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FOUR FUNCTIONS OF THE CHURCH

Jesus read the following Scripture of the prophet Isaiah in the synagogue at Nazareth, and said that this Scripture was fulfilled (Luke 4:16-18 and Isaiah 61:1-2).

“The Spirit of the Lord 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;

To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God”

Though the above prophecy was fulfilled in the ministry of Jesus, yet, we, the members of His body, the Church, carry on His ministry through the Holy Spirit.

Preaching the gospel to the poor

Why the Lord has anointed us with His Spirit? Four purposes are mentioned here for the baptism of the Holy Spirit in this Bible passage.

Firstly, the Lord has anointed us with His Spirit to preach the gospel to the poor. There are millions of poor people in the world to whom the gospel is preached today. There are poor people in developed nations also. In a developed nation, the standard of living of these people, when compared to that of the affluent societies, is rated as poor through the economic yardsticks of that nation. They are those who live hand to mouth existence; who are unemployed; who live in want. Jesus gives preference to the poor for preaching the gospel. As such, it is the responsibility of the local churches to go in search of the poor in every nation for preaching the gospel.

Healing the brokenhearted

Secondly, we have to heal the brokenhearted. There are thousands of people in your nation who are brokenhearted because of strained relations between spouses and between parents and children, etc. It is the responsibility of the churches to heal the heart of these people with the comfort and love of Christ Jesus. The job of a local church is not over with a worship service on Sundays or with the Bible Studies on other days. Daily I come across the prayer requests through e-mails from many couples, which are facing divorce proceedings in the courts of law. Since the local churches have failed to heal the brokenhearted, the estranged couples seek justice through the courts of law.

The churches have to heal the brokenhearted of those who are bereaved. These days, we find many people of God indulge in merry making on joyous occasions like marriages, birth-day parties, etc. They hardly visit the house of mourning. It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting (Eccl.7:2). Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted (Matt.5:4). Those who mourn are blessed. You should be the first person to comfort the blessed.

Proclaiming liberty to the captives

Thirdly, you have to proclaim liberty to the captives. The devil has kept thousands of people in his captivity through the sin and the sicknesses. He has kept them as his slaves in the bondage of sin. The evil spirits, who cause diverse diseases, possess their bodies. These people are addicted to alcohol, drugs, smoking, etc. You have to simply proclaim liberty to these captives. Jesus has already shed His precious blood and paid the price for their salvation. You need not wage a war with the Devil to liberate them from his captivity. You have to simply use the authority given to you by God in the Name of Jesus Christ. Jesus has given you the keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven (Matt.16: 19).

I find many God’s people who are suffering from diverse diseases do not make use of the keys of the kingdom of heaven given to them. When the keys of the kingdom of heaven are in their hands, why should they move the heaven and the earth for getting deliverance from the diseases? You have to simply command the disease to leave your body in Jesus’ Name. Instead of praying to the Lord, “Lord, please deliver me or X from the cancer”. But you should say, “I command the cancer to leave my body or the body of X in the Name of Jesus Christ”. Christ has already redeemed our bodies not only from the sin but also from the sicknesses and diseases.

Dear minister of God, you have to simply open the prison and release the prisoners from the clutches of the devil with the keys in your hand. It is not a lone key in your hands. It is the keys. One key is to deliver the sick from the sickness. Another key is to deliver the people possessed by the evil spirits. Another key is to open the kingdom of heaven for His financial blessings. With the keys in your hand, you are knocking at the door of your own house which is locked from outside. The kingdom of heaven is locked from outside only to a person who has not become a child of God through the blood of Jesus. But you can open it with the keys in your hand.”

Proclaiming the acceptable year of the Lord

Fourthly, you have to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God. There are multitudes in every nation who are the enemies of God and His Son. The vengeance of our God is revealed against these people. These people are the emissaries of Satan. The false prophets and the anti-christs belong to the devil. The soldiers of the devil execute his plan in killing innocent people all over the world and in causing all kinds of miseries in this world. They persecute the Church, the body of Christ all over the world.

The Church should be vigilant and aggressive so as to judge the issues that confront the world today. The devil makes use of the brain of some people to meddle with the creation work of our God. They experiment with the genes of men and animals in the guise of science and technology.

The Church is the representative of God in this world. Jesus has given all His authority to the Church. The Lord, Who is the Judge, will judge those in authority who misuse their power and knowledge against His Word. When will He judge them? You have to proclaim the year and the day for His judgment. Whatever year and day you proclaim will be acceptable to the Lord.

- Job Anbalagan