Below are messages, outlines, and discussion questions from Shine. If you happen to miss a Shine night, feel free to catch up here so you can continue our "Journey to Freedom" series with us. If you have questions about any of this content, please contact us HERE.
OCTOBER 20th, 2011 (Freedom Part 1: It is for Freedom...)
Message
We sit in this sanctuary tonight women of all different social statuses, backgrounds, professions, religious experiences and affiliations free of major persecution or harm as we worship our God and speak openly about the Bible. Most of us probably don't give much thought to these facts or the reality that there are many places in the world where this would never be possible. As women who grew up in a free country and were raised by generations who probably did as well, this type of freedom is just second nature. The liberties that our ancestors fought for and broke away from their motherlands to pursue are simply a way of life for us. As Americans, freedom pumps through our veins.
As military wives, we live even closer, even more entrenched in the reality of freedom and the sacrifices it takes to protect it than the vast majority of Americans. We know very well the dedication and selflessness it takes on our part and the part of our men to keep this great country free.
And while our nationalities and daily existence are marked by external freedom, most of us sitting here tonight have merely tasted the life-giving freedom that is available to us through the ultimate Freedom Fighter our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Galatians 5:1 says "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free." For many years I would read that verse and understand it to mean eternal freedom - the freedom that becomes a reality when we confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord and believe in our heart that God raised him from the dead, and are saved as it says in Romans 10:9. That beautiful, life-changing freedom that we experience when we understand, as much as our human minds can, the price Jesus paid on the Cross to free each of us from what we deserve because of our sins - eternal separation from God. His death and sacrifice that bridges the gap between us and the Father and washes our scarlet sins white as snow as it says in Isaiah 1:18. This freedom is part of what that verse is saying - a huge, necessary part that lays the foundation for freedom - and it would be enough to make us spend our whole lives thanking God for His mercy. But, that's not where the freedom train stops! God loves us so much that He invites us to experience another level of freedom - freedom not just for eternity, but freedom that starts here on earth.
The second part of Galatians 5:1 says this "Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." For quite some time I believed, maybe subconsciously or immaturely, that the intensity of my salvation and having the burden of my sin lifted off my shoulders would carry me through. I would cling to verses like 2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" and understand that to mean that everything I struggled with before I was believer was gone and that I'd never struggle with it again. Or that the harm that I did to myself and that other people did to me before I became a believer would stay in the past and not affect me anymore. God has taught me, over the last year especially, that unless we remain committed to being free and allow God to continually free us and transform us into free beings, we can absolutely become chained down and held captive - possibly even more so that we experienced before we become believers. We know by looking at the second half of Galatians 5:1 that we can be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. We know by verses like Ephesians 6:10-17 that talk about putting on the full armor of God so that we can stand against the devils schemes and 1 Peter 5:8 that the enemy prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour that we are not immune to bondage after we accept Christ as our Savior. We don't need to walk the soil of this earth for very long to realize that becoming a new creation doesnt automatically protect us from living in captivity. Beth Moore wrote an incredible study over 10 years ago called Breaking Free and recently re-wrote it and explains a couple key definitions this way:
Bondage - anything that hinders us from what God has called us to be.
Stronghold - anytime a pattern of destructive thought exalts itself over the truth of God.
A Christian is held captive by anything that hinders the abundant and effective Spirit-filled life God planned for her.
Most of us can identify overt bondage in us and in others pretty easily - the biggies that can hold us captive and completely consume us like addiction, adultery, abuse, and so on. But there's a much sneakier, and can be just as destructive, series of strongholds that are much more difficult to identify because they feel so much like they're just a part of who we are. Things like a critical spirit, an unforgiving heart, an obsession with anything besides the only One worthy of our obsession, our Maker - exercise, becoming a mother, healthy eating, professional success, our families, constant dissatisfaction and disappointment, control issues, and so on. You see, the default of the human condition isn't freedom, it's captivity. Unless we actively seek out the One who died to set us free and allow Him to change us, we will remain enslaved.
You might be wondering how I could possibly know this I am not proud to admit that most of these lessons have been learned personally, the hard way. I'm not proud to admit that I have come face-to-face with nearly every type of bondage known to man and have allowed many of them to take me captive. I share this with you not to get your pity or because I'm a glutton for punishment; I want you to know, sister, that I have probably been where you've been or even where you currently are and it's not over, praise God! Just like I've felt the shackles of bondage cutting into my wrists, I also know how incredible it feels to have the chains broken off and run freely because of the One who died for my freedom. I am still a work in progress, but I am freer than I should ever be given the life that I've had.
So what does this freedom look like? There are many characteristics of those who are free in Christ, but I've narrowed it down to several because I want you all to spend more time discussing freedom in small groups.
F Forgiven through grace. (Ephesians 2:8)
R Reflecting fruits of the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22)
E Excitement and zeal for life. (John 10:10)
E Expectation to be used by the Lord. (Jeremiah 29:11-12)
D Desire to glorify God. (Psalm 63:3)
O Obedience to the Lord. (John 14:23-24)
M Marked with security and assurance. (Philippians 4:6-7, Proverbs 31:25)
You might be wondering how living that type of life - a free life - is possible. Perhaps youve come to believe and grasp that your soul is secure for eternity but you're not convinced that you can live freely this side of Heaven, given all that you've been through and how worn down and exhausted you are right now. How could you possibly exchange all of these chains for a cloak of freedom? Well,YOU can't. I promise. None of us have it in us to free ourselves on our own, which is why we need someone to fight for our freedom on our behalf - and He already has. He's already died for that freedom and He's longing for us to live in it. Acts 1:8 says you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you. God promises the strength, power, and wisdom of Himself to free us! When we are in Christ, the Holy Spirit dwells inside of us and is available all the time to work in the mightiest way - in ways that only our Maker can! We have divine power to demolish our strongholds! Sisters, it's not up to us to free ourselves, it's up to us to let the One who died for our freedom do what He died to do - free us from captivity. Completely and wholly. For this life and for eternity.
Before you think that you're too enslaved, that you've been in captivity for too long and you're just destined to stay there, do you know that it is your type - our type - the Lord often comes after the hardest and uses the most? When God breaks chains off of the most enslaved, as Beth Moore says "when He makes mighty warriors out of the least likely He stands to get much glory". God loves making a mess into a masterpiece. A tragedy into a triumph. Beauty from ashes. Captive to captivated. The Word has example after example of God using the least of these to change history and He's at work today - longing to free us so He can use us.
Can you imagine? Can you imagine what our lives would look like if we dropped the chains that we've been wearing for years and took up a banner of freedom? Our marriages could change. Our families could change. Our entire outlook on life would certainly change. Our beautiful, broken military community could change. The Creator and Defender of our freedom is just waiting for us to be sick and tired of living in captivity and allow Him to break into our prisons and lead us out to freedom.
The journey to freedom is one that takes time, so we're not ending this message tonight. Over the next several months we will focus on freedom - identifying the chains that are there and how they got there, how to break them, and how to live in freedom daily. I'm so excited for this journey - I certainly need to continue it and I'm honored to walk beside each of you on it.
A Healing Captive (by Beth Moore)
O, God, Who frees the captive
Do not liberate this carnal slave for freedoms sake
For I will surely wing my flight to another thorny land.
Break, instead, each evil bond
And rub my swollen wrists,
Then take me prisoner to Your will
Enslaved in Your safekeeping.
O, God, Who ushers light into darkness,
Do not release me to the light
To only see myself.
Cast the light of my liberation upon Your face
And be Thou my vision.
Do not hand me over
To the quest of greater knowledge.
Make Your Word a lamp unto my feet
And a light unto my path
And lead me to Your dwelling.
O, God, Who lifts the grieving head,
Blow away the ashes
But let Your gentle hand upon my brow
Be my only crown of beauty.
Comfort me so deeply,
My Healer,
That I seek no other comfort.
O, God, Who loves the human soul
Too much to let it go,
So thoroughly impose Yourself
Into the heaps and depths of my life
That nothing remains undisturbed.
Plow this life, Lord,
Until everything You overturn
Becomes fertile soil,
Then plant me, O God
In the vast plain of Your love.
Grow me, strengthen me,
And do not lift Your pressing hand
Until it can boastfully unveil
A display of Your splendor.
Outline
As Americans and military wives, freedom is a huge part of our identity. And yet, most of us have merely tasted the freedom that is available through Christ.
Galatians 5:1a "It is for _______________ that Christ has set us free."
God loves us so much that He invites us to live in freedom for eternity AND on earth.
Galatians 5:1b "Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be ______________ ____________ by a yoke of ______________."
From Beth Moore's Breaking Free: The Journey, The Stories
Bondage - _______________ that _____________ us from what God has called us to be.
Stronghold - Anytime a pattern of destructive thought exalts itself over the truth of God.
A Christian is held ____________ by anything that hinders the _____________ and _____________ Spirit-filled life God planned for her.
Strongholds can be overt (obvious) or internal, but they are all destructive and hold us captive.
What does true freedom look like?
F _______________ through grace. (Ephesians 2:8)
R _______________ fruits of the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22)
E _______________ and zeal for life. (John 10:10)
E _______________ to be used by the Lord. (Jeremiah 29:11-12)
D _______________ to glorify God. (Psalm 63:3)
O _______________ to the Lord. (John 14:23-24)
M _______________ with security and assurance. (Philippians 4:6-7, Proverbs 31:25)
We can never truly free ourselves, but God is _______________ to free us through the _________ __________.
Its not up to us to free ourselves; it's up to us to let the One who died for our freedom do what He died to do. Free us. Completely and wholly. For this life and for eternity.
God stands to get much glory from making ______________ ______________ out of the ______________ _______________. (Beth Moore's Breaking Free)
Other references: Romans 10:9, Isaiah 1:18, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Ephesians 6:10-17, 1 Peter 5:8, Acts 1:8
Discussion Questions
1) In general, how would you describe freedom? What does freedom mean to you?
2) How would you describe the freedom that was discussed tonight on-going spiritual freedom in Christ?
3) What was your understanding of spiritual freedom in Christ before tonight? Where did that understanding come from?
4) What keeps us from experiencing continuous freedom in Christ? What keeps us in bondage/captivity?
5) Of all the characteristics of freedom discussed tonight, which is the most difficult for you to see in your life? Why?
6) How would living freely positively affect your life? In what ways, specifically?
7) Why does God call us to live in freedom?
8) What can we start doing right now to pursue a free life in Christ?
9) What other thoughts do you have about the message tonight or Scripture that was shared? Is there anything else that we havent discussed that youre taking away from tonight?
