Finding Freedom From
THE PAST
The year is about 700 BC.
AND – God’s people were not doing so good.
UNDERSTAND - things are pretty tough for the nation.
A large part of Judah and all of the northern kingdom of Israel were in exile in various parts of the Assyrian Empire.
YOU SEE – because God’s people had sinned and turned their backs on Him…
BECAUSE - they had bowed down and worshipped foreign gods GOD - removed His protection…
AND IN CASE - you are wondering, that is never a good thing.
IN FACT – this is what opened the door for their enemies to invade and conquer them.
YES – things were bad…
AND - they would only get worse.
UNDERSTAND – in about 100 years (give or take) Babylon would come riding in to finish the job that Assyria had started in Judah. King Nebuchadnezzar and his army would: level the city, tear down the walls, reduce the Temple to rubble, kill thousands of men, woman and children, and take even more into captivity.
CAN – you even imagine what that would be like, if it was happening… to your nation, to your family, to your loved ones, to… YOU?
MGCC, LISTEN…
It was to a people WHO…
• Had seen better days
• Experienced great suffering
• Had lost – their hope, their joy, their peace
• Wondered where God was
• Longed for better days, but were beginning to think that those better days would never come
Ever been there?
Can you say 2020?
MAN – I am so ready to put 2020 in my rearview mirror.
AGAIN IT WAS – to such a people that God through His prophet Isaiah (2700 years ago)
SPOKE - the following words… some of the most powerful and hopeful words in all of Scripture.
WORDS – breathed by the maker of heaven and earth.
WORDS – that I am convinced carry a special anointing on this the first Sunday of 2021.
I am the LORD, your Holy One, Israel's Creator, your King."
This is what the LORD says—
NOW – that you know who I AM, I need you to lean in to what I am about to say…
He who made a way through the sea,
a path through the mighty waters,
who drew out the chariots and horses, the army and reinforcements together,
and they lay there, never to rise again,
extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:
IN OTHER WORDS - I AM, HE who…
• MADE - a way when there is no way
• CREATED - a path through the mightiest of waters
• DREW OUT - your enemies, those who opposed you, those who tried to steal from you the freedom, deliverance and life I ‘gave to you’ and ‘intend for you’ SNUFFING them out as easy as putting a candle
UNDERSTAND MGCC – that is ‘who’ our God is, is this is what He says to His troubled not just 2700 years, but also to His people today… in this room, watching online.
"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way i the desert and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.
- Isaiah 43:15-19
that they may proclaim my praise
AND HEY – do not miss those last 6 words… that they may proclaim my praise
UNDERSTAND - it is always about His glory!
Prayer
MGCC… The year 2021 is off and running…
AND LISTEN – I am convinced that it is going to be an extremely HUGE year (BOTH - a break-through and break-out year) for some people in this very room and watching online… Why?
BECAUSE – our God is doing a new thing.
HE – always has, always will and always is.
I MEAN – even now it springs up… do you not perceive it?
UNDERSTAND MGCC - in 2021 God longs to…
• Make a way in the desert
• Flood the dry desert wastelands of our lives with streams of living water…
• Draw out
OKAY – here’s the deal…
TODAY - day 3 of the year 2021…
God is handing every single person in this room 363 blank pages of life…
AND HE – is inviting each of us to write a new future on them in the coming days, weeks and months.
A FUTURE – that is so much better than the past,
A FUTURE – a 2021 that is so much better than the year 2020!... AMEN?!
NOW – I know that some people, like to pooh pooh the idea of getting excited about a New Year…
What does it mean to pooh pooh something?
Transitive verb - to express contempt for or make light of, to play down or dismiss.
AND TODAY – the first Sunday of the year 2021 we are going to talk about Finding freedom…
• From the past…
• In some ways from the year 2020
BOTTOM LINE – today’s conversation is about moving forward to something new and better and this new year.
YEAH – I get you little or no control of what happens out there…
BUT – you do have control of what happens in here.
AND LISTEN – what we see throughout Scripture is that God, always has something new and better, for us, His people. AMEN?!
JESUS – came to give us life in all of it’s fullness.
BUT LISTEN – here’s the deal…
You and I will not simply drift into this new and better
No, we will not find this new and better will not just show up knocking on our front door.
BECAUSE – there are all of these forces against the life that God intends for you to live, even spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
satan your enemy does not want you to live life in all of it’s fullness…
INSTEAD - he wants to rule you and enslave you by fear, worry, hurt, circumstances, anger, comparison…
AND BY - the past.
YOU SEE – he wants your 2020 to determine your 2021.
He – wants your past to both define and determine your future.
BUT MGCC – the good news of great joy, that is for all people..
TODAY – (1/3/21) our God is doing a new thing,
AND - even now it is springing up.
NOW – I gotta be honest, I put this message together with a specific person in mind.
It’s someone who really needs to hear these truths
YOU SEE - 2020 kind got to them…
I MEAN LIKE – there were things that that happened out there (in our world, our nation) and even things that happened in inside them…
Really wore them down.
IN FACT – this person was the catalyst for the series that we are currently in ‘Finding Freedom From The Things That Seek To Bind You”
BECAUSE – so many of those things were trying to become the master of their life.
DETERMINING…
YEAH – and the person is me.
YOU SEE…
I do not want my past,
I do not want 2021,
I do not want whatever crazy-insane-frightening-ungodly-hateful-corrupt stuff that will without a doubt be happening out there in the coming year
TO DETERMINE - my 2021…
AND SO – this week I prayed over, and thought about what I needed to hear this morning.
YOU SEE – I want my 2021 to be both a break through and break year for me and for you as well.
IN FACT – I want our 2021 to be a B.L.A.S.T.!
YEAH – that is the thought the came to me
B – believe
L – leave
A – adapt
S – strain
T - Trust
B – Believe That God has Something New
and Better For You
IN - Mark chapter 9, a father brings his demon possessed son the Jesus disciples.
AND LISTEN – to say that this dad was desperate was a massive understatement.
I MEAN – an evil spirit robbing your son of his speech, causing him to foam at the mouth, gnash his teeth and to be thrown to the ground.
YEAH – he was desperate…
HOWEVER - Jesus’ disciples were unable to help this dad and his son out…
So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.
Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?” “From childhood,” he answered. “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him.
But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” – Mark 9:20-23
UNDERSTAND MGCC…
IF YOU – want to find freedom from the past
IF YOU – to want to live the life you were created to live you
IF YOU – want your 2021 to be a BLAST!
YOU – must believe.
Believe what?
BELIEVE - that God really does have something new and better for you
BELIEVE - that God created you for new and better
BELIEVE - that God really is doing a new thing.
BELIEVE - in Christ Jesus, that this new thing has already begun
BELIEVE that God…
YOU KNOW - the Creator of EVERYTHING,
THE ONE - who is over all things, before all things and holds all things together,
THE ONE who made a way through the sea – a path through the mighty waters…
YOU – need to ‘really believe’ that Capital G (nothing can stop or derail HIM God) has thoughts, plans and intentions for your life…
AND - that those thoughts, plans and intentions are for your good… to give YOU HOPE and a FUTURE!
You need to:
BELIEVE - that Jesus really did come to make available life in all of it’s fullness to everyone, and that this everyone - includes you…
BELIEVE - that despite your many sins, flaws and failures – that God has saved you COMPLETELY (through His grace) and that you really are His masterpiece – Created anew to do the good things THAT HE planned for you to do, before you were ever born…
BELIEVE - that regardless of what you have accomplished or achieved in your walk with God there is STILL MORE…
UNDERSTAND - there is always more with Jesus…
MORE - for HIM to become in your life,
AND MORE – for HIM to do in and through you…
AND YOU – need to believe that (despite wherever you happen to find yourself at this very moment)
THAT GOD - is not done with you…
THAT HE - still wants to partner with you to help create a new and better future, a future that brings honor and glory to His name.
NOW… I don’t know about you… but when I hear these amazing and mind blowing truths…
I want to cry out like the father in Mark 9 when He heard Jesus say, everything is possible for one who believes…
Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” – Mark 9:24
LISTEN – to find freedom from the past, and make your 2021 a blast.
You need to stop underestimating what God intends for your life.
L – Leave Some Stuff Behind
Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past…
- Isaiah 43:18
but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead… - Philippians 3:13
UNDERSTAND
UNDERSTAND MGCC
IF YOU – want to go somewhere bigger, somewhere better, somewhere new/different in 2021 than you cannot stay where we are.
IN OTHER WORDS – you need to leave some stuff behind.
AND LISTEN – we see this truth played out again and again in the scriptures, people leaving so that they could go to something new and better.
• Abraham had to leave his family and homeland behind
• Moses had to leave the comfort and security of playing it safe in the desert.
• James and John had to leave their nets, their dad and the family business.
• Paul had to leave his religious ways and all his personal efforts that he thought made him right with God.
• Timothy had to leave his fear and timidity behind
• And when we read the NT we see that the early church had to leave behind old habits, issues and ways of living that kept creeping back into their lives.
OKAY – here is what usually happens when we hear about God’s new and better…
We get real excited, as we should
But often times we carry a bunch of the old junk with us.
And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the new wine would burst the wineskins, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. – Luke 5:37
SO – the question for you, and for me as the year 2021 begins is this…
What do we need to leave behind?
Like is there anything holding you back and keeping you from living the life God intends?
I don’t know but maybe you need to leave behind…
• Doubt, or fear, pride
• guilt, envy, jealousy
• insecurity, timidity
• selfish ambition, self-promotion, making life all about you
• anger, resentment, bitterness, unforgiveness
• some sin (maybe a secret sin)
• regret
• an attitude, a way of thinking, an addiction
I don’t know but maybe there are some people you need to leave behind…
In 2021, start hanging out with people that fit your future, NOT your past.
UNDERSTAND – you leaving some stuff behind is essential to you making your 2021 a blast and finding freedom from the past.
Now something hit me in our FCFH this past Friday from Matthew 19…
Rich Young Ruler
Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?
Matthew 19:16
If you want to enter life, keep the commandments. “Which ones?” he inquired. Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’”
– Matthew 19”17-19
“All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”
(He knew something was missing in his life)
Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect,
(mature, complete, full grown, finished)
go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. – Matthew 19:20-22
IN – other words he was unable to leave behind his wealth, UNDERSTAND - keeping it (not leaving it behind) was more important than having eternal life or following Jesus.
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Mathew 19:26
Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?”
Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. – Matthew 19:27-29
A – Adapt To Changing Circumstances
QUESTION…
Have you noticed that that life never seems to go exactly as we planned, scripted or hoped for?
LIKE - did the year 2020 turn out the way you thought it would when the ball dropped from Times Square at midnight?
I MEAN…
• Were there any surprises this year?
• Anything - unexpected, unplanned or unwanted come your way?
• Any - challenges or struggles… trials or difficulties… tragedies or crisis, let downs or discouragements, come crashing into your life like a tidal wave out of nowhere?
• Any– rough waters, rocky roads, uphill climbs… that you would have rather not be forced to travel down?
Jesus said that in this world we will have what? Trouble
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33
AND HE – wasn’t kidding was He?
AND LISTEN – if we had any doubts about what Jesus in John 16:33, I think that the year 2020, definitely removed those doubts.
OKAY MGCC – here’s the deal…
Unless you learn how to adapt to life’s challenges and unexpected troubles, you will be tempted to use them as an excuse, claiming that they are the reason why you cannot move forward and live the life God has called you to live.
UNDERSTAND - though we cannot always control the CONTEXT from which our life story is being written…
WE CAN – control ‘the content’ of our life story…
How we choose to live within it.
NOW… one of the most powerful examples of this concept of adapting in order to live the life that God has called us to is the prophet Daniel.
UNDERSTAND – when Daniel was a teenager the circumstances of his life changed in the most dramatic of ways.
The nation he lived in (Israel) is destroyed and conquered by a foreign power, and he is taken captive along with many other young men back to Babylon.
AND LISTEN – if Daniel was unable or unwilling to ADAPT to his new environment and unwanted circumstances we would not be talking about him this morning…
AND – believe me when I tell you, in Babylon Daniel’s ability to ADAPT would be stretched to the limits, I mean think about it…
• he had to take on a new name
• live in a new place
• learn the wisdom and ways of the Babylonians (which he did and actually excelled above the Babylonians themselves.
BUT LISTEN - Daniel knew the difference between what it means to adopt and what it means to adapt.
One is to surrender to overwhelming circumstances;
The other is to rise above them.
To adopt – is to compromise your convictions
To adapt - is to continue to live out your convictions regardless of the circumstances.
BUT UNDERSTAND…
IN ORDER - to be adaptable we have to know what’s important, what’s essential.
YOU SEE - adaptability is not the result of shooting from the hip… BUT RATHER - knowing what and where are aiming.
IN OTHER WORDS - adaptability is decisive action in response to unforeseen circumstances informed by ‘previously’ determined ‘core’ values.
YEAH – Daniel had done some serious ‘core training’ in his life… which enabled him to ADAPT.
Core Values - convictions we are willing to risk everything for? Anchor points that have the power to keep you grounded even in the midst of the most powerful storms.
QUESTION…
WHAT – are your core values? WHAT – are you willing to risk everything and to die a hill for? WHAT – are the anchor points in your life that keep you grounded?
OKAY – raise your hands if you think that having a strong core and being able to adapt is important for you having a new and better 2021.
NOW - THIS WEEK…
I strongly encourage you to come up with several person core values… Convictions, Anchor points, Non-negotiables
Pray about them
Write them down
FOR EXAMPLE….
• I will forgive and pray for those who hurt me
• I will be open to, seek and receive feedback
• I will live by faith and not by fear
• I will choose prayer over worry
• I will treat other the way I want to be treated
• When tough times come, I will make God my first refuge
• The bible will guide my behavior and determine what is right or wrong, true or false
• I will use my words to build up and not tear down.
S – Strain Toward What Is Ahead
And straining toward what is ahead 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus….
I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. – Phil 3:12
The word for perfection means - fullness, maturity, completeness, reaching the desired goal.
Paul is like – Hey, I know that Jesus took a hold of me for a reason, That He died a brutal death on a cross not merely to save me from my sins (as awesome and needed as that is) BUT ALSO – to restore to who I was created to be.
QUESTION – who was Paul created to be?
What was the prize, the goal, perfection that he was straining towards?
YOU KNOW – I think he provides the answer not only for himself, but for us in Romans 8:29
For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. – Romans 8:29
QUESTION – do you think that your 2021 would be…
Better, different, more positive, more fulfilling and more God-honoring…
IF – growing and becoming more like Jesus was the primary goal that you were straining toward?
AND SO - how did Jesus develop and grow?
AGAIN – the Scriptures provide the answer for us.
Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and favor with man. – Luke 2:52
UNDERSTAND MGCC
IF YOU - want to become like Jesus, you must grow in the four ways Jesus developed…
• He grew in wisdom – that's intellectual development.
• He grew in stature – that's physical development.
• He grew in favor with God – that's spiritual development.
• He grew in favor with man – that's relational development.
UNDERSTAND – to find freedom from THE PAST you need to strain towards what is ahead… strain toward being more like Jesus.
AND – do that you must.
Prayerfully Set A Few Intellectual Goals
Jesus grew in wisdom – Luke 2:25
Ask yourself and,
Ask God (that word prayerfully is critical),
“What do I want to learn in the year 2021?”
UNDERSTAND - God gave you your mind.
It's a gift. It's like a muscle.
If you use a muscle, it gets stronger. If you ignore a muscle, it gets weaker. Same thing with your brain.
Do yourself a favor and learn all you can. Remember what you've learned and you'll prosper. - Proverbs 19:8
As a Christian, you must constantly be challenging yourself to grow and to develop. Ask yourself, “What do I need to learn this year?”
MAYBE - you set a book reading goal and say you're going to read a certain number of books this year.
MAYBE – if you are in school… it’s I am going to make the dean’s list or honor roll
MAYBE - it’s taking a class over at a college or online
Maybe – it’s developing a new skill.
MAYBE - it’s learning a language.
MAYBE – it’s doing some studies or watching some conferences on right now media
B/L - we need to set some kind of intellectual goals that will challenge and stimulate us so that a year from today we're smarter than we are today, we know some new stuff.
STUFF – that God can and will use for His glory and our good.
NEXT – to strain toward what is ahead and find freedom from THE PAST…
Prayerfully Set A Few Physical goals
Jesus grew in stature. – Luke 2:52
For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. – 1 Timothy 4:8
QUESTION – prayerfully ask what will improve my health in the year 2020?
• Lose some weight?
• Go to bed earlier?
• Get on an exercise plan?
• Change my eating habits?
• Develop some kind of stress relief?
• Start walking every day?
• See a counselor (your mind is part of your body)
Prayerfully develop a physical goal.
The Bible says Jesus “grew in wisdom and in stature.”
Stature is defined as “the quality or status gained by growth or development.”
NOW - some people totally tune out when I start talking about the physical. AND THEN - there are others who totally tune in and they kind of O.D. on it.
Here is why: We are a nation of extremes, and so we choose to camp out in either one end of the spectrum or the other—either worshipping the body or neglecting the body—and God wants us to be somewhere in the middle.
SO - make an effort.
NOW - believe me, we’re all at different points when it comes to setting a physical goal.
SO - this week prayerfully figure out how you can develop some physical goal. How, Start by starting…
NOW a purpose statement might be: “I want to get in better shape.” But we’re not looking for a purpose statement.
We want to set goals..
SO - a goal for you might be:
• I want to walk ten thousand steps a day.
• I want to work out for at least 20 minutes three days a week.
• I want to lose ten pounds by March 1st
• I’m not gonna eat anything after eight o’clock at night.”
• I’m only gonna drink sodas on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
• I’m only going to eat desserts on the days that end in ‘y’
NEXT – to strain toward what is ahead and find freedom from THE PAST…
Prayerfully Set A Few Spiritual goals.
Jesus grew in favor with God. – Luke 2:52
For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. – 1 Timothy 4:8
PRAYERFULLY ASK YOURSELF…
What will deepen your relationship with God? What three or four things would make the biggest difference in my relationship to God in 2021?
Not ten things – a couple of things.
NOW - it might be something that you have known for along time that you have needed to do but you keep putting off.
Have you been baptized?
If you haven't maybe that will be your first goal.
What an awesome way to start a New Year to surrender to Jesus in baptism…
Victoria Hornsby (this past Tuesday)
OR maybe your spiritual goal should be…
• To really investigate the claims of and about Christ
• To join a life group... (hybrids)
• Be in church every Sunday (online do it at 10:15)
• Start tithing.
• Start having a regular time alone with God. (FCFH)
• Go to a bible study
• Memorize a certain number of Scriptures or a long passage
• Serving in the church
• Start tithing.
• Share your faith with someone, to really commit in 2021 to Pray For One (Lord, give me one person that I can share your love with today)… Matthew 9:38 alarm
This year set some very specific spiritual goals,
write them down so that this year can be different….
so that you will grow closer to God be more like Jesus.
NEXT – to strain toward what is ahead and find freedom from THE PAST…
Prayefully Set A Few Relational goals
Jesus grew in favor with man – Luke 2:52
THIS – is where you ask yourself…. How will I deepen my relationships with people inside and outside of the church?
Understand - relationships have always been at the top of God’s list… So what can you do in 2021 to help others and to deepen some relationship…
• Do your part to restore a broken relationship
• Set aside a specific time to be with individual members of your family
• Start meeting regularly with other believers who are on the same path as you are (you know, running buddies) and together sharpen each other
• Join a life group
• Find someone that you can mentor and pour your life into
• Ask someone who is a few steps ahead of you, if they would help you in your journey
• Help someone in need in the church
• Help someone in need in our community
• Volunteer somewhere in the community.
• Have people over to your home for a meal
• Make an effort to get to know a few neighbors or co-workers
Just set some relational goal so that this year can be different as you grow like Jesus.
T – Trust In The Lord With All Your Heart
TRUST IN HIS…
Goodness, greatness, power, person
Word, promises, purposes, commands and truths
AND TRUST – that God knows what’s best for you, better than you know what’s best for you…
AND LISTEN – this is one truth that will radically change our lives in the coming days, weeks and months years.
YES - embracing this.
LIVING – this… WILL – without a doubt make the years ahead much different year then the years before.
NOW - we may know this truth in our heads (God knows what’s best)… BUT - for most of us it’s never made the trip from our head – to our heart – to our actions. YOU SEE – we think…
That we know what is best for us
We think we know what will make us happy, WHAT – will fulfill us, satisfy us.
We think we know had to predict and determine the outcomes in our lives.
We think we what the best way to behave and act is in a given situation…
BUT – do we?
GOD SAYS – I know BETTER than you what will fulfill you, what will satisfy the deep hunger in your souls, what will make you happy. I know better than you how to have the outcomes, how to have the life in 2014 that you have always dreamed about.
NOW – there is a passage that Solomon wrote in Proverbs that really speaks to this… Proverbs 3:5,6 (Let’s take a look at it).
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight. – Pr 3:5,6
Solomon is telling us that in spite of all we know and all we have experienced, don’t make the mistake of thinking that we are: wise enough, smart enough, experienced enough, good enough or spiritual enough to lean on (to trust in) our own understanding…
LISTEN – when it comes to your own reasoning, your own opinions and God’s commands… God wins!
WHEN – it comes to your own reasoning (or the world’s reasoning)
• this how I think relationships should work,
• this how I understand the handling of money,
• this how I think I should handle this conflict…”
WHEN – it comes to your reasoning and God’s commands… God wins. This book wins!
in all your ways acknowledge him
What does it mean to acknowledge God? (Hey God, I see you, yep there you are) NO – don’t think so… LOOK UP – to acknowledge God means to recognize who He is and to respond accordingly…
QUESTION –
WHAT IS - the proper response to an…
all powerful, all knowing, all present, Holy, just, eternal, unstoppable, uncontainable indescribable King?
WHAT IS – the proper response to The One who has the power to cast both your body and soul in hell.
SUBMISSION… GOD – you are in charge I am not – I submit to you!
in all your ways acknowledge him…
UNDERSTAND – there is no wiggle room here… all means all…. It means in your
• Dating ways
• Marriage ways
• Moral ways
• Entertainment ways
• Education/professional/financial/relationship ways…
NOT – just in your religious ways, your church ways, your prayer ways… all every area of your life… you say LORD – you are in charge not me… and even though I may not want to do what I clearly hear you saying… I am going to lean into you, trust you, acknowledge you submit to you…
and he will make your paths straight
BY – path he means your lifestyle, your way of life…
