In Isaiah 61:1-3 (Voice Bible) “The Spirit of the Lord, the Eternal, is on me. The Lord has appointed me for a special purpose. He has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to repair broken hearts, And to declare to those who are held captive and bound in prison, “Be free from your imprisonment!” He has sent me to announce the year of jubilee, the season of the Eternal’s favor: for our enemies it will be a day of God’s wrath; For those who mourn it will be a time of comfort.
Paul was sent (by God) to do what he decreed in front of King Agrippa: Acts 26:17 “I will rescue you from your Jewish opponents and from the outsiders—for it is to the outsiders I am sending you. It will be your mission to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the kingdom of Satan to the kingdom of God. This is so that they may receive forgiveness of all their sins and have a place among those who are set apart for a holy purpose through having faith in Me.”
In Isaiah two words stand out:
- Prisoner: because of what you have done.
- Captive: because of what has been done to you.
In Mt. 9:30; 12:22; Lk 6:6; are some of the accounts of Jesus encountering captives and prisoners. Captives because one could not see and speak. Not see the kingdom of God nor be able to pray to confess sin – but Jesus cast out the dumb and blind spirit and set him free.
Jesus knew both His authority and power.
- Authority – comes from who sent you. Look at Mt 8:5 with the Centurion. He knew his authority and used it to honor Caesar.
- Power: Lk 24:49 “..until…clothed with power from on high”. You receive power when you have an encounter with the Holy Spirit. The word ‘clothed’ is – ‘equipped with’. We are to be equipped with? The Anointing – God’s ability to do what He has called you to do. To have Weapons – To set captives free. No soldier goes to war without ‘equipment’ unless he is a traitor.
Mt 25:1 talks about virgins and lamps. The emphasis is on lamps. The 5 wise took extra oil, that cost them, because they knew – times, seasons, limitations, intimacy and the fact they would be with Him at the right time. The 5 foolish could not borrow, and failed to value the anointing.
To set captives free and open prisoner hearts we need to be clothed, mantled, armed, trained and equipped in all 9 spiritual gifts.
Jesus declared who He was, what He had, and what He was going to do, and did it. He has given this full authority and power to the church through Eph 4:11-12 giftings. The church is to set captives and prisoners free from the grip of satan with truth.