the Holy Spirit as He applies the message of God's grace to heal broken hearts, break chains of addiction, and the opening of emotional prison doors for those who are imprisoned by their own thoughts and habits.

The Apostle Paul wrote in agreement with the Prophet Isaiah: "We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.  (2)  (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)" (2 Corinthians 6:1-2) There is peace and joy to be received as the Holy Spirit pricks the heart and begins to apply the soothing ointment of the Gospel message. It happens in that moment when the heart is stirred.  The Spirit-filled preaching of the Gospel removes the ashes of guilt and shame and then replaces them with garments of praise and strength. The Holy Spirit is able to build repentant hearts again from that which has been damaged because of our turning away from God. Satan will try to persuade us that God cannot and will not use us, but the preaching of deliverance through Christ Jesus shows us otherwise. He can rebuild that which is broken, that which is considered wasted, and that which is seen to be desolate. But this is only done because "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed" Jesus the Christ to do these things. Praise His Holy Name!

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