Preach Deliverance to the Captives
Luke 4:18 - “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,”
During the Bible times, captives would refer to those who were imprisoned, enslaved people, and those possessed and controlled by demons. Today, the captives can refer to those obsessed and addicted to vices due to worldly lifestyle.
The captives would refer to the unsaved people who are dependent on any form of addiction, such as drugs, sex, gambling, pornography, alcohol, and social media, that cause personal dysfunction and anti-social behavior. These affected their morality and physical and mental health.
The Christians are not exempted from these dependencies or captivities. As a counselor, I have helped Christians who know they are saved, but because of their spiritual weakness and other factors, they could not free themselves from this form of slavery. They need help.
The greatest example of deliverance in the Old Testament was the deliverance of the Jews from Egypt, led by Moses. It was a successful deliverance from the hands of Pharaoh.
However, during their exodus, they discovered another form of captivity - they were captives of their own selfish pride and rebellious heart. That is the reason why the Lord made them spend 40 years in the wilderness to teach them and to set them free from their greatest enemy, SELF.
In the New Testament, Jesus Christ fulfilled the greatest act of deliverance when He paid our sin debt on the cross. Through His death, we have been redeemed. But one has to accept what He did by trusting Jesus as their Savior.
We think that the salvation experience would make us immune from captivity. Apostle Paul disagrees: “Stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. [13] For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.” (Galatians 5:1,13)
When we allow ourselves to go back to the world and live like the world, we are placing again the shackles on our hands and making us captives and enslaved people to the law.
Liberty is not the freedom to enjoy sin. True liberty is when we are no longer under the power and the control of sin. The power of the gospel guarantees that. However, it takes the faith of Christ to be able to overcome the flesh.
Galatians 2:19-20 - “For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. [20] I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless, I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
If we find ourselves again entangled by sin, the only solution is to return to the Lord, who will provide us with a way to escape.
P Corinthians 10:13 - “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”
Conclusion:
The enemy wants us to be entangled again in the “yoke of bondage” to render us weak and unable to fulfill God’s desire in our lives. The enemy knows he cannot anymore take us with him to everlasting condemnation, but he still tries to make us no longer serve and live for God.
To preach deliverance to the captives is an essential mandate for the Church to reach out to those who allow themselves again in captivity of the flesh and to help them get untangled and be free to live and serve God. When we are loose from worldly entanglement, we are free to live and serve the Lord with joy!