Enslaved to what you despise
Have you ever caught yourself saying, or doing something you SWORE you’d never say or do? Maybe it was a phrase a parent always said to you that you vowed to never say to your family/kids. Or maybe it was a terrible trait or habit you saw in a family member that you promised yourself you’d never participate in. Today we are going to explore the ominous possibility that we could become “enslaved to what we despise.”
I remember as a teenager, my mom constantly nagging me with the phrase “You’re burning the candle at both ends.” Now you may chuckle at this, but I HATED that phrase. It made me so angry every time she said it to me. I swore I would never say that to my kids. I also remember the day that I repeated that phrase to a college girl that lived with me. It didn’t even take me long enough for my kids to be old enough to hear me say it, I used it on a girl living with us! That was the day that I realized I had become my mother!
Unfortunately, I can also think of very painful, destructive behaviors and habits in my parents/grandparents’ lives that I had sworn to never participate in; that I also accepted as my own. It is amazing to me, and SCARY, how often we become enslaved to the very things we despise.
I think that we all understand that we have an enemy, and that his goal is to ensnare and enslave us; to deceive, rob and kill us. Revelation 12:9 refers to Satan as “that ancient serpent” which means that he’s been around for a very long time. The above verse goes on to say that he “leads the whole world astray.” A couple of things stand out to me in that verse. One is that he leads us astray. As in, we follow; usually willingly. He doesn’t drag us kicking and screaming, we put one foot in front of the other following that ancient serpent into captivity. In order for him to lead us though, he must convince us. He must deceive us, trick us, or gain our trust. Our enemy is cunning (II Corinthians 11:3). The other thing we can assume is that everyone is susceptible to this deception. Scripture says he “leads the whole world astray.” No one is immune to the schemes of our evil opponent; not you, and certainly not me.
The question is, is there an area, right now, in which you are willingly following the enemy into captivity? Many times we can look back into our family heritage and see areas that we may be weaker in, or more prone to sin in. Our enemy, in his cunning plans, tries to see if “what worked with the parents will work with the children.” (Beth Moore). And many times, “what works” for us, is what we hate the very most. In the prime period of my willing walk into captivity, I arrogantly believed that I was in complete control. I believed that my destructive behaviors could be changed whenever I so chose. And that was probably my number one problem, that one letter, “I.” I believed I could change whenever I wanted. But what I realized was that with every willing step behind that “ancient serpent” I was securing my slavery with another chain and another lock. I made up a lot of excuses on that journey too. Things like “I can’t help it” (ironic considering I thought I was in control), “this is just who I am,” and the prize phrase “this is just the way that people in my family turn out.” That journey, physically, (because of my destructive behaviors) almost led me to death, but spiritually I was already gone. It took an encounter with the living, loving, forgiving GOD, and the surrender of my will and rebellion, for me to find new life and freedom. That was my freshman year of college, Bible College by the way. In a moment, I chose to repent and turn from my sin to the Living God. I had a choice to lay down my rebellion, but I didn’t have the power to do it on my own. I am eternally grateful to God that HE DOES have the power to save us, and that WE CAN overcome our own sin, and the “family sins” of the generations before us.
Time for a story. One day, a few years ago, while reading my Bible and preparing to lead a ministry team prayer time, God dropped a Scripture reference into my heart. Now often I will think of a piece of a verse and it will tug on my heart and I will have to go find it, but never before had a reference from an obscure portion of Scripture pop into my head. As I looked up Ezekiel 18:30-31 and read the verses, a vision came alive before my eyes. Now I don’t know where you stand on visions, but read on before you pass judgment. As I read, I had an image of a young man named Scott in our youth ministry vividly come alive in my head. In the picture, I saw Scott. I saw him standing in our youth sanctuary, in one of the aisles about ¾ of the way toward the front. I saw his posture, head down, hands in pockets. I saw the clothes he was wearing, and the backpack on his back. And I could sense his spirit; angry, rebellious, and hating himself for not being able to control it. Now Scott was a good kid, from a good family (in fact his dad was a pastor on staff at our church). Scott didn’t “do bad things” but in my spirit I sensed that his rebellion and anger were growing, and that he was becoming enslaved to them. And then I saw myself in that vision. Standing on the stage of our youth sanctuary, holding a microphone and pointing at Scott and declaring “Scott, Ezekiel 18:30 says ‘Repent and turn from your sins. Don’t let them destroy you! Put all of your rebellion behind you and go get for yourself a new heart and a new spirit!’” In my vision I yelled this over and over. And then I saw his response. I saw Scott double over as if punched (though no one touched him), begin weeping and even wailing, and fall facedown on the floor calling on God; dramatically freed and forever changed.
Pretty intense right? I was terrified. My hands began to shake and I thought I was going to throw up on the spot. All of this had flashed before my eyes in just an instant, but the message to me was clear; I was to act on what I had seen. The following evening we would be having a prayer meeting with 130 teens and young adults and I was to do what I had seen. For the next 36 hours I didn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t keep my hands from shaking. It felt like Scott’s life (spiritually at least) was depending on me! How would you feel?
Well the next evening I started the prayer meeting. I led a 20 minute devotional and prepared over 100 young people to begin to pray for the next few hours. Scott wasn’t even there. I began to panic. I questioned God. And then I prayed. And just as we began prayer time Scott came in the back. He wasn’t wearing what I had seen in the vision, he didn’t have a back pack on, and he slid into a chair in the back of the room. Not exactly what I had pictured. So I got on my face in the middle of the stage and begged God to let me off the hook. But I couldn’t shake the fear of disobeying God, so I began to pray for pure motives. I felt that God wanted to free Scott from serious bondage that no one knew of; that had been under the surface in him, and possibly even his family, for years. When I finally got up the courage to get up off of the floor and speak the verses I had on my heart I was shaking so hard I could hardly hold the microphone. I wanted to run out of the room. As I stood, I looked to the back of the room where Scott had been sitting (thinking I would just call him to come forward) but he was gone! I frantically scanned the room. I don’t know why it took me so long to scan the entire room and then let my eyes come to spot that I had seen him standing in my vision, but there he was. He was standing in the exact aisle, in the exact spot, in the exact clothes, in the exact posture, with even a backpack on his back now. You would think this would be great confirmation and give me great confidence, but I panicked and almost chickened out. I forced myself to interrupt a room full of over 100 young adults praying and focusing on God to YELL at Scott into the microphone. But I did it. I yelled Scott’s name and I yelled the verse. Weirdly enough, he didn’t react in shock (jerk his head up and look at me, or at least look startled) he reacted just as I had seen in the vision; doubled over as if punched, weeping and wailing and falling face first onto the floor. I repeated the verse over and over while he wept on the floor. God was doing a deep thing; He was freeing one of His kids. I still tear up when I think of that dramatic encounter with God. Scott wept on that floor for hours, and when he got up, not a trace of anger or rebellion remained. His attitude was different, his “countenance” was radically changed and he had a compassion for others that he had never had before.
The enemy, that cunning serpent, desired to lead Scott into a life of rebellion and anger that would enslave him forever. But our God, in His mercy, provided Scott with a way for freedom. The verse says it, we have to repent, turn from our sins, and then GO GET FOR OURSELVES A NEW HEART AND A NEW SPIRIT! In other words, we have to want to change and we have to want to be free! Isaiah 61:1 says that Jesus came to “proclaim freedom for the captives!” It is there for you; freedom that is. It really is. It is ok to let your hope rise, because God REALLY has FREEDOM for YOU. You don’t have to be like your parents. You really can be free from your bondages. And you definitely don’t have to be enslaved to what you despise!
So what is it for you?
A destructive addiction? Food, alcohol, drugs or pills, pornography, masturbation?
A debilitating fear? Trust, being alone, losing a child, failure?
A deadly attitude? Unforgiveness, bitterness, anger, resentment, jealousy, unbelief,
self hatred, violent temper, stress, critical or judgmental?
A destructive behavior? Adultry (or dangerously close), over or under eating, gambling,
lust?
Another generational curse? Early death, divorce, depression, suicide?
What is it for you? Or what ARE they for you? What is it that you are in danger of becoming enslaved to, either because of the choices of family before you, or your current and past decisions and mistakes? You don’t have to live in slavery! Let that hope sink into your spirit and take root! Isaiah 61:4 says “They (you!) will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.” Even if something has been in your family for generations, YOU don’t have to accept that as your fate! YOU can be the one to rebuild all of those ruins! There is an empowering in your freedom! You have work to do, things to build! The hammer is in your hand! It is time for all of us to get to work!
Just to seal this as we close:
1. Our enemy is cunning, and he tries to take captives (Rev. 12:9)
2. We have a choice! We can put our rebellion behind us and get a new heart and spirit
(Ezek. 18: 30 – 31) and we can rebuild the ancient ruins! (Is. 61:4)
3. Jesus came to set the captives FREE (Is. 61:1)
Your assignment
Please take the time to do this. This is serious business, the freedom we have available and the captivity we often settle for. Evaluate your life and your heart. What captivity is it that you are willingly following the enemy into? Is there something in your family “heritage” that you have accepted for yourself? Are there choices you have made that have enslaved you? Would you be honest enough to admit it?
Share with the group at least one area of captivity (or potential captivity)
How do you plan to find freedom in this area?
Please share, the Holy Spirit is prompting me to even plead with you. He has freedom for you, He really does.
* Please feel free to contact Di or Rhonda for special prayer or to talk through any struggles. We will believe with you for your freedom!
I remember as a teenager, my mom constantly nagging me with the phrase “You’re burning the candle at both ends.” Now you may chuckle at this, but I HATED that phrase. It made me so angry every time she said it to me. I swore I would never say that to my kids. I also remember the day that I repeated that phrase to a college girl that lived with me. It didn’t even take me long enough for my kids to be old enough to hear me say it, I used it on a girl living with us! That was the day that I realized I had become my mother!
Unfortunately, I can also think of very painful, destructive behaviors and habits in my parents/grandparents’ lives that I had sworn to never participate in; that I also accepted as my own. It is amazing to me, and SCARY, how often we become enslaved to the very things we despise.
I think that we all understand that we have an enemy, and that his goal is to ensnare and enslave us; to deceive, rob and kill us. Revelation 12:9 refers to Satan as “that ancient serpent” which means that he’s been around for a very long time. The above verse goes on to say that he “leads the whole world astray.” A couple of things stand out to me in that verse. One is that he leads us astray. As in, we follow; usually willingly. He doesn’t drag us kicking and screaming, we put one foot in front of the other following that ancient serpent into captivity. In order for him to lead us though, he must convince us. He must deceive us, trick us, or gain our trust. Our enemy is cunning (II Corinthians 11:3). The other thing we can assume is that everyone is susceptible to this deception. Scripture says he “leads the whole world astray.” No one is immune to the schemes of our evil opponent; not you, and certainly not me.
The question is, is there an area, right now, in which you are willingly following the enemy into captivity? Many times we can look back into our family heritage and see areas that we may be weaker in, or more prone to sin in. Our enemy, in his cunning plans, tries to see if “what worked with the parents will work with the children.” (Beth Moore). And many times, “what works” for us, is what we hate the very most. In the prime period of my willing walk into captivity, I arrogantly believed that I was in complete control. I believed that my destructive behaviors could be changed whenever I so chose. And that was probably my number one problem, that one letter, “I.” I believed I could change whenever I wanted. But what I realized was that with every willing step behind that “ancient serpent” I was securing my slavery with another chain and another lock. I made up a lot of excuses on that journey too. Things like “I can’t help it” (ironic considering I thought I was in control), “this is just who I am,” and the prize phrase “this is just the way that people in my family turn out.” That journey, physically, (because of my destructive behaviors) almost led me to death, but spiritually I was already gone. It took an encounter with the living, loving, forgiving GOD, and the surrender of my will and rebellion, for me to find new life and freedom. That was my freshman year of college, Bible College by the way. In a moment, I chose to repent and turn from my sin to the Living God. I had a choice to lay down my rebellion, but I didn’t have the power to do it on my own. I am eternally grateful to God that HE DOES have the power to save us, and that WE CAN overcome our own sin, and the “family sins” of the generations before us.
Time for a story. One day, a few years ago, while reading my Bible and preparing to lead a ministry team prayer time, God dropped a Scripture reference into my heart. Now often I will think of a piece of a verse and it will tug on my heart and I will have to go find it, but never before had a reference from an obscure portion of Scripture pop into my head. As I looked up Ezekiel 18:30-31 and read the verses, a vision came alive before my eyes. Now I don’t know where you stand on visions, but read on before you pass judgment. As I read, I had an image of a young man named Scott in our youth ministry vividly come alive in my head. In the picture, I saw Scott. I saw him standing in our youth sanctuary, in one of the aisles about ¾ of the way toward the front. I saw his posture, head down, hands in pockets. I saw the clothes he was wearing, and the backpack on his back. And I could sense his spirit; angry, rebellious, and hating himself for not being able to control it. Now Scott was a good kid, from a good family (in fact his dad was a pastor on staff at our church). Scott didn’t “do bad things” but in my spirit I sensed that his rebellion and anger were growing, and that he was becoming enslaved to them. And then I saw myself in that vision. Standing on the stage of our youth sanctuary, holding a microphone and pointing at Scott and declaring “Scott, Ezekiel 18:30 says ‘Repent and turn from your sins. Don’t let them destroy you! Put all of your rebellion behind you and go get for yourself a new heart and a new spirit!’” In my vision I yelled this over and over. And then I saw his response. I saw Scott double over as if punched (though no one touched him), begin weeping and even wailing, and fall facedown on the floor calling on God; dramatically freed and forever changed.
Pretty intense right? I was terrified. My hands began to shake and I thought I was going to throw up on the spot. All of this had flashed before my eyes in just an instant, but the message to me was clear; I was to act on what I had seen. The following evening we would be having a prayer meeting with 130 teens and young adults and I was to do what I had seen. For the next 36 hours I didn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t keep my hands from shaking. It felt like Scott’s life (spiritually at least) was depending on me! How would you feel?
Well the next evening I started the prayer meeting. I led a 20 minute devotional and prepared over 100 young people to begin to pray for the next few hours. Scott wasn’t even there. I began to panic. I questioned God. And then I prayed. And just as we began prayer time Scott came in the back. He wasn’t wearing what I had seen in the vision, he didn’t have a back pack on, and he slid into a chair in the back of the room. Not exactly what I had pictured. So I got on my face in the middle of the stage and begged God to let me off the hook. But I couldn’t shake the fear of disobeying God, so I began to pray for pure motives. I felt that God wanted to free Scott from serious bondage that no one knew of; that had been under the surface in him, and possibly even his family, for years. When I finally got up the courage to get up off of the floor and speak the verses I had on my heart I was shaking so hard I could hardly hold the microphone. I wanted to run out of the room. As I stood, I looked to the back of the room where Scott had been sitting (thinking I would just call him to come forward) but he was gone! I frantically scanned the room. I don’t know why it took me so long to scan the entire room and then let my eyes come to spot that I had seen him standing in my vision, but there he was. He was standing in the exact aisle, in the exact spot, in the exact clothes, in the exact posture, with even a backpack on his back now. You would think this would be great confirmation and give me great confidence, but I panicked and almost chickened out. I forced myself to interrupt a room full of over 100 young adults praying and focusing on God to YELL at Scott into the microphone. But I did it. I yelled Scott’s name and I yelled the verse. Weirdly enough, he didn’t react in shock (jerk his head up and look at me, or at least look startled) he reacted just as I had seen in the vision; doubled over as if punched, weeping and wailing and falling face first onto the floor. I repeated the verse over and over while he wept on the floor. God was doing a deep thing; He was freeing one of His kids. I still tear up when I think of that dramatic encounter with God. Scott wept on that floor for hours, and when he got up, not a trace of anger or rebellion remained. His attitude was different, his “countenance” was radically changed and he had a compassion for others that he had never had before.
The enemy, that cunning serpent, desired to lead Scott into a life of rebellion and anger that would enslave him forever. But our God, in His mercy, provided Scott with a way for freedom. The verse says it, we have to repent, turn from our sins, and then GO GET FOR OURSELVES A NEW HEART AND A NEW SPIRIT! In other words, we have to want to change and we have to want to be free! Isaiah 61:1 says that Jesus came to “proclaim freedom for the captives!” It is there for you; freedom that is. It really is. It is ok to let your hope rise, because God REALLY has FREEDOM for YOU. You don’t have to be like your parents. You really can be free from your bondages. And you definitely don’t have to be enslaved to what you despise!
So what is it for you?
A destructive addiction? Food, alcohol, drugs or pills, pornography, masturbation?
A debilitating fear? Trust, being alone, losing a child, failure?
A deadly attitude? Unforgiveness, bitterness, anger, resentment, jealousy, unbelief,
self hatred, violent temper, stress, critical or judgmental?
A destructive behavior? Adultry (or dangerously close), over or under eating, gambling,
lust?
Another generational curse? Early death, divorce, depression, suicide?
What is it for you? Or what ARE they for you? What is it that you are in danger of becoming enslaved to, either because of the choices of family before you, or your current and past decisions and mistakes? You don’t have to live in slavery! Let that hope sink into your spirit and take root! Isaiah 61:4 says “They (you!) will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.” Even if something has been in your family for generations, YOU don’t have to accept that as your fate! YOU can be the one to rebuild all of those ruins! There is an empowering in your freedom! You have work to do, things to build! The hammer is in your hand! It is time for all of us to get to work!
Just to seal this as we close:
1. Our enemy is cunning, and he tries to take captives (Rev. 12:9)
2. We have a choice! We can put our rebellion behind us and get a new heart and spirit
(Ezek. 18: 30 – 31) and we can rebuild the ancient ruins! (Is. 61:4)
3. Jesus came to set the captives FREE (Is. 61:1)
Your assignment
Please take the time to do this. This is serious business, the freedom we have available and the captivity we often settle for. Evaluate your life and your heart. What captivity is it that you are willingly following the enemy into? Is there something in your family “heritage” that you have accepted for yourself? Are there choices you have made that have enslaved you? Would you be honest enough to admit it?
Share with the group at least one area of captivity (or potential captivity)
How do you plan to find freedom in this area?
Please share, the Holy Spirit is prompting me to even plead with you. He has freedom for you, He really does.
* Please feel free to contact Di or Rhonda for special prayer or to talk through any struggles. We will believe with you for your freedom!
posted by Di Beals | 1:02 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home