Acts: Being the Church_Freedom
Acts: Being the Church_Freedom • Sermon • Submitted
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Living for Christ, active in the World
Living for Christ, active in the World
As we continue our journey through the book of want to highlight these next 2 weeks, an important theme that ought to guide and influence people of faith.
The price of Freedom in Christ Jesus:
1)Individually & Collectively
Corporately
2)Pursuing Freedom in our Community (Freedom Sunday)
As Americans the idea of Freedom and the price of freedom is something we speak of often and is woven into the DNA of our nation. Unfortunately, we have not always been as faithful to that goal and at times we have done things that have created the opposite of Freedom. Yet, at the core, we desire to be a nation where Freedom rings for every citizen. As humans we will always fall short to some degree of our goals and aspiration. But it is often in times of crisis that the aspirations and reminders of freedom are reignited:
9/11 (terrorist attacks)
Disaster
Egregious Injustices
In the body of Christ and in the Life of Christians, Freedom is an equally valuable goal, desire, and hope—individually and collectively. Whereas our nation holds to ideals and principles of freedom, Christians look to the person of Jesus Christ and the Triune God for Freedom to be unfolded and lived out individually and collectively.
This passage of scripture is a stark reminder of the two general ways that Freedom in Christ comes under attack. Externally & Internally.
Externally:
Let me bring to your recollection a few passages:
11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Internally:
22 “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man!
2 They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God.
8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
John 10:7
Freedom in Christ is costly. Especially when we consider these words from Jesus in
1 And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. 2 The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
5 These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay. 9 Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, 10 no bag for your journey, or two tunics or sandals or a staff, for the laborer deserves his food. 11 And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. 12 As you enter the house, greet it. 13 And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. 15 Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.
16 “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. 17 Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, 18 and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. 19 When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. 20 For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
16 “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. 17 Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, 18 and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. 19 When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. 20 For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
-remember the potential of Life and danger when it comes to following Jesus
-intentionally aware of and active in
So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
The essence of this passage is found in remembering the potential of Life and danger when it comes to following Jesus:
19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.
Those who follow the words of Christ, know:
So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
“Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”
32-42
So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
The cost of Freedom in Christ often expresses itself externally. But the challenge to live of Freedom in Christ is found in the choices we make daily:
Luke 9:23-
23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. 25 For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?
Costly
Daily:
Mt.
11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Enemy seeks to whom he may devour
“Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man!
Enemy seeks to whom he may devour
They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God.
Enemy seeks to whom he may devour
For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.
Enemy seeks to whom he may devour
4 You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him.
Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.
I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.
Enemy seeks to whom he may devour
31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
John 8:3
And so this passage of scripture is a reminder of the external and internal ways that Freedom comes under attack and also the ways that it is Lived abundantly
Dt.
Remember they know the cost of followership
enemy come to steal, kill, and destroy
Walk through the passage in .
Remember they know the cost of followership
Those of the way were praying for His life (James, the brother of John, was killed and Peter is next) about the 3 or 4th year following Christ’s death & resurrection.
Those of the way were praying for His life
as long as my breath is in me,
and the spirit of God is in my nostrils,
Walk through the passage in .
OPEN THE EYES OF MY HEART LORD
are among the land of the living, let us live
OPEN THE EYES OF MY HEART LORD
The essence of this passage is found in remembering the potential of Life and danger when it comes to following Jesus:
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.
External cost of Freedom in Christ—let them bring us back to him and knit the community together
-Live Like you were dying
He said "I was in my early forties With a lot of life before me
And a moment came that stopped me on a dime
I spent most of the next days Looking at the x-rays Talkin' 'bout the options
And talkin' 'bout sweet time"
I asked him "When it sank in That this might really be the real end
How's it hit you When you get that kind of news?
Man, what'd you do?"
He said
"I went skydiving I went Rocky Mountain climbing
I went 2.7 seconds on a bull named Fumanchu And I loved deeper
And I spoke sweeter And I gave forgiveness I'd been denying"
And he said
"Someday I hope you get the chance To live like you were dying"
He said
"I was finally the husband That most of the time I wasn't
And I became a friend a friend would like to have And all of a sudden going fishin'
Wasn't such an imposition And I went three times that year I lost my dad
I finally read the Good Book, and I Took a good, long, hard look At what I'd do if I could do it all again And then ....
-Frailty of Life to anchor deep in what matters (time in India)—Jesus and the life of the Kingdom.
-Visited Indian Church, that weeks before had walked thru the death of a child, a victim of not looking before she stepped onto the road; at that spot was church and a school for children that lived on the streets (their homes 100m from the church & school); sheltered by an overpass, hundreds of people eeking out an existence. That same trip, on our way back to the airport we were almost T-boned by a semi (feet from being slammed into). also riding on a motor cycle through the streets of Mumbai at night; learning to cross a 4 lane road without cross walks. Life is precious and you sure appreciate home a little bit more.
When there are things internally, that the enemy is attempting to keep us away from walking in the Freedom of Christ, let us take those places of not-freedom and chains, to Christ.
with me the corollary. Having known how the story plays out, considering the alternative will illumine path for which we can avoid and remind us of the ways of actively experiencing freedom of living for Christ among the world?
When their are things internally, that the enemy is attempting to keep us away from walking in the Freedom of Christ, let us take those places of not-freedom and chains to Christ.
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.
-Live like you were Dying
-Difference b/w Surviving and Thriving (I know what it’s like to live in the fog, to exist, but hoping the end will come soon; I also know what it’s like to learn to walk in a heathy mind, emotions, and relationships
The way we withstand the attacks of the enemy and stay strong in Christ is to dig deep and drink richly of the freedom of Christ.
-
So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
earnestly seek God
earnestly seek God
Is it possible that a climate of the church existed or exists in which the temperature could be described as such.
Re-read this story through the lens of the opposite.
Alternatives-content with existing until the bell tolls
content to live under guard and under wraps
unaware of miracles around us (questioned whether it was real)
limiting the activities of God (v15)
Living for Christ among the World necessitates followers of Jesus to discover how to walk in freedom
Individual (second song)
earnestly seek God
-ways that the enemy/the evil one seeks to keep us under guard and in chains
-beware of the tactics of the enemy and his domain of influence (vss3/4)
actively anticipate for God’s ways of life and freedom to be unfurled (listen and obey—walk into freedom)
Think bout how the church responded when Peter was set free?
Community: (first song)
-seek God in community
-testify and rejoice over God activity
-be wise and discerning in the ways that you associate with the world (give God the glory)
Let’s Pray! (Think of Hosanna, Hope Rising as I enter into time of prayer.)
OVERWHELMED
Is it possible that a climate of the church existed or exists in which the temperature could be described as such.
Re-read this story through the lens of the opposite.
Alternatives-content with existing until the bell tolls
content to live under guard and under wraps
unaware of miracles around us (questioned whether it was real)
limiting the activities of God (v15)
Living for Christ among the World necessitates followers of Jesus to discover how to walk in freedom
Individual (second song)