Date: Jan 19, 2003
Title: Jesus the Great Chain Breaker
2 Samuel 6:12-16
John 8:31-36
I have GOOD NEWS To Bring to you today!
ISAIAH 61:1 THE Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners; to proclaim the favorable year of the LORD: GOD WANTS TO SET YOU FREE!
Introduction:
Charles Wesley wrote:
“And can it be that I should gain
An int’rest in the Savior’s blood?
… Long my imprisoned spirit lay
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray,
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light!
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth and followed Thee.”
I. Some of you are in a prison! Isaiah 61:1 he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
A. Psalms 68:6 God setteth the solitary in families: he bringeth out those, which are bound with chains:
God wants to break the chains that are holding you back! He desires for you to be free so you can get on with accomplishing His perfect will for your life. Honey, I want to tell you that God has made a way for you! If you are bound by loneliness, or maybe you feel isolated from anyone and everyone, God wants to crush the chains! He wants to destroy the spirit of isolation in your life! He will bring you out! You’re not hearing me! I said Jesus will lift you out of deaths court and replace that spirit of fear and isolation with the oil of gladness!
Psalm 18:4-6 Death bound me with chains, and the floods of ungodliness mounted a massive attack against me. 5Trapped and helpless, I struggled against the ropes that drew me on to death. 6In my distress I screamed to the Lord for his help. And he heard me from heaven; my cry reached his ears.
Friend, if you are here this morning and you don’t know Jesus as your personal Savior, then death has you bound! You are bound because you haven’t accepted the saving grace of Jesus Christ by His substitutionary work on the cross of Calvary for you. He has paid the price, but your still bound.
You see one day Jesus died for you on the cross and they put Him in a tomb. But it didn’t stop there! That’s why the Bible says in 1 Cor 15:55, “Death is swallowed up in victory. 55O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”
He has defeated death hell and the grave, and you can be saved! I said you can be saved! You can even walk in victory because the 1st prophecy in the Bible has been fulfilled when God told Satan after Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden that “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.” I said you can walk in victory because the devil is defeated, and you are victorious because Jesus has bruised the devil and set those that are bound and those that are captive free! Furthermore honey, He has the Keys of the Kingdom and has made you more than a Conqueror, and has made you a King and a Priest in the Kingdom of God! He has given you dominion over the powers of darkness and you are now seated in heavenly places! Some of you have been seated in places not conducive to your kingdom potential! But today God is telling you to put on the Priestly Ephod! Put on your priestly garments! Tell yourself that you are more than a Conqueror through Christ Jesus! Tell yourself that you have dominion over Satan! Tell yourself that the veil of the Temple has been rent from top to bottom and its time that I go into the Holy of Holies and perform my priestly duties because I have been set free by the blood of the Lamb and I have been resurrected! I have been transformed into the very image of Christ! I’ve had my heart sprinkled by the sacrificial blood of Jesus and I am no longer bound by death! I’m no longer a prisoner to sin! But I have been given a home in the Kingdom of God and my name is written down in the Lamb’s Book of Life, and I have been made victorious! I said were victorious! I said were victorious! And death no longer has dominion over us because Christ has taken the sting out of death! I said the bee is still buzzing’ baby, but he ain’t got no stinger! He can’t put the hurt on you because Jesus has overcome death and hell, that’s why we shout, O death where is your sting, o grave where is your victory!
The fear of death might have you bound with handcuffs, and the devil might be launching spiritual attacks against you. You might even feel helpless in the situation that your in, you might feel that you are at the end of your rope; but I want you to know that that is right where God wants you! He wants you to cry out for Him! He wants you scream out for Him to come on the scene and set you free and redeem you from the spirit of death! From the spirit of isolation and fear! Just cry out to God and He will break and destroy the bonds that are holding you! Just hold your hands up to God and say, “Oh God, I’m crying out to you, break the chains! If your not saved and you are here this morning and bound and chained by death and hell, God the Holy Spirit is calling out to you this morning to let Him set you free. Let Him cleanse you from the stain of sin and put a garment of righteousness on! You’ve been carrying the load long enough! Come to Jesus! Because he that the Son sets free, he is free indeed! No longer a prisoner to sin, no longer shackled by pornography, no longer shackled to drugs, no longer bound by lustful thoughts, no longer bound with a defeated spirit! But you have now been changed! Transformed! And made a Conqueror!
II. It’s Time To Be Set Free From Sin and Condemnation!
A. Romans 8:1-2 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.
B. Now, if you are saved and set free by the blood of Christ Jesus, there is no condemnation on you! The word condemnation means literally “a damnatory sentencing.” Another words, you are set free from prison, given a full pardon from the chains of prison and removed from your death sentence, because you accepted the fact that Jesus paid the price for your sins by dying on the cross for you! You have repented of your sins, and have decided to follow Jesus no matter what!
C. However, if you are here tonight and you haven’t accepted this saving grace and you know that you need God! You know that you need to be saved! You are tired of carrying the heavy load of sin, guilt, and shame. Then Jesus wants you to give that entire heavy load to Him! He wants to set you free from your death sentence! You see, if you don’t accept Him, your going to die and spend eternity in Hell. But I want to tell you that Jesus is waiting for you at the doors of the prison, waiting for you to knock and accept His free pardon for you! He has paid the price by His precious blood! Will you accept Him tonight! Are you ready for the handcuffs to come off! Are you ready for the shackles of sin and shame to break? You see friend, one drop of blood has the power to crush every sin you have ever committed in your life! If you know you need Christ, will you step out from where your sitting and come down to one of these altars and say yes Lord, I will accept my free pardon. Don’t be like the man who missed His flight. He had an all paid for vacation, but slept through the boarding call and missed the flight!
D. Let me tell you friend, Jesus is your only hope!
III. Freed from doing things Your Way
A. Talk about David and the Israelites bring the Ark of the Lord back to Jerusalem.
B. The first time David and the Israelites endeavored to bring the Ark of God to Jerusalem via human means. They built a new cart to carry it in and Uzzah and Ahio were driving the cart. And because of irreverence, Uzzah was killed because he stabled the Ark of God when they came across Nachon’s threshing floor. I can just see them, they built a nice cart, and they were trying to get the Ark of God to Jerusalem so Jerusalem would be blessed. Isn’t funny how we want the blessing right now! And we don’t want to do it God’s way! And that’s when God spoke to my heart and say that they were bound by doing it their way instead of my way! You see, God had commanded in Leviticus for the Priest to carry the ark, and no one else! You see, David and the Israelites misunderstood this and because they were bound by doing it their way the blessings didn’t fall in Jerusalem that day!
C. But finally David caught the vision! Finally David understood that it had to be done God’s way! Friend, we need to understand that it has to be done the Jesus way! God wants to set you free, He wants to bless you, He wants to heal you! He wants to save you and set you free! But you need to step aside and start pursuing God’s way!
D. The Bible says that every six paces the priest would offer sacrifices and prayers! And David was dancing and shouting and the musicians were playing “HE SET ME FREE!” and “LOOK WHAT THE LORD HAS DONE!” And the Bible says that the carried in the ark of God to Jerusalem God’s way! They didn’t bring it in some new way! They didn’t bring the arc in to town with novelistic procedures! They brought the arc in to the city the Old Fashion Way! Through Obedience/Praise/and and Excitement.
E. God wants to set you free! Just step out of the place your in and get in the spirit of God and the chains of self pity! The chains of fear! Doubt and self-condemnation will recede and fall off because you are no longer doing things your way, but God’s way! I said you doing it God’s way!
Altar Call: Songs
Can You Believe What the Lord Has Done In Me?
Can You Believe What the Lord Has Done In Me?
He saved me cleansed me, turned my life around.
Set my feet up, on the solid ground.
Can You Believe What the Lord Has Done In Me?
Look What the Lord Has Done
Look What the Lord Has Done
He Healed My Body! He Touched My Mind!
He Saved Me Just In Time!
Oh I’m Gonna Praise His Name!
Each Day Is Just The Same!
Come On And Praise Him, Look What The Lord Has Done
Well I went to the enemy’s camp, and I took back what he stole from me!
I took back what he stole from me! I took back what he stole from me!
Well I went to the enemy’s camp, and I took back what he stole from me!
