Unleashed

The title of this post is inspired by a movie called Unleashed. The protagonist, Danny, grows up with a cruel uncle who makes money out of him by raising him to be a bull fighter. The uncle put a leash around Danny’s neck who was conditioned that as soon as it was taken off he had to fight ruthlessly. From being a toddler Danny grows up as a nervous wreck possessing animal like qualities as he constantly hears that he’ll never be anything but a dog and he’ll never escape who he is. Towards the end of the movie the uncle says, “You’ll never escape what I made you!” Unbeknownst to him, Danny grew up in a warm environment with a gracious mother who loved him dearly. He fumbled upon this information by the help of a man and his daughter who took him in their home. He was completely accepted by this family, patiently taught to relate to humans and was not disgraced for what life had made him. After removing the leash from Danny’s neck, the daughter said to him, “Everything is new about you now!” Life doesn’t go as smoothly for Danny as he probably thought it would, as on a particular day he is confronted with someone from his previous life who takes him back to his uncle. There he faces a war between the programming of his mind by someone who conditioned him to believe less of himself and the new life he had begun to experience. With determination he prevails and chooses the latter. With this introduction you can already predict the message of this post: redemption.

For most human beings life has been a very cold place that hardened their hearts, deflated their hope, stolen their joy, hidden their purpose, and enslaved them in chains of addiction and stagnancy. It’s even more terrifying for the born again Christian who’s had heavenly experiences yet finds himself stagnant, addicted, purposelessness, prayerlessness due to demonic oppression. Saved from a life of sin, he finds himself only enslaved by the same things he was saved from. Do not take lightly what Jesus said in John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life- and have it to the full!” Just like Danny, the enemy will not rest until he has used us for his own purposes only to completely destroy us. For us the enemy of our soul is not just a fictional character but a devil who prowls around like a lion looking for someone to devour(1Peter5:8).

Danny was able to resist the pressure of going back to the life he was conditioned to live because he had experienced the familiarity of being completely loved and accepted. In our original state God created us to rule and mostly fellowship with Him. When walking through the drought of uncertainty with unsaved souls, our weary and dry hearts thirsts for the quenching of the Spirit of God. We are plagued by a void that can only be filled by Jesus and He constantly offers us the gift of redemption by the truth of His sacrifice on the cross. Jesus loves us with no agenda; but because we feel so undeserving of such tremendous love we fail to receive it. All we know is that we are dogs, useless, fornicators, drunkards – we have been conditioned to normalize sin. Jesus challenges us to break free from what we have been taught and he offers us redemption by restoring us back to God by His precious blood.

We are not really thankful enough for the Blood of Jesus! Or do we not believe that His sacrifice is true? Hence we find ourselves trying to maintain God’s salvation to us by good works and externals. Hence Christianity is something we know about but fail to experience. Hence we get so discouraged and not resist the devil when he fights to remove us from our place of security. Last night I had a dream. In the dream I was tempted to watch pornography. Turning and tossing in my bed I was disturbed by the fact that I was enticed by thinking about the pleasure I could experience by indulging. Before I even opened my eyes in the morning a thought of “I’m not proud of myself” kept lingering in my mind. I noticed this was an attack to make me doubt my position in Christ so I got up and uttered, “I am proud of myself for getting up and of You Lord for always making a way for me when I am tempted.” Throughout the morning I was discouraged believing that I was meant for a life of sexual immorality regardless of the spiritual highs I might experience at some stages; my eyes still widen and my curiosity still get aroused by the thought of it. I recalled one of Derek Prince’s sermons where he said, “In order for us to experience deliverance we have to hate sin with complete hatred.” The Psalmist said in chapter 139:21-22, “Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord..” (Mind you he wasn’t talking about other human beings, well maybe the spirit in them that causes His children to sin, but we should never hate another human being) “…and abhor those who stand up against you? I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies.” The antidote for fear of giving in to pornography or any kind of illicit sex is to hate it with total hatred and consider it as God’s enemy.

We have been redeemed by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and His blood He shed for us. Personally as an avid reader knowledge tends to fail me, only when I meditate upon the truth of Jesus do I move from glory to glory. The devil would want me to believe that I wasn’t meant for a victorious life by continuously compelling and enticing me with memories from my old life. I don’t make it easier on myself when I allow worldly factors to influence me. This means I have to guard jealously the gift of salvation which God has entrusted me with by being extremely cautious of what I engage with my senses. It means the basis of being saved should not be what I can get out of it, but what God can as I surrender myself to His greater purpose. I have been unleashed from the chains of sin that have been keeping me from progressing in my spiritual walk with my Redeemer.

I pray that you are also challenged to live a life of repentance knowing that you have been redeemed by Jesus. It’s not always going to be a smooth ride but with the Word of God you will prevail. They pulled out His beard, bruised His face, scarred His back, and nailed Him on the cross all for your redemption. He makes all things new! The struggle to actually experience a life of victory due to the conditioning of the mind and the tendency to return to what’s familiar should be a problem of the past. We have a loving Father who teaches us a new way of life: He is not ashamed of us or embarrassed by our scars. He places us in a loving Home; His Church, so that we can learn through imitation and exposure. We are unleashed to walk into the destiny that God has purposed for us!