WEBVTT 00:00:02.479 --> 00:00:03.279 Waves at me. 00:00:03.359 --> 00:00:04.879 Everybody got all their fingers. 00:00:05.120 --> 00:00:05.679 We're good. 00:00:05.839 --> 00:00:09.199 Didn't go too crazy yesterday, July 4th, right? 00:00:09.759 --> 00:00:10.960 That's awesome. 00:00:11.279 --> 00:00:14.160 How how incredible how awesome it is. 00:00:14.320 --> 00:00:24.320 We get to celebrate our independence as Americans, but even more importantly, we get to celebrate our dependence as Christians, right? 00:00:24.559 --> 00:00:27.839 Our dependency on Jesus Christ. 00:00:28.000 --> 00:00:31.039 We have to depend on the Lord if we're going to make it through this life. 00:00:31.280 --> 00:00:31.760 Amen? 00:00:32.399 --> 00:00:33.039 Amen. 00:00:33.280 --> 00:00:38.000 So I would be remiss if we didn't talk about freedom today. 00:00:39.119 --> 00:00:39.600 Right? 00:00:40.000 --> 00:00:49.759 Coming off of the 250th birthday of the United States, we're going to talk about freedom, but not just any old freedom. 00:00:49.840 --> 00:00:51.920 We're talking about freedom in Christ. 00:00:52.240 --> 00:00:58.079 Freedom in Christ, because true freedom is only found in Christ. 00:00:58.640 --> 00:01:05.040 Well, like Pastor said, obviously, I am not one of those guys that you saw on the screen. 00:01:05.359 --> 00:01:08.560 For those of you that don't know me, my name is Joshua Gruber. 00:01:09.359 --> 00:01:18.239 And I am truly honored and truly grateful for this privilege to Pastor Tyler and our elder team to be able to share with you this morning. 00:01:18.400 --> 00:01:21.040 We have an incredible pastoral team. 00:01:21.200 --> 00:01:22.079 Do we not here? 00:01:22.400 --> 00:01:24.719 Can we just give some credit where credit's due, please? 00:01:24.879 --> 00:01:25.280 Yeah. 00:01:25.519 --> 00:01:26.079 Yep. 00:01:26.319 --> 00:01:28.159 These men are absolutely incredible. 00:01:28.239 --> 00:01:29.680 They are godly men. 00:01:29.920 --> 00:01:35.680 And I'm so, so thankful to them and ultimately our Lord Jesus Christ for this opportunity. 00:01:35.840 --> 00:01:38.319 Before I go any further, I would like to pray. 00:01:38.640 --> 00:01:44.400 Lord Heavenly Father, Jesus, I thank you. 00:01:45.280 --> 00:01:46.480 I thank you, God. 00:01:46.640 --> 00:01:51.120 I thank you that because of your blood, we are free. 00:01:52.079 --> 00:01:55.599 Because of you, Jesus, we can walk in freedom. 00:01:55.840 --> 00:01:58.159 We don't have to be bound by our sin. 00:01:58.959 --> 00:02:04.480 We can walk in true freedom because of you and what you did on that cross. 00:02:05.040 --> 00:02:08.080 So, Lord, we give you all the praise and all the glory. 00:02:08.240 --> 00:02:17.599 I pray that you would open our ears, open our hearts this morning, that we would hear exactly what it is you want us to hear from your word, Jesus. 00:02:18.960 --> 00:02:23.120 We pray for chains to be broken in this place in Jesus' name. 00:02:23.759 --> 00:02:27.360 We pray for freedom in Jesus' name. 00:02:28.319 --> 00:02:29.439 God, I love you. 00:02:29.599 --> 00:02:30.639 I love you, Lord. 00:02:30.800 --> 00:02:34.400 In your mighty name we pray, and everybody said, Amen. 00:02:34.639 --> 00:02:45.520 So before we dive in to the word this morning, I want to give you just a brief portion of my testimony, just so you can get to know me a little bit better before, like I said, before we dive in. 00:02:45.680 --> 00:02:49.759 I was born in a Christian home with Christian parents. 00:02:50.319 --> 00:02:52.800 I knew the Lord at a very young age. 00:02:52.960 --> 00:02:58.000 I can honestly say that I had a relationship with the Lord starting out very young. 00:02:58.159 --> 00:03:03.280 But as I grew older, I uh I started to walk away. 00:03:03.520 --> 00:03:07.280 I started to walk away from the Lord, and it started very subtly. 00:03:07.520 --> 00:03:10.879 I saw some hypocrisy in the church, if you will. 00:03:11.439 --> 00:03:19.120 Um and I let the enemy just let that sink in, and I festered on that, and I festered on that. 00:03:19.680 --> 00:03:27.919 It started really subtle, it started really slow because how many of you know the enemy doesn't come after you with these big heavy chains to tie you up. 00:03:28.400 --> 00:03:30.879 No, he comes at you one link at a time. 00:03:31.520 --> 00:03:34.560 That's how he likes to come at us very subtly. 00:03:34.879 --> 00:03:36.400 And that's how it started with me. 00:03:36.560 --> 00:03:40.000 I saw some inconsistencies with people in the church. 00:03:40.159 --> 00:03:46.879 I knew them and I saw them outside of church, and the way they lived and what they were saying on Sunday didn't add up. 00:03:48.560 --> 00:03:52.560 And so I found that as an excuse to start living that way myself. 00:03:52.800 --> 00:04:01.199 So as I grew older, I started to get further and further away from my walk with Christ and deeper and deeper into sin. 00:04:02.080 --> 00:04:03.520 Deeper and deeper into sin. 00:04:03.599 --> 00:04:06.240 And before I knew it, I was completely bound. 00:04:06.639 --> 00:04:08.479 I was so deep in sin. 00:04:09.199 --> 00:04:10.719 I didn't care about the gospel. 00:04:10.879 --> 00:04:13.360 I didn't care about my walk with Christ. 00:04:13.599 --> 00:04:15.919 All I cared about was pleasing my flesh. 00:04:16.000 --> 00:04:18.160 And I lived that way for a while. 00:04:18.399 --> 00:04:38.480 But I'll tell you this: even in my darkest moments, even amongst the sin, the muck that I was in, I still remember very clearly God in his grace and in his mercy showing his love to me through conviction. 00:04:38.639 --> 00:04:45.120 There would be nights, I kid you not, I'd be driving home after the party was over and everybody went their own ways. 00:04:45.360 --> 00:04:49.040 I would drive, I was in my truck all by myself and I'd have to pull over. 00:04:49.519 --> 00:04:54.399 And all of a sudden I would just, I'd feel just this weight on me. 00:04:54.480 --> 00:04:58.319 But it was a it was a good thing. 00:04:59.199 --> 00:05:04.959 Even though I was literally just coming out of sin, I felt it, I felt good over this weight. 00:05:05.040 --> 00:05:06.480 And I would just start weeping. 00:05:06.560 --> 00:05:16.480 And in my heart, I could almost audibly hear the Lord saying, Joshua, when are you coming home? 00:05:17.759 --> 00:05:21.120 Son, when is enough enough? 00:05:22.160 --> 00:05:24.160 When are you coming home? 00:05:25.040 --> 00:05:26.959 Very much like the prodigal son. 00:05:27.360 --> 00:05:28.879 I walked away. 00:05:29.279 --> 00:05:31.360 God never walked away from me, though. 00:05:31.680 --> 00:05:38.639 He kept his hand on me my whole life, even though I was sinful, even though I was running from him. 00:05:39.199 --> 00:05:43.360 He pursued me in those moments, and I would weep. 00:05:43.600 --> 00:05:45.439 I would turn on a worship song. 00:05:45.600 --> 00:05:46.720 I'd repent. 00:05:46.879 --> 00:05:50.480 I'd stop living that life for a few days or so. 00:05:50.639 --> 00:05:52.399 And then I was right back in it. 00:05:52.800 --> 00:05:58.480 It was this ongoing cycle of sin, repenting, sin. 00:05:58.639 --> 00:06:00.959 It was just this ongoing thing. 00:06:02.560 --> 00:06:08.480 Till finally, again, God in his goodness and his grace woke me up. 00:06:09.279 --> 00:06:13.519 I realized that the life I was living was not sustainable. 00:06:14.560 --> 00:06:15.439 It wasn't good. 00:06:15.600 --> 00:06:17.199 I was going nowhere fast. 00:06:17.600 --> 00:06:19.360 I was going nowhere fast. 00:06:20.079 --> 00:06:21.439 And I didn't know what else to do. 00:06:21.519 --> 00:06:23.120 I'd stopped going to church at this time. 00:06:23.279 --> 00:06:28.639 So the only thing that I could do was call up the one pastor that I knew in my life. 00:06:28.959 --> 00:06:30.800 He's known me since I was a little kid. 00:06:31.040 --> 00:06:32.480 Call him Uncle Marvin. 00:06:33.360 --> 00:06:34.800 I called up Uncle Marvin. 00:06:34.879 --> 00:06:37.519 I said, man, you know me. 00:06:37.680 --> 00:06:39.120 You know what's going on. 00:06:40.079 --> 00:06:45.279 I said, if I'm gonna change, I have to get out of this town and I gotta get around Christian people. 00:06:45.439 --> 00:06:46.720 Because I grew up in a small town. 00:06:46.879 --> 00:06:47.680 I forgot to mention that. 00:06:47.759 --> 00:06:50.079 I grew up in a small town of Okeechobee, Florida. 00:06:50.160 --> 00:06:52.480 If you've never heard of Okeechobee, I don't blame you. 00:06:52.639 --> 00:06:53.600 That's fine. 00:06:54.879 --> 00:06:56.720 There's some good people there. 00:06:58.319 --> 00:07:04.800 But I called him up and I said, listen, I have to get out of this town and I have to get around Christian people. 00:07:05.279 --> 00:07:08.079 And he said, Well, have you heard of Master's Commission? 00:07:08.319 --> 00:07:10.399 I never heard of this before in my life. 00:07:10.639 --> 00:07:17.360 It was a discipleship Bible school program that was exactly what I needed in the time that I needed it. 00:07:17.439 --> 00:07:20.480 So I ended up there, ended up in Fort Myers, Florida. 00:07:20.800 --> 00:07:27.120 Ended up in Fort Myers, Master's Commission, and it was there that God wrecked me. 00:07:27.439 --> 00:07:29.439 I mean, He wrecked me. 00:07:29.680 --> 00:07:39.680 All that sin, all that bondage that I had accumulated, it was, it didn't take long that God said, we're gonna start breaking those chains. 00:07:39.839 --> 00:07:42.160 And it was the big stuff that came first, right? 00:07:42.240 --> 00:07:47.519 It was the drinking, it was the drugs, it was the promiscuity, it was those things that started to fall off first. 00:07:47.839 --> 00:07:52.639 And then as I furthered my walk with him, he started fine-tuning me, right? 00:07:52.720 --> 00:07:54.079 That's what he does. 00:07:54.240 --> 00:07:56.879 Even now, he's fine-tuning us, right? 00:07:57.040 --> 00:08:02.720 And now it was it was pride, it was bitterness, it was unforgiveness. 00:08:02.959 --> 00:08:08.240 He was starting to show things to me that that these gotta go. 00:08:08.560 --> 00:08:09.360 These gotta go. 00:08:09.519 --> 00:08:11.120 You see that thing that you're holding on to? 00:08:11.199 --> 00:08:12.160 Yeah, I died for that. 00:08:12.240 --> 00:08:14.079 You don't need to hold on to it anymore. 00:08:14.560 --> 00:08:15.199 Amen. 00:08:16.879 --> 00:08:18.639 And it was liberating. 00:08:18.879 --> 00:08:19.920 It was liberating. 00:08:20.000 --> 00:08:22.720 It was, I was at that school for three years. 00:08:22.959 --> 00:08:25.120 It was where the Lord set me free. 00:08:25.199 --> 00:08:30.000 It was there I felt the call into pastoral leadership. 00:08:30.240 --> 00:08:33.279 It was also there where I met my beautiful wife. 00:08:34.399 --> 00:08:35.440 Yeah, amen. 00:08:35.519 --> 00:08:38.799 That's after Jesus, he is the greatest thing that happened, right? 00:08:38.960 --> 00:08:39.600 Come on. 00:08:39.919 --> 00:08:42.799 So it was there that I felt the call. 00:08:43.039 --> 00:08:44.879 When we were in that school, we traveled a lot. 00:08:44.960 --> 00:08:48.320 We did a lot of um like dance and drama and things like that. 00:08:48.399 --> 00:08:50.559 We traveled all over the United States. 00:08:50.960 --> 00:08:55.600 And we landed in Knoxville a lot during my three years at this school. 00:08:55.679 --> 00:08:57.440 We landed in Knoxville a lot. 00:08:59.120 --> 00:09:06.320 And it all the other states, all the other cities that I went to in my travels, I never felt like I felt when I was in Knoxville, Tennessee. 00:09:06.480 --> 00:09:07.600 There was just a poll. 00:09:07.840 --> 00:09:09.600 There was just a poll, and I can't explain it. 00:09:09.679 --> 00:09:12.799 I mean, it was the Lord, but I couldn't understand it. 00:09:12.879 --> 00:09:18.799 And so anytime we were here, I felt like this is where I was supposed to be. 00:09:19.039 --> 00:09:22.559 Well, I went back and finished up school. 00:09:22.720 --> 00:09:28.559 I graduated and I got into my first ministry position. 00:09:28.720 --> 00:09:35.200 I was a youth pastor for Uncle Marvin at his church in Jupiter, Florida. 00:09:35.279 --> 00:09:43.600 I was a youth pastor there for three years, and it was there that God really just really started to show me and teach me and continued to grow me. 00:09:44.480 --> 00:09:49.200 During that time, it just the call to Knoxville kept getting stronger and stronger. 00:09:49.840 --> 00:09:52.799 And we knew that at some point we were gonna leave. 00:09:52.960 --> 00:09:56.480 Well, the Lord said, All right, let's do this. 00:09:56.639 --> 00:10:04.399 And so my wife and I, excuse me, my pregnant wife and our eight-month-year-old baby, eight-month-year-old, eight-month-old baby. 00:10:04.639 --> 00:10:05.840 That didn't make sense. 00:10:06.639 --> 00:10:08.639 She was pregnant and we had one already. 00:10:08.879 --> 00:10:09.840 Said, now's the time. 00:10:09.919 --> 00:10:11.600 So we stepped out in faith. 00:10:11.840 --> 00:10:17.360 We didn't have family here, didn't have a job, lined up, no connections. 00:10:17.519 --> 00:10:23.840 It was a pure step out in faith, like, God, I trust you that this is what you've called us to do, so we're gonna do it. 00:10:24.080 --> 00:10:26.799 He called us to start a house church, and so we did. 00:10:27.440 --> 00:10:28.080 We did. 00:10:29.919 --> 00:10:37.039 Right before that, I think it's important to note that we were having dinner with some family friends of ours, of my parents also. 00:10:37.120 --> 00:10:38.399 They've known me since I was little. 00:10:38.480 --> 00:10:43.679 They used to live in Knoxville, and we were telling them we were moving up there to start a church, and they said, Oh, that's awesome! That's great. 00:10:43.759 --> 00:10:48.080 Hey, if you have any downtime, you should check out this church called Trinity Community Church. 00:10:48.399 --> 00:10:53.039 And I was just like, Yeah, sure, maybe, but I know I'm going up there for a purpose. 00:10:53.200 --> 00:10:55.679 I don't plan to get tied in anywhere, but thank you. 00:10:55.919 --> 00:10:58.799 Well, planning a church takes a little bit of time. 00:10:59.039 --> 00:11:05.759 There was about a six-month gap from the time we moved up here to Knoxville to when we actually started the house church. 00:11:05.840 --> 00:11:08.240 And so we didn't want to just be stagnant and do nothing. 00:11:08.320 --> 00:11:08.639 We did. 00:11:08.720 --> 00:11:13.440 We checked out some other churches in Knoxville, and then we ended up here. 00:11:14.080 --> 00:11:18.879 And right when we walked through those doors, man, it was just like electric. 00:11:19.279 --> 00:11:21.679 We could feel the presence of the Lord. 00:11:21.919 --> 00:11:24.799 I mean, everybody was just so welcoming, so loving. 00:11:24.879 --> 00:11:25.840 And it was hard. 00:11:26.080 --> 00:11:26.639 It was hard. 00:11:26.799 --> 00:11:33.759 I mean, every single one of the pastors came up to us at some point, introduced themselves, like, I want to take you out for lunch. 00:11:33.840 --> 00:11:34.399 We should hook up. 00:11:34.480 --> 00:11:35.679 And I'm like, no, no, no, no. 00:11:35.919 --> 00:11:37.039 I'm here for a reason. 00:11:37.200 --> 00:11:39.200 I can't get tied in here, but thank you. 00:11:39.360 --> 00:11:42.879 You know, and so we kept everyone at kind of an arm's length. 00:11:43.360 --> 00:11:44.720 Um, but it was hard. 00:11:44.879 --> 00:11:45.440 It was hard. 00:11:45.519 --> 00:11:49.840 So we we stepped out and we we then started our house church, and it was awesome. 00:11:50.000 --> 00:11:54.720 We had about five or six families that joined us throughout a three-year stretch. 00:11:54.960 --> 00:12:06.960 And about towards the end of that three years, my wife and I began to pray and fast, and we felt like it was time to lay it down because life was getting heavy. 00:12:07.279 --> 00:12:09.200 Life was getting heavy. 00:12:09.919 --> 00:12:17.200 And I found myself teaching and preaching from an like an empty well, and it wasn't good for anybody. 00:12:17.440 --> 00:12:24.720 It wasn't good for me, it wasn't good for the people there, and so we prayed and fasted, and we felt like it was time to lay it down. 00:12:24.879 --> 00:12:27.279 And God confirmed that in other ways. 00:12:27.519 --> 00:12:31.200 Some of the families got jobs out of state, all these other things. 00:12:31.279 --> 00:12:33.919 And so we laid it down at the Lord's feet. 00:12:34.639 --> 00:12:40.240 But even though we stopped doing house church, we didn't want to stop church altogether. 00:12:40.720 --> 00:12:45.679 And both my wife and I at separate times could not get this place out of our mind. 00:12:46.240 --> 00:12:48.720 You remember that that church we went, what was it called again? 00:12:48.799 --> 00:12:50.000 I don't even remember. 00:12:50.240 --> 00:12:52.000 Some community thing. 00:12:52.960 --> 00:12:56.960 We both thought the same thing at separate times. 00:12:57.200 --> 00:12:58.240 Like, you know what? 00:12:59.039 --> 00:13:02.480 In our process of trying to find where God wants us, let's just go start there. 00:13:02.559 --> 00:13:04.000 Let's just start there. 00:13:04.559 --> 00:13:05.679 So we did. 00:13:06.320 --> 00:13:10.480 We walked in those doors about four years ago this summer. 00:13:10.799 --> 00:13:12.000 We haven't left. 00:13:12.320 --> 00:13:13.919 It's been awesome. 00:13:14.720 --> 00:13:21.120 Now, I just I want to tell you all this again, just so you could get to know me just a little bit better. 00:13:21.279 --> 00:13:29.519 But also, the main takeaway from that testimony is the part that I walked away and I got really bound. 00:13:29.759 --> 00:13:31.519 I got really bound in sin. 00:13:31.759 --> 00:13:38.879 But because of God and his goodness and his grace, it was him and him alone that set me free. 00:13:39.039 --> 00:13:40.879 And that's the takeaway here. 00:13:41.279 --> 00:13:42.799 That's the takeaway here. 00:13:42.960 --> 00:13:45.519 So I'm gonna move right into the word this morning. 00:13:45.679 --> 00:13:49.360 Again, the title for this morning's message is Freedom in Christ. 00:13:49.600 --> 00:13:50.399 Freedom in Christ. 00:13:50.480 --> 00:13:57.679 And we're gonna be going through Galatians chapter 5, verses 1 through, I believe 18. 00:13:57.840 --> 00:13:58.480 Yes. 00:13:59.200 --> 00:14:00.000 18. 00:14:00.639 --> 00:14:03.039 And if you've got your Bibles, go ahead and turn there. 00:14:03.200 --> 00:14:05.039 It's gonna be on the screen behind me. 00:14:05.120 --> 00:14:10.159 But while you're turning, I want to give a little bit of context of what's going on in this letter. 00:14:10.399 --> 00:14:11.840 Paul wrote this letter. 00:14:12.000 --> 00:14:16.960 If you didn't already know that, he wrote this letter to the churches in Galatia. 00:14:20.080 --> 00:14:24.480 These were the Galatians were fairly new believers at this time. 00:14:24.720 --> 00:14:27.039 Paul had established some churches there. 00:14:29.279 --> 00:14:34.159 But there were people that were opposing the gospel, the true gospel. 00:14:34.879 --> 00:14:41.759 The gospel that Paul was preaching, that justification came through faith alone. 00:14:42.720 --> 00:14:53.120 Well, there was a group of Jews that were coming in and confusing the Galatians and telling them preaching a false gospel. 00:14:53.519 --> 00:14:55.759 They were teaching them a false gospel. 00:14:56.240 --> 00:15:05.759 They were teaching that it was works-based, that righteousness could be found through works, not faith. 00:15:06.080 --> 00:15:13.440 And even more so, it was just a gross, perverted, twisted message that they were. 00:15:13.679 --> 00:15:19.440 And so Paul is combating this in the letter of Galatians to the Galatians, right? 00:15:20.240 --> 00:15:23.200 He's combating this, and he he does it very well. 00:15:23.440 --> 00:15:24.879 He does it very well. 00:15:30.399 --> 00:15:33.600 For freedom, Christ has set us free. 00:15:34.080 --> 00:15:39.519 Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. 00:15:39.840 --> 00:15:49.039 Look, I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. 00:15:49.360 --> 00:15:56.799 I testify again that every man who accepts circumcision, that he is obligated to keep the whole law. 00:15:56.960 --> 00:15:58.000 I'm gonna pause really quick. 00:15:58.080 --> 00:16:04.879 So he's saying, if you're gonna take this one part of the law, you better be prepared to follow the whole thing. 00:16:06.720 --> 00:16:12.080 If you're gonna use just one part of it, get ready because you have to abide by the whole thing. 00:16:13.039 --> 00:16:14.240 And guess what? 00:16:14.399 --> 00:16:15.440 That's heavy. 00:16:15.840 --> 00:16:17.360 That's real heavy. 00:16:17.679 --> 00:16:21.759 That's too heavy for any man to bear on his own, right? 00:16:22.000 --> 00:16:23.200 Pick him back up. 00:16:23.679 --> 00:16:24.799 Verse five. 00:16:25.360 --> 00:16:32.799 For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. 00:16:33.120 --> 00:16:43.600 For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love. 00:16:44.000 --> 00:16:46.320 Only faith working through love. 00:16:46.559 --> 00:16:48.960 Verse 7 You were running well. 00:16:49.519 --> 00:16:51.440 Who hindered you from obeying the truth? 00:16:51.600 --> 00:16:54.320 Paul's saying, drop some names. 00:16:54.559 --> 00:16:55.519 Who was it? 00:16:55.759 --> 00:16:57.840 Tell me, I want to know who it was. 00:16:59.039 --> 00:17:01.120 He's getting he's getting feisty here. 00:17:01.200 --> 00:17:03.120 Who hindered you from the truth? 00:17:03.759 --> 00:17:07.039 This persuasion is not from him who calls you. 00:17:07.359 --> 00:17:10.319 A little leaven leavens the whole lump. 00:17:10.720 --> 00:17:15.680 I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view. 00:17:16.079 --> 00:17:20.400 And the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is. 00:17:21.279 --> 00:17:27.359 But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? 00:17:27.680 --> 00:17:31.039 In that case, the offense of the cross has been removed. 00:17:31.920 --> 00:17:36.240 I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves. 00:17:36.480 --> 00:17:37.759 That's serious. 00:17:38.720 --> 00:17:40.079 You see what I mean? 00:17:40.799 --> 00:17:44.400 He's not, he took the gloves off here, just straight up. 00:17:44.559 --> 00:17:46.319 He's like, okay, first of all, who is it? 00:17:46.480 --> 00:17:47.359 Point them out. 00:17:47.599 --> 00:17:50.480 Secondly, I wish, like, give me their man card. 00:17:50.559 --> 00:17:55.599 They don't even deserve to be called a man anymore because they're preaching a gospel that isn't true. 00:17:55.920 --> 00:17:56.480 Right? 00:17:56.720 --> 00:18:01.519 That's how we should be when we hear a gospel that isn't true. 00:18:02.160 --> 00:18:04.319 Anyways, we're gonna keep going. 00:18:04.559 --> 00:18:08.640 Verse 13 for you were called to freedom, brothers. 00:18:08.799 --> 00:18:18.240 Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another, for the whole law is fulfilled in one word. 00:18:18.480 --> 00:18:21.440 You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 00:18:21.759 --> 00:18:27.759 But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. 00:18:27.920 --> 00:18:28.960 We'll read the rest later. 00:18:29.119 --> 00:18:30.079 I'm gonna stop there. 00:18:30.240 --> 00:18:32.880 We're gonna go through three main points this morning. 00:18:33.200 --> 00:18:39.920 Three main points in which us as believers still tend to get caught up in bondage. 00:18:40.640 --> 00:18:48.720 I believe out of these three points come everything else that get us caught up in bondage. 00:18:48.960 --> 00:18:50.720 But Christ came to set us free, right? 00:18:50.799 --> 00:18:53.519 The first point is freedom from legalism. 00:18:54.319 --> 00:18:55.839 Freedom from legalism. 00:18:56.079 --> 00:18:57.200 Galatians 5:1. 00:18:57.440 --> 00:18:59.680 For freedom, Christ has set us free. 00:18:59.839 --> 00:19:04.799 Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. 00:19:05.039 --> 00:19:11.039 The yoke of slavery Paul is referring to here is exactly that legalism. 00:19:11.279 --> 00:19:12.559 It was the law. 00:19:13.599 --> 00:19:14.880 It was the law. 00:19:16.079 --> 00:19:19.359 The law in which the Jews were teaching was burdensome. 00:19:19.599 --> 00:19:20.960 It was heavy. 00:19:21.200 --> 00:19:22.880 It was works-based. 00:19:23.359 --> 00:19:30.559 You had to do all of these things in order to be righteous or be declared righteous. 00:19:30.720 --> 00:19:31.920 And that's not true. 00:19:32.640 --> 00:19:35.519 We are not justified by works. 00:19:36.720 --> 00:19:40.240 We are justified by faith in Christ. 00:19:42.000 --> 00:19:46.160 Righteousness is declared, it is not earned. 00:19:47.039 --> 00:19:59.519 This word justified comes obviously from justification, the doctrine of justification, which is the theme all throughout Galatians that Paul is trying to get into their head. 00:20:00.240 --> 00:20:04.559 You are declared righteous by God because of faith in Jesus Christ. 00:20:06.079 --> 00:20:13.279 By grace, by grace alone, through faith alone, we're declared righteous. 00:20:14.240 --> 00:20:17.519 But again, I can't stress it enough. 00:20:18.640 --> 00:20:20.240 It's not your grace. 00:20:20.720 --> 00:20:22.480 It's not even your faith. 00:20:23.039 --> 00:20:27.440 It's the grace that he gives us by the faith that he gives us. 00:20:27.839 --> 00:20:32.000 It's from him, it's for him, it is to him. 00:20:33.839 --> 00:20:43.759 And it's our faith in his son that God looks at you and looks at me and says, You're justified. 00:20:44.960 --> 00:20:46.079 You're free. 00:20:46.880 --> 00:20:48.160 You are free. 00:20:48.640 --> 00:20:56.640 I believe it's it's so important as Christians, we have to understand the doctrine of justification because without it, we can't walk in freedom. 00:20:57.839 --> 00:21:02.720 Without understanding this doctrine of justification, we cannot walk in freedom. 00:21:04.720 --> 00:21:05.759 Let me tell you something here. 00:21:05.839 --> 00:21:08.240 I'm gonna I'm gonna quote Charles Spurgeon really quick. 00:21:08.480 --> 00:21:12.880 The moment a man truly trusts his God, he is justified. 00:21:13.039 --> 00:21:13.839 What does that mean? 00:21:13.920 --> 00:21:15.920 It means it happens at salvation. 00:21:16.240 --> 00:21:20.720 It's not an extra step, it's not anything crazy that you gotta start doing. 00:21:20.880 --> 00:21:22.559 It happens at salvation. 00:21:23.200 --> 00:21:29.599 The moment you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, you're justified. 00:21:30.319 --> 00:21:33.599 That quick, that moment, it happens like that. 00:21:35.440 --> 00:21:41.680 Makes you wonder why we still walk around with all these burdens. 00:21:44.240 --> 00:21:46.000 Christ set us free. 00:21:46.400 --> 00:21:46.960 Right? 00:21:48.240 --> 00:21:51.279 Point number two freedom from sin. 00:21:52.079 --> 00:21:52.880 Freedom from sin. 00:21:52.960 --> 00:21:56.480 We got freedom from legalism, freedom from sin. 00:21:56.799 --> 00:22:02.400 Verse 13 do not use your freedom as an Opportunity for the flesh. 00:22:04.319 --> 00:22:13.839 Do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh that sounds very much like what the world does today. 00:22:14.400 --> 00:22:15.519 Doesn't it? 00:22:17.119 --> 00:22:18.559 We do so many things. 00:22:18.720 --> 00:22:28.960 The world does so many things that are gross and perverted and messed up, all under the guise of liberty, rights, freedom. 00:22:31.599 --> 00:22:41.759 We all know a woman can kill an unborn child in her stomach under the guise of woman's rights. 00:22:44.720 --> 00:22:49.359 You can marry whoever you want to marry, sleep with whoever you want to sleep with. 00:22:51.119 --> 00:22:59.119 Even the same gender under rights, gay rights. 00:23:00.480 --> 00:23:06.400 This is a sick, twisted perversion of what freedom truly is. 00:23:06.640 --> 00:23:09.039 Freedom is not a license to sin. 00:23:11.920 --> 00:23:16.720 Jesus did not die on the cross for your freedom to sin. 00:23:18.079 --> 00:23:20.720 He died that you would be free from sin. 00:23:22.559 --> 00:23:25.839 He died that you would be free from sin. 00:23:28.240 --> 00:23:31.759 Freedom without discipline leads to bondage. 00:23:32.319 --> 00:23:42.799 The very things we use to celebrate our freedom, if gone unchecked, irresponsibly, they turn into the very things that bind us. 00:23:45.200 --> 00:23:51.920 Sure, you're free to drink, but if you drink too much, you're a slave to the drink and you become an alcoholic. 00:23:52.480 --> 00:23:59.839 Sure, you're free to spend your money however you want on whatever you want, but if you spend too much and you get yourself into debt, you're a slave to the lender. 00:24:00.640 --> 00:24:05.279 You're free to indulge and sleep with whoever you want to sleep with. 00:24:07.039 --> 00:24:12.319 But now you're bound by brokenness, bound by sin. 00:24:12.400 --> 00:24:15.920 And Christ came to set the captives free. 00:24:17.200 --> 00:24:21.279 Christ died so that we would be set free from these things. 00:24:23.200 --> 00:24:27.200 The flesh promises freedom but produces slavery. 00:24:27.839 --> 00:24:30.720 That's when we're walking in our flesh, church. 00:24:31.440 --> 00:24:38.400 That's the result of walking in our flesh as opposed to walking in the spirit, because walking in the spirit promises freedom. 00:24:39.839 --> 00:24:42.319 Galatians 5, 16 through 18. 00:24:42.799 --> 00:24:49.759 But I say, walk by the spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 00:24:50.079 --> 00:24:58.559 For the desires of the flesh are against the spirit, and the desires of the spirit are against the flesh. 00:24:59.039 --> 00:25:04.319 For these are opposed to each other to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 00:25:04.480 --> 00:25:09.039 But if you are led by the spirit, you are not under the law. 00:25:09.519 --> 00:25:11.839 That's the ticket right there, church. 00:25:12.079 --> 00:25:14.079 That's the key to freedom. 00:25:14.799 --> 00:25:18.640 Walking in the spirit, living a life in the spirit. 00:25:20.559 --> 00:25:24.640 When you come to faith in Jesus Christ, the old you is gone. 00:25:24.720 --> 00:25:25.279 It's dead. 00:25:25.440 --> 00:25:26.960 It's been crucified with Christ. 00:25:27.119 --> 00:25:30.400 Scripture tells us that, and we get a new clothing. 00:25:30.640 --> 00:25:32.319 His righteousness. 00:25:33.920 --> 00:25:36.559 And that's how we walk in the spirit. 00:25:37.519 --> 00:25:38.160 Amen? 00:25:42.640 --> 00:25:44.559 So we have been freed. 00:25:45.279 --> 00:25:50.480 As believers, we have been freed from this from the penalty of sin. 00:25:50.960 --> 00:25:52.480 That's salvation. 00:25:53.759 --> 00:25:57.440 We are being freed from the power of sin. 00:25:58.079 --> 00:25:59.680 That's sanctification. 00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:01.440 That's the process. 00:26:03.200 --> 00:26:07.680 That looks like sin has this grip that's so tight. 00:26:08.319 --> 00:26:12.079 When we come to Jesus, that grip starts to loosen. 00:26:12.559 --> 00:26:16.079 It starts to get a little less, a little less. 00:26:16.240 --> 00:26:18.160 That's the process of sanctification. 00:26:18.400 --> 00:26:20.960 That's the fine-tuning I was talking about earlier. 00:26:21.119 --> 00:26:26.000 The further we go in Christ, number one, the more we realize we need him. 00:26:26.559 --> 00:26:29.200 And number two, he starts to fine-tune us. 00:26:29.279 --> 00:26:30.160 That's sanctification. 00:26:30.240 --> 00:26:35.839 And then finally, one day we will be free from the very presence of sin. 00:26:36.240 --> 00:26:37.759 That's called glorification. 00:26:38.880 --> 00:26:39.440 Amen. 00:26:39.680 --> 00:26:41.759 Yeah, that's something to get excited about. 00:26:42.640 --> 00:26:49.200 Can you imagine one day we will be free from the very presence of sin? 00:26:50.799 --> 00:26:53.119 I can't even imagine that right now. 00:26:53.519 --> 00:26:59.599 Even as believers, even it doesn't matter if you've been a Christian for a hundred years or one year. 00:27:00.079 --> 00:27:03.200 We will always be struggling with this. 00:27:04.640 --> 00:27:07.680 Because we're still in this flesh. 00:27:07.920 --> 00:27:09.519 We will always be struggling. 00:27:09.759 --> 00:27:11.279 Our struggles look different. 00:27:11.519 --> 00:27:13.920 They should look different as a maturing Christian. 00:27:14.000 --> 00:27:17.279 You shouldn't be dealing with the same exact things necessarily. 00:27:18.559 --> 00:27:20.559 And yours look different than mine. 00:27:20.960 --> 00:27:28.400 But regardless, we're still gonna have to deal with it until that glorious day when we stand in front of our Creator, God and King. 00:27:28.559 --> 00:27:30.880 And he says, Well done, my good and faithful. 00:27:31.039 --> 00:27:33.119 And we get that glorified body. 00:27:34.240 --> 00:27:36.799 No more sickness, no more sin. 00:27:37.519 --> 00:27:39.039