The Cost of Freedom

Today I want us to focus in on something extremely important regarding our walk with the Lord.

The series, “The Awe of God,” is designed to help us better understand and move back toward a healthy fear of the Lord.

This fear is not being scared of God like He is some kind of supernatural bully or oppressor. This fear is a reverent fear, a worshipful fear, a fear that humbles us and reminds us of His power, His authority, His might, and His sovereignty. It is a fear that helps us to remember that He is God, and we are not.

And with this in mind, God led me to go a specific direction for the message today.

Once a month, we include communion in our morning worship service for a very specific reason.

We do NOT do this as a simple routine or for ritual sake. Jesus command His believers in Luke 22:19 “Do this in REMEMBRANCE of me.”

Communion is all about REMEMBERING what Christ has done for us. The two elements we receive: the bread and the cup, represent all that Christ gave on our behalf.

First, Jesus says in Luke 22:19 that the bread represents His body that is “given” for us. How was His body given for us?

Isaiah 53:4-5 gives us some insight as to how His body was given:

Isaiah 53:4–5 NKJV

4 Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.

His body was given with purpose - His body was the recipient of what WE SHOULD HAVE received. He took on our hurt, our pain, our griefs, our sorrows, our transgressions, our chastisement.

Jesus’ body was broken… so we could be made whole again.

Secondly, Jesus identifies the cup in Luke 22 as representative of His blood - the blood that opens the door to the new covenant. What does that mean exactly?

Throughout the history of our faith, blood had to be shed for the atonement or the covering of our sins. No blood was perfect to pay the price in full - until Jesus’ blood was shed on the cross.

His blood was without blemish, without sin. His blood was pure. His blood IS enough to cover the sins of any person who would come to Jesus for forgiveness. NO SIN IS GREATER THAN THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB.

His blood was shed for a purpose. His blood was poured out… so that new life could be poured into those who call on His name.

This was the cost Jesus was willing to pay. HE GAVE IT ALL. He GAVE His body and He GAVE His blood for the sins of this world. In awe and obedience to His Father in Heaven, Jesus gave it all.

BECAUSE OF HIS REVERENCE FOR GOD, Jesus submitted Himself to the will of the Father. It is important for us to understand that Jesus’ life WAS NOT TAKEN, it was given… laid down as the ultimate sacrifice.

Jesus knew that what was coming would be intense… How do we know this? Because in His prayer time leading up to His arrest, He was praying so “earnestly and His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.” (Luke 22:44)

What was Jesus praying? What was He asking God to do? Luke 22:42 gives us that answer.

Luke 22:42 NIV

42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”

Jesus was not looking forward to what was ahead - specifically the anguish He would experience.

Consider this… Jesus was about to take on the full weight of sin upon His shoulders. He would feel the pain, the shame… AND THE SEPARATION FROM GOD that sin causes in our lives. The cross was bad enough… but the spiritual battle He was about to take on would be extremely intense.

And yet… His desire was not to do His own will, but the will of the Father. In Awe and reverence to God… JESUS REMAINED ON MISSION.

And what do we have to show for it today? Something amazing! Something that we cannot find in ANYTHING ELSE this world has to offer! That something is the FORGIVENESS of our sins AND renewed and restored spiritual FREEDOM!

Communion helps us to remember that our spiritual freedom… isn’t free! It came through great cost that Jesus was willing to pay in full on our behalf.

I am glad for the freedom that God has provided us through the ministry and sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ!

AND… we need to forever remain in awe at the truth that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Jesus did something for us we did not deserve! God did not have to intervene on our behalf. He could have left us to the consequence of our sinful actions.

This morning, not only do I want to remind us of the cost that was paid, but I want to remind us of how awesome our freedom in Christ is.

AND… that freedom comes with purpose. The freedom is not a “do anything I want and get away with it” kind of freedom, it is greater than that. It comes with responsibility. It comes with purpose and hope. What God has done should cause us to appreciate the spiritual freedom we have… and appreciate Him all the more. Why? Because if God had not sent His Son, we would still be bound by sin.

BUT… Jesus won the battle! He is victorious! And He offers that victory to all who call on His name!

So quickly, let’s look at the purpose of the freedom God has given us.

The Purpose of our Freedom.

First off, we need to understand that your spiritual freedom in Christ is given… that you might be FREE.

Galatians 5:1 NIV

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.

God does not want ANYONE to be burdened by the yoke of slavery. The name of the “yoke” is sin. God sent His Son to deliver you from sin that it’s chains may never bind you again!

Secondly, with freedom comes a NEW CALLING… a new purpose. Something that does not come from the world… a calling that comes straight from the Lord.

Galatians 5:13–17 NIV

13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. 16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.

I truly love how this passage starts out: YOU ARE CALLED TO BE FREE!

Paul was writing to the the church at Galatia to set the record straight. The problem he was addressing is identified in Galatians 1:6-7

Galatians 1:6–7 NIV

6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.

The problem was… legalism was being promoted over grace. People were beginning to revert back to salvation through the law… instead of the blood of the Lamb. Paul was writing to correct this wrong.

Moving back to chapter 5, Paul desires to clarify what a believer is supposed to do with the freedom we have in Jesus. The call to freedom is NOT a call to jump back into sin or to gratify the desires of the flesh… JESUS JUST SET US FREE FROM THESE DESIRES!

So Paul takes a moment to talk about WHY we are free or the purpose of our freedom. It is NOT given that we jump right back in where our old self left off… it is given that we might live freely by the SPIRIT instead of the flesh.

The first example Paul gives of what this new life looks like is what? SERVE ONE ANOTHER HUMBLY IN LOVE.

Ooooo… he just went there, and for good reason. Jesus, who is our primary example, came not to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.

Jesus washed the feet of the disciples while taking on the very appearance of a servant to teach them to do the same for others.

Jesus was serving as He laid His life down on the cross.

Church listen to me… NO SERVANT IS GREATER THAN HIS OR HER MASTER. If Jesus is LORD or MASTER of your life, than we need to utilize our new spiritual freedom to serve others… not our own interests.

Service… moves us beyond ourselves. Which is what must take place if we desire to live life by the Spirit instead of the flesh.

The flesh will lead you to what it wants and if your flesh is anything like mine, it is pretty selfish and can crave things that would lead me away from the Lord.

The Spirit, however, will lead you to utilize your freedom in Christ to glorify the Lord. Life by the Spirit… is evidence of a healthy fear of the Lord… it is evidence of reverent awe and respect for the One who brought us our new, undeserved freedom!

Paul goes on to list examples of what life or acts of the flesh look like. He then contrasts them with what we know as the fruit of the Spirit.

He clearly tells us that the flesh and Spirit are in conflict with each other (verse 17). So which “side” will win the battle? Which “side” will come out victorious? I guess that all depends on our understanding of the purpose of our spiritual freedom and our level of fear towards the Lord.

I pray we will choose life by the Spirit… and not from an obligation standpoint… but from a position of honoring God and remembrance of what He has done.

This choice is a reflection of our awe of God. Do we take our freedom for granted OR do we recognize how awesome it is and remember the cost or the price that was paid?

We didn’t pay the price, but we reap the benefit. Our body was nailed to the cross, our blood was not shed, and we were not laid in the tomb, yet we, through Christ, are victorious over sin, death and the grave.

Our freedom has come with a purpose: We are free to serve the Lord and to serve others. We are free of the influence and impulse of the flesh as we come alive through repentance and redemption. Church… let us NOT take our spiritual freedom for granted!

Remember the Cost

As we prepare to receive communion this morning, there is one more thing I want us to realize.

At almost every opportunity we have to do this, I read a passage of Scripture from 1 Corinthians 11:23-26

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 NIV

23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

This passage… is a corrective word from Paul to the church at Corinth. When read in full context, Paul is correcting some abuses concerning how the church was treating each other - specifically in regard to the Lord’s supper.

The had lost sight of what it was all about. Instead of involving all… they were separating themselves in groups, some by social class, and people were being left out. Even… humiliated. They were not serving as Jesus served… they were serving according to their agenda and wants: life by the flesh.

They were missing the very point of communion. They were, in lack of fearing the Lord, doing what they wanted instead of what the Lord wanted.

So Paul gives this warning in 1 Corinthians 11:27-29

1 Corinthians 11:27–29 NIV

27 So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. 29 For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves.

So… before we “do this in remembrance of Him,” I want to present this question: How well are you remembering Him in the rest of what you do?

Communion reminds us of the cost Jesus paid for our salvation and freedom. What we do in life reveals to us our level of awe and reverence for what Christ has done.

We can utilize our freedom in Jesus in one of two ways:

We use that freedom to satisfy what our flesh desires

OR we use that freedom to live by the Spirit and to honor God in ALL things.

Before we serve and partake, let’s take a moment to examine ourselves… to be real with ourselves. Does our life reflect a fear of God that moves us to live by the Spirit (the fruit of the Spirit being the evidence)? OR have we forgotten the cost, lost reverence for what Christ has done… and forgotten the purpose of the freedom Christ has given us?

Our prayer is simply this: Lord, in honor and AWE of all You have given, help me use my new freedom in You to serve you and to serve others… Help me not to serve the desires of the flesh.

If you want or need to join me in that prayer, stand to your feet.

COMMUNION

Give thanks for the elements.

Pray over the elements.

Give thanks for our freedom.