The Prisoner

The Prisoner

Rick Razsi
Cleveland, TN

“And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them” (Luke 21:8).

I want to ask you, Mr. Minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ; are you going in His name saying, “He is the Christ” to the prisoners and to the lost and dying world? This world needs to hear truth, not lies, false doctrine and doctrines of devils. Many are out there saying he is Christ, but their doctrine is of the devil and not of God. The hour is far spent and “the night cometh, when no man can work” (John 9:4). Let us work while it is day. Jesus said, “And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven. But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name’s sake” (Luke 21:11, 12).
Yes, we will be cast into prison for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ in our day, my friend. Will they know you or will it be the first time you are introduced to the prison gang? Will you be a newcomer to the block or will you have many friends there who will welcome you into the family of God at the prison? Many preach Jesus Christ, but do not know the truth of the gospel.
We might feel as if these men are the filth of the earth and they don't need us to be their friend. Many good people have gone to prison and waited on God to move on their circumstances and change their life around. If we were thrown into prison who could we meet while in prison?

JOSEPH

How about Joseph? Wouldn't it be nice if Joseph had a minister to come to him and to encourage him in the Lord? “And Joseph’s master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison” (Gen. 39:20). Have you gone to minister to him lately?

JEREMIAH

Jeremiah spoke truth to the king Zedekiah and prophesied the Word of the Lord. But it was to him a time of persecution from the princes. They smote him and put him in the prison of Jonathan the scribe. When four men heard the word of Jeremiah they believed him wrong and cast him into a dungeon where there was no water, but mire. Jeremiah sunk in the mire. Thank God that the Ethiopian eunuch Ebedmelech went and told the king and was able to rescue Jeremiah from the dungeon hole of mire before he died. Read Jeremiah 37 and 38 for details.

JOHN

How about John the Baptist? He was in prison. Did anybody visit him and have prayer for him before he died for the faith while in prison? Yet there is no greater of a man among us. If we were to visit the prison systems, how many men like John would we run into because we cared enough to go, and deny ourselves of our own heart’s desires? (Matt. 14:3-12).

JESUS

Maybe we would meet Jesus there one day! (Read Matthew 26:47-75.) After all, He was taken by a mob of religious leaders and was stood before a mock trial. He was lied about, falsely accused, and was pronounced worthy of death. They spit in His face, buffeted Him, and smote Him with the palms of their hands, then, as you know, He was scourged, stripped and mocked, with a crown of thorns upon His head and a reed in His right hand. They took the reed and smote Him on the head, then they led Him out to be crucified on a hill called Golgotha. The Bible says He was taken from prison, and from judgment. Even Jesus had to have help so they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name—him they compelled to bear His cross. Suppose we could find some men in the state prison systems who need a helping hand to carry their cross? Being afflicted by the sting of sin upon their souls, they need someone to come and minister to them, to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God. “To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me” (Acts 26:18).

Let us not become like Peter who was a partaker with the Lord when the times were smooth. We are ministered to by our fellow Christians and leaders and we feel so strong in the Lord while we have a case of the “do nothings.” But let us get out of the norm of Christian living as we know it and dare to be recognized with Christ, the Son of God; and be a partaker of His sufferings. Let us barge through the mobs of ridicule and peer pressures and pick up our cross and deny our selves for the sake of souls and the lives of those behind bars (Matt. 25:31-46).

If you read these Scriptures, they will tell you that the true Christians met His needs while in prison as well as other times. The true Christians asked when they had ministered unto the king. And He answered them saying “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matt. 25:40). Those who had not done the works that needed to be done were cursed and cast into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.

There are many brethren of our King Jesus Christ behind bars. I have witnessed the love and the joy of God upon the faces of many men inside the prison walls of Reidsville State Prison in Georgia. Their faces glow with the radiance of the spirit of God and they know that they have passed from death unto life, because they love the brethren. Those men who were their enemies have now become their brothers in Christ. The men who were full of hatred and anger are now crying and full of love for everyone. The men who thought “Jesus people” were sissies and wimps, are now testifying of the power and the love that is in Jesus Christ alone and no other god will do anymore. Praise God forever!!!

I weep when I stand and hear these men testify of the change God has made in their hearts and lives, and how for the first time in their life they know the true meaning of the word love, for God is love. “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:34, 35).

Let us go into all the world and tell them, "The blood of Jesus Christ still saves!" Dare to be different! Dare to do without the pleasures of this life and take the time to go to the prisons in your area. Watch God snatch souls out of the hands of the enemy and restore their hurting hearts with His love and joy of the spirit of God. Watch their faces glow with the spirit of holiness and lives be transformed right before your eyes. Then will we hear the King say, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world...I was in prison, and ye came unto me” (Matt. 25:34, 36).

Thank you for giving your life that many might live. “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be” (Rev. 22:12). Church of God brethren, “The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest” (Luke 10:2). Work while it is day; for the night will be here soon.
The King is waiting, at a prison near you.