Are you window shopping? Is that a good thing or bad? We’re about to find out.

Let me lay some groundwork first. In Luke 4:18-19, Jesus quoted Isaiah when talking about Himself. One of the things He announced was that He was anointed “to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

The acceptable year of the Lord describes Jubilee. Jubilee was supposed to happen every 50 years. Every slave was to be set free, every debt was to be taken care of, everything that would be held against them would be brought back; people who had sold their land would be able to go back and recover it.

This was God’s plan to keep people from being constantly in debt, and to keep families from being crushed by poverty. There would always be an equality that people would see.

I checked through the Bible and can’t find a single time when Jubilee was done. Why? Because people didn’t yield themselves to God’s plan and character. Today in the Church, I believe God is declaring Jubilee to many people and yet they’re still struggling with things because they can’t believe it. It seems too good to be true.

Yet, we have a God Who cares about us so intensely that He wants us to have the kind of Jubilee life.

The acceptable year of the Lord is the year of God’s favor; Jesus became our Jubilee. The good news is that it’s not something we celebrate every 50 years; it’s something we can celebrate every day!

When Jesus came to earth, He said He was going to leave us with One Who is like Him. That’s the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit operates like Jesus, talks like Jesus and bears witness of what Jesus did by doing the same thing.  That’s something some overlook in their lives. We have the Holy Spirit inside of us. 2 Corinthians 3:17 reminds us, wherever the Holy Spirit is Lord, there is freedom.

We make Jesus Lord and He sent One Who is just like Him to live inside us. We need to make the Holy Spirit Lord over our lives; He wants the opportunity to have action that produces change in us, to see ourselves through different eyes, no longer bound by what WAS but able to see what CAN BE.

He’s wanting to do this now so He can prove Himself faithful to a generation who may have never experienced Jubilee. He’s saying, “I AM YOUR JUBILEE! I’m making Myself known to you and revealing Myself in you. I want you to experience how good God is.”

The problem comes when we keep looking at ourselves rather than the One Who has made us free. How pitiful are our excuses and not realizing He has made us free! Instead, we look at what people have said about us. Do we give what people say about us more weight than what God says about us? GOD has said you are healed, prosperous and made new!

We keep on looking for something to happen when it’s already happened. That’s window shopping.

Window Shopping

“17 The Lord and the Spirit are one; His Lordship sanctions our freedom, a freedom from rules chiseled in stone to the voice of our redeemed design echoing in our hearts! 18 Now we all, with new understanding, see ourselves in Him as a mirror. The days of window shopping are over! In Him every face is unveiled. In gazing with wonder at the blueprint of God displayed in human form, we suddenly realize that we are looking into a mirror where every feature of His image, articulated in Christ, is reflected within us! The Spirit of the Lord engineers this radical transformation; we are led from an inferior mindset to the revealed endorsement of our authentic identity.” – 2 CORINTHIANS 3:17-18 (MIRROR)

The Holy Spirit sanctions (provides) our freedom. We need to listen and respond. “Echoing in our hearts” is talking about the inward voice of the Holy Spirit speaking to us. The problem is that God has got a plan that some haven’t chosen to recognize yet.  But imagine what it would be like if you were in Jubilee, everything restored to you!

This scripture talks about a mirror. Jesus is our mirror; when we look at Him, we should see ourselves. And we CAN see ourselves rightly if we simply believe what He says about us more than what the world says about us.

The days of window shopping are over. God’s provision is something you don’t have to purchase; it’s already been given to you!

What would happen if you went to a car dealership and the salesman told you, “It’s free”? You’d take it! God has a better plan for you than what the world says, but you have to stop the window shopping and receive it.

Many people feel comfortable about window shopping because there’s no cost to them. But if that’s all you do, you never have anything. God intended for us to get past how we think about ourselves and look at the promises of God as though it’s beyond OUR ABILITY to gain. We see that all of God’s promises in Christ are Yes and Amen (2 CORINTHIANS 1:20), but we can’t be saying, “maybe…if I do it right., He might let me.” That kind of thinking keeps you in a window shopping mode where you never really obtain what He has given.

The Days of Window Shopping are Over

Stop the window shopping. Start accepting that things have been provided in Jesus and believe it with all your heart. I don’t care how bad your past has been or how many mistakes you’ve made, because what God says about you is greater! Have FAITH in Jesus’ name, what He has done!

Jesus’ name represents the true action of what He has done. When you say “Jesus”, you should think healing, you should think savior, you should think peacemaker, you should think provider. That’s Who He is! What He said He would do, He’s done. Keep yourself set on that. Pretty simple stuff, yes?

It gets even simpler as we begin to trust Him more and more.

DON’T GO WINDOW SHOPPING FOR YOUR IDENTITY – IT HAS ALREADY BEEN GIVEN TO YOU!

It’s such a tragedy that Christians are trying to find their identity. They say they just want to know who they are. Who are you? You’re a new creature; you’ve been made new. You’re an ambassador. You are one who follows after Jesus Christ. You are a child of God! All of that is your identity.

Do you realize what a challenge it is to the church to get people to actually believe that what God has given is theirs? It’s like trying to convince people that they have money in their pocket. They know they have money in their pocket; but somehow, they’ve convinced themselves to believe that it’s just not enough.

Everything they need HAS been provided to them.

“18 Jesus approached and, breaking the silence, said to them, ‘All authority (all power of rule) in heaven and on earth has been give to Me. 19 Go then and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,’” – MATTHEW 28:18-19 (AMPC)

DON’T GO WINDOW SHOPPING FOR POWER. YOU HAVE AUTHORITY!

One of the best examples of authority came on an Easter Sunday at our church. A semi-truck was illegally parked on the street by the sanctuary, and the driver was constantly revving his engine loudly, disrupting the service.

I was about to go out to confront the driver (I admit I was getting angry), but Shirley, a police officer who attends, said, “I’ve got this, Pastor.” Mind you, she went out to the truck dressed in all her Easter finery – pink dress, big pink hat, pink shoes. She told the driver, “You shut that off.” He replied, “Who are you?” “I’m the police officer that’s about ready to write you $400 worth of tickets.” She showed her badge, her gun, and her ticket book. Immediately, he shut off the semi. “You keep that engine turned off until this church is empty…you shouldn’t even be parked here.”

Shirley handled the situation based on her AUTHORITY.

When we get into a place of being power-hungry, we end up with Christians who are trying to dominate somebody rather than simply using their authority to stay at peace in a situation where there is no peace. Our authority is given us to use to help make disciples. Our authority is given so we’re able to accomplish things that in our ability we might not be as good as we want to be. Yet, when we have faith in Jesus’ name, we see GOD’S POWER manifested. Your authority will help manifest God’s power. You don’t need your power; you need to operate in your authority! It’s already been provided you.

You’re not having to gain power; you’re not having to hold your mouth just right so miracles will come to pass. All you have to do is remember is that you’ve been given authority!

Knowing you have been given authority should give you confidence when you face something that you don’t want to face.

“Many evils confront the [consistently] righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.” – PSALMS 34:19 (AMPC)

To watch the July 24, 2022 service on which this post is based, CLICK HERE.
It’s part of our There is Freedom series.