Standing Firm

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. [1 Corinthians 16:13]

Biblical TeachingsPodcast Episode

We Are Free Indeed – Total Freedom

Cathy

[Romans 8:1-4] So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body, God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.

As we celebrate the freedom for our country-which is a God-given blessing for sure. I want to remind you about how we can be truly free no matter where we live, what circumstances arise, or what happens in our lives.

I think there is a widespread lack of understanding concerning the heart of God and His intentions for every person, and unfortunately, this misunderstanding also includes many believers.

Today I want to bring you a message of goodness, hope, forgiveness, love, and grace.

Sadly, for many believers, guilt and fear seem to be the motivating factors that define their “Christian” lives. Then there are others who totally reject God and they live in constant torment, turmoil, condemnation, guilt, and fear. Because of these lies that the enemy has sown into people’s lives no matter how many fireworks they watch, beer they drink, or BBQs they attend they will never have contentment, peace, joy, or know God’s true love for them.

I want to disrupt this pattern of thinking to set you free of condemnation and guilt and help you to understand how FREE you really can be.

*** Remember this is only an outline, there is more on the podcast.

EVERY PERSON IS VALUABLE, TREASURED, AND PRECIOUS TO GOD

[Matthew 13:44-46] The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field. Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!

YOU CAN HAVE GREAT EXPECTATIONS

[Ephesians 1:6-8, 10-14] He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding. And this is the plan: At the right time, he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ everything in heaven and on earth. Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan. God’s purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God. And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.

  • As a follower of Jesus, you should always have a confident expectation of good in your life, for your calling, and for your eternal future!

THE GREATNESS OF GOD’S POWER IN AND FOR US

[Ephesians 1:19-22] And so that you can know and understand what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power in and for us who believe, as demonstrated in the working of His mighty strength, Which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named above every title that can be conferred, not only in this age and in this world, but also in the age and the world which are to come. And He has put all things under His feet and has appointed Him the universal and supreme Head of the church a headship exercised throughout the church

  • A person whose heart is established in the “essence” of the gospel will constantly be aware of the power of God resident in them.

ALL THINGS FOR LIFE AND GODLINESS ARE GIVEN TO US AND WE ARE PARTAKERS OF HIS DIVINE NATURE

[2 Peter 1:3-11] By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins. So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away. Then God will give you a grand entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

  • When we know and understand the heart “essence” of the gospel, it will cause us to always be aware of the fact that God has already given us all things for life and godliness!

WE ARE WORTHY TO BE WALKING WITH THE LORD

[Colossians 1:9-12] So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better. We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light.

  • We can live and walk in all worthiness and pleasing toward the Lord, by increasing in the knowledge of God.
  • It takes spiritual warfare in order to attain and maintain the knowledge of God or the heart “essence” of the gospel!

WE CAN WALK IN A NEW LIFE!

[Romans 6:1-12] Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives. Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus. Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires.

  • We can and should walk in the newness of life.
  • Definition of walk to walk about or to make one’s way
  • Definition of newness of life a new state or condition of life
  • This means that in the same way that Jesus was raised from the dead by the glory of God, we, too, need to walk in the knowledge of God (the heart “essence” of the gospel), living a resurrected life every day.

THE FINISHED WORK OF THE CROSS IS A PLACE OF FREEDOM FROM JUDGMENT.

[1 John 4:7-19] Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us. And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. We love each other because he loved us first.

  • Everything was accomplished for all people for all time because of the free gift of God’s mercy, grace, love, goodness, and forgiveness.
  • The True Gospel it’s never bad news; it never excludes you; it always includes you.
  • The gospel is the power of God.
  • A person cannot live an emotionally stable life as a Christian if they are not free from the expectation of impending judgment of God.
  • Most people have such a distorted understanding of love and what it means to love and be loved.
  • It is hard for us to relate to the way God loves us.
  • We can only love God if we allow Him to first love us.

GOD’S UNCONDITIONAL LOVE

[1 Corinthians 13:1-8] If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing. Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever!

🎤 LYRICS
There is power that breaks my chains
There is truth that frees the slave
Perfect love that casts out fear
Precious blood that brings me near
And just one Name by which I’m saved
The very Name that fills this place
So I will claim his victory and too receive

There is power and deliverance in the presence of Jesus
No more chains on me, I am free indeed
He has risen and restored me as an heir to His glory
No more chains on me, I am free indeed

By His wounds I am healed
All that binds will bow to Him
Now even death has lost its sting and I believe

No more chains on me, I am free indeed

Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty
Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty
There is liberty

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