FRIDAY, JANUARY 4
Scripture: Luke 4:16-20

In Luke 4:16-20, we find Jesus growing and developing in His understanding and expression of God’s anointing and His purpose. In verses 16-20, Jesus proclaimed the fulfillment of Isaiah 61:1,2a. Jesus declared it was fulfilled and handed the book back to the attendant and sat down in the synagogue in His own home town. This picture in the early ministry of Jesus provides us with a glimpse of His development. He had to grow in wisdom, knowledge and stature with God and man. If Jesus had to grow, we certainly have to grow also. What this passage reveals is how He grew. The real question most believers have to answer is, are we willing to pay the price to grow in order to accomplish the full measure of God’s assignment on our lives in our generation. Fulfilling our call takes considerable growth. Jesus understood that we grow by discovering a revelation of God’s Word that applies in our generation. We put it in our heart and water it until faith rises to act on it. That is precisely what Jesus did. He lived the parable of the sower. He sowed the seed of God’s Word in His own heart, He watered it and let it grow until the Holy Spirit activated it. Through faith, He declared what the Spirit prompted and the He acted on it. God gave the results. Jesus is revealing a pattern that all of us can follow. It is a growth pattern and it is one we need to embrace.