Jesus sits down in his home town and opens the scroll to this passage and reads

Luke 4:18–19 (NIV) — 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Freedom: the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint.

Liberty: the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views.

Freedom is one of America’s defining values

• Declaration of Independence
  • We were taxed unfairly
  • We were represented unfairly
  • We were imposed upon unfairly
  • We were judged unfairly 
  • WE WANTED FREEDOM
• Emancipation Proclamation
  • Whereas, on the twenty-second day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, a proclamation was issued by the President of the United States, containing, among other things, the following, to wit:
  • "That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free!

So now Jesus is standing up reading the “declaration of Independence” the “emancipation proclamation” for the souls of humanity. He divided it into 3 categories

1. Liberty for the captives
2. Sight for the blind
3. Freedom for the oppressed

Visual in your mind

1. A person in a dungeon with chains
   1. Confined and restricted
2. A person in a dark dungeon with chains
   1. Paul’s prison in Rome
   2. Darkness 24 hours at a time
3. A person in a dark dungeon with chains, and with an oppressor

This is picture of humanity

So what’s the GOOD GOOD NEWS? Christ is breaking our chains, turning on the light, and defeating our oppressor!

1. The CHAINS of the flesh
   1. Chains symbolize captivity, restriction, ownership
   2. We often don’t think of ourselves as slaves, but many of us are! 
   3. We have PSEUDO freedom
      1. Like a dog without a leash, but has a shock collar on
      2. Like the alcoholic that thinks he free to drink, but in reality he is bound to drink
   4. Slaves to SIN
      1. Romans 7:23–25 (NLT) — 23 But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. 24 Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? 25 Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.
      2. I MUST SIN
   5. Slaves to the FLESH
      1. Our desires
      2. Our addictions
         1. Alcohol, drug, nicotine, gambling, pornography - chains
         2. Biological bondage
         3. Dopamine triggers
         4. Dancing on the line
   6. What’s the Good News?
      1. Romans 8:12–13 (NLT) — 12 Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. 13 For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live.
      2. You have no obligation
      3. There is freedom in the Spirit! 
      4. 2 Corinthians 3:17 (NLT) — 17 For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
2. The DARKNESS of the mind
   1. Darkness symbolizes ignorance and confusion
   2. Lost in my hotel room, ended up back in the bathroom.. I needed a light!
   3. 2 Corinthians 4:4;6 (NLT) — 4 Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God. 6 For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.
   4. Strongholds of belief - What you think is true
      1. Wrong religion
      2. Wrong worldview
      3. Wrong filter
   5. Strongholds of identity - Who you think you are
      1. I am worthless
      2. I am failure
      3. I am rejected
   6. Strongholds of hopelessness - What you think will happen
      1. It doesn’t get better
      2. There’s no way out
3. The TORMENTOR of our souls
   1. Now I want to talk about the enslaver, the tormenter
      1. When you see a picture in the news of a person that kidnapped a child, a mugshot, you want justice against that person.
      2. The tormenter of humanity is the strongman, the devil
      3. He is the enslaver
   2. The enslaver
      1. He wants to DRIVE you
         1. Away from people
      2. He wants to TORMENT you
         1. Saying things to you
         2. Causing you to self harm
      3. He wants to USE you
   3. Who can set us free?
      1. Luke 11:20–22 (NLT) — 20 But if I am casting out demons by the power of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among you. 21 For when a strong man is fully armed and guards his palace, his possessions are safe—22 until someone even stronger attacks and overpowers him, strips him of his weapons, and carries off his belongings.
      2. Even stronger!
      3. Attacks and overpower him
      4. Strips him of his weapons
      5. Carries off his belongings!
   4. Jesus can SET YOU FREE

The SPIRT breaks the chains

The WORD turns on the light

The BLOOD conquers the enemy