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A Modern Expression of a Timeless Tradition. A local church in the Glastonbury Neighbourhood of West Edmonton. Sr Pastor Brett Esslinger.
Those of you who don't know, my name is Brendan. I'm the young adult pastor here at the church. Thank you, pastor Yadre. Shout out, I wasn't originally supposed to be the person who's up here today. I got the text yesterday morning saying hey, come on, you're up. I said Lord, help me. I said one day to write a sermon. This is news for me. It's new for me. If you see me leaning on my notes heavily today, you know why. Let me tell you why. That's why and not only did I have not necessarily a whole lot of time to prepare this, but today we're talking about freedom. You know we're in this series Jesus Changes Everything.
And this Sunday, both here and across all our locations are talking about freedom. And at first thought I was like oh yeah, freedom, come on, easy peasy. That's like easy stereotypical Christianity thing. Freedom. All the time I was like this will be no problem. And then I started getting into it and the Lord started laying things on my heart and I was like, oh boy. I was like this is where we're going today. This is what's happening today. This is what we're going to be talking about today. Lord, are you sure? And he was like well, you can either do what I'm saying or you can say what we want to say. But I was like, well, I don't want to just do whatever I want, because I know that doesn't work out. And I was like, I guess I'll be obedient to you and I'll listen to you, because I know it's the right thing to do.
And so here we are, talking about freedom today, and before I really get into it, I just want to preface this message by saying that this is not an exhaustive covering of freedom. Obviously, freedom can entail a lot of different things. It can be applied to a lot of different circumstances. There can be a lot of different reasons that people need freedom. There can be a lot of things that we need freedom from, and so, as much as I wish that I could stand up here and we could go through each and everything that everyone here needs freedom from today, unfortunately we just don't have the time, and I'm sure some of you have lunch plans later, and the last thing you want is for me to preach for seven hours. And if that's what you want, then bless your soul. I don't know if I have the energy to preach for that long, to be quite honest with you, and so what better way to start today than to start in the work, to start with truth itself.
And so, if you turn with me, we're going to go to John 8, verses 31 to 34. And this is what it says. It says 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 to anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free? Jesus replied very truly. I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.
So in the book of John, at this point where we're reading Jesus standing before a large group of the Jewish people and the religious leaders and he's doing some teachings, and right before this moment in the book, there's actually this argument that happens among the people as to who Jesus is, wondering, who is this man who stands before us, speaking all these things with courage and with boldness, making all these crazy claims and, as Jesus kind of shares who it is that he is and who it is that he has called and come to be, there are some that believe him, as we see here in the beginning of the passage to the Jews who had believed him, and what he tells these people is that if you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. But it's crazy because right after this we see that the Jews say we are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves to anyone, and if anyone here has read their Bible, they would know how crazy that claim is. For the Jews to say they had never been enslaved to anyone almost goes to show how unaware they were of their past. When you read the Old Testament, you see that the Jewish people were slaves to Egypt. They were slaves to the Babylonians, to the Persians, and even now, as they're saying this, they're stuck under the rule of Rome, but maybe because Roman rule over them isn't that bad compared to those that they had been subject to in the past, they're still allowed to practice what they want and do what they want. Perhaps they'd gotten comfy and so, as far as they were concerned, they weren't enslaved to anybody. It's an interesting idea, but what I really want us to focus on in this passage today is this idea of then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.
The first question I kind of want to bring to mind, and a couple of questions to follow, are just to kind of get our heads thinking about this idea. What does this freedom mean In this passage? What does he mean by the truth will set you free? What is this freedom that he's speaking of? Is it a physical freedom? Is it a mental freedom? Is it a freedom from feeling stuck under bars? Is it a bondage? Does it mean the removal of the thing that is keeping us tied down, bonding us, or is it maybe just the ability to step out from that which holds us? These are all questions we have to ask ourselves when we're reading in scriptures. It's easy to look at it, read it and say I know what this means, but a lot of the time we kind of forget to look a little deeper to understand that oh wait a minute.
The Bible wasn't actually written in English. It was translated into it, but it didn't start that way. I know this is shocking. For some of us here today. This is brand new information. So in the original language, in the Greek, this word free is actually a letteru. I know, thank you, I was listening to it many, many times in my headphones yesterday to make sure that I did that. Okay, and this word actually does directly translate to the idea of free, or to be set free. But there's a few kind of unique things about this use of the Greek word and it actually only shows up seven times in the New Testament. There's only seven times we can see it, which is interesting, because if you know a little thing about the Bible and numbers, numbers have meaning and significance. And then number seven ooh, that's a number of completion.
But one of the only other times we actually see the use of this type of freedom used in the New Testament is in Romans 821. In Romans 821, we read this passage about how creation itself will be freed or liberated from its bondage to decay. Another interesting fact about this word is that when we look at the original Greek in the New Testament, when we see how this word is used in context, the only person who ever uses this word in the sense of providing freedom to others is Jesus. Every time we see it in the Greek, this version of the word freedom in the New Testament, the only time that someone uses it when it comes to providing freedom for others is by Jesus. The other times, we see it, it's just those who are being freed. Interesting.
So maybe, when we look at this passage, we have to think okay, maybe it's possible that bondage, whatever it may be, could be tied to sin in some sense. When we look at Romans, this idea of being liberated, freed from bondage to decay, would be in reference to the idea of how, when we sin, when we fall under, the idea of how, when we sin, when we fall under the lordship of sin, by submitting ourselves to it, which we do, whether you like to admit it or not you're actually setting yourself up on the path to death, to decay. So is it possible, I'll ask again, that, whatever this bondage may be, that it could in some sense be tied to sin, whether it's the result of or caused by sin, or original sin? Now, original sin being the idea how, way, way back in the beginning, in Genesis, taking it all the way back, when we see the fall of humanity, when Adam and Eve disobey God, eat of the fruit. This is where original sin comes from. This is where humanity inherits rebellion, welcoming sin into the world and, as a result, now we too are inherently sinful.
I have to be honest, today is not going to be a fun, lighthearted message. Today's hard truth Sunday. And I say that because, as I was preparing and reading this, I was like Lord, this is going to be heavy. And he said I know. And I said so what should I do? He said just share it anyway. And I said okay. And this is why, when Pastor Deondre and Perot today said we're going to pray for strength, I said that's me. I said I need strength today.
So could it be that freedom, when spoken on by Jesus, is almost always directed from freedom from sin or some form of evil? I feel like sometimes we can find ourselves following into the same trap as the original audience when we hear things like this and we hear teachings that are shared by Jesus. You see, to the Jewish people, the original audience of this message, when they heard the term Messiah, thinking of him as a liberator, what they originally thought was that he would be a liberator from the physical oppressor, that Jesus was going to come down with shield and sword and free them from Rome, taking out their enemies, so they could go on and live their lives, they wouldn't have to worry about anyone standing over them anymore. But in reality, he was a spiritual liberator. The reality is that he brought freedom from the bondage of sin and the powers of darkness. Now, of course, this type of freedom can also result in physical freedom, but I wonder how often we fall into this trap of thinking, oh yeah, jesus, you need to set me free from this thing, but then forget that he has already set us free from the greatest thing that is holding us down, from our own brokenness and sin. Now, of course, just because we've been set free from sin and because we like to be like, yes, like we're good now, I wish it was that easy. But, of course, even today, we still deal with the lingering effects of this sin and of the sin that is in this world, and so these are all just things that I want us to consider as we're looking and moving into this.
This is a little bit teachy today, I know, which may be a little different for me and for some of us here, but something else we need to understand is that there's a difference between biblical and secular freedom. It's easy to say the word freedom, but it's hard to define it, depending on who you ask. You see, the world would define freedom as being who it is you want to be, when you want to be it, when it works out for you, whatever is comfortable for you, whatever you want to be, so on and so forth. And I could go on and on and on and talk in circles about how freedom means do what you want to do. But a biblical freedom is not the same.
A biblical freedom could be seen to mean that you're not just free to be who you want to be, but to be who God has called you to be. A biblical freedom isn't just stepping into doing whatever you want to do, but being able to step into who it is God has called you to be, to be able to become a slave to righteousness instead of a slave to sin, to be able to fall under the authority of the Lord instead of being under the lordship of sin and brokenness and disparity. And now, when we think of this word freedom, there are so many different things that we kind of want to attach to it that we would say we want freedom from Things like anger, bitterness, addiction, abuse, discomfort, mental illness, physical illness, so on and so forth. And as much as I wish I could talk with each of you today and we could figure out what it is that you need freedom from, and walk through that together. I just don't have the time, and so what I'm going to try and do is I'm going to try and break up these things into three kind of main categories, and so the first one we're going to look at is freedom from what we cause. Freedom from what we cause.
Now, these are things that we have, in a sense, brought upon ourselves, and I'm sure you're wondering what does this mean? Why would anybody want to be stuck in bondage? Why would anybody choose to place themselves in that position? Well, this is what we read in John 8, 34. Looking back at that original passage that we were just studying, jesus answered the most assuredly. I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave to sin. So the word that we really need to understand and focus on here is this word commits. It means to practice, to be committed, to be committed to practice.
So, just to give you an example here, let's say, as a Christian, you have an issue with drinking too much. Now, just because you drink too much doesn't mean that alcohol has necessarily become your owner, because you belong to the Lord if you've given your life to him. However, you are allowing yourself to fall under its influence and control. You might become unaware of the things you're doing. You might become unaware of the fact that you don't necessarily have control because you've handed it over to something else. This is the same thing for us as Christians. When we participate in sin, especially regularly, even though it doesn't own us, because we are children of the Most High God, we are placing ourselves under its control and influence and then, in a sense, placing ourselves back into the bondage from which Jesus rescued us.
And the hard truth is that very often, bondage like this is actually the result or consequence of sin, whether ours, one's we inherit, or that are taken out on us by others, and we'll unpack some of those things later. But this can include addiction to substances, whether it's alcohol or drugs or things like anger or bitterness or greed, choosing to want to get back at people's lives, and we don't always like to hear this, because we like to think that we can separate ourselves from the thing that is controlling us. We like to think that it's easy to make that divide and that separation and say, no, this thing is doing this to me. But the truth is, we made the decision that opened the door and let it in and we're not going to let it in. But the truth is, we made the decision that opened the door and let it in, and this is why we thank God, because he is the one that can bring forgiveness and freedom. He is the one who died on the cross so that these mistakes that we've made can be wiped away and so that we can have an opportunity to step into freedom, to step into hope and into life. But we need to understand that we can't always just expect these things to just go away and God to just set us free in an instant. He can trust me, he can. But it is unfair to go to God and say, hey, this thing that I did to myself, yeah, can you make it better for me? That doesn't really sound fair to me. Sometimes we need to understand that it's us who place the shackles on ourselves, and in this case, god does offer us freedom, but we have to choose to step into it.
Now, the other hard thing with this is that there can be a battle with temptation in this, but thankfully, 1 Corinthians 10-13 shares with us that we aren't going to face any new form of temptation that has not overcome anyone before. There's nothing new. What you're going through isn't unique to just you and has never been experienced. People have dealt with it in the past and, by the power and grace of God, they've overcome. So it's possible for you to and now. This doesn't mean that the way out is always going to be clear, but what this passage does promise is that there will be a way out. Now. That might mean calling on the name of the Lord in that mode of temptation. It might mean removing yourself from specific circumstances or situations. It might mean being careful with what you're ingesting through media and music and movies and TV, or whatever it might be, but there's always a way out.
The second form of freedom that people may seek that we're going to talk about is freedom from what we don't like, and this one can be an interesting one. You see, these are things that we might seek freedom from that we just don't really prefer. They're not, personally, things we enjoy or really like, and so we say, oh God, can you just take this away from me? I just don't want to deal with it. I just don't want to put in the work right now. I just don't have it in me.
This can be people or a job, or whatever it might look like, but when we look at this, I think it's really important that we take an inventory of what it is that we're seeking freedom from. You see, because, like we talked about, some are seeking freedom from things like bitterness and addiction and anger and mental illness and these things that can consume you and harm others. But for some, we're just trying to seek freedom from something that makes us a little bit uncomfy. And, yes, these things can be challenging, whether it's a person you don't always agree with or a job that isn't your favorite. But I would ask you to really look in the mirror and ask yourself do I actually need freedom from this, or am I just looking to make myself a little more comfortable, because I don't like dealing with things that I don't enjoy? And really, the truth is, today we don't have time for cozy Christians. Cozy Christians are what lead others to thinking that what they're doing is fine, even if what they're doing isn't.
We have to be willing to step into the uncomfortable to bring the gospel into places that it might not go to otherwise. We have to be willing to just put our head down and keep going. John 16-33 shares with us and this is the words of Jesus that in this world you will face things that you don't enjoy. You will face things that you don't like. It says that in this world you will have trouble. There will be moments that aren't comfortable. There will be times that aren't your favorite. There will be moments that you don't necessarily want to endure.
Just because you don't want it doesn't mean you can run away from it. An example of this would be seeking freedom from an uncomfy circumstance due to indecision. Or you feel like you just can't choose or don't know where to go, or you're not sure what you want to do next, when in reality, what you're saying is this is too hard and I don't want to deal with what the outcome may be. I know situations where people are like I wish I could just be free from this, but the truth is they just didn't want to step up and deal with it Really. The reality is not to say that God can't bring freedom from these things, because he very much might.
All of these things we're talking about today are very much so circumstantial. They are person to person. It's not just one across the board. These are kind of blanket statements, but as I'm sharing today, you know what you need to hear. You know where you fall in these things. We just need to make sure that we're taking an inventory and truly looking at ourselves honestly and asking if we really need freedom from this or if perhaps we just need to change our attitude. Maybe we just need to deal with it and realize that God can actually work through us and in us in this situation.
But now, this idea of freedom where can we find it? All this talk about, oh, this are things that people want to be free from, but where is it that this freedom is actually found? Well, when we look back at this first passage, we can see that Jesus lays it out very clearly. Looking back in John 8, we read that the truth will set us free. Freedom is found in truth.
And if freedom is found in truth, then this means that a large time, the things that hold us in bondage are lies. See, for example, when you struggle with something like addiction, the lies that you need this thing to feel good, you need this thing to be happy, to feel alive, or so on and so forth. But the truth is that you don't need these things because true life and fulfillment is found in Jesus. The lie when you're struggling with rage or anger is that you need to get, even to make them feel the way you felt. But the truth is the opposite, that we are called to show mercy and grace and forgiveness when we don't like our circumstances or want freedom from discomfort. The lies that you deserve to be happy and you can be the main character of your life and do whatever you want to do. But the truth is that God wants to use you to reach people and places that you might not feel comfortable in.
You see, later in John, in chapter 18, verse 37, jesus makes a claim that everyone who is of the truth hears my voice. And this is a bold claim, because what Jesus is really saying is that those who know the truth know that he speaks the truth, that he testifies the truth and that, as we see in John 14, verse 6, that he is the truth when he states that I am the way, the truth in the life. You see, jesus is the embodiment of truth, and so perhaps freedom can be found not just in the person and life of Jesus, but in us reflecting his character in our lives. Think of it this way you have a kid and they're having a hard time with their homework. What are you going to do? Are you going to sweep in every time, do it for them, hand it to them and they go on and then just struggle again later? Or are you going to go in, walk with them through it and teach them so that they themselves can do it on their own later, and perhaps even teach others that are struggling with the same things? This is what freedom can look like sometimes. It might not be instantaneous, but we know that he will walk with us through it. He will teach us so that if those things come up again later, we already know how to step and walk in freedom. And when we see others who are struggling with something we might have struggled with in the past, we're able to speak with them and teach them how they too can be free because of what Jesus told us and taught us. Now, I'm not trying to discredit the fact that it's going to be hard, because odds are it will be very hard, but thankfully it is not impossible and as we continue to spend time immersed in the truth and with Jesus and working to be more like him, the Holy Spirit actually works in us to help shape us and mold us into his image, making it easier to walk in freedom as we begin to walk more like the one who brought freedom.
Now, maybe you remembered that I said there was three things you were going to talk about wanting freedom from, and we've only really talked about two. And the third one can be a very difficult one, and that is freedom from what we experience, and this is a type of freedom from something that happens in spite of everything you've done. Perhaps it's freedom from something that's happened to you not happened because of you, you didn't choose it, you didn't ask for it but this thing keeps you bound. These are things that are outside of our control, things that might have been forced on us or others have forced on us, whether in the past or in the present, and these can be the hardest of all. They can be tender and they can be sensitive, and they can be hard, and really the lies just want to keep you in bondage.
In those situations, I've heard stories of people that were stuck in abusive relationships and the reason they never got out was because they felt like they couldn't, because someone told them they deserved it or that this is your fault. You asked for it. You brought this on yourself, and to them I would say that's a lie. That's the lie, trying to hold you in bondage, whereas the truth is that, no, you did not do this to yourself. No, you do not deserve the way you're being treated, because I know someone who will treat you a lot better. His name is Jesus and he will treat you better than you've ever deserved. That's why he stepped down from his throne in heaven and took his place on the cross.
But when we're dealing with these things, when we're dealing with wanting freedom from what we experience, what it's really truly, honestly going to take is patience and forgiveness and the Holy Spirit. Patience, because if you're the one needing this type of freedom, it's good. There's going to be a process. There might be some hard processes. There might be some things you have to walk through that aren't easy. It might take resilience to get through that and see the other side. It's going to take forgiveness, because it might require forgiving someone that you don't think deserves your forgiveness. Forgiving someone that hurts you, maybe now or as are you in the past. Forgiveness that you don't get stuck in a cycle of bitterness and of anger, causing yourself to just go from one form of bondage to another. And, of course, it's going to take the Holy Spirit, because it might just take the power of the Holy Spirit for you to build up the courage to take a step out from underneath that bondage. It might take the power of the Holy Spirit to build up in you what you need to step in to freedom. It might take a miracle and Sometimes, when this is what we're stuck in, when this is what we're struggling with, we also need to understand that it can't be accomplished alone.
There are people and professionals out there that can help. Whether you're stuck in an abusive relationship, whether you're struggling with a form of addiction that you inherited because of the way your parents were, whatever it might be, there are people and professionals that you can go to. As much as I want to stand here and I want to tell you, oh no, jesus will just set you free, which is true, he can. I Don't want to over spiritualize this and say, oh no, like, don't worry about anything else. We need to balance this tension of the reality of, yes, god is mighty to save, yes, he can set you free, and also, he has equipped people and Placed resources in place here on earth that can also help you.
And so now, looking at these three things that people seek freedom from, I Want us to talk about what freedom can look like, how we can step into freedom, these two types of freedom that I find all throughout scripture. And again, I want to remind us that, yes, god is big and mighty to save and, yes, he can set us free. But also there might be times where he's waiting for us to take the next step To show we want to walk with him out of it, to show that we are choosing to rely on him, not from a place in our hearts of wanting him to just make it all better for us, but from a place in our hearts saying that, god, I know you are greater and I know you can set me free, and I'm willing to do what it is you need me to do to step into your freedom, no matter how hard it may be. And God does want to set us free. He doesn't want to see his sons and daughters stuck in bondage. That's why he called them out from Egypt. That's why he sent Jesus, his son, because he does not want to see his kids struggle in bondage. What he wants to see is his kids go to him, rely on him, trust in him so he can set them free. Hebrews 4.16 says this. Let us, then, with confidence, draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. One way you want to find freedom Draw near to the throne, run to the Father, stand before God and be honest with what it is that you're struggling with. Find a trusted friend and share with them what it is that you're dealing with or walking through.
In the Bible we kind of see different ways that people are set free. In the Acts we see two separate stories of apostles that are stuck in prison literally changed down. The first story is found in Acts 12 and in the story, peter is in prison for sharing the gospel and while he's in prison, one night an angel of God comes to him and he says it feels as if I was dreaming, but suddenly this angel led me out through the prison, past the watchtowers, past the gates. I didn't do anything, he just led me out. No one even knew I was gone. We see this miraculous story of God taking someone in bondage and setting them free.
Later, in Acts 16, we see another story, and this time Paul and Silas are in prison, literally chained down, and while they're in prison they're praising God and suddenly a mighty earthquake comes and shakes the prison and their chains fall off and the door opens. And now they have a choice, because they're sitting there and they look to each other and they ask themselves and the person beside them okay, what are we going to do? Are we going to step out into this freedom the door has been opened to, or are we going to sit and wait for the guards to come? And what do they do when the door is open? Do they step through it? They choose to step into the freedom that God has provided for them, and time after time, we can see these two types of freedom take place in the Bible.
You see, when Israel was in Egypt, yes, god freed them, but they still had to follow him into the wilderness. It wasn't an easy one and done situation. When we see the story of Noah, god tells Noah, I will save you from this flood, but you also have to build an ark. You see, this type of freedom is a freedom in which God opens the door and provides a way, but we also have to walk with him into it. We have to put in the work ourselves. We have to be willing to step out from the circumstance of the situation that's holding us down, even if it's hard, even if it's uncomfy, and stepping into the freedom he's providing for us.
Then, on the flip side, we see these stories. We see people like Daniel, who's thrown into a lion's den, and an angel comes and closes the mouths of the lion. We see Shadrach, meshach and Abedna go thrown into a fiery furnace and a glowing figure who looks like the Son of God is standing there with them, keeping them from being burned. And in these stories we see a Lord who steps in and sets his people free miraculously. These are the two types of freedom, and sometimes it can be hard to differentiate between which one it is God's calling you to, whether it's one in which he steps in and miraculously makes a way, or whether it's one where he's saying hey, I'm right here, just take my hand, begin to walk with me and we'll get out of this together. This is something we have to consider.
But now perhaps there's people here, or maybe there's some people here, and you know of people that aren't here and they don't actually have the ability to figure this out or to ask for freedom on their own. Maybe you're so exhausted because you've been trying, you've been asking for freedom, you've been trying to do the right thing, but it's just not working out and it's been so so long. That is where the church can come in. That is where we can join together, where we can intercede for each other, for our brothers and sisters, where we can offer prayer and help and accountability and resources, because the truth is, we're not called to do this alone. You don't have to fight for freedom on your own. There's a family around you that will be here. They'll pray with you, they'll walk with you, they'll stand for you, they'll help you get out of those places or situations or whatever it may be.
When I think of this idea of praying for the freedom of others, I'm reminded of these stories in the Gospels, one story in which a group of friends brings their paralyzed friend to Jesus and lowers him through the roof, and when he sees this, he says Because of the faith of your friends, you are healed. Because of the faith of your friends, who are healed, our faith has the power, when partnered with God, to set others free. I also think of the story of the Roman official who sends for Jesus because his servant is dying, saying Jesus, can you come Heal my servant? I know you can. And before Jesus even gets there, this official sends another servant and says no, no, no, don't come to my house. I'm not even worthy of having you step foot in my door, but I know how authority works. I know that you can say the word there and it will be done here, when we pray and make requests of the Lord here.
It's not just stuck in this room, it can make its way to those people and places and circumstances that you're praying for on behalf of. Because the truth is sometimes freedom can be found a little easier when we aren't doing it alone. It can be easier when we're doing it walking with others, opening up to those that we know we can trust that will pray for us and love us, and for those of us that are those people praying for and loving others, let us do it in the image of Christ. Let us love others and pray for them the way Jesus does, with truth, but with love.