The Bible is full of promises about how God wants to deliver us from our brokenness. But many times we feel stuck and don’t know what to do next. We are captive, but to what?
We pray, read the Bible, but it doesn’t seem like things are changing in our lives.
It can be discouraging and make you wonder if God really cares or if you should give up on Him altogether.
The truth is that God does care and He wants to heal your heart, but first He has something for you to do before He will come in and take over completely with His healing power!
Hope’s Harbor Gritty Bible Devotions
Episode #9 Title: Heart and Mind of Jesus – Deliverance for the Captive
Date: 5/31/2021
Contact: info@hopesharbor.net
Key verse(s): Luke 4:18c – “…to preach deliverance to the captives,”
Intro: As we continue going through Jesus’ declaration in Luke 4:18 we come to His commission to preach deliverance to the captives.
· It’s interesting that when it comes to healing the brokenhearted or the broken-minded; Jesus said it’s something He does.
· But when it comes to delivering captives He preaches it.
· This tells us that we have a part to play.
· Think of it like this: Jesus makes a way for freedom and expects us to do our part.
· This episode will examine exactly what our part is in becoming delivered.
Devotion focus: (Lesson point)
Becoming free before it’s too late –
· Are you waiting to see Jesus, see Him in the trouble you’re in, the trouble plaguing you?
· Do you want to see Him there with you in the thing holding you captive and then see Him break the chains binding you to sin and misery?
· Then let’s go together and meet Jesus in His Word for He came to set captives like you and me free.
· How do I know? Because He said so in Luke 4:18
· I’m going to give an expanded view of what Jesus was saying by ‘preaching deliverance to the captives.’
· In Col 1:13 Paul writes: ‘He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,’
· Paul is writing to Christians about an event already past. This infers faith having been placed in Jesus's atoning work on the cross.
· Delivered means (through the idea of a current; to rush or draw (for oneself), that is, rescue: - deliver.
· The idea of a current, to rush or draw is like to draw out of a current of rushing water. Captivity can be likened to being carried away by the influences of mind-altering addictions, whatever form or practice they come in.
· It’s being carried away captive by behavior intended as pain avoidance but leads to becoming trapped.
· This becomes too involved to explore sufficiently, but suffice it to say the verse in Luke we’re studying focuses on becoming free, not the process.
· Understanding all the complexities of captive behavior and/or addictions is part of the process of being free, but our goal in this episode is to develop belief in what Jesus proclaimed.
· And that means understanding by what authority Jesus made this claim of deliverance.
Full show notes @ hopesharbor.net
Show notes at HopesHarbor.net
