Once we are willing to work for a spiritual inheritance what do we do with them? The first thing we are to do is to free them—to become abolitionists!

Abolitionist: Alternate word—emancipationist. Definition-”a reformer who favors abolishing slavery”.

The ultimate abolitionist was Jesus. He has freed more people from slavery than anyone else. When Jesus started His ministry this was His stated goal.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed. — Luke 4:18 NKJV

His purpose was to free us from the bondage that sin has produced. This means physical, soulish, and spiritual slavery.

150 years ago there were physical slaves in America. But brave men and women became abolitionists dedicated to freeing slaves physically from their bondage. After much war and blood shed there was finally physically freedom for blacks in the South.

But there is still much to be done.

All creation anticipates the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. Rom. 8:21 (NLT)

Today, God is calling for brave Christians to continue the emancipation movement by freeing people from their spiritual and soul bondages. We are a people that are learning how to answer that call!

You were made for a mission! You have a purpose! Many times as we are focus on getting our needs met we forget our calling. We need our needs met but don’t forget that God has given you the ability to meet needs! You have been made to be a blessing like God has blessed you!

It is in you because the Holy Spirit—the great needs meeter—is in you. On top of that you will find great fulfillment when you are used by God to meet needs!

People Around Us Are In Bondage

They may look successful and happy on the outside, but the truth is many people are in a mental prison. Only through the power of the Cross will people get totally free. They can cover up the problem with drugs, focusing on careers, relationships, etc. But these things only help the symptoms and don’t solve the root problems.

How Can I Free People?

The Gospels are full of stories of Jesus freeing people from their bondages. These people include the woman with the issue of blood for years, the man with a 1000 demons, the woman at the well who was getting her emotional needs filled with many husbands, etc. The list goes on and on.

The way we free people is to do it in the name of Jesus. It is not us that frees people.  It is Jesus that frees people. We can free people simply because we are His brothers and sisters. He has given us the right to use His name. He has not given that right to everybody, only those who are in covenant with Him.

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matt. 28:18-20 (NIV)

The same Holy Spirit He had to do miracles you have! The Holy Spirit is to guide us into all truth and to comfort us. But His role does not end there.

The presence of the Spirit in our life is not just meant for our own personal satisfaction and fulfillment. Its purpose is not just so we can have goose bumps and hair-tingling experiences.

One of the reasons that God gives you His Spirit is so that you can be a channel of blessing to others just like Jesus was.

Jesus died for the whole city

We are to meet needs in the church. But a great fulfillment is found when we learn how to meet needs outside of the church too. Jesus was constantly going outside the “church” of His day to meet needs. This is actually where He met most of the needs.

Just as He “touched” people, we are His hands and feet to “touch” people today. Do you realize that Jesus said He was the head of the church and we are His body. We are His hands and feet today. It is a privilege, scary, and necessary to take up His burden for people outside the church if it is going to be done.

The future growth of our church is outside the church! This is where the future believers, pastors, group leaders, etc. are! After His resurrection, Jesus met with His disciples and deputized them as His ambassadors. He told them, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you” John 20:21 (NIV). He endued them with a sense of mission and the same mission that was theirs is now yours.

God has given you the tools now! We don’t need these after we die and go to heaven:

And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere. Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak new languages. They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick and heal them.” Mark 16:15-18 (NLT)

Five Areas in Which He Wants to Use You

It is your destiny to walk in these 5 things. These are the same 5 things that Jesus declared over Himself in Luke 4:18 before He started His ministry. He did it by faith. Declare over yourself these same 5 things by faith believing for the Holy Spirit to help you accomplish yourdestiny.

1. Preach the Gospel to the Poor

The world is full of those who are spiritually or financially poor. They are waiting for someone to point the way out of their hopelessness and despair. That is your first and primary purpose in life: to preach the good news that Jesus’ death and resurrection can cause you to rise from the dead too!

2. Heal the Brokenhearted

At some point in their lives, most people will suffer from some tragedy or difficult circumstance. They encounter rejection, heartache, betrayal, or death, and literally feel as though their hearts are broken.

Ask the Spirit within you to fill you with compassion for the brokenhearted. He will then prompt you to minister true love and healing to those who need it.

We are often afraid to minister to people when they are not Christians. But you will be surprised by the amount of people that just want relief. If you can give them relief then they will see the power of God and then become Christians. It is the goodness of God that leads to repentance.

Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness  and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? Romans 2:4 (NASB)

3. Proclaim Liberty to the Captives

Captives refers to people who are held in the grip of drugs, nicotine, alcohol, pornography, and other activities over which they have lost control. They have become prisoners to these demonic obsessions and need someone with the power of the Holy Spirit who can minister freedom to them. That’s your role as a Spirit- filled believer!

You don’t have to understand everything or have all the answers; you only need to be full of the Spirit and willing to step out in faith and let God use you. He will do more than you can imagine.

4. Give Sight to the Blind

You probably know many people who need a healing touch in their bodies. God wants to heal them and use you to minister physical healing to those who are sick. As you pray for them and lay hands upon them, the Holy Spirit is released to do His healing work.

This is referring not just to physical healing but spiritually. Many people are blind to the spirit world and it’s consequences. Through your witness you can open their eyes that the world around us is not all there is. The eternal world is bigger and is the “final” world. We can show people how to become citizens of the eternal world.

5. Set at Liberty Those Who are Oppressed

This includes people with mental oppressions. You have the ability to minister to those suffering from bondages like suicide, depression, grief, guilt, or condemnation. All these things press upon an individual and cause him to lose hope.

But the flame of the Spirit within you can break any bondage and speak hope into the life of those struggling with oppression.

Summary

As a Christian, you have a choice to make. You can be an average Christian who looks to God primarily for personal fulfillment, or you can be a supernatural Christian who knows that you were saved to served and made for a mission.

One Christian is self-centered, and his walk with God is centered on, “What’s in it for me?” The other Christian is focused on winning and healing the lost at any cost. Jesus did His mission of Luke 4:18 at a huge cost to His life.

A part of our fulfillment comes from winning another soul for Jesus and seeing them healed, delivered, and discipled. We believe that through training every Christian can learn how to pray for the sick, deliver others of demonic oppression, and teach others to learn to hear the voice of God.

Take up the banner and march on! Change your world by humbly asking the Holy Spirit to use you to make a difference to those around you who are in bondage!