Written by Joel Deacon - Lead Pastor of City on a Hill Wollongong

FREEDOM - PART 1

“Excuse me, do you have a son named Elijah?”

“Yes… why?”

“Well… he is stuck in the toilet and needs your help.”

Not my proudest parenting moment.

At the time, I was on a park bench eating a pie. And by the time I got to the toilet block, Elijah was anxious, convinced he was trapped forever. But then we spotted the problem. He just had been turning the handle the wrong way.

Most of us know what this feels like. Not being stuck in a toilet, but being stuck in life. Stuck in patterns we cannot break. Stuck in lies we keep believing. Stuck in habits that drain our joy. Stuck in fear, shame or addictions that are suffocating us.

BAD NEWS
The gospel contains both good news and bad news. And the bad news is this: because of our sin, the schemes of Satan and the brokenness of our world, there is real bondage. Real addictions. Real spiritual oppression. Real chains we cannot break on our own.

In the New Testament, “bondage” describes the enslaving power of anything that pulls us away from God or diminishes the life he created us for. Scripture teaches that without Christ, and without the power of his Holy Spirit, we are trapped. We are enslaved. We belong to what Paul calls the domain of darkness.

Before we come to Jesus:

• We are slaves to sin.
• We are ruled by the flesh and driven by corrupted desires.
• We are held by fear, under a spirit of slavery that keeps us anxious.
• We are deceived by the evil one, who blinds and holds unbelievers captive.

GOOD NEWS

But the good news of the gospel is that Jesus came to break chains. At the cross he confronted every form of captivity, and by his resurrection he brought freedom in every direction. Jesus says in John 8 (ESV), “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

• Where sin enslaves, Jesus forgives.
• Where fear paralyses, Jesus brings peace.
• Where the devil lies, Jesus speaks truth.
• Where addiction grips, Jesus breaks the yoke.
• Where sickness or torment weighs us down, Jesus can heal, restore and renew.

In Christ we find true freedom. We taste that freedom in this life, and we will experience it perfectly in the life to come.

THE BATTLE

And yet until Jesus calls us home or returns, we can still feel the pull of old masters. Our flesh fights against the Spirit. Old patterns try to drag us back. Fear still whispers. Lies still tug at our hearts. And sickness can still affect us.

We are objectively free in Christ, but subjectively we must learn to walk in that freedom through the power of the Holy Spirit. Freedom, like sanctification, is both a finished reality and a daily fight. This is why Scripture calls us to resist the devil, pray continually and put on the armour of God.

In Jesus’ ministry, healing and deliverance often went hand in hand. Many times Jesus healed someone by removing an unclean spirit. The New Testament word for miracle is dynamis, the same word used for power. Every healing, deliverance or miracle is the power of God bringing freedom into the world.

As John Eldredge once wrote, “You live in a world at war. Spiritual attack must be a category you think in or you will misunderstand more than half of what happens to you.”

QUESTIONS:

1. Where in your life do you feel the pull of sin, fear or old habits?
2. Where have you seen Jesus bring freedom into your life or the lives of others?

CHALLENGE:

Fast from one thing today to remind yourself that you are at war.