Today I was challenged by my missions friends to read this chapter and listen for what God wanted to say to me. The most obvious truth is that, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me to…”. Nothing good comes from our efforts without the Spirit of the Lord going before and behind those efforts. I usually read/study with pen in hand. Verses 1-3 are filled with action words: heal, proclaim, open prison doors, comfort, and console. Verses 4-7 are all relational. There are partnerships ordained by God when we take the vertical (our relationship with God) to the horizontal (because of God, you and I are in relationship). Finally, Verses 8-11 is about God’s blessings. Because of the Spirit of the Lord we are in relationship with these people and God brings the results (blessings). The summary of God’s Spirit + people is verse 11b with, “So the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations”. God works His plan in drawing others into His Kingdom. We can join by depending on His plan and reaching out to all nations. This chapter is the “how to” for evangelism.
