True liberty is something that we all seek, but many never find. I’m talking about the liberty of the Spirit, which brings a brand new vision of life to the heart and soul. Not many people know it is even available, but it is, so let’s talk about it today.
There is a way that brings us into the the reality of freedom without leaving this planet, even though the world is bound by so many issues. Many of the things that bind us can be avoided when we find the place of peace that can only be accessed through faith in God.
Troubled world
In this world there will always be trouble and turmoil, ever since the fall of man, and, the Bible tells us, increasingly so, but God’s people will be the light that shines through the darkness (Is.60:1-2).
People will also be under the sway of legalism, politics, media and public opinion, financial and peer pressure and the many binding influences that can crush the soul, but God’s people need to rise above this and make a difference despite what the world may try to drag us into.
Jesus told us that we would face what He called tribulation–that which causes great trouble or suffering. But He pointed to a solution that is available to us all. Speaking of days when it would seem that the whole world would be against them, Jesus assured his followers of a way to avoid fear of persecution, even when it comes.
These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33
The world is set to end. It has a finite time. There will come a time when the whole planet will come under a great tribulation, immense spiritual and social pressure, when people of faith will already have been transported out of the earth to be with Him, at the conclusion of this age, before the great judgement comes upon the people of the world who reject Christ.
When will this take place? Only God knows, but for now we are in a time of grace when God is withholding His final judgment so that souls can be saved and people are given the opportunity to hear the gospel, repent, and be saved.
In the midst of these times there is still pressure against the people of God because they represent Christ, and present a threat to the adversary’s temporal hold on the people of the world.
Enemy of God
There’s a seen world and an invisible spiritual world around us. Being aware of the latter is important. We can’t see it with the natural senses because it is supernatural, but it is there.
That’s why strange or unexplained things sometimes take place. Most people are drawn towards the supernatural, either through superstition, or premonition, or through seeking answers to some inexplicable conundrum.
And everyone knows about the constant battle between wrong and right, darkness and light, good and evil. Why do you think there is such an attraction to characters called heroes with superpowers?
We should understand that the enemy of Christ controls the minds and will of those who are still under his sway, even though most are unaware of it. We who are born again were once like them, but have been saved and changed, set free from the bondage to his wiles, and made alive to God.
And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
Ephesians 2:1-3
The prince of the power of the air is none other than the opposer, called in scripture ‘Satan,’ which has exactly the same meaning, being the Chaldean word for ‘opposer.’ He stands directly against God and anyone who believes in Him and is saved.
He has under his control those who resist God, called the children of disobedience, who knowingly or unwittingly submit to his regime through defying God’s will. Sin is the doorway to disobedience.
Our struggle is not with them, however, not with people, even though they are often deceived into coming against us when we try to show them the way to the truth. They are blind to spiritual truth, and therefore every other kind of truth (2 Cor.4:4). We are here to rescue them from the influence of Satan.
We wrestle against the opposer’s organised legions, the principalities, powers, rules and dominions of fallen spirits that permeate the invisible world where spiritual battles take place that influence the natural world (Eph.6:10-13).
Persecution is guaranteed
People of faith will increasingly come under persecution for their beliefs (2 Tim.3:12), yet Jesus says we should be of good cheer because He has overcome the world. He defeated the opposer of God and of God’s people at the cross. He died, was buried but rose again to life to give new life and eternal life to all who would believe in Him.
That means that no matter how much pressure God’s people come under, we still have that sense of peace that transcends all understanding and helps us get through even the most tumultuous of trials, as long as we remember to cast our cares on the Lord (Phil.4:6-7). This kind of peace can only come through a relationship with God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The good news is that this peace is available to everyone and anyone who can believe that God is offering His grace–His undeserved favour towards us–and the free gift of salvation to anyone who hears the gospel and believes, confessing Jesus as Lord and Saviour.
Peace is available to believers
And so peace comes to everyone who can believe and is granted amongst the promises of God. Accordingly, we have to stay at peace, and this isn’t always easy. It sounds strange, but we have to resist the temptation to let go of the peace He gives us. So we need the Holy Spirit in our lives to assist us, and to remind us that Jesus is our peace. He is the Prince of Peace (Is.9:6).
“These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
John 14:25-27
His part is to send the Holy Spirit to us to be with us, in us and upon us, to remind us of all Jesus has said to us, to comfort and counsel us, to strengthen us and to guide us into all truth. He will bring back to our remembrance that Jesus has said He has given us His peace, not the peace of the world, but His peace.
Our part is to not allow our heart to be troubled, nor let it be afraid. We are to allow His peace to reign in our hearts. He brings us into the liberty of the Spirit that never allows any kind of persecution, trouble or tribulation to shake us or cause us to be in anxiety. We need to learn to be unshakeable in faith.
Jesus said we should come to Him as little children, meaning completely innocent and free, full of joy and hope and dreams of a positive future (Mat.18:1-5). If we’re overly taken up with worldly affairs and exposed to the accompanying turmoil we will struggle with this. Letting go of fears and worries would be a start.
We can bring our anxieties to Him and lay them down. He will garrison our heart with peace (Phil.4:6-7). Moreover, He will present us with the fruit of the Spirit, which includes His peace (Gal.5:22-23).
Liberty of the Spirit
The Holy Spirit leads us into true liberty. We are free from the constraints of bondage that comes with the sin nature. It’s like a heavy, rain-soaked, muddy coat has been taken off our back, and replaced with a gossamer thin glory suit that is the very presence of God that comes upon us through the Holy Spirit in our lives. We are to put off the old person and put on the new (Eph.4:20-24).
We are flooded with God’s love, grace and mercy. We experience His righteousness and peace and joy.
The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Romans 14:17
This is true liberty. The things of the world become less crucial to us. We are saturated with His very Being in our lives. We become partakers of the divine nature.
Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
2 Peter 1:2-4
Grace and peace multiplied. He wouldn’t say it if it weren’t possible. It is multiplied to us through the knowledge of God the Father, and of His Son Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, and the work He has done to bring us to this place of liberty, life and peace.
You see? Salvation through grace by faith is the great escape. We enter into a brand new kind of liberty in the Spirit. We live with Him, through Him and by Him. We come into His Rest. We live in His liberty. We are family. We are like-minded. We are free in the Spirit.
Liberty can be found. It’s right there, on your lips and in your heart. Receive it today. It’s free.
