Good Morning Gorgeous,
It’s a brand new day! A fresh new start! All things can become new today!!
Jesus. One Name above every other name.
Jesus. One Name that can bring immediate help.
Jesus. The Name that causes bones to be set in place, hurts to heal, eyes to open, ears to open, and demons to FLEE.
Jesus is the One we look to with hopeful expectation that things are changing, shifting, and a miracle is on the horizon.
Jesus who in Luke Chapter 4 is powerfully walking in His destiny. He is boldly preaching, healing, and casting out demons.
And His public ministry began AFTER He faced temptation and overcame the devil’s schemes to steal, kill, and destroy Him and His ministry before it could even start.
The enemy has NO new tricks. He works through deception and suggestion.
He suggested an idea to Eve and got her to come into agreement with his scheme and eat the fruit that would bring about the curse.
And the enemy met Jesus in the wilderness with the same bag of old tricks.
He suggests to Jesus that He must prove His deity by performing. Jesus is firmly rooted in His identity and knows who He is. He doesn’t need to prove Himself, and instead of engaging in arguments or shows of power, Jesus simply says, “It is written…”
Jesus continues to fight each temptation with “It is written.” Thus overcoming the devil AND teaching us how it’s done. God’s Word is sufficient to push back every lie and temptation of the enemy.
When satan come with his deceptions, you can fight back with the written Word everytime and WIN. “It is written.”
After the temptation of Jesus, He enters public ministry.
He travels to His hometown, back to His own people, back to beloved rabbis, family members, old neighbors. His hometown where He grew up!
And He comes towt them in on some very special NEWS! He is going to tell them that He IS MESSIAH!
He unrolls the scroll in the synagogue, and begins to read about HIMSELF from the book of Isaiah.
Luke 4:18-19 NLT
[18] “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, [19] and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come. ”
NLTLuke 4:20-21 NLT
[20] He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently. [21] Then he began to speak to them. “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!”
He tells them, “Hey! It’s Me! This prophecy has been fulfilled!”
And their response is NOT loving or accepting..
The begin to reflect on what they already know about Him. “Hey, isn’t this Joseph’s son? How can this be? We know where you come from, and we are only accepting that identity.” The identity of carpenter’s son, and even that the town has probably whispered scandal and gossiped about since His divine birth.
The people are like, “We already know you. We remember the former you. We can’t recieve that you, a boy from our hometown born from a scandal could be the Messiah we’ve been waiting for and anticipating!
And. They. Missed. Their hour of visitation from the Lord! Missed it completely!
As you step into your God given identity and God given destiny, people will bring up the former things. They will remind you of your weakness, your previous mess up, and who you USED to be!
Be bold and be prepared for rejection by those closest to you as you step into your calling! Stay the course. Eyes on Jesus. They may not understand, plow anyway. Be bold for Christ!
The crowd questioned Him and when He stayed firm on who He was, they tried to kill Him! He slipped away unharmed. It wasn’t yet His time. He would lay down His life willingly at the appointed hour. Not now. It was time.
He slipped through the crowd and left. He immediately went into ministry that included healing the sick and casting out demons.
Luke 4:41 NLT
[41] Many were possessed by demons; and the demons came out at his command, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But because they knew he was the Messiah, he rebuked them and refused to let them speak.
Luke 4:44 NLT
[44] So he continued to travel around, preaching in synagogues throughout Judea.
The demons knew who He was! His own people who had known Him his whole life couldn’t see it! Or they refused to receive it!
The demons know the anointing on a believer’s life. They know you carry the authority of Christ. And the enemy wants to confuse you, twist the Word, and use rejection of people to get you to question the call of ministry or question your identity in Him, or lure you into temptation by power of suggestion.
Luke Chapter 4 reveals the spiritual warfare that Jesus had to face right as He steps into public ministry.
And we will face spiritual warfare too, but Jesus taught us how.
1. Fight back with the Word.. It is written.
2. Know who you ARE in Christ. Jesus knew His identity.
3. And move forward even in the face of painful rejection.
Dear Heavenly Father!
Help us to stay the course. Keep on the path You have set for us!! Keep us eyes on Jesus moving ahead in what You’ve already prepared for us. Holy Spirit remind us of the Word in our moment of need and help us to defeat the enemy every time with the spiritual weapons You have given us! Thank You for the Scriptures in Luke! They reveal so much to us!
In Jesus’s Name,
Amen.
Blessings and forward movement!
Vabessa Lynn
