Rise and Build the Old Ruins

Hey, this is Jim Graham from the Masculine Journey Podcast, where we explore relationship instead of religion every week. Your chosen Truth Network Podcast is starting in just a few seconds.

Enjoy it, share it, but most of all, thank you for listening and for choosing the Truth Podcast Network. This power set Michael Bowen free from the captivity, darkness, and hell of addiction and delivered him back to God. This is Jesus Breaks the Chains. Hello, and thank you for tuning into this podcast, which is a part of the Jesus Breaks the Chains series on Truth Network. I'm evangelist Michael Bowen, and I pray that the Lord blesses you greatly and you receive this word in love and in truth. This podcast is titled Rise and Build the Old Ruins, and I would like to open up this podcast with this prayer. This is a prayer against the spirit of destruction and desolation, which leads our lives into ruins.

And I will begin with this. Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus, I bind and cast out the spirit of Paul, Abaddon in the name of Jesus. I am redeemed from destruction and desolation. I break all curses of destruction in my family and bloodline in the name of Jesus Christ. I renounce all pride that would open the door for destruction, desolation, and ruin in my life. Rescue my soul, O God, from destruction. Send your word and deliver me from any destruction in my life. The destroyer, the devil, cannot come into my life or family in the name of Jesus Christ. The destroyer, Satan, the enemy of my soul, cannot destroy my prosperity or the prosperity of anyone listening to this prayer. Lord, we are delivered from destruction that wastes at noonday.

There is no wasting or destruction within our borders. We will enter in at the straight gate, and we will not walk in the path that leads to destruction in Jesus' mighty name. I bind the spirit of mammon that leads to destruction and desolation. We keep our mouths and avoid destruction. We hold our tongues, Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus.

We bind and rebuke the spirit of poverty that leads to destruction, desolation, and ruin. And we rebuke all destruction from our gates in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Hallelujah. What a wonderful prayer and a time for us to ask the Lord for help to keep us from destruction. The enemy of our souls comes to steal, kill, and destroy.

And we need to stay prayed up and be aware that we are under attack and that there are schemes and snares and traps set for us. But I'm just here to tell you that he that is in me is greater than he that is in the world. That Jesus in me is greater than the spirit of destruction in this world.

Hallelujah. And I'm going to start off with a with a main scripture for this message. But before I read the scripture, I want to set a scene for you. I'll be reading from Isaiah chapter 61. The theme of this chapter is the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the restoration of Zion as the people of God. The Jewish people have returned to Jerusalem from the captivity and exile of Babylonia.

King Cyrus of Persia has defeated the Babylonians and instituted a new policy. Instead of subjugating Jewish exiles, Cyrus allows them to return to Jerusalem and even provides funds to finance the rebuilding of the temple. But when the Jewish people return to their homeland, they find Jerusalem has been destroyed. The city is in ruins and there are only a few inhabitants that remain. They're anguishing in poverty and they're crying out to God from within the ruins. They're crying to God for help. I want to ask you, does this sound like some of us when we found ourselves and our lives destroyed and our life in ruins and we cried out to God for help? Well, it sounds like I'm very familiar with this because I was in a place like this before. It was back in 2013 and it was March of 2013, actually.

Well, May. In March is when I relapsed on crack cocaine. And for three months I was missing in the Austin City streets. But I found myself in prison for a second time and that's when I found my life was like this Jerusalem.

It was in ruins. My life was a total mess. I'd lost everything.

I'd abandoned my children and my family and friends had no idea where I disappeared. I'd relapsed once again on crack cocaine and found myself living out of my car, smoking crack, selling crack and hopping from one crack house to another, getting high because I could not face the reality. Of my broken drug addicted life, I was paying for my drugs by stealing all that I could from stores and people, anything I could get my hands on of any value. And I did this every day and I was getting tired and it was just driving me into a deeper darkness and more destruction. The longer I stayed out there on drugs in the streets and the more drugs I did, the more stealing that I did just caused so much destruction in my life.

And finally on May 19, 2013, I was arrested by the Austin City Police for six felony counts of theft and I was sent to prison for one year. I now refer to this day as the day I was captured by God. Now I want to go now to the scripture, the main scripture for this message and it's Isaiah 61, chapter 61, verses one through four, 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 visions of our God, to comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beautiful ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. And they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord that he may be glorified and they shall rebuild the old ruins.

They shall raise up the former desolations and they shall repair the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations. So verses one through three, it's where the prophet Isaiah introduces the king who will rule in the glorious kingdom. That king is the Messiah, King Jesus. And once Jesus read from this passage in the synagogue when he came, he said, this day, this scripture fulfilled in your ears. And I'll read from that account in Luke 4, 16 through 22. They're talking about Jesus here and it says, So he came to Nazareth where he had been brought up and as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read. And he was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, the spirit of the Lord is upon me. Now that's my Jesus, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor.

That's my Jesus. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted. I am Michael Bowen in that brokenhearted to proclaim liberty to the captives. I am the one who was captive and bound by heavy chains of sin, rebellion and addiction and the recovery of sight to the blind. I was blind and now I see and to set at liberty those who are oppressed. I was the oppressed one by the enemy and by the heavyweight of sin and shame and guilt to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.

That's my Jesus. Then he closed the book and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, today the scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. So all bore witness to him and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth.

Hallelujah. So in this, Jesus tells those in the Jewish synagogue that Isaiah was prophesying about him. And now that prophecy has been fulfilled. That prophecy also prophesied about you and me.

Everyone who's listening to this podcast right now, that's a prophecy for us. That Jesus had come to save us from our sins. He came to save the ones he loves. The sinner, the lost and the broken hearted.

You and me who have found ourselves at one point in our lives in ruins or maybe more than one time in our lives in destruction in ruins. He came for us. Hallelujah. This is my Jesus. He came to share the good news to those who have been brought down low. He came to save the sinner and to deliver those being held captive in the darkness of their sins.

You and me. Luke 5 31-32, Jesus answered and said to them, those who are well have no need of a physician. But those who are sick have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. We are all sinners. Hallelujah. And the wages of sin are death.

Every one of us has fallen into sin. Hallelujah. And Jesus is here to set us free. To call us to repentance.

Hallelujah. Mark 2 17, when Jesus heard it, he said to them, those who are well have no need of a physician. But those who are sick did not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. And then 1 Timothy 1 15-17, here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. Christ Jesus came in the world to save sinners of who I am the worst.

This is Paul talking about this. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. Now to the King, eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever ever. Amen. So it doesn't matter what you've done, what sins you've committed, it doesn't matter how many things I had stolen or all the sin and shame and the wickedness that caused that sin and shame in my life for the constant using of drugs and stealing.

Doesn't matter about all that. Jesus Christ has immense patience and he will meet you in your time of need no matter how bad it is. You've not done something so bad that Jesus will not save you. Hallelujah.

He loves you. He's calling for you. This is my Jesus. He came to put back together those who have been destroyed, broken and whose lives are in ruins. 1 Peter 5 10 says, and the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ after you have suffered a little while will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. What a promise that is after you have suffered a little while. So your current suffering right now, I'm telling you, brothers and sisters, friends of mine, I'm telling you right now what you're suffering right now in the destruction of your lives, in your loneliness, in your hurt, in your sin and shame, it's okay. It's okay, I'm telling you. It's okay because God promised you in Jesus Christ will restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

Your time has come now. Jesus came to break the chains of those who are bound by sin, rebellion and addiction. Those of us who are lost in the captivity, darkness and health of addiction.

And it doesn't just have to be addiction. It can be any type of sin that has you bound or in darkness or the shame of this life, things that you're doing that you know you're not supposed to be doing. Hallelujah. Psalm 107 10 through 17. And this is speaking to how the Lord delivered me out of that prison when I went to prison and I laid on my face on that prison chapel floor and I surrendered my life to Jesus Christ and he brought me up out of that darkness, he brought me up out of that sin and shame. Jesus broke the chains, hallelujah, of my addiction and of my sin. And this in Psalm 107 speaks right to this.

This is a picture of my time when I was in prison, when I got arrested, the day I was captured by God, when I was taken into that prison, Psalm 107 speaks of what happened while I was in that prison. Some sat in darkness and utter darkness, prisoners suffering in iron chains because they rebelled against God's commands and despised the plans of the most high. So he subjected them to bitter labor.

They stumbled and there was no one to help. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble and he saved them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness and broke away their chains. Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind for he breaks down gates of bronze and cuts through bars of iron. Some became fools through their rebellious ways and suffered affliction because of their iniquities.

They loathed all food and drew near the gates of death. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble and he saved them from their distress. He sent out his word and healed them.

He rescued them from the grave. Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind. Let them sacrifice thank offerings and tell of his works with songs of joy. Oh, how great our God is, hallelujah.

Oh, what a mighty God we serve. I offer thankfulness and I'm so grateful that the Lord met me in my destruction in my darkness on that prison chapel floor and he saved me. He broke my chains, hallelujah, once and for all.

This is my Jesus. He came to open the doors of the prisons in Acts 16, 25 through 26. He did the same for Paul and Silas, but at midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake so that the foundations of the prison were shaken and immediately all the doors were open and everyone's chains were loosed.

Hallelujah. Jesus came to set the captives free in him by his power, the resurrection power of Jesus Christ, hallelujah. John 836 says, therefore, if the son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. Oh, how the Lord set me free in that prison and I am free today and I've never returned to the captivity and darkness and hell of addiction since that day when I surrendered my life to Jesus Christ. You too can have a day like I had by surrendering your life to Jesus Christ.

Today is your day for freedom. Hallelujah. All it takes is to surrender your life to Jesus Christ. Go down on your face and pray to him and ask him for forgiveness of your sins.

Tell him you're tired and you don't want this world anymore. You're tired of the old flesh and the carnal mind and you want to be renewed and you want him to be your Lord and Savior and you confess him with your mouth and then you repent. Hallelujah of your sins, which you turn away from them and you believe in him that he is your Lord and Savior. Hallelujah. Jesus came to bring redemption to all of us and to usher in the grace of our God.

Titus 2 13 through 14 says this, while we wait for the blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. That is my Jesus. That is my God.

That is my King. This is who I now serve. I'm here to tell everyone that I don't serve a God who would send someone else to save me.

Hallelujah. In Isaiah 43 11, God says in his word, I, even I, am the Lord. And apart from me, there is no Savior. God is our Savior.

I serve a God who came himself in the flesh as the son, Jesus Christ. Jesus says, anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. He also says, I and the Father are one. I'm here to tell you, Jesus is God. He is the word who became flesh and dwelt among us. He is the only begotten of the Father. Jesus is called Emmanuel, or God with us.

Matthew 1 23 states this, the Virgin, who they're talking about Mary, will conceive and give birth to a son and they will call him Emmanuel, which means God with us. God came in the flesh to answer the cries of the brokenhearted and those who have become shipwrecked in their ruins of a sinful life. And in my case, it was the sins of the flesh of addiction, of rebellion, of fornication and of wickedness. Hallelujah.

And witchcraft and sorcery as is related with the drug culture I found myself lost in. Hallelujah. 1 Timothy 3 15 through 16, but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. And without controversy, great is the mystery of Godliness.

God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory. Isaiah 49 8 says, Thus says the Lord, in an acceptable time I have heard you. In the day of salvation I have helped you. I will preserve you and give you as a covenant to the people to restore the earth, to cause them to inherit the desolate heritage that you may say to the prisoners, go forth to those who are in darkness, show yourselves. This is my Jesus. We all have found ourselves in the ruins of our sins and in utter darkness at one time or more in our lives.

But I'm here to tell you, there's good news. John 1 4-5 says, In him was life, that's Jesus. In him was life, and the life was the light of men, and the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. Show yourselves now, brothers and sisters, friends of mine, in Jesus Christ.

Show yourselves now in Jesus Christ. In fact, all of you listening to this podcast right now, it is because of this darkness and destruction in my life that I'm here on this podcast. It's because of the darkness and destruction that tried to take my life to still kill and destroy me, hallelujah, that I'm here in victory right now because I cried out to Jesus, hallelujah. Mark 4 23 says, If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear. Do you have an ear today to hear what the Spirit is saying? Revelation 2 7 says, He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

Hear this right now. Isaiah 9 2 says, The people who walk in darkness have seen a great light. Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light is shined. Revelation 12 11, And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. I pray right now that you are covered, everyone listening to this podcast is covered from the top of your head to the soles of your feet by the precious blood of the Lamb right now, and that the Lord will bring forth your testimony that you can share with others that you will overcome the evil one. Hallelujah. Every one of you listening to this podcast has a testimony, that testimony and witness, along with the precious blood of Jesus Christ that was shed for you at Calvary is how you will overcome. You overcome every day by being a disciple of Jesus Christ and a witness.

Acts 1 8 says, But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witness to me in Jerusalem and all today in Samaria and to the end of the earth. Where is your end of the earth? Hallelujah. Is it the supermarket?

Is it your next door neighbor? Hallelujah. Who can you tell about Jesus once you've given your life to him and you have a testimony to share about the one who saved your soul and brought you out of the utter darkness, who brought you out of destruction, who brought you out of a ruined life and made you whole once again?

Hallelujah. Acts 1 8, we talked about receiving the power. How do you receive power? You receive power by being filled with the Holy Spirit. Peter told the Jews on the day of Pentecost when they asked how they could receive the Holy Spirit and his power. Acts 2 37 38 says, Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said to them, Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the mission of your sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Now, if that was good enough for Peter and everyone who gave their lives to Jesus on the day of Pentecost, over 3000 souls that day, then it's good enough for me.

I am all in. Hallelujah. I encourage everyone who's listening to this podcast. If you've not already done this, I ask you to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior as I did on that prison chapel floor and believe upon his name and give your life to him and be born again. I ask you to confess Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and repent of your sins, which means to turn away from them. Then I ask you to be baptized for the mission or forgiveness of those sins and be filled with the Holy Spirit, which is your promise from God.

This is what I did. And I'm just here to share with you what I did, what worked for me. Hallelujah. If it worked for this man right here speaking to you, if it worked for me, then it'll work for you. If God did it for me, he will do it for you. Hallelujah.

Hallelujah. I'm going to read this scripture to you one more time. From Isaiah six, one through four, 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 visions of our God, to comfort all who mourn, 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 and they shall rebuild the old ruins.

They shall raise up the form of desolations and they shall repair the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations. All of these things in Isaiah 61 verses one through four were fulfilled, were fulfilled in Jesus Christ. That's why he said that when he was in the synagogue, that the scripture had been fulfilled when he read that in the, in the, in the synagogue, he did set the captives free. Jesus did preach the good news of the gospel. Jesus did all the things mentioned in verses one through four.

Jesus, the only begotten son of the father and the word that became flesh was sanctified long before he was even conceived in the womb of Mary. He came to set the captives free and liberate the sinner from death and destruction. He came to rebuild and make new that which had been lost and destroyed by the world and the sin of it. This scripture in Isaiah says they shall rebuild the old ruins. God loves to restore old ruins and make them new. He also wants to use his people, his faithful disciples, disciples and followers to restore and rebuild things that are broken down and ruined. He does this by the empowerment of the Holy Spirit and through the ministry of the Messiah.

Jesus Christ. God says his people will be rebuilders. They will be creators. Hallelujah.

The scripture, Isaiah 61 also says they shall be called trees of righteousness. That is you and me when we have been reborn in Jesus Christ and filled with his Holy Spirit. I want to tell you, I love you all. And I pray that you too can find the freedom that I've found in Jesus Christ. Jesus breaks the chains and restores lives that have been made in ruins. He is my Lord and Savior and the master builder of my life. My life is built upon the foundation, the sheer foundation, which is his love. Hallelujah. Which he displayed on the cross when he gave his life for us so we could live in him and that we could be restored.

This is the greatest life I've ever lived, living my life in Jesus Christ. God bless you all. God bless you all. In Jesus name I pray. Amen. Thank you for listening. For more information on Michael Bowen's ministry, Sons and Daughters of Thunder, visit sonsanddaughtersofthunder.org. And remember, there is no addiction in Jesus Christ. Jesus breaks the chains. This is the Truth Network.