Good morning. I am Rev. Roger Smith, an ordained minister through Midwest Bible College out of Milwaukee, WI. I am the founder of The Builders Ministry, which was established to encourage, strengthen, and build up the body of Christ and to heal the brokenhearted.
Today, I want to share a message of hope, freedom, and restoration through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Let us begin with Book of Isaiah 61:1–3:
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.
The prophet Isaiah is prophesying about Jesus as the coming Messiah. This prophecy is fulfilled and recorded in the Gospel of Luke when Jesus stood in the synagogue in Nazareth.
In Luke 4:18–19, Jesus read:
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
After reading this scripture, Jesus sat down and declared:
“Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:21)
In other words, Jesus was saying: I AM the Messiah. I am the Son of God.
The Spirit of the Lord was upon Him. He was anointed, qualified, and commissioned to preach the gospel.
But do you realize something powerful? The Lord has also qualified each one of us to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ in our daily lives—by being living examples of Him.
Are you living like Jesus?
Are you walking in humility?
We are called to proclaim the good news to the meek, the humble, the poor, and the afflicted. We are called to bring liberty and freedom from the heavy burdens of guilt, shame, and condemnation of sin.
Jesus has sent us to bind up the wounds of the brokenhearted—those suffering from depression, anxiety, fear, worry, bitterness, stress, anger, envy, jealousy, and all sorts of sickness.
I know personally what it is like to be set free from the heavy weight of depression. Jesus has set me free from 56 years of depression. I have not had one moment of depression in the last 3½ years. Glory to God!
He has sent us to proclaim freedom and release from confinement and condemnation to both physical and spiritual captives. Isaiah 49:9 says:
“To say to the captives, ‘Come out,’ and to those in darkness, ‘Be free!’”
Jesus releases prisoners—not only those behind literal bars, but those imprisoned in their minds and emotions, filled with guilt, condemnation, and bitterness.
Psalm 147:3 tells us:
“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”
Jesus knows our broken hearts. He understands the crushing weight of trials—cancer, depression, loneliness, the aching loss of a loved one, divorce, rejection by a friend, and all kinds of sickness.
In Book of Isaiah 42:1–9, we see Jesus described as God’s chosen servant who will bring justice.
“Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations. He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his teaching the islands will put their hope.”
This is what God the Lord says— the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it:
“I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.
“I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols. See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you.”
Jesus, in His empathy, does not crush or bruise those who are already broken. He does not extinguish those who are weak or downcast from emotional or physical suffering.
Psalm 34:6 declares:
“This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; He saved him out of all his troubles.”
A person who is poor in spirit—one struggling with life’s pains—who calls upon and depends on the Lord will be delivered. Sometimes we walk through suffering before deliverance comes. But Jesus is right beside you, walking with you, holding your hand through the pain.
Jesus takes our pain if we let Him.
Isaiah 53:4–5 says:
“Surely He took our pain and bore our suffering… He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.”
Our sins were nailed through Jesus’ hands and feet and into His pierced side. He was literally crushed by the weight of our sins.
God hates sin, and He poured out His wrath upon His Son—the only perfect sacrifice who fulfilled the Ten Commandments. Jesus’ punishment brought us peace and freedom.
Through faith in Jesus and confession of our sins, we enter eternal life. We no longer live by the letter of the law, but by God’s grace and mercy.
Hebrews 4:15 tells us:
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet He did not sin.”
Jesus has experienced every pain you have experienced or are experiencing right now. He longs to comfort you and bring you into healing.
Jeremiah 29:11 declares:
“For I know the plans I have for you… plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
God Almighty—the Creator of the heavens and the earth—gives us the breath of life. He takes us by the hand, keeps us in His presence, and makes us a covenant and a light to all people.
Jesus opens blind eyes—both spiritually and physically—and sets those who are bound free. He brings light into the dark dungeons of emotional and physical pain.
God says, “I am the Lord.” He will not share His glory with another or with carved idols.
If we want to walk in true freedom, we must strip away the idols in our lives: money, workaholism, possessions, lusts, leisure, and envy.
When we surrender to Jesus, former sins pass away. We become new creations.
As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:17:
“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come.”
We are reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit. Old immoral, corrupt, and spiritual conditions pass away. We are reconciled to God through Christ’s shed blood. God no longer counts our sins against us.
Isaiah 61:2 speaks of “the acceptable year of the Lord.” In Jewish history, every 49 years there was a Year of Jubilee—debts forgiven, slaves freed, total restoration.
This is a picture of what Jesus does for us.
As 2 Corinthians 6:2 says:
“In a favorable time I listened to you, and in the day of salvation I have helped you.”
Today is the day of salvation. If you ask Jesus into your heart and repent of your sin, you enter into a new era of blessing.
But for those who reject God’s salvation, there will also be a day of judgment. God will pour out His vengeance upon those who refuse Him.
Yet for those who surrender, He comforts all who sorrow, all who are in agony, pain, and suffering.
Isaiah 61:3 gives us one of the most beautiful promises in Scripture: Jesus replaces mourning with joy. Jesus replaces mourning with joy. He gives a crown or garland—symbolizing victory, royalty, beauty, and splendor—instead of ashes of grief and sorrow. He gives a garment of praise instead of a heavy spirit of despair. The Hebrew definition of despair includes heaviness, dullness (like a fog), weakness, fading, and smoldering. I know that fog. I know that heaviness. I know the feeling of living at half-mast, the aching body and soul filled with depression. That was my life for 56 years.
There was a season of my life that felt like living beneath a constant gray sky. I knew the dullness of moving through each day in a fog, feeling half-mast in spirit, carrying a heaviness of soul that pressed down into my body until even my bones seemed to ache. For fifty-six years I battled the pain of depression, and it was not merely emotional—it was physical, mental, and spiritual exhaustion wrapped into one long struggle.
People often ask me, “How did you conquer depression?” The answer was not instant, and it was not easy. It began with learning to give thanks in all circumstances—a discipline that did not come naturally. When everything within you feels dark, gratitude feels unnatural, even impossible. Yet the Word of God in First Thessalonians 5:18 declares, “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” I had to train my mind to obey that Scripture, not my emotions. Day by day, choice by choice, I disciplined myself to thank God—not for the pain, but in the midst of it. Gratitude became a weapon.
The second turning point was renewing my mind. Over the years I had absorbed lies—lies spoken over me by others and lies whispered to me by the enemy of my soul. Those false narratives shaped how I saw myself. Freedom required tearing down those lies one by one. That kind of renewal takes discipline and deep introspection. You must be willing to identify your wrong thinking, confront it with truth, and replace it deliberately.
I had to learn to proclaim to myself who I am in Christ. Not who depression said I was. Not who past wounds said I was. Not who critics said I was. But who God says I am. As I aligned my thoughts with His truth and chose thanksgiving over despair, the fog began to lift. The heaviness loosened its grip. And the same God who commands us to give thanks in all circumstances proved Himself faithful to restore my soul. Jesus lifted that heaviness and He replaced it with joy.
Isaiah 61:7 promises:
“Instead of your shame you will receive a double portion… and everlasting joy will be yours.”
This is our rich inheritance in Christ. When you receive Jesus, God desires to bless you abundantly.
He calls us “oaks of righteousness”—lofty, strong, magnificent, distinguished for integrity and right standing with God—the planting of the Lord that He may be glorified (Isaiah 61:3 AMPC).
This is how God sees us.
Now by faith, we must see ourselves as strong and magnificent in Him. Stand tall in the strength of the Lord Jesus Christ.
If you want to experience true freedom, it is found only in Jesus Christ.
If you want to receive Him into your heart right now, pray this prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, come into my heart.
Forgive me for all my sins and be my Lord and Savior.
Guide and direct my life.
Take up the weight of my sin into Your arms and remove them as far as the east is to the west.
Fill me with Your Holy Spirit.
I ask this in Jesus Christ’s name. Amen.
If you prayed this prayer, you are forgiven of all your sins and have eternal life.
For those carrying heavy burdens, I pray now that by the power of the Holy Spirit, in Jesus Christ’s name, you will be released from your burdens and be healed. Amen—so be it.
If you need prayer, please contact me at info@thebuildersministry.com.
May the Lord bless you, strengthen you, and restore you completely.