"Back from Captivity"

Scripture:

This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity.

Today we are finishing up our series looking at the context surrounding one of our favorite verses.  Jeremiah 29:11 is probably one of the most quoted scriptures in all of the Bible because it's so jam-packed with hope and encouragement straight from the Lord.  It points us to a God who loves us and is in complete control amidst the chaos of our lives.  If you missed the other posts in this series, check them out.

Part 1: "When Seventy Years Are Completed"

Part 2: "Fulfill My Good Promise"

Part 3: "With All Your Heart"

Part 4: "Back from Captivity"

Observations:
We took a look at the eternal perspective on this captivity (or time away from our homeland in Part 1.  Today, I want at the things that are holding us captive here on Earth.

In John 8:31, Jesus tells his boys, "Very truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin."  Well that's all of us!  We are all slaves to something.  For some of us, as soon as we accepted Jesus, we shed that captivity and never looked back.  But more often than not, we still live in slavery to an old habit that the enemy tries to use to make us feel like we're in captivity even though in John 8:36, Jesus continued, "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."

The chains of sin have already been broken, but we continue to live like we're in captivity.  In our neighborhood, there is a cat named Nigel.  He's a very special cat because he walks on a leash.  (Yes, you read that right.)  I don't know how many of you have tried to put a cat on a leash before, but the instinctive response is not to walk around proudly.

Image source: https://ruthsgleanings.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/cat-on-a-leash.jpg

Not only does Nigel walk on a leash but he also hangs out in the backyard on one of those tie cables that is staked into the ground.  I can imagine the taunts and insults of the other cats in the neighborhood as they look out their windows and see Nigel in his captivity.  (Ironically, the other cats are all indoor cats and don't realize the confinement of their own "castles.")  But on the rare occasion that I've seen Nigel outside without his leash, he stays within the radius of his cable anyway.  He doesn't realize it when he is given freedom because he's so used to being tied up.

We're the same way, aren't we?  Jesus already paid for our sin and offered us freedom, but we keep ourselves in captivity.  What's keeping you captive?

• Bitterness?
• Guilt?
• Anger?
• Anxiety?
• Insecurity?
• Money?
• Substances?
• Doubt?

Application:
The Bible says we have to start being the captor instead of the captive if we want to be the victor instead of the victim.  In 2 Corinthians 10:5, Paul writes, "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Instead of allowing an old sin to keep us captive, we must take our thoughts captive.  Because as Pastor Chris says (and now that I've Googled it I realize its an ancient Chinese proverb too), "Our thoughts become our words, our words become our actions, our actions become our habits, our habits become our destiny."  Therefore, the beginning of freedom is taking our thoughts captive.  Because Jesus already paid for freedom!

Prayer:
Dear God, thank you so much for sending Jesus to pay for my sin.  I know that I am forgiven and that any captivity I still experience is me allowing something else to have control of my life.  I want to live in YOUR freedom, Lord.  Help me to let go of anything that is holding me back from freedom in you.  Thank you for Jesus!  In His name! Amen!

Confident in this…

Miranda