Awake Loose Yourself lest You are Lost in Captivity – Pastor W. F. Kumuyi

Text: Isaiah 52:1-2.

The Lord has been talking to us about His power to loose and set free, now He is talking to us about our personal responsibility to loose ourselves. “Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean. Shake thyself from  the  dust;  arise,  and  sit  down,  O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck,  O  captive  daughter  of Zion.” (Isaiah 52:1-2). Don’t just wait for something to happen, make something happen. Your time of rest, restoration, and recovery has now come. The open door is there, the power is there, and Jesus our Emancipator and Deliverer is here, your redemption has come and now you have to loose yourself.

1.LOOSE YOURSELF FROM THE BANDS OF CAPTIVITY

Isaiah 52:1-5.

• Shake Yourself from the Dirt of Captivity – Isaiah 52:1-2; Acts 2:40; James I:27; 4:4,8-9. “Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the Shake  thyself  from  the  dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.” (Isaiah 52:1-2). The time of sleep is a time of inactivity, low production, and of no progress. If you keep on sleeping in the dust, idleness, or mere expectation, you will not have what you desire. You must get up and go for what you want. The strength is already there for you; put it on and you will never be the same again in Jesus Name. The Lord will block the way against every uncircumcised and unclean thing that may want to hinder you from what God has purposed for you. When you awake, you shake off any sin, dirt, or defilement that has gathered over your life. When you loose yourself from all the bands and bondages that have bound you or any part of your body, you will be free. There is no enemy as powerful as your inner man; when you say no to any power or personality, heaven will say no to them. When you loose yourself from everything that has hindered you from making progress spiritually, professionally, in your family, or any area of your life, you will be free from them.

• Sold? Unsell Yourself from the Demons of Captivity – Isaiah 52:3-5; I Kings 21:20, 27; Job 34:31-32; 2 Corinthians 7:1, 11. “For thus saith the LORD, Ye  have sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money.” (Isaiah 52:3). If you have sold yourself to the enemy like Ahab sold himself to Jezebel and Samson sold himself to Delilah, you will unsell yourself and a new life will come to you in Jesus

• Strengthen Yourself Against the Dictatorship of Captors – Isaiah  52:1;  1 Kings 20:22; Psalm 27:14; Ephesians 6:10-18. When Christ dwells in you, you will not depend on anyone from outside of you to strengthen you because the power inside you will work without any limitation. Captors have been using different gadgets, and psychological, traditional, and spiritual means to keep their captives in perpetual captivity, but today, your captors will fail because Christ the Conqueror has come to set you “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.  Wherefore  take  unto  you  the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;” (Ephesians 6:10-18). You can be strong in the Lord because the Lord in whom you dwell is stronger than everything outside the Lord that may come against your life and because the Lord dwelling inside you is stronger than every voice you will hear in your mind or from without. The power of the Lord is higher and greater than every other power against your life. Every part of the armour has its part, so you must not pick and choose but put on the whole armour of God so that you can stand. You are not just to give others the whole armour, but importantly, you must take it unto yourself first. Praying always does not mean that you have to always be on your knees in prayer, but you can pray a short prayer throughout as you go about the business of each day.

2.  LEARNING BEYOND YOURSELF THE BEAUTY WITHOUT CONTAMINATION

Isaiah 52:6-12.

If all we learn is what we have already, we will not go beyond where we are today, and if all we learn is what is in the little circle of our family, we will not go beyond our family, if all we learn is from our primary school teacher, we will not go beyond the primary level; but God is saying there is something for you to learn that is beyond yourself. “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!” (Isaiah 52:7). It is in the gospel of salvation that the beauty of heaven, holiness, and happiness lies.

When you learn beyond yourself, you will come out of the sinking feeling in Jesus Name.

• The Gospel of Salvation Through His Name – Isaiah 52:6-8; Acts 4:12; Romans 10:9-10,13; I:16-17. “Therefore my people shall know my name: therefore they shall know in that day that I am he that doth speak: behold, it  is    How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him  that bringeth  good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation;  that  saith  unto  Zion,  Thy  God  reigneth!”  (Isaiah  52:6-7).  The  good news of salvation is that you turn away from your sin to the Saviour, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved. Salvation will come to you when you receive, accept, and believe this good news and the Lord will reign in your life. When the God of heaven reigns in your life, sickness, calamity, and accidents, will not reign in your life anymore.

• The Goodness of the Saviour for All  Nations  – Isaiah 52:9-10; Psalm 22:1, 16, 18, 27*; Luke 24:46-47; Romans 16:26. “Break forth into joy, sing  together,  ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the LORD hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.” (Isaiah 52:9-10). The holy hand of God’s blessings, sustenance, deliverance, and redemption has been made visible unto all nations.

• The Godliness of the Son Now in our Nature – Isaiah 52:11-12; 2 Timothy 2:19; 2 Peter 1:3-4; 1 John 3:7-10. Christ was in heaven and needed nothing for himself, but He came to the world to set free people who were physically and spiritually crippled to walk into the place where the provision of God is. “Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be  ye clean, that bear the vessels of the For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight: for the LORD will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your rereward.” (Isaiah 52:11-12). We bear the vessels of the Lord that contain grace, goodness, godliness, oil of joy and peace, and power, therefore we must be clean so that our life, lifestyle, and practice will not contaminate the content of the vessel we bear. Preachers, pastors, and those who declare the goodness of God should not have anything in their lives and families that will contaminate the content of the vessel we are using to serve the people. We must not go out with haste to minister to the people without prayer and meditation. As you go out, the Lord will go before you, nothing will bring you down, and the Lord will clear out of your way all the stones, pebbles, and strangers in Jesus Name. The Lord will go with you and come behind you.

3. LIFTED ABOVE YOURSELF BY THE BRUISES OF CHRIST

Isaiah 52:13-15; 53:1-6.

As you note the level you are today, the Lord will make you come above and beyond that level in Jesus Name. In every area of your life, you will not go down, but you will go up in Jesus Name. There is nobody that can lift you above yourself among the people that are below you; it takes somebody to come above you to lift you up above yourself. No one among your peers can lift you up above yourself, it takes Someone up there with power, exaltation, and lifted above all names to lift you up. As you surrender everything to the hands of the Lord, you cannot go down, you will be up in Jesus Name.

• The Amazing Blessedness and Supremacy of Christ – Isaiah 52:13; 11:2-3; Mark 2:9-12; Luke 9:43-44. “Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall  be exalted and extolled, and be very high.” (Isaiah 52:13). Christ died on the cross, was buried, and rose again, and God almighty has highly exalted Him, and He will lift you up. You are lifted into amazing blessedness, and you will forget the valley and dungeon you were before in Jesus

• The Astonishing Bruises and Suffering of Christ – Isaiah 52:14; 53:1-6; Genesis 3:15; 1 Peter 3:18. “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace  was  upon  him;  and  with  his  stripes  we  are  healed.”  (Isaiah  53:4-5). The bruises that came on Christ that made Him suffer have now given us astonishing blessings and benefits.

• The Accomplished Boundlessness of Salvation in Christ – Isaiah 52:15; Matthew 28:19-20; Romans 1:4-5; Revelation 7:9-12. Christ has given you salvation in your heart, soul, body, life, and family and it will keep on extending to everyone around you in Jesus Name. Your salvation is closer to you than any enemy, problem, or perplexity of the world can be close to you, and the Lord will make you have and enjoy all the boundlessness of your salvation in Jesus Name. “After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before  the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which  sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and unto the Lamb. And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and Amen.” (Revelation 7:9-12). We got salvation from God, and when we go back to Him, we will lay down our crowns at His feet. Those who overcome and come out of the trials, temptations, and persecutions in the world will eventually be there on that final day with the final multitude of saved people. When you come to the Lord and you are washed in the blood of the lamb, and He looses you from all the chains, sufferings, and shackles of sin, He sets you free and gives you His power to walk in the way of righteousness, and you will be there with Him on that final day.

Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/yb4immai4uc