We are Redeemed
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Series Review
Series Review
Thank you. I used to work at Walmart when I was in college. Just walked across the street, put on my blue vest and work in the shoe section. The words “thank you” were commonplace. I thanked people for their business. They thanked me for my help. The manager would drop by the evenings and thank us. Saying thank you was policy. It was in the training video - always thank the customer.
To me, the words “thank you” can be heart felt, they can come from a spirit of gratitude and love. But they can also become empty words. Things we are expected to say. The purpose of this series is to issue a Thanksgiving Challenge to everyone here: Be particular with what you thank God for. Don’t just thank God for the family, a roof, and a turkey on November 23. Thank God for what He has done for us in Christ. Thank God for the wealth He has given us - the spiritual blessings. Don’t thank God for the non-essentials - chances are He didn’t give that to us. (What are you talking a about? I didn’t give you that.)
And do it with a grateful heart. Thank God as someone whose life has been saved. Whose life has been transformed. That’s where we turn to , who gives us a “thank you” list.
Sermon Introduction
Sermon Introduction
Redemption. That’s a gift we receive when we place our faith in Christ. That’s our focus - when Thanksgiving Day comes, I want you to be able to say, “God, thank you for redeeming me.” I hear the word redeem or redemption in the professional sports world - an athlete has a bad game, they come back and have a good game, and they call it redemption. A public figure disgraces themselves, then does good in the world - they’ve redeemed themselves. Coupons, lottery tickets. Last week we talked about adoption, and I wanted you to learn what adoption meant in the ancient world. Today I want us to think about what redemption meant in biblical times. If we do that, we will realize just how amazing God’s grace is.
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace
Pastors make hospital visits, and you get better with experience. One valuable experience is to be the patient and receive pastoral care. Ten years ago, and I spent 4 weeks in the hospital, and I can be an unpleasant patient;
I remember receiving daily visits from the chaplain, and he would ask the same question every time: “How are you doing?” It annoyed me. I’m in the hospital. I’ve been here for weeks. I’m wearing an uncomfortable gown, I have wires attached to my head and arms. I’m not doing well. I learned after that to try not to say that when I visit someone in the hospital. I would rather say, “How is your day?”
When I visit someone in the hospital, I operate under the assumption that they are not okay. They are sick. They need medical attention. Common sense. When someone was in need of redemption in biblical times, there was a common sense assumption that things are not. The local priest wouldn’t a person in need of redemption and say, “Are you okay?” I am in need When someone was redeemed in biblical times, the assumption is they were in a horrible situation.
So what does the word redeem mean?
The Meaning of Redemption - purchased; bought; ransomed; change of ownership; you were bought out of slavery; you had lost your home to foreclosure (modern terms) and a relative bought it back for you; you were in a bad place, and needed someone to redeem you.
Let’s look at a few passages in :
24 Throughout the land that you hold as a possession, you must provide for the redemption of the land. 25 “ ‘If one of your fellow Israelites becomes poor and sells some of their property, their nearest relative is to come and redeem what they have sold.
Leviticus 25:24
47 “ ‘If a foreigner residing among you becomes rich and any of your fellow Israelites become poor and sell themselves to the foreigner or to a member of the foreigner’s clan, 48 they retain the right of redemption after they have sold themselves. One of their relatives may redeem them: 49 An uncle or a cousin or any blood relative in their clan may redeem them. Or if they prosper, they may redeem themselves.
If someone became poor and couldn’t provide for the family, their last option would be to sell their property. It was out of desperation. It was a last resort. This was a terrible situation. It would be like losing your job and having your house go into foreclosure. Yet in the ancient Israel, God provided hope. A relative was obligated to redeem their land. To purchase it back. To us that sounds like a bailout, but it ancient Israel, it was a way to keep someone from living in abject poverty.
47 “ ‘If a foreigner residing among you becomes rich and any of your fellow Israelites become poor and sell themselves to the foreigner or to a member of the foreigner’s clan, 48 they retain the right of redemption after they have sold themselves. One of their relatives may redeem them:
58 You, Lord, took up my case; you redeemed my life.
The same practice applied to slavery in . People often question why God allowed slavery in the Old Testament, but there are vast differences between slavery in the Old Testament and slavery in the antebellum South. Slavery was more like indentured servitude. If you were poor and had no land, you basically sold yourself. I have no money, so I’m going to be your servant. It was a way of staying out of poverty. But , you weren’t expected to live that way forever - God’s laws provided ways out of that. One way was just like lost land, the indentured servant could be redeemed, or purchased from their servitude.
Redemption was a financial transaction, that was necessary to bring someone out of a painful, terrible, tragic, hopeless situation. Redemption brought you out of bondage. Christ has redeemed us. He has purchased us out of painful, terrible, tragic and hopeless situations. Jesus has released us from bondage.
Redeemed from Guilt
Redeemed from Guilt
13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
Let me ask you: Is guilt a feeling or a fact? I had this discussion the other day with my wife. I think both. It is an objective reality: I have tossed my garbage out the care window, so I am guilty of littering. (I don’t care.) I use insensitive words - either from up here or in conversations - that hurt you. I am guilty. I have sinned against God and people. It doesn’t matter what I think or how I feel - guilty is guilty. People roam the earth and dwell in the church - hurting others and don’t feel guilty.
We can be guilty and have feelings of shame. We finally recognize what we’ve done, we realize our sin, we realize our need for reconciliation and we feel guilty. Guilt, whether we feel it or not, is a bondage. Guilt keeps us from relationship with God and people. We are controlled by sin. We are slaves to sin and death.
I believe there is a third category: I think people can struggle with guilt that really doesn’t exist. I remember reading a book, Released From Shame, by Dr. Sandra Wilson. She has a ministry to sexually abused persons, and she also was a victim of sexual abuse. (There has been alot of talk about this recently, about people coming out of the shadows and talking about their experience of sexual abuse.) She talks about the feelings of shame and guilt that abused persons experience, that she experienced, and they weren’t just feelings. These feelings led to unhealthy thoughts and unhealthy habits. The word “released” that she comes back to again and again, is a way of describing redemption. People who carry shame are in bondage to that, and Christ can redeem them from that bondage.
We are redeemed. We are purchased from the slavery of guilt and shame.
Redeemed from Trouble
Redeemed from Trouble
Redeemed from Trouble
10 He saved them from the hand of the foe; from the hand of the enemy he redeemed them.
Psalm 106:
134 Redeem me from human oppression, that I may obey your precepts.
Psalm
10 He saved them from the hand of the foe; from the hand of the enemy he redeemed them.
We have been redeemed - past tense, but we also can be redeemed in the present tense. The Psalmist talks about how God has redeemed him from our troubles: our enemies. Define trouble. The air conditioner isn’t working. Cable’s out. Game is cancelled. Not troubles. What qualifies as trouble: I go back to that word bondage.
Our enemies can hold us in bondage: our oppressors can put us in hopeless situations. Our sicknesses can hold us hostage. Addiction is a good example of an enemy that puts us in bondage.
What is trouble?
7 Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption. 8 He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins.
helping you climb mountains, moving them out of the way, or having you dig through them
Psalm 130:
s
13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
Titus
Redeemed from Death
Redeemed from Death
15 But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead; he will surely take me to himself.
Romans 8:23
23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.
Let’s not be too accepting of death. It’s their time to go. They’ve lived a good, full life. Biblically speaking, death was not in God’s original plan. Sickness, sin, evil was not God’s plan for creation. (read passage)
26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
When we die, we are succumbing to an enemy. Death is a slave owner. That’s a depressing thought, but the good news is that our enemy death does not have the final say. Christ, through his death, redeems us from death. He purchases us from death.
Conclusion
Conclusion
20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
We are redeemed. We have been purchased out of terrible situations. We have been purchased from slavery. We are no longer slaves to guilt and shame. We don’t have to be in bondage to sin and evil, because we have the Great Redeemer who will purchases us from these things. We all face death, but we will not be held down by it, because Christ will redeem us from the final enemy.
As the worship team comes forth, let’s prepare our hearts and minds to sing the song “Redeemed.”