Luke 4:18-19
The Declaration of Freedom
Introduction:
Today we remember the infamous signing of our nation’s Declaration of Independence. A document that claimed freedom from the oppression the colonies were enduring from England. Tension between the Colonialist and the British Army often sparked battles throughout New England.
It was during the months that followed the battles at Lexington and Concord that Patrick Henry, the fiery politician from Virginia, gave his famous speech before the Virginia Provincial Convention. As he concluded his speech, he issued an ultimatum. Listen to his heart as he speaks:
3 million people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. Besides sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the Destiny of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battle for us. Battle sir, is not to the strong alone, it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave.
Besides sir, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat, but in submission and slavery. Our chains are forged. There clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable -- and let it come. I repeat it, sir let it come!
It is in vain, sir to extenuate the matter. Gentleman may cry peace, peace, but there is no peace. The war has actually begun! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle?
What is it that gentleman wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death."
Do you hear his cry, his desire, and his passion for freedom? Patrick Henry desired to be dead than in the chains of slavery. Then on July 4, 1776, the freedom that he longed for was declared. Yet it was not realized. The battle was still to come. The freedom was declared but it was not won, yet.
False Freedom
Many today are crying out for freedom. “It is my right to…” is their cry. Passionately they pursue the freedom speech, the freedom of pleasure, the freedom to do whatever they like to, yet they do not find freedom.
• The freedom to drink and get drunk only creates the slavery chains of alcoholism, bankruptcy, and divorce.
• The freedom to sleep with whomever, wherever only forges the bonds of incurable disease, broken hearts and shattered families.
• The freedom of foul speech only shackles the soul to the gutter pits of hell, clouds out reason and leaves one in ignorance.
• The freedom for women to choice imprisons the emotions of the mothers in a dungeon of guilt, heart ache and depression.
• The freedom of comfort only entangles the heart in laziness, indifference and self-centeredness.
Their pursuit of freedom that thousands upon thousands seek does not bring the liberty that they want. Their passionate pursuit only ends in the bondage of slavery that we abhor. They desire freedom but never really obtain it. Their quest only ends in their slavery to their passion. It only ends in their slavery to their sin.
I am here to say this morning that true freedom can only be found in one place. The freedom that America passionately desire is not found in the pursuit for personal pleasure. It is not found in the search for social significance. It is only found in Jesus Christ. Jesus came to bring real freedom. He came to bring freedom from the powerful bonds of sin. Sin is those activities and action, thoughts and desire, words and language that bring displeasure to the God of creation.
It is sin that God says carries a penalty of eternal death. The apostle Paul said it this way: for the wages of sin is death. The sin in our lives deserves the payment of death. Paul also tells us that everyone has sinned, except one—Jesus. Jesus came to set us free from the death bonds of sin.
At the beginning of His ministry, in His home town of Nazareth, He proclaimed His declaration of liberty to those in bondage.
In Luke 4: 18-19, we find that declaration. Turn there in your Bibles and let us read.
Luke 4:18-19
The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”
He came To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. That is the year of God’s good favor poured out on man. The year is not a set 365 days, but a period of time where God’s favor, God’s grace is available to mankind. That grace is still available to us now. In this passage, Jesus declares freedom in at least three areas.
-v18
Freedom from the bondage of Sin
To proclaim liberty to the captives
To set at liberty those who are oppressed
Illustration:
When I was in Egypt, I worked with one youth that was addicted to every drug that he could get his hands on including alcohol and cigarettes. These addictions lead him to be hospitalized to free him from those drugs. Yet, it did not help. He dried out enough to go home. It was not until later in the year when he met Jesus Christ and received His forgiveness and salvation did this young 17 year-old man found release from the bondage to those sins.
This is the very thing that we desire to have. We want to be free, but true freedom is only found in Jesus. Our sin keeps us in the bonds of slavery and Jesus is the only One that can break those chains.
Cf. Colossians 1:13
He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love
Freedom from the effect of Sin
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
Illustration:
This same young man in Egypt, even though he was freedom from the bondage of his addiction, would often have emotional troubles because of the addictions. I remember one Friday night at the youth center that he asked to talk with me. Then he would describe for me his “flash backs” that the residual effects of his addictions caused. The only release he found was in prayer. I would pray that the Holy Spirit would remove this problem and over time he did.
Sins in our lives cause emotional trouble for us. Consider David, who committed adultery with the wife of one of his soldiers. She became pregnant because of this sin. In order to cover up the sin David had her husband killed, and then married the lady. When David was confronted about the sin, he confessed it. Later, he wrote of the spiritual agony he felt because of this sin. Listen to his words:
Cf. Psalm 32:3-4
When I kept silent, my bones grew old
Through my groaning all the day long.
For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;
My vitality was turned into the drought of summer.
Freedom from Sin
To preach the gospel to the poor
Not only can we find freedom from the bondage of sin and the effect of sin but also from sin. God wants to forgive our sin. In forgiving our sin, He grants us a clean and pure heart that does not have any sin.
Cf. Romans 6:18
And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
Cf. 1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Paul says that we are free from sin and John says that we have been cleaned of our sin. God desires to free and cleanse us from sin. When He does that, He frees us from the effects of sin and the bondage of sin. By removing sin from our lives, the other two are removed as well.
Now, I am not saying that we can live a sinless life. That is not possible on this side of heaven, but we do not have to live in sin.
The Battle
This is the declaration of liberty that Jesus proclaimed in Nazareth. The proclamation was made, but the battle was to be fought. That Battle, that War took place of a hill outside of Jerusalem. In the Hebrew tongue it is called Golgotha, in the Latin tongue, Calvary. In English it is called the place of the skull. There, on that hill, Jesus was crucified between two thieves. It is there that God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21).
It is there that God took all the sin of all of mankind and placed it upon Jesus. He hung on a cross, between heaven and earth paying the death penalty for every sinful man, woman and child. As he hung bleeding, Scripture records that he yelled out It Is Finished. I like to think that He was yelling out FREEDOM!
Scripture then records that he calls out to God the Father asking Him to receive His spirit, and then he died. But that was not the end of the Battle. For three days Jesus was in a tomb and then He arose victorious over sin, death and the grave.
Today, we are remembering the battles that have been fought for our country’s freedom and we pledge our allegiance to the flag of this great nation. We remember to celebrate those battles fought for our freedom. Yet, too often we forget the greatest Battle of all, the battle at the skull. We also forget to pledge our allegiance to the Victor of that battle.
Listen to this song sung by JL Tidwell (I pledge allegiance to the Lamb).
Conclusion:
Where does you allegiance lie this morning?
Have you pledge your allegiance to Jesus?
This morning is very easy to do so. He wants you to have freedom from sin. He wants to forgive you of all your sin.
It is sin that keeps us in bondage and in emotional mayhem. Will you come and find freedom this morning?
Or will you stay in bondage to sin?
Jesus hung naked on a cross to buy your freedom. Do not be ashamed of wanting to receive it.
