PSALM 146:5-7 – Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever; who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free.

THEME OF THE DAY. WALKING IN SPIRITUAL FREEDOM. Imagine coming to church one Sunday morning, finding our place in the sanctuary, and settling in for the service. Our eyes glance across the sanctuary and we see an unfamiliar face. Then this “stranger” stands up. We immediately think, “This isn’t right. This isn’t in the bulletin or order of service.” We might even think, “I hope an usher comes up to Him and gets control.” But then, someone in a position of authority gives Him something and He began to read. Here is how Luke recorded this real story . . . “And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, ‘Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing’” (Luke 4:16-21). All we would do is stare at Him and say, “Wow”. Why “wow”? For a couple of reasons. First because of Him who spoke these words – the living God in the flesh; right in our midst. By the way, He does this every Sunday when the Bible is faithfully preached. And we should say, “wow” every Sunday, not because of the charisma of the preacher, but because Jesus is there through His Word. The other reason why we respond with “wow” is the message. It is the greatest words ever uttered because it meets the greatest need humans have – freedom from sin, Satan, and self.

As we read Luke’s account, did we catch that today’s scripture parallels the theme in Luke’s words? In the Gospel account, Jesus is proclaiming freedom; prisoners set free; those in spiritual bondage released. And those points are also being proclaimed by the Psalmist. So, with this emphasis, let’s identify four areas in our lives that Christ has set us free. Meditate on this. It will produce joy and peace in our hearts.

First, Christ sets us free from the devil. Humans, by birth, are slaves to the devil. The writer of Hebrews states, “that the devil through the fear of death holds humans captive to him” (Hebrews 2:14-15). But “Up from the grave He arose” and in His resurrection, Jesus sets us free from the devil.

Next, Christ sets us free from sin. Paul writing to the Romans, “We know that our old self was crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin” (Romans 6:6). Friends, we don’t have to languish in defeat. Christ has released us from the reigning power of sin. Learn to walk with Him in this new found freedom.

Finally, Christ sets us free from our greatest foe – self. Again from the Apostle Paul we read, “For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15). Our greatest joy in life and spiritual freedom is found in dying to self, not living for self. And Christ has wonderfully delivered us from the ugliness of selfishness.

Spiritual freedom. Praise the Lord He has provided it for us. May He help us to walk in what He freely gives.

PRAYER: “Father, I praise You for loving me and sending Your Son to set me free to love You back.”

QUOTE: “Christ has set us free from sin, Satan, and self in order to live above sin, Satan, and self.”