To Be Free by Brother Curtis Hansen

         Our first scripture is going to come from the book of John chapter 8. We will read from verses 31 to 36.

        31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;

        32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

        33 They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?

        34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.

        35 And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.

        36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

        Let's look at the 31st verse again shall we? Jesus says "If you continue in my word, then you are my disciples indeed." There are different levels of freedom. Truth does indeed set you free like what Jesus states in verse 32, but truth can also be a burden. Jesus is guaranteeing that you will see the truth in what you are seeking.

        Now those who believed him had answered that as Abraham's seed they were never in bondage. There's a convenient memory lapse of literally the different times that the Jewish people were in physical bondage. Jesus then turns the conversation. He speaks of being in bondage to sin by committing sin. Anything in life that is holding you back spiritually is binding you. Jesus explains that you are not grandfathered into the kingdom by mere birthright. It goes back to the simple statement; You cannot be a servant of God and a servant of sin. 

        The first step toward freedom is obedience. We can look at the example of King David as one of freedom. It doesn't look like a fight but it is obedience. It can be follow the rules laid out step by step as far as freedom goes. Yes David did sin, and yes he did fall short in his life from time to time. He got himself up though. He was obedient to God.

        We will touch briefly on the other end of freedom which is fear. The number one reaction to anything good or bad in our life is fear. God did not want us to walk in the spirit of fear. Fear can be an overwhelming emotion that can be found in at least four different categories. There is 1) fear of loss 2) fear of failure 3) fear of rejection and 4) fear of the unknown. If you have something transpiring in your life that requires prayer, you need to have faith that your prayer will come to pass. If you look into Acts chapter 12 verses 1 through 19 you will read the account of King Herod attacking the early church. He had James the brother to John killed with a sword. Herod leaned into the people pleasing business that he took Peter and threw him in prison under heavy guard. How heavy was the guard? In verse 4 it says it was Peter was delivered to four quaternions. In one quaternion, that is four soldiers in the Roman legion. The math for four groups of four is 16. 16 Roman soldiers keeping Peter in prison through the days of unleavened bread. Herod wanted to make a big showing to the people after Easter! 

        Then a simple yet profound thing occurred in verse 5.

        5 Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him. 

         Peter was guarded with a soldier on his left side and his right side. He was bound with two chains when the angel of the Lord came and freed him from his bondage. Who today is currently in a form of bondage from some overwhelming fear? Bondage from a generational curse? Or from alcoholism? Pride? Envy? Prayer sets you free from that bondage! Read on to verse 11;

        11 And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.

        The revelation comes to Peter after passing through two wards, the iron gate that was in front of the city that just opened itself! And what were the leaders of the church doing? Verse 12;

        12 ..he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying.

        Now a damsel named Rhoda heard Peter knocking on the door and when she knew it was him from the sound of his voice, she was overjoyed to tell the intercessors. They replied with "You are crazy!" How similar can we be when someone has broken the bonds of addiction or overcome the enemy's attack for a season? Cynical? "That didn't happen!" "It's just a show!" We are no better than those who said as Abraham's seed they were never in bondage.

        What do you do with your freedom when you get it? You have faith but also certainty instead of fear. What will beat your own fears? Faith and what? Your purpose? Your prayers. Faith and your prayers.