701 Take the Shackles Off

Back in 1999 I jammed out to my very first Christian song. Up until this point every “Jesus song” was out of a hymnal. Then came along Mary Mary with “Shackles.” Does anyone else remember this song? https://youtu.be/V7eZD3TKn_M Take the shackles off my feet so I can dance I just want to praise you (What ya want to do?) I just want to praise you (Yeah, yeah) You broke the chains now I can lift my hands And I’m gonna praise you (What ya gon do?) I’m gonna praise you Shackles are chains of bondage. Is there something holding you back, keeping you from living in full freedom? What’s keeping you from your true potential? This is your shackle. It is your prison where you are stuck living a smaller life than you were ever created for. Shackles look different for each of us. For some it is an addiction or bad habit. A weakness. Or perhaps your shackle is worry, a setback or failure that has you behind bars, a doubt or fear that serves as your prison restraining you in a place where you are stuck. Yesterday I had a conversation with a dear friend and she shared with me she has no willpower. That’s a shackle. For me my shackle was once materialism and laziness. I was seeking the easy way and more stuff, and it was holding me back from fully living the life I was created for. What’s yours? As a child of God you have been saved for all of eternity, but here’s what most of us miss … salvation isn’t just for the moment you stand before God to be judged and are welcomed into an eternity in heaven. I mean, that’s awesome. Kinda blows my mind thinking about when my moment in time comes. But remember this, salvation is for right now too. As a child of God and follower of Jesus, you have been saved right now. This very moment salvation is yours. What are you being saved from? Your shackles. Saved from living on Earth stuck in bondage. Your chains have been broken and you have been set free. This is what Jesus did for you. Scripture shares stories of God breaking chains. Spiritual chains and literal chains behind the bars of a prison. And this is what he wants to do for you today too. Peter was in prision, bound by two chains between two soldiers. In Acts 12: 7 it says “Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.” Can’t you hear God saying to you this morning, “Quick, get up!” Get up from the mess you’ve been wallowing in. Get up from where you fell down. Get up from where you’ve been laying low and hiding out. Get up from where you have been stuck. Quick get up. And just as when Peter got up and the chains fell off his wrists, so will yours. You don’t have to live one more day in those shackles. Not when the price has already been paid for your freedom. Don’t you know Jesus is a chain breaker, a prison shaker, a freedom seeker and redemption giver? Rise up, your shackles are no more. Jesus has broken every chain. I declare victory over everything that has held you back. Just because it held you back yesterday doesn’t mean it has to hold you back today. Quick, get up … and after you get up, those chains will fall. But first, you gotta get up. Pick yourself up and claim your victory. Jesus destroys every stronghold. His power working in your life can break them all. Your bad habit, laziness, worry, negativity, lack of willpower or focus, that is a shackle. God wants to take that shackle off your feet so you can dance. He wants to break the chains so you can lift your hands. AND HE CAN. He has that power. Maybe everything in your life tells you it will never happen for you. You believe you’ve always struggled with it,