Set Free from Oppression

For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight—if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.  (Colossians 1:19-23) 

Our focus passage declares that our Heavenly Father desires to reconcile all things to Himself, all those things that He created that became separated from Him due to the sin in the world. Which brings us to the fifth thing Jesus declared that He was anointed to do in Luke 4:18-19: To set at liberty those who are oppressed.  

Satan is an oppressor! He doesn’t care about anybody or anything except himself and his own agenda; that is to destroy what is God’s and to lead all he can away from God. He will do this anyway that he can. Regardless, the result for all those who chose to believe and follow him is oppression. As I have mentioned before Satan is the master of deception and a Lie Whisperer; he can and will oppress you while causing you to believe it is the best thing for you.  

Our Heavenly Father created us to walk in freedom! This really rubbed the Lie Whisperer the wrong way, which is why he entered the Garden of Eden and brough his deceptive lies to Adam and Eve. Tripping them up, they fell into sin, and that sin which was passed down to all of mankind has brought oppression. That oppression results in a heavy burden whether it’s mentally or physically by the troubles, adverse conditions, anxiety and whatever else sin brings to all of us. This is something no man could fix on his own, something the Father was aware of, which is why He sent His Son Jesus to free the oppressed. 

Before the fall of man, Adam and Eve lived a wonderful perfect life having complete access to the Father any time they desired without a care or burden. Since the fall, man has been enslaved and oppressed by the heavy burden of sin. Jesus can and will set anyone free who so desires to enter in and have fellowship with Him. I want to encourage you to follow the command of 1 Peter 5:6-7. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. Jesus’ burden is light! He will give you that if you give Him yours. He will lift the oppression of sin from you, but only if you ask Him to. 

                              Dale LaFrance (please look up Psalm 55:22 & John 8:36) 

The Blind Are Given Sight

Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps truth forever, who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry, the LORD gives freedom to the prisoners. The LORD opens the eyes of the blind; the LORD raises those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous. The LORD watches over the strangers; He relieves the fatherless and widow; but the way of the wicked He turns upside down. The LORD shall reign forever—Your God, O Zion, to all generations.  (Psalm 146:5-10) 

For the last few weeks, I have been writing about what the Spirit of God had anointed Jesus to do as referenced from Luke 4:18-19: the fourth proclamation was to give recovery of sight to the blind. 

Many have read the words of Jesus from that passage in Luke and attributed it to those times when Jesus literally healed blind people that He encountered here on earth. Indeed, when Jesus healed those blind people physically, those were joyous miracles; but that was not what Jesus meant when He said He was anointed by the Spirit to bring sight to the blind. 

Let me give you a personal example. Before I became a believer and follower of Jesus Christ, I used to pick up the bible and read it and become very frustrated with it because I could not fully understand what I was reading. The reason: I was spiritually blind to what I was reading. This spiritual blindness stemmed from the fall of man in the Garden of Eden. Every person needs the Holy Spirit to see God; this is another reason why Jesus came and made that declaration when He read that passage in Luke which was prophesied in Isaiah 61. The moment I realized I was lost and needed Jesus I confessed my need for Him, repented of my sins, and received His forgiveness, and was given the gift of the Holy Spirit. Upon receiving the gift of the Spirit my spiritual eyes were opened and God’s Word became alive to me along with understanding. 

The Spirit of God was upon the Psalmist (modern day scholars say David, Jewish tradition ascribes it jointly to Haggai and Zechariah) who penned our focus passage referring prophetically the time when Jesus would do that. There are several prophetic accounts in Isaiah as well; one of which is seen in chapter 35 verse 5. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. As I stated this happened to me personally the moment, I gave my life over to Jesus. My spiritual blindness and ignorance were instantly healed. I was blind but now I can see! 

Oh, what a joy it is to be able to pick up God’s Word and clearly see, with the aid of the Holy Spirit. This amazing gift is not just for a select few; it is offered to anyone who would want to receive it. So, if you want to see Him, invite Him into your heart. Believe in Him and receive Him, for He wants to fellowship with you and heal your blindness. 

                              Dale LaFrance (please look up Job 29:15 & Isaiah 29:18) 

Liberty Proclaimed to All the Captives

Thus says God the LORD, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it, and spirit to those who walk on it: “I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness, and will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the Gentiles, to open blind eyes, to bring prisoners from the prison, Those who sit in darkness from the prison house. I am the LORD, that is My name; and My glory I will not give to another, nor My praise to carved images. Behold the former things have come to pass, and new things I declare; Before they spring forth I tell you of them.”  (Isaiah 42:5-9) 

Our focus passage is a prophecy of Jesus being sent by the Father to bring the prisoners out of prison. Since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, all men have been imprisoned by the effects of sin. Prior to the fall Adam and Eve walked in total freedom. They also had every need met by the Father and had complete total access to Him at any time. Being made in His image they both were complete. 

The Lie Whisperer (Satan) brought his deception into the Garden by twisting God’s words causing Adam and Eve to fall into sin. The moment this happened they were expelled from the Garden and God’s Spirit was taken from them; they were no longer complete. Their sin had imprisoned them into their fallen state, they were no longer able to walk freely into the presence of the Lord and freely receive His benefits. Our Heavenly Father loves His creation, especially all people since we were created in His image. He had a plan to redeem His fallen creation and we get a glimpse of that in our focus passage which clearly speaks of the promise of the Servant and His ministry that is so wonderful.  

The third thing Jesus stated that the Spirit had anointed Him to do was to proclaim liberty to the captives (Luke 4:18). That means Jesus’ message was not just for some, it was for every single person (John 3:10-21) for all are held captive by sin (Romans 3:9-26) and need liberation from it because we cannot save or liberate ourselves. The prison cell of sin brings so much bondage with it. Things like fear, worry, pain, suffering and so much more. And yet there is more one thing that is so damaging, lasting for eternity unless it is rectified: that is eternal death! Jesus has come to set us free from that prison and the sentence of eternal death which means separation from our Heavenly Father, our Creator and the Holy Spirit: because it is His desire that we spend eternity in constant fellowship with Him. And yet! He does not force this on us, we must make our own choice to either receive or reject His offer to be liberated from the prison cell of sin and the consequences of our sin. 

Jesus can and will liberate you from the prison cell of sin. All you need to do is to allow Him to do this for you and He will. Confess to Him that you’re a sinner and that you need His forgiveness, repent of your sins, and receive His forgiveness. Accept Him as your Lord and Savior and you will be liberated! 

                              Dale LaFrance (please look up Psalm 102:18-22) 

Healing For the Brokenhearted Has Come

And one shall say, “Heap it up! Heap it up! Prepare the way, take the stumbling block out of the way of My people.”  For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. For I will not contend forever, nor will I always be angry; for the spirit would fall before Me and the souls which I have made. For the iniquity of his covetousness I was angry and struck him; I hid and was angry, and he went on backsliding in the way of his heart. I have seen his ways, and will heal him; I will also lead him, and restore comforts to him and to his mourners.  (Isaiah 57:14-18) 

In Luke 4:18-19 Jesus revealed that the Spirit of God had anointed Him to heal the fivefold damage that sin brings. Because sin does great damage there has to be a great work of redemption. Last week we covered how sin impoverishes, this week we will look at how sin breaks hearts and the how the Messiah has good news for the brokenhearted. 

In our focus passage the Lord reveals that in His mercy He invites all men to peace—both to him who is far off and to him who is near. This means that the invitation is for anyone who would want to receive God’s shalom (peace), which is more than the absence of hostility; it is the gift of precious well-being.  

Jesus is the fulfillment of that promise! In Ephesians 2:17, Paul speaks of Jesus fulfilling this promise exactly: And He came and preached peace to you were afar off and to those who were near. God reveals through Paul that those who were afar off are the Gentiles and that those who are near are the Jewish people. Both can come to peace having their broken heart healed through receiving God’s gift through Jesus. God’s great mercy is held out to everyone. However, those that reject it will continue to be wicked and will be like the troubled sea as stated in our focus passage. There is no peace for the wicked! 

There is not one person who has not suffered from a broken heart since the fall of man in the Garden: Jesus has come to heal our broken hearts and to lead us in a way that will bring us His peace so that our hearts will not be troubled. Do not believe the Lie Whisperer when he says that you’re not broken or that you’re not a sinner; that is a lie! Romans 3:23, For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.  The first step in having your broken heart healed is to recognize this fact and then confess that to the Lord and receive His forgiveness through His Son Jesus. Believe, receive and follow Him in all your ways and your broken heart will be healed! 

                              Dale LaFrance (please look up Ephesians 2:16-18)