I have a very vivid imagination, imagine with me that all the churches in the developed world are prisons and are owned and operated by the same prison warden. We would have in essence one great big beautiful prison system, at least in the eyes of the warden. Why on earth would we want to call our beautiful Church’s prisons? I think for some of you it is because you can’t stand to be in them, my two grandsons are prime examples, they hate church. I hated church too when I was a kid, it was a Lutheran church and there was nothing about going to church that I liked, I simply hated it. Hated it! I think one hour in a jail cell would have been preferable.

But I am not talking about those who for one reason or another don’t want to go to church, I am talking about us, you know, those of us who attend regularly. And really, it is not like a prison, it is our church home, it is where we meet new friends and socialize with our old friends. There is various church activities we go to, there is the worship time which is way cool in some churches. Various events, fun activities, meaningful worship, good preaching, in short, church is great!

But then when the service is over we go home. Home is where we face problems. Some big, some small. Wife, husband, kids, neighbors, work (yuk). And if that isn’t enough there is the nagging sin problem that we just can’t get a handle on. Why can’t I stop sinning this one sin? Why? I feel so dirty and it seems to have a hold on me, like I am its prisoner.

That’s is what I am getting at. And you are not alone. You and everybody else in your church, almost. Almost but not all, remember that. And that is not all either, it is the same in every church in the developed world. So that is why I call it one great big beautiful prison. Only it is not beautiful, it is beautiful only in the eyes of the warden, Satan himself.

You see, it is the nature of sin to enslave us. Jesus said whoever sins is a slave to sin so yeah, you can’t stop because you are enslaved, you are in some kind of internal or spiritual prison, not a physical one, a spiritual one. You understand right? Do you get the scope of the problem? What is being done about it? I will tell you, nothing! We are imprisoned by our arch enemy Satan, almost all of us in some kind of spiritual internment camp like something you would see in a Steven Spielburg movie, barbed wire and guards and crappy food and all.

 What is Jesus going to do when He comes back? Paul said in 1Corinthians 4:21 “What will ye? Shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of gentleness?” Is it possible that when Jesus comes back that He will take a rod to the churches that are unsanctified? I don’t know, I am just asking the question. Like I said at the beginning, I have a vivid imagination, for instance have you ever imagined the church’s to be liken to an archipelago of prisons spanning the whole developed world?

You have to admit there is a thread of truth in it. So what to do? I know what I want to do, I want everybody to read my post and heed my warnings, I know there is freedom from this awful prison we find ourselves in but I can’t get anyone to listen to me. In order to get out of the prison of sin we are going to have to fight. Fight like hell! (Can I say that?) We have all seen prison break movies, it always took a great deal of effort and ingenuity and we always imagined that if we were there we would be one of the ones who managed to escape.

And let us not forget our Champion, Jesus Christ the blessed and only Potentate, King of Kings and Lord of Lords who happens to be on our side and is dwelling in our midst, heck he is dwelling right inside of us. We have an ace in the hole. We have a way out. We have someone on our side who is greater than the one who has imprisoned us. We can escape. We just have to figure it out how to engage the latent power that resides within us. I know something about Jesus, He will remain in “standby mode” inside your heart until you call on Him for help. He is waiting, he is your rescuer and your deliverer. Don’t you read the Psalms? That is all David talks about.

Engage the Power and you will be just fine. I have, and I escaped the power of sin and if I can then so can you, there is nothing special about me and besides think about it, do you really think it matters to Jesus who you are? He loves weak, puny disciples so you are right up His alley.

May the Lord bless you and keep you, may he lift up his face upon you and be gracious unto you, may he lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.