Toure Roberts - Seeing In The Dark

Do me a favor: greet somebody in a very loving way on your way down this journey together. Hallelujah! I want to begin this conversation by discussing an idea that, in recent days, has been strongly impressed upon my heart. That idea is the concept of freedom. I’m curious to know what comes to mind when you think about freedom. I don’t necessarily believe that, for the most part, many of us are confused about the concept of freedom; I don’t think it’s confusing. Depending on who you ask, when you think about freedom and what your interpretation of it is, it will invoke ideas about choice, the freedom of choice, the freedom of speech, and the freedom of expression. When you think about freedom, independence is often associated with our understanding of what it is. For some people, it’s financial freedom, the freedom to move about as you wish because you have the financial means to do so; mental and emotional freedom, etc. So, when we consider freedom, these are some of the things that come to mind. Would you agree that that’s kind of what freedom means? Freedom of expression, freedom for each, and the freedom to choose—that’s what freedom means to me. However, I think the majority of us don’t think deeply enough about the concept of freedom. Much like the people Jesus spoke to, freedom doesn’t mean much if you don’t realize you’re not free. Jesus tells them, «You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.» They should have gotten excited; they should have shouted. But then, they said, «We were never in bondage.» The very thing that Jesus was offering was not as appealing as it should have been because of their blindness to the fact that they were not free. When I think about freedom, I believe that the greatest form of freedom is experiencing liberty from unperceived bondage. I have to say that better: I think all those things are right—freedom of expression, freedom of choice; financial freedom, yes, I want to go where I want to go and do what I want to do—that’s fine. But I think the deepest and most powerful freedom is freedom from what I call unperceived bondage. Can we have some fun today? Unperceived bondage is being bound without knowing that you are bound. That is the worst type of bondage, because if I am bound and I know I’m bound, I can seek freedom. Hello, somebody; I’m halfway there! I have a consciousness of the fact that I’m bound, and I can seek freedom. But if I’m ignorant of my state, then the bondage is great. Are you tracking with me? Okay, can we walk this out a little? Therefore, if you’re taking notes, write this down: the antithesis of freedom is ignorance. The opposite of freedom is actually ignorance. That’s why when you look at Jesus, and we’ll look at the text in a second and break it down, he shows up on the scene with a consciousness of the supposition of bondage. That’s why, when it’s prophesied about Jesus coming in Isaiah 61, it says, «The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; he has anointed me to open the prison doors to those that are bound.» He’s not talking about just some of us; he’s talking about all of us when he shows up. So when he talks to his disciples—those he aims to influence and empower in such a way to be influential—the first thing he starts discussing is freedom. They’re freaking out, saying, «We aren’t slaves!» But the truth was right there in what he said: «The truth will make you free.» Actually, that’s not what he said; he said, «You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.» Did you know that the truth doesn’t make you free? If the truth made people free, everybody would be free because the truth exists. And I’ll break down truth in a minute; the truth doesn’t make you free. Pastor Stephanie, it is your knowledge of the truth that makes you free. Can I go deeper? Can we look at the text? So, if you’re taking notes, write this thought down: the knowledge of truth sets free, not truth itself. Now let’s look at the text, John 8:32. I love this: it says, «And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.» First of all, I’m going to define truth real quick. When I’m talking about truth, I’m not referring to something merely described as a fact or a series of facts or events, but I’m talking about truth.