Rich Reliance
Notes
Transcript
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
SCRIPTURE: Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman. But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise. Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. For it is written, “Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear, break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than those of the one who has a husband.” Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now. But what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.” So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman.
STORY: Full freedom is what you have when you lack no opportunity, no ability, and no desire to do what will make you happiest in 1000 years. In order to be free in the fullest sense you have to have the opportunity, the ability, and the desire to do what will make you happiest in 1000 years. There are four steps on the way to full freedom. Freedom of opportunity to do what you can do. Freedom of ability to do what you want to do. Freedom of desire to do what will make you happy forever. Use skydiving as an example: Freedom of opportunity: You are on your way to skydive and you hit a pothole, over correct and hit a light pole and you lose the opportunity to skydive because you can’t be there. Say you miss the pothole, get to the airport to get on the plane and you realize you don’t know ANYTHING about skydiving, you can’t even put on your parachute. You don’t have the ability to skydive so you’re in bondage to a lack of knowledge. Say you do have the ability and you’ve taken classes and you know what you’re doing, you’re on the plane and you get in the air and you lose all the desire to jump. Fear grips you and you don’t want to jump, but because you feel like you have to now because your girlfriend is with you and you don’t want to get made fun of so you jump anyways. So you didn’t actually WANT to jump you just have external things affecting it, is that a free act? Not fully. You’re acting under external pressures. Say you have full desire and you jump off and you can’t wait to jump, and you jump! And your parachute malfunctions and you’re enjoying the air without knowing that you’re free falling without a parachute and you have all three freedoms but you’re gonna die and you don’t know it yet. There are a lot of Christians in this boat that are envying so-called freedom. It’s really silly to envy people who are going to crash. They are in bondage to destruction whether they know it or not. You need opportunity, ability, desire, and you need to be able to do what will make you happy in 1000 years.
PROPOSITION: Christ calls us to FREEDOM in Him ALONE.
INTERROGATIVE:
TRANSITION:Freedom isn’t icing on the cake of Christianity, but freedom in Christ IS CHRISTIANITY.
POINT 1: God resists human effort apart from HIM.
POINT 1: God resists human effort apart from HIM.
I’m going to tell you what the Law REALLY SAID.
Genesis 15:1-6, Genesis 16 Ishmael was a product of SELF-RELIANCE. That’s what it means by being born of the flesh. Genesis 17:16-19 Sarah is going to have a son in SPITE of their efforts. And he is going to give them NO GROUNDS for BOASTING for themselves. God rejects EVERYTHING that humans achieve by their own efforts and resources. Genesis 21:1 Isaac was a product of DIVINE INTERVENTION.
The people heard the Law given but instead of saying, “we can’t fulfill your law we are sinners, we need you o God, reshape us into your character so that our desires conform to your desires.” instead they said “ALL THE WORDS THAT WERE SPOKEN BY GOD WE WILL DO.” The child of legalism will not inherit. They don’t have the freedom of desire. They are a product of legalism. They will make you into children of slavery, children of legalism, and children of destruction. Legalism is the art of DOING.
Colossians 3:1-3 “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” Sarah had children out of a divine intervention. In the same way we are citizens of a new jerusalem because of DIVINE INTERVENTION. God made a way through Jesus to make you His children through the shedding of Jesus’ blood. We are children of God because of DIVINE INTERVENTION. We are children because of a supernatural work of the Spirit in our hearts that makes us children of God.
Freedom is what you have when there is an OPPORTUNITY and you have the ABILITY to do what you DESIRE to do and not REGRET it in 1000 years. Does anybody in here not want that? Then this text is for you.
POINT 2: Freedom FORREAL
POINT 2: Freedom FORREAL
Why do Ismael types not receive freedom? Real freedom comes from a desire to rest in God’s promises. Instead they are controlled by the desire to show their own resourcefulness. They don’t desire to be controlled by the Holy Spirit from heaven. They desire to control their own life. They want God on their own terms. They want God’s blessings but on their own terms. The question isn’t whether or not you want God’s blessings and freedom the question is whether or not you want it based on GOD’s TERMS.
isn’t christianity just a crutch? That reveals your desire. You want to stand on your own two feet. YES CHRISTIANITY IS A CRUTCH. Everyone tries to get around that question to make it fit the answer that will satisfy the one asking it. Ishmael types are the ones that are GLAD that they graduated out of Youth Group because now you don’t have to come and sing worship songs about how much Jesus loves you, hear sermons and teaching on how much Jesus loves you, and be around people that brag about how much Jesus loves you and them.
Sing Jesus loves me.
That’s for kids! I don’t need that anymore. No desire to rely on God. SO they can’t have salvation! because that IS FAITH is reliance on God. The most common use of the mind is to justify the desires of our heart. And if our desires in our hearts are profoundly perverted then thinking will go wrong and our thoughts will not line up correctly. When they read the Bible their desire is so strong that God isn’t the sovereign loving, and controller of their souls that they twist every text to fit their desires which is the darkening of their understanding because they harden their heart.
This is NOT a do it yourself religion. this isn’t a “if you set your mind to it you can DO IT!” If you try to bare out a Christian lifestyle WITHOUT the power of the Holy Spirit you will be born of Ishmael. You don’t need to change you just need to grit your teeth, come to church, read a bible, witness. You don’t have to be changed to trust in yourself. OUR DELIGHT is on the law of God. OUR DELIGHT is to see God provide FOR US. YOU ARE NOT A DO GOODER you are a NEW CREATION!
APPLICATION:
APPLICATION:
The essence of REAL CHRISTIANITY IS TO DO WHAT YOU WANT TO DO because you’ve been so radically CHANGED that you want to do what GOD wants you to do.
Where in your life do you still want control?
Where do you still have an “I can do it myself” attitude?
Surrender it to God tonight.