Saturday, April 11, 2009

Oops! They Were At the Airport!


There is an old expression I have heard many times, “I am waiting for my ship to come in, but when it does come in I will probably be at the airport.” It is a classic example of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Another old expression I have heard is that you can’t get respect at home. You will always be remembered as you were not as you are.
Jesus had paid a visit to His home town of Nazareth. He shows up at the synagogue, as He usually did. He is given the book of Isaiah and begins to read a very powerful passage of scripture to them:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” Luke 4:18-19
Jesus then hands the book back and makes this statement, “Today is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.”
What a wonderful opportunity was given to the people of Nazareth. Here was Jesus, the Messiah. Here was the one they had been looking for, waiting generations for His coming. He is standing in their midst telling them the prophecy was being fulfilled right then and there. Oops! They are at the airport!
Jesus is telling them they can have their hearts, which have been broken by life, healed and made whole again. He is telling them that the chains of life that has held them captive, those chains can be broken and they can be delivered. He is telling them that those who have been blinded by life, by the lies of the enemy, can receive their sight again. He is promising them that those who have received bruising blows from life and sin, blows that have left them hurting, can experience the liberating power of the blood flowing through their lives. He tells them it is happening right there, at that exact moment, this prophecy is being fulfilled. Oops! They are at the airport!
Instead of excitement! Rather that being exuberant! They look at each other and their response is, “He speaks well. Where did he get this information, this knowledge? Isn’t he the son of Joseph the carpenter?” Oops! They were at the airport!
Jesus then shares a thought with them which was not well received, yet you and I should really pay attention to what He said, “There were a lot of widows in Israel in the days of the draught during Elijah’s ministry, but God sent him to a widow in another country. There were a lot of lepers in Israel during the days of Elisha, but again Israel missed out on the blessing as a man from Syria received the miraculous healing.” He was telling them Israel was at the airport!
The opportunity for a miracle was right there. Many widows were in desperate need of a miracle of oil and meal, yet they were not open to a miracle. They were at the airport. Many lepers were in need of being healed and restored to their family yet the faith and trust in God was not there. They were at the airport.
How often do you and I miss out on blessings from God because we are “at the airport?” I am talking about things that we are in desperate need of. Our heart might have been broken. Some tragedy in our lives that has left us crushed feeling like we will never be whole again. Yet we don’t trust God to heal that broken heart. We don’t believe He will do it. We are “at the airport!”
Have you been held captive by the past? Mistakes you have made in times gone by can hold you in chains of fear and doubt. Are your eyes blinded by the lies of the enemy? Is he tearing down your faith and confidence in God to the point you cannot see the possibilities God has for you. Are you bruised by life? Has the failures of yesterday left bruises in your life? The scripture tells us that God is the remedy to our situation, yet too often we don’t think He will do it for us. We are “at the airport!”
We read and hear about miracles taking place in Africa, South America and other distant places. We hear of wonders and signs happening in great numbers and then wonder why it doesn’t happen to me? We are at the airport. We have the confidence God can do it for everyone else but not us. We are looking for our ship at the airport!
He said the anointing was there for the healing, for the deliverance, for the opening of the eyes, for the liberation of the bruised. We can have it! It is a promise to the child of God! We just need to believe it can happen to us and then accept our promise. This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears! Where are you at? Are you at the airport waiting for you ship to come in?
Just a thought! God Bless…

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