Walk in Freedom
Notes
Transcript
Handout
We live in a real world with real problems, real issues, and real conflict. Walking in freedom sounds like a pipe dream.
How do we walk in freedom when we have so much weighing on us? Pressure on the job… at home… in life… financial pressure… calendar pressure. How do we deal with all this pressure?
The world’s answer is to turn to other things to release that pressure… alcohol, drugs, binge watching… reels, netflix, YouTube… doom scrolling on social media. The world give us an escape from the real problems we deal with in life but unfortunately those things create more bondage and instead of giving us real freedom.
God’s Word talks about having a renewed focus on Jesus, on prayer, and on surrendering everything to God. Believing and putting our faith in God’s Word.
Walking in freedom is all about abiding in Jesus. We cannot give what we do not possess. We cannot offer anything of eternal value if our source of life is not found in the eternal Jesus.
Walking with Jesus is a process but the longer we walk with Jesus the more freedom we have.
Paul teaches the church in Ephesus that real freedom is a process that we must continue to walk in. Freedom is a process that does not happen overnight it takes following Jesus daily.
Enjoying good BBQ is a slow process. It takes hours to smoke a brisket.
We must learn to be patient with the process because walking in freedom is slow but it’s always worth the wait.
21 Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, 22 throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. 23 Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. 24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.
PRAY
Jesus already set us free so now let us walk in that freedom by taking off the old self and putting on the new self that that Jesus gave us. Through Christ we now have freedom.
Freedom from our old self
Freedom from our old self
We can be our worst critic. OR… We can compare ourselves to others and feel pretty good about where we are at.
Changing our self is possible… physically, we can loose weight, eat better, exercise more, get more sleep, get better sleep.
We can change ourselves emotionally… we can be more positive, we can choose to hang out with positive people and avoiding toxic people who are bad influences.
We can change ourselves relationally… by focusing on becoming a better spouse, a better parent, co-worker, boss.
We can read books on marriage, on parenting, or on leadership. We can be inspired to try harder and to apply great advice.
Those are all wonderful choices to make, however we are limited by our own goodness, righteousness, strength. Paul is saying here that without Jesus we are just running ragged in our old self with nothing to gain beyond this life.
17 With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. 18 Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him.
It all begins with our thoughts
“they are hopelessly confused”
“their minds are full of darkness”
The things we put in our minds will influence our behavior…
doomscrolling on social media… the influencers on YouTube, the 24 hour cable news cycle, the books we are reading.
These things will effect our thoughts.
If our minds are filled with a sense of longing for the things we don’t have we will become self absorbed and never truly satisfied. We will lack that joy in the moment that only Jesus can give.
That’s why it’s so important that we are taking off our old self and letting Jesus renew our mind through HIS Word.
Our thoughts will eventually come out in our behavior.
Life can make us jaded and see others as jaded. If we are not careful our heart can become callous and hard towards others, especially when we get hurt.
19 They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity. 20 But that isn’t what you learned about Christ.
A life without Jesus is a life that revolves around ourselves.
A life that is consumed with self, that is bound up, with no real focus, no real love for others, and no real love for ourselves.
Jesus came to set us free from our old self so once we commit our life to Jesus… once we follow Jesus we surrender our old self and walk in humility. We become more teachable. Our prideful old self begins to die because we recognize that we are no longer the boss. Jesus is king and Lord of our life.
21 Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, 22 throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. 23 Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. 24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.
We can’t wear two outfits at the same time. In order to put on the new, we must take off the old, we cannot wear both.
In order to strip off the old self we have to be real, we have to be honest, and we have to be vulnerable. Stripping off the old self requires a sense of nakedness…
In the garden when Adam and Eve sinned, they tried to cover themselves with fig leaves because the noticed that they were naked.
Shame and fear will keep us from coming to God and coming to one another honestly. That’s why we must take off our old inadequate self so that we can cover us completely with the new self that HE has for us.
Remember how I said that this is a slow process. Putting off our old, corrupt and deceitful self before we can put on our new self in Christ is a slow process. The longer we follow Jesus, the more we recognize much power and control our old self has on us.
Renewing our mind is the first step in putting on the New Self.
20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus.
Renewing our minds means learning about Jesus… how HE lived, how HE loved, and what HE taught. If we are going to follow Jesus, we need to let God’s Word renew our minds. Starting with the Gospels… the life of Jesus.
Our new self will always reflect Jesus.
24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
Jesus is holy, HE is perfect, and HE came to set us free from our old self. Jesus came to make us righteous and as we put on the new self everyday we will begin to reflect Jesus.
Freedom from our false self
Freedom from our false self
It’s fun to put different filters on our selfies. Some filters make us look younger, older, cartoony, silly.
Filters can also be used to hide our blemishes. We don’t want people to see the things that we hate about our physical appearance.
Filters distort our real self to give others the illusion of fake beauty as if we have something to be ashamed of.
We not only do that in pictures but we often do that in life.
We are ashamed of our real emotions, and feelings, hurt and pain and anger.
We just put a filter over it, just cover it up.
We have scars but we would rather hide those scars because there tends to be a painful story behind those scars.
Sometimes we would rather ignore the plank in our own eye and focus on the specks in someone else’s.
God wants to heal us. Even the areas that we are ashamed of… even the parts that we want to hide. God sees those hurts… HE sees the shame… and HE knows them better then you do.
Jesus came to set us free from our false self.
25 So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body.
As we put on our new self in Christ we start to exhibit “true righteousness and holiness.” This righteousness and Holiness is not our own, it’s Christ in us!
As we are in that process of putting off the old self and replacing it with the new self, we want to be validated, we want to be accepted, we want to be loved and in order to receive that, others cannot know our true self.
The devil wants to deceive us by thinking that we are alone.
Because we are members of one another Paul stressed our mutual responsibility.
Because we are members of one another in Christ’s body, our words and actions must not be destructive to the body.
Lying to each other disrupts unity…
Creating conflicts and destroying trust.
It tears down relationships.
Truthfulness, however, opens the door to understanding. In order to maintain unity, as believers we must be completely truthful with one another.
26 And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 for anger gives a foothold to the devil.
We can feel angry about something and not necessarily be in sin.
Anger is an emotion that is neither right nor wrong.
Our emotions are not sinful, but emotions like anger can cause us to sin and the devil knows that.
Using a car as an illustration, healthy emotions are the warning lights on the dashboard, our emotions should not be the engine that drives us.
We must be able to read and define our emotions before we respond or react emotionally.
The Bible doesn’t tell us that we shouldn’t feel angry, but we must handle our anger properly.
We must not indulge our angry feelings or let them lead to pride, hatred, or self-righteousness.
Anger must be identified and dealt with quickly.
If anger is used correctly, anger can motivate us to right a wrong, address a grievance, correct an injustice.
If anger is used improperly, it can burn us and everyone else around us.
When we are free from our false self and put on our new self, we can be drawn to the truth, heal broken relationships, and be transformed through repentance.
28 If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need.
A thief will no longer steal but will turn to honest work in order to make a living.
Stealing and idleness go together; that’s why Paul says too not only to stop stealing but work hard.
A good work ethic is a part of our new self. We don’t work for our salvation but as believers we shouldn’t be idle. Work hard, contribute in society, and help take care of those who are in need.
We work not to enrich ourselves, but so that we can give generously to others in need.
It’s more then just supporting ourselves and surviving but as believers, our goal is to show Jesus by being generous with what God has given us.
Giving is at the heart of Christ and must be at the heart of HIS followers.
Freedom from our Bitter Self
Freedom from our Bitter Self
Bitterness comes out when the pressure is turned up.
There are so many things in this world that can make us bitter and angry.
People do foolish things; even evil things and we want to be able to control other people’s decisions.
We want to protect and prevent the consequences of other people’s foolish decisions.
The truth is, the only person we can control is ourselves and that begins with our words.
What we are full of will eventually come out of our mouths.
29 Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.
The things that are in our heart will eventually come out under pressure.
The fruit is always the evidence. The fruit of the Spirit is the product of those who are filled with the Holy Spirit.
This will impact the way we talk and the way we see and others, especially those people that we do not get along with.
Think before you speak, post, text so that our words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. God wants to bless our words so that our words can be a blessing to others.
30 And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.
The Holy Spirit is key when it comes to being free of our false self.
Here Paul warns us that the Spirit can be saddened or grieved by our behavior.
That lying, being angry, stealing, and foul talk towards one another grieves the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit empowers to be victorious over our sinful nature.
The Holy Spirit is our counselor that we must listen to and walk in step with. The Holy Spirit gives us the power and the strength to walk in freedom by delighting in our true self as we are being made new in Christ.
We can choose to respond according to our old bitter and vengeful self or we can choose to respond according to our new, forgiven and freed self made new in Christ.
Paul finishes up by saying…
31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. 32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.
We can not unsay what has been said. Sometimes we need to repent and seek forgiveness.
Walking in freedom, the freedom that only Jesus can give will go against our old nature which takes humility.
Take Away:
Jesus came to set us free so we can walk in real freedom.
Freedom from our Old Self
Freedom from our False Self
Freedom from our Bitter Self
