Luke’s goal was to share the truth that all people, regardless of who they are could find everything they truly need in Jesus Christ. He is the only One to meet our deepest needs: love, acceptance, forgiveness, purpose, and hope (for today as well as tomorrow). Jesus gave us the way by which we can obtain all of this as well: repentance, belief, and commitment.

There is a misconception connected with people who commit thier lives to Jesus. Some think that we are not affected by hardships, struggles, and that everything is perfec. This is simply not the case at all.

Our focus, this morning, is the phrase “He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives.”

But what does this mean?
1. Define our terms.
a. Proclaim means to make known the truth.
b. Liberty means to liberate, to deliver, to forgive.
c. Captive means to be taken by force by the tip of the spear.
2. Illustrate what Jesus meant. Here are some things that take us captive.
a. Our past. If you only knew!
b. Our fear. What will other say or think about me.
c. Our regrets. I wish I had done that, or not done that.
d. Our resentment toward others. They hurt me bad, or they should have done this for me.
e. Our worry. What if!
f. Our own desires. I want to live anyway that I desire too.
3. Apply how we may overcome these thing in Jesus Christ.
a. Step one: admitting we need to be liberated.
b. Step two: asking for forgiveness.
c. Step three: learning from our bondage.
d. Step four: recommiting our lives to following Jesus.