In September 2000, Sierra Leone, a force of British SF with 1 Para were flown in on Chinooks to rescue six Royal Irish Regiment lads and their SLA liaison officer, captured by the infamous West Side Boys. It was a risky raid, not without its sticky bits, but they achieved their mission objectives. Many West Side Boys were killed or captured, however 1 British Soldier sadly died. Sometimes, situations demand action like this, and unfortunately it comes at a price.
The ground truth for us is that we are hostages captive under a dark dominion, from which we need rescuing, although we are mostly unaware of this reality. The rescue to which I am alluding, cost a life too—that of the Son of God.
Jesus Said:
“The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News… He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the LORD’s favor has come.”
Luke 4:18-19
What is the Good News Jesus speaks of? What captives? What are we blind to? Who is the oppressor? How is it a time of the Lords favour?
Ground Truth
We live in a broken and fallen world; nothing is as it should be, and if we think about it for a moment, it’s not hard to see: selfishness, greed, famines, sickness, wars and death, all feels twisted and out of place (think about how you feel when someone close to you dies—it feels wrong doesn’t it). In a broken world this is exactly what we’d expect, but it was not this way in the beginning.
We still see more than glimpses of the wonderful world God made before it broke, with its beauty, goodness and with life itself, but unfortunately this has been marred, damaged and is decaying.
What, or Who is the Cause?
“[Satans] purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My (Jesus’s) purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.”
John 10:10
Satan was a magnificent and powerful Angel made by God, but who sadly fell pray to pride and became corrupt. He wanted to be like God. Satan—or the Devil, this counterfeit god—hated all the good that God had made and set out to ruin it.
Firstly, he tricked the first people Adam and Eve into being disobedient. As a result, death was now a reality and they had to leave the garden. They had been warned that this would be the consequence of their disobedience, so therefore, they had to go out of Gods presence and into a dark world controlled by the Devil.
“The LORD God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it. But the LORD God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden—except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.”
Genesis 2:15-17
The world now lives under this Domain of Darkness—Satans domain. Satan is therefore legally able to claim us as his, since we rejected God and believed his lies, blinded to the goodness of God.
Secondly, Satan also spends all his energies deceiving people with empty religion and destructive ideologies which blind us to the ground-truth of our situation. We remain captive under his domain while we follow these deceptive ideas.
Thirdly, we are enslaved by our sin. We are captive to disobedience and the tendency to do wrong, despite our efforts to do right. As a result we like Adam and Eve lose the rights and privileges of closeness to God and the inheritance (eternal life) with Him that came with it.
Good News, we have a Rescuer
Jesus our rescuer came, lived as a man, died on the Cross and took the punishment we deserve fo our sin. Then, defeating death, He rose from the grave leading the way to new life.
“For he has rescued us from the kingdom (domain) of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.”
Colossians 1:13-14
We know we are poor by comparison to the riches that could be ours—think how much Adam and Eve had lost—life, freedom and access to God.
We sense the oppression of the fallen, dark world about us, brought about by Satans lies, and wonder if there could be a better way. Well there is.
We are rescued by believing in what Jesus achieved for us on the Cross—His life for yours—and then we turn from our sin and trust in Him for eternal life.
“It is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God… For “Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.”
Romans 10:10-13
What are you waiting for, your rescuer has already come, He paid the price for your freedom and is waiting for you to join Him. Time is short, call upon Him and be ready when He comes! I can hear the woka-woka double tap of the Chinook rotors as we speak…
Read how I was rescued…
My Story
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