Jesus Has Come To Make Us Ministers Of Our God

Today's Word of Encouragement from Wayne:

"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners; to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord... But you will be called the priests of the Lord; you will be spoken of as ministers of our God... And I will faithfully give them their recompense and make an everlasting covenant with them"

Isaiah 61: 1-2, 6, 8

All Christians, I hope, are familiar with the first part of this prophecy from Isaiah, for these are the words which Jesus spoke, in the synagogue in Nazareth (Luke 4:18-21), when He began His public ministry. Our Lord followed His quotation from Isaiah with the words, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." From the very beginning, our Savior was specifically declaring Himself to be the fulfillment of all prophecy concerning Messiah, our "Lord" and "priest forever," even as we have been looking at, in depth, through Psalm 110, Matthew, Acts, and the book of Hebrews.

But, are you aware that this same prophecy from Isaiah 61 went on to speak of our Messiah making "an everlasting covenant with them," with the blessed result for us being, under this New Covenant, that, "you will be called priests of the Lord; you shall be spoken of as ministers of our God?"

You see, according to this prophecy, it is through the "everlasting covenant" of our Lord Jesus that we have been given this wonderful "good news" of "liberty" and "freedom" from being "prisoners" to sin and death, through the atoning New Covenant blood of Christ (Luke 22:20).

And, as we are blessed to see, according to this prophecy it is also through the "everlasting covenant" of our Lord that we have been given this same wonderful "good news" of "liberty" and "freedom" to be "ministers of our God!"

Jesus has ended our affliction and brokenheartedness from sin. Jesus has ended our separation from Him. Jesus has set us free to be with Him, as ministers to Him, He Who is the Healer of our lives. What joy for us to minister to Him, and to stay near the One Who has saved us.

This is the anointing that "the Spirit of the Lord God" gave Jesus - to free us from sin so we would be free to be with Him, forever, through "an everlasting covenant."

This prophecy from Isaiah is completely in harmony with all that we have been looking at recently from the prophecy through David in psalm 110 of Christ our "Lord" and "priest forever" of a "better covenant" (Hebrews 7;22, 8:6).

Jesus has set us free from sin so we might live intimately in Him, as "priests of the Lord." We insure and protect our freedom from sin when we stand as priests and minister to Him. Bless your Lord today, in His presence, as His priest, for all He has done for you according to this beautiful and true word from Isaiah. Hallelujah!