Leading the Captives to Freedom
An overview of Personal Prayer Ministry
by Pastor Pete Beck III
These meditations are copyrighted, but feel free to download them for personal use or to forward to friends.
How Did We Get into this Mess?
I believe any sane person would agree that the world is in a seemingly hopeless situation. Politically, not only can we not agree on the nature of the problem, but we fight over how to fix it, each side believing that the other's "solution" is actually making matters worse. Human "fixes" generally have side effects that introduce a whole new set of unintended consequences. Individuals, families, corporations, people groups and nations pursue selfish agendas at the expense of the less fortunate and less powerful. Ignorance, poverty, sickness and disease ravage the human race. Wars, genocide, infanticide via "women's reproduction rights", and general inhumanity to man abound. Religions vie for "top dog" status, their adherents often being willing to kill and oppress non-believers. Prisons are filled with those who flaunt the laws of civilized society, and those who believe in Biblical values find themselves in a "Twilight Zone" world where what was considered vile a generation ago is now paraded and applauded as good and normal. How did we get here? Is there a way out?
The Bible teaches us that God created a world in which there was order and goodness. He placed the first couple in a ideal garden where all their needs were supplied with a minimum of work. They were commanded to increase and multiply. Those first humans enjoyed the privilege of walking and talking with God. They were naked and unashamed, apparently clothed with a sort of righteous aura of glory. They had it made. But God placed upon them one prohibition: they were forbidden to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. You know the story. Satan cleverly deceived them into doubting God's goodness and motives, which set them up to do the unthinkable. They did the one thing that could bring down the whole system of blessing and life. They disobeyed God. That one disobedience is what set in motion what we see today.
Romans Chapter Five teaches us that Adam's sin opened the door to death, condemnation, and the reign of sin in the human race. Let's examine this in more detail. God built within humanity the ability to procreate, that is, to reproduce after our own kind. We are much more than simply physical beings. The Bible teaches that we are a unique and marvelous combination of spirit and flesh, the joining of which produces the soul and personality.
The Lord God formed the man from the soil of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. Genesis 2:7 (NET1)
Not only do we pass on our physical DNA when we have children, we also pass on spiritual "genetics" - the sin nature and proclivities toward evil that were birthed in Adam and Eve when they first transgressed. That sin nature has been passed to each successive generation since the beginning of history. The indwelling propensity to sin is the root of our problem and what is ultimately behind the mess in which we find ourselves today in every context - family, work, relationships, government, and world. This means that our "default" mode is live counter to what bring goodness, life and order. No one has to teach a baby how to be self-centered. It comes naturally. No two-year-old needs a course in how to be defiant. It comes naturally. No adult needs to learn how to be tempted to do all manner of evil things. It just comes with the package.
In addition to this huge problem is the additional, compounding effect that sin has upon people, families, people groups and nations. Just as a stone thrown into a perfectly calm pool causes ripples to spread outwardly which eventually destroy the tranquility of the entire pool, sin also has a ripple effect. To get a better idea, imagine throwing two rocks into the pool simultaneously and watch what happens. The ripples will go to the edge of the pool and then rebound back causing an intersection with other ripples. Now throw several more rocks into the pool in different places, including a couple of really big ones. Now imagine that the number of rocks thrown into the pool increases geometrically in size and number. I hope you get the picture. Sin's ripple effect eventually produces a turbulent, choppy, and disordered world where once there was serenity and peace. When people are born, they come into this confusion that sin has created, fully equipped with a sin nature. They are impacted by sin from within and from without. The sin within propels us to do our own part to contribute to the already existing mess. The impact of sin from the outside further exacerbates things, often doing incredible damage to our already marred personalities. It is as if, in many cases, that little ones are born into a virtual landslide of evil that carries them right over the cliff into the abyss. For example, think of the little girls and boys born into families where generations of sexual abuse and incest have been the norm. What are their chances of growing up with any sense of normalcy? What about the little babies born in war ravaged and poverty stricken areas of the world? What about those born into political and religious systems to resist and prohibit the true gospel from even being heard? What are their chances to experience the life that God desired for us at creation?
But wait, as the television ad says, there's more! Yes, things are actually much worse. Not only are we born with a sin nature that propels us to disobey God. Not only are we plagued by the effects of generations of sinful behavior, but there is also a living being who commands hoards of likeminded beings, who has a master plan to ravage and destroy humanity. As you know, his Biblical name is Satan. He has a plan for your life - to kill, steal and destroy you. He is a master deceiver, accuser and intimidator. He does not play fair and uses any and all means to oppress human beings. When Adam sinned in the garden, the authority God gave to humans was effectively transferred to Satan. For centuries Satan used his rule to drag multitudes into hell with him and make life here on earth intolerable. Although, Jesus dealt him a death blow on the cross, Satan is still deceiving the nations who will listen to him. He is still leading people astray. He is still stealing, killing and destroying, and, if you are alive, he hates you and is working against you.
As a result of his activity and the inner workings of sin and our sin-impaired ability to think, we end up being victims of lies which lead us to disobedience and keep us locked up in spiritual prisons of our own making. The Bible calls these inner prisons "strongholds". I call them lie-based strongholds, and Paul teaches us that they keep us from knowing, believing and acting upon the truth about God and life.
For though we live as human beings, we do not wage war according to human standards, 4 for the weapons of our warfare are not human weapons, but are made powerful by God for tearing down strongholds. We tear down arguments 5 and every arrogant obstacle that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to make it obey Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (NET1)
These strongholds stand between us and the freedom that could be ours through Christ via the gospel. Notice that here for the first time I am mentioning that there is a way out of this mess! The gospel is all about Jesus Christ who is the Truth and what He did to accomplish our deliverance. Satan operates in the milieu of the Lie. If we are going to get out of this quagmire of death and deception, we must allow God to tear down the lie-based strongholds that we have embraced. And, believe me, everyone has them.
Working in tandem with these deeply held lies, many people have experience enormous hurts in their lives which have deeply traumatized them and, in many cases, produced a fertile seedbed for growing lies about God. For example, if a young girl was sexually abused by her grandfather over several years, as an adult she will most likely question the goodness of her heavenly Father. After all, could not He have prevented this horrible evil? And if He did not protect her then, how can she know that He is worthy of trust now? So we see that the pain inflicted by evil can easily set us up to believe lies about God, which in turn block us from believing the truth which is able to set us free.
and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. John 8:32 (NET1)
The good news is that Jesus is the great Healer and is well able to heal those deeply wounded areas of our souls.
Lastly, many individuals are harassed and oppressed by demons. The Bible is unclear regarding the origin and exact nature of these malevolent beings, but makes it clear that they are real and must be removed for people to experience true freedom. Jesus continually encountered and removed these pests from those to whom He ministered while He walked the roads of Israel.
you know what happened throughout Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John announced: 38 with respect to Jesus from Nazareth, that God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with him. Acts 10:37-38 (NET1)
Demons gain access by various means. Often we open the door through participation in some sin, especially sexual sin and the occult. Sometimes demons seem to be passed on through families, which somewhere along the line opened the door to them. Sometimes they gain access when people undergo trauma. In other words, sometimes it is our own fault that we are demonized and sometimes we are victims or collateral damage resulting from the sins of others. The devil does not care. He will jump through any open door he can find. Many are tormented today because of these creatures and don't even know it.
You may have noticed that I began this paragraph describing the worldwide mess sin has produced and have concluded by focusing on the problems that individuals face. This is because I want you to see that people's problems and issues are bigger than their own situation. However, the gospel focuses on the individual. Jesus came to set the human race free one person at a time. When enough people experience the liberation found in Christ through the gospel and the power of the Holy Spirit, families, communities and nations will be transformed. The next chapters of this book will be an attempt to explain how Jesus can set you free from every layer of bondage. You can personally experience freedom in Christ, and you can move from being part of the problem to being part of the solution.