Time of Teaching: Life in Power

Abundant Life in the Sermon Series

What Is Freedom?

Sean McDowell, a professor at Biola University in area of apologetics (defense of Christian faith) was asked the question in an interview, “what is the greatest lie of this generation?” In other words, what is the lie that this generation lives as if it were true?

His response? “Freedom.” Freedom is greatest lie of this generation.

Before I explain his response, I want you to think for a moment about freedom. What do you think freedom is? How would you define it? It’s question McDowell often asks his students.

Most of us, like McDowell’s own students, define freedom as the ability to do what I want, without interference from others.

Freedom from restriction, rules - autonomy. Self rule.

But McDowell would say that this is not what freedom is - at least not entirely. Certainly not what Bible teaches.

McDowell says we see freedom as purely freedom from

But true freedom is freedom for. True freedom is gaining capacity to do what you know is right, to do the good.

In his thinking, the greatest lie of this generation is that we don’t know what freedom is, because we only see freedom as freedom from. It’s actually very insightful.

Here’s the problem: if we don’t know what true freedom is, we will never know how to escape bondage we all experience, we’ll never gain capacity to do what we know is right.

Today, in our time of teaching, I want to dive into freedom (as Sean McDowell describes it) - because I believe it is central to experiencing the abundant life Jesus came to give us - which of course is what our series is all about, how do we receive this abundant life Jesus came to give us? I want to do this in two parts.

First, I want to talk about our enslavement - why freedom is not just freedom from, but freedom for.

Second, I want to talk about how we can live into freedom - and abundant life - Jesus has for us. In particular, there’s one fundamental choice we must make

Prayer / Scripture - Romans 8:1-13

Enslavement

Enslavement by sin

Sean McDowell tells story of youth group that went on an outing to go play paintball. On van ride back, as they were recounting their adventures, one of the youth was getting very excited. He’d absolutely loved the whole experience of playing paintball - sneaking around in woods, strategy involved, competition. He loved it so much that he announced that when he got older he wanted to join military and fight in war.

This youth didn’t realize that one of the leaders had actually served in military. The leader told him the only reason he would ever say that was because he had no idea of consequences of engaging in real war.

Playing paintball was easy - you go out for round, shoot somebody, or they shoot you, and that was it. Win or lose, you could enjoy the thrill of it without any consequences.

In war, consequences are all too real. Getting shot could cost you an eye or do damage to an organ or even tragically, death. And there are consequences if you were the one who did shooting - it is heavy burden to have blood on our hands, no matter how justified it is. There is no freedom from consequences of those actions.

Same thing is true for our sin. There are always consequences.

In Genesis 4, God warns Cain of exactly that. In story, two brothers, Cain and Abel, make sacrifices to God. Abel’s sacrifice is accepted by God, but God rejects Cain’s sacrifice. And that makes Cain angry. And it makes him jealous of his brother.

God sees anger and jealousy stirring in Cain. So God warns him: If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door, it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.

Do you see what God is saying here? God personifies sin. It’s sneaking, waiting, right outside your door - and the moment you open that door, let him in, he has you. You’re his.

You do not rule over sin, it rules over you. That’s warning - and that’s exactly what happens. Cain’s anger and jealousy so consume his heart he ends up killing his brother.

We don’t understand freedom because we have hard time grasping how deeply sin has us.

That when we choose to give into sin, it gradually enslaves us - we lose our freedom, our capacity to do what is right. It becomes habitual for us, our sinful nature becomes second nature.

When I look at myself, I don’t have to fight internally to be impatient or to make quick judgments or get defensive when I feel threatened or criticized. There’s no struggle or thought to nursing a grievance or thinking primarily about myself or thinking that I’m better than others.

All these come very naturally. They are well practiced and well established. They are a result, as Dallas Willard says, of a long habituation with a world alienated from God. I’m very accustomed to living life without taking God into consideration. It’s well established habit.

Last week, kids had been talking about this reality series called the 1,000 pound sisters. Two sisters, living in Kentucky, and between the two of them, they literally weigh 1,000 pounds. They are, medically speaking, morbidly obese.

Series showed them going to this doctor who was willing to do gastric bypass surgery on them - but first they had to lose some weight before he would do the surgery. Which got them very excited…talking about freedom from - losing significant weight was going to free them to be able to do a lot of things they now couldn’t do.

As you might imagine, carrying all that extra weight causes a lot of health problems and a lot of difficulties in just ordinary everyday stuff - walking even short distances, being able to bathe and wash every part of your body.

Now these women were a delight - you can tell they had great love for one another, and wonderful sense of humor, they were funny (you can see why they chose to do a show on them). But, man, was effort to lose weight ever difficult for them!

To start with, they had to change their daily habits around eating and exercise (they ate a lot and most of it was bad food - so much sugar!) Our bodies come to crave sugar. Sugar is one of those things that crouches outside our doors - it will have us. Weren’t used to exercising - sore and tired and hurting.

But what became evident was that it wasn’t just physical aspect of changing that was so difficult

In fact, what was really at root of so much of their overeating was emotional pain and wounds and how they had learned to cope with them - deeply held patterns of behavior. Long habituation.

Lot of pain surrounding their Mom who was not affectionate or particularly supportive

And though sisters were best friends, but they could get ugly with each other. At times when they so needed support and encouragement from each other, they would undermine each other.

One of them would throw a big old pity party - she doesn’t understand

Or pride…I’m doing all work, I’m one making all effort

Stubborn resistance - I’ll show her!

When Dallas Willard talks about a long habituation with a world alienated from God, this is exactly what he’s talking about. We all have wounds and hurts and they go deep. We have long-held patterns, this deeply ingrained ways of reacting. It wasn’t just that they needed freedom from their current lifestyle, they needed to be made free for an entirely new one. They needed power and help to live differently.

One of the central claims of Gospel - the good news - is “you have been set free.”

From our passage today, vs. 2…there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. (by the way, language here is rather confusing - when you see word “law”, think “reality…Because through Christ Jesus the reality of Spirit who gives life has set you free from the reality of sin and death.

Same thing, Galatians 5:1…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.

Just hear that for a moment. You have been set free. Through Christ Jesus you have been set free. It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.

When you know that enslavement, when you know what it’s like to be bound by hatred or bitterness, addicted to porn or gossip, so driven by your ego and need to be best or right or seen as successful or liked by others…that is good, good news to have been set free.

That is gift of Jesus: I have come that you might have life and have it abundantly.

Last week, we talked about this amazing Before and After - you were dead and now God has made you alive in Christ Jesus. That one way we experience the abundant life of Jesus is in his grace.

Don’t try to save yourself. Jesus does it much, much better - receive gift.

Here’s deal - it often doesn’t seem like we’re in the After. Sin so often feels like it has this stranglehold on me.

Where’s all this freedom not just from, but for? Can you and I really live different - do what is right? Can we really love like Jesus himself loved? There’s honestly some people I have hard time seeing myself being able to genuinely love.

Here’s the thing: Salvation isn’t just a one-and-done - you’re saved, got your ticket to heaven. You and I are being saved. God is working in his to become people who can and do have heartfelt love for all others.

Philippians 2:12-13 - Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purposes.

Part of the responsibility is ours - we are commanded to work out our salvation - but God makes is possible.

God is working in us to will and to act - to both have willingness and the ability to actually do what he wants us to. To live in obedience to Jesus.

God can and does empower us to live differently. We not only experience abundant life through grace of Jesus, but in his power. I want to spend our last few minutes talking about how we experience that power.

What Will Govern Us?

In Romans 8, Paul lays out two options - mind governed by flesh or mind governed by Spirit. “Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.”

I want you to notice something right off the bat: You will be governed by something. This is big lie of this generation - that I can have freedom from everything. Free to choose whatever I want.

But as we’ve been discovering, that’s not real freedom. We’re not free at all! That’s actually a mind governed by flesh. You actually being ruled over by your sinful inclinations. Those long held habits.

Why Paul says mind governed by flesh is hostile to God. It doesn’t submit to God because it cannot do so. Even if you wanted to. Enslaved. Everything we’ve been talking about.

The other option is to have our mind governed or led by the Spirit. This is how Jesus lived - he was led by the Spirit. After Jesus was baptized, the Gospels tell us that he was led by the Spirit into the wilderness.

We work out our salvation by allowing ourselves to be led by the Spirit. Our minds governed by him. Now that sounds like another type of enslavement (swapping masters). But this is where our understanding of freedom is so essential - because remember we are set free through Jesus. Through his Spirit we now have freedom for - freedom to do what is right. The capacity to genuinely love others. Take off our pride and lusts and envy. To put on kindness and compassion and mercy and courage.

Because the Spirit gives life. The Zoe, divine life of God. Four times in this passage, Paul tells us that the Spirit gives life: The mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies

Zoe, spiritual life which is in God - is energy. Vitality. Power. Spirit gives us life by giving us power to live way God wants us to. To overcome our sinful habits.

We work out our salvation by incorporating new practices, habits - that open us up to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Let me give you an example of how this works - because I just experienced this powerful way recently. I shared this with our Spiritual Formation group.

Every year I go to my dermatologist (last week, remnants of treatment to kill precancerous skin cells).

A couple of years ago, went to my appointment, always get appointment as early as I can - she’s popular doctor and you can end up waiting a long time. Which is exactly what happened that morning.

Got in pretty quick, but then I sat in that examination room. And sat. And sat. All time, I’m getting angrier and angrier (I set early appointment…why is this taking so long). I could hear socializing at times in hallway (which of course made me more angry). Finally (45 minutes later), came in, did treatment and I made my way to checkout.

I decided I was going to let them know of my frustration…I didn’t yell, but it was clear in my tone. I didn’t feel good about any of it walking out. In hindsight, I’m embarrassed about it.

Just last week I go to have some moles removed. Almost exactly the same scenario - early morning appointment, get in pretty quickly into examination room. And I wait. And I wait. I can hear folks socializing outside. But this time, I’m not thinking about how long I’m waiting.

I’m practicing one of spiritual disciplines. Silence. I’m sitting there, prayerfully, coming to presence of God. No sense of hurry. I’m calm.

Finally, they come in to do treatment. How you doing? I don’t have to lie…Great. Ready to go.

It was such a marked difference leaving that time. Instead of time filled sulking and fretting over having to wait (mind governed by flesh), I had rich time of just being in presence of God (mind governed by Holy Spirit). It was wonderful.

God, through power of Holy Spirit, had given me freedom for. Freedom for his peace, for grace toward others.

This is why I’m so eager for us to move into Spiritual Formation together. There are lots of ways to do it, but coming together and reading and reflecting and engaging in soul training exercises found in The Good and Beautiful God is a great way to start.

Because it will help change way we think - we want our minds governed, not by flesh, but by Holy Spirit - Spirit always guides us into Truth, towards Jesus, mind of Christ.

Because it’s as we engage in these practices…practice sleep and silence and solitude…as we learn to pray with an openness and surrender to Holy Spirit…he will give us life. That power - to live differently.

And that’s when we will experience true freedom. Not just freedom from, but freedom for. Freedom to be like Jesus himself.