I had a dream the other day. In the dream, I saw someone I know who is God's beloved, and he is being constantly "haunted" by a certain idol of his past. The idol would just appear wherever he went, even though he had wanted to move on and forget those past. So, in the dream, I saw him struggling. He was struggling to ward off the idol. But the dream ended well. Eventually, with the help of other godly people, they all caught hold of the idol and broke it into pieces. That beloved of God was then set free. There's a breaking free. There's a new found joy for him. There's a fresh new start for him.
The Lord then spoke:
"Whatever from the past that has been 'haunting' you, there's now a breaking free! This is the time for breaking free! Because I want you to embrace the new. The new and exciting things ahead of you. Receive the anointing to break free from the past that holds you back and ties you up. Receive the anointing to break free from whatever curse that has bound you all these while. This is the time to receive such anointing. No more shall you be bound. There's a release right now. Receive also the joy that comes from heaven!"
What is the meaning of 'to break free'? This can mean 'to escape from someone's hold'. In this case, someone you want to 'escape' from. This can mean 'to escape from the control of a person, group, or practice.' So, 'to break free' is 'to escape or to be released from such control.' 'To break free' can also mean 'to escape from whatever that bounds or imprisons you.'
For you, beloved, it may not be like that person in the dream. It may not be a certain idol. It may be a certain person in the past. Of course, that person may not even know it. But in your memory, that person has been 'haunting' you. Or it may be an incident in the past that keeps 'haunting' you. Whatever it may be, there's one thing in common that you have with that person in the dream. What is that? You just want to move on. You don't want to be bound and tied up anymore by those memories of the past. Now, it may even be someone you fell in love with in the past or in your younger days, but things didn't work out. And you want to move on from there.
So, different people different. Different people has different experience in life. Each of us has our own story in life. Today is the day of breaking free from those unpleasant memories. Receive the anointing by faith. I want to declare upon you, by faith, that you can now look ahead to the many new things, good things, ahead of you! Also, receive a new found joy and even new purpose in your life! The power of God is at hand right now to set you free, to cause you to break free, from whatever that has bound you!
Isaiah 61:1-2 (NKJV) says, 'The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn.'
Here, the prophet Isaiah spoke about Jesus, the Messiah. This has been fulfilled when Jesus came on earth. When He was in the synagogue in His hometown in Nazareth, He opened the scroll and read it, and said this has been fulfilled. That's in Luke chapter 4.
So, this anointing has come. And in Christ Jesus, you can receive too. Yes, the anointing to set you free! The anointing for you to break free from whatever that ties you up!
The word 'anoint' here is 'mashach' in Hebrew. It literally means 'to rub or sprinkle on with oil'. It can also mean 'to consecrate (or set apart) for the good works, for what's ahead of you'.
For example, the priests in the Old Testament were anointed with oil before they began to serve the Lord. The oil that was rubbed on the head of those priests were an outward representation of the real spiritual work that's going on inside of them. That's for the priests in the Old Testament. But for you in the New Covenant, it works the same. It is a sign of the Holy Spirit upon your life, that the power of God is at hand to set you free and to empower you for what's ahead of you!
If you look at Isaiah 61:1-2 just now, you'd see the word 'liberty'. The word 'liberty' here is 'deror' in Hebrew. It can mean 'to be free (from what bounds you), to move on (from the past), to clear away (from the past), to have a fresh new start'.
Isaiah 61:3 (NKJV) says, 'To console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.'
You see here? Exchanging ashes with beauty. Exchanging mourning with joy of the Lord. Exchanging spirit of heaviness with praise. Instead of ashes, you have beauty. Instead of mourning, you have the joy of the Lord. Yes, your mourning turned into dancing. Dance of joy! And instead of spirit of heaviness, whatever that burdens you, you begin to praise the Lord! Praising the Lord with the liberty in your spirit and soul! And the Lord is right now releasing the oil of joy from heaven upon you!
Those days, when people were in mourning, ashes would be put on the head. But now, the joy of the Lord is upon you! The oil of the Lord is put on your head instead!
Now, why 'ashes'? When something gets burned and turned into ashes, it cannot be physically restored anymore. It's hopeless. It's gone. It cannot be turned back to the original shape before it's being burned. But you know what? Here, the Lord is doing a miracle. The ashes turned into something of a beauty again! That's what He is doing in your life right now. Receive this by faith!
Isaiah 61:4 (NKJV) says, 'And they shall rebuild the old ruins, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the ruined cities, the desolation of many generations.'
Even though this chapter is specifically referring to Israel, but this applies to you too who is God's beloved. You can receive all these promises in Isaiah 61 as well.
God loves you, and He wants to restore and rebuild whatever in your life that has been ruined and broken down. So, this is your time for restoration and repair. No matter how deep the hurts may be, nothing is impossible for the Lord to repair and restore. Yes, repairing and restoring your life.
So right now, beloved, surrender your situation to the Lord. Surrender all those past that have been pulling you back and holding you back. Maybe you feel that you have been tied up. Maybe you feel that you cannot move ahead to embrace the new that the Lord has for you. The Lord is saying to you right now that there's hope for you. Today, you can be set free. Today, the anointing has been rubbed on you. You can break free to embrace the new that the Lord has for you! Hallelujah!
