"Set The Captive Free"

"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound." Isaiah 61:1

This verse was a prophesy about the coming Messiah and how He would preach good tidings to the meek, bind up the brokenhearted, proclaim liberty to the captives and open prisons to those who were bound.  This verse was fulfilled later by Jesus.  "This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears." (Luke 4:17-21)

I want to focus this morning on one thing it said He would do-- set captives free.  Are you being held captive by some addiction?  He came to set the captive free.  Are you being held captive by drugs, pills, alcohol?  He came to set the captive free.  Are you being held captive by pornography, adultery, fornication or some other immorality?  He came to set the captive free.  Are you a captive to gluttony or some other undisciplined behavior?  He came to set the captive free.  Are you in bondage to some besetting sin?  He came to set the captive free.  Are you a captive to anger, temper, hatred, bitterness, jealousy, envy, greed or unforgiveness?  He came to set the captive free. 

It doesn't matter what it is, He came to set you free.  No bondage is too big for Him to deliver you from.  No prison bars are too strong that He cannot break them.  It doesn't matter how long you have been held captive by it.  He came to set the captive free.  He wants to set you free this morning.  Regardless of whether or not it is from something that is major in your life, or something that seems too small to bother Him about.  He came to set you free from any and all things that would hold you captive.

Have a great day.  Jesus came to set the captive free.

"Encourage Yourself"

"And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God."  1 Samuel 30:6

David had been on the run from King Saul for years.  At the time of the scripture text above he had been sent away by the Philistines and returned to his home base at Ziklag with the men who had faithfully followed and fought with him.  Upon their arrival they discovered that the city had been invaded by the Amalekites, and they had burned the city and taken all their wives and children captive.  The hearts of David's men was so grieved that they cried until they could cry no more.  Then they had thoughts of turning on David and stoning him. 

David's heart was broken as well.  But unlike the others he encouraged himself in the Lord in order to get through his time of pain and grief.  The point this morning that I want to make is that we need to learn how to encourage our own selves.  Why?  Because there may be no one else there to encourage us.  David's wives and children were gone-- he couldn't be comforted and encouraged by those he loved.  His men had turned on him-- there was no encouragement there.  Sometimes even if they are there, they are going through something themselves and can't offer you any encouragement, or they are preoccupied with what is going on in their own lives that they aren't even listening to what you are saying. 

The key is to "encourage ourselves IN THE LORD".  Many try to encourage themselves through various means.  Some try to encourage themselves by going and buying something new.  Some think that if they can just take a trip or go for a walk that will give them encouragement.  Some seek encouragement through a bottle or a pill.  None of these bring the encouragement you need to get through your situation.

How do you encourage yourself in the Lord?  You go to Him.   You don't just simply give up and go sit in a corner, or hide your head under the cover, or run from God.   You pray-- even though you may not feel like it.  You renew your mind with His word and His promises.  You meditate on what He has done for you in the past- His faithfulness.  As you encourage yourself in Him you will be encouraged.    

Have a great day.  You have to learn to encourage your own self in the Lord, because there may be no one else there to encourage you. 

For further reading:
1 Samuel 30

 

"The Head Of The House"

"And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the son of David; they were sore displeased." Matthew 21:15

Jesus had gone into the temple and saw the moneychangers and those who were selling sacrifices to present on the altar to God the Father.  He took control of the situation and "cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves." (verse 12) Then He made the statement, "It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves." (verse 13) This displeased the chief priests and scribes.  Why?  Because they were the ones who were in charge and control of the temple.  They thought they were the "head of the house", but when Jesus came in and set things in order, they got angry because He let them know it was "His House".  The saddest part of this account was that The Head of the house was in the house, and they didn't even realize it because they thought they were the head of the house.

It's still that way today.  Many churches and church leaders think they are the "head" and have stopped acknowledging Jesus' headship in His "house/church".  This isn't happening in churches only, it is happening in "The Church"- in the body of believers. 

The Bible says that our bodies-- those who put their faith in Jesus Christ as Savior-- are the temple of God (2 Corinthians 6:16).  Like those chief priests in the temple that day, we too tend to think that we are the "head" of our own lives.  Jesus is the Head of our lives, but we rarely acknowledge His Lordship. 

When He came into your life at salvation, He intended to be the Head of your life/temple.  He doesn't want to share you with anything else.  Today make it your prayer that He would "drive out" anything that is displeasing to Him.  That He would "overthrow" any idol you have set up in your heart.  That He would "drive out" those things that would try to take His place.  That He would "drive out" self-seeking, personal agenda, fleshly based goals, hatred, anger, bitterness, jealousy, and anything else that would make your life a "den of thieves" instead of a temple of prayer, holiness and honor to Him. 

Have a great day.   You are the temple of God.  Let Him drive out anything in your life that would stop Him from being Head of your temple. 

"Stay Small"

"Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall."  Proverbs 16:18

There seems to be a "trend" in modern Christianity for bigger and bigger.  Mega churches and large ministries are becoming the norm.  Pastors want their churches to be the largest one in town.  Many are working hard to have churches that have more attendees than the next church.  Ministers want to be prophesied to about having a world-wide evangelistic ministry.  Many evangelists, or "big" name ministers won't even go to speak at another church or conference unless promised large sums of money.  It is becoming all about crowds, large congregations, making a name for yourself, being well known and popular. 

If God has called you to a mega ministry, serving a large congregation, or ministering world-wide do it following Him and for His glory.  But be on guard, we have seen many ministries and ministers get so "big" that they forgot God.  They become self-serving, people-pleasing, full of pride about what they have done, what they are doing and "who" they are. 

But to all of us whether we are used in mighty or small ways by God, there is a warning-- we must keep ourselves humble before the Lord.  The key to staying humble when God is using you is to "stay little in your own eyes".  When God starts enlarging your tents, when He promotes you, when He calls you to do a greater work for Him, don't think more highly of yourself than you should.

Saul was anointed as the first king of Israel.  He was head and shoulders taller than the other men.  He was anointed by the Prophet Samuel.  The Spirit would come upon him.  He prophesied.  He was used by the Lord.  But Saul fell.  He disobeyed God.  Therefore, God took the kingdom from him.  We have the reason why he fell and our answer to keep from falling.  "And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the Lord anointed thee king over Israel?" (1 Samuel 15:17) The answer is-- when God is using you to do His work, stay little in your own eyes.  Don't look at yourself as bigger than you are.  You aren't the big one, God is.

Have a great day.  Stay small in your own eyes when God is using you.  (Don't get too big for your own spiritual britches.) 

 

"God Knows The Plan"

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

"I know, declares the Lord".  We don't always know the plans that God has for us.  When Joseph was in the pit, he didn't know the plan God had for him.  When he was in prison, or serving as a slave in Egypt, he didn't know God's plan for his life.  He didn't know that God had planned for him to rise to position and power in Egypt in order to save the nation of Israel.  But God knew.

When God told Abraham to leave his father's house and go to a place where He would show him, Abraham didn't know that God had a plan to make him the father of many nations.  But God did.

When Moses was on the backside of the desert tending sheep, he didn't know the plan that God had for his life.  When his mother put him in a basket as a baby and placed him in the Nile River, she didn't know the plan that God had for her or her son.  But God knew. 

While David was tending sheep for his father, he didn't know the plan God had for him.  He didn't know that one day he would be anointed King of Israel.  When Mary was growing up, she didn't know the plan that God had for her to be the mother of the Messiah.  They didn't know, but God knew.

We don't always know the plan God has for our lives.  We may speculate.  We may hope.  We may dream about or wish for a certain plan, but we don't always know.  We don't always have to know, until God choses to reveal it to us.  But it should bring us comfort to know that not only does He have a plan for our lives, but He knows what His plan is.  It should bring us peace and reassurance to know that He knows.  It should strengthen our trust in Him, that even when we don't know, He knows.

Have a great day.  We don't always know the plan that God has for us, but He knows what it is.  As long as He knows, then we know we can trust Him in whatever it is.