Sermon Title: “Spirit-Filled Freedom”
Texts: Acts 2:1–4; Galatians 4:1–7 [5:16–26]
INTRODUCTION: “What’s Got a Hold on You?”
Let me ask you something this morning:
What’s got a hold on you?
I’m not talking about what you like. I’m talking about the thing that pulls at you—that has a little more control over your day, your habits, maybe even your heart, than it should.
For me, it was soda.
Now, I know that sounds small. But for me, it was “Coke”—and if you're from the South, you know that means anything carbonated: Dr Pepper, Sprite, you name it.
I started to realize I wasn’t just enjoying it—I was depending on it. Reaching for it without thinking. Needing it to get through the day.
So back in August of 2000, I decided to quit. Cold turkey. And yes, the caffeine headaches were real.
Since then, I’ve made one exception—if one of my teams wins a championship, I’ll celebrate with one Coke. Just one.
Now when I hear someone say, “I just need a Dr Pepper”… I don’t say anything. But I think, Man, I’m glad I broke that.
It didn’t own me anymore.
And that’s kind of funny… but it’s also real.
Because sometimes the things that have a hold on us aren’t so harmless. Sometimes we’re carrying things—wounds, habits, lies—that quietly shape our lives without us even realizing it.
And today, Pentecost Sunday, we’re reminded of something powerful:
God doesn’t just call us to “try harder” or “do better”—
He sends His Spirit to set us free.
Free from whatever’s held us back.
Free to live like beloved children, filled with His power, His presence, and His purpose.
Let’s look at what that freedom really means.
Acts 2:1-4
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues[a] as the Spirit enabled them.
Galatians 4:1-7
What I am saying is that as long as an heir is underage, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. 2 The heir is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. 3 So also, when we were underage, we were in slavery under the elemental spiritual forces[a] of the world. 4 But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.[b]6 Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba,[c] Father.” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.
Galatians 5:16-26
16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever[a] you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality,impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited,provoking and envying each other. “This is the Word of the Lord.”
Congregation: “Thanks be to God.”
I. THE SPIRIT SETS US FREE (Galatians 4:1–7)
“You’re not a slave… you’re a child.”
Paul paints this picture in Galatians 4—a child who’s an heir, but who still lives like a servant. They’ve got a name and a future, but not yet the freedom. That was us, Paul says. Bound by rules, by expectations, by fear.
But then God stepped in.
“When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son… so that we might receive adoption.”
And not just a legal adoption. A heart-deep, soul-changing adoption.
“Because you are children, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’”
The Spirit doesn’t just remind you who God is—the Spirit tells you who you are.
And when I hear that, I think back to when I first arrived on campus at my Christian college.
I was from Dallas—big city, fast pace—and I landed in what felt like rural Mississippi. My roommate was from middle Georgia, and the guys on my hall were from East Tennessee, small towns in Mississippi, places I’d never heard of.
And I felt it. I felt different.
So I did what a lot of us do when we feel out of place—I leaned into those differences. I kept my distance. I made my identity a little louder, maybe a little sharper, than it needed to be.
But something happened.
We started talking.
We started trusting.
And before the first month was over—I wasn’t “that guy from Dallas” anymore.
I was one of them.
I was included.
That’s what Paul is trying to tell the Galatians—what the Holy Spirit wants to say to us this morning:
You don’t have to strive. You don’t have to prove anything.
You’re not “other.” You’re not “barely in.”
You belong.
The Spirit has moved into your heart like a roommate who turns into family, whispering every day:
“You are God’s child. And you are home.”
II. THE SPIRIT MAKES US ONE (Acts 2:1–4)
“Different voices, one message.”
The story of Pentecost starts with something strange and beautiful.
The disciples are all together in one place. They’ve been waiting, just as Jesus told them to. Waiting in uncertainty. Praying. Hoping. Maybe wondering what comes next.
And then—suddenly—the wind picks up.
Not a breeze. A rushing wind. The kind that fills a room and stops conversations.
Then fire appears—not consuming fire, but resting fire—settling over each one of them.
And then the voices begin.
“They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.”
Here’s what’s wild: they didn’t all speak the same language. But everyone heard the same good news—in their language.
God didn’t erase the differences.
He spoke through them.
I think about that moment—and I think about the pressure we often feel to fit in, to talk the right way, worship the right way, think the right way, vote the right way, raise our hands or keep them down, dress this way or that.
But Pentecost tells us this:
The Spirit doesn’t flatten us—He fills us.
He speaks through our cultures, through our stories, through our differences—so the gospel can be heard by all.
It’s not a reversal of Babel—it’s redemption of Babel.
Not confusion, but communion.
PERSONAL REFLECTION MOMENT:
I’ve seen glimpses of this in my own life—in churches where we didn’t all look alike or sound alike, but we shared communion like family.
Maybe you’ve seen it too—a mission trip, a worship night, a conversation over coffee where you realized, “We come from different places… but the same Spirit is speaking to both of us.”
That’s Pentecost.
The Spirit of God doesn’t just bring wind and fire.
He brings understanding.
He brings unity.
He takes a room full of “others”… and turns them into one body.
III. THE SPIRIT BEARS FRUIT (Galatians 5:16–26)
“You can’t legislate love... but you can live by the Spirit.”
So what does it actually look like to live free... to belong to God... to be filled with the Spirit?
Paul doesn’t leave us guessing.
He knows the pushback. He knows someone’s going to say, “If I’m free, then I can do what I want, right?”
And Paul says... not exactly.
Because freedom in Christ doesn’t mean doing whatever you please...
It means being led by the Spirit.
And when the Spirit leads, things begin to change.
Paul gives us two pictures.
The first is messy. It’s what life looks like when we’re running the show... chasing our own desires... reacting instead of resting.
And it shows up in all kinds of ways—sexual sin, anger, jealousy, selfishness, division.
It’s loud. It’s exhausting. And honestly... it’s everywhere.
Then Paul shifts the lens.
He says... let me show you what it looks like when the Spirit is in charge.
Not what you can fake. Not what you can force.
But what begins to grow when you stay close to Jesus.
“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”
It’s not a checklist... it’s fruit.
It grows slowly. Quietly. Deeply.
And it’s unmistakable when you see it.
I’ve come to realize something over the years...
You can’t measure someone’s walk with God by how loud they sing or how many Bible verses they can quote.
But you can tell by how they treat people.
Show me someone who stays calm in a storm...
Who forgives when they’ve been wronged...
Who speaks peace into a tense room...
That’s someone walking by the Spirit.
The Spirit doesn’t just get us into the family... He grows us into the likeness of Christ.
And that’s the real question today... what’s growing in your life?
COMMUNION TRANSITION: “Come Home”
So what’s growing in your life?
That’s not a question to shame anyone... it’s a question to help us listen. Because the Spirit doesn’t force fruit out of us... He grows it when we stay close.
And if your life doesn’t look like love or peace or patience right now... you’re not disqualified. You’re invited.
That’s what this table is about.
We come to the bread and the cup not because we’ve earned a seat... but because the Spirit has made a way.
We come not as slaves trying to prove ourselves...
We come as children... loved, claimed, and free.
This is the table of grace.
This is where we remember the cross... where Jesus gave everything to bring us home.
And this is where we receive again the gift of the Spirit...
Not just wind and fire...
But the quiet, faithful work of Christ in us.
So come.
If you're tired... if you're hungry... if you need to be reminded that you belong...
Come.
COMMUNION LITURGY: “Heirs at the Table”
As we come to the table this morning, we do so not as outsiders...
Not as guests hoping we’re good enough...
But as children of God—adopted, welcomed, filled with the Spirit.
This bread and this cup remind us of what Christ has done...
But just as importantly, they remind us who we are now because of Him.
We are no longer slaves.
We are sons and daughters.
And if children... then heirs.
This is not just a meal of remembrance... it is a meal of identity.
It’s here that the Spirit once again whispers, “Abba... Father.”
It’s here we’re reminded: we belong.
Not because we’ve earned it.
But because grace made a way.
Prayer of Consecration
Heavenly Father,
Thank you for sending your Son to redeem us... and for sending your Spirit to dwell in us.
Bless these elements—this bread and this cup—
That in receiving them, we may also receive the renewing work of your Spirit.
May this be more than routine...
May it be communion—real connection—with you and with one another.
Grow in us the fruit of the Spirit...
Fill us again with your presence...
And send us out as people who walk in your freedom and reflect your love.
Through Christ our Lord,
Amen.
Words of Institution
On the night He was betrayed,
Our Lord took bread... gave thanks... and broke it, saying:
“This is my body, given for you. Take and eat in remembrance of me.”
And after supper, He took the cup, saying:
“This cup is the new covenant in my blood, poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Drink this in remembrance of me.”
Invitation
You don’t have to be a member of this church...
You don’t have to have it all figured out...
You simply need to come, hungry for grace and open to the Spirit.
Come... the table is ready.
Come... you are welcome.
Come... you are His.
Instruction for Receiving the Elements
At this time, I invite you to take the bread...
This is the body of Christ, broken for you.
Take and eat, in remembrance that Christ died for you,
And be thankful.
Now take the cup...
This is the blood of Christ, shed for you.
Drink in remembrance that Christ’s love was poured out for you,
And be thankful.
Let us pray together the prayer Jesus taught us:
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
And the power, and the glory,
Forever and ever. Amen.
Sending Prayer
We go with hope, because God goes before us.
We go with grace, because God is in us.
We go with certainty, because God is real.
And we go expecting great things,
Because our God accomplishes the impossible.
Here we are, God... send us, we pray.
Amen.
