“The Spirit of the Lord God is Upon Me” 10-9-09

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Your name is the name above every name. Lord, I lift high Your name in the praises of my heart. ... “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; He has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn in Zion—to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit. They will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, to display His glory. They shall build up the ancient ruins, they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations” (Isaiah 61:1-4). You declared these words at the beginning of Your ministry as Son of Man, anointed by the Spirit of God, to display the Father’s heart to the people of a broken and fallen world. With both deep humility and also a secure sense of Your identity and destiny, You said these words of the prophet Isaiah were fulfilled in You (Luke 4:16-21). And then at the end of Your ministry of the Father’s heart on this earth as the Son of Man, after Your resurrection and before Your ascension, You prophetically declared the releasing of Your Holy Spirit upon Your disciples and sent them in Your power to continue Your ministry: “Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, so I send you.’ When He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit...’ ” (John 20:21-22). This was a fulfillment of what You had already declared for Your first disciples and for all Your disciples to come: “Very truly I tell you, the one who believes in Me will do the works that I do and, in fact, will do even greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (John 14:12-13). You want to heal us and free us. You want to empty us of everything that is not like You, as Your fill us with Your Holy Spirit to make us more like You each day. You want to anoint us, equip us, and send us to be as the hands of Jesus with the heart of the Father in the power of Your Holy Spirit to the people of a broken and fallen world, longing to know the love of God poured into our hearts by Your Spirit (Romans 5:5). You want to first do that in us, so You can do that through us in the lives of others—each in the unique way that You’ve created us and strategically positioned us to display Your glory through our lives. When I declared these words of our calling as Your disciples—to teach what You taught, to do what You did, in the power You had—at Chapel in the Methodist Seminary of Estonia yesterday morning, one of the ministry students said, “That’s what I need.” And as we prayed through a deep cleansing of her soul, and a releasing of the pain and shame of her past, You set her free to be like Jesus. Before our eyes, You changed her sadness into joy and her torment into praise! You were comforting those who mourn, giving them beauty instead ashes, the garments of praise instead of the spirit of heaviness. Freely have You given to her, and now she will freely give to others (Matthew 10:7-8). What she has received, she will give to others in the authority of Your name and the power of Your Spirit. You are anointing her to bind up the brokenhearted and set the captives free, restoring the devastation of generations and repairing the ruined cities, because Your Kingdom is within her and will be advancing through her everywhere You send her. I believe that’s Your heart, according to Your Word, for all of us, in the unique way You desire to express Yourself through each of us. “For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members of one another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness” (Romans 12:4-8). So let us think of ourselves as You think of us; let us see ourselves as You see us—no more and no less. Then with both deep humility and a secure sense of our identity and destiny in Christ, let us go forth and proclaim the coming of Your Kingdom—in us first, and then everywhere You send us. “Here I am, Lord... Send me” (from Isaiah 6:8). In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, thank you for your prayers as I minister for 2 weeks in the nation of Estonia. I'll be preaching, teaching, and ministering the Lord's healing and freedom to His people in many places and a variety of settings throughout the country. I want to be part of the Lord's awakening and breakthrough revival in my own heart and in the nations of the earth. "And this good news of the Kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world, as a testimony to all the nations; and then the end will come" (Matthew 24:14). Please send an email to Carol Arban if you're led to join our Intercessory Prayer Team praying in more detail for my ministry abroad this fall (Estonia in October; Pakistan in December): csarban2@gmail.com God bless you and I pray for God's Awakening and Breakthrough Revival in your heart and nation. Thank you for praying for mine! Order my new book Free to Be Like Jesus -- Transforming Power of Healing & Deliverance online at www.messiah-ministries.org or at www.amazon.com Proceeds go to support the vision and calling of the Lord through Messiah Ministries. Subscribe Free by email to me at Messiah Ministries --MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502