Today Your Freedom Begins — Carter Conlon

The title of my sharing today is called Today Your Freedom Begins. Today, not tomorrow, not next year. Today is the beginning of your freedom. So Father, I thank you, God, for giving this word tonight.

I thank you, Lord, for your deep and abiding presence, God, that sits upon your word every time we open it. Thank you, Lord Jesus Christ, that no matter the opposition, your word still finds a way into the darkest recesses of the human heart and the human mind.

I do pray tonight for those that are listening, those here, those online that are hearing this word, God, that you would bring a shout of freedom into every heart. Lord, you would, line by line, step by step, Lord, truth by truth, your kingdom would begin to advance in every heart, every life, and every mind.

God, we realize tonight that we are in a fight for truth in this generation, and we will not sit down, we will not back down, and we will not be quiet. Our song will not be taken away, and we will fight for those who are crying out.

They don't know even who they're crying out to, but they're crying out for freedom and deliverance. We will fight for them. God, thank you tonight, thank you tonight, thank you that today somebody's freedom begins.

In Jesus' name, amen and amen. I'm gonna start in Exodus chapter, Exodus chapter four, verse 29 to 31. I'm gonna start by reading there. It says, then Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel.

Freedom Begins When God Visits the Captive

Now, these people have been in captivity for 400 years, folks, 400 years. That's a lot of generations, have grown up. They've never known anything but captivity. They've never known anything but this dominant, oppressive culture around them that was telling them when to get up, when to go to bed, what to think, how to think it, the parameters of their behaviors, and the parameters of their freedoms, and the parameters of their ability to even worship their God.

They probably lived under constant mockery of people saying, well, you are supposed to be the children of God. If that is true, then why are you being dominated by us? And where is your God? Where is the strength of your God?

I know that people listening online, you fight those thoughts all the time. Many who may have known Christ at some point in your life, and the devil is right there saying, well, if you really are a child of God, then why do you struggle the way you struggle?

And where is he now when you really need him? Moses and Aaron gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel, and Aaron spoke all the words which the Lord had spoken to Moses. Then he did the signs.

Now, there were three signs that were given, two particular, but the signs were given to the people so they might believe that God was with them and about to bring them into freedom. He did the signs in the sight of the people so the people believed.

And when they heard that the Lord had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked on their affliction, they bowed their heads and they worshiped. Now, we have come to you today where you are.

We've come to you in your home. We've come to you in your car, on your park bench, wherever it is that you are, your apartment, your bedroom, your living room. We've come to you the very same way that Moses and Aaron did to tell you that you can be free.

Now, there's a lot of people involved in this. They've been held captive by probably one of the most dominant military nations of that particular era in the world. In the gate one day comes two old men, 80 and 83 years old.

That one of them has a stick in his hand, the other has a stutter so bad that he can hardly speak. He needs his brother to deliver the messages that God had placed on his heart. So this is not a symbol of strength coming in in the natural.

It's a symbol of weakness. You know, Paul the Apostle once said, when I am weak, then I am strong. It's almost as if God has to get us out of the way so he can be God one more time. So he can show his power to another generation and we will not touch the glory.

When we're strong in ourselves, we have a tendency to brag and boast about ourselves and we have a tendency to want to tell everybody else how things should be done. But when we come in and we're weak, then we know that we've needed the strength of God to do what we do.

And we know that the strength that we have found in our God can also belong to you because his word is true. He didn't send them in in strength. He sent them, otherwise the people would be looking to something of natural ability.

He sent them in in weakness because the only option was God. I mean, obviously, these two old men are not gonna go out and fight with the Egyptian army and get us out of here. Obviously, it has to be God.

And I'm just thankful. I'm not at the age, as we heard tonight, of watching birds yet. I'm getting there, I'm not there yet. I feed them, okay? I just put some seed in, but I'm not into watching them yet.

It's not there yet. But yet, in his mercy, God has not allowed me to lean on any accomplishments of the past that he has done or anything. He's actually allowed me to be older and now begin to see the victory that he's promised.

When we will give him the glory, when we walk into an environment and we're not there in our own strength, our focus is no longer on ourselves. We're not worried about do we look good, do we look bad, do they like me now, do they like me now?

It's not about that. The message is about you online. The message is about your freedom. It's about the love that God has for you. It's about the freedom that God is desiring to bring into your life. So this is who we are.

We're a people just like you. As Moses and Aaron were, the people were weak, in a sense, in Egypt. So God sends two weak vessels in to tell them that the Lord himself has heard your cry and he's desired now to set you free.

Facing Fear Through the Power of God

Now we're a people who have, you heard that from the young man who prayed tonight, who we've faced our fears and we've overcome them. This is quite a significant thing because the Lord, Moses in chapter four, right at the beginning of chapter four, verse one, Moses answered and said, "'But suppose they will not believe me "'or listen to my voice.

"'Suppose they say, the Lord has not appeared to you.'. "'So the Lord said to him, what is that in your hand? "'And he said, a rod, a staff, a stick. "'And he said, cast it on the ground. "'So he cast it on the ground and it became a serpent "'and Moses fled from it.'".

Obviously he was afraid of snakes, let's put it that way. Like when it turned into a serpent, Moses takes off running in the other direction. There was a fear in his life. Just a natural person like you and I, like people listening to me tonight or maybe in the sanctuary here tonight, we all have fears that want to dominate our lives.

They wanna make us run in a sense. The snake made him run. Now God needed a man who was not going to run. God needed a man who was going to face his fears or in this case, a woman tonight who's listening, that we're gonna face our fears.

Then the Lord said to Moses, "'Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.'". Now listen, that means the snake was going the other way. Now Moses is running this way and the snake is running that way because God is involved in this.

Do you understand what I'm saying tonight? You can't take a snake by the tail unless it's going the other way. So he says, Moses, go catch it and take it by the tail. And the moment he caught it by the tail, it became a rod in his hand.

See, it's a symbol in the sense that we don't walk by fear, we walk by faith. We don't walk by natural strength, we walk by the fact that we have confidence in our God, that God's not given us a spirit of fear, but a power and of love and of a sound mind.

Paul goes on to say, "'Therefore don't be ashamed of the testimony of the Lord "'or of me, his prisoner, but be a partaker "'of the afflictions of the gospel "'according to the power of God.'". Not according to human reasoning, not according in a sense to human effort or strength, but according to the power of God.

Deliverance From Panic and Personal Fear

Face your fears. I know what this is all about. Many in this sanctuary know my story, many of you online don't, but I suffered from panic attacks just like the young man tonight for nine years. Nine years of fear, nine years of running away from this serpent, nine years of downing pills and whiskey whenever one of these things would try to come on my life.

Nine years of hell on earth, as I've often said, even being taken to hospital by ambulance because of the depth of the attacks, the fear attacks that would come on my life. But when Christ came into my life, I found one night myself in the midst of one of these panic attacks, went down into my living room, and instead of running from this serpent, I moved towards it.

And I remember the words I spoke. I said, Satan, you can only kill me if God allows you to. And if he does, heaven is my home tonight. So either way, I win tonight. I win tonight either way. In life or in death, I still win.

And I've shared it hundreds of times that I felt a heat hit my feet, go through my legs, go through my torso, through my chest, through the top of my head and out of my body. And I was delivered in one minute from nine years of hell.

I took the snake in a sense by the tail and it became a rod in my hand. And I've stood in places all over the world and told people, you don't have to be afraid. You see, we have no authority to do that until we've faced our own fears.

Your fear might be a rejection, a public speaking. I don't know what it is. But there's a point where you just face it. And that's what these men were. They were men who walked into this camp of captivity as I'm coming into your place of captivity tonight.

And they weren't really special. They had failed in much of what they had been given to do in previous years. But they faced their fears. And not in might, not in their own might, their own power, not in their own wisdom, but in the strength of their God.

They walked in and they declared to the leader of the most powerful army on the earth at that time, let my people go. Isn't that, I've often believed the only reason Pharaoh didn't kill them on the spot is because it was such a joke.

And actually, Pharaoh got caught in his own trap because once there was a contest actually evolved, he couldn't kill them. It would make him look weak. He had to now defeat them in a sense, in his mind be probably in some way.

It's amazing how the plan of God, the way it works. They were people like we are that have been healed by the power of God. In Exodus chapter four, now this is the first sign. He said this is the first sign that the people, that I will give you so the people will believe that you're not governed by your fears anymore.

That's the first sign that people in captivity will take heart and say God is with you. God has spoken to you, just the first sign. And if you're looking for a sign in your own life tonight that people will actually follow you in the future, the first sign is face your fears, whatever those fears are.

Take that serpent by the tail and let it become a rod of God's authority in your hand. And you can say then to people you don't have to be afraid. God will not fail you. God will not forsake you. In Exodus chapter four again, verses six to eight, the Lord said here's the second sign.

Transformation as the Second Sign

Put your hand in your bosom. In other words, put it inside your coat next to your heart in the closest place that represents your heart. Put your hand in where your heart is. And when he took it out, it was leprous like snow, which represents, it's a type of the human heart.

There's a depravity, there's a disease, there's a corruption in every human heart that we can't change. Remember Paul said in Romans seven, I know what to do. I even delight in doing it, but there's a law in me of sin and death that's at work that fights against what I know to be true.

I even delight in the thought of doing it, but I end up doing what I don't want to do. And then Paul says who will deliver me from the body of this death? And he finishes with a thought. He says thanks be to God through Jesus Christ, my Lord.

And he took it out and then he said now put your hand back in your bosom again, so he put it back in the center of his heart as it is and drew it out and it was restored like his other flesh. The second sign is that I am a new creation of Christ.

The old things that govern my life are passed away and behold, by God's grace, all things have become new. I'm not yet everything that God's called me to be, but thank God I'm not what I used to be. I've changed, I've been transformed.

So I'm not governed by fear anymore or any fears and there's a transformation that has happened in my heart and in my life that can only be attributed to God. You see, that's the message we bring you tonight.

Many of the people listening to me online, whatever your situation is, in many cases you've been driven by fear of something, fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear that your life's not gonna amount to anything, a fear of words that were spoken over your life.

There's all kinds of fears that begin to govern people's minds. And because of those fears, you begin to do and practice things that you ought not to do and it made you into the kind of a person, you don't like what you are, you don't like what you're becoming and there's a cry in your heart, God, if there is a God, can you help me?

Can you get me out of this place? And the second sign for you tonight is that here we are, a sign to you in a sense that we're not what we used to be but we are changing by the power of God. Our minds are changing, our hearts are changing, our attitudes are changing, we're becoming new creations in Christ and as wonderful as that is, it is a sign that is left here on this earth for your sake, for your sake who are listening, for your sake who are not yet in relationship with God through his son, Jesus Christ.

The Blood of Christ and the Third Sign

And the third sign, I love the third sign, the Lord said it shall be, well in verse eight, he says, then it will be if they do not believe you nor heed the message of the first sign, that they may believe the message of the latter sign.

It shall be if they do not believe these two signs or listen to your voice, that you will take water from the river and pour it on dry land. The water which you take from the river shall become blood on the dry land.

And this is our message, that God came to get you. 2 ,000 years ago, he went to a cross. The purest living water ever known to man is the words that came from the mouth of Jesus Christ. He promised to those who turned to him that out of our inward parts, because of his presence in our lives, we too would become partakers of this living water.

But our message is about 2 ,000 years ago, the son of God was given for our forgiveness, for our redemption on a cross, and his blood was spilled on the dry land. The blood of the son of God, talk about a message.

Oh God, every drop of blood when it hit the ground must have been like a cannon shot in the ears of the devil. He might have not fully understood what was happening, but something catastrophic was happening against his kingdom, and something wonderful was happening to people who were in captivity and had been crying out and said, I wanna be free.

God was going to send to those people, through the ages, as he's doing for you today, he was going to send people who are not driven by their fears, whose lives are being supernaturally changed by the power of God.

Things they could not change within themselves are being changed by the presence of God. And they're going to bring you a message of how this all happened. That 2 ,000 years ago, the son of God took your place on a cross, suffered the punishment that you deserve for the way you have lived your life.

The Bible calls that sin, when you're living your life in rebellion to the ways and the will of God. And his blood, when it dripped out of his body to the last drop of blood and water in him onto dry land, was the sacrifice that was paid so that you might be forgiven.

The chains of sin and darkness in your life might be broken, and that you might have a promise of eternal life the day you die, an abundant life on this side of eternity as well. Thank God, thank God, thank God.

And when they heard these signs, it says in verse 30 and 31 again, and Aaron spoke all the words which the Lord had spoken to Moses. Then he did the signs in the sight of the people, so the people believed.

And when they heard that the Lord had visited the children of Israel, and he looked on their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshiped. This is the beginning of your freedom tonight. When you choose to bow your head, yes, you're still in captivity.

Yes, you're not out of Egypt yet. Yes, it seems like a promise that is as faint as a whisper in the dust, but yet it is God's voice speaking to you. What does he require of you tonight? Here's what he requires, that you bow your head as they once did.

They were not out from under their affliction. They were not out yet from their circumstance, but they bowed their head and said, God, what the report that these men have brought to us is true, you have heard our cry, and you've come to get us out of captivity and bring us into a place of freedom.

Believing the Promise Before Circumstances Change

Phenomenal, when we begin to understand it. When God says, I've come to take you out from where you are, and I'm going to bring you into a place which is occupied by foreign powers that have no right to be there, but I'm gonna drive them out, and I'm gonna bring you into your inheritance.

I'm going to make you into the person that I destined you to be before this world was ever formed and before you were ever born. I knew you in your mother's womb, and I had a destiny for your life. The enemy tried to come in and take you captive and destroy that, but tonight I want you to know, today I want you to know this is the beginning of your freedom.

I've come to get you, and I've sent the weak, and I've sent the feeble. In the book of 1 Corinthians, the scripture tells us that God does not choose the wise or the noble, or the virtuous, or those of royal birth.

A few maybe, but not many. But he does choose the foolish and the weak and the nobodies and the nothings of this world. He changes us from the inside out, gives us power over what drove us into our fears, gives us a message of redemption for you and sends us to where you are to say God is with us, and if you will follow the words that we speak, he is going to lead you supernaturally out of captivity.

Oh yes, all hell came against them ever knowing their freedom. But I tell you, when Jesus Christ rose from the dead, the power of hell was destroyed. The devil cannot hold you anymore. He cannot keep you in the place that you're in.

Today, your freedom begins. It begins when you bow your head and believe. All your circumstance might be against you. The addictions might be strong. The words that people have spoken to you might be, I've crossed you.

It might look impossible in the natural, but God brings you a word tonight to tell you that tonight you're going to be free. You see, we either believe our circumstances and our captors or we believe the word of God that has come to us, one or the other.

Tonight, the Lord says you're going to be made free. Hallelujah. I want to encourage you tonight that are listening online, bow your head to God. Do it now. You're not out of your circumstance. Don't wait till you get out of your circumstance to say God, your words to me are true.

You've heard my cry. And you know what I'm talking about because there's people online tonight. You know you cried out to God, even if it was a sigh, Jesus, help me, or God, if you're out there. My Muslim brother online tonight that just said, help me.

I'm dealing with loneliness and anger and depression. God knows that you're out there and he wants to help you. We've come to bring you that message tonight that you can be free and it can begin right now.

The Prayer of Surrender and New Life

Pray this simple prayer with me. And would everybody in the sanctuary pray this prayer with me tonight so that we can join with those online that are going to be praying this prayer. Lord Jesus Christ, thank you for hearing my cry and sending somebody to get me and to tell me I can be free.

Tonight I open my heart to you, Lord. And I bow my head and in my heart I worship you by just declaring that I believe you. I don't know if there's any greater worship than that, but just to say I trust you.

You heard me, Lord, and you're going to bring me out of captivity and you're going to bring me into the place I've always longed for. Oh, it will be a fight, all right, but the devil is not gonna win this one.

Because the Bible says, if God be for me, who can be against me? Tonight, Jesus Christ, I open my heart to your offer of forgiveness. And I invite you into my life to be my Lord, to be my Savior, and to be my God.

Thank you for forgiving me and coming to get me. Tomorrow's gonna be a new day. I'm gonna take a new journey. And today, I'm gonna walk with God. In Jesus' name, amen and amen. If you prayed that prayer and you really meant it from your heart, text the words decided, the word decided to 51000 on your cell phone tonight or whatever device you're using.

Just go ahead and do that as an act of faith. We wanna thank God for you tonight. Father, I just thank you for those that did pray that prayer tonight online. So many different places, so many walks of life, but oh God, the message is the same for everybody.

You came to get us because you loved us. And Father, thank you, Lord. Thank you, God, for new souls coming into your kingdom tonight. In Jesus' name, amen and amen. We're gonna come to the communion table tonight.

Communion Celebrates Christ's Victory

Communion is just celebrating the victory of Jesus Christ on the cross for you 2000 years ago. If you have some juice of any sort or some bread, just go ahead and get that. In your kitchen or wherever.

And we're gonna come back here in just a moment after the song and we're gonna celebrate it together. God bless.