"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; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, 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."
- Isaiah 61:1-3, N-KJV
The preacher’s task is important because, by using God’s word, he proclaims good tidings about Jesus Christ. Jesus described the nature of his work when in Luke 4:18 he quoted from Isaiah 61:1-3. He declared that his work was to preach good tidings to the poor, to heal the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to captives, to give recovery of sight to the blind, and to set at liberty those who are oppressed. Isaiah had also said of him that he would give beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.
Did you notice that with this language the work of Jesus is described as turning desperate conditions into wonderful ones? So it is also that biblical preaching is uplifting. Biblical preaching announces good news about Jesus Christ, and what he has done for the good of all humanity. Gospel preachers have a positive message to meet all the sorrows of a sin filled world. Such preaching produces joyful results.
Biblical preaching understands the human predicament that in Adam, all have sinned, that sin has separated everyone from God, that no one can justify himself before God, and that without Christ everyone is doomed to suffer the penalty of eternal torment and separation from God. Biblical preaching understands that in spite of sin, God loves the world and wants everyone freed from sin, that he therefore gave his son Jesus Christ to die on the cross to pay the penalty for the sins of those who believe and obey him, and that believers may not only be saved from eternal torment and separation from God, but may also live eternally with God.
Dear Malaga Church Family,
It is a privilege to serve as your pastor and to be in ministry with you. We journey together in making disciples for Christ for the transformation of the world. God certainly has a purpose for us here at Malaga. When I look at the word purpose, I am reminded what Paul says in 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12,
"Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power, that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ."
As I look at this passage, we are to walk as Christ did. With all the trappings of this world in which we live we need to become more like Jesus. John Wesley calls it "moving on to perfection." To be worthy of our call, we need to strive to do what is right as Jesus would - like the question, "What would Jesus do?"
There is no doubt as we serve our community and beyond that we are doing what is good and right while moving on to perfection. May we use this website to pray, encourage and support each other on our journey together in ministry. I look forward to continuing the journey with you.
With Many Blessings,
Pastor Charlie
