“Captive No More”
By Brother Kenneth Ray
April 8th,
2012
Click here to download printable sermon
notes in pdf format.
Captive:
Taken or held prisoner.
Today
is a day when people around the
world gather together, much as we have, to celebrate Jesus having
victory over
the grave. Many
will point out that
Jesus rose on the third day. This
is
true. Jesus died on
the cross for the
sins of the human race and He was in the grave for three days and then
rose,
the grave not being able to hold Him.
Would
you believe me if I were to tell
you that it is so much more than that?
It
was much more than a man who was crucified; first God became a man. Easter should not be just
a celebration of
events. Let’s take
a step back and take
a look:
Luke
23:34
…Father,
forgive
them, for they know not what they do…
So here is Jesus, looking down from
the cross, and seeing His raiment (His clothes) being parted and lots
cast, and
he prays for their forgiveness.
Luke
23:43
…To day shalt
thou
be with Me in paradise.
Luke
23:46
Father, into
Thy
hands I commend My Spirit…
Now let’s fast-forward:
We know what took place, but what did it
do? Ephesians gives
us some insight.
Ephesians
4:8 …when He
ascended up on high, He led captivity
captive, and gave gifts to men.
One of the gifts that He gave us was
understanding. Not
just understanding
Scripture, but understanding the bigger picture.
2
Corinthians
2:11
Lest Satan should get an
advantage over us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.
He opened up their
understanding.
James 1:14
But
every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and
enticed.
1
John 2:16
…the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the
eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
The human condition is in opposition
to us. Our
adversary the devil, as a
roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8).
Our national symbol is the
eagle. Can you
imagine if someone took
that eagle, and locked it in a cage.
There would be some pretty upset people, wouldn’t
there? Satan’s
devices attempt to do that to us.
When Jesus was about to stand trial,
what did the Pharisees do? They
stirred
up people’s emotions. They
didn’t have
any legitimate arguments against Jesus’ teachings, so they stirred up
people’s
emotions, got the crowd to demand Jesus be crucified.
We have an adversary, and there is a struggle
for our well-being; there is a struggle for our soul.
John
8:36
If the Son therefore shall set you free,
ye shall be free indeed.
This is accomplished by the blood of
Jesus being applied to us through faith in operation, being baptized in
Jesus’
Name for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38).
Colossians
2:12
Buried with Him in baptism, wherein
ye are risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God…
Romans
6:4
…even so, we also should walk in newness of
life.
So
we are free to live life in Christ,
but still be pursued as saints and soldiers.
2
Timothy 2:3 Thou
therefore endure hardness as a good soldier
of Jesus Christ.
You
are still pursued by the roaring
lion. He hasn’t
died. If you
remember the movie, The Lord of the
Rings, riders would pursue the ring, and never stop looking. Satan is trying to reclaim
you.
Jesus
gave us the Word of truth to
defeat the Father of Lies. We
will ever
fight against the old man that will try to come back and overtake us.
The
enemy is not dead. The
arrows are still coming in. These
things have not changed. John
said that He must increase (John 3:30). I
have to receive the gifts. What
if I never study? The
Bible tells us that we are more than
conquerors. So, how
do we win the
battle?
Two
words: “A new.”
John
13:34-35 A new commandment I
give unto you, that ye love one another...
Jesus
was accused of going against the
teachings of Moses and long-standing traditions.
These people were not ready to let go of the
old, and embrace the new covenant.
Hate holds
us captive. Holding
a grudge holds us
captive. Being
prideful holds us
captive. Discontent
holds us
captive. We are
free.
Romans
8:37 …in
all these things we are more than conquerors
through Him that loved us.
Revelation
3:12
…I will write
upon him My new name.
There’s
much more. We do
not celebrate in understanding. We
do not celebrate in knowledge. We
celebrate in obedience. Not
in what He did, but in what He still
does.
Ephesians
2:10
…we are His workmanship, created in
Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we
should
walk in them.
Sermon
notes by Pete Shepherd
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