Set Free

As heard at New Covenant Fellowship on Sunday, June 29, 2008

 

 Freedom from Jealousy & Envy [51:30m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

As heard on Sunday, June 22, 2008 at new Covenant Fellowhip

 

 Freedom from Religion [53:11m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

As heard on Sunday, June 15, 2008 at new Covenant Fellowship

 

 Freedom from Labels [41:20m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

As heard at New Covenant Fellowship on Sunday, June 8, 2008.

 

 Freedom From Depression [51:58m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

As heard at New Covenant Fellowship on Sunday, June 1, 2008.

 

 Freedom From Fear [48:53m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

As heard on Sunday, May 25, 2008 at New Covenant Fellowship.

 

 Freedom From Your Painful Past [46:12m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

OK, so by now you should have a list of areas where you feel you are in bondage. You’ve spent some time deciding whether or not these things are a weight bogging you down or a distraction to get you off course.

NOW…First, we need to remind ourselves that freedom, Real freedom is a truth issue! Jesus said in John 8:32 that if you know truth…it WILL SET YOU FREE. So freedom is a truth issue. The Key to Freedom is Knowing Who We Are in Christ. Your enemy wants you to focus on everything that is wrong, to get you side-tracked into thinking that you are your job, or your age, or your IQ. He wants you to focus on all the external issues and less important areas, then to allow you to understand not “Who God Says You Are” but who “Everyone Else Says You Are.” Knowing our identity is important because…We Act Out What We Think! Remember, “as a man thinks in his heart so is he.” If we think we are a loser, we will always be one. If we think our fears are a part of our DNA, then we will never face them. If we think others think less of us because of our past, then we will always be chained to it! Knowing our identity is important because…Our Attitude Determines our Altitude! When we have a positive outlook words like, “I can’t” or I’ll never be able to” will not be in our vocabulary.

What we need to do today is focus on some, “TRUTH”! Let’s spend a little time just looking at some basic truth that needs to be in our core. We don’t have time today to unpack all of this, but you should be able to do so on your own. Just grab a bible and take some time to absorb these truths!

John 8:36: “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” Did you catch that! If Jesus says you are free of something you are free! The God who hung the planets in space, and gives us all we need for life, is the same God who says “You are Free”! You can take that to the bank! Ephesians 3:20 tells us that God is able so much more than we are able to ask or think. There is nothing to hard for God! do you need your past erased?…He can do it! Do you need strength to stop an addiction?…He can do it! Do you need the ability to face your fears? He can do it! WOW!! Philippians 4:13 says that, “we can do all things through Christ” because He gives us strength! 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 reminds us that, no matter our past, we have been washed clean! It has been taken away! You are not your past! Go ahead take some time and add to this list of scriptures!

The bible tells us that when we chose to follow Christ and we repented of our sin, that a very powerful thing happened. Romans 6:2-14 gives me three crucial truths that we should wrap our mind around in order to find freedom. One, We need to know that sin no longer controls us! Before Salvation, we were a sin factory, cranking out all sorts of sin. But, when Salvation came that sin factory was torn apart. It no longer has to control us! We are free from sin being the ruler of our life. KNOW THIS…You have a choice!

Two, the passage goes on to tell us that we must consider ourselves dead to sin! Picture yourself free from the bondage that sin brings! and three, lay aside the old way of living! It’s not you…walk away from it! Quit operating like everyone else…YOU ARE FREE!

Until next time, go ahead fill your mind with the truth of who Jesus says you are!

As heard at New Covenant Fellowship on Sunday, May 18, 2008

 

 Matt Pitt [62:20m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

FREEDOM is being uncontrolled by anyone or anything other than Jesus! Remember the list you wrote down last time? If those things, any of those things are controlling you mentally, emotionally or physically…then your not FREE!

The things you wrote down, are the very things that are keeping you from being who God has called you to be. It is keeping you from being the person your spouse and kids need you to be. It is keeping you from being the friend, classmate, or coworker that you need to be.

In order to get rid of this bondage, there are a few things we need to understand. First, is that God is for you and desires you to live Free. John 8:32 Freedom is a truth issue John 8:36 And God has seen to it that you have freedom. Something is going to control us, our greatest goal in life is not to simply find freedom, but to find our master. When Jesus is our master then we are truly free! So a true understanding of what satisfies is crucial.

Secondly, there is an enemy and he hates your freedom. His whole goal is to lead you away from a simple devotion to God. 2 Corinthians 11:3 He has come simply to steal, kill and to destroy. John 10:10 He has no interest in your wellbeing, he simply hates your master, he hates Jesus. So breaking free, though already purchased by Jesus, won’t be easy!

Thirdly, Satan will play mind games with you and this is the crucial area to explore, practically speaking. He really has two schemes that he uses. He will either cause you to hold on to things that keep you in bondage so that it drags you down, or paralyzes us. This is basic fear. Fear that if you let go of something you will not be able to live. Or fear that if you begin doing what you should you will fail. If this doesn’t work then he will try to get you sidetracked by chasing things that don’t matter. So we allow our perceived freedom to really put us in bondage.

Satan really isn’t interested in you moving to a “Blue Ocean” way of living. So as you set sail, he will either try to weigh you down with anchors or baggage like fear, addictions or pain. Or he will simply seek to get you off course by getting you to chase things that really don’t matter.

Why not spend a little time today looking at the list you made last time, and out beside those areas of bondage that you listed, see if you can identify whether it is a weight to bog you down, or a distraction to get you off course. Then we’ll meet you back here next time to begin to craft a strategy to break free!

I love the sound of that word, don’t you? Remember the quote from the epic movie BRAVEHEART? “I AM William Wallace! And I see a whole army of my countrymen, here in defiance of tyranny. You’ve come to fight as free men… and free men you are. What will you do with that freedom? Will you fight?”

That’s the question that we must ask ourselves today. Will we fight? See our freedom has been purchased. Jesus already did that Galatians 5:1 But the evil one isn’t simply going to let you go without messing with your mind. That is where the battle is fought.

First we need to truly see where we are still in bondage. Is there an area in your life where you know deep down that you aren’t free? Is there an addiction that “has you”? While we have liberty, liberty itself can become a bondage. Is there a fear that is holding on to you and keeping you from getting all there is out of life? How about in the area of being so consumed with what others have and are able to do, that you can’t really function to live free from comparison so that you are never truly content. Take some time and make a list of the areas that you know you aren’t free. No, really…get out the pen and start writing!

Now decide that, “Enough is enough!!” Say that out loud (unless of course you are in a public place or in your cubicle, that would be a little weird for those around you!) But decide in your gut, that “Enough is enough”! Now picture what life will be like if you continue to live in that bondage. That is exactly what William Wallace meant as he responded to a guy who decided that safety was better than freedom, remember? He said, “Aye, fight and you may die. Run, and you’ll live… at least a while. And dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willin’ to trade ALL the days, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance, to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they’ll never take… OUR FREEDOM!”

For now simply make the decision that you will live with no regrets! Get out that piece of paper, write those areas where you are in bondage. Look at them. imagine the pain that it has brought, is bringing or will bring! Now imagine what freedom would look and feel like! Go somewhere private and yell, “Enough is enough!!”

We’ll meet you back here soon, to give you help in living Free!