How Long? — A Prophetic Message for the Bowery Mission
1. The Lord Has Come to Set You Free
When Jesus walked the earth, He didn’t come to build religion — He came to bring freedom. Heal the sick, deliver the captives and set the prisoners free.
He came to heal the brokenhearted, look for the lost, and bring light to those trapped in darkness.
Everywhere He went, lives were transformed. The blind saw, the lame walked, the lepers were cleansed, and the oppressed were set free.
📖 Luke 4:18–19
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon 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.”
This was the ministry of Jesus. That same Jesus is here today. He is still moving, still healing, still calling people out of Egypt — out of bondage and into promise.
📖 John 10:10
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
The ministry of Jesus was never about comfort — it was about transformation.
He didn’t just forgive sin. He delivered people from the grip of it. And today, His Spirit of freedom is calling you.
“My child, I have come to set you free.
To release you from oppression.
To lead you to a place of peace, hope, and new beginnings.”
But many stay where they are — bound by addiction, fear, or shame.
God is saying today: “Leave behind what destroys you and step into what will heal you.”
2. The Story of Moses — God’s Deliverance
📖 Exodus 3:7–8
“The LORD said, ‘I have seen the affliction of My people in Egypt and have heard their cry… and I have come down to deliver them… to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey.’”
God sent Moses to deliver His people from Pharaoh.
He parted the sea before them, gave them manna from heaven, and led them by a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night. They saw His faithfulness — yet they doubted, turned away, and built a calf with their own hands to worship.
📖 Exodus 32:7–8
“Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Go down, because your people… have become corrupt. They have turned away quickly from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol.’”
Despite all God had done, they turned back and because of unbelief, they perished in the wilderness. They never entered the promised land. Only their descendants did.
📖 Numbers 14:22–23
“Not one of those who saw My glory and the signs I performed… but who disobeyed Me and tested Me ten times — not one of them will ever see the land I promised.”
That’s where many stand today. God has opened the sea for you — He has delivered you from despair, He has come to you, He has send somebody to speak to you, He has healed you, He has showed you His Mercy and Grace— yet some have returned to the “golden calf” of addiction, fear, and comfort and sins.
And the Lord is asking again:
“How long will you wander in the wilderness? How long will you thirst when I am the Living Water?”
3. God Speaks to the Bowery Mission Today
Just as God heard the cries of His people in Egypt, He hears your cry today.
“I have delivered you, shown you mercy, fed you, and covered you — yet some of you have turned back.
You’ve seen My wonders but doubted My love.
How long, My people? How long will you stay in the wilderness when I have called you into promise?”
📖 Jeremiah 2:13
“My people have forsaken Me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns — broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”
How long will you chase what cannot satisfy?
Would you rather stay bound than see the land I have promised — a land of peace, love, and freedom?
📖 Hebrews 3:7–8
“Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”
The choice is yours. Will you stay where you are — or will you come?
4. The Call to Freedom
The Lord says:
“Come to Me.
If you are ready, say: ‘Yes, Lord, I am ready.’
Say: ‘Enough is enough — I want to see the promised land.’
Come to the altar. I will take you from captivity into freedom,
from despair into hope,
from wilderness into promise.”
📖 Matthew 11:28–30
“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.”
Jesus is saying today:
“I have come to set you free — will you come to Me?”
Closing Prayer
Lord, we hear Your voice.
We no longer want to wander in the wilderness.
Deliver us from our addictions, fears, and past.
Lead us into the land You have prepared —
a land of peace, freedom, and new beginnings.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.