The third aspect of Christ's ministry is " to proclaim freedom to the captives". Through His death and resurrection Christ defeated Satan and set His people free. There are two dimensions that were affected by this liberation. The first deliverance occurred in the spiritual realm and has a spiritual application, the second occurs in everyday life and has a very practical application.
In scripture the spiritual dimension is also referred to as "the invisible realm". Though we can't see this dimension, it is very real and substantial place. In this realm, Christ set us free in a very real and dramatic sense. Scripture asserts emphatically that believers have been "delivered from the dominion of Satan and brought into the Kingdom of God." This deliverance means that Satan no longer has the legal, or moral, right to control or condemn the children of God. We may or may not experience this new freedom, but it remains true and substantive nonetheless. The implications are profound! The Kingdom of God is a place of freedom. We are no longer slaves to sin. (Romans 6:6, John 8:31-36), no longer captives.
But Christ also intends that we experience His freedom in the visible world. It is not enough that we simply understand the truth that the evil one no longer has authority to control and manipulate us, or that indwelling sin no longer dictates our choices. Christ wants us to experience this truth regarding our deliverance in a real and substantial way. There is a practical dimension involved in this deliverance.
Though legally defeated, Satan continues to exert his control over people, holding them captive in two ways. The first way is through the "schemes of the devil", habitual strategies that we embraced in an attempt to offset the effects of sin. They evolve into addictions and defense mechanisms that people use to address unresolved pain. If we continue to use old mechanisms to deal with our pain, rather than rely upon Christ, we remain (literally) in bondage to them, to sin, and to the evil one.
This passage reminds us that Jesus came to set us free from these unhealthy ways of living. Through His guidance and power we can recognize and replace these unhealthy practices with more effective and healthy ways of living.
Don't you want to be released from those things that are holding you back from moving forward in PEACE!!! PEACE<>How amazing would it be to feel TRUE PEACE in our hearts and souls. To live with others in peace and love. To work through all of the old junk, and no longer let that stuff hold us back from an amazing future with blessings and peace. Though it was painful to go through the junk in the past, to go through it and work it out and be released from it FOREVER, would be worth the pain one more time, and to never have to go back to it AGAIN>>>NEVER!!!!!!
MY LIfe:
This is one example of what I was freed from:
Things in my child hood that I held onto or never told anyone about. I carried all of this pain and shame around with me for years. I finally let it out three years ago. I was sexually molested several times when I was very young. I never told. I thought that nobody would believe me, and I felt like the black sheep of my family and did not think that anyone would care. I then went through a Celebrate Recovery class in our church, and with counsel was freed from those feelings. I then with my husband, taught the celebrate recovery class. As I have talked with teens girls that were in the program where my son was to find that almost every one of them had been molested at some point in their life......WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You have to work through that junk and be released from Satan's hands. If you carry that around with you and never get freed, it will affect your relationships. So why wait another minute start today..........take the first step in releasing those things today.
If you need someone to pray with you about this, I would love too. Just leave me a comment or email me your number and when to call and I will.
Be blessed today...................
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