YAHWEH, THE GOD OF ISRAEL, IS WITH US!

Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins ... (Isaiah 58:1)

Yeshua The Preacher

Reading: Luke 4:16-22 or Matthew 5,6 and 7.

1. Yeshua's Commission

There is a big difference between a teacher and a preacher. Yeshua was both; but his main occupation during his stay on earth was preaching. Notice how he introduced himself and listed his 'terms of reference' at the start of his ministry. Especially note his threefold reference to preaching.

Luke 4:18

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to:

Preach the Gospel to the poor. He hath sent me to:
Preach deliverance to the captives and the recovery of sight to the blind
To set at liberty them that are bruised and to
Preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

2. The Gospel to the Poor

In our zeal to present Yahweh's law, to publish the truth about the Signature of the Most High and Satan's counterfeit the Mark of the Beast, we must not forget to preach The Gospel.

What is the Gospel? The Gospel is the good news of salvation. The Gospel is Yahweh's offer of mercy and life to sinners destined for hell. The Gospel is your passport to the Kingdom of Heaven where you are invited to live for all time with God Himself. The Gospel is the sweetest and best message this world has ever heard. The Gospel is the good news of salvation made possible by the Saviour's death on your behalf. The Gospel offers you freedom from sin, suffering and death - at no cost to yourself. God's Son came to earth to preach the Gospel to the poor: and that includes you and me.

The world is reeling under a burden of bad news. Daily we are bombarded with it. From all angles come a sickening avalanche of violence, terrorism, vice, vandalism, misery and death. What's more, the situation worsens as each day goes by. The need for good news - the Gospel - is therefore extremely urgent. And so the Gospel must be preached - more than ever - to counteract the imbalance of woe.

The Saviour, the twelve Apostles and the Apostle Paul all set the pattern.

The Saviour Preached the Gospel

Matthew 11:4	Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: 5: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
Mark 1:14	Now after that John was put into prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.
Luke 20:1	And it came to pass that on one of those days, as he taught the people in the Temple and preached the Gospel ...

The Apostles Preached the Gospel

Acts 8:25

And they, when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans.

Paul Preached the Gospel

1 Corinthians 9:16

: For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!

3. Preaching the Gospel by Word

The Gospel of the Kingdom of God that Jesus preached was good news. In the Sermon on the Mount the Saviour introduces the various aspects of this good news. I will briefly list them.

Matthew 5:1-12	A list of blessings	... This is good news.
v 13-16	The value and work of a believer	... This is good news.
v 17-32	The eternal nature of Yahweh's law	... This is good news.
v 33-48	The greatness of Yahweh's mercy	... This is good news.
Matthew 6:1-18	The rewards for humility and prayer	... This is good news.
v 19-34	The providence of the Almighty	... This is good news.
7:1-5	The final victory of true judgment	... This is good news.
v 6-11	The value of truth and prayer	... This is good news.
v 12-20	Invaluable warnings about deception	... This is good news.
v 21-29	The final overthrow of hypocrisy	... This is good news.

4. Preaching by Deed

"Christ is the only teacher this world has ever known whose life exactly accorded with his instructions. No object is so edifying with this accordance. The perfect holiness of the Redeemer would have been less clearly seen and less deeply felt, if we could not have compared his actions with the perfect rules of life, uttered by his mouth." (Dwight's Theology Vol. 1. page 365)

His friends would, understandably, praise him. But consider these testimonies of the Roman rulers after they had examined him by every method they could imagine - beatings, insult and humiliation.

John 18:38 Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all.

Luke 23:47 Now when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous man.

Now consider Christ's evaluation of himself:

John 15:10 ... I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.

John 8:46 Which of you convinceth me of sin?....

John 17:4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.

No man in all history could honestly say that of himself except Jesus Christ.

5. Preaching by Effect

Though the Saviour never, to our knowledge, wrote a book or travelled to foreign countries to preach, who will doubt these facts:

At His birth he changed the course of history and men all over the world began to number the years from his arrival.
More books, magazines, tracts and papers have been written about Jesus Christ than any person who has ever walked this earth.
His words have been translated into every major language and into hundreds of dialects.

Yes, the Saviour has had an enormous effect on the world. And even though comparatively few people avail themselves of his salvation, there are in total many millions who will be in the Kingdom of God because of what he has done. When he sees the great gathering the Bible says he shall be satisfied.

Isaiah 53:11

He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

6. Preaching the Acceptable Year

This is the Gospel era. It will be over SOON!
The acceptable year is a time when mercy and salvation are available and must be accepted. Failure to accept the Gospel in the acceptable year will be disastrous for millions of souls who have spurned Yahweh's offer of mercy and salvation. Now is that accepted time.

Have you accepted salvation? Or are you putting it off? Make the following prayer your own - before it is too late!

Psalm 69:13 But as for me, my prayer is unto thee, O LORD, in an acceptable time: O God, in the multitude of thy mercy hear me, in the truth of thy salvation.

2 Corinthians 6:2 For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

Failure to act on these facts is the greatest mistake any soul can make. It is impossible to exaggerate the importance of these facts. We do well to heed them! Amen.

In The Son's Name For The Father's Glory
Elders: Max W. Mader & Chris A. Yenni

John 18:38	Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all.
Luke 23:47	Now when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous man.

John 15:10	... I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.
John 8:46	Which of you convinceth me of sin?....
John 17:4	I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.

Psalm 69:13	But as for me, my prayer is unto thee, O LORD, in an acceptable time: O God, in the multitude of thy mercy hear me, in the truth of thy salvation.
2 Corinthians 6:2	For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.