Today we begin our 21 days revival program on the theme “Bondage and Deliverance!” It is a season of restoration (Joel 2:25-27) and all that believe will go from sorrow to joy.
Psalm 126:1-3 says, “When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. 2 Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The Lord hath done great things for them. 3 The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.”
Many Christians today are not enjoying what Christ died to give them because they are bound in one way or the other. Such people are disturbed because things are not just going well with them in life no matter how much they try.
People like that are said to be in bondage to the devil, and until they are free from this bondage, they will never be able to obtain God’s best for their lives here on earth.
In the season of restoration, God had to rebuke Pharaoh, plague him so as to bring deliverance to the children of Israel (Ex. 1:6-14; Ex. 2:23-25; Ex. 3:7-10).
Many Born Again believers today are not enjoying what Christ died to give them because they are bound in one way or the other. Such people are disturbed because things are not just going well with them in life no matter how much they tried.
People like that are said to be in bondage to the devil, and until they are free from this bondage, they will never be able to obtain God’s best for their lives on this earth.
What is bondage? Bondage is the state of being a slave. For instance, the children of Israel were once in bondage in Egypt (Ex. 1:6-14).
The children of Israel groaned under their burden of slavery in Egypt, and they cried out to God (Ex. 2:23-25).
God looked down on the people of Israel and knew it was time to act in their favour (Ex. 3:7-10). God is looking down right now on as many as are in bondage and He knows that it is time to act.
There are several examples of bondages in the Scriptures. Poverty is bondage. Spiritual death is bondage. Sickness is bondage.
For instance, the Bible calls sickness bondage (Lk. 13:16). The Bible calls sickness captivity (Job 42:10). The Bible calls sickness oppression (Acts 10:38).
How do Christians become captives of the devil? Christians become captives of the devil through lack of knowledge (ignorance) (Isa. 5:13; Hos. 4:6).
Here is the truth: If you are Born Again you are a seed of Abraham, and an heir to the promise of God’s blessing (Gal. 3:29). And if you are a seed of Abraham, then the blessing is upon your life. You have automatically moved from curse to blessing. You are not going to be (get) blessed, because God says that you are already blessed.
Ephesians 1:3 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.”
2 Peter 1:3 says, “According as His divine power hath given unto us ALL THINGS that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue.”
This divine power is capable of giving one all things that pertain to life and godliness.
Yes, you are already blessed. But why is the blessing not manifesting in your life? Jesus Himself said that He came to the earth to give you abundant life (Jn. 10:10). But why is this abundance not showing forth in your life?
It is not manifesting because in one way or the other you are a captive of the devil, so he has the right to prevent your blessings from reaching you.
For instance, why is it that in a school of many students, some are succeeding without much effort, but others struggle so hard only to fail at the end? There is nothing wrong with the school. There is nothing wrong with the teachers. This is an error!
Why is it that two people with the same kind of business may be in the same market, one is making so much money that he is buying assorted kinds of vehicles and building houses while the other person is borrowing and borrowing? No one comes to buy from him. Every investment made is shipwrecked. There is nothing wrong with the market. There is nothing wrong with your line of business. This is an error!
Why is it that in a situation where there are two ladies, one is really charming, charismatic, elegant, figure eight, and well behaved, but no one is saying how far? The other lady is actually ugly, with K-legs, with the figure of a man, as round as a football, with very broad chest, big burst and tiny hips. But people quickly come and marry her leaving the one that is really beautiful and charming. Why? It ought to have been the other way round. This is an error!
Why is it that you have very rich relations but no one is responding to your needs? They ignore you and instead they help outsiders. That is a mark of disfavour. It is a cloud of sorrow. This is an error!
Why is it that your daughters or sisters marry, divorce, and come back home to stay?
Why is it that your marriage is broken down and you are divorced or separated? Your spouse nauseates you right now.
Now here is the truth: Until the source of your problem is located and dealt with, there will be no free flow of God’s blessings to you. Though you see the will of God for your life, you cannot access it because between you and that promise is a mighty obstacle.
The Bible calls this obstacle a covering cast, a cloud of gloom, or a cloud of sorrow (Isa. 25:7-8). This “cloud of sorrow or covering cast” that has been hanging over you shall be destroyed in your life in this program, in Jesus’ name.
Where will God remove this cloud of sorrow from you? He will do it on this mountain! In Obadiah verse 17 the Bible says, “But on Mount Zion there shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.”
Why and how is this possible?
1. It is possible because nothing is impossible with God (Lk. 1:37; Jer. 32:27).
2. It is possible because the Lord is great in Zion (Ps. 99:2).
3. Christ Himself has given an open invitation to all (Matt. 11:28-30).
4. It is only by the anointing that yokes are destroyed (Isa. 10:27). The word “Christ” means the anointed One.
Acts 4:12 says, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we MUST be saved.”
God the Father anointed Jesus Christ for this purpose. In Acts 10:38 the Bible says, “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him.”
Hence Jesus announced His mission statement saying, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me (1) to preach the Gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me (2) to heal the brokenhearted, (3) to preach deliverance to the captives, and (4) to preach the recovering of sight to the blind, (5) to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19 (6) To preach the acceptable year of the Lord” (Lk. 4:18).
All the yokes (cloud of gloom, cloud of sorrow, mark of disfavor) that the devil has put upon you can be destroyed only by the reason of the anointing.
It is a violent affair because the devil never ever wants to let his captives go free. In Matthew 11:12 Jesus said, “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the Kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent taketh it by force.”
5. There is a sure promise from God concerning you. Romans 16:20 says, “And the God of peace shall bruise (crush) Satan under your feet shortly…”
“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Rom. 10:13).
Proverbs 18:10 says, “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runs to it and are safe.”
In Zechariah 4:6-7 God said, “…Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit. 7 Who art thou, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.”
Conclusion: The desire of heaven is to ensure your full liberty. Once the spiritual power behind the problem in your life is located and dealt with, the physical signs will naturally disappear.
In this program God will destroy, upon this mountain, all the covering casts, all the marks of disfavor that have been hindering you from possessing those things that rightfully belong to you in Christ.
Prayers: Father, I command every covering cast in my life to be destroyed right now, in Jesus’ name.
Watch out for the next edition of Good News from the Pulpit!
Your friend, I. I. MADUBUNYI (Head Pastor) 15.11.2020
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