Free Indeed

This week we've celebrated our nation's freedom. We've waved flags, watched fireworks, spent time with family, and many aren't here today because they're enjoying the holiday weekend out of town.

I'm thankful for every man and woman who has served our country and those who continue to serve today so that we can enjoy the freedoms we have. If you have served in our military, or are currently serving, would you please stand? If you have an immediate family member who has served or is currently serving, would you stand as well?

Thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for your service and for your sacrifice

Church, would you help me thank them? T

This weekend we've celebrated freedom. But I wonder… What does it actually mean to be free? Have any of you thought about that?

Most people define freedom as, "I can do whatever I want." We see this happening everywhere, some think freedom means no order, no truth, etc.. all ages. I believe many of us have been there as teenagers as well. When you're 17 years old and about to graduate high school, you think freedom means, "Nobody can tell me what to do anymore! I can stay up as late as I want. Eat what I want. Go where I want." Finally I’ll be free!!

Then adulthood shows up......and suddenly you're asking your parents if they have any leftovers and grabbing their extra toilet paper as you go out the door. Maybe that was just us. We laugh because we've all been there. The world says freedom is doing whatever you want.

But Jesus defines freedom very differently. According to Jesus…

Freedom isn't doing whatever you want. Freedom is finally becoming the person God created you to be.

So here's the question I want us to wrestle with this morning:

If freedom is becoming who God created us to be...what does a truly free life look like?

Turn with me to John chapter 8.

John 8:31-36 NIV 31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

33 They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”

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.

Jesus says something that had to shock the people listening. "Everyone who sins is a slave to sin."

Think about that. He wasn't speaking to criminals. He wasn't speaking to pagans. He was speaking to religious people. People who knew the Scriptures. People who believed they were right with God. THE JEWS WHO HAD BELIEVED HIM.. Yet Jesus looked at them and said, "You're slaves." How can that be? Because sin doesn't just cause us to do wrong things. Sin becomes a master. That's why the Apostle Paul writes in Romans that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Every one of us. We aren't sinners because we sin. We sin because we were born with a sinful nature. The difference if we “sin” lets look at the as a verb, an action word, but if we sin because it is our nature, who we truly are, thats a descriptive word. Not just a action phrase. Have you ever noticed you don't have to teach a child to be selfish? You don't teach a toddler to say, "Mine!" You don't teach them to lie. You don't teach them to throw a fit.

Why? Because we're all born with a nature that has been affected by sin. And here's what sin does. It doesn't simply make bad people. It enslaves people. It promises freedom...but it leaves us in chains. Sin becomes our master. In John Jesus said, YOU WILL KNOW THE TRUTH and the TRUTH will set you FREE! We don’t have to live in chains, we don’t have to live as slaves to sin, or to the ways of this world. What we must do- “IF YOU HOLD TO MY TEACHING, you are really my disciples, THEN you will know the truth.… “

The Greek: "Hold to" = μένω (menō)

This is one of John's favorite words. He uses it over 40 times in his Gospel. It means much more than simply:

obey - remember - agree with

It literally means: remain, dwell, stay, continue, live in, and persevere MAKE MY TEACHING what guides and leads your life.

It's the same word Jesus uses in John 15: "Remain (μένω) in Me, and I will remain in you."

So Jesus isn't merely saying: "Follow my rules." He’s saying learn and follow my WORD and you will be set free.

Sin is a cruel master. It promises life...but it only takes life. But here's the good news. Jesus didn't come to condemn slaves. He came to rescue them.

Listen again to verse 36. "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."

Notice Jesus didn't say, "If you try harder..." "If you become more religious..." "If you clean yourself up..."

No. If the Son sets you free.

Freedom isn't something we earn. It's something Jesus gives. When Jesus went to the cross, He didn't simply pay for our forgiveness. He broke the power that sin had over us. He made it possible for us to become something new. That doesn't mean we'll never face temptation. It doesn't mean we'll never struggle. It means sin is no longer our master. And that's where so many Christians stop. We celebrate what we've been set free from.

Forgiven. Saved. Redeemed. Praise God!

But Jesus didn't only set us free from something. He set us free for something.

He set us free to live. Free to love. Free to forgive. Free to obey. Free to worship. Free to become the person God created us to be. Paul says in 2 Corinthians: "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." Freedom is found where the Spirit of God is at work. What we know of God’s Spirit, He does not force himself in, but will move in lives of people who seek Him, and surrender their own will.

So what does that freedom look like? Paul answers that in Galatians 5:16-25 nlt

16 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. 17 The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. 18 But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.

19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.

Think about that list. A person who is truly free begins to love differently. Forgive differently.

Respond differently. Treat people differently. Not because they're trying harder...but because the Spirit of God is changing them from the inside out. That's what freedom looks like. It looks like peace replacing anxiety. Joy replacing emptiness. Kindness replacing selfishness. Self-control replacing being controlled by your desires.

Not perfection but Transformation. Church, that's the life Jesus died to give us. Before Christ, we were free to sin… but powerless to stop. In Christ, we are free to love. Free to forgive. Free to obey. Free to worship. Free to become the men and women God created us to be.

Before we come to the Communion table today, let's remember why that freedom is possible. Our freedom was was purchased by the broken body and the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Every time we take Communion, we remember that our freedom has a Savior. Today, as we take the bread and the cup, don't just remember what Jesus set us free from, Thank Him for what He has set us free to become.

COMMUNION

Father, thank You that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Thank You that You didn't leave us enslaved to sin, but through Jesus You have offered us forgiveness, freedom, and new life. Thank You that because of His broken body and His shed blood, we are no longer defined by our past, our failures, or our shame. We are Your sons and daughters. We are new creations in Christ. Today we simply say thank You. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Church...

This morning we've talked a lot about freedom. Not the freedom to do whatever we want… But the freedom to finally become the people God created us to be.

Maybe today you've realized there's still something you've been carrying. Maybe it's fear. Maybe it's bitterness. Maybe it’s gluttony. Maybe it’s sexual sin. Maybe it's shame. Maybe it's addiction. Maybe it's anger. Maybe it's unforgiveness. Maybe it's simply believing the lie that you'll never change. Maybe the Lord has been asking you to move forward with something, but you are not fully surrendering to Him, or trusting Him. (SHARE FREEDOM OF EXPECTATIONS MINDSET??) If there's a chain you've been carrying, bring it to Jesus. If there's something you've been holding onto, surrender it to Him.

If you simply want to thank Him for the freedom He's already given you, then worship Him with everything you have. Because today isn't about celebrating chains… It's about celebrating the One who breaks them!