The Target Audience

January 13, 2023

“The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.” Luke 4:18-19 NKJV

It was an exciting day at the synagogue. The new itinerant rabbi was in town. He was fresh off His engagement with the Devil in the wilderness where He fasted and prayed for 40 days. Now He returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, was baptized by John, and traveled through the area, teaching in their synagogues. He was so dynamic and fresh that news about Him went all through the area.

When He arrived in His hometown of Nazareth, He went to the synagogue and as a special guest was handed the scroll to read. It was the writings of Isaiah. He went straight to verses He knew well (Isaiah 61) and used them to make His manifesto. He announced His target in clear language: the poor, the brokenhearted, the captives, the blind, and the oppressed. His mission was to proclaim to them the Lord’s favor! This was His mission statement.

When a typical church announces a target audience today, we do it very differently than Jesus. We generally describe ages, male or female, income, geographical parameters, racial or ethnic descriptors, defining the kinds of persons we feel most able to attract or the ones we want to attract. There’s nothing inherently wrong with looking for people you think you can succeed in reaching, but if you are a true Jesus follower, someone who is trying to build His Kingdom in His way, you can never forget the target that Jesus announced. It overshadows everything else. He says that the invitation into the Kingdom is for the poor, for the brokenhearted, for the captives, for the blind, and for the oppressed. We have the responsibility and privilege of welcoming them and letting them know that they are targets of His love and favor. They will believe it as we are His hands and feet and love like He does.

Our manifesto, our calling, and anointing is His. The ultimate solution to the problems of our broken and battered world and also to the issues of the individuals who comprise our world is entering the Kingdom of King Jesus. It is also our great privilege to bring them in. No one can do everything, but everyone can do something. No one can reach everyone, but everyone can reach someone. Do something for someone, for Christ's sake.

• Who needs to be on your target list? Get out of your comfort zone and go after them.