Oppression in any form is against the will of God, no matter how legitimate it's been made to sound. Dr. Tony Evans says some of us have gotten so used to being dominated, we've forgotten that we've been set free to serve God. You have been created and you have been redeemed to be free. This is the alternative broadcast, featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr.
Tony Evans. Most people associate oppression with demonic activity, slavery, or life under a dictatorship. But Dr. Evans says it can take many forms. Let's join him as he talks about how we can find our way out of oppression and into freedom.
Today I want to talk to you about freedom from oppression. What do we mean by oppression? Oppression is imposed. Domination of another person or a group of people. In order to control them mentally.
physically Emotionally, and the worst of all, spiritually. in order to stifle their aspirations. and limit their potential. To be oppressed. is to be Dominated or held down or suppressed in such a way.
As to cancel or control or to limit. Your divinely ordained potential. Everyone here who has been created by God, which is everyone here, was created with potential. Things that God has endowed you with. In order to realize your maximum abilities to be used under God.
Your potential. A baby is a potential adult. It has to get there, but the potential for adulthood is resonant in the baby. That's where they're going. Oppression seeks to hold that down, to limit you, to stifle you, to control you, so you don't reach your potential.
So that you're stopped from maximizing your divinely ordained reason for even being here. It involves restricting your God-given human potential so that it can stop. God's plan for your life. It's called a pressure.
Now, oppression can take many forms on many levels. There is political oppression. You find this in dictatorships or military. Governance. Where a particular dictator in order To limit the power of others in the name of a political order.
It's Russian communism under Lenin. And that marks this way of life. Where walls are built to hold people in and to stop them from being able to move from one place or another place. It is to hold them or contain them, to limit them. There is economic oppression.
This is where the rich hold the poor down. Keep them in classes so that they're not able to express themselves, get free to develop their own entrepreneurial spirit is where they are limited and they're stuck, not because that's where they want to be, but that's where the system has forced them to stay. Economic oppression. We're all familiar in the United States of America with racial oppression. Where people are held down because of the color of their skin.
And the color of their skin prohibits them access to that which the rest of the society has free access to simply Because how they look. There is domestic oppression.
Some of us grew up in oppressed homes. We were told we were nobody, we were never going to be anything, we couldn't expect to be anything, we were dumb. And you know, when people have been affected that way, because even when there's nobody surrounding them to oppress them, they oppress their own selves. Self-oppression. All designed to stifle your potential and your God-given.
Future. Then, of course, there's the worst kind of oppression of all, spiritual oppression. That's where the devil has his way with your life. He's telling you, you got to stay on these drugs. You've got to stay in this alcohol.
You have to stay in this relationship that's doing you no good. You have to stay there. You can't break out. This is your lot in life. And you've been living with that spiritual oppression so long, you believe it's the truth.
You believe you were born to be oppressed. The Bible says. Jesus came to set the captives free. That oppression is not to be your middle name. That oppression is not to be the state that you live in.
It's not to be how you operate. That you have been freed by creation. simply because you're human and then even more so by redemption. Because you are a child of God. Israel is being held hostage in Egypt.
23 of Exodus 2.
Now it came about in the course of those many days that the king of Egypt died, and the sons of Israel. Huh sighed. Because of the bondage and they cried out and they cry. for help because of their bondage rose up to God. They were.
in bondage. Remember, freedom is release from illegitimate bondage. What happened?
Well, if you look at chapter 1, verse 8, it says a new king rose in Egypt who did not know Joseph. The people of the sons of Israel, they said, are more mightier than we. Come, let us deal wisely with them, or else they will multiply. And in the event of war, they will also join themselves to those who hate us and fight against us and depart from the land.
So they appointed taskmasters over them to afflict them with hard labor. Verse 12: And the more they were afflicted, and the more they multiplied and they spread. Verse 13: The Egyptians compelled the sons of Israel to labor vigorously, and they made their lives bitter with hard labor. The end of verse 14, which they rigorously imposed on them. Notice the words: impose, compelled, bitter, afflicted, taskmaster.
They were being bound, they were being forced. They were being driven. Why? Why? Why was there oppression?
because the oppressor did not want them to be free. The oppressor said, if we let these people go free, they'll become too strong. That's what he says. And that's what oppression always wants to do. It wants to limit you becoming strong.
It wants to limit what God. can do in your life. And so it begins to work its insidious evil in order to stop you from realizing your maximum potential. See, that's how you have to look at this thing. You have to look at this thing, whether it's spiritual oppression or whatever kind of oppression it is, it's trying to stop you.
Because God has destined you for freedom. Which has to do with maximizing your potential under God. God has redeemed you for freedom. But the problem was, there was an evil king who did not want them to be free, who wanted to keep them hostage. And I'm here today to tell you freedom is your middle name.
And that I don't care how long you have been oppressed, they have been oppressed for 430 years. I don't care how old you are today. Today is the day of your freedom. Whether it's self-imposed freedom, freedom by somebody else, freedom even in a culture, unless you understand that oppression. In any form.
Is against the will of God, no matter how legitimate it's been made to sound. By the oppressor. God's gift to you today is freedom. What did the king want? The king of Egypt wanted to use the children of Israel to further his agenda.
What does the devil want? to use you to further his agenda. What he doesn't want you to do is to find out what God's got in store for you. He said, He doesn't want you to further God's agenda. He wants you to further His agenda.
And He knows if He can hook you up on something. that now controls you. That's why Paul says, I will be controlled by nothing. You can be led by people. You can be led by things.
But once something is controlling you, It has taken over God's place in your life. And the Bible has a word for that. It's called idolatry. Nobody is supposed to be able to control you but God. Folk can influence, folk can lead, folks can direct.
But they're not supposed to be able to put their thumb on you so that you define you by them. Rather than by what God has created you to be. It says that the people groaned in chapter two. They sighed. because of their bondage.
Because oppression has a way of crushing the human spirit. It causes the spirit to just die, to just shrivel up. And you see it. You can see it on the face of a child who's been oppressed by a parent. You can certainly see it on a wife who's.
Been oppressed by her husband. You can see it in a man's eyes who's been oppressed by his employer. Who's been made to feel like nothing? Nobody has the right to your spirit but God.
Now, they may want to crush your spirit. They may want to tear down your spirit. See, that's why it's very important. That you know that God tells you you're free. Because if you don't know that God tells you you're free, then other folks will define you.
Dr. Evans will point out the biggest danger in letting others define us or oppress us when he returns in just a moment. First, though, I want to tell you about a powerful set of resources we've put together to help you build on what you've been hearing today. It starts with all 12 full-length messages from Tony's current teaching series free at last. A practical biblical look at how to leave the past behind and live in the freedom that comes with your identity in Christ.
In these lessons, you'll discover how to break free from cycles of fear, insecurity, guilt, and discouragement. and begin experiencing the kind of spiritual stability God intended for you. Along with the audio series, we'll also include Tony's companion book, Free At Last. It's a popular, powerful resource that goes hand in hand with these messages. helping you understand who you are in Christ and how that truth changes everything.
We'd love to send you both as our thank you gift when you make a contribution to support the ministry. This is a limited time opportunity, so visit tonyevans.org. or call 1-800-800-3222 for details. I'll have that information for you again after part two of today's lesson and this. Leading in ministry can feel overwhelming at times, but you don't have to go it alone.
The Kingdom Leaders Summit is designed to encourage and equip pastors and church leaders with practical tools for effective ministry. Join Dr. Tony Evans April 30th through May 1st at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, Texas for two days of focused teaching, meaningful discussion, and valuable fellowship with leaders who share your heart for God's kingdom. You'll gain insights you can use in every area of church leadership, from worship and children's ministry to administration and outreach. Reset, refresh, and recharge your life, your church, and your ministry.
Learn more and register today at kap2026.com. That's KEP2026.com. Verse 23 again of chapter 2. It came about in the course of those many days. that the king of Egypt died and the sons of Israel sighed and they cried out.
In other words, They got used to oppression. The king was no longer there, but they remembered that there was a God bigger than the king, because the king had obscured God. God told Israel, He said, when you get to the promised land, Don't expect any more manna from above. On the wilderness, I'm going to rain down your blessing. When you get there, pick up the shovel and the pick and you plow the land.
Freedom demands responsibility.
So we got folk waiting for God to drop stuff from heaven. When God is saying, I thought you wanted to be free. And that means you take ownership and responsibility. in order to enjoy freedom. You can't enjoy freedom and be irresponsible at the same time.
He says. That when the king died. When government was no longer to handle this situation, They now are remembering God. Had a covenant. It says the covenant that he had with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
They remembered God has something to say about this. What did God tell Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? God says, I'm going to bless you. And through you all the nations of the earth will be blessed. They remember, and I'm going to curse those who curse you.
And I'm going to bless those who bless you.
So it dawned on them when they remembered the covenant. God said he was going to curse those who curse us. Because we're his covenanted people. Egypt has been cursing us. with bondage and oppression.
But God said, if they curse us, they curse him. Oppressors always want to withhold information. Because oppressors don't want you to have the rest of the information because they want to keep you under their thumb because they want to control your future. Limit your destiny.
So that you don't maximize your potential. Shh. But it says they remembered the covenant. They remembered that God Had made an agreement to curse those who curse them and bless those who bless them. You have been created.
And you have been redeemed? To be free. to fulfill your calling under God. And anybody who seeks to take that is doing so illegitimately, and you need to know that. You may not be able to change the situation right now.
It may be too big. It may be too social. It may be too economic. But at least you need to know. that you've been called to be free.
You have the right to take the initiative to pursue your freedom.
So how do you do that? You've got to first of all know you have the right to be free. to be unencumbered from God's calling on your life. Yeah, you don't have the right to be irresponsible. You don't have the right to fall under God's chain of command.
Children obey your parents. Wives legitimately submit to your husbands. Husbands submit to Christ. You don't have the right to break God's plan and program, but you have the right to pursue your full potential under God. One of the great freedoms you need to know about.
Is freedom from legalism. Legalism are rules set up to hold you religiously hostage. They're controlling there in the name of God. They are oppressive. And so they make you so fearful about God gonna beat you up.
They make you so fearful that God is gonna get you.
So, what they do is drive fear and they drive fear so that you can give them that money, so that you can make sure you're at every service, so you can do that. And they make fear. Your fear as the driving point. of how well you function. And nobody can function free.
living in fear. You can't function that way. You can't maximize your potential because you're always trembling. You're always nervous. God has said you have the right to be free.
Jesus said, I have come to set the captives free. Luke 4. Freedom is your right. Secondly, you cry out to God. Dictator regimes want to limit Religious expression.
The reason why slavery was not allowed to sustain itself in America is because God was kept a part of the equation, even to the point of the Constitution.
So, as long as you could appeal to a freeing God, Then it always limits slavery. That's why those kinds of regimes don't want God as part of the culture, and they want to squash religious freedom. Because religious freedom makes people free. God is so committed to freedom, he told his disciples, Who wanted to call down fire from heaven to burn up people who weren't responding to that message? Jesus told them they have the right not to believe.
You are free not to even believe. God gives you the freedom to reject him. You know how much God believes in freedom? He gives you the freedom to say no to him. I am saying.
You have a right to be free and because you do You should be setting other people free. You know, the tragedy of the Revolutionary War was that people who wanted to be free from England. went out and started making other folks slaves. That's a contradiction. You fighting for freedom.
while incarcerating the whole race of people. It's contradiction. But we have the contradiction in our own lives. We want to be treated as free while we hold other folk hostage. No, no, no.
If you want to be free, you should be setting others free. You should be relieving others. Within the bounds of propriety and what's right, releasing them to become all that they were called to be under God. There's so many gifts and talents that have been held hostage from your mama, your daddy, your uncle, been held hostage by the people you grew up with, by your past, by your, you mean, you are being held hostage, you're under this, and you have the right to be free. His name is Charles Dutton.
You know the actor. He was in prison. He was asked by a reporter one day, Charles Dupp was asked, how did you make it? In prison. He said.
The way I made it. was I refused to decorate myself. No, you gotta catch that. She said, the way I made it, I was incarcerated. Couldn't get out.
But other guys would have pictures. up in their cells. They put flowers up in their cell. I wouldn't put any pictures up there. I wouldn't be putting the flowers because I was going to never make this home.
Don't make your oppression home. Don't make that home. Don't act like this is where I'm supposed to be for the rest of my life.
So I might as well get comfortable here because I'm stuck. As long as God is part of the equation, you're not stuck. And you always look for that day when he's gonna break through and open up that cell door. Don't put pictures up. In your oppression, don't make it think like this is the only place I'm ever gonna be, and I'm never gonna be nothing, and I'm never gonna make anything out of my life, and I'm never gonna make enough money to pay my bills, and I'm never gonna be able to be used of God.
I'm never, I'm never gonna. That's putting pictures up in yourself. No, you never call an oppressed situation home. Don't call at home. In other words, you can get so used to decorating your cell, you decide slavery is home.
You decide, I'm never going to be able to ascend. I'm never going to be able to grow. I'm never going to be able to build my own business, even though I feel that's what God wants me to do. I'm never going to be able to do it because times are so hard and things are so bad, and I'm never going to be able to do it. That's the talk of a man who doesn't know God.
That's the talk of a woman who doesn't know God. That's the talk of one who doesn't understand the covenant. God has declared you have the right to be free. like a free man walk like a free man even if you have to walk in your cell You walk like a free man, a free woman, one who's been declared to be free by God, one who's been declared to be free by redemption. You walk like a free man, talk like a free man.
And I know folk ain't gonna understand how you're walking free in a cell. Because I've already consulted God and He got the key.
So I'm practicing my free walk now. I'm practicing my free walk now. For the time when God opens up the opportunity for me to fully express it. Why not practice being free if you expect to be free? How can we be 100% certain that expectation is dependable?
Well, doctor Evans is back now to explain. If you're not absolutely sure that you have receive salvation, that you're on your way to heaven. Then let's get that straight right now. God offers you salvation as a free gift because of the sacrifice of his Son. And if you will come to Jesus Christ, acknowledging your need for a Savior because you recognize you're a sinner, Recognizing you can't save yourself.
and appealing to Jesus to apply his death Into your life. He will come in, forgive your sins, and give you eternal life right now. Simply say to the Lord. I know I'm a sinner. I know I need to save you.
I'm believing in you alone to be my Saviour.
So, I now accept your offer to give me eternal life and the forgiveness of sins, and then thank him. for the free salvation he just gave you. To find out more, visit tonyevans.org. and follow the length that says Jesus. Dr.
Evans has posted a short, powerful video that explains what real Christianity is about, along with some free follow-up resources. Check it out today and discover the amazing difference God can make in your life. As I mentioned earlier, today's message is part of Tony's Free At Last series. For a limited time, we are offering all twelve full-length messages, along with his companion book by the same name. as our thank you gift when you make a donation to help us continue this ministry.
These resources are designed to help you move beyond past struggles and step into the freedom Christ has already given all believers. Call us right away at 1-800-800-3222. A resource center is open 24-7. or visit tonyevans.org to request the free at last package deal online. While you're there, be sure to sign up for Tony's free weekly email devotional.
Again, that's tonyevans.org. or by phone at 1-800-800-3222. Most of us love doing things for our kids. But we also know it's important to teach them responsibility.
Well, Dr. Evans says God wants the same for us. And tomorrow, he talks about how to grow strong in that important area. I hope you'll join us.
