This was a man bound spiritually and emotionally. We don't know what he was before. A father? A husband? Then, Jesus freed him. Like him, true freedom is what God intends for all of us. Adam had it but he gave it up. Freedom or Bondage. Freedom or slavery. Any choice other than Jesus will put you in slavery to someone or something. Only through Jesus Christ can we experience true freedom.
There are three things that Hinder our Freedom in Christ:
#1 The influence of Satan: he will affect us if we let him. He is a threat because he gets into our thoughts and tells us lies.
"The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work." 1 John 3:8
But we don't have to allow this to happen.
"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." James 4:7
God tells us to resist the devil. Through Jesus Christ we don't have to fall for any of Satan's lies.
"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." John 10:10
All satan does is steal, kill and destroy.
“He has blinded their eyes
and hardened their hearts,
so they can neither see with their eyes,
nor understand with their hearts,
nor turn—and I would heal them.”[a] John 12:40
If you allow satan to affect you, that is your choice. That is the choice of bondage and slavery. Instead, acknowledge he exists, but actively fight against him. Use the weapons God has given you. Use the sword of the Spirit (the Word of God).
"Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes." Ephesians 6:11
Satan makes you look back. God wants us to look forward.
“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," Luke 4:18
#2. Love of Darkness:
People love living in darkness; doing their deeds where they think they are hidden.
"16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed." John 3:16-20
People don't want to be exposed. This is putting ourselves back into captivity. People enjoy the darkness. They have their pride and their Self and their way there. So many want anarchy. They don't want anyone telling them what to do.
"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in[a] Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23
"For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves," Colossians 1:13
This is what God does for us. This is true freedom!
God is a "chain-breaker."
#3 Fear:
Fear is based on our own limitations.
Fear of the unseen, the unexplainable, the power of God.
Rejection of faith because of our own fear of loss (or because of love of Self and pride).
We fear the loss of control of our Self. God doesn't want fearful followers. He wants us to come to Him in Love. We don't need to fear the future. The blessings will increase the more you are tormented by the world.
"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." 1 John 4:18
Come to God first. Don't wait until you are "fixed." Jesus didn't come to condemn people but to receive them.
"The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.[a] And by him we cry, “Abba,[b] Father.”" Romans 8:15
Fear will keep us from God's blessings and the promised land for us.
True freedom. Turn away from self-imposed slavery. Turn away from self to Jesus. Turn away from fear to freedom.
"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." Galatians 5:1
Freedom isn't free, but Jesus paid our price. A free gift from Him. He took our pain; our sin; our condemnation. Why fall back into slavery? When we don't live as Jesus calls us to live, we become slaves to Self.
"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:1-2
Choose to be free!