How to Live in Full Freedom - Rom. 8:2-8
Freedom: The condition of being free or unrestricted; personal, civic and spiritual. Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty.
Illustration:The divine "scheme of things," as Christianity understands it, is at once extremely elastic and extremely rigid. It is elastic, in that it includes a large measure of liberty for the creature; it is rigid in that it includes the proviso that, however created beings choose to behave, they must accept responsibility of their own actions and endure the consequences.
Dorothy L. Sayer in Dorothy L. Sayer: A Rage for Life.
1. What do you think Paul means when he writes, "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus (the law of our new being) has freed me from the law of sin and death?"
Too many people misunderstand the work of the Spirit of life and fail to solve the root cause of their problems.
First, Paul teaches us that it is impossible to live a spiritual life in the power of the flesh since it is only possible through the strength of the Holy Spirit.
Unbelievers can only live by their human sense, reason and limited perspectives.
Too many Christians live like non-christians because they are so used to reacting to the pressures by conforming to the world’s conditioned responses.
Christians can choose to either live in the power of the Spirit or the flesh.
The Holy Spirit gives believers supernatural power, perspective and intercessory help to do everything God asks them to do.
Ask the Lord to help you live more as one freed by the Spirit’s power than one who is enslaved by the impulses of the flesh.
2. Paul teaches us that a Spirit led person is given an array of advantages over the fleshly led individual.
For example a Spirit led teacher is given supernatural wisdom, love, and understanding of their student’s problems.
Greater encouragement, faith and hope are supplied to a teacher who trusts the Spirit to guide them. God promises every teacher, who abides in the Spirit, help to go and bring forth lasting fruit. (John 15:16)
Profit is given to Spirit led mothers and dads as they discipline themselves and their families for the purpose of godliness.
Continuous renewal, restoration and reinvigoration are supplied to teachers who wait on the Spirit for endurance.
Fresh insights are given to Spirit led teachers who are guided into all truth so they do not have to fear being without direction.
The Spirit led teacher is given a sense of balance of theory and practice so they do not focus on non-essential issues.
A heightened sense of purpose, satisfaction and motivation is given to a Spirit led teacher since they hunger and thirst for righteousness. (Matt. 5:6)
Thousands of Biblical promises provide security for Spirit led teachers of truth. (2 Pet. 1:3-8)
Spirit led teachers are able to show their students how to speak the truth in love and grow up in all aspects into Christ so they aim for maturity instead of merely competence. (Eph. 4:15)
Anger, fear or uncertainty do not control a Spirit led teacher since they are led by peace, love and the certainty of their Master, Jesus Christ.
Ask the Lord to help you highlight the advantages of being a person who allows the Spirit of life to characterize all areas of your relationships, ministries and personal affairs.
3. Paul teaches us that those who walk according to the flesh must die. A person who fails to walk in the Spirit of life chooses to be imprisoned by the law of sin and death.
They are slaves to the one whom they obey. There is no middle ground in life since all people choose to walk in the Spirit or by the flesh.
Jesus said, "No man can serve two masters for he will hate the one or love (be devoted to and stand by) the other. You cannot serve God and money (deceitful riches, money, possessions, or whatever is trusted in besides the Lord)." (Matt. 6:24)
We are either progressing in our walk with the Spirit as we grow in grace and knowledge of Jesus or we are regressing.
It is not what we do that makes us spiritual or fleshly, but how and why we do it!
When you work as a teacher, housewife or truck driver everything depends on whether you are doing it by the Spirit’s means of by the power of the flesh.
Too many times the good activities we do, which may appear to be spiritual, are actually done for human approval instead of unto the Lord. (Col. 3:23,24)
Every morning I spend at least 60 minutes asking the Lord to guide me into all truth. I claim Christ’s promise, " When He the Spirit of truth is come He will guide you into all truth." (John 16:13)
The Spirit leads us to make decisions based upon scriptural principles moment by moment if you will surrender control to Him.
4. Paul teaches us that the Spirit frees us from making decisions that are irrelevant, inappropriate or ineffective.
A person led by the flesh is unable to tap into the God’s reservoir of wisdom.
The Spirit led person is intuitively able to think like Paul who wrote, "This is what we speak, not in words taught to us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words." (I Cor. 2:13)
Ask the Lord to help you learn to grow in spiritual discernment instead of just uttering whatever you feel like saying at the time.
5. Paul teaches us that the Spirit gives life to show how to lead others to Christ and to a Spirit led lifestyle.
A Spirit led person yearns to see other people enjoy the abundant life that is found in Christ Jesus.
Jesus said, "The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life." (John 6:63)
Ask the Lord to help you bring people to a new life in the Spirit with the life giving power of the Word of God with its hope, life and promises.
Trust the Lord to help you be more of a reproducer and multiplier of the Spirit’s life that is in you!
Conclusion:Lord Jesus, thou who art the way, the truth, and the life; hear us as we pray for the truth that shall make all free. Teach us that liberty is not only to be loved but also to be lived. Liberty is too precious a thing to be buried in books. It costs too much to be hoarded. Help us see that our liberty is not the right to do as we please, but the opportunity to please to do what is right.
Peter Marshall, Before the U.S. Senate.
The following points are from Rick Warren and he solely deserves the credit:
“Then Jesus said, ‘Let’s get away from the crowds for a while and rest.’ There were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn’t even have time to eat.” Mark 6:31 (NLT)
Do you ever feel like your life and schedule is out of control?
In the ministry, you can’t eliminate stress, but you can manage it. .
Jesus experienced enormous stress and pressure, yet it didn’t seem to disturb his peace of mind. In spite of opposition, constant demands - and little privacy - his life reflected a calm sense of balance.
What was his secret?
IDENTIFICATION: KNOW WHO YOU ARE (John 8:12)
Eighteen times Jesus publicly defined himself. There was no doubt in his mind as to who he was. If you are unsure of your identity, you’ll allow others to pressure you into their molds. Trying to be someone you’re not causes stress!
DEDICATION: KNOW WHO YOU WANT TO PLEASE (John 5:30)
You can’t please everyone. Even God can’t! Just about the time you get Crowd A happy, Crowd B will be upset with you. Jesus never let the fear of rejection manipulate him. No one can pressure you without your permission.
ORGANIZATION: SET CLEAR GOALS (John 8:14)
Jesus said, "I know where I came from and where I am going." Preparation prevents pressure but procrastination produces it. You work by either priorities or pressures.
CONCENTRATION: FOCUS ON ONE THING AT A TIME
(Luke 4:42-44)
You can’t chase two rabbits at the same time! Jesus knew how to handle interruptions without being distracted from his primary goal.
DELEGATION: DON’T TRY TO DO EVERYTHING YOURSELF
(Mark 3:14)
We get tense when we feel it all depends on us. Jesus enlisted 12 disciples. Don’t allow perfectionism, or the fear that others may do a better job, keep you from involving others in the task.
MEDITATION: MAKE A HABIT OF PRAYER (Mark 1:35)
No matter how busy Jesus got, he found time to get alone to pray everyday. A daily Quiet Time is a great stress decompression chamber. Use this time to talk to God about your pressures and problems, evaluate your priorities, and discover the rules for successful living by reading the Bible.
RELAXATION: TAKE TIME TO ENJOY LIFE (Mark 6:30-31)
Balance is the key to stress management. Work must be balanced with fun and worship.
