La verdadera libertad

The Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me. Therefore, go around the world teaching and preaching the gospel to every creature, to the end of the earth. En Contacto, the ministry of biblical teaching of Dr. Charles Stanley. Today on En Contacto, the true freedom. Freedom is an encouraging word, very motivating and also beautiful. It is a word that everyone would like to feel in the deepest part of their being, no matter who they are. A word that causes revolution. A word that unites spouses when they realize how genuine love is, which allows them to surrender to each other. Where does freedom fit into your being? Do you want to be free in your finances? Do you want to be free politically? What does freedom mean to you? There are many people who are very rich but do not have freedom. They have high positions, although without freedom. Look, freedom is not in the things that we have been able to achieve in life. Freedom is in an idea, which says something about what we are, what we believe, and how far we will go to put that freedom within the reach of someone else. I do not know what is happening in your life that is causing you that feeling that you are not free. But perhaps in this message, if you pay close attention, you will discover what it is about. Because my prayer for you is that you may be free.

May God free you so that you may be the person He plans you to be, and so that you may achieve in life the things that He wants you to achieve. I would like us to go to chapter 8 of John, a very well-known chapter in the Bible. In his conversation with his listeners, he did not say, this is how salvation is achieved, but rather, by being saved by grace, let us see what needs to be done. That is, listen to what he said. In chapter 8 of John, verse 28, Jesus said, When you have raised up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am, and that I do nothing for myself, but that I speak as I have been taught by the Father. For he who sent me with me, has not left me alone the Father, because I always do what pleases him. Wouldn't he like to be able to say that? I always do what pleases him. And speaking to him of these things, many believed in him. Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, If you remain in my word, you will be truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. Notice what he said. He said thus, If you remain in my word,

the word of God, If you remain in my word, you will be truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. What truth? What truth is it that sets us free? That is what I would like to talk about in this message. It is very clear in the Bible why Jesus came. He says that there are three main reasons why he came. Number one, he came to seek and save what had been lost. He came to the world, gave his life on the cross, and paid our debt of sin so that we could be saved and be children of God. Another reason why he came, the Bible says, so that you and I may have life and life in abundance. Look, it is not enough to be saved. There are people who tell me often, I am already saved, as if the Christian life had ended, and it is not like that. But he came to give us life in abundance, which is a full life, joyful, where we discover the will of God, where we discover the ways of God, where we discover God in a very personal and close way, and where he is also deeply involved in every aspect of our lives. And now, another reason why he came, to free the captives.

And this is the part of the message that I would like to address, the idea of freeing the captives. And if I asked you today, how many of you feel like captives, perhaps most of you would say, I am not. I am free. I'm free from debt, I'm free from work, and my family. So I could cite many things in which one feels free. But is it spiritually free? Well, it won't be truly free until it is spiritually free. Well, what are the things that captivate us? What are the things that make us live in captivity all our life? Well, one of them is the error that they have taught us. There are many people, for example, who don't believe that Jesus is the only way to salvation, so they are always looking for this and that, trying to decipher which is the best way to walk. They know that they are captivated by the confusion of the error that someone taught them or suggested to them. Likewise, there are those who believe that they are saved by their good works. Well, it is a form of captivity, and I will tell you why. How many good works? There is no answer. Which ones are good? There is no answer. The good works of whom? There is no answer. And if you fight continuously with these questions and there is no answer, you will not be free. For example, those who believe that God accepts them thanks to their effort. What kind of effort is it? How far should I strive? And with whom should I compare myself?

So that there they continue, in their life, trying to strive enough to please God or to make Him love them. That is not freedom. And if I try to convince God to love me for my effort, I am captivated. Another aspect, here are the vices that captivate people. There are some people, for example, who could surprise you by saying, Oh, I don't think that is important. Of course it is. There are people who are captivated by lies and deception. There is something in them that cannot be honest, and the reason for that is their fear of rejection. They cannot be honest because they live a life full of deception. It is a form of captivation, since many people have grown up with that. And one cannot really affirm if they ever say the truth or not. Then we have sexual immorality. Wherever you go today, it seems that sexual immorality is at the forefront. So people say, I want to be sexually free. Listen carefully. What most people mean by that is, I want to be free to exercise my sexuality in the way I want. That is not freedom, it is captivation. And many people, if they were honest, would say, I really do not have freedom. I am pushed and captivated by ideas and passions that would end with me if I allowed it. That is not freedom. It is captivation. And now we have drunkenness. And of course, people who drink will say, look, I am free. I am free to do whatever I want. And why doesn't it stop? Well, it could stop if I wanted to. And why doesn't it do it?

The reason why they don't want to is because they cannot. Do you know why? Look, think about this for a moment. People drink something that is liquid, and this liquid can cause them all kinds of anguish, conflicts, pain and sorrow to themselves, to their families, and to others. Are you going to let it capture you and enslave you? And make your life and that of your family bitter? And then you would say, well, I can leave it whenever I want. Well, isn't it strange that you never want to? Even when you have cried, even when you have spent God's money, even when you have dispossessed those in your own house, even when you have caused all kinds of confusion, of pain, of suffering in your family, you still don't want to leave it? That is not freedom. It is a form of senseless captivity. You will not be free until you are freed through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. You are not free until Jesus frees you to worship Him, to praise Him, to love Him, to follow Him, and to walk in His ways. Any other style of life does not offer freedom, but slavery. And well, by chance, have you had to deal with any of these things in your life? Well, none of these is the most evasive of all. The most evasive of all is this, the captivating feelings that we have, those emotions of ours that usually destroy people. Consider this for a moment. What forms of emotional slavery can some of us have in our lives that can destroy us or oppress us? There are many people who have many faculties, talents, and skills, and the reason

for which they do not advance in life is because they have been imprisoned by a spirit of fear. I am afraid of failure. I am afraid of not doing things right. I am afraid of what people say, so that fear dominates their lives. They will tell you that they are totally free, but they are not. Then there is false guilt. Once you believe in Christ as your Savior, you are free. You are no longer guilty. And someone will say, well, I regretted that sin that happened a long time ago. However, when I get ready to pray, it reappears. For some reason, it appears again. I know that I have repented, that I have asked God for forgiveness, but somehow it reappears. This is usually a false feeling of guilt. And what does it do to you? It keeps you imprisoned. No matter what you do, that feeling of guilt represses your joy, your peace, your happiness. And you say, if only I could get rid of that. So there are people who live with false guilt and people who live with jealousy. Jealousy has captured them. They are like tied up. They are jealous. Don't you know why they are jealous? Maybe something happened a long time ago in their life, or maybe something happened recently. They don't even think clearly, but they must admit it, saying, I don't think clearly these days. They won't admit what the problem is, although sometimes they do. But we have to deal with the issue. And there is a truth that can free you from fear, jealousy, and everything else. There are also people, for example, who live continuously in anxiety and anxiety. Suppose this happens to my children. What happens to me?

That I lose my job. Suppose, suppose. And then they go into a dungeon, so to speak, of what? Anxiety, insecurity, and fear. And they ask themselves, what would happen in their life? Until you can deal with that, you will remain tied up. And many people are full of anxiety and full of fear, perhaps because of the way in which they grew up and were treated. And then they say, you know what? I have always felt like this all my life. That does not mean that it is God's will. And then the feeling that we can never please God. There are people who say, you know what? I simply cannot please God. I have regretted doing this and that. I have been baptized twice. I have gone to several churches. I have tried to pray, but I do not know how to please God. That is because you do not know who He is. You do not have to strive to please Him. He wants to allow you to do what He wants you to do. It is not about exaggerating. Oh, I must please God. I remember in my own life, for example, that I had to overcome and free myself from a doctrine that I knew was not right. It said that if I sinned after being saved, I could go to hell. I grew up with that. I remember that I would kneel next to the bed and say, Oh God, for what I have done today, I ask you in the name of Jesus to save me again. I cannot promise you anything, but here I am, Lord. And I was sincere because I believed that every time I sinned, I would go to hell. That is what they taught me.

And the day I got rid of that, brother, I got rid of it. Because that is not true. And then there are people who are full of bitterness. Look, there are people who have become bitter because of the mistreatment of their family. And there are people with bitterness because of what happened in their life and cannot free themselves. And this is the tragedy. If you lived a situation where there are literally reasons in your mind to be bitter and resentful and hostile towards someone because of the way they treated you, remember what we said will be part of you. It is part of your thoughts, of your feelings. You have felt it since you were little. But listen, you will live in captivity until you are willing to let go. And God will set you free from that. Then, one of the worst things is the lack of forgiveness. It is absolute captivity. If you cannot forgive someone for what they have done to you, that is a form of captivity that will push you. Listen, it will push you and impact you in every area of your life. You cannot have an attitude of lack of forgiveness and keep it there. You will say, look, I have that attitude of lack of forgiveness. No, you have that attitude. You must be willing to resolve that and you can resolve it and be free. It does not matter who it is. As you can see, these are things that we do not see often in people. Each one of these emotions that we have talked about, as you can see, none of these things harmonize with who we are. When you believe in Jesus Christ as your Savior, I will show you in a moment what He did for you. Well, it doesn't harmonize, and if it doesn't harmonize, I have to take care of that, so let's think for a moment. It's simply this. If all of this is true, what is the truth that sets us free? Well, if you don't answer this question, we're just wasting time.

What is the truth that sets us free? Pay close attention. To begin, the truth about our salvation. You and I believe in Christ as our Savior, to forgive our sins, based on this, His death in Calvary, which expiated all of our sins, past, present and future. Therefore, I cannot lose myself after being saved. That is to say, all of my freedom is based on a personal relationship with Him. Pay attention, and He is the Creator of freedom. He is the one who sets slaves free. And the second truth is this, the truth about our position, because you have heard what I always say. What is your position now that you have believed in Christ as your Savior? We speak of our position, according to Scripture. In another time, we were enemies of God, but now Scripture says that we are children of God. Before, we were far away, and not only far away, but distanced from God over there. Now, Scripture says that you are co-heirs with Christ of all that God has. Once, he was guilty. He was guilty, but now he is forgiven, a son of God forgiven. Once, he walked in darkness, not knowing what was happening. Now, he walks in the living light, a son of God. Once, he was dead in sin and sin. Now, he is spiritually alive. God has done all those things in his life, and He does them in our lives when we come to Him as our Savior. And He begins to act in our lives, freeing us from all things. Look, God's will is to free us from all things that hinder His will, His purpose, and His plan for His life. He is willing to dig in His life and fix the things of the past that have been there since childhood. He wants everything that hinders His will, His purpose, and His wonderful plan for us to come out of our lives. As you can see, that is our position. We are sons of God. For those who have a will, a purpose, and a plan, so is He. And if I have to be free, I have to understand that I am not only saved, but that this is my true divine and spiritual position, which we have just mentioned. And what are our spiritual possessions? Now that I am a son of God, I possess some things just like you. For example, I would like us to go to this passage.

Maybe you don't know it, but it's simple. In 2 Peter, look at what it says. Sometimes people read this verse over it. It says, for example, in verse 3, chapter 1, Like all things that belong to life, and... It's a fact. They have been given to us. It's not that He will do it. When we are saved, they are given to us by His divine power, through the knowledge of the One who called us by His glory and excellence. Now look. By means of which He has given us precious and great promises, so that through them you may become participants of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that exists in the world because of the corruption. What do you think? Let's see what happens. This is the reason why you and I can be free. We have trusted in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior. We have a different position and different possessions in life. And He says that one of the things that He has given us, He has given us His nature. Look, we have the privilege and the power to live in Christ with piety, because we have the nature of God in us. And look, He also says that He has given us what is necessary to live a pious life. If I want to be free, that starts with Jesus. If I want to be a free person, I must start accepting what is mine. Accept who we are in Christ. Accept what we have in Him. And walk the paths that He would walk. And you have access to freedom in each of the areas of your life if you decide to accept that. So, when I look at that, I think,

Well, Lord, how can I be free? First, I must decide. I must decide that I will be free from everything that is in my life that should not be there. Second, I must decide to believe that I can be free. And someone will say, Look, I have been like this all my life, for years. So, I am nailed to captivity. So I must decide to be free. I must decide to believe that I can be free, and here is the key. If this is the case, that I know who I am in Christ, and what are my possessions, and what is my identity, and my privileges, what's next? What do I do? What do I do to exercise that freedom? How do I free myself daily? Simply by doing this. Notice this. By responding to the circumstances of my life, day after day. The situation, my circumstances, situations, and situations, however they may be, I respond to them, based on what? Based on my salvation, I am the Son of God. Based on my position, what I have, listen, what I am in Christ, Son of God. Based on my possessions, he says I have everything I need. I have the nature of God in me, God in me, and God's promises, and look, I have the identity of a follower of Christ. Well, you present yourself and you are tempted in some way. How do you respond? Who am I in Christ, Jesus? What are my positions in Christ? In other words, you respond based on the truth. When Jesus said, the truth will set you free, what did he mean? He did not speak of something that he would do at that moment. He said, the truth will set you free. Look at this. You heard the truth. We have already spoken of what the truth is, of what you are, of your possessions, of your position as the Son of God. That is the truth. Now, what is the truth that sets me free? Well, the truth of who He is in us. Do I become free when I face some circumstance in life based on what? Who am I in Jesus? What do I have in my possession according to Jesus? In other words, what would happen then? Would I be free? Lord, that does not fit what I am, but you said this, you said that your divine power is in me,

and that the Spirit of God would set me free, and I claim that by faith in the name of Jesus. God will set us free. But the tragedy is that if you do not know that there is captivity in your life, if you do not know that there are things in your life, or you have not been willing to recognize it, to listen to it, you will live in captivity, look, at a level, at a level that is down here, when God wants you to live up there. And as we said, it is your own decision, and it is a decision that we make based on the truth. And everything I have said is simply the truth. It is about who He is, what He has done in His life, and what He has done in mine, what He will do, and what He has promised to do. He said, Believe me, and He says, the truth will set you free. But it is necessary that you say it. You have to know that you need to be free, that you want to be free, that you are willing to believe that you can be free, and believe Him. And whoever you may be, wherever you may be, and whatever may be happening, I know that some will say, That is what I want. I want freedom. You can have it. Start with Jesus and the task of the Holy Spirit in your life. You desire freedom. Accept His promise of freedom. Accept that freedom, and have confidence that He will be in you all that you need, and that He will do for you all that you need Him to do. Let me just say one thing. When you are captive, this is what you feel. When you are free, there is a feeling that you cannot describe. You cannot describe it clearly, because what happens? The weight is gone. The guilt is gone. And all those silly things that you thought were important in your life, they are all gone. And now the important thing is this, just to please Him and love Him. It is not to please Him because of what will happen, but to please Him because of what I desire. And you desire it. It is a freedom that only comes with the person of Jesus Christ. So think of all the people who have never believed in Christ as their Savior, who are living in captivity. And it is not my responsibility or His to approach someone and tell them, You are a slave. Do you know why you should not do that? Many of them are already aware of that, but they do not know why.

And my message is simply this. You do not have to continue living as you live. It is a decision you make, and God has made it so simple that you stumble with everything. Receive Him as your personal Savior. Have confidence that it is all you need because you promised it. And trust that He will make this happen in your life because only He can do it. And see Him work. Trust in the Lord and see Him work. He will make it free. And let us see what you will do. You will say, Thank God that I left behind that path. Because you don't need that in your life. Father, how much we thank you because you made it simple and clear so that anyone of us could understand, Lord, what you want to do in our lives and what you are willing to do and everything you have provided to make us your free children. I ask that this message remains, O God, and that a portion of it is attached to the life of each person who sees or hears it. You want us to be free because you died for us to be free. And now what? While people hear and examine themselves, they can be sincere and say, O God, I was not born free. O God, I am captive. I want to be free. I trust that you will make me free. Thank you, Father, for your freedom. In the name of Jesus.

Amen. ♪♪♪