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November 25 2023
RELEASED FROM CAPTIVITY
We are rejoicing with the families and friends of the hostages that were released in Gaza this week. It was a traumatizing experience for them, and I’m sure every one of them will need counseling for days to come as they begin the process of healing and recovery. There’s not one of us who could say that we’ve ever encountered such a terrifying ordeal as this, but many of us have been through horrific trials in our own lifetime.
Even the past few years many of us have faced unprecedented challenges whether it was battling illness, struggling with finances or dealing with difficult relationships, it's been a tough time for so many. Some of you have felt trapped and helpless in your own thoughts. You’ve felt like a prisoner of war, held hostage by your own mind.
A “prisoner” is someone who has been confined or imprisoned for something that they did illegally or immorally, but on the other hand, a “prisoner of war” or a “captive” is someone who has been wrongfully imprisoned or held hostage. They may have been imprisoned during or immediately after an armed conflict.
Those of you who have been feeling trapped in spiritual warfare, are about to receive a new level of liberation. The Holy Spirit is about to intervene and set you free. Those who have been held in captivity or wrongly imprisoned by the enemy, will soon rejoice because your freedom is at hand. You will soon be released from the chains that held you captive for so long.
In the Book of Acts there are two different incidents when God opened the prison doors to release His people who were wrongfully imprisoned. In Acts chapter five, there were many signs and wonders performed through the hands of the apostles. The sick were healed, demons were cast out and people even received healing through Peter’s shadow. There was a great revival and multitudes accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
The high priest and religious leaders (cessationists) put the apostles in prison, but the angel of The LORD went to them and released them saying: “Go, stand in the temple courts, and tell the people all about this new life.” Another time, in the book of Acts chapter sixteen Paul and Silas were wrongfully put in prison after they cast an evil out of a slave girl who was a fortuneteller.
She continually followed them and mocked them until Paul finally turned around and cast the demon out of her in the name of Jesus. The woman was freed, but her masters were angry because they could no longer profit from her possession. The magistrates then beat and shackled Paul and Silas with chains and rods before throwing them into prison.
Despite the unjust treatment, Paul and Silas remained steadfast in their faith, praying and singing hymns to God at midnight while the other prisoners listened. As they worshipped there was a great earthquake and their shackles were loosed and fell off. The jail keeper fell down before them trembling and asked, “What must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe on The LORD Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
The next day the keeper of the prison said to Paul, “The magistrates have said to let you go: now therefore depart, and go in peace.”
The LORD says to those of you who have been wrongfully imprisoned by the enemy, “I now release you. Your prison sentence has ended and you are free to go. Allow Me to set you free from the prison of fear that has been tormenting your mind, deliver you from the prison of addictions that you have been battling, and set you free from the hidden sins that have been convicting you.
You no longer have to live with the shame and the hidden agendas that you have kept in secret. Allow Me to break those chains that have held you captive. Allow Me to remove those shackles that have kept you bound. I am releasing you from the strongholds that have led your life in disarray for so long. I have come to set the captives free.
I come to tear down the strongholds in your mind where you have thoughts of confusion that are holding you in bondage. .Allow Me to cleanse and restore your way of thinking so that you will no longer have to live with thoughts of revenge, anger and unforgiveness. As you release others, you will be released. Do not harbor bitterness in your heart as this will also keep you imprisoned.
Allow Me to release you of every hindrance and every stronghold in your life. I will break every chain of enslavement and the anchors that have been keeping you from prevailing. Allow Me to release you from the prison of sickness and disease. Do not accept that report which the doctors call incurable or terminal.
Receive your healing from every ailment and every infirmity. Receive healing for every organ, every bone, every nerve, every tissue and every cell in your body. I AM opening the prison doors and releasing the prisoners of war who have been battling unrelenting warfare. I AM calling you to come to a higher place and receive the abundant life that I have provided for you,” says The LORD. .
Acts 5:18-20
“They laid their hands on the apostles and put them in the common prison. But at night an angel of The LORD opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, “Go, stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life,”
Acts 16:26
Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed.
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