Freedom

Last week was a bit of a soft entry into our current study. God created the new day and continues to provide new opportunities and new victories in our lives. The problem is often that hurts, bad habits, and hang-ups rob us from the Freedom that God intends for our lives.[1]

Skit Guys – The Skinny on Hurts, Habits, and Hang-ups

Breaking Free

Freedom is not a destination that we arrive at. It’s an adventure that we embark upon. It is a journey that involves discovering who God is, who we are, and what we have access to as His children.

Of course, the Bible talks about freedom in many contexts – freedom from Egyptian bondage, slavery, and spiritual freedom. Let’s look at 3 verses that focus on spiritual freedom:

2 Corinthians 3:17 NIV

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

Freedom comes because of the presence of the Lord.

Galatians 5:1 NIV

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

Freedom was the intended purpose of the work of Christ. He could be crucified only once but his freedom continues as we continue to apply the blood of Christ to our lives and live as servants to Christ – obedient, repentant, loving.

1 Peter 2:16 NIV

Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves.

Much of what we see in Christendom today is people using freedom as a cover-up for evil. They believe they can do what they want, when they want, and as often as they want as long as they have accepted Christ as their savior. Tell me this, as an employer, would you allow your employee to do what they want, when they want, and as often as they want as long as they are on the payroll? No! Your expectation is that they serve the mission and vision of the company, not their own. The same is true for Christians – people who serve Christ and have made Christ the Lord of their lives.

The Mennonite, Jim Holm, tells this story…

When I was in third grade, I was condemned to live under a law of nearsightedness. My eyes went bad, and today I am considered legally blind. I am not free; I am in bondage to this law. I hate it. But it doesn’t matter. There is no escape.

One day I discovered there was a greater law that can overcome the law of nearsightedness. It is the law of glasses. When I submitted myself to the law of corrective lenses, the law of nearsightedness was overcome. The law of nearsightedness is still there, but it was overpowered by a greater law that enabled me to see.

Here’s the irony: You would think if I want to be free, I should throw the glasses away. But that is not freedom. Only by submitting to the law of glasses do I become free.[2]

That is really what this sermon series will be about – understanding that we have hurts, habits, and hang-ups that are causing nearsightedness in our lives. But, there is good news. God has so much in store for you. Jesus wants to help us break free!

Break Through!

I love the skit that we watched a few minutes ago.

· Hang-up of the snake. “Carl”. Deathly grip but “I don’t mind the pain because ‘she loves me’.

· “Embrace your past”. God sets us free, but we want to ‘hug it out’.

· “Getting to the root of the problem” but fixating on the issue. Whittling a tree into a toothpick.

Those skits are always funny but they make some powerful points. We often try to coexist with our hurts, habits, and hang-ups but God wants us to break through to freedom.

God’s Language is a Language of Freedom

Luke 4:18–19 NIV

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Earlier in this chapter, the devil himself declares that Jesus was the Son of God. Now Jesus turns His attention to providing freedom and vision to the world – to include you and me. This is His business and passion.

Some of us have experienced abuse, abandonment, fatherlessness, sickness, failed relationships, financial failure, low self-esteem and more. In Christ we have found and continue to find freedom.

Freedom is the language of God. It is His design and plan for each of us.

Prisons Keep Us from Our Freedom and Future

Genesis 2:15–16 NIV

The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden;

It is amazing to think of the range of permissions that God gave to Adam and Eve. “You are free to eat from (all of these trees)…except (this one)”. Tony Campolo told a humorous story about a town of ducks…

Every Sunday, the ducks in a certain town waddle out of their houses down Main Street to their church. They waddle into the sanctuary and squat in their proper pews.

The duck choir waddles in and takes its place, and then the duck minister comes forward and opens the duck Bible. He reads to them: “Ducks! God has given you wings! With wings you can fly! With wings you can mount up and soar like eagles. No walls can confine you! No fences can hold you! You have wings. God has given you wings, and you can fly like birds!”

All the ducks shout, “Amen!” And then they all waddle home.[3]

Ducks that were free to fly but they didn’t. Instead, they waddled through life. That is what sin does to us. It keeps us imprisoned.

Many of the Prisons We Find Ourselves in Today Are Built by One of Three Things

#1 – A sin we can’t leave.

Earlier this week I put out a social media post about cursing.

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It got more than usual interest because it is an area where many people struggle. We justify it. Carl sits on our shoulders squeezing us tighter and tighter. It is not just language but insert anger (Irish), gossip (you need to know), pornography (everybody does it), lying (it’s just a little one), on and on. And so we stay in our prisons.

#2 – A hurt we receive.

Hurts can be described as any life experience that may have damaged your heart, some offense against you that crippled your ability to deal with the world in a healthy way. They will often twist your view of yourself, God or others. It could be many things but often it is sexual abuse, divorce, loss of a loved one, dysfunction, and unforgiveness. The Bible is filled with people who dealt with these hurts well or badly. Fortunately, Christ has come to set us free from hurt!

#3 – A lie we believe.

As I thought about a lie being a prison, I began to realize that this is an area that is huge. Consider these lies – inferiority, flawed, fearfulness, overwhelmed, guilt, superiority, excessive responsibility, judgmental, hopelessness, generational lies.[4] Some of those may have hit close to home![5]

We must replace the lies with truth. Truth can be unattractive at times. The Truth challenges us and constrains us. It manages the emotions and passions. When we studied the armor of God we found that the belt of truth; although it wasn’t the most noticeable piece of the armor, it was a soldier’s badge of office. It formed the central piece of his armor and held the rest of the armor securely in place including the scabbard, the quiver for lances, and an apparatus to rest the large battle shield. Also, on the belt were clips to hold the breastplate in place. Supplies of bread, oil, and water were also on the belt.[6]

Break Out

Sin, hurts, and lies will take a terrible toll on you. I would like to do a little exercise with you this morning. The ushers are handing out this little flyer.

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These represent some hurts, habits, and hang-ups that you may have but God wants you to give it to Him. Recalibrate week is a great week to talk to the Lord about it. Lament, petition, and praise Him for the NEW DAY that He can begin in you.

Take some time to consider these prison cells.

We Have a Choice to Make!

As we look at those goals or maybe you’ve filled in the bland with something else, we have to make a choice. We can choose to:

#1 - Curse it.

#2 - Nurse it and rehearse it.

(I believe that this is the same as ignoring it – like a waddling duck)

#3 - Reverse it.

I hope that we are choosing to reverse it!

John 10:10 NIV

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

Make the same determination that the Psalmist did in Psalm 119 –

Psalm 119:45 NIV

I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts.

[1] Christ Fellowship. Freedom Study. [2]Craig Brian Larson and Phyllis Ten Elshof, 1001 Illustrations That Connect (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 2008), 230. [3]Craig Brian Larson and Phyllis Ten Elshof, 1001 Illustrations That Connect (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 2008), 36. [5] Amen Daniel G, M.D. Your Brain Is Always Listening [6]Preceptaustin.com. Ephesians 6:13-14.

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