New Freedom
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Intro
We are starting the last week of 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting.
We are in week 3 of a new series all things new. We want this year to be the year of New Beginnings.
God loves to give us a new beginnings all the time. All we have to do is to turn to him. He takes our lives and will make them brand new… kind of like taking an Etch a Sketch and turning it upside down and everything is gone. He gives us a fresh start. Anybody glad he is our God who gives us a fresh, new start?
Here is the theme verse for the series…
18 “But forget all that— it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. 19 For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.
Isaiah 43:18–19 “18 “But forget all that—
Forgetting the those things we tend to dwell on is easier said than done, but we can do it.
it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.
That old stuff is nothing… Jesus has good stuff for you.
19 For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.”
Week 1 - New Faith. What would it look like if our Christianity looked different in 2026 than it had before. And what would it take for you to go to that place? God has so much more than any of us are currently experiencing and I want all of you to be able to say, I have NEW FAITH. I have loved God before, but it’s going to look a little different this year because I am going to go all in. I am going to give God my best.
Week 2 New Fitness - We talked about being physically fit which is good, but we also talked about another way to be fit… we talked about becoming vessels of honor.
Today I want to talk about freedom. Title - New Freedom.
And when I talk about New Freedom, I am going to make the assumption that most of us in this room have experienced some level of freedom. IOW, you said God would you take this… habit… mistake… you experienced this freedom. But then if you are like most of us, you find yourself right back in that… thing… so it’s a short lived freedom.
So we want to look at how we can keep our freedom. What would it look like if in 2026 had a new type of freedom. We will learn some powerful things that will help us keep our freedom.
Most people begin the new year with resolutions and many of those have already fallen by the wayside and research shows that most don’t make it out of January.
resolutions just don’t make it… guy who wanted to pay off his loan… next year loans… next year get out fo the country before they find him… slide with the Alabama shop in Israel
Too often we just learn how to live with things that we don’t like too much. debt… habits… hurts… wounds… and sins… I want you to see this…
31 Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. 32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 “But we are descendants of Abraham,” they said. “We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, ‘You will be set free’?” 34 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. 35 A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.
John 8:31–36 “31 Jesus said to the people who believed in him,
He’s talking to believers…
“You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. 32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
33 “But we are descendants of Abraham,” they said. “We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, ‘You will be set free’?”
33 - Even some Christians say this. I am already a Christian… I am not a slave… but we are.
34 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin.
slave to sin - all of us have something we don’t like in our lives that even we don’t like. Not just hte part that God sees that he doesn’t like.
35 A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.”
Slavery - The problem with slavery is that even though you are gooing heaven, you don’t ahve a permanent place in family things. Basically that means you can’t get all God has for you if you are still Battling those things. So if the Son sets you free…
That’s what we are going to talk about today. How to get free and stay free and to live free.
24 “When an evil spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert, searching for rest. But when it finds none, it says, ‘I will return to the person I came from.’ 25 So it returns and finds that its former home is all swept and in order. 26 Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before.”
Luke 11:24–26 “24 “When an evil spirit leaves a person,
leaves - You cast out the demon. You might find freedom at the altar. But look what happens.
it goes into the desert, searching for rest. But when it finds none, it says, ‘I will return to the person I came from.’
It comes back. The temptations and issues always pop back up because we haven’t found true freedom.
25 So it returns and finds that its former home is all swept and in order. 26 Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before.””
Jesus is describing a cycle. Freedom can be short lived. Take a look.
When you receive Jesus we often experience a freedom we have never felt. It’s like a load being lifted off of us.
Freedom
Freedom
You can see this cycle in people’s lives and even in nations. We are in this cycle. We have July 4th and celebrate freedom, but we are at a crossroads.
When you experience freedom, you will experence
Prosperity
Prosperity
Every time you experience freedom, you experience prosperity. When you don’t have debt, wounds, habits and pain in your life, your life begins to prosper. Your are not spenign your money of alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, gambling… you prosper.
Here’s the problem. When your live begins to prosper and everything seems to be going great, you have a tendency to ignore God.
You see it in scripture, in nations and in church. When everything is going great, people forget about God and church attendance goes down. But when something bad happens, the churches are full.
In a Bad times people go to church. In Good times people go to their camp.
When things are going good, you have to be careful NOT to become prideful and complacent because when you do, it will lead you right back into…
Bondage
Bondage
It’s a cycle, and this is why resolutions don’t stick.
Galatians 5:1 “So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.”
1 So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.
So we want to find freedom and not struggle with it in 2026. We want to settle that habit, that problem that thing that keeps coming back.
We will do this using the parable of the Prodigal son.
11 To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. 12 The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons. 13 “A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. 14 About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve.
Luke 15:11–14 “11 To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. 12 The younger son told his father, (I’ wish you were dead) I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons. (He divided it between both sons)
13 “A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living.
He couldn’t handle living with his father so here he is with all the money he could want, and he forgets about God and blows all of his money. So now he is broke…
14 About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve.”
Hard times and good times both happen. And here, God allowed him to experience hard times to get him to see things God’s way… to come to his senses.
15 He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. 16 The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything. 17 “When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger!
Luke 15:15–17 “He persuaded a local farmer to hire him,
What he should have done was go back to his father, but instead he turned to someone else. That’s what too often we do. We turn to other options to fulfill a spiritual need. We say God you can’t fix this so we go to worldly solutions.
And the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. 16 The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.
When we are away from where we ought to be, we will settle for anything. Some of you have been in some horrible places… places you can’t believe you were ever in… we settle.
17 “When he finally came to his senses,
That’s what we have to do. We have to say, that’s enough. I am not going to keep falling to this pigpen … gambling, alcohol, relationships, anger, no faith, depression… It’s not going to happen any more.
he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger!”
1. Admit that you need help.
1. Admit that you need help.
That’s the first step of real freedom. I have to let God know.
David came to that point after his sin with Bathsheba. Look at this.
3 When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. 4 Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat. Interlude 5 Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.” And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. Interlude
Psalm 32:3–5 “3 When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long.
His sin impacted him in every way. He was miserable.
4 Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat. Interlude
He tried to avoid God, but he couldn’t.
5 Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.” And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. Interlude”
God gave him a brand new beginning but it was only when he stopped trying to do it his way and said… ENOUGH!
That’s someone… let this be that year. Enough.
18 I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you,
Luke 15:18 “I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you,”
2. Humbly Repent to God and Others.
2. Humbly Repent to God and Others.
This is why resolutions don’t work. We don’t tell others about our resolutions.
I try to work out regularly. The other day I thought, I really need to go work out, but then I got into my Lazy Boy and thank God that desire left.
I have noticed that when I have a workout partner or a running partner, I am more consistent than I am without. The secret is in the accountability.
16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.
James 5:16 “16 Confess your sins (faults) to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.
When you confess it to God, it’s forgiven immediately. But it doesn’t insure that you won’t do it again. On Wednesdays, we eat around a table with people, and we grow closer to each other. When we have done groups, the people in those groups develop friendships where they can share with each other.
We go to God for forgiveness and to God’s people for healing.
Freedom group - we had a group last year, and will offer it again. It’s a group that we all need.
The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.”
20 “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.
Luke 15:20 “20 “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming.
Some of you still have a wrong view of God. We think that He is frustrated or angry with us when we mess up. But I want you to see that when the son went back, the father saw him at a distance.
Now listen. The only way the father could have seen him at a distance was that he was outside, maybe on the front porch, looking for him. Everyday the father went out and said, will today be the day?
Your heavenly father is on the front porch of your life saying, Is this going to be the day?
Then when he sees you He doesn’t make you crawl all the way back. Look,
Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.”
He ran out and met him as he was coming. That’s the kind of god we have… one that runs to us when we come to our senses. Not to point a finger, but out of love and compassion.
Most of the time, this is where most sermon end.
25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house, 26 and he asked one of the servants what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of his safe return.’ 28 “The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him,
Luke 15:25–28 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house, 26 and he asked one of the servants what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of his safe return.’
28 “The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him,”
29 but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. 30 Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’
Luke 15:29–30 “29 but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends.
slaving - parents don’t you love it when your kids say stuff like this… He is saying look what I have done for you… He is saying I have been the good one and now you are celebrating the bad one… He was angry and jealous.
But this whole thing was a lie. The father gave him his inheritance at the same time he gave the younger son his inheritance. He was believing a lie.
You have to learn how to deal with the lies the enemy brings into your life. He goes on…
30 Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’”
Billy Hornsby -
Varsity Restaurant -
Canes Chicken -
Some of you are living according to a lie and the curse needs to be reversed.
3. Daily choose to reject the enemy’s lies.
3. Daily choose to reject the enemy’s lies.
31 “His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours.
Luke 15:31 “31 “His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours.”
Remember the father gave him his inheritance at the same time he gave his brothers to him. so everything that was left belonged to the older son. But he was still in bondage. He didn’t realize who he really was… He believed a lie.
We will keep having these same issues it we don’t learn how to …
4. Daily choose to believe God’s truth.
4. Daily choose to believe God’s truth.
I want to show you some of those truths.
22 “But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. 23 And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, 24 for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.
Luke 15:22–24 “22 “But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. 23 And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, 24 for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.”
He put the
Robe of Righteousness
Robe of Righteousness
All throughout scripture robes represent how you see yourself. Royalty or a big mess up. You have to see yourself the right way. You would put the finest robe in an honored guest.
The Bibles says, You are the righteousness of God through Christ. That means that you and you are a man and woman of God. The more you see yourself as righteous, the more you will act righteous. But the more you see yourself as a Christian with so many issues, you will have issues.
We need to be reminded who we are… If you have accepted Jesus you are royalty. You are the righteousness of Christ.
Ring of Authority
Ring of Authority
You have authority. I am willing to pray with you, but the reality is you don’t need it. If you are a believer you have the authority to pray. I can agree with you, but you have the ring of authority of the SOG.
Take authority over the devil and you tell him he has not authority over your family and kick him out. He has to stop messing with you. When you tell him to leave, he has to leave. You may think he didnt leave, but he has to. He will lie and make you believe that he didn’t but he has to leave when you command him to in the mighty name of Jesus.
Shoes of Peace
Shoes of Peace
Then with your old crusty dry feet, which represents how you feel about your life … all kinds of mess is on your feet. God washes them and then puts shoes on them. Only servants went barefoot, but family wore shoes.
Prayer -
God I pray for these folks who I know want to be truly free. God I ask that you would give them the courage and the wisdom and the grace to accept your truth and live it out.
If you feel drawn to God right now and you are ready to give Jesus your all. If you feel your sin and shame you are carrying… and you want to be close to God. He says if you call on Jesus, he will save. you.
Jesus I am so sorry that I have lived my life the way I have. Today I repent and turn to you. Jesus thank you for loving me enough to die on the cross for my sin. Forgive me of my sins and come into my life and be my Savior and Lord.
