How to Live in Freedom: Cherish This Truth

have you ever been trick-or-treating that might seem like an arbitrary insignificant question seeing that we're in the month of february and for those keeping track trick-or-treat happens on halloween october 31st but uh take it from a pastor's kid trick-or-treating for some of us who've been christians for a while was something we were not allowed to do i know that sounds comical to many of you watching you're like wait christians can't trick or treat well we can now and we do and our kids do but that brings me to one of the great stands that chelsea and i took in our parenting my wife of 21 years we now have a 16 14 11 year old two boys and a not so little girl i used to say a little girl all the time but she's 11 going on 21 this is a wild life back to trick-or-treating um trick-or-treating is something we do in the smith household we think a lot of activities in the world are redeemable and if done the right way from the right perspective they can be really enjoyable right and we obviously love um uh refined sugar and hydrogenated oils and blue 40 and the yellow nine and all the other horrific things that are put into candy um well trick-or-treating became kind of a problem in our family and here's how now trick-or-treating growing up was like that's the satan's birthday you can't trick-or-treat chelsea and i uh we built and grew our family and we were like no you can dress up and we'll go get candy and it'll be fun until we checked under the beds of our children this is years ago now and discovered in i don't know june july august they still had the candy under their bed and it came to our knowledge i'm looking this way because chelsea's sitting right over there it came to our knowledge that the entire year they were just feeding themselves candy late at night from under their bed so this is one of those monumental moments you you parents out there you know what i'm talking about we're like okay this is where we make our stand this is it we are not going to be halloween candy under your bed eating at night whenever you want kind of that's not who the smiths are we're throwing away the candy and i will never forget it's as if we were throwing away a family pet that had existed their entire life we took out the pillowcases the plastic bags and we while they watched mom and dad took a stand and threw the candy away there was quite literally tears gnashing of teeth that's a term used in scripture that if you're a pastor's kid you grow up with weeping and gnashing of teeth it's a reference to hell et cetera et cetera anyways it was a hellish experience as our kids wept and cried and moaned over the fact that their halloween candy was now going to be gone if they didn't idiot eat it right around halloween it was our moment to draw the proverbial line in the sand and take our stand now since then every single halloween the kids understand eat it while you can because it will be gone whether you eat it or not when we say so that was the stand we took now this leads us to a study we are going to do in the book of galatians just in one chapter i'm attempting to do a whole chapter in the new testament written by the apostle paul inspired by god himself we're gonna do it ladies and gentlemen in four weeks we're going to do an enormous amount of research and study on each and every verse we're going to pick out a key a couple of key verses and we're gonna learn together from galatians chapter five now galatians chapter five is all about how a jesus follower a jesus worshiper actually lives in true freedom so we're gonna title this study for the next four weeks how to live in freedom how to truly live free and that brings us to the very first verse of chapter five paul writes emphatically in fact one theologian scholar whose hundreds of years ago since passed on to eternity he quoted saying that it's galatians where we see paul in his purest form in other words paul being the father paul being the older brother paul being the theologian paul being the genius if you will that he was with theology and scripture inspired by the holy spirit as he appeals to his own people predominantly the jewish people to take a stand and not go back to relating to god based on rules traditions and customs so galatians chapter five verse one starts and i quote let me be clear paul says the anointed one has set us free not partially not mostly but completely and wonderfully free we must always cherish this truth and listen to this and stubbornly how many times do you see anywhere in scripture where it says be stubborn but here paul says be stubborn about refusing stubbornly refused to go back into the bondage he calls living by rules regulations traditions calls it the bondage of the past just in the very first verse of galatians chapter 5 we see paul coming out swinging now this man is used to write by the help of the spirit of jesus more than half of the new testament he has the first five books of the old testament memorized the torah as it's called he is a theological savant he is a theological genius his journey is wild he hated christians he killed christians now later in his life he pulls off the gloves if you will and takes some massive swings at freedom here's what it means to live free what a subject and what a topic in 2021 there is different kinds of freedom there there's different definitions of freedom there is different uh uh individuals crying out for freedom or saying this is freedom or no that is freedom no this is what we need and that is what we need and we hear promises of freedom in different continents and countries and justice systems and governmental systems and freedom freedom freedom what does the bible say about how to live free what does it actually mean to live free paul is so passionate about you and i living truly free as defined for us in galatians chapter 5 that he says here's where you take a stand it's as if you've discovered halloween candy under the bunk beds of your children only to realize halloween was nine months ago and you go nope this is it this is where i take my stand this is where i say this far and no farther enough is enough i'm not going backwards i'm not going back to rules i'm not going back to traditions i'm not going back to customs i'm actually moving forward with jesus in all that he has for me do you want to move forward in life are you tired of going backwards are you tired of looking backwards are you trying to thinking backwards are you trying are you tired of feeling like you're sliding backwards do you want to progress do you want to move forward do you want to make a difference do you want your life to matter do you want to be fulfilled do you want to be content do you want to sleep well at night do you want to wake up with expectation purpose and passion for the day is this the kind of life you want to live if it is i would implore you to tune in and let's together study one of the most candid portions and passions passages of scripture that we ever received from paul and here he will be candid and here he will speak directly to you and to me on the subject of freedom he says take a stand live free you are completely free look how galatians chapter 5 verse 1 in the message bible it says jesus has set us free to live a free life so take your stand exclamation point so take your stand you hear me take your stand hey church home take your stand you know what's amazing is i thought about titling this first message take your stand and then i started to think about take your stand and i started thinking about what that would mean from different political parties and different world perspectives and persuasions and and ideas and i realized that take your stand could communicate something that maybe you're not thinking because when i say take your stand i'm not actually saying about your persuasion of policies on how to run a country or how to run your neighborhood or how to run your business but i'm talking about a a a different kind of freedom i'm talking about an emotional freedom i'm talking about a mental freedom i'm talking about a spiritual freedom i'm talking about an eternal freedom i'm talking about an internal freedom this is bigger broader and it lasts forever kind of freedom that only jesus only the divine creator and architect of the ages can afford you and offer you and purchase you and gift you and give you and he has take your stand this isn't about who you voted for this is about who created you take your stand how are we going to live free we're going to study the whole chapter what i want to give you now and i'm going to be very practical and specific for the next 10 minutes we'll be very specific and i want to give to you my most candid honest exegesis treatment and study of galatians chapter 5 in the first six verses and we don't have time to go through all of the nuances of the original language here and all the imagery and the and the poetry and the beauty here in galatians chapter five but for the next 10 minutes i want to be very specific how how do i live free what am i free from now next week we're talking about the definition or a new definition of freedom we're going to talk about how the scripture divides freedom but for sake of time for the first 10 minutes of our research i want us to ask the all-important question how do i not go backwards how do i not go back to making my relationship with jesus a stagnant list of ideals ethics morals and concepts i attempt to abide by to make myself a better person or to feel like a better person how do i not go back to that because that is empty and that is hollow and frankly it causes extraordinary division in cultures continents and countries how do i not go back to that how do i live in a vibrant buoyant authentic real genuine daily relationship with the creator of the universe how do i know jesus how do i sense jesus how do i feel jesus how do i walk with jesus how do i hear and listen to jesus how do i let jesus guide me and direct me these are some of the concepts and extraordinary truths that paul seems to dig into just in this chapter so how do i not go backwards well our first point is the title of this sermon cherish this truth i want to read galatians chapter 5 and verse 1 to you again from the passion translation it says let me be clear please be clear paul we need some clarity let me be clear the anointed one which is another name for jesus the anointed one jesus has set us free not partially but completely and wonderfully free free we must always we must always we must always cherish this truth and stubbornly refuse to go back into the bondage of the past we must cherish this truth the word cherish means to hold delicately it means to protect it means to value it means um do you have you ever had anything so precious that when your kids go to touch it you go whoa whoa whoa whoa be careful with that maybe it's a vaz or a vase whichever way you pronounce it and here comes that toddler of yours and you love that toddler but you also love that valuable voice or vase and they go to touch it you're like oh no no that's a form of cherishing no no that's my that's my vase oh please don't touch that or maybe you put it behind a glass viewing and you put some light to it and it's cherish this truth well wait a second judy you say cherish this truth we're talking about freedom but what what's the truth we're cherishing what's the freedom we're cherishing what are we free from because isn't that what we're supposed to protect isn't that what we're supposed to value isn't that what we're supposed to hold dear isn't that what we're supposed to be excited about so so so what is this truth you speak of this truth is this that man in and of himself could not do for himself what he needed for himself and that is we have erred we have wronged we have sinned we are inherently selfish every child that's ever born in every any continent in any language always learns mine me we are selfish by nature david says in the psalms of the old testament i was born in sin i was born with a propensity to serve myself think about myself and live for myself as a result i do mean things to others i hurt others i hurt myself i come up with concepts and ideas and worldviews that aren't true and aren't biblical and aren't accurate and they are divisive and they are toxic and they are wrong what are we going to do with sin the bible says all of sin and fallen short of god's glory standard and so i'll tell you exactly what god did he gave man free will and as a result man selfishly chose himself and heir and sin and wrong entered humanity it compromised the whole plan it compromised the whole system but god in his grace already made provision he didn't make a provision from somewhere else or somebody else he made provision within himself the bible says jesus became sin so that you and i by simply believing in jesus deeds not our own deeds can become righteous and can have an actual vibrant buoyant relationship with god here's what we're free from we're free from a system we're free from sin and we're free from shame cherish this truth you are free from a system you are free from sin and you are free from shame cherish that truth the truth about jesus instead of a system you now have a person instead of a system of how to relate to god instead of a list of morals and ethics you now have a relationship with a person cherish this truth i have replaced my system my empty hollow system i have replaced it with a person now my relationship is not with a system with rules regulations or merely customs and traditions that are the makings of men now my relationship with god is through a person and his name is jesus now my relationship with god is not about sin my focus is no longer sin my focus is now purpose it's not an obsession with i got to get better i got to stop doing wrong man if you obsess over sin you'll probably sin more my obsession is the plan and purpose that god has for my life your obsession now because of jesus is no longer self-improvement it's no longer i gotta stop this addiction and break this off and change this and do this now it's it's trusting that god has a plan and a purpose for your life and relating to that person understanding that god knows your dust he knows you're broken he knows your fragility he knows that you and i are a mess he sets us free none the less we are free from a system we're free from sin and lastly we're free from shame instead of shame we receive a sense of permanence what is that permanence i am permanently in a relationship with god because what jesus has done is perfect and permanent and completed and what jesus did is he hung on a cross between two thieves and he became my sin he became my selfishness he became my wrong he became my heir and so now i no longer relate to god based on what i've done what i do what i'm going to do i relate to god based on what he has done and i now know that i am permanently please hear me church i'm permanently in a relationship with god and jesus proves that cherish this truth how do you live free you understand you're free from the system you're free from sin and you're free from shame now i have a person now i have a purpose and now i have permanence in my relationship and standing with god wow paul says we've got to protect this we've got to cherish this truth and then for sake of time as we're going to come to a close soon it says in galatians 5 and verse 4 if you want to be made holy or like god by fulfilling the obligations of the law or a list of rules you have cut off more than your flesh alluding to circumcision which won't get into the nuances of now but you cut yourself off from jesus and you have fallen away from what is the revelation of grace for the revelation of jesus but look what it says here's our next point just two more points i'm done but but the holy spirit convinces us persuades us that we have received by faith not works by faith the glorious righteousness of the of the anointed one or jesus the holy spirit the spirit of jesus the spirit of god spirit form of god in my soul persuades me convinces me how does he do it well here's three ways he does it he does it in more ways than these but here's three ways he he points he prompts and he proclaims this is how he persuades this is how he convinces us this is how he reminds us this is how he rehearses i asked a friend the other day who just astounds me with their passion for jesus on a daily basis i said what has happened to you how do you have such a passion to know jesus he said it's simple i i prayed the prayer god show me something new about you every day you know what that is that's divine persuasion you know how you're gonna stay free from systems in a sin focused life and a shame decimated existence by cherishing the truth and welcoming the persuasion of the divine the creator persuade me again god persuade me again point look what he does externally he'll point to something he'll say that's what i do or internally he'll prompt you you'll feel like a nudge you'll feel a sense he said judah how will i know you were made to know his prompting you'll know all of a sudden you feel a nudge to call a friend do you feel prompted to ask for somebody's forgiveness you feel led is one of the words we've used over the years as christians i feel led i feel i feel like god's leading me and then sometimes to persuade you he proclaims the bible says creation declares is glory proclaims it's glory do you know what i mean like you go to the ocean that's not a nudge that's a proclamation you're standing there while the waves are crashing on the sand and you're looking at the vastness the width the depth the length the endless horizon of the of the ocean and you're thinking to yourself there must be a god and you are persuaded the tides of the oceans alone let alone the waterfalls or the clouds or the rains or the thunder or the jungles or the deserts or the forests or the tropics or the birds or the fish think of it all of it proclaims and then internally prompts and then sometimes he'll suddenly point out things that was my providence this is how we take our stand this is how we don't go back to false freedom self-attempted freedom we trust jesus we we cherish this truth we we say jesus convince me today and and and that's what i wanna i'm coming to a club i wanna just give this to somebody as a gift as my friend gave it to me what if we prayed the same prayer that my friend prayed god showed me something new about you today the holy spirit persuades us he convinces us that we have received by faith the glorious righteousness righteousness is right standing in your relationship with god and remember that's permanent it's permanent convince me today god show me something today god point something out today prompt me today proclaim to me your majesty and your glory today so that i can live free okay so that i can live free free from a system from sin consciousness and crippling shame i've been free and i'm not going back there i'm done this is my last point in conclusion to what will be i think a very exciting study together in bible jesus internal emotional spiritual mental freedom lastly as we go on in the reading verse 6 in galatians 5 it says when you're placed into the anointed one and joined him and joined to him circumcision and religious obligations can benefit you nothing all that matters now please hear this all that matters now all that matters now what is all that matters now all that matters now is living in the faith that is activated brought to perfection by love living in the faith let me just say living by faith living in the faith living in this divinely persuaded state living in the faith in the story not by it or about it but in it in it in it live in the faith that is activated and brought to reality and proof by the perfection brought to perfection i should say by love love so so so lastly how do you not go back system sin shame that whole life self focus in focus self-conscious insecure lack of confidence how do you lastly after you cherish the truth and ask god to convince you today you express your faith through love did you hear that all that matters now is that you express the faith that you're in through love now it doesn't say express your faith through law now church i'ma be just bear with me now i love you it also doesn't say express your faith through legislation it says express your faith through love in no way is there in fact legislation is in the new testament and we see jesus paying taxes amongst other things in respecting the legislation and laws of the land but all that matters now is not legislation and law all that truly matters is that the faith you are in is shown to those around you by love in other words if you trust jesus show me by loving what he loves because if you trust him you love him and if you love him you love what he loves and do you know what jesus loves people well jesus loves more than that kinda not much it's people and everything that helps people everything that aids people everything that serves people this is what jesus loves jesus loves justice jesus loves righteousness jesus loves peace jesus loves joy you know why because jesus loves people if we trust jesus church home then the question that must be asked is do you love people because one simply cannot say i love jesus but i don't love people it don't work like that that's like saying you love a player but you don't prefer the team well you tell the player that you tell him or her that you like them as a player but you don't like their team that's not going to go over well with any respective athlete [Music] when you say to god i love you i just don't love all your children that doesn't well that just doesn't work or add up does it so we in conclusion must express the fact that we trust jesus through love i trust jesus therefore i love versus i trust myself therefore i law now we trust jesus who's above the law who's fulfilled the law so if you love jesus your life isn't built on systems and rules and regulations morals and ethics it's built on a person so you have a romance not a lifestyle of regulations so when faith works through love it looks something like this here's a couple perspectives as we end it looks something like this you live in a love story you don't treat the bible like a textbook where you're trying to curate ethics and answers for life so instead of going i wonder what god's gonna say about what's going on not a bad way to read as opposed to opening this up and saying show me you and furthermore show me me [Music] that's how and then you this starts to be your story this starts to be a romance this is all that matters now is living in the faith living in the faith living in the faith not reading about it not knowing its history not knowing stat statistics this is not a textbook these are letters of romance and love and passion and a person another observation when when when faith is is is working through love we we we see people as ourselves and empathy is a lifestyle we we we see people and we say that's me i was watching a documentary about someone that i have respected and looked up to and i got deeply sad at the documentary because i started to see the person in the documentary as me and that's not because i'm a moral person or ethical person or a better person or anything like that it's just i have learned the practice of if jesus can save me he can save anybody if he can show me truth if he can set me from systems and sin and shame if he can do that for me to do it for anybody so then you end up watching content or documentaries or you witness or you or you're at a favorite concert or a show or and and all of a sudden the people that you used to go i can't believe oh my gosh oh my god right and you watch these sensational documentaries that are trying to unravel people for our entertainment and you start to feel like he or she it's me empathy becomes not something we conjure up it becomes a way of thinking and living that's when faith is working through love lastly you you not only live in the faith and not treat it's like a textbook looking for ethics and morals and answers to life and then and people read this because they want to be wise and smart and cool and be the person around the christian dinner table who's got all of the information that that's this is not to make you look better it's to save you right so this becomes the love story people become you empathy becomes a lifestyle and lastly you see sovereignty more than responsibility in the universe you see sovereignty your trust in jesus leads you to see more of jesus not yourself and your lifestyle ends up looking like wow god is so good as opposed to responsibility i'm done part one but before i do can i push just a little bit further are you a sovereignty or responsibility what judah i'm both respect but in order of focus time energy and importance which do you give yourself more to the study of his sovereignty his majesty the essence of his character or do you give yourself more to your responsibility your ethics your morals your principles your keys to success i believe when our trust in jesus expresses itself in love we think of gratitude more than goals we think of god's purpose and plan in the earth more than we think about our career path we think about more what god has done than what i should do and all of a sudden a life takes flight and that life is called freedom and you end up living a life no now say it like this i've ended up living a life i know was not possible [Music] when left to my own devices i am not free i am bound by the urges surges and desires of my own physical body and my own selfish bent but when i allow jesus to remind me again who he is and who i am as a result of what he has done and what he has put together planned and built in the universe all of a sudden i begin to cherish this truth [Music] i experience the promptings and proclamations and pointings and leadings of jesus and then i i trust in jesus seems to overflow in the form of love loving what he loves this is just our introduction this is just the first six verses wouldn't even cover all in one chapter in all the bible it's that rich it's that deep it's that why it's that beautiful and i hope that these words and this study find you in a place in the world that you are encouraged this is a church and a community dedicated to good news and i want to remind you if you haven't picked up when i'm laying down today i hope you hear this you are loved you're forgiven you are accepted and you are god's son and daughter and he is not mad his arms are wide open and all he has for you is to replace that system with a person to replace this sin with purpose to replace your shame with a sense of a permanent relationship with him what a life god's so amazing can i pray for you jesus i thank you for them the few moments we get to share is a community studying you you are incredible if you're here today and you're watching wherever you are you say judah i would like to receive the free gift of forgiveness that only jesus offers i invite you to do that right now by the lifting of your hand say jude i don't need to lift my hand you don't but i think when you do it makes it more real to you that's all so you can lift your hand right now and god i thank you we are forgiven forever in one moment of accepting and receptivity we are forgiven forever because of jesus and i pray for our church today and all the extraordinary families individuals and people and people groups all over the world that worship here at church home oh god help us to take our stand and truly live free i love you church

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Keywords: Churchome, Judah, Judah smith, church, message, anxiety, depression, how to, elevation, Steven, Hillsong, oceans, sermon, the city church, church home, Chelsea smith, bobby Houston, td jakes, pastor, pastor preaching, carl lentz, Jesus, conference, guest speaker, sermon jam, worship, Justin Bieber, la Hillsong, Selena, preaching, Judah message, performance

Id: jjljNTieYGk

Length: 36min 13sec (2173 seconds)

Published: Mon Feb 08 2021