Exodus 316 …….. I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt.
Many of us have sat and wondered…..”No one knows what it is like to be me.”
Perhaps we have wanted to tell Him: “Why don’t you come down here and see what this is like.”
Or: “Why don’t you just come and fix this?”
He Does…
He Did…
And He Will…
The Exodus of the Egyptians was a historical event. And yet, it is the story of each of us. And God makes this very clear in scripture.
You see, FREEDOM means absolutely nothing if we are not FREE SPIRITUALLY.
Think about it.
A man who sits without HOPE could have everything–yet he has NOTHING.
He who lives in FEAR is in constant assault from the next random and unexplained thought.
To be without A PLACE TO BELONG makes a man homeless.
He who has no ETERNITY simply sits and waits for the inevitable—for himself and everyone else.
Freedom from slavery is not a physical desire—it is a basic human need.
And yet…many of us walk enslaved.
We walk out only part of, or pieces of, the very call that He has placed on us.
But that is not His plan.
He came to set the captives free.
Isaiah 61 1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
And scripture warns us of this AGAIN and AGAIN. Read about the Exodus. The Hebrew people struggled mightily in their trek out of Egypt. And they struggled not because they were slaves or because they could not get themselves out of slavery in the physical…..but because they could not get themselves out of slavery spiritually.
And that is because ALL OF US face this.
How easy it is to read the Bible and judge Abraham or Moses or Peter or Paul or Judas or Jonah ….. Each lacked or fell short or simply did not measure up to certain situations.
And yet, who do we think that we are? How often do we truly measure up?
As you watch this video, take note of the freedom that lives in that room as Zach Williams sings to a room full of inmates…there is freedom in that room that cannot be measured. Freedom in Harding Prison.
I remember Pastor Tony Evans once said: “If God’s will is for you to go to prison (referring to Joseph) … then being in prison is where you ought to be.”
And that’s because SPIRITUAL FREEDOM is what we all need.
More than anything else in the world.
Isaiah 61 is ABOUT JESUS. And it is a gift offered to each and everyone of us. Cry out and, ASK FOR, what already belongs to you.
What you decide to do with this truth is totally and completely up to you.
Is He your enemy … or is He your friend?
Is He intruding on your life … or the only hope that you could ever have?
Is His hand on who you are a curse … or is it a blessing?
When Jesus called out a huge crowd (John 6) and almost compelled them TO LEAVE — many left. Jesus then looked at Peter and said: “What about you, Peter?”
To which Peter replied: “Lord, where will I go? You, and you alone, hold the keys to eternal life.”
Where do you stand with this question:
What about you? Do you want to leave … or stay?
God has given us a choice. He is there and His offer is right in front of us.
We get to choose to have Him … or we get to reject His offer. It is a simple offer into an “all in” life. It is not easy — but it is simple.
What about you?
Remember, as you make this choice, all that sits in front of you:
He owns the cattle on a THOUSAND Hills (Psalm 50)
His mercy for you is new at the start of EACH day. (Lamentations 3)
He wants to prosper you. (Jeremiah 29)
Many have turned and ran.
Solomon chased women, partied, and lived life to the fullest—only to end up calling life meaningless. (Ecclesiastes)
Jonah (Jonah) HATED an entire town of people and ran from God … shipwrecking a crew and causing pain on many — including himself.
Peter slept when he should have been praying, fought when he should have followed, spoke when he should have listened, and made promise after promise that he simply did not keep. (John)
Moses reacted in anger and caused himself, and others, great pain (Exodus).
And yet … ALL OF THESE … Are WITH GOD.
What about you?
We know many things about God and many things are still a mystery.
But this is one thing that we know without hesitation—He Is The God Who Stays.
John 316 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
There is something incredibly special about the Bible, and it is far beyond my shallow and incredibly simplistic view of it.
66 Books, 40 Authors, 3 Continents, 3 Languages, 1500 Years
And yet, all of it is tied together with incredible unity.
How did David know (Psalm 22) that Jesus would be crucified, betrayed, mocked, and have His clothing gambled over?
How did Moses know to foretell (Genesis 22) that “God would provide the Lamb to be sacrificed”?
How did Isaiah know everything about Jesus? That He would be born of a virgin (Ch 7), in the line of Jesse (Ch 11), and declared by a messenger (Ch 40)? Who helped Isaiah describe Him (in INCREDIBLE detail) in Isaiah 53?
How did Micah know that He would be born in Bethlehem?
How did Zechariah know that He would be called king (Ch 9), betrayed (Ch 11), and that Judas’ betrayal money would be used to buy a potter’s field (Ch 11)?
These are just a few of the questions that I have as I stand in absolute marvel of the Book that God has written us.
When Hebrews 12 says that He is the Author and Perfector of our faith—I think He means it…..LITERALLY.
God has given us a love letter.
It is written outside of space and time.
It breaks all of the human rules of wisdom and logic, yet fully tells us how to be JUST and MERCIFUL—-AT THE SAME TIME.
And ALL of this is in this book—-which is far beyond our comprehension and well above all of our meager accomplishments.
In a small attempt to honor the BIG BOOK—I will spend a season writing about the “THREE SIXTEENS”, verses connected by the same number in different books, by different authors, on different continents, in different cultures, and in different seasons.
And yet—–all of them are tied together in perfect unison. God has written us a PERFECT LETTER. One that we would do well to appreciate, learn, and meditate on…….
AFTER ALL—-He is our ONLY HOPE.
As the three men stood before a tyrant, contesting their very lives, they understood something that we would all do well to learn:
God Is Our Rescue
Daniel 316 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
Three men stood up to a King, and a kingdom, because they understood that there was something FAR MORE VALUABLE than the lives that they had. HIM.
You see, without God, we have nothing. We can’t keep our lives—we will lose them.
And we can’t have eternity. It is the Lord’s.
And yet, all of it works if we let Him rescue us.
And it works because 2000 years ago, on a cross on Calvary, He made sure that it would work. He made sure that we had a chance to be ROYAL.
I want to finish the series on taking every thought captive with the writing today.
2 Corinthians 105 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
God wants more than people on the defense.
He wants more from us than to sit in defense mode trying to deflect the plots of the enemy.
I think this is why He tells us this:
1 Peter 29 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
We are Set Apart.
We are not sent here to be victims of the culture, cowering away from evil, hiding in the rocks from assailants, walking in quiet submission.
We are (as Romans 8 says) MORE THAN CONQUERORS.
We Are Sent From Heaven
Bought By The Blood Of The Lamb
Written In The Lamb’s Book Of Life
Honored In The Holy Place
We Are Not Perfect—
But We Are Loved By Someone Who Is
Father,
Set Us Apart
Help Us To Walk In Honor and Power and Holiness
Put Something Inside Of Us That Will Show Up Outside Of Us
When Dick Fosbury failed to clear 5 feet as a sophomore in high school, he began a search to find a better way to high jump. The result, the Fosbury Flop, propelled him to great things in track. The athlete who could not clear 5 feet became an olympic gold medalist who could jump over 7’4”. What would have happened to Fosbury had he done it the way everyone else did?
The same could be said for Tom Brady. An unathletic, weak-armed, and undersold quarterback from Michigan, Brady had done nothing but win. Still, no one was too impressed with his lack of physical abilities. That did not stop Tom Brady from developing into the greatest quarterback of all time. He simply did not do what everybody else was doing. He found things to push him harder. What would have happened to Brady had he done it the way everyone else did?
I think we all know the answer.
2 Corinthians 105 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
Here is some advice about FITTING IN……….
Don’t Do It!
Fitting is exactly the opposite of what you should be doing. You should be asking God to lead your life in the direction where He has you going. And most of the time, it is not always the popular, or status quo, route.
You were not built to “fit in” or “join in” or “follow” … You were built to lead.
Jesus not only emphasizes leadership and plowing your own path, He demands it.
Not HALF IN.
Not, “TEST THE WATER”, IN.
Not, “ONLY WHEN IT WORKS”, IN.
ALL IN.
In Revelation 3, He tells the Church of Laodicea (which you can visit in Turkey) that He was about to “spit them out of his mouth because they were luke warm”.
Jesus walked on the earth and died on the cross to free a people. He asked that we “pick up our cross and follow Him daily”. DAILY. He wanted a movement of disciples to change the world in mighty ways, and to some degrees, we have.
But He is calling on a new generation.
It is a generation that includes you…..and me.
It is a generation that is called to love, but not necessarily fit in with, all.
It is a generation of TRUE BELIEVERS.
Are you stuck in a rut? Or feeling like you don’t fit well with others? Or wondering why you feel so differently?
It might be God telling you He wants to launch you into something amazing.
Be willing to go along for the ride. Because fitting in with God is the best thing that you could ever do.
2 Corinthians 105 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
It doesn’t take long to build a narrative on a foundation of lies. That is certainly what Paul did as he walked into Syria with the intention of punishing and even killing Christians. In the Name of God, Paul was going to kill those who dared to follow him.
I certainly don’t write this to condemn Paul. I write it because we too can be deceived. And Paul was deceived.
God has given us many tools to avoid deception. He has given us His Word. He has given us counsel. And He has given us the Holy Spirit. But in order to use a tool, we must pick it up.
And in order to walk out the call that God has for us, we must align our thoughts with His.
And so I am staying on the verse that we had last week:
2 Corinthians 105 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
How can we avoid listening to thoughts that don’t belong in our heads? How can we avoid listening to the enemy? The thoughts that bring death are spoken every day as we go into the world, they are embedded in the cultural norms, and they are communicated in social media.
More than ever, we must ask God to change our hearts. We must ask Him to cover us in His thoughts, to fully dwell in us and in all that we do.
Psalm 14518 The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.
God’s plan is simple.
Give Him EVERYTHING.
And as you give Him everything—then call on Him in truth. And scripture promises that He will be there for you in all that you need.
Today is the day.
Jesus gives us eyes to see and ears to hear.
He gives us hope and future.
He saves the best for now, and never returns void on His promises.
He sits on the right hand of the Father and rules over the nations.
He owns the cattle on a thousand hills.
He is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.
He is the great counselor and the first and the last.
He is the high priest in the line of Melchizedek.
In Him, you are never alone.
Surround yourself with people who Honor the Lord.
Surround your eyes with scripture……and memorize it.
Surround your soul with the Holy Spirit, that He might influence and lead your life.
Father,
Bring Your Spirit now.
Bathe us in your love and lead our hearts and minds.
Let evil look like evil, and let good look like good.
As I reflected on today’s writing, I thought about the many battles that shaped our world today.
The battle of Midway, a naval battle that shaped the war in the Pacific during World War II.
The battle of Gettysburg, the results of which stirred Abraham Lincoln to the very depths of his soul…..inspiring him to write the Gettysburg Address on the back of an envelope. And his speech is now written on the Lincoln Monument.
Battle of Stalingrad during World War II. A war of attrition that ended up taking the lives of millions of people.
With all due respect, a battle is brewing in our communities that might be the most important in human history.
It is the battle that brews in each of our minds.
I am not writing in hyperbole here…..it is a battle that is of colossal importance. And each of us must step up and begin to war in ways that we never have before.
Children…..step up….and protect your parents.
Fathers…..wake up….and protect your daughters.
Sisters…..stand up….and protect your brothers.
Wives…..open up….and protect your husbands.
Friends…..hustle up….and protect your squad.
The enemy has launched an assault on the hearts and minds of millions—looking to sway their hearts and demolish their minds.
Via the internet, he has taken full assault on all of us to attack the very core of all of us.
When I was in high school, I had a friend who was beautiful in every way you could describe.
She was kind. Patient. Loving. Loyal. And physically, she was as attractive as anyone I knew. And yet, the enemy had her convinced that she was overweight, that she was ugly, that she was worthless.
Before anyone knew what to do or how to help, she was gone.
The enemy had invaded her mind and demolished her worth.
As I reflected on this situation last week, God broke my heart. He brought me back to that place in a way that broke me. And He has asked me to write this today.
And so I say, STAND UP.
STAND UP and speak the gospel.
Jesus did not die on a cross 2000 years ago so that we could sit in a peaceful meditative position and allow the enemy to wreak havoc on our society. He died so that we might have life, and have it in abundance.
As Paul says to all of us:
2 Corinthians 105 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
Think about that line:
Take Every Thought Captive
Take them captive! Literally—throw them in prison and throw away the key.
Imagine if we released 100 hardened criminals into your city or neighborhood?
They would cast a shadow of fear over all who lived there and certainly change the dynamics of our everyday lives….
And yet….many of us do this very thing every day.
We do it when we do not control our thoughts.
I had not considered this principle until last week, and this verse that I had read and uttered hundreds of times began to come to life.
Think about it!
In the spiritual realm, Satan can wreak havoc without one action. If he can, in fact, plant a thought in our head, then how we react can actually empower his evil.
Satan works at the speed of thought.
And what we do with a thought either cripples or empowers him.
Take your thoughts, and treat them like a hardened criminal. Throw them in prison! Take them as your captive. And DO NOT LET THEM OUT UNLESS THEY ARE OBEDIENT TO CHRIST.
The more I think about this very simple principle the more I believe that we need to be doing this with all of our hearts.
How much do we worry about, or anticipate, or fear, or assume.
What would happen if we truly monitored our very thoughts?
I challenge you today to take your thoughts as your prisoners. Lock them up and ask God to help you process them.
The Battle in front of us can be won.
It can be won with worship.
It can be won with love.
It can be won by a body of believers standing in unison.
Jesus is the only hope. He activates things that we never thought we had. He heals things that we thought could never be healed. He loves people who are unlovable. He conquers kingdoms that are impenetrable.
He is, after all, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.
Take Them Captive!
And then give this gospel to someone else–so they can do the same.
In The Name of the Father and the
Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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