Category: It is for Freedom

Luke 4:18-19 (NIV)
¹⁸ “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

“Jesus himself was the most free person who has ever walked the earth, and his freedom led him to crucifixion. That is because, once more, freedom grows out of love. If you want to know what freedom really means, think of the time you’ve been loved. Of the time when the Son of God loved you and gave himself for you. Of the time when God so loved the world that he gave his only Son.” (N.T. Wright, Broken Signposts, p. 132)

“People without Christ are enslaved to sin, subjugated by the powers of death, going through life blind and ignorant to God’s lifegiving ways…they need to hear God’s story of salvation, how he sets us free, how he brings us into true freedom—all the way from slavery, through the wilderness, mountain passageways, through the miracle of the Red Sea, ultimately, Jesus on the cross and his resurrection, God closing back the waters on our past.” [P. Jason Park]

Let’s spend a moment praying for those God brings to your heart.

Prayer:  Father, use me to proclaim the good news of your salvation so that _______ may also find freedom in you! In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s worship to “No Longer Slaves” by Bethel (click here).

-DP

2 Corinthians 3:17-18 (NIV)
¹⁷ Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. ¹⁸ And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

“A common notion of freedom is having no restraints…Freedom from God is about doing what we want and at the same time what we want is also in the best interest of others. Perhaps a way to explain the idea of freedom of the law (similar to an old Alpha video with kids playing soccer but everyone with their own rules—it was chaotic and not fun): You enjoy the game when you can play freely, within the rules, without even having to deliberately articulate each and every ruling, it’s a part of how you think, approach the game, etc. Rules of the game resemble God’s law, or Rule of life, God’s way for living life, a way that’s good for everyone.” [P. Jason Park]

Let’s commit to scheduled time of learning God’s Word and his ways. Contemplate who God is and seek His presence.

Prayer:  Help us to behold you as we worship you and seek you in your Word. Transform us today to be more and more like you. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s worship to “No Longer I” by Matt Redman (click here)

-DP

John 8:34-36 (NIV)
³⁴ Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. ³⁵ Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. ³⁶ So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

“We all know that this ‘doing whatever I want’ kind of freedom can have unintended negative consequences. When we take something good, use it improperly, and it spirals out of control to become a bad thing…that’s like the Biblical definition of sin…But imagine a freedom, where I get to do whatever I truly want… and everything I desire is not only good for me, but it’s good and beneficial for everyone around me. That’s the freedom Jesus is giving us. Augustine said, ‘Love, and do what you will.’ When we truly love God, whatever we do will be loving, good and beneficial not only for ourselves, but for those around us. ‘Love, and do what you will’ because everything God’s love does is good and beneficial for everyone.” [P. Jason Park]

Freedom is not about rights, but it’s about love. We have been set free to obey God and serve others in selfless love. There is no greater freedom than to be who God has called us to be.

Prayer:  Father, help me to freely love, freely give, freely lay my life down to serve others. Fill me with your Spirit once again. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s worship to “Holding Nothing Back” by Jesus Culture (click here)

-DP

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.

“The implications of this Christian freedom as Paul develops it are vast and far-reaching, but essentially he sees freedom as a reality effected in and through the Christ-event, which has broken the power of sin and neutralized the individual hostility against God; which at the same time has covered the guilt and stain of sin and erased the past; which has crushed all enslavement to self, to religious convention, to the present powers of evil, and to cosmic forces; and which has triumphed over every force that dominates humankind, including human mortality itself.” (Scot McKnight, Galatians: The NIV Application Commentary Book 9, pp. 340-341)

We can’t appreciate the freedom in Christ until we humbly recognize what we have been freed from. Christ has purchased our freedom and liberated us from sin, fear, the power of death, from everything that hinders our freedom of living a life of loving God. Let’s take a moment to thank God for all that he has done for us and once again today, let’s preach the gospel to ourselves to remember who we are in Christ.

Prayer:  Father, thank you for setting us free. We are no longer slaves to sin. Thank you that we do not need to return to our old way of life. We praise you for your salvation! In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s worship to “Living Hope” by Phil Wickham (click here)

-DP

Let’s read aloud together the following passages and prayer:

2 Corinthians 3:17-18 (NIV)
¹⁷ Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. ¹⁸ And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

John 8:34-36 (NIV)
³⁴ Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. ³⁵ Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. ³⁶ So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

Luke 4:18-19 (NIV)
¹⁸ “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,
¹⁹     to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Prayer: Father, pour out your Spirit upon us. Bring us to freedom in you! Help us to live in your freedom like never before. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s worship to “Where The Spirit Of The Lord Is” by Hillsong (click here)

-DP