Deliverance

[0:00] I was thinking when Brad was praying actually about how free we are in Australia. Australia is a free nation but really I want to teach you the opposite of that.

[0:23] ! Luke 4 verse 18.

[0:40] Let us pray. Lord we thank you that you have come to planet earth to set people free. We praise you Lord we thank you that your word sets us free.

[0:58] We pray for every soul here today that they'll know their freedom in Jesus name. Amen. We pray for you.

[1:18] We pray for you. We pray for you.

[1:42] captives, a people captured, as if hijacked, held hostage, held under threat, kept under guard, isolated, confined, imprisoned, cut off.

[1:55] I have been in the Adelaide Remand Centre only lately, and I know this is very close to some here today. I've walked inside those cold stone walls and looked out through prison bars.

[2:11] It's not a pretty place. It's not a pretty place. I've been to Yatla a couple of times. I've seen inside those great, grim conditions there.

[2:25] I was visiting. Don't worry. But I was there. I was there. I've seen that place. I've seen what it's like. It's not a pretty place to be captive.

[2:36] And friends today, sin is like a prison. It's like a prison. A prison house of despair. A dark, deathly place. A cold, hopeless place.

[2:50] And we are all born into this. No matter what our rank or station in life, our culture, we are all born. Born into captivity.

[3:01] Even in this fair nation. Born in sin. Born in sin. Born slaves. All held captive. Held captive to sin's power and Satan.

[3:14] Captives held in this ruthless grip. Held under guard. Held within prison walls. And yet there is hope. Yet there is hope. Yet there is ransom.

[3:25] Yet there is a deliverer who holds the king. Who can break the chains and set you free. He can break down those cold walls.

[3:37] He can demolish those bars that hold you. And He can smash the chains that confine you. He grants freedom.

[3:50] Grants release. Grants full pardon. Grants full redemption. He is our liberator. Of Him we read in Colossians 1.13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness.

[4:06] Amen. Amen. Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness. And hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son.

[4:18] And I was talking with a Christian fellow lately. And he was talking a lot about deliverance ministry. Deliverance ministry. He was making much of it. And I want to tell you, yes, we believe in deliverance ministry.

[4:33] We believe in the deliverer. The deliverer. And He delivers us. And I'd like to put to you, as I've read some scriptures that use this word deliverance.

[4:45] What are we delivered from? What are we delivered from? We see from the power of darkness. From the power of darkness. Sin is powerful.

[4:56] Oppressive like darkness. Now, Julie and I had occasion one time to take a trip one kilometre beneath the earth's surface. We went down a mineshaft.

[5:07] Down into the depths, into the belly of the earth. And a man turned off the light. And he says, you know, just hold yourself here. This is going to be a bit scary.

[5:20] And wow. Total darkness. Utter darkness. Darkness like you've never seen it before. You can't see anything. Not a glimmer of your hand in front of your eye.

[5:32] Darkness. That's darkness. Darkness. It's powerful. But Jesus, the Deliverer, delivers people from the power of darkness. Friends, today many are imprisoned in the power of darkness.

[5:45] Prisoners. How does it wear in this stifling, dark, enclosed cell with little natural light? There's prisoners near us. Real prisoners near us today.

[5:56] Not far away from here. That are locked up in such cells for hours on end. What misery. What confinement.

[6:07] Shut off from hope. At least for a time. For these. Shut off from life. Shut off from loved ones. The power of darkness.

[6:18] There's a power. There's the power of the occult. And I've heard some say there's witches and warlocks and covens in the near neighbourhood. The power of darkness.

[6:32] There is the power of darkness. I know some of it have seen some evidence of that. In some cultures it's more open. In our culture it's a bit more kind of behind closed doors.

[6:43] Not so evident perhaps. But there is such a power. And it's at work in this city. In this world. In this community. Where we live. The power of darkness is at work even in this fair city of ours.

[6:58] The power of darkness. And it is powerful. But I want to tell you this morning. There is one with greater power. There is one who stands with all power given unto him.

[7:10] As he says in Matthew 28 verse 18. And Jesus came and spoke unto them saying. All power is given unto me.

[7:23] In heaven and in earth. There is one with the greatest power. With the greater power of all. And he steps in. Jesus came and spoke unto them.

[7:35] Jesus comes into lives today. He steps in and he speaks to us. And he speaks with power. The power of his word.

[7:46] The power of his name. The power of his blood. Can overcome the power of darkness. In your life. And in this world. And in this land.

[7:57] In this city. The power of darkness can be demolished. There is one who can open that prison house of despair. There is one who has the key to bring release.

[8:08] And he delivers the captive still. And oh what joy it is. That moment of release. That time when the prison door opens. What a picture that is to us.

[8:20] Of the joy that Jesus brings. Of the burst of joy. Of the freedom. Of the open door. Of the light shining in. What a picture that is. That fresh air.

[8:31] That liberty. A picture that is. For you. For me. Of salvation. Of his saving power. As the confined can be set free. As the prisoner can be declared a free man.

[8:44] By the authority of God. A free man. As the prisoner. As the slave. As the slave. As the slave is declared a full citizen. And made son of the king. And we can go as Joseph did.

[8:58] From the prison house. To the palace. It's like the rush. The adrenaline that you feel. When you're set free. As you race down the track.

[9:09] The race track. Towards the mark. There's that rush. That freshness. That finishing line. To speed towards. Looking unto Jesus.

[9:20] Nothing holding you back. As you let go of the sin. That does so easily be said. As you press forward with the wind in your face.

[9:31] This is the picture of true liberty. Julie and I. Of late have been docksitting. Our daughter's golden retriever called Charlie.

[9:44] And Charlie is cooped up in this enclosed suburban backyard. You know. There's scarcely room to swing a cat. Let alone a dog.

[9:55] And we've seen this little dog. Well it's not a little dog. She's not a little dog. She's a golden retriever. Quite a big powerful dog. And we have occasion to take her down to the local oval.

[10:07] And when Julie and I get there. We clip the lead around her neck. And take her for a walk. But really she's the one taking me for a walk. She's a strong dog.

[10:18] A strong dog. And as we get down to the oval. And we unleash that lead. From her neck. And we let her go. There's no stopping her.

[10:29] What a picture of freedom. And that's the freedom that Christ brings. To her lives today. The release. The freedom. The joy. The freedom as it were of a prison cell.

[10:40] Cast open. And the light beams in. And the prisoner steps out into light. And as the dog is released from the lead. And takes a run into the wide open space.

[10:53] There's a palpable sense to that freedom. And likewise too for us. For you and me. As brothers and sisters in Christ. Freedom. Freedom. Is a beautiful thing.

[11:04] A beautiful thing. Think of how free you are. We see in the news of late. The lack of freedom. In many countries. Of course we know.

[11:14] Australia is free. In those terms. The freedom that you have. That we take for granted. The freedom to walk down your street. Unafraid. Unconstrained.

[11:26] Unlimited. For many people across the world. They don't know such liberty. Jesus has come. To set people free. What has he set people free from?

[11:39] He sets us free. From the power of darkness. He has a greater power. All power. Secondly. He delivers us. Into the liberty.

[11:52] From the yoke of bondage. From the yoke of bondage. You know. Some people. Sometimes come. To me. And likely to you too. And say. Oh. Are you religious?

[12:04] Are you religious? And I have to say. Honestly. No. I'm not. I'm a born again Christian. Because I'm not. Religious. Jesus didn't come.

[12:17] To make us. Religious. He came to seek. And to save the lost. And to set. People free. I'm told that the Latin word.

[12:30] From which we get the English word. Religion. Is derived from. To bind up. To bind up. Jesus didn't come. To bind us up.

[12:42] In religion. But to set us free. To set us free. Free from the bondage of religion. Free from. A form without substance. Free from stilted.

[12:52] Droning ritualism. Free from meaningless pomp. And ceremony. Smoke and candles. Religious garb. Repetitions and chants. Amen. And on the other side.

[13:04] Free from the pretense. Of miracles. And manufactured. Signs and wonders. And happy. Clappy falsehood. And a lot of noise. And smoke and mirrors.

[13:14] But not the real substance. Of whom. He says. Having a form of godliness. But denying the power. Thereof. Our Lord didn't come.

[13:26] To bind us up. In the bondage. Of religion. But to set us free. In the liberty. That he. Sets us free. Our Lord could see. Straight through.

[13:37] Such emptiness. Of his day. As he said. Straight out. About religion. In Amos 5. God says. He hates church. In Amos 5. Churches.

[13:48] Many know it. He says. I hate. I despise feast days. And I will not smell. In your solemn assemblies. He speaks against the offerings.

[13:58] That they are making. He says. Take away from me. The noise of thy songs. I will not hear the melody. Of thy vials. You know. The instruments. There's a sense here.

[14:09] Where God hates. False religion. He wants us to know the truth. He wants us to know the true faith. In Galatians 5. In contrast. It says.

[14:20] Stand fast therefore. In the liberty. Where with Christ. Makes us free. And be not entangled again. In the yoke. Of bondage. Yoke. A yoke.

[14:30] As a connotation of work. You know. These wooden things. Around the necks. Of oxen. A yoke. The freedom that we have. Is from. Religious works.

[14:40] from the power of darkness, the yoke of bondage. Deliver us from the power of darkness, he delivers us from the yoke of bondage.

[14:51] Thirdly, he delivers us from the bondage of corruption. Now, if you've ever driven down an outback road and you see a rotting carcass on the side of the road, you know that corruption, what corruption smells like.

[15:06] What? Pfft. Smell that kangaroo we just passed. What corruption smells like. Physical corruption stinks. And corruption stinks.

[15:21] You see that in, you know, we've got a commissioner against corruption in South Australia. We need such a person. Because there's corruption. Corruption everywhere.

[15:31] Corruption in high places. Corruption. Corruption where people steal money or act dishonestly, it stinks. You know, they are dishonest thieves.

[15:44] Corruption stinks. You know, I know some professing Christians who stink. They're dishonest. God doesn't call us to dishonesty, but to honesty.

[15:54] Jesus has come to deliver us from the bondage of corruption. When you're filling in your tax return, remember that. Corruption stinks. Jesus has come to set us free from the bondage of corruption.

[16:05] And the freedom that we know that we are given is the glorious liberty of the children of God. In Romans 8.21 it says, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

[16:21] Another way God delivers us, he delivers us from his own wrath. His anger rightfully poured out at the cross for our sin. In all its fury, it was vented fully.

[16:32] God's wrath. God's anger. Jesus delivers us from that. In 1 Thessalonians 1. It says, When he raised him from the dead, even Jesus delivered us from the wrath to come.

[16:44] Delivered from God's wrath. Delivered from the bondage of fear. Romans 8.15 it says, For ye have not received the spirit of bondage against fear, but have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

[16:58] So he's delivered us from fear. You know, it says, Perfect love casts out all fear. Another area he delivers us, is he delivers us from this present evil world.

[17:08] I think it's clear that this present world is evil. And more so. Ever more so. In Galatians 1 it says, Of Christ who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father.

[17:28] There's so many ways that we are set free. We just take it for granted, don't we really? One of these things we've talked about. Set free from the grip of the world. From its attraction.

[17:39] The world has lost an attraction, an appeal for us as believers in Christ. We don't love the world, or the things that are in the world, like we perhaps used to. Instead we love God and his will, and want to do it.

[17:53] And we seek a world yet to come. Another deliverance is he delivers us from temptation. 2 Peter 2 verse 9 says, The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment, to be punished.

[18:11] Another way is the Lord delivers us from the bondage of addiction, from the snare of the devil. You know, the devil is sneaky. I think it's his middle name.

[18:23] The devil is sneaky. He's a sly old fox, and he wants to trick people. He's a deceiver, and he's the father of lies. And he's very good at tricking people.

[18:37] And the Bible says that he delivers us, the Lord Jesus delivers us, from the snare of the devil. That's 2 Timothy 2 verse 26. The devil likes to snare people, snare people.

[18:51] Now, a snare is like a trap. He used to catch a bird, you know. Sometimes they've set a box on a stick, and they pull the stick away, and catch the bird or animal under the box.

[19:04] It's held there. It's a snare. It's a trap. And there's a bait there. The devil likes to snare people. Have you ever fallen for something?

[19:16] I often fall for jokes, practical jokes, maybe. And sometimes we take the bait. And the devil's like that. He gets a bait, he attracts us, and he trips us.

[19:29] Don't take the bait. Pride is often the cause of a fall. In 1 Corinthians 10, it says, for the one who thinks that he stands, take heed, lest he fall.

[19:42] There's a danger when we get too cocky, too proud, too confident in ourselves, the snare of the devil. Jesus delivers us from the snare of the devil. You know, the Bible speaks of how our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers.

[20:00] Psalm 124.7. A fowler is someone who catches fowl. In other words, birds. And the devil tracks and holds us like a bird captured.

[20:13] And what a picture again of how Jesus sets us free. Outside of Christ, we're in a cage, as it were. I've seen at times, you see them at funerals sometimes, where someone, they give you a dove and you let it go.

[20:28] And it's a picture of a bird flying free. The snare is broken and we are escaped. Amen. We are escaped.

[20:39] What a freedom we have. So we started off talking about captive people. Captive people. We talked about the way that Jesus delivers us, those different things we covered.

[20:53] And just to narrow it down to two battlegrounds that are present time. Two battlegrounds that hold people captive.

[21:05] Satan can hold your mind captive. Your mind captive. It says of the lost in 1 Corinthians 2 that they receive not the things of the Spirit of God because they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned.

[21:22] There are strongholds, imaginations, thinking patterns that hold people captive in their minds. The Bible speaks of how the enemy blinds the minds of some.

[21:37] And there's constructs that people build up against the knowledge of God. Things like evolution. Evolution is just one. A construct manufactured by men as a barrier, as a blockade, as a flimsy, pathetic excuse for unbelief.

[21:55] Satan holds your mind captive if you're outside of Christ. And Satan holds your affections captive. In John 3.19, our Lord says, Men love darkness rather than light.

[22:08] Why? Because their deeds were evil. The devil can hold your affections captive. And friends, to be held captive by Satan is hard captivity.

[22:20] It's hard bondage. It's eternal. Unless that bondage is broken. And Satan never releases his captives except they are taken from him by the power of God.

[22:34] Addictions is like a captivity too. There was a doctor who wrote a book about the subject of addictions. And he explained that essentially that addictions are the question is who will rule your life?

[22:49] That's what it boils down to. With addiction. It's about who will rule your life. Who will you honour? Who will you serve? Who will be your master? Who will be your lord?

[23:00] And some people are under enslavement, ruled over by their own lusts and dominated by a power that is over them. But friends, today I urge you to know this, that freedom is possible.

[23:14] Freedom is possible. How can this freedom be realised? In 2 Samuel 2, 22, David said, The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer.

[23:27] David knew that God was his deliverer. And it's about knowing him who is the deliverer, coming to know him. And coming to know, as it promises to us, the glorious liberty of the children of God.

[23:44] Glorious, absolute freedom. Our freedom starts at the finished work of the cross. Our freedom starts at the finished work of the cross.

[23:59] You know, some people have got this well-intentioned idea that they can somehow add to their salvation. You can't. You can't add to it.

[24:12] We should add to our faith in such things. We should add such things to our lives. But as far as our salvation goes, it's finished.

[24:23] A finished work. A finished work. When he said, as Adam referred earlier, It is finished. He didn't say, It is finished, plus you've got to do this.

[24:36] Plus you've got to do that. It is finished. By faith, we are free. We are free. He breaks the hold that we're under. And it tells us that, if you like, three aspects to this freedom.

[24:51] It says the Son shall make you free. It tells us of the truth of the Scriptures shall make us free. And it tells us of the Spirit of God who sets us free and keeps us free.

[25:02] Luke 4, 18, when our Lord started that, He said, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. It's a Prince deliverance to the captives. In Romans 8, it speaks of the law of the Spirit of life that may be free from the law of sin and death.

[25:17] So this freedom, brothers and sisters, we sometimes take for granted. Just like we take the freedom that we have as citizens or residents of this land, the freedom that we have in Christ, we sometimes don't fully grasp what that means.

[25:37] freedom. Freedom from the guilt of sin. Freedom from sin's condemnation. Freedom from sin's power. And freedom as in free access to God.

[25:48] You know it says you can come boldly. You can come boldly into the very holiest of holies. Into the very throne room of God.

[25:59] You can come boldly. Not by any works that you have done, but because of the finished work of the cross. You've got free access.

[26:10] Now of course this freedom that we have doesn't mean then we say, okay, if I'm free, I can just do just like I'll please. I can do just as I like now that I'm free.

[26:22] No. There's no place for an abuse of freedom. That would be an abuse of grace, an abuse of freedom. The Christian freedom that we have is a deliverance from sin in order to serve God.

[26:37] Our freedom is not the right to do what I want, but what God wants. Our freedom is a freedom to become the servants, the sons of God.

[26:48] Our true freedom in Christ is this. And there's a practical side to it too. Romans 6, we read it says, Reckon yourselves indeed dead unto sin, but alive unto God.

[27:02] Let not sin therefore reign or rule, take lordship or be king in your mortal body, that you should obey in the lust thereof. Neither yield your members as instruments of righteousness, sorry, unrighteousness unto sin, but yield yourselves unto God as those that are alive from the dead.

[27:21] And your members, your body, as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under the law, but under grace.

[27:33] I read this, I'll quote this in part, what true freedom is. It's never freedom from responsibility, but it is a responsibility for choices, right choices.

[27:45] The freedom that we have is an inner contentment, who we are in Christ, what we have, it's allowing God to be in control. It's a freedom to follow the Lord freely.

[27:57] It's a freedom under the grace of God. And a way to illustrate it is to think of a train. A train is a good illustration.

[28:09] The grace, the freedom that we have, is the freedom that a train has. Running as it is designed to run, on the tracks.

[28:22] The tracks don't inhibit the train, but they enable it to run freely, and efficiently, in its best. Running under the power of its engines.

[28:36] And our true freedom is like that, like a train running on the track, on God's track, on God's track. It's not a freedom, a liberty that does a despite to grace, and an abuse of grace, but a freedom where grace releases us, to be what God has designed us to be.

[28:55] And the quality of that. Free from the law. Free from the bondage of sin. Free from the traditions of men. Free from the works of flesh. Free indeed. Free indeed. Truly free.

[29:07] Jesus says, to close, to those who believed on him, if you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed, and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

[29:19] And he goes on, if the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. To recap quickly, our nation is a nation of captives.

[29:32] There's slaves all around us, not realising it, confined, but there's deliverance. He has come to preach deliverance to the captives, and we have that same message.

[29:44] Deliverance from the power of darkness, by God's power. Deliverance from the yoke of bondage, of religion, of corruption, to the glorious liberty of the children of God. Free from God's wrath, by Jesus' blood.

[29:58] Free from the bondage of fear, by his perfect love. Free from this present evil world, to seek a world to come. Free from temptation. Free from the snare of the devil.

[30:10] The battleground is in your mind, it's in your affections. Yield your members. Know the Deliverer. Know his finished work for you. Know the Son, the Scriptures, the Truth, shall make you free.

[30:22] The Spirit of God. There's liberty in his law. There's free access for you. As glorious liberty, as children of God.

[30:34] And in a practical way, you choose liberty. You choose freedom. You choose to serve him. You choose to be free. You choose to yield to God. You choose as a train would run the best on its track.

[30:48] And by God's grace, through faith, you too can know that freedom that comes from his hand. Friends, I urge you this morning, if the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

[31:03] We are declared free, free indeed. Delivered. There's deliverance ministry here today. And there is the deliverer for man's sin, for man's corruption.

[31:18] And the prison bars can be torn asunder today. If you don't know Christ this morning, you are behind prison bars.

[31:28] You are confined. You are held captive in a power, the power of darkness. And you're in a prison cell in your mind and in your affections.

[31:40] You are a prisoner today. I urge you to see the one who comes and he extends grace to you. If you will but turn to him.

[31:52] Let us pray. Lord, we thank you that you come and you deliver a message of deliverance to those that will heed it. Lord, we pray, dear Lord, for each soul here today that each one yet to trust you might know what it is to have freedom, true freedom.

[32:11] Not a freedom to sin, but a freedom from sin. The freedom, the glorious liberty to be children, sons and daughters of the living God. To know that liberty wherewith Christ makes us free.

[32:24] Freedom from bondage, freedom from so many things. Lord, we thank you that you break the chains of sin, of darkness, of hell, of Satan and you set us gloriously free.

[32:35] We pray if there's any Christians here this morning that are struggling with something that's still confining them. There's something still holding them that besetting sin perhaps. Something that's dragging at their feet and a bit of a trap, a bit of a snare in their lives.

[32:50] Lord, we pray you'd help us to shake it off. Shake it off like Paul shook the snake into the fire. To shake it off today. Whatever it is, those shackles that still hang on our hands and feet, to shake them off, Lord, to know that freedom that you truly bring.

[33:06] If there's any Christians here struggling with addictions, Christians struggling with sinful things, that hold them and then snare them, that trap them and trick them and hinder them.

[33:20] Lord, that you would set them free today by your Spirit's power as we yield our members to you, as we yield, as the train would yield on the track, that we would yield and know that true design, that you've designed us to be, made in your image and to serve you.

[33:40] We pray for that in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Amen.