Paul
Wonders
No Other Name
Everlasting God
Jesus Lord of Heaven
Hallelujah (Saved by Your Mercy), chaser of I Could Sing Of Your Love Forever
Jon
Free To Love / Galatians 5:1-18
Salvation = Freedom
This letter was written to people saved out of paganism and started following Jesus
Some pagan leaders were converted and started introducing confusing teachings
1 For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be subject again to the yoke of slavery.
2 Listen! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you at all!
3 And I testify again to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law.
4 You who are trying to be declared righteous by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace!
5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we wait expectantly for the hope of righteousness.
6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision carries any weight – the only thing that matters is faith working through love.
7 You were running well; who prevented you from obeying the truth?
8 This persuasion does not come from the one who calls you!
9 A little yeast makes the whole batch of dough rise!
10 I am confident in the Lord that you will accept no other view. But the one who is confusing you will pay the penalty, whoever he may be.
11 Now, brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed.
12 I wish those agitators would go so far as to castrate themselves!
13 For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity to indulge your flesh, but through love serve one another.
14 For the whole law can be summed up in a single commandment, namely, “You must love your neighbor as yourself.”
15 However, if you continually bite and devour one another, beware that you are not consumed by one another.
16 But I say, live by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh.
17 For the flesh has desires that are opposed to the Spirit, and the Spirit has desires that are opposed to the flesh, for these are in opposition to each other, so that you cannot do what you want.
18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Cultural statement: I’m really only free if I get to do what I want to do
Everyone at some point in their lives wants to break free
Sin = Slavery
When people come to Christianity, he’s watched a lot of people checking it out, looking for reality, is there something in the person of Jesus Christ that I can bite into
If you become a Christian you have to give up your freedom
You see scripture that has dos and dints, but also scripture about freedom
Isaiah 61
One of Jesus’ first sermons was about freedom by sacrificing yourself to me
When the Son sets you free you are free indeed
One thing that turns people off – idea of sin
Salvation as only this thing that gets us into Heavens
Sin is about slavery but salvation is about freedom
I’m. It really free unless I’m dictating my indulgences
That’s not freedom
Real freedom has to be compatible with the complexity of the human heart
v. 17 talks about conflict
When we say we’re free when I get to do what I wan to do
He wants to one day be a grandfather
But he has this other idea to eat orange chicken all day – that deep fried goodness that comes from God Himself
That model begins ti break down when you contrast it with the complexities of the human heart
Which one is …
We are free when we’re in the environment we were
The freedom to wholly want what I was built to do
Whales have enormous tails that provide so much force that they just glide through the ocean
But if they are beached the force just pushes them into the sand
Only in the environment they were designed for are they free to glide
I have nit come ti give you what you want but what you need
Real freedom has to be compatible with love
What does the human heart need? v. 13 love
Love destroyed is freedom broken
When you’re in love you lose your freedom
When we fall in love we claim loss of independence and loss of freedom
Independence doesn’t come with love
To be in the environmet I was designed for, there has to be comparability with love
Euripides
Becky P – what does it mean to allow Jesus to be lord of our lives … You do not control yourself, you are controlled by the love of your life
People give their hearts to so many things – To you career, to your peer group, to your lover, to your ego
You need ti find he desires that will move you inti what you need the most, into the environment that you were designed for
v. 18 what does Paul mean? Free from guilt
If we confess our sins, He is righteous and He will forgive us
2. Freedom from works righteousness
That’s not why I’m moving into obedience
A real Christian is free from the drive to have to be perfect sonthe Father will love me
Something inside us keeps saying “you’re not something enough”
Only one lover – Jesus
I don’t have to be perfect, I’m a work in progress
v. 5 I’m free from needin to live up to other people’s expectations set up for me – those are idols that will bless you when you suceed and curse you when you fail
In Jesus Christ we’re absolutely free to love God; to feel His acceptance of us
Kind of feel like God is an overbearing Father tapping His foot saying “When?”
Freedom has to be compatible with love
I dint want to hurt your heart Jesus
The only way you will ever change is when something that used to look beautiful to you is outshined by something that becomes more beautiful to you
The only way you’re ever gonna be free is to see Jesus as your ultimate beauty
Going to Him for your definition in life
I’m gonna place myself under the yoke of Jesus Christ and there find rest for my soul…and freedom
Paul
Breathe (This is the air I breathe)
Came To My Rescue