Breaking Free From Spiritual BondageSample

Break Free From Satan

There is a movie called, “The Burial,” that portrays how the enemy works against us.

It is loosely based on the true story of lawyer Willie E. Gary and his client, funeral home owner Jeremiah “Jerry” O’Keefe. Facing financial troubles, O’Keefe entered into a contract with a large funeral home company owned by Raymond Loewen. But when Loewen didn’t follow through on their agreement, O’Keefe suspected that Loewen was intentionally trying to force him into bankruptcy to snatch up his entire business.

The movie takes you on an emotional roller coaster, and in the end (spoiler alert), O’Keefe was awarded $500 million in damages—and that was in 1995 dollars.

I bring up this film because it parallels how the enemy of our souls works against us. Satan seeks to exploit God’s children and make us spiritually, emotionally, mentally, physically, and financially bankrupt. He comes to us with a solution we think will solve all our problems, but in the end, it leaves us on the brink of losing it all! The devil comes to kill, steal, and destroy each and every one of us. No one is exempt.

But like O’Keefe, you can overcome—because you have the right defender.

O’Keefe had a flashy lawyer named Willie Gary. You have God in heaven. He looked down thousands of years ago and knew you and I would face a formidable foe. For this reason, He loved us all so much that He sent His only begotten Son to the world to atone for our sins.

This is the crux of the gospel, something you likely have heard if you’ve accepted Jesus as your Savior. But I’m focusing on it today because one reason so many people are not representing the kingdom of God and living victoriously in Christ is that they have lost sight of the cross. They have a form of godliness, but deny its power.

The cross is more than a charm we wear to represent our risen Savior. The cross is the place where we received eternal victory over death, hell, and the grave.

1 Corinthians 6:20 says, “You were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”

The reason so many Christians are not representing the kingdom of God and living victoriously is that they have lost sight of the cross. Many have held to a form of godliness, but have denied its power.

Today, we will look at passages from Luke 22 and Matthew 27. We’ll see the significant impact of what Jesus endured for our sins and learn how to endure seasons of trial by observing the way Jesus endured His.