(Proverbs 17:24 GN) “An intelligent person aims at wise action, but a fool starts off in many directions.”
Message Title: Freedom
God wants me to move within His purposes.
(Matthew 27:50-51) “And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split.”
(Matthew 27:52-53) “The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus’ resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.”
(Galatians 5:1) “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.”
(Philippians 3:10 GN) “All I want to know is Christ and experience the power of His resurrection.”
Detours to Freedom
1. Confusion
(Romans 7:15, 18 LB) “I don’t understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right, but I can’t. I do what I don’t want to—what I hate. No matter which way I turn I can’t make myself do right. I want to but I can’t.”
2. Frustration
(Romans 7:21 LB) “It seems to be a fact of life that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong.”
3. Discouragement
(Romans 7:24 NLT) “Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?”
(Romans 7:25 NLT) “Thank God! The answer is Jesus Christ our Lord.”
How can I live in freedom?
1. Acknowledge the root cause.
(1 John 1:8 LB) “If we say that we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves, and refusing to accept the truth.”
Sin is shutting God out and doing things your own way.
(John 8:32 NIV) “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
2. Believe that Jesus can set me free.
(Ephesians 4:18 LB) “Many are far away from the life of God because they have shut their minds against Him, so they can’t understand His ways.”
(Ephesians 1:19-20 LB) “I pray that you’ll begin to understand how incredibly great His power is to help those who believe Him. It’s the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead.”
(Romans 8:11 MSG) “It stands to reason, doesn’t it, that if the alive-and-present God who raised Jesus from the dead moves into your life, he’ll do the same thing in you that he did in Jesus, bringing you alive to himself?”
3. Commit all I am to Christ.
(Luke 17:33 MSG) “If you grasp and cling to life on your terms, you’ll lose it, but if you let that life go, you’ll get life on God’s terms.”
(Mark 8:34-35 MSG) “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to saving yourself.”
