Setting The Captives Free
SETTING THE CAPTIVES FREE
DECEMBER 9TH AND 10TH, 2000
Luke 4
14 ¶ Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside.
15 He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.
16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read.
17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
18 "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour."
20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him,
21 and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."
Lu 11:20 “But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you.”
1Jo 3:8 He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work.
-We having been talking about how to stand against the devil and forces of darkness.
-Leading up to this we focused on maturing. That is important.
-In addition to maturity and knowing who you are in Christ you have to exercise authority.
-We are going to pray for you today but that doesn’t mean you will never sin or fall to temptation.
-Some things are beaten by character development and maturity.
-Some things come from outside forces. We can stop that.
-When a shepherd examines his sheep he looks for ticks or other parasites and picks them off.
-That is what a demon force is; a parasite. It gets life from your life.
-Jesus is the Great Shepherd…. He wants us free from parasites.
1. THE FIRST STEP IS A WILLINGNESS TO BE EXAMINED BY THE GREAT SHEPHERD
-This is a humility and honesty.
-David said you desire truth in the inmost being.
-This is being real before God.
-It isn’t excusing behavior but being for real.
-There isn’t a lot to say about this except:
YOU CAN BE SET FREE IF YOU WANT TO BE.
2. REPENT / TURN AWAY FROM THE BEHAVIOR
-You can ask for help all day long but it won’t work until you are willing to turn from it.
-There are certain things that invite demonic influence.
EXAMPLE WITH SPYDER IN PARKING LOT…LIKE SIN…IT IS FUN AT FIRST…THEN YOU REALIZE YOU ARE OUT OF CONTROL.
Deuteronomy 18
9 ¶ When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there.
10 Let no-one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practises divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft,
11 or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead.
12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD, and because of these detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you.
13 You must be blameless before the LORD your God.
14 The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practise sorcery or divination. But as for you, the LORD your God has not permitted you to do so.
15 ¶ The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him.
Leviticus 19
31 "`Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.
-In Revelation 9:21 the Bible talks about sorceries.
-Literally the Greek word is pharmakeia (far-mak-eye-ah)
It means the use of medicine but later came to mean the use of drugs with incantations charms and magic.
-There were certain ways in which we can open a door to dark forces.
-We need to close that door.
-The key here is to not try to free yourself but to turn away from the behavior and turn to God who has the power to free you.
-The ministry of the Great Shepherd, Jesus, is to SET THE CAPTIVES FREE.
3. RENOUNCE ANY BEHAVIOR THAT DISPLEASES GOD
-Throw off the weights that have been dragging you back.
Hebrews 12
1 ¶ Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
4 ¶ In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.
-You need to THROW OFF the forces of darkness.
-Tell the devil to beat it.
-Do whatever you have to do to serve him his eviction notice.
Sidebar: REBELLION IS AS THE SIN OF WITCHCRAFT
WITCHCRAFT PRAYERS IS PRAYING YOUR WILL RATHER THAN GOD’S WILL. THIS COULD BE TRYING TO IMPOSE YOUR DESIRES ON A SITUATION THAT ISN’T GOD’S WILL.
-If you have something demonic, you need to get rid of it. R. Bonnke says, “satan has a right to inspect his own property.”
4. RECEIVE FREEDOM
-This is receiving deliverance from God. He does what only He can do….SET YOU FREE.
-If you have something in your life,
A besetting sin
A habit
A fear
Whatever
-We are going to pray today and lay hands on you if you would like.
-If you feel like you or someone else has opened a door in your life…….you can be set free.