By Pastor Alex Ruelo
One of the reasons why you cannot freely worship God is because you are held back by the enemy for the many sins you have committed. He tells you that you are not worthy to sing and raise your hand. You cannot and do not feel the message of a song because you are reminded of so many things that you did wrong. You know who breaks those chains; but the strongholds of the enemy are there that you cannot unleash your full potential as a believer. More than 2000 years ago, when Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose again, it became a symbol of your freedom. But many people still live their lives in chains. You have to remind yourself that you have been freed. You were freed even before you were born.
But realistically, their are chains in the life of a believer that are always there. The enemy reminds you of these all the time because he does not want you to be fully surrendered to Christ. He tells you lies and you get scared because you believe all of it. Jesus set you free but since the enemy has a stronghold on you, you cannot worship properly.
The Chain of Doubt makes you think twice about God’s power in your life. When sickness comes, you doubt His power to heal. You put Him in a box. You know God will provide but when the bills come, you resort to your own power and borrow money from your neighbor. Mark 9 tells the story of the disciples being unable to cast out a demon from a sick child. Jesus tells them that anything is possible if only you believe. He proceeds to cast out the demon and the latter leaves. Jesus’ ministry is almost at its end during this chapter. The disciples have already witnessed so many miracles yet they doubted their power to cast out the evil spirit. If you have seen a miracle and witnessed the power of God in your life, the chain of doubt stops you from using the power and freedom that Jesus gave you.
The Chain of Debt makes you feel that God does not provide. In the Old Testament, God already said that you will be blessed wherever you go and whatever you do. You say that God will provide all of your needs. But the enemy reminds you all the time that you do not have enough to pay for your bills and put food on the table at the same time. You forget then that God provides exactly what you need in His perfect time. Deuteronomy 28:13 says, “The Lord will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom.” But Christians who are swallowed by debt are always at the bottom. This is not only financial debt. Sometimes you feel like you owe God for your salvation. It is by grace that you are saved.
The Chain of Shame is so powerful and it imprisons you everyday. All the wrong things you did puts you to shame. It steals your joy every time you are reminded of your wrongdoings. Guilt is different from shame. Guilt is your responsibility over the wrong things you did. You feel guilty when you sin. But shame is a mental state that tells you that you are unworthy. You bring it with you and you are held behind its bars everyday. This is where grace comes in. When Jesus died on the cross, even if you were not worthy, He died for you. His death was not for a selected few, but for everybody. Every time you carry the chain of shame, it is like saying that what Jesus did on the cross is not enough to free you. Isaiah 6:5-7 says, “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” Nobody is worthy to speak of the Lord. But God has cleansed you of your sins so you can allow yourself to be free from the shame of your sins. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” When He says all, nothing is left. When you confess your sins, you say it out loud. Nobody confesses in their mind. God does not even remember your sins. It is only man who remembers.
The Chain of Fear is your faith in the enemy. If you believe that God has set you free, being afraid is trusting the enemy and believing in hid lies. If you fear the future and all things that are not yet here, you put your faith in the enemy. You fear the future because you really do not know what is there. The enemy gives you ideas about it and you believe his lies, forgetting that God holds the future in His hands. Joshua 1”1-3 says, “After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses.” There are at least 365 scripture verses in the Bible that tells you not to be afraid. You are reminded every day of the year not to be afraid. God did not promise you that there will be no problems and sickness her eon earth. But He promised that He will be with you through it all. Hold on to the promises of God and not onto the lies of the enemy.
The Chain of the Past holds so many people back. In John 4, Jesus talks about the Samaritan woman who has lived with different men all her life. Jesus told her about the life giving water and she drank from it. Her past held her back for the longest time but Jesus set her free. He used her dark past for the people in her village to hear about the Lord. Your past should be used as a testimony for Jesus and not as a stronghold for the enemy.
Savior come
When all of my hope has gone
I’ve carried the weight on my shoulders
But you took them all and at once
When you are in a situation where you cannot worship and serve your Lord and Savior because of the chains that are holding you down, remember that God took them all away. All you have to do is to trust in God and lean on Him.
I found my freedom
In the blood of the ransom that you paid
So rid me of my self one thing remains oh God
The power of the cross
The breaker of chains
When you trust the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross, these words will easily escape from your lips. You need to die to yourself everyday and admit that you have no power to break any chain. Only God has the power to break all of your chains. Everything that you cannot do, He has already done. When there is no hope, there is hope in God. When everybody else fails you, God can complete you. He has erased all of your sins. Remind yourself everyday that you are free because of His death on the cross.
My flesh is weak
But I know you are strong in me
So revive me everyday til I am
Filled with your spirit again
When you are about to raise your hands in worship but are pulled down by the weight of the wrong things that you did, all you need to do is to humble yourself before God. He is faithful and will renew you with His strength and HIs mercy. Humble yourself to God.
Oh Jesus use me
I’m claiming all the promises you made
This broken heart will praise Your holy name oh God
I’ll declare it from my tongue
I will praise
You cannot do all of these if you do not know the Word of God. When the enemy is trying to pull you down, you do not need to open your Bible because it is hidden in your heart. It comes out when needed. If you know the Word, you are rich beyond all understanding. If you live by the Word, the enemy has no hold on you. Every time he tells you lies, throw back the Words of Jesus Christ. Live by the Word every day.
Romans 8:28-29, 35-39 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Nothing can separate you from God’s love. Do not believe in the lies of the enemy.