A Sunday sermon by Pastor Ray, “Abiding in the Joy of God which is our strength”. The reading is Isaiah chapter 61, verses 1 – 3. Delivered on Sunday 27th October 2019.

Abiding in the Joy of God which is our Strength

• Isaiah 61:1-3

  1 “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who 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 console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”

• Luke 4:1-21

  1 Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 

  2 being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry. 

  3 And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” 

  4 But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ ” 

  5 Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 

  6 And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. 

  7 Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.” 

  8 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ” 

  9 Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. 

  10 For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you,’ 

  11 “and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ” 

  12 And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ” 

  13 Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time. 

  14 Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. 

  15 And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all. 

  16 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. 

  17 And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: 

  18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; 

  19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” 

  20 Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 

  21 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” 

New King James Version