Leviticus 26:12-13, "I will walk you and be your God, and you shall be My people. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so that you would not be their slaves; and I broke the bars of your yoke and made you walk upright [with heads held high as free men]." (AMP)
The text in Leviticus 26:12-13 is an essential passage for a lot of us who don't realize how valuable we are. See, the people here, the ancient Jews, had been mistreated in Egypt, they'd been used, they'd been hurt, and they'd been belittled (sounds like the testimony of a lot of us.) And so, the awful result is, that they started to believe that being treated like cheap labor was what they were worth. And that couldn't be further from the truth.
See, they were out of Egypt, but Egypt wasn't out of them. They were out of bondage, but the bondage wasn't out of them. And I'm afraid that's the very description of many of us today. God Has Brought People Out of Domestic Violence, Addictions; Bad Habits; And Bad Decisions, And Still Some Act As Though They Are Still Where They Were! There's nothing worse than being a prisoner for so long that even when the bars open, you remain in bondage!
Listen In To What God Said To Them, And You And Me As Well. "I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so that you would not be their slaves; and I broke the bars of your yoke and made you walk upright [with heads held high as free men]." (AMP)
Well, today is your day of encouragement because I refuse to allow you to wallow, wilt, and die! Neither will you allow yourself or anyone else to bury you before you die! If we are all brutally honest, we all sin daily (and for the rest of us simple church folks, we sin by the nanosecond)! Now, I know some super-spiritual folks tend to act like they sit next to Jesus every day, but then if that were true, why did they need a Savior in the first place? We may not commit the same evil, but we're just as guilty as the next for a crime of corruption! And in case some folks are under the impression that sin comes in 'sizes,' let me help you…Sin Has No Size! One Size Fits All! There are no 'big and little sins.' God does not grade our sins by measures and levels! God has concluded that both come under His judgment whether one person takes a person's! So, whatever your sin was, be it deliberate and willful, accidental, or even unknown, when you take it to God and repent and ask for forgiveness, it is done in that very instant, and you need not prove levels of righteousness to mere man! Those who you have wronged, you sincerely apologize, make it right in whatever way you can, ask for forgiveness, and walk in newness going forward determined to be better today than you were yesterday and better tomorrow than you'll be today!
Remember This: John 8:3-11, "The religion scholars and Pharisees led in a woman who had been caught in an act of adultery. They stood her in plain sight of everyone and said, "Teacher, this woman was caught red-handed in the act of adultery. Moses, in the Law, gives orders to stone such persons. What do you say?" They were trying to trap him into saying something incriminating so they could bring charges against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger in the dirt. They kept at him, badgering him. He straightened up and said, "The sinless one among you, go first: Throw the stone." Bending down again, he wrote some more in the dirt. Hearing that, they walked away, one after another, beginning with the oldest. The woman was left alone. Jesus stood up and spoke to her. "Woman, where are they? Does no one condemn you?" "No one, Master." "Neither do I," said Jesus. "Go on your way. From now on, don't sin." (MSG)
Moral of the Scripture: Until You're SIN-LESS, Remain STONE-LESS! Even Jesus set the record straight. He wrote in dirt; He didn't throw it! So, if anyone approaches you with shovels in hand, don't argue, fuss, or fight. Just shake it off, step up, step out, and step off! You are no longer under condemnation, nor are you bound in bondage! God has broken the bars of your yoke, and you are now free, so talk, walk, act, and live like it!
Romans 8:1, "Therefore there is now NO condemnation [NO guilty verdict, NO punishment] for those who are in Christ Jesus [who believe in Him as personal Lord and Savior]." (AMP)
Psalm 103:12, "He has REMOVED our sins as far away from us as the east is from the west." (TLB)
1 John 1:9, "If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just [true to His nature and promises] and will FORGIVE our sins and cleanse us continually from all unrighteousness [our wrongdoing, everything not in conformity with His will and purpose]." (AMP)
Back to our text, God told them what royalty they were and that it was about time they started living like the treasure they were. Maybe that's what God is trying to say to you today. My friends, you are more valuable than you give yourself credit for!
But maybe you've felt like a loser, a reject, a victim. So, you've been throwing yourself away, and there are a lot of ways to do that. You can throw yourself away academically by not trying, not working very hard, getting sexually involved, and maybe throwing yourself away chemically or alcoholically. You could be trashing yourself by what you do for pleasure, what you listen to, or watch, by putting yourself down, by settling for bad relationships. Maybe you've even thought about suicide. It could be you don't try because you don't believe you are worth it.
Well, I've stopped by to drop off a vital message to you today: YOU'RE WRONG!
God is saying to you today: You are My handmade creation! My people are no longer slaves to their enemies; you can now walk with your head held high! And yet, so many of you are still making a mistake that breaks the heart of your Creator. You believe you are trash because some people treated you like trash. Maybe there are some people here who were sexually molested, homeless, domestic violence, emotionally and mentally abused through verbal abuse, various addictions, overweight, underweight which has affected your self-esteem, ADHD, but no, you are who your Creator says you are. God created you. God loves you. God purchased you through the death of His Son. You belong to God. You are not trash!
You've got to keep moving. Whatever you let sit will go bad. When you have an assignment from God, even when you are hurt, keep moving, keep serving, keep giving, you keep moving. Whatever sits goes bad, you sit long enough your legs will go to sleep; your hands will go to sleep. If your battery sits, your battery will go bad. your car, automobile, if you don't drive, it will go bad. Let your mind sit; it will go bad. An idle mind is a devil’s workshop. Let the meat sit, let the fruit sit, let the eggs sit, and it will go bad. Whatever you let sit will go bad. we are designed to move, so keep moving.
Feed yourself on another level for where you are going. Listen, I know you have been offended, I know you have been hurt, sometimes you have been rejected in a place where they do not see your worth & value, and they have made you feel some way about yourself, but you will go to another place and find there are such great values. You will be surprised who needs what's in you. But you've got to keep moving. I don't care how hard you were slammed to the ground, keep moving, take your time to get up, re-invent yourself, look up, anoint up, dress up, worship up, you got to keep moving, eat up, restore what was lost in you.
Ephesians 2:10, "For we are His workmanship [His masterwork, a work of art], created in Christ Jesus [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, ready to be used] for good works, which God prepared [for us] beforehand [taking paths which He set] so that we would walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us]." (AMP)
THAT'S WHO YOU ARE!
Maybe some people have looked at you and thought you weren't worth much, and they treated you like trash. Well, they didn't know who you are. They had no idea of the value you carry within. 2 Corinthians 4:7, "But we have this precious treasure [the good news about salvation] in [unworthy] earthen vessels [of human frailty] so that the grandeur and surpassing greatness of the power will be [shown to be] from God [His sufficiency] and not from ourselves." (AMP) You carry treasure, and you are God's treasure! And just because they didn't know it doesn't mean anything. You need to know it! Don't break God's heart anymore by throwing away what He thinks is worth so much He would die for you. He would die for the very wrong things you have done, for every rebellion against Him in your life. You were worth the life of Jesus Christ, His Son.
Isaiah 43:2-4, "Don't be afraid, I've redeemed you. I've called your name. You're mine. When you're in over your head, I'll be there with you. When you're in rough waters, you will not go down. When you're between a rock and a hard place, it won't be a dead-end—Because I am God, your personal God, The Holy of Israel, your Savior. I paid a huge price for you: all of Egypt, with rich Cush and Seba, threw in! That's how much you mean to Me! That's how much I love you! I'd sell off the whole world to get you back, trade the creation just for you." (MSG)
Philippians 2:5-8, "Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn't think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity, took on the status of a slave, and became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn't claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion." (MSG)
So, I don't care what you've done, how many times you've done it, where you were, who you were with, how long you were there, there is absolutely nothing that can stop God from loving you, protecting you, providing for you, claiming you, forgiving you and redeeming you! Nothing, Not Even YOU!
God loves you so much that He didn't even wait for you to break free, nor did He depend on or even expect you to break free; no, the Scripture says, "I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people. I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD, WHO BROUGHT YOU OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT SO THAT YOU WOULD NOT BE THEIR SLAVES; AND I BROKE THE BARS OF YOUR YOKE AND MADE YOU WALK UPRIGHT [WITH HEADS HELD HIGH AS FREE MEN]." (AMP)
Did you notice how many times God said "I"? He said He would walk among you; He brought you out of the land of Egypt; He made sure you would no longer be a slave; He broke the bars of your yoke; He created you to walk upright, even with your head; held high as FREE! Don’t let your sin, nor your past keep your head down, your shoulders slumped, your back bent, your eyes downward, and your spirit downcast! You are no longer bound; you are free! John 8:36, "So if the son makes you free, then you are unquestionably free." (AMP)
You have one God who is your Only judge! And He determined that you are Redeemable! You have value, and you have worth, you have a fresh start, and you have a second chance! If God had no more use or need of you, then the breath of life that He's loaned you, would default and you would die, but instead, you've opened your eyes to a brand-new day! A new day of fresh mercies! Last night was not your Last night because your Lord still needs you! So don't under-value and under-estimate yourself and let no one else do it to you either!
You will not stay here any longer. You have been set free from the bondage of others, and more importantly, the bondage of yourself. God loves us so much that He didn't wait for us to get ourselves out of the yoke; no, He broke it for us! And so today we are free, no more limitations; no more self-doubt; no more low self-esteem; no more questioning God's love for you; no more if God can do this for everybody else but you. No More! God has changed both your position and posture, and today is the day you live, talk, and act like it!
YOU, MY FRIENDS, ARE YOKE-FREE BECAUSE GOD HIMSELF BROKE THE BARS OF YOUR YOKE!
PUT YOUR ANGELS TO WORK FOR YOU.
Command Your Angels: Can you do this? In short, yes. Keep in mind that you aren’t commanding them in the same way you are commanding and rebuking the devil. You are releasing them to do the work they’ve been assigned to perform on your behalf.
You have been given the authority of Jesus Christ, as an heir, and you can command your angels to move on your behalf to carry out the Word (Psalm 103:20)
Pray for angels: When you ask God to deploy your angels, He will do so. Jesus said God would have sent 12 legions of angels to His resuce had He asked for them. Prayer will release angels on your behalf. (Matthew 26:51-53. Every time you leave your house, ask that angels protect you in every vehicle you ride in, every building you walk in, and every situation.
Call on the Name of Jesus: The Name of Jesus catches the attention of God’s angels. They will respond to the Name above all names and come to your rescue (Hebrews 1:6). The Name of Jesus is powerful! When you’re in a situation where you need help, call His Name. He’ll send help your way!
Thank God for His help: When you trust and believe that God will send His angels to help you (Psalm 91:11), you are receiving their intervention by faith. Thank Him and praise Him because He has given His angels charge over you. Thank Him for providing you with an entire army to enforce what is rightfully yours.
Isn’t it good to know you don’t have to depend on your abilities for protection and deliverance? Get your angels involved in your life. God’s will is for you to enjoy everything He provided through Jesus on the cross, and He’s provided all the help you’ll ever need!
Blessings
J.P. Olson
www.journeyintotheword.com
Join Journey Into The Word each Sunday evening at 6:00 PM CST & 7:00 PM EST on the NOW Network http://www.theNOWnetwork.org
ROKU, Cable & Online: https://www.thenownetwork.org/
No comments:
Post a Comment