It may possibly be the most ancient question to cross the lips of humankind. And here, within our present day world, it should be the foremost question for us, as well.
“Who am I?”
Every person should stop and ask themselves this question. Because it must be answered.
Few of us fully understand who we really are—or even why we are experiencing this life on planet earth. This crucial information—and how we choose to respond to it—means the difference between obtaining our freedom, or remaining a prisoner.
Those without freedom are prisoners of the world system.
What is this world system we live within? And why does it exist? It is a failed paradise—once destined to be completely God’s—but now filled with fallen lives and stolen destinies. Age old in its existence, it stems directly from man’s desire to be independent of his Creator.
It goes back to the Garden of Eden, where the first of mankind were tempted to betray God’s trust—to disobey His words of warning, and to side with the enemy—opposing God. Sin and suffering followed, along with the slavery of the entire human race.
Until, one day—the only One worthy, in ultimate authority, would make the way possible. Any and all who come to Him are set free.
Of course, this One is Christ Jesus—the only One ever qualified to free humankind from sin’s destructive bondage. All who come and receive His pardon from sin are set free—to follow Him out of those dark corridors of the past, into His marvelous light.
Every one who does not come to Christ must remain within a “holding cell” of darkness and disobedience. Billions of people, rejecting Christ—each held in their own individual “holding cells”—effectively making the world system a vast, spiritual prison system.
All live here within this prison system—detained here together, and held against our wills—until it is determined by God Himself what our futures should be.
Discovering who we are, and who we were meant to be, is the crucial factor. It is the truth—and how we choose to receive that truth will either bring about our release, or cause us to remain in this labyrinth of eternal confusion and confinement.
So let’s talk about the truth.
Born Into Captivity
As soon as we came out of the womb, each one of us were born into captivity. We were never free. We all have always existed within this world system—this prison system—because of sin. Since the beginning of creation, freedom is no longer a normal occurrence solely based upon authority from God.
“As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10)
“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:23-24)
Freedom is now something that must be fought for. Contended for. Freedom must be something to die for.
We may be able to resist the world system, but we can never beat the system. We remain confined by our sinful, fallen nature, and imprisoned by the unrepentant heart within us. So most of us choose to work the system. After all, in prison life, working the system is a normal survival skill.
For many of us, attempting to “blend in” without creating any confrontations is the answer. This works well, in theory. But it doesn’t work very well, for very long. Because like a schoolyard pecking order, the prison yard can be much the same. The bullies always plan to win. They don’t mind hurting others—in fact, they usually enjoy it. Those who run are targeted as weak, and brutally chased.
Life demands that we stand and face our foes. And this is even more important for us, as Christians.
In a greater sense, all and every one of us are in this prison yard of Sin together. But the moment a person comes to Christ Jesus, they have suddenly diverged off the course of the many, and quickly find themselves in direct opposition to the world around them.
Christian: the world now views you as the enemy.
Jesus said,
“If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.” (John 15:18-19)
We still live in the world, but we discover a whole new world within this world—a whole new freedom among these prison walls. And if we continue to listen—and hear that voice of God’s Holy Spirit within us—we eventually understand God’s design and purpose for our lives.
We begin to realize that we are here within the labyrinth—but we are not of it.
The Chain Gang Effect
It’s a good reminder that the world we dwell in is one of captivity, and not true freedom. Within the world system, there has long been an unspoken philosophy that whomever is able to raise himself above the rest of the crowd will gain more freedom. Their temporary “pass” is to become a “prison trustee.” The idea is to gain recognition or status, and by it gain wealth—and with that wealth and status, gain power.
There are earthly benefits in worldly gains. But it also creates its own set of problems.
“Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” (James 4:4)
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. (James 4:7-8)
To be friends with the world is “enmity” (hostility) with God. Buddying up to the world may make them seem more receptive to us, but it also alienates us from the One True One—who has the power to open prison doors and to loose us from the bonds of the prison mentality.
You would think that everyone would want to be friends with the One who holds the keys. But a lot of prisoners are willing to give most anything for this high and mighty sense of freedom.
It is a false freedom, and it is all so temporary. But like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a simple bowl of stew (Genesis 25:29)—people actually don’t mind giving up their soul. It is viewed with little importance—if they believe that it even exists.
For this reason, they tend to serve their own inner appetites, rather than some mystical God. They won’t even mind living like the devil. After all, can the devil really be viewed as a threat, if he is believed to be some comical, cartoon character in a bright red suit? But the Bible describes him as a “prince,” who has the power to do his destructive work in the lives of those disobedient to God:
“Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.” (Ephesians 2:2-3)
Thankfully, through the Lord Jesus Christ, we have escaped such lives of defiance and disobedience. But countless others have not. And the prison population grows volatile. They grow increasingly more vocal—demanding their changes and “prison reform.”
They want to be in control. And they demand that certain ones among them—those of us who enjoy that Godly peace which goes beyond our own understanding—be limited, be less, and be silenced.
Thus, a “chain gang” effect takes place. Like prisoners in an old fashioned road work gang, they are bound together—by the chains of their sins, their lusts for evil and their constant hunger for more. In turn, their darkness breeds more darkness, as they feed off of one another. In fact, they become dependent on one another for acceptance, approval and validation.
This is why the world system loves itself. We might even say that it’s in love with itself.
In the chain gang effect, the movements that one makes will affect many others. This is the contagion of the prisoner mentality. This is death at work, within the unrepentant soul.
What are we Christians able to do among such a prison population of angry confusion?
We might continue to hide out. Maybe they won’t notice us, as we quietly cower within ourselves. But it’s more likely that they will feel even more empowered by our silence.
Sooner or later, we must learn how to face the tide that has turned against us. Still, we should not be fearful.
The One who holds the keys is fully aware of all that goes on, and is fully in charge of the prison yard.
Our World as a Prison Ministry
So before we feel completely defeated, let’s consider what this world system we are temporarily stuck in is really about. We will approach this from our Heavenly Father’s point of view.
Is God wringing his hands in frustration over the current status of our world? Is He confused? Is He overwhelmed in any way? No my friend—that may be us at times, but that isn’t God.
Our God is in perfect control, and at perfect rest. Of all of the billions on planet earth, He knows all who are truly His. And He knows where to find each and every one—at every moment, of every day, of every lifetime. No—He’s not worried. And He is also not willing that a single one of us should perish.
And that is where we born again, blood-bought Christians come in. We are the light of this world. We are the people of His Kingdom, right here—in the middle of this great unrest. We just happen to know the Prince of Peace, personally. And He said,
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” (Luke 4:18-19)
In Christ’s day, the Holy Spirit had not yet poured out in His fullness upon all flesh. But that soon changed. Today, we—having the same Heavenly Father as Jesus, and the same anointing of the Holy Spirit—can boldly proclaim, “The spirit is now upon us, His church. To preach to the poor. To heal the brokenhearted.
To proclaim deliverance to the captives, sight for the blind, and liberty for the bruised. To preach the good news, and be peacemakers, within this world of prison walls.
You see, from God’s point of view—the whole world is one big prison ministry.
You and I aren’t in the middle of this mess of mass confusion for no good reason! We have the truth within these jars of clay. His righteousness abides within us, and His plans and purposes are all over us. So when we see the chaos mounting all around, we don’t need to worry about our own escape plan. Our Lord knows how long we are needed here.
Yes, it is distressing to watch our world winding down, and witness the suffering of humanity. Believe me, He won’t keep us in the prison yard one single day day beyond our calling. But He won’t keep us here one day less, either. As we rub shoulders with the rest of the inmates—spreading the love and life of Jesus Christ—we are just too valuable here.
Friend, this prison ministry is very understaffed.
“Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.” (Luke 10:2)
The world is a vast, ripe harvest field all around us—and we are called to “go,” and help harvest it. Harvesting sounds like hard work. It’s certainly not my idea of fun. But apparently, it is God’s idea for harvest, and His plans are always the right plans.
Along our way we might meet some opposition. They may be skeptics, or mockers, or even haters. But some of them are secretly hoping to hear the truth. God knows every searching heart. So we cannot judge every book simply by its “cover.”
Now, what if someone like you or like me, died for them—right in front of them? This is what Jesus did for the whole world.
And this is what we do—when we give our lives away, for others.
We know a young woman at church who was recently called by God to be involved in the local women’s prison ministry. At first, she said “no.” Can we really blame her? What an overwhelming assignment—especially if you don’t feel qualified.
Finally, she was able to die to her own ideas of purpose, and become alive for His purposes. She said “yes,” and at that moment, the wheels of God’s purposes began to turn. She now ministers to hundreds of prison women, as many eagerly come to find their Savior and Lord. We are so proud of our friend for saying “yes” to the Lord of the Harvest.
Will you “die” for someone else’s freedom? Will you say “yes” to the Lord of the Harvest?
Just Who Do You Think You Are?
It seems to never fail. Most every time my heart has purposed to do something for the Lord, it comes. This little voice of accusation in the back of my head—each time I step out in faith to believe for things beyond myself. It always asks the same question.
“Just who do you think you are?”
Some time ago, the question became a valid one. Determined to know God’s purpose for my life, I began to ask myself, “Who do I think I am?” From there, the question turned into, “Who does God think I am?”
After all, His opinion of me is the one that really matters.
I’m sure the enemy was not pleased, as I turned the very question he had meant for harmful doubt into a search for truth—and the discovery of my positive position of authority in Christ Jesus. Because that is truly who we are in Christ.
“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)
Do you sense the power in these verses? Think about the authority that we have—we are indwelt and emboldened by the Spirit of the Living God!
It hangs in the air above the crowds of the prison yard, like an unseen sword. Grasp it. Use it. It is yours.
It is the purposes of God!
Nothing can stand against it. Nothing. No accusation from our enemy. No stronghold of evil. No vain imaginations. We cast them down. The Spirit within us destroys every lie.
The labyrinth of prison cells are a dark and dangerous place—and the loneliest of places. The prisoners so desperately need to see and feel the light and life—that’s within you.
Share it.
And dare the enemies of God to stop its going forth. They can’t.
God’s word doesn’t return again empty, but it goes out and accomplishes everything it was sent forth to do. Believe in this prison ministry, and believe that you are part of this process.
Knowing who you really are—and trusting that you can become a viable weapon in God’s own hands—is a powerful thing. But it actually has nothing to do with you, because it doesn’t rely on fleshly might.
It is Spirit, and it is mighty to save. It brings into captivity every thought, and opens the way for God to inhabit that mind and that heart which opens to Him.
That is what we are doing when we give ourselves completely to our Lord, in service to His throne—to accomplish all that He has joyfully and lovingly set before us to do.
Let’s do it.
Knowing Him—truly knowing Him, in Spirit and in truth—will be our ministry credentials. Without knowing Him, His marvelous and mighty ways are past finding out:
O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counseller? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.” (Romans 11:33-36)
All things are of Him. All things are through Him. And all things are to Him. To Him be the glory.
So may we be so confident and bold to say,
“Lord, here am I. Send me.”