When Caring is Sharing......Our Journey to Freedom, My Journey with Jesus

7/5  Our Journey to Freedom, My Journey with Jesus    
 
Sunday’s message by Matt Busekrus in the Summer Series – When Caring is Sharing
 
The weekend encompassed a celebration of our freedom we have by living in these United States of America.  As Matt stated Sunday, “As Americans we love our freedom and we love to celebrate our freedom.  We enjoy living, working, playing as we chose or are able to do.  Matt talked with the young people about the best choices we make, with the freedom we have.  He shared that God tells us that we are free to make choices every day. That’s why faith in God is a choice that we make. It’s not forced on us. It’s not a duty, nor a necessary step to adulthood, but a choice that we make individually.
 
Matt shared his story of his faith journey with us.  His faith was a learned faith as he was introduced into it by a friend and enriched through a pastor friend and personal study.  We each have our own faith story.  And we are each at different stages in our faith story.  Sunday being the day after the 4th of July Matt talked of his freedom because of his journey with Jesus.  He shared that 1. God loves us and adopts us into his family 2. Jesus has purchased our freedoms through his death on the cross and 3. We are called to use our freedom to serve other’s in love.
 
In our going deeper study through RNM we viewed and examined ourselves and our thinking on this freedom in Christ.  We indeed are free in Christ, but then why are we sometimes burdened with shame, remorse, hypocrisy, depression, despair, and this list can go on and on and on.  Chuck Swindoll in his illustration of The Thrill of Freedom stated the Christians still battle with the entangling effects of sin.  We are sinful creatures by nature and will continue to be throughout all of life.  When we are trapped by sin, we are held back from real life.  Chuck says, we have this thrill of freedom, the excitement of freedom,  in Christ. 
 
Steps to Freedom in Christ by Steve Goss and Neil Anderson, says it’s about getting past the stuff that is holding you back.  Those personal and spiritual conflicts, by placing trust in Jesus, believing in your heart, and confessing with your mouth that Jesus is Lord.  Got Freedom by Michael Youssef is a study in the Book of Galatians. In his series he talks also about the Freedom in Christ alone, freedom not to sin.  Dr. Youssef says that only Jesus can give you that power to spend every waking moment in obedience to Him. 
 
It’s a choice that we make for ourselves.  A choice to accept God’s offer into his family.  In Steps to Freedom in Christ we heard of who we are in Jesus.  Of how he meets our needs, we are children of God, our identity is in him.  We are accepted, adopted, redeemed, and forgiven of all our sins, free from condemnation, we cannot be separated from the love of God – I am a citizen of heaven.  The evil one cannot touch me.  I am a temple of God.  God’s workmanship created for good works, by the grace of God, I am who I am.
 
Matt during his message Sunday shared that, we are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ and rather than trying harder or giving up, the answer was in God’s grace through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.  When we place our trust in him, he frees us from the penalty of sin and death because we would never be able to achieve life over sin on our own.  We cannot live the perfect life.  We cannot bridge the gap between our sinfulness and God’s holiness on our own. That’s why we believe in death of Jesus on the cross. The only way to God. As he shared Our Journey to Freedom is only fully received in Journeying with Jesus.
 
Freedom by Donna Lamothe shared that we are forgiven and freed by this unconditional love that Jesus has for us.  We just need to give Him our brokenness.  Come to repentance in those bad choices we made.  Both in Freedom and in Steps to Freedom in Christ they talked about Curses versus Blessings.
It’s the choices we make.  Those moments of decisions that can be the fruit of release for us.  When we renounce the sin, truly repent from it, confess our faith, these three are our part.  It’s by the blood of Jesus that we are bought, it’s through Jesus that we are forgiven.  Be at peace, there is freedom in release.  Those choices that we make, it’s not about status, homes, money, cars, me pleasing, or people pleasing.  Those choices that we make are God’s truths for us with the power of the Holy Spirit to help us, to live His ways, to say enough is enough.  I renounce, repent, confess it, and I will now live in the freedom I have in Christ Jesus, my faith is in Him.  Remember your relationship with Christ, legally he paid the price for you, he wants you to have a relationship with him personally, remember the Covenant of Grace.  We have access to God’s Riches at Christ’s Expense.  His Grace is that he doesn’t give us what we deserve, His Mercy is that He gives us what we don’t deserve. We live daily by his Grace and Mercy given to us.
 
Chuck Swindoll summed it all up by saying, internally (in our mind, in our thinking, in our actions)  we are free, eternally we are secure. Life with Jesus starts now and lasts forever!   What are some things you do to regularly experience the freedom in Christ?
 
Larry & Darlene