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[221.54 --> 222.56] were fastened on him.
[223.18 --> 224.60] He began by saying to them,
[225.30 --> 228.72] Today, this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.
[230.02 --> 230.38] Amen.
[230.38 --> 230.50] Amen.
[232.44 --> 233.94] And so, if you've been with us
[233.94 --> 235.12] for the last number of weeks,
[235.44 --> 237.14] during what we call in our church,
[237.36 --> 238.10] or in the church,
[238.24 --> 239.48] in Christian tradition,
[239.64 --> 241.02] we call it the Advent season,
[241.32 --> 242.24] a season of waiting.
[242.74 --> 243.68] And in that season,
[243.80 --> 245.84] we reflected on the birth of our Savior
[245.84 --> 247.22] through the songs that we looked at
[247.22 --> 248.30] in the Gospel of Luke.
[248.74 --> 250.02] So the birth narrative
[250.02 --> 251.32] in the Gospel of Luke
[251.32 --> 252.56] portrays for us
[252.56 --> 254.52] what we might expect
[254.52 --> 256.18] of God's gracious visitation.
[256.44 --> 257.06] So the what,
[257.14 --> 258.06] the content of it,
[258.06 --> 259.36] why did Jesus come?
[259.88 --> 261.90] The what of it is the good news
[261.90 --> 264.82] of the fulfillment of God's redemptive plans
[264.82 --> 265.48] for the world.
[266.34 --> 268.56] The coming of the long-awaited Messiah,
[268.98 --> 270.26] the anointed one of God,
[270.42 --> 272.64] to defeat the curse of sin once and for all.
[273.28 --> 275.94] That is the what of Jesus
[275.94 --> 278.90] and what Christmas is really about.
[279.36 --> 281.48] So that's the what that we got to witness to
[281.48 --> 283.00] in the birth narratives.
[283.62 --> 285.20] And now, as we see Jesus
[285.20 --> 286.68] beginning his adult ministry
[286.68 --> 288.20] in today's Luke text,
[288.58 --> 291.06] we get to see how God's plan
[291.06 --> 292.44] of redemption would be achieved.
[293.40 --> 295.76] And this is how Jesus starts his ministry,
[296.50 --> 298.56] which I want to suggest for us this morning.
[298.62 --> 300.88] As we hear God's word for us,
[301.58 --> 303.90] it's the same calling that we have,
[303.98 --> 305.30] just as Jesus was called,
[305.60 --> 307.94] as he was anointed by God's Holy Spirit
[307.94 --> 311.52] to bring the Lord's,
[312.00 --> 314.34] the ear of the Lord's favor to us
[314.34 --> 315.04] here on earth.
[316.22 --> 317.34] And so simply put,
[317.42 --> 318.52] the text that we read,
[318.96 --> 321.20] the proclamation that Jesus makes in Luke 4,
[321.58 --> 323.06] gives us a picture of Jesus
[323.06 --> 324.48] through the power and guidance
[324.48 --> 325.22] of the Holy Spirit,
[325.54 --> 327.38] bringing God's kingdom on earth
[327.38 --> 330.04] through his life, word, and deed.
[330.58 --> 331.82] Through his life,
[332.24 --> 333.64] his words, and his deeds.
[334.46 --> 335.86] And this is God initiating
[335.86 --> 336.96] the fullness of his plan,
[337.06 --> 338.10] the grand narrative
[338.10 --> 339.80] of the whole biblical story.
[340.18 --> 341.04] That's our faith.
[341.36 --> 342.62] That's the whole story
[342.62 --> 345.64] of how God comes to save the world
[345.64 --> 347.40] from its brokenness and sin.
[348.60 --> 351.86] And this plan includes us as well.
[353.48 --> 354.86] Isn't that good news for us?
[355.70 --> 357.32] God's redemptive plans
[357.32 --> 358.54] for the whole world
[358.54 --> 360.34] includes you and me.
[360.34 --> 362.90] And so,
[363.68 --> 364.70] beyond that,
[364.78 --> 365.74] the good news for us
[365.74 --> 367.56] as God invites us into his family,
[368.26 --> 370.12] even through our life,
[370.34 --> 371.10] word, and deed,
[372.16 --> 373.82] even in all its shortcomings
[373.82 --> 374.66] and brokenness,
[374.68 --> 375.98] and there is plenty of that,
[376.44 --> 378.16] God still invites us
[378.16 --> 379.36] and uses us
[379.36 --> 380.88] to bring about his kingdom,
[381.32 --> 382.78] the year of the Lord's favor.
[383.02 --> 384.80] And we get to proclaim that with him.
[384.80 --> 388.24] We too,
[388.52 --> 389.22] by the empowering
[389.22 --> 390.46] of God's Holy Spirit,
[390.96 --> 392.70] are freed from depravity,
[393.00 --> 393.42] oppression,
[393.78 --> 394.38] and blindness
[394.38 --> 395.60] through Jesus our Savior.
[396.60 --> 396.92] And so,
[396.98 --> 397.76] that's the proclamation
[397.76 --> 398.82] that Jesus makes
[398.82 --> 400.26] about the year of the Lord's favor
[400.26 --> 401.96] that we get to make with him.
[402.18 --> 403.76] And as we enter this new year,
[403.96 --> 404.84] that's the encouragement
[404.84 --> 406.12] that I want to leave us with.