For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive. - Jer 29:11-14

​

For someone who has been taken captive by sin, the above verse holds a special promise. God will remove us from the captivity of sin if we seek Him with all of our heart. When I say "remove us from the captivity of sin", I am not talking about forgiveness, as crucial as this is. When we repent of sin and the Lord grants us forgiveness, that may not be the end of the battle. We've all heard stories of drug addicts who turn their lives over to Jesus and miraculously are healed of the addiction and at times even the physical damage that resulted from years of substance abuse. There are other times though when the forgiven have to "walk out" their salvation (deliverance, wholeness, prosperity and freedom). During this journey there are struggles... pulls of the flesh and the enemy that would otherwise tempt us to jump back into the cesspool that God pulled us from.

​

When a man is released from prison, he is returned his possessions and clothing. He is even given provision to return to the place he left behind. He no longer has to wear his old inmate uniform, he can eat what he wants and leave his home when he wants. There are a few who get released from prison however who continue to live in similar ways to their earlier captivity... following the same schedule that they'd become accustomed to. In their case... they haven't fully accepted their freedom in a practical way. They have received pardon but are not "walking it out".

​

The same is true with sin. If we turn and seek God with all our heart we can be completely free from sin's pull (For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. Rom 6:14) but we have to want it and believe it. If we turn our minds and hearts with longing back to our former sin, it's like the freed prisoner putting on his orange jumpsuit again. It is walking back into bondage and that can spell real trouble. 2 Pet 2:20 says, "For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning." For us, walking in the truth and freedom of Christ, then turning back to our old ways can entangle us in bondage that is far stronger than what we had been freed from. Even if we shrink back from the battle just a bit, there is danger. The scripture talks a fair bit about the dangers of being double minded. Take for instance the description in Ephesians 6:13-17 of the armor of God:

​

"Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;"

​

Picture the elements of this armor... like most armor of the day. With the exception of the helmet, it provided almost no protection for the back. A soldier was protected while facing his enemy but if he were to turn his back, he would become vulnerable to attack. This has similar applications to our spiritual warfare. We must continually move forward and never look back or we open ourselves to attack.

​

Seeking God with all of our hearts provides the means to remain walking forward (or even running) in victory. It unlocks His life-changing power in us. The power to leave our captivity once and for all. Seeking God at this level requires some serious time in the Word. We need to saturate ourselves with His truths, commandments and promises to the point that we can whole heartedly agree with Ps 19:7-11,

​

The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;
The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;
The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold,
Yea, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
Moreover by them Your servant is warned,
And in keeping them there is great reward.

​

If we can confidently say in our hearts that we are in step with this passage then we are well on our way to a victorious life.

​

It has to be a genuine attitude though. Jeremiah 11:20 says that God sees our heart so we can't fake any part of our walk away from sin's captivity. As we sincerely meditate on the Word, it starts to take root in us... we start to have more confidence in it and more desire for the Living Word (Jesus). This is the part of the journey where real lasting freedom and deliverance from sin starts to manifest.

​

Permanent freedom may also mean fighting the enemy as he will try to negate our release by enticing us back into captivity or telling us that our release never happened. Speaking the Word of God out aloud becomes so necessary during these attacks. Every time a fear or thought contrary to the Word of God comes at you, you must speak the truth from God's Word to take that thought captive and cast it down. If you are struggling with fearful thoughts, speak 2 Tim 1:7 out loud, "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." This breaks the power of that fearful thought. The same holds true for thoughts of lust, greed, anger, or pride. Any sinful thought, or feeling can be brought down and destroyed with the word of God.

​

This is our warfare, and praise God, our weapons are mighty in God. "Mighty" means the supernatural ability to do anything, so the Word of God spoken through us in faith can do anything. Just keep your armor on at all times, face your enemy and never turn back and learn to use the spiritual weapons you have been given, with increasing faith and skill and remember what Jesus bought for you during His walk on earth.

​

So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:

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;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." 
Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." - Luke 4:16-21

​

Victory is yours.