Scripture: Isaiah 61 v 1 - 3:
"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 broken-hearted, 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 who mourn;
3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garments 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."
You can only imagine the shock in the synagogue when Jesus read this portion of scripture and then declared, This day is this scripture fulfilled. He was declaring to the Pharisees that He was sent by God, anointed and chosen to be their Messiah, their deliverer.
I don't know what they expected their coming Messiah to be or to do, but it was never going to be one who did not conform to their Law; who was humble against their pride; who was a Man of the people and not a high priest they would choose.
He gave us beauty for ashes. We are needing comfort for the loss and sorrow that has been inflicted upon us. Death is no stranger. The martyrdom of 70 Christians by beheading in DRC recently. The martyrdom of 1000 Christians in India. The death cults are out of control. We certainly need the oil of joy for mourning.
Revelation 20 v 4: "And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years."
We know its coming. The Antichrist. The unholy trinity of the Antichrist, the Beast and the False Prophet. This is the full manifestation of Satan that has taken 2000 years (or 2 days of 1000 years equals one day) to have Satan as a man of flesh. Only through the flesh can the full nature be dismayed.
The tribulation is his nature manifested fully, openly, brazenly for the first time. When he enters the rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem, he goes into the Holy of Holies and declares himself God. This is when the Israelis see him for the evil imposter that he is. They utterly reject him and flee to Jordan. Oh how the oil of joy for mourning will flow. Israel will mourn for Jesus as an only Son.
Our Lord Jesus appointed us, every Christian, to have His compassion, love, humility, time, and gifts of healing and deliverance for those who are in need. We must give them beauty for ashes. We must comfort the sick, the afflicted, the dying and the bereaved by bringing them before the throne of God in prayer. We must anoint them with oil to heal the sick.
James 5 v 13 - 16: "Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.
14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."
When you have a gift from the Holy Spirit you must never neglect it. The more you apply and use what He has given you, the more fine-tuned you become to its effectiveness. Bring your gifts to the altar of God to participate in the work He has for you. If you are not aware that you have spiritual gifts, just make yourself available to the Lord. He treasures your availability more than your ability. He does.
Many able people are never available when He needs them. So He will enable those who show up. It may look like a high mountain to climb but when He sees you ready to climb He equips you and suddenly the mountain is just a mound.
So go forth and preach good tidings to the meek. The proud won't listen much. Go and heal the broken hearted, those who mourn. You will give your all and Jesus will respond with treasures beyond your imagination.
Prayer: Heavenly Father what a journey I have had these past 50 years. It gets better and sweeter every day. I pray that everyone has that same courage and pioneering spirit You blessed me with to venture forth in faith to see the impossible happen. I pray that many will be available to You whenever You call on them for the harvest is ripe but the labourers are few. Give them the oil of joy O God. In Jesus' name. Amen.