Has Much of the Church Become Institutionalized? The Price of Freedom! Jesus Came So That We Could Be Set Free!
Rick Joyner has written multiple prophetic books that have been revealed to him by the Lord. In one of his books, The Call, he writes about an encounter that he had with Christians. From a distance, he could see that their sight was limited, but when he stood close to them, they could see. Turns out that they were seeing from the light that was in Rick’s life. What he was seeing is that some people are in, what could be described as, prisons. Around these gatherings of Christians were high walls, and on top of these walls were guards.
In Rick’s experience, he noticed there was one hole in the wall in order to escape. But, this hole was full of every fear imaginable. In order to pass through the wall, he would have to overcome every fear. With resolute determination to get outside the walls of this “prison”, Rick made his way through the wall. As Rick continued his journey outside this one “jail”, he noticed there were others jails that Christians could end up in.
Freedom comes with the cost of responsibility. If we are going to be free in God, we have to know the Word of God. If not, we are going to blindly accept what we are being taught. “‘81% of self-professing Christians don’t read the Bible; and of the 19% that do, only 3% make life decisions based on what the Bible says.’ We have to spend time with God in order to know what He expects of us. It is on this road with Jesus Christ that we learn that Jesus’ expectations, written in the Bible, are applied to each and every one of us and not the building. Our realities rapidly change when we realize every accusation and criticism that were once applied to the building, now apply to us. We cannot do this without the fear of the Lord. Without the fear of the Lord, we need fences around us.
Jesus came to set the captives free. It was those that were struggling with religious mindsets that had the biggest struggles with the teachings of Jesus. Some people would rather be a slave to their sin than be set free. Without freedom in our lives, we need fences around us. Institutions are not a bad thing. For instance, an orphanage is a good thing as it provides care for children because there are not enough people willing to be fathers and mothers. At some point, we must realize that we need to step outside of the institution.
When we look at America, we see that there are rights that every citizen should exercise; rights such as voting. But, all of this doesn’t work without the exercising of those rights. When a Harvard Business School professor talks with a student who was a Marxist economist, he is surprised as to what stood out to this student. “I had no idea how critical religion is to the functioning of democracy.” As the student continued, “The reason why democracy works is not because the government was designed to oversee what everybody does, but rather, democracy works, because most people, most of the time, voluntarily choose to obey the law.” Only a few short decades ago, people who did not identify themselves as Christians had a fear of God. Today, people who proclaim to be Christians do not live their lives as if there is a fear of God. Considering his student’s response, the Harvard professor asks himself, “As religion loses its influence over the lives of Americans, what will happen to our democracy?” He also points out, “If you take away religion, you can’t hire enough police.”
Without a fear of the Lord in our lives, this doesn’t work. God has called us to be free, but we have to choose to live free.
So many people would rather be institutionalized and stay in the confinement of their religious cell, while many are dying outside the walls. It is a difficult transition to walk outside these so-called walls and begin walking in alignment with the Commandments of God, going into all the world and making disciples. When we see one man’s transition from a life lived in the confinement of a cell, and into the freedoms of life, we can see how devastating this reality can be for some. How many people today are literally killing themselves, rather than face the realities of their freedom? How many Christians would rather continue their life of sin rather that follow the Lord in the Great Commission. “95% of Christians will not win one person the Lord.”
We have to follow the Lord, regardless where He may lead us. It is vital that we break outside of the institutionalized walls of religion, i.e. “man’s traditions” and become doers of the Word. Each of us will be held accountable for what we have either done or not done. Each and every one of us can be free and live our lives free from the walls of man’s traditions. Be encouraged as you hear the whole discussion about the importance of abiding, discipleship, the Great Commission, being set free, and so much more. Also shared in this segment, mindsets, prophetic encounter, slave, masters, grace, and humility. Greg and Steve shared in this segment.
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