Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Welcome to the World Changers Church Gold Coast podcast. Join us as we listen to today's message.
[00:00:07] Glad to have some of the partners and friends in the house. Amen.
There we go. Now I can see you. You can read your bibles, you can take notes. Praise God. Worship was so good this morning.
You know, I have to start off by sharing just the joy of this message series.
And if you can hear the sarcasm in my voice, you know, as you preach something, you gotta live it out. And for me, you know, I've been talking to the Lord all week long, and he literally has just done a miracle in me this morning, which is amazing.
[00:00:47] Amen.
[00:00:47] Give the Lord a hand clap of praise. You'll figure it out in just a moment.
So, for those of you that don't know me, my name is Kyle David Self. I'm the senior pastor here at World Changers Church.
This church was founded.
Don, where are you at?
2014? You guys have been here ever since?
[00:01:09] Amen.
[00:01:09] Michelle came along a little bit after that. It's founded by Creflo Dollar and Taffy Dollar. And since four years ago, it was handed over to us to be senior pastors. How long has it been?
Almost seven years ago.
No, eight years. We've been in Australia.
September is eight years. But within two years of being here, Doctor Dollar said, Kyle, I think you are the boots on the ground. You are the pastor of this church, and he's been our mentor ever since. And that's been a blessing to us. And we've been ministering, understanding grace since then.
[00:01:45] Amen.
[00:01:46] But the beautiful thing about being unbroken is Michelle didn't know, but today's message in the unbroken series, part two, is embracing freedom.
[00:01:56] Amen.
[00:01:57] Now, I want to clear up some things this morning, because freedom is an idea. It's a construct, but it's not anarchy. It still has its set of rules to it, right?
And freedom that's in Christ means that we have to accept who we are now in Christ.
And I think for 2020 some odd years, I have left myself unforgiven in one area in my life.
And I've always kept it as a barrier between me and acting like that animal that was on the inside of me, that was the fighter.
And I've said, if I got to hold on to this to protect everybody else, does that make sense? You ever had something like that in your mind?
And this morning, God had a miracle happen in my heart where a part of that happened, where that forgiveness that I'd been begging to give myself for years actually, happened. Welcome. I'm just trying to be a. Me, too.
Amen. And I can tell that this happened because I'm actually able to keep my composure while talking about it.
[00:03:09] Amen.
[00:03:11] Wasn't able to keep my composure in that moment.
But the thing about true freedom, as I was sitting up there this morning reflecting on that moment, and it just happened this morning, so it's not like I've had a week to think about it, is that we all can experience that ultimate freedom in a moment.
And the message I was going to preach today, I was worried that I'd be a hypocrite. Because without that freedom on the inside of me, how could I truly express this freedom without true freedom for myself?
And I think we all journey life as ministers, as men and women, as married people, and we hold on to these things for regret's sake or guilt's sake. But we don't realize that just on the other side of your revelation in Christ, there's true freedom.
[00:04:02] Amen.
[00:04:04] So because we have a world that's filled with constraints.
[00:04:08] Amen.
[00:04:11] We have social expectations, we have personal struggles and expectations and the quest for freedom. Somebody say freedom often feels nonexistent.
It feels like something we're always reaching for but never living in. So yet with this teaching today and inside of Christianity lies one profound liberation, a freedom that transcends the physical, the emotional, and the temporal. Because that freedom that we can have is in somebody say, in Christ, all right, so we're in Christ.
This freedom that we have is not based on how we feel.
This freedom that we have is not based on where we've been or what we've done. This freedom is a present reality that is for us right now.
[00:05:05] Amen.
[00:05:07] Let's pray together. Father, I thank you this morning for another opportunity to minister to your people, to give revelation knowledge about freedom in Christ and whatever they came in with. Lord, may they leave without if it's something that is not of you. And, Lord, that's not a person or a place that is any demonic influence or force that tries to hinder this word from entering into their heart. Today I pray that they receive revelation knowledge in Jesus name, and we all say, amen.
[00:05:35] Speaker C: Amen.
[00:05:37] Speaker B: So today we gather to reflect the freedom that comes from fully receiving to what Christ has to offer. I'd like to say that a different way. We reflect on fully receiving and surrendering to this freedom. So I'm six foot two and a half now. Used to be six foot three. But as you get older, you start to shrink.
You stop growing up. You start growing out.
No, just an amen. That's a joke. It's all right.
And you reject that and rebuke that in Jesus name.
So today what we realize is that I'm six foot three and I've measured myself, and you do the same. You measure yourself by what you see in the mirror and what people say about you.
You measure yourself by your accomplishments, your job title, your money in the bank. You measure yourself and say, am I truly successful? Am I truly happy by what you have?
But that's physical stuff.
You have right now, something greater than anything physical, and his name is Christ.
You have right now something greater than what you don't have, which is the Holy Spirit. So whether your bank accounts empty, the Holy Spirit can give you wisdom to go create wealth.
[00:07:01] Amen.
[00:07:02] Does that make sense?
So we can gender our freedom on how we can move forward. We can say it's because of this or that. We can say it's because of our aunt or our uncle. We can say it's because of our past. We can put all the labels on our freedom, but those are just ceilings and caps to what's stopping us from fully experiencing what Christ has for us. Well, you don't know what I've been through sealing. You don't know what I did last summer, cap. You do not know who I am sealing. All these things we say. If I could just do all these things are words we use to limit ourselves from what Christ has for us.
Well, I'm just a woman working in a male office.
Listen, I live with Tina self.
[00:07:57] Amen.
[00:07:58] She's more than just a mere woman. I've been more scared of her than any man I've ever been in life.
Not because she's mean, but when she means it, she means it. She's not a feminist, but what she believes in is that we can walk equal in Christ.
[00:08:17] Amen. Amen.
[00:08:20] She may not be able to lift as much as I can lift, but she can lift more things spiritually than I can lift.
[00:08:26] Amen.
You understand what I'm saying?
[00:08:29] When we realize that, we realize the maturity that some have that we don't, and it's okay.
So first, let's look at what limits our freedom.
And I'm going to teach this from a grace based position. So for all you that understand that, you'll know where I'm going. For those of you that don't, it might be a revelation for you. So let's acknowledge the weight of sin and what sin is.
Okay, so sin could we agree traditionally is an act considered of wrong according to divine or moral law? Could we agree that sin is something wrong according to moral or spiritual law? Yeah, that's what most of us believe. Divine law, in modern day idioms, you could describe it as crossing the line, goofing off, or going off the rails, breaking the rules. But essentially, sin is when someone strays from an accepted moral or ethical behavior set out based on what they believe. So it's missing the mark. So sin is not just not obeying the law, sin is immaturing. What is mature?
Cause the Bible says that we put off childish things when we become men. When me mature. Right.
So sin is a step backwards from who we really are. Does that make sense? So imagine carrying a heavy load on your back day in and day out. And sin is like that burden crushing us and holding us back from the fullness of our lives. But sin is not a standard of perfection that we're looking for, because Romans, what? Romans three and 23. Let's see if we have that up there. Reminds us that for everyone has sinned, and we all fall short of God's glorious standard. So imagine this. The reason most of us see ourselves as broken and that we can't ever live up to the standards that seem to be set is that we think this journey is about perfection when it's really about growing in maturity. In Christ, Matthew 5 and 48 says, but be ye therefore perfect, or be. You are perfect. I'm gonna say it in King James. That's the only way I can remember it. Be therefore perfect as your father in heaven is perfect. Now, a lot of us, when we read that, we think it's about being perfect in the mean of no mistakes, but the word perfect. Because if you know the hebrew language, one word can mean many things depending on context. So, the word perfect, there is the greek word teleos.
Now, the greek word teleos, listen to this. Said it a hundred times in this church. The greek word teleos means spiritually mature. Be you, therefore spiritually mature, as your father in heaven is spiritually mature.
So our walk in Christ is about being skilled in righteousness.
[00:11:27] Amen.
[00:11:29] Our walk in Christ is about maturing and learning from our mistakes.
So the idea that we fall short and acknowledges that no one's perfect. So this is not about perfection, but it's also not about doing whatever you want.
So the point isn't about making us feel limited or defeated when we hear this scripture in Romans 323. It's about striving for improvement, growth, and being a better version of ourselves, when we look at God as a lawgiver, all we'll see ourselves as is lawbreakers.
That's the only way we can see it. If we just look at God as lawgiver, like cops, we just look at them as lawgivers. I was. I was, you know, I went to Zarrafa's the other morning and used to. I've been. I mean, God's been working on me all week. A cop get behind me. I just get all nervous. I'm just like, oh, Jesus, what are they going to find? Is my insurance paid? Is my rego paid?
Do I have a busted tail light? You know, cops are just out to get you.
And I was in Zarrafa's and I saw these cops behind, and I didn't even have any of those thoughts. I said, you know what? I'm gonna buy their coffee.
There's three of them in the car. I didn't know that.
So I think I bought three coffees and three zed breads, but praise the Lord.
And you know what? When he got. When this cop got to the line, the view of this cop that I had before is someone that was out to get me. But when he got to that window where he was supposed to pay, and they're explaining it to him and he's trying to figure it out, he gets this big grin on his face and waves at me and even tries to chase me down. I thought he was going to try and pull me over, but that's when a little bit of it came back. But he really just wanted to wave and smile at me again. So my view of him changed because of how I perceived him.
[00:13:30] Amen.
[00:13:32] So when I see God as lawgiver, I can only see myself as lawbreaker.
But when I see God as father, I see myself as son that has access to all that he has in heaven.
[00:13:46] Amen.
[00:13:48] The freedom that we need to be free from is the constraints of perception that we put on our relationship in Christ.
[00:13:57] Amen.
[00:13:58] So Paul is encouraging us to self reflect, learn from our mistakes, and by fostering compassion and understanding towards others that fall short. You ever seen people that are legalistic? You know what legalistic means? You've been around religious folk before.
You never been around religious folk. You mess up and they be like, you gonna go to hell for that. No, you never been around. Y'all been around that before? I've been around religious folk and they tell me if I, you know, if I. If I. If I speed too much, I'm going to hell.
And those are the most unhappiest people in the world because they're so worried about messing up themselves, they're looking at mistakes in others so they can feel good about themselves.
[00:14:43] Amen.
[00:14:44] Now, I'm not there to call. I'm not here to call them out. I'm saying, don't be one of those people.
I'm saying simply, we're not looking at others to say, look at what they're doing wrong. See, if they were doing right, the devil couldn't get in my house. No, that's not what it is. If we could have compassion for one another, we'd learn how to pray for one another, uphold each other, and encourage each other into better things. Because we're free from sin. We're free from guilt and shame, and we're getting skilled in righteousness, which means I am in right standing with God. And when I make a mistake, that means I know I can go to my advocate, I can go to my lawyer, my friend, my master, my lord Jesus, and say, I messed up again. He says, it's okay. Turn around and go this way. And I start going that way again. And as I grow in that understanding of that relationship, I sin less and I do more, right?
[00:15:40] Amen.
Amen.
[00:15:43] So I have freedom from sin.
At the heart of Christians in Christian teaching, this insertion that humanity is burdened by sin. And all this stuff divine and all this separates includes us from God. Jesus sacrificed across the people. Here, look at this next salt. Through his death and resurrection, believers are offered redemption and reconciliation with God. Let's hold that thought right there. Through his death and resurrection, believers are offered. Where's my little gift box again?
Believers are offered a gift that they keep giving back.
Believers are offered a gift that is theirs through Christ and makes them reconciled with God. But because their own thoughts put towards themselves, because their own religious actions, they keep giving it back. I'm not worthy. And God's just like, it's like hot potato with Jesus. It's just. God's just like, no, it's yours. And you're like, no, it's not. Each week, week in, week out on Sunday, hot potato with the holy spirit, God just keeps giving you the same thing back. But at some point, you got to have a revelation to keep it because of what John 8 and 36 says. John 8 and 36 simply says this, if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.
Come on, somebody who the son sets free is free indeed.
So who is bound by sin? Who is bound by your past. Who is guilty, who is ashamed, who is walking out this torment in life because you're holding on to something? Paul said, I'm the chief of sinners, and I believe if Jesus could have stopped him from writing in that letter, he said, you may be the chief of sinners, but I'm the king of kings and the Lord of lords, and you are a saint called by my name.
[00:17:55] Amen.
Amen.
[00:17:58] Do you understand what I'm saying?
When you're truly free, sin no longer has its grip. Its grip is foundational, liberating. So this thing, the freedom from sin, sin's grip, it's a foundational thing. It's supposed to be the first thing we learn.
[00:18:16] Amen.
[00:18:18] I'm free from sin. It's liberating believers from guilt and offering them newness of life.
He said, I'll give you beauty for ashes.
I'll give you dancing for mourning.
It's not about whether your gift is adequate enough. His gift is adequate enough.
[00:18:41] Amen.
[00:18:45] And I think we're so afraid of being free.
I think I thought for some odd years that if I became free, that this gate to this monster would. This jail cell gate would open up to this monster. I'd been caged when freedom happened. There was no monster there.
It was very confusing, everything I'd been holding. Anybody ever watch Andy Griffith, the old show? Andy Griffith. Y'all know about that show, okay? It's an American show, I understand, but Andy Griffiths is an old show, and Andy Griffith was a sheriff in town, and he had his Barney fife, I think, was his deputy. And this guy Otis.
Otis was the character that would tell you that the end of the show was over, but Otis was the town drunk, okay? So every time the show was over, Otis would come walking in, hey, Andy. Hey. Hey, deputy. You know? And he'd go into a cell, and he'd shut his gate.
And I began to think back on that show, and I realized they made a point out of it. One show that they never locked the jail cell.
He never was locked in the jail cell.
He put himself in there.
He never was in one show. They said, why don't you ever lock it? Because he'll stay there until the morning.
When you are entrenched in your guilt and shame about yourself, when you can't look in the mirror and love yourself, you will lock yourself into places that you're free from.
Does that make sense?
When you are?
I'm going to say it a different way. What we don't realize is, is that Christ has freed us. But when we don't have that revelation, we lock ourselves in things that we're already free from.
And there's no lock for it anymore because the blood of Jesus has paid for it.
There's no more lock for it. There's no need for a key because the price has been paid.
Can I say something to someone this morning? You are enough.
You're not forgotten about. You haven't made enough mistakes that you can't still go do good in life. Life is a journey that has a starting point at the beginning of new dawn.
Every day has its opportunity, but fear can paralyze us.
Fear can be paralyzing, whether it concerns our future, death or the unknown and Christ. But Christ's resurrection is a victory over death. I've got it right here for you to read.
Providing believers with hope and confidence.
Anybody ever been afraid to die?
Anybody ever got so scared that you were gonna die?
Well, jokers, I got you beat. I did die.
I died for 60 seconds.
And a friend of mine believed in Christ enough that he overcame his fear and he shouted one word is a prayer called live.
The RN nurse that was there had said, well, we need to call the coroner and the ambulance because he's gone. Everybody has claimed in that moment that I was dead. I'd had a heart attack and I fell over dead for over a minute.
And the one person decided to overcome fear and believe in the conquering power of Jesus shouted one word with all the compassion in his heart, Doug Jones. And said, live. I shot up. The stepfather passed out. The nurse ran out of the room and Doug started crying.
[00:22:40] Amen.
[00:22:42] And I know it's true because I got the doctor records and all they could tell me by the time they came to pick me up, they didn't know if they were coming for a dead man or somebody that's been, you know, resurrected with whatever that CPR.
They thought they were coming from somebody gray and half dead. They came, they came for somebody alive.
Death had happened. Even the nurse said, your heart, your blood pressure was 140 over 44. You should not be able to even speak. And then within minutes, everything leveled out.
When we have Christ, we do not have to fear death, because at the other side of death is eternal life. That's one thing.
And while we live, there's the hope we have in glory, which is to be with Christ.
So it's not about living forever here. It's about living forever there.
Man is appointed once to die.
And I can tell you that I'd love to say that I came back from that strong and not afraid of anything. I went through eleven years of anxiety because for the first time I'd faced death.
I thought I was Superman.
And all of a sudden, life can be stripped away with you in milliseconds.
And after eleven years, God showed me, you're going to die.
But when you die, you're going to be with me.
And while you're alive, I'm going to hold you together. And every day that you live has a purpose.
For the steps of a righteous man are ordained. And I became skilled in righteousness in that moment that I no longer had to fear what I'd live without. I no longer had to fear what I couldn't have or who wouldn't love me or who wouldn't accept me. I didn't have to fear death anymore because God loved me. And if God loved, loves me. And if God be for me, who can be against me?
And the thing is, is that we think that God uses fear.
That God tests us. That persecution is the measuring rod of how close we are with Christ.
That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard.
You will never do enough to pay the price that was paid for you.
But all God is looking for is willing vessels, not perfect vessels.
[00:25:19] Amen.
[00:25:20] Because he will always be able to do enough through you and around you with a willing vessel that believes I can with Christ.
[00:25:30] Amen.
[00:25:31] It's our fear that cripples us, and that's not from God.
Our fear of the unknown, the what ifs, the maybes. Am I. Am I following God? God, is this really. You never had anybody, I'm not making fun of people, but you ever had anybody, they call you five times over one decision.
It's because they haven't gotten skilled in righteousness. And one of the attributes of being skilled in being right with God is peace.
When you can make a peaceful decision, it's because you know that God's with you no matter what decision you make.
[00:26:12] Amen.
[00:26:15] I mean, he's not going to be with you if you're making decisions about, well, I think so. And so's wife should be my wife.
That's. No, I think God wants me to have a red corvette. No, no, no. You know, you speed too much.
You know, we have moral integrity to guide our decisions. But two timothy one seven says this. We know this scripture very basic, for God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity. Hold on, let's stop right there. We just speed right through that as Christians because it's so common. First off, God did not put on you or give you anything to make you afraid, so he did not make you sick.
He is not testing you.
He is not putting you through something so that others can learn from you with your faith.
No.
All those things are called life and life happens.
And what we have is faith to get through those things so that we don't hesitate timidly. When God says move.
He did not give you the spirit of fear or timidity. Hesitation. When God says move, we move.
[00:27:29] Amen.
[00:27:29] Your life sometimes can depend on it.
Don't stop right here. Pause for a little bit at this stop sign and just hang out with me for a minute. I've done that before. And vroom, vroom.
Somebody that t boned me. God is talking to you to protect your life, to provide for your life, to give purpose for your life, to lead and guide your life. But he's not putting anything on you to make you afraid of him.
[00:27:57] Amen.
[00:27:58] Well, then the devil's against me. Listen, the devil is not omnipresent. He's not inside of all your problems. Sometimes you're just dealing with stupid people.
[00:28:09] Amen.
[00:28:10] Somebody better say amen.
Amen.
Sometimes you're just dealing with humanity because humanity's messed up and needs Jesus. That's why he came to. Sometimes you're just dealing with the messed up fallen things of the world that need Jesus. The devil ain't always after you. The devil ain't always putting a nail in your tire because you forgot to change your oil and blew up your car. It's not God's fault nor the devil's. We give him too much credit. You got sick because you don't rest enough because you're too busy. You running around trying to make things happen and you burning down your own immune system. The devil's not making you sick. He's not trying you. You need to take better care of yourself.
Amen.
I need an organ this morning.
So this assurance that we have in two Timothy one seven allows Christians to live boldly, knowing this, their eternal destiny is secure.
Life may be up and down.
People may come and go, best friends may leave you, people may talk about you, and you may not make as much money as you did last year, but your eternal destiny is secure.
[00:29:29] Amen.
[00:29:30] Do you know what? People are going to come and go?
Somebody say, yes, you know, people are going to make you angry.
I love people that say they never sin.
You know what the Bible says about people like that? The Bible calls them a liar.
[00:29:46] Amen.
[00:29:48] Speaker B: But you know what the Bible doesn't tell us? He says everybody sins and falls short of the glory of God. But, you know, the Bible doesn't tell us that we are sinners.
I'm gonna pause right there for a second because we're gonna have freedom to love here in a minute, but I'm gonna pause right here. Sin.
We can still sin. As Christians, we're not supposed to.
There's forgiveness and redemption for it, and we still need to repent. Because repentance is merely not just saying, I'm sorry, but repentance is not just merely asking for forgiveness. Repentance is a turnaround and turning away from that thing.
[00:30:28] Amen.
[00:30:29] That makes sense. So here's the thing.
If the Bible says we will sin but we're not sinners, then what does that mean? We are people maturing further away from every day sin.
We are people learning from our mistakes and getting skilled in righteousness so that we walk in righteousness and not sin.
What you focus on, you give power to. So if I focus on my failures, I'm going to fail more and I'm going to predict failure.
[00:31:02] Amen.
[00:31:02] But if I focus on my righteousness and who I am in Christ and what I have in him, and I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me, sin becomes a distant reality.
[00:31:16] Amen.
[00:31:17] Because I'm learning to love. Because no longer I'm not aware, I'm not afraid that people are going to leave me. I'm not afraid that they're going to break my heart again. I'm not afraid. You know, I told my wife the other day, we talking about people leaving the church. I said, I don't care if they leave the church as long as they still remain my friends.
This thing, this thing that happens in church, you leave a church and all of a sudden you can't be a friend of. You can't preach, you can't pray in my life no more. You can't be in my Bible study. You can't this. You gotta stop. When? When did you coming and going to church make you have a calling?
That's just fear of people coming in. I'm a pastor. I'm not a lord. Kiss my ring. I'm not that guy.
[00:31:58] Amen.
[00:31:59] I'm not the godfather. I'm not even a father or a priest.
[00:32:02] Amen.
[00:32:04] I am not dictating what you do. I'm not telling you what to do. I am an overseer of the functions of this house and responsible for those things. I am not responsible for you coming and going.
[00:32:18] Amen.
[00:32:20] All right. Praise the Lord. Thank you, Jesus.
We got to have more freedom to love, because when we're truly free in Christ, see, if you love yourself, you can love others.
I looked in the mirror this morning, and I said, well, I'm gonna try blue.
I like black. Cause it hides all the imperfections.
And I tried blue. And my wife pointed out a couple of things that stood out to everybody. In the crown.
My belly.
You all can laugh later. I know what you're laughing about.
But I'm not insecure because I'm trying a new color.
I'm trying a new way.
I'm trying to be different.
[00:33:13] Amen.
[00:33:16] And if we try something new and fail at it, guess what? It's okay.
It's okay.
Move on from my blue shirt, please.
Thank you.
But when we love ourselves, and we love the fact that we give ourselves opportunities to make mistakes, we can love others and love giving them opportunities to make mistakes.
[00:33:42] Amen.
Amen.
[00:33:46] Because it's okay.
Freedom to love.
True freedom in Christ also translates to a new capacity to love others. What's that word? Genuinely, not this superficial church love. Hey, brother, love you. I love coming to church and people say, hey, brother, I just met you. You're saying you love me.
I love you in Christ. Well, what does that mean? Christ loves me, but you don't.
[00:34:14] Amen.
[00:34:18] Our expression of love, when it comes from Christ, which is the greatest commandment that Jesus stated, is to love God and one's neighbor. To love each other means that the love I have from God is the love I give to everyone.
And if I haven't received the fullness of that love. Talking about unbroken, here we're wanting to walk as unbroken people, then I'm only going to give out of the capacity in which I've received.
So if I haven't forgiven myself, I am not operating in the full capacity of love. I have a captain and I have a ceiling.
If I haven't forgiven others, I'm still harboring pain from past relationships. My mama, my uncle, my friend, my this, my that, the people that hurt me in the past. I am not operating in the fullness of the love that God has given me, the love from, because Jesus said this. I think it's in 22 37 through 39. Jesus replied, you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. Hold on, Jesus.
Now, what we have to understand about this statement is this statement was made before the cross.
[00:35:35] Amen.
[00:35:36] This means that the law was still very much in place. When Jesus spoke these words, the law had not yet been fulfilled by Jesus. And if you don't understand what I'm saying, come to Tuesday night's Bible study. They have a lot of great things happening in there to talk to you all about it.
[00:35:52] Amen.
[00:35:54] So you must love the Lord with all your heart. I can't love the Lord with all my heart because I'm harboring stuff on the inside of it. You got to love the Lord with all your mind. How can I love the Lord with all my mind? I start talking to the Lord, and then I start thinking about the bacon I want to eat out of the refrigerator.
How can I love the Lord with all of myself when I haven't given all of myself to him?
Romans twelve one two says, make yourself a living sacrifice, for this is your reasonable duty, not being conformed by the word of God, for this is the way you fulfill the perfect will of God.
[00:36:28] Amen.
[00:36:29] Living sacrifice. Paul said, I die daily. That means when I get up in the morning to truly love God. Now, in the New Testament belief of fulfilling Christ is I have to get up and I have to give and surrender myself to the spirit of God and do things that Christ wants to do in me instead of things that I want to do with me.
Paul even said that this was his common struggle. The things that I wish I would not do, I do. And the things that I wish I do, I do not. Paul was telling us all through Romans, we're not going to be perfect at this, but if you get up and grow daily, you will find more and more and more freedom.
Jesus went on to say that this is the first and greatest commandments, and second, equally important, love your neighbor as you love.
[00:37:22] Who?
[00:37:23]The greatest thing that I see out of these three scriptures is love your neighbor as yourself.
Do I want good for me? Then I want good for them.
Do I want, do I want, do I want to be successful? Then I should see their success. I read a leadership quote that I'll give all the businessmen in the room. I read a leadership quote that says, if someone comes in the room better than you and you compete with them, you are weak because you should be using their better to make you better.
[00:37:56] Amen.
[00:37:58] When you're afraid of not being the best in the room, you have to realize one thing. You are already failing.
[00:38:05] Amen.
[00:38:07] This love that Christ gives us is not bound by prejudice or self interest, but is an outpouring of the love received from Christ.
Have you received the fullness of Christ's love for yourself.
Do you see yourself as the Bible sees you, or are you still saying, I just keep messing up? I need to do better. I need to stop thinking. I need. I need the words. I think someone said to me this morning, the words that you use on yourself are either setting yourself up for failure or success. I need to rely on God more so that I can succeed in the things that I can't is a great thing to say. I need to do better is a great way to keep failing.
[00:38:54] Amen.
[00:38:56] Does that make sense?
I need God.
Is this good? Are you learning? If you're not learning, are you being refreshed? Everybody say amen if you are.
[00:39:10] Amen.
[00:39:12] So this love is not bound, but such freedom burst communities where grace and mercy and compassion reign. I love coming in this church because there's no judgment here.
That doesn't mean we have tolerance for sin or wrongdoing. That doesn't mean we just let anything happen. But what we have is a community that is founded on grace and mercy and compassion that comes from God, which gives us purpose.
This freedom that we now have, this love that we now have. We can now use these expressions with purpose.
Anybody not know what you're supposed to do in life? Don't raise your hand. But you're still trying to figure it out. What am I supposed to do? I don't know why I'm going to this church. You keep bouncing around churches. You keep bouncing from here and there, job to job. And can I tell you something? It's because you have not yet settled in your purpose.
What am I really here for?
Well, first, you're here on this earth to love and be loved.
And if you're walking without friends and you're walking without people in your life, you're missing the greatest quality that Christ gave us, which was companionship.
[00:40:24] Amen.
[00:40:25] And if you're not enjoying a sunrise or a sunset here and there, you're not really. You can't appreciate the creator if you can't appreciate creation.
If you're not taking walks and slowing down every once in a while and enjoying things, preaching to the choir here, then you not really know your purpose, because your purpose is continual. Your purpose is a legacy. Your purpose is a baton to pass on. It's not something for you to finish.
[00:40:54] Amen.
[00:40:56] Your success only breeds the success of people that will come behind you. Your success is not a finish line for you.
[00:41:04] Amen.
[00:41:06] So when you have purpose, you realize that everything you're doing is to create wealth for generations, whether it be your family, your friends. If you don't have kids and you're just gonna have a dog, that's all right. Praise God. The dogs are gonna be the happiest dog that ever lived on this earth. Pooch and hooch are gonna be great. Praise the Lord. But. Thank you, Jesus. But guess what? Whatever you leave behind, someone will pick up.
We can either keep leaving a legacy of brokenness or we can start leaving a legacy of who we are in Christ.
Christ.
[00:41:43] Amen.
[00:41:45] Thank the Holy Spirit. Amen. Christ also liberates individuals from life without meaning.
What's that book? Purpose driven life by who? Is it Rick Warren?
I'm not saying go read it. It was a great book when I started out in Christianity, but the one quote I got from there is life without meaning is like a gun without bullets, a balloon without air, and a car without keys.
Christ liberates us to live a life with meaning than to live a life without meaning.
[00:42:18] Amen.
[00:42:20] Give me five minutes, Alex. Sorry. So, a life without meaning. By following Christ, believers find purpose in fulfilling God's will. Remember how I said this isn't about your finish line?
The greatest thing about life is. Remember I talked about eternal life? You're not living for here. You're living for there is. We can walk in one day and he says, enter in, my good and faithful servant. You have ran your race well.
I'm not living for the accolades of man. I'm living for the goodness of God.
I'm living for what I leave behind when I transition out of glory.
One prophet went up in a chariot of fire, and the other prophet picked up his mantle.
[00:43:06] Amen.
[00:43:07] We leave behind something for other people to continue with. If you die and nobody has anything to continue, all you did was built your image, not God's.
It's time we start living with purpose, because we are God's masterpiece. We are built with a purpose. We're not broken things breaking more things.
We are God's masterpiece. And I think Ephesians 2 and 10 says, for we are God's masterpiece. He has created a new in Christ Jesus so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. I don't know why I keep doing bad. I don't know why I keep messing up. I don't know why I. I don't know why I give you the answer to why you keep asking the same question. Because you are trying to do it in your own strengthen.
God has a plan for you that he gave a holy spirit to you to help you fulfill, and he gave his blood of his son, so that when you fall, you immediately have forgiveness and you can get up, turn away from sin and keep going, man.
This divine purpose that we have in Christ, I want you to read it up here. This divine purpose provides direction and fulfillment, replacing the aimlessness that can plague human existence. You ever just seen somebody firing in all directions trying to, they just. One week they're going to go launch a cruise ships, you know, they're going to launch that business and next week they're going to, they're going to be car salesmen and the next week they're going to be bodybuilders. And the next, they're just trying, they're just trying to find a place to land. But God is saying, I've given you a resting place in me so that you can know who you are, so that this aimless existence will stop.
Most people are plagued with addictions and "directionlessness" because they've not settled with themselves that they're not perfect and they're never going to be.
[00:45:14] Amen.
[00:45:16] And that's the beauty of Christianity, is that when we surrender to the fact that we need a savior, life gets less complicated.
Galatians five and one tells us so that Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free and don't get tied up again in the slavery to the law.
Christ came and fulfilled the law. He took it off of tablets and wrote it on your heart. He gave you the Holy Spirit. He gave you a royal priesthood. He became your advocate. He gave you all the ways to succeed.
[00:45:53] Amen.
[00:45:56] So the pathway to this.
Hold on a second. Back up. Don't go there yet. Back up. I got some things to say. We're going to be here for a couple minutes to play something nice.
So how do we stay free?
The pathway to this profound freedom involves surrender by relinquishing one's own will and submitting to Christ's lordship. True liberation is found when it's not all about me and it's all about him that makes it all about us and we together.
[00:46:34] Amen.
[00:46:36] True liberation is found. True freedom is found in surrender. It's in the act of surrender that believers experience freedom from relentless pursuit of self centered ambitions and the burdens they carry. Why don't people like me? Why didn't they include me in that meeting? Why am I not involved? Because you're still thinking about yourself, Joker.
It doesn't take you to make things happen.
It takes you in Christ to make all things happen.
[00:47:08] Amen.
[00:47:10] My God, this is good.
Living in freedom is something that's not easy living in freedom.
To truly live in this freedom, believers are encouraged to remain in Christ through prayer, scripture and community involvement. I don't feel like going to church today.
I don't feel like reading the Bible today.
I don't feel like praying today. Do you know that the breakdown of any relationship starts when communication stops?
So you wonder why you feel so far away from God. You stop praying, you stop reading the Bible, and you go to church every once in a while. Coming to church is not just to hear me preach. Coming to church is not just, you know, it says, forsake not of the gathering of yourselves together. Coming to church is so we can encourage each other and build each other up. We're free. You're not coming in here so that I can make you feel bad every Sunday, give you money and come up here and repent and let God smite you with the Holy Spirit. You're coming in here so we can encourage one another on this journey we have in Christ so that we can edify one another. And if any of us be in sin, we're going to come together and help hold each other up and point to Christ.
[00:48:23] Amen.
[00:48:25] We don't come to Christ to just feel bad about what we did this week or last night. We don't come to church just to hear a message that's condemning and makes us, well. I'll never get it right, and, well, look at that guy up there or that girl up there. They're always living, right? No. The Bible says in one Peter, 2 and 16, for you are free, yet you are God's slaves. So don't use your freedom as an excuse to do evil.
We have grace not to do bad. We have grace to know how to do good better.
[00:49:01] Amen.
[00:49:02] And that there's nothing good in us, but it's all in him. So this ongoing relationship that we have with Christ, this is where I leave you this morning, nurtures and sustains the newfound freedom.
[00:49:16] Amen.
[00:49:17] So I want to leave you with this thought.
We've learned that we have freedom from fear, freedom from sin, freedom from ourselves, freedom in Christ, freedom in the Holy Spirit, freedom in surrender.
We've learned all these things.
But in Christ, we find the true antidote for our brokenness.
His love, sacrifice, and resurrection provides not just temporary fix, but a complete transformation. We don't get saved to remain how we are. We get saved so that Christ can take us and put us in a new way of living.
[00:49:56] Amen.
[00:49:57] We are no longer broken. Say it with me, we are no longer broken. Say it. With me, we are restored.
We are redeemed and ready to live our God given potential.
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. He will provide all my needs according to his riches and glory. If you believe that, say amen.
Give the Lord a hand. Clap of praise.
So, as I said last week, embracing this truth. Look at that. I finished right on time. Embracing this truth allows us to walk in confidence, purpose and deep seated joy.
It is my joy this morning to preach this message without saying, I can't.
This morning, I didn't know if I could get up here and preach.
Like you, I struggle with my own humanity sometimes. Me too.
But there is a joy that can be found in Christ that through all things, he's there to uplift us, encourage us, and propel us through the things that are holding us back.
I didn't know I had all my notes put in the pro presenter because I thought I'm gonna need to stick to my notes. Cause I might just start crying in this message because of my past, because of the unforgiveness I hold over, held over myself about my past.
But see, I was a drug dealer, a gang member, a gun runner. I was a violent man for most of my life, I lived in a violent family. Violence and anger was all the only way I knew how to respond.
And since I've been saved for 25 years, I've learned how to love everybody else. But I've started to learn how to love me.
Amen.
And so if everybody could just please stand and join me this morning.
If you want to join me this morning in the beginning of your journey of loving yourself for exactly how you are, I believe everybody might come forward. So I'm not going to do that. Could you just lift your hand and say, I'm ready to start the journey of loving myself.
Amen.
Alex slipped up his hand and didn't even miss a beat.
So if you're ready for that journey, there's a process of encouragement that we got to give one another.
It starts in our daily devotions, in the word, it starts in our friendship. So if you just lift your hand up and I want you to look around the room, I want you to look at somebody and say, I've got your back.
And when. And then you ready for this next one? You ready for this next one? Go to that same person and say, and when I failed, Jesus has got you.
[00:53:07] Amen.
Amen.
[00:53:12] So right now we have a community of believers that are willing to support one another, encourage one another, and help hold each other up as we struggle.
You have found a church this morning that is fully in love with Christ and learning how to love themselves.
I believe that if we continue down this path, we will not have a building big enough to contain the people that will flock here to learn how to be loved and learn how to love, to truly walk out the freedom in Christ. But this isn't about a big building. This isn't about a ministry. This isn't about a man. This is about the legacy of Christ that started a long time ago on a cross when he said, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.
You've been forgiven, every head bowed and every eye closed. If you haven't received this forgiveness, if you haven't received Christ in your life, I'm not going to make a show of you. We're just going to do a simple prayer. Now, once you get saved, once you say yes, that's a one time deal.
You can go learn more about that on Tuesday night somewhere. Go to connect now back in the back after service, and they'll tell you somewhere you can learn more about your new walk with Christ. But once you get saved, it's a one time action. You have to keep getting resaved every week. So if you said yes once, you're good. But maybe you here this morning have never said yes to Christ. Can you lift your hand right now and say, I want to say yes to Christ? If that's you, put it up high, every head bowed, every eye closed.
[00:54:40] Amen.
[00:54:41] Speaker B: Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. Thank you. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. You can put your hands down now. We're going to say a phrase- we get three people every Sunday. Praise the Lord.
All right, so without everybody looking around, we're gonna say this prayer with you as we once prayed. Father, I receive your gift, Jesus Christ, to be my lord and savior, that his blood pay the price for my sins once and for all. I am saved now help me on this journey. Guide me with your holy spirit so that I may learn more and mature in you. In Jesus name we pray. We all say amen. If you prayed that prayer, welcome to the family.
That is.
That's amazing that we've had that many people get saved in the last few weeks.
If you'd like, for those that raised your hand today, if you'll see Claire or Patty back at the desk, they'll tell you a Bible study group you can go to this Tuesday. They'll tell you where to get started. All three messages from this week, last week and a week before will go up on the podcast this week. We've had a little bit of Kyle been away, technical difficulties and all that kind of stuff, but those will go up this week. So if you want to listen to this message, last week's message, the week before, we're going to put those podcasts out. We're going to send the link to the podcast to you one time so that you can have that. You have to open that email and go to the podcast and subscribe and you can now listen to these messages. Amen. That's all I got for you. I'm going to now invite Jeremy up. Thank you for those that received Christ today. Thank you for letting me preach. Amen.
[00:56:36] I thank you for tuning in to today's message. To connect or find out more, you can reach us online at "worldchangers.life". Remember to subscribe for more uplifting messages from our pastoral team, and may you continue to walk in faith and transformation until we meet again.
