MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL - 23/08/2026

SUNDAY - 23RD AUGUST, 2026

MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL - Olusola & Oreoluwa ADEJUMO

AND THE POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM - Emmanuel Series 001

Matthew 11:5, KJV

"The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them."

I pray for you that you will not be forlorn. Rather, you'll be included in whatever the Lord is doing in your day. In Jesus' response to John the Baptist, He told John's errand boys, "go and tell John what you see and hear." Then, He made a list of the many things done by His hands. Just towards the end, He said, "...and the poor have the gospel preached to them."

They could have been neglected or forsaken but God came to them through the message of the kingdom that was preached to them. May God come for you! May God speak to you! May you hear the Lord's message and be converted, entering the kingdom and doing His bidding. 

You know, it's a great thing in my own heart that the gospel is preached to the lowest of the low. Do you know who the poor are? These are not the poor in spirit please. These are people who have economic insufficiency and are at the lowest step of the ladder. These are those who only live from hand to mouth. These are those who have to gaze to heaven and wonder where that day's bread will come from. These are those who cannot meet needs if it comes upon them without a very long notice. They have no economic, social, political powers and it'll be fitting to say they are the nobodies and slaves of the society. They are the rejected, beaten, broken and battered of the community. They are the despised and nothing about them commands anybody's respect. 

In God's eyes, this kind of people deserve to hear the gospel preached to them. Therefore, the Bible says, "and the gospel is preached to the poor." Thank God Jesus models what to follow for all preachers. As a matter of fact, He never neglected the poor but constantly ministered to them. In the first ever message Jesus preached, He stated what the purpose of the anointing on Him was for. He included the poor in His messianic mandate/manifesto. 

Luke 4:18, KJV

"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..."

What did you observe there? Another repetition of what we earlier read - "...because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor..."

You won't see a single place in the Bible whether in the New Testament or among the old messianic prophecies where the Bible says Jesus came to preach the gospel to the rich. While the rich alike were not neglected in His ministry and should be cared for in ours also, yet Jesus has a special heart for the cast away, rejected and despised of the earth. It is always, "...and to preach the gospel to the poor." This is a way of Jesus saying God identifies with the humble in their state or affliction. You may wonder and ask, why the reverse? It's simple! What the world esteems is what God debases. The rich are usually well taken of, noticed and made space for. However, the poor have a differing lot and so they needed a comforter. I hope if you're a preacher, your gospel is not only to the rich because you believe they can pay you. You're wrong. We don't preach for any reward. If your gospel or preaching has not been identifying with the oppressed, afflicted, sick, vulnerable, orphans, widowed, fatherless and the rejected of the earth, then you need to reconsider. 

More importantly, what is the "gospel" that Jesus preached since He hasn't died nor resurrected when He was sending that message to John. The gospel He preached here is not of His death or resurrection but the arrival of the Messiah (Himself) on earth. So, it is the good news of God's Kingdom breaking into human history through God's Messiah. Don't forget that before Jesus' birth, predictions had gone ahead of Him and people are in expectation of a coming Messiah. His eventual arrival and what that signifies or could give them is what He preached. He therefore met the hope and expectation of the longing eyes and waiting hearts, especially the poor and vulnerable who have no inheritance to claim on this earth. 

I pray for you again that God's Word will come to you for your comfort, salvation and strengthening. Do you know the meaning of I/Emmanuel? It means, "God with us" (Matt.1:23). When God speaks to people, the Word He speaks to them can bind or heal them. It can instill hope and give them something to place their faith in - just the same way many of the poor who heard the gospel of the kingdom hung their faith in Jesus, the Messiah. They were revived and assured that this is He who's to come. Many were comforted, having a renewed faith and life. 

Do you believe Jesus is also the Messiah - the Son of God and the only Saviour of mankind? If you do, you'll have eternal life. If you haven't, repent of your sins and believe in Him right away. 

Ooh, the gospel is indeed preached to the poor - the debased, afflicted, broken down, forlorn, rejected. It is not only to/for those who are okay, secured and protected. God is with you in your situation and He has come through this message today. Emmanuel is here!

PRAYER: Immanuel, thank You for being with us. I believe You're the Son of God. I repent of my sins and place my faith in You. In You only I have redemption.

DAILY BIBLE READING 

JOB 8:1-11:20, I COR. 15:1-28, PSALM 38:1-22, PROV. 21:28-29

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