(John 8:31-36) To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." They answered him, "We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?" Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. (NIV)

I. Living in Bondage vs. Living in Freedom. (Review)

When you accept Jesus Christ as your Savior, you inherit the divine right to be spiritually free.

The possibility of living free from constant willful sin is your God-given guaranteed spiritual birthright! Why, then, do some of us invite Jesus Christ into our lives as Lord yet go on , at times, following satan’s temptations?

Satan was already defeated by Jesus when he died on the cross, his power over us is only deception and bluff. While satan no longer has the power to disrupt or terminate your spiritual walk…. If he can convince you that he does…..If you see yourself as the helpless victim of satan and his schemes, you will continue to live like his victim and be in bondage to his lies.

The key to victorious Christian living is learning to recognize satan’s deceptions and resist him…

(James 4:7-8) Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

II. The Gauntlet to Spiritual Freedom (Neil Anderson)

We have been using a mental picture to help us understand our spiritual lives:

Imagine that you are standing at one end of a long narrow street lined on both sides with two story block houses. At the other end stands Jesus Christ and your eternal reward. Your Christian life: is the process of walking down that long street of growing Christian maturity… in Him.

There is absolutely nothing in the street that can keep you from reaching Christ and your eternal heavenly reward!…but since the world is still under the dominion of satan, imagine that the row of houses on either side is inhabited by beings who are committed to keeping you from reaching your goal. They have no power or authority to stop your forward momentum, to block your path, or even slow your step; so they hang out the windows and call to you, hoping to turn your attention away from your goal and disrupt your progress.

Many, as we’ve discussed, find themselves stopping, entertaining the side show, even participating in it. This is not God’s plan. Satan has no power to make you give in to temptation, only what he can deceive you into thinking he has.

It’s a mental tightrope… understanding that satan is “the ruler of this world“, yet he has no legitimate power over those who are “in Christ”. He has a chokehold on unbelievers, their actions, their thinking processes… He has no legal or practical right to the mind or heart of a you as God‘s child… not for one second! Do you understand what I’m saying and how it applies to you life?

If you have come to Christ, confessed your sins, and received his gift of salvation, the chains of satan’s bondage over you have been broken… you have been set free to live in spiritual freedom. Satan will continue to try to deceive you into thinking he still controls your life…. but you are promised that if you resist him he will have to flee!

Once you start to understand satan’s tactics and his weaknesses you can have greater confidence in your God given birthright of spiritual freedom. I can remember when I stopped thinking that God and satan we’re two equal forces and I was caught in the middle struggling for my spiritual existence. I remember really catching on to the fact that God was sovereign Creator of the universe and satan was just a being, created by God who challenged God’s authority, lost… was tossed out of heaven, then Jesus himself came, to this earth to challenge the very forces of evil…. Took on satan and sin, and death, and hell….defeated them all…… (yet I admit I still get distracted at times, from the houses on the sidelines, but I know it need not be…..)

I’ve come to understand just how flawed satan is:

I remember being a Haiti, a few years ago ,a country whose leaders, 200 years ago, literally committed their country to satan in a national ceremony. Haiti was once the Jewel of the Carribean…. I looked at the poverty and the stripped out natural resources and I thought. This is what satan does when he is in control. This is as good as his work gets…

I brought that up because of another thought this week. I watched the news of the terrorist bombings in London and Egypt and it struck me. That is the pure mind of satan. If you want to know what satan is at his core; look into the heart of a fanatic who will blow up other innocent human being to “rule the world”. Satan is the ultimate terrorist!

But notice the flawed behavior: (satan can’t seem to help but overstep…)

London has been a haven for Islamic fundamentalists. They had complete freedom to promote their demonic hatred right in the streets of the city. Muslims even have a Arabic name for London describing it as “their” city.

So…enter the flawed mind of the terrorist satan: Let’s go into the

subways of London and blow people’s limbs off turning this city from a haven of protection into an angry mob who hunts us down like rats.

If you watch closely you can see those flawed cracks running through all that satan tries to do.

Satan’s influence must be stopped… in our individual lives. Lets’ talk about how:

III. Steps to Spiritual Freedom

A) Step #1: Renounce involvement in anything and everything that may be satanically inspired.

Let me give you some advice…. If you have cute little memorabilia in your house that are used by other cultures in false worship…throw them in the trash. Don’t get too attached to Buddha’s cute little stomach. It may seems like a tiny point but hear me when I say, Clean your house! Things satanic are not good conversation pieces.

If you want to be free from satan’s overpowering influence in your life, eliminate all potential footholds!

Be aware of what kind of things in your life might crack the door open to satan. Put some distance between yourself and anything that might smack of occultism, New age, or false religions.

Perhaps one of the most damaging aspects of our society today for the Christian is what is available to enter our eye-gate through printed material, television, or computer.

Many Christians are comfortable watching, or reading material that have satanic themes. After all; they are not participating in the evil…it just helps them better understand the evil world we live in.

Remember, it’s the truth that sets you free… not the knowledge of evil!

Illustration>>>> A little lady was talking to an expert about counterfeit money. “ I imagine you study a lot of counterfeit money”. “Never” he replied, “I study a lot of good money…. Then when the counterfeit comes along I can detect it immediately!!

(Philippians 4:8) … whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-- think about such things. (NIV)

Spend your time studying the good, then you’ll be able to recognize the counterfeit!

B) Step #2: Reject the Bondage of Habitual Sins!

If you have a persistent sin that God has exposed in your life…as long as you maintain the right to exercise that sin… you will never experience the spiritual freedom God has for you!

You must allow your mindset to be changed from:

1) Sin, sin, sin, sin

2) Sin, confess, sin, confess

3) Sin, confess, resist!

C) Step #3: Purpose to Embrace the Truth!

There is not a person in this room who has not bought some distortion of satan about their own lives. If you think you have not, there may be a few people around you that might be willing and able to point to a few realities….but…

This thing of finding the path to truth has not been left to chance:

(John 8:31-32) … Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching… Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (NIV)

(John 14:6) Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (NIV)

(John 16:13-15) ..when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth…..the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.

Let me give you a prayer that may help you:

Dear Father, I know that you ask for truth in my inner self and that acknowledging and facing truth is my path to spiritual freedom. I acknowledge that the evil one has deceived me and I have at times, in turn, deceived myself. I pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that you, Father, will rebuke all deceiving spirits, and eliminate the footholds I have allowed in my life. I ask this based on the blood Jesus shed in my place and on His resurrection to eternal life. I ask that the Holy Spirit guide me into all truth. (Jn 16:13)

(Psalms 139:23-24) Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (NIV)

In Jesus name, I pray, Amen.

D) Step #4: Forgive the past with the same forgiveness you have received!

So, so often the footholds that satan gains in the lives of Christians are due to unforgiveness. The Bible warns us strongly about this issue:

(2 Corinthians 2:10-11) Now I also forgive whomever you forgive anything. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, that no advantage may be gained over us by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his schemes.

(Ephesians 4:32) Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. (NIV)

God didn’t give us what we deserved…he gave us what we needed….forgiveness.. grace.

There’s no pattern in Scripture for us dealing out to others what they deserve. There’s an enormous amount of Scripture that say we are to treat other’s like Jesus treated us.

Forgiveness is agreeing to live with the consequences of another person’s sin!

Dear Father, I thank you for the grace, and kindness, and forbearance, and patience, and forgiveness that you have shown me. I confess that I have not shown the same grace , and kindness, and forbearance, and patience, and forgiveness to others. I herby agree to live with the consequences of their sins against me…. I release ______________ from any debt owed me!

E. Step #5: Allow God to Transform your Rebellion into Submission!

One of the ways satan most infected mankind was to plant in him the seeds of rebellion.

Rebellion- An act or state of open resistance to authority.

It’s built in to the smallest baby, the child, the teen, the adult in so many area of our lives…and it’s transmits right into our relationship with God.

Our loving God says; Just stay on the path, don’t turn aside to the sinful distractions. I’ll give you my strength and the Holy Spirit as your personal guide.

We say, “thank you for your mercy and grace…. But I believe I will stop off here for a moment, just to savor a little sin. Wait right there God, I’ll be right back to take advantage of your mercy and grace.”

Total Submission is the Path to Total Freedom!

God will only release you in areas you have given Him permission to control!

F) Step #7: Change your stance from Pride to Humility

Pride says: I can do it myself; I’ll go find the truth…

Humility says: I can’t do it myself; I’ll embrace the Truth Giver and His truth!

(1 Peter 5:6-11) Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen. (NIV)

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