Are you really free?

Today, God gave me some specific instructions for you and I am going to get right to it. He said, “Stay right there.” What does that mean, Lord? Stay right where? He answered, “Stay in your truth, until you get where I’ve called you to be.” Before I go too far, let me be clear. This is a “meet you where you are” word. This is a word of self-examination and truth. This is a word for YOU. How can I say that? Because it was a word for ME first. So many times when people talk about freedom and breakthrough, it is wrapped up in what someone did to them. The bondage is easily identified with a point of impact or a traumatic event - the abandonment of a parent or a spouse, the mental or physical abuse, the molestation, the divorce, the death. Those are real places and they have real effects on how you live your life and how you interact with other people. I am not talking about that today. Today, I am talking to you about you. I am talking to you about how you tell yourself that you are in a good place, when in fact, the enemy has blinded you to how you actually present to the world. I am talking about those moments when you hear the Holy Spirit speaking conviction but it is easier to say it is about other people.  I am talking about how you pray for others to get free but you have missed the areas that still require work in you. I am talking about truth.

Jesus left the Holy Spirit on earth with clear responsibilities in John 16. He left Him to be a comforter and an advocate. He left Him to remind us of God’s righteousness and convict us when necessary. He is to be a conduit of Truth. He does not speak on His own but tells what He has heard from Jesus. He is the voice of the Trinity. He is to guide us into all truth. I really started thinking about this thing and it really started to blow my mind. Jesus wanted to make sure that when He left this earth in the physical sense, the truth of who He is as our savior was clear to His people. Why? Because truth is who He is. Do you remember what He said in John 14:6? He said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life…” So the question is why don’t you tell the truth? Why don’t you acknowledge that a lot of what is happening in your life can find its roots in you and your decisions? Don’t take offense! I am not minimizing what has happened to you, however, it is time to have real talk. I mean, at what point do you say to yourself, “Pride has kept me from apologizing to some people.”  “My unwillingness to acknowledge that I did not get it all right has separated me from some people that had my best interest at heart.” “My attitude has kept me from being promoted at work or in ministry.”  “My need to control everyone and everything in my life has caused isolation.” Does any of this sound familiar?

Jesus was not talking to non-believers in John 8 when He said, “And you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” He was talking to His people! Look at John 8:31! They were so comfortable in their position as descendants of Abraham that they didn’t see that there was areas in their lives that needed to be addressed. They didn’t see that they were missing the message of Christ because there wasn’t room in their hearts. They ended up wanting to stone Jesus in verse 58 because He called them out of their complacency and their position. Are you willing to come out of your position to get free and I mean really free? Are you willing to stay in the trenches of your own “stuff” until there is nothing left except the Holy Ghost? Are you willing to tell the truth today? Pride has to die. Anger has to die. The spirit of competition has to die. The need to be right has to die. The Pharaoh spirit has to die. Jezebel has to die. Come on! Tell the truth and call that mess out. I’m tired of watching whole families stay on a cycle of poverty, lack and chaos because Grandma won’t tell the truth about her pride. I’m tired of watching churches fall apart because Pastor won’t admit that he is broken and needs deliverance. Lord, help us today to tell the truth!

Hear the word of the Lord, tell the truth today and break the stronghold that has been over your life and that of your family. It is time. Stay right where God puts you until you get it all. Why? Because whom the Son sets free is free indeed.”

Amen