The following post is from a series of blogs from the CBFVA Vision Team in preparation for the CBFVA General Assembly 2011. The theme of the assembly is “Beautiful Witness. Being Baptists Together. Doing God’s Mission” and the focal text is Luke 4:18-19.
This week’s blog was written by Rev. Antonio Clinkscales, Pastor of Mt. Tabor Baptist Church in Milford, Virginia.
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Luke 4:19b “… and recovery of sight for the blind…”
Sunday mornings across religions, denominations, and the country at large, parishioners sing about and even pray for the opportunity to be used by God. The words spoken by Jesus but recorded by Luke requires us to ask ourselves a relevant question: what are you really doing to further the kingdom of God here on earth? Jesus answers this pressing question in three parts according to this scripture text.
Jesus answers that, first, He was under direct orders of a higher authority to act. When we, individually, put on the Christian wardrobe through salvation, we should tap into the Spirit of God (Holy Spirit) to act when needs arise. In other words, the Spirit of God will guide us to either help or direct others into the type of aid that they need; we can’t help everyone that we come in contact with because we may not have what that person needs.
Jesus’ second call to action responds, under His anointed calling, to be committed to spreading the good news, wherever He traveled, regardless if people received His message or not. Unanimously, those who gather for worship every Sunday morning, are the minority; the greater work lies outside the four walls of the church house. On the occasions when Jesus was not able to heal through His physical touch, Jesus’ spoken words restored the wounded. For us today, as Christians, we have to understand that sharing the word of God brings unity, healing, and can set the captive free. Our call to action under our divine anointing requires us to spread the good news in season and out of season.
Lastly, Jesus used His gift to act according to the need presented to Him. In other words, when a situation arises and the Spirit of God prompts us to move, then we already possess what it takes to meet that need. The Spirit of God will reveal the real need and our part is to jump into divine motion to speak, heal, and deliver. Therefore, as we challenge ourselves to act in the manner of Jesus, we have answer the relevant question to determine how, if anything, we are helping further the kingdom of God.