Freedom To Change
Sermon Audio
Sermon Notes
Intro:
Hey everybody my name’s Louis I’m the lead teaching pastor here at City Awakening, it’s great to be with you this morning. Today we’re continuing our series on a book of the bible called Galatians, and it’s about why life with Jesus is so freeing. We’re exploring why life with Jesus is so freeing, why life WITH Jesus is so much greater than life WITHOUT Jesus, and today we’re gonna talk about how Jesus gives us the freedom to change our lives. Jesus gives us the freedom, the POWER to change even the deepest rooted issues in our lives. What are some of those issues for you?..What are some of those deep rooted issues you want changed in your life?
Now I’m not talking about changing things like your physical appearance, I’m talking about changing certain sinful actions, speech, or thoughts that you know are harming you and your relationship with others. It can be sinful actions like an addiction to alcohol, drugs, or porn. ...It can be sinful speech like gossip, swearing, snapping at your family or anyone who makes you angry...It can even be sinful thoughts like lust, coveting, or acting nice to somebody’s face, but cursing them in your mind. “Oh hey girl, how are you...Lord help me. This one’s an EGR. Extra grace required.” Look everybody has sinful actions, speeches, thoughts we want changed, we want to get rid of that are harming us and our relationships. What are those things for you?.. What are some of those things you’ve wanted to change, but you’ve been powerless to change?.. Today we’re gonna talk about how Jesus can give us the freedom to change our lives. Jesus can give us the POWER to change, even the deepest rooted sin issues in our lives. So let’s turn to Galatians 3:1-14 located toward the back of the bible. It’s Galatians 3:1-14. The title of today’s message is Freedom To Change, and here’s the big idea. Jesus can give us freedom to change. Jesus can give us the power to change, what our self-reliance has proved powerless to change.
Context:
Here’s your context. So far Paul, the author of this letter, taught us that the true gospel message of Jesus is that Jesus gave himself up for our sins, and he’s been battling with a group of people called the Judaizers. He’s battling them because they’re adding to the gospel telling the Galatians they need to follow Jewish laws to be justified, saved, and have an eternal relationship with Jesus. But in ch. 3 Paul’s gonna remind the Galatians of how they came to faith, and where the power to change their lives has come from. He’s gonna remind them that their faith and life change hasn’t come from the works of the law, from their own self-reliance. It’s come from faith in Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit working in their lives. Let’s check it out.
The Word:
Galatians 3:1-14 states, “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified.” Now historically speaking, the Galatians didn’t see Jesus literally crucified, because Galatia is modern-day Turkey which was too far for them to see it happening. They didn’t have FOX or CNN news alerts, they didn’t have smartphones to record it, and so Paul’s not saying they literally saw the crucifixion. He’s saying the crucifixion of Jesus was so clearly portrayed to them and so clearly received by them, that it was as if they had seen it with their own eyes. It’s why Paul’s asking who’s bewitched them. He’s saying they’ve started to believe so deeply in the Judaizers teachings, that it’s as if they’re hypnotized. They’re like the UCF stare down guy, and nothing Paul says is breaking their focus from the Judaizers teachings. But Paul’s trying to wake them up from their foolishness.
Vs. 2, “Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?” Paul’s talking about their conversion, the day they received the gospel, the day they believed Jesus gave himself up for their sins. He knows they’ll remember that day because like I said, it was so vividly clear to them, it was as if they saw Jesus crucified with their own eyes. He wants them to recall that day so they’ll remember HOW they received the gospel, HOW they received the power of the Holy Spirit for their lives. He asks them, “Was it by works of the law, or by faith?” The only answer they can give is by faith, because they didn’t learn about following Jewish laws until after their conversion, until after the Judaizers came. So Paul says they’re foolish to think their relationship with Jesus now depends on living out Jewish laws, when they already had a relationship with Jesus before the Judaizers even came.
Now something else to notice is this is the first time Paul mentions the Holy Spirit in Galatians, and some Christians can get all weird when it comes to the Holy Spirit. They’ll obsess over the Holy Spirit in unhealthy ways thinking the Holy Spirit’s giving them a sign in things like a miracle hankie or burnt toast that looks like Jesus...They’re like “Hey it’s a sign!” No, it’s just burnt toast. So don’t make any life decisions over it, instead put some Jimmy Dean sausage and eggs on it, then eat that thing...Some Christians think the Holy Spirit’s giving them a sign in everything, but others will react to the burnt toast Christians by neglecting to seek the Holy Spirit at all. They’re like, “Yeah I believe in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit’s rattling around in here somewhere. But I’m not sure how all this works, so I’ll just stick to reading my bible.” They’re rightfully concerned about burnt toast Christians, but at the neglect of discerning how the Holy Spirit’s at work in their life. Neither view’s correct. We don’t access the power of the Holy Spirit by miracle hankies or burnt toast, and we don’t neglect to seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance for our lives. Paul’s saying we receive the power of the Holy Spirit not by works, but by faith in the gospel, at the very moment of our conversion. Then the power of the Holy Spirit starts working in and through our lives to help perfect us, grow us, and change us, which Paul gets into next.
Again vs. 2, “Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” So now he’s asking how they’re being perfected, how they’re growing, how they’re changing to become more like Jesus? Is it happening by their own power, their own self-reliance, or by the power of the Holy Spirit? Paul’s saying their conversion started by the power of the Holy Spirit, and their growth must continue by the power of the Holy Spirit. Look eventually your self-reliant power will fail you when it comes to changing the deep rooted issues in your life, and just like a cell phone needs to be plugged into a charger to receive power. We need to be plugged into the Holy Spirit to receive the power to change our lives. We need to rely not on our own self-reliant power, but on the power of the Holy Spirit. We need the power of the Holy Spirit for our marriages, families, singleness, struggles with sin, and to help us grow closer to Jesus so we can become more like Jesus. Jesus can give us the power to change, what our self-reliance has proved powerless to change. It’s because he gives us the power of the Holy Spirit.
But let’s have some real talk here. Our growth doesn’t always happen as fast as we’d like it does is it? I mean growing in Christian maturity’s a lot like watching a child grow. You can watch them all day, but you won’t see them grow and can’t rush their growth. But one day you’ll see your time hop or an old photo and realize how much they’ve grown. Growing in Christian maturity is a lot like that. You won’t always see your growth in the moment and you can’t rush your growth. But one day you’ll be able to look back on your life and say, “Yup I grew. I didn’t see it in the moment, I didn’t see it when I was facing that situation, but I can see it now. I can see how much the Holy Spirit’s grown me over the years.” Our growth rarely happens as fast as we want, and one of the things you’ll often hear me say is we’re walking in a stumbling pursuit of holiness. Just like a toddler takes a few steps and stumbles, takes a few steps and stumbles, we’ll take a few steps and stumble. But by the power of the Holy Spirit we’ll keep getting up, keep moving forward, keep growing to be more like Jesus. By the power of the Holy Spirit we’ll stumble our way into eternity. Paul’s saying since the Galatians relationship with Jesus started by faith, it needs to continue to grow by faith, continue to grow by the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus can give us the power to change, what our self-reliance has proved powerless to change.
Vs. 4, “Did you suffer so many things in vain, if indeed it was in vain? 5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith, 6 just as Abraham ‘believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness?’” So Paul just went old school on them. He went Old Testament, 1st book of the bible, Genesis ch. 15, where God declares Abraham as righteous not because of Abraham’s works, but because of Abraham’s faith. Genesis 15:6 states, “And Abraham believed the Lord, and the Lord counted it to him as righteousness.” Abraham was saved by faith, and listen to this. He was saved by faith before the Jewish laws even existed...Abraham was saved by faith before the Jewish laws even existed...The Jewish laws, the Mosaic laws, the 10 Commandments weren’t even created until 430 yrs later. So you see what Paul just did? He just mic dropped them...He just mic dropped them because his point’s that Abraham was saved in the same way the Galatians were saved. Just like Abraham was saved by faith, they’re saved by faith. Just like Abraham didn’t need the law to save them, they don’t need the law to save them. Paul’s point is that God saved Abraham by faith, not by works of the law, because the law wasn’t even around during Abraham’s time.
Vs. 7, “Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘In you shall all the nations be blessed.’ 9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.” So the Judaizers are trying to make the Galatians more Jewish by following Jewish laws. But Paul’s saying even the Gentiles can be sons and daughters of Abraham, even the Gentiles can receive the blessing Abraham received by faith.
Vs. 10, “For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.’ 11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’ 12 But the law is not of faith, rather ‘The one who does them shall live by them.’ 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree’ 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.” Again Paul says we receive the promised Holy Spirit by faith. Okay so let me give us 3 reminders for our lives today.
#1 Remember the day you received the gospel = Remember the day you received the gospel...Paul asked the Galatians to remember that day, and so my question to you is can you remember that day? Can you remember the day you received the gospel, the day the gospel became real to you, the day you put your faith in Jesus that he gave himself up for your sins? For some of you it was a day as vivid as Paul says the Galatians conversion was. For some of you it was a gradual progression of days that eventually led to a significant moment where it all finally became real. But my concern for some of you, my heart ached over this the entire week. My concern’s that some of you can talk like a Christian, just like the Judaizers and a lot of Orlando church attenders can do, but the gospel’s never become real to you. You’re like “Yeah I’m a Christian...I’m not a Crister who only comes on Christmas and Easter. I’m a Christian...My parents raised me to go to church, I attended Sunday school, youth camp, even got some Awana badges”...or it’s “I like Jesus. I like the ethical teachings and principles of the bible. So I guess I’m a Christian”...Look if that’s you, if that’s where you’re at, I want to encourage you to keep coming to church, keep asking questions, because there’s people in this room who had that story too. But eventually there was a day they realized none of that made them a Christian, none of it saved them. I’ve been praying and pleading for you this week that today would be that day for you. So if the Holy Spirit’s stirring your heart and making the gospel real to you today...then repent of your sins, put your faith in Jesus by believing he gave himself up for your sins, and today will be your day to remember. Paul says to remember the day you received the gospel.
#2 Remember how you received the gospel = You need to remember HOW you received the gospel...The reason Paul tells the Galatians to remember the DAY they received the gospel, was so they can remember HOW they received the gospel. He asked them to remember how they received the gospel, how Jesus being crucified for their sins became so vividly clear to them. He asked, “Was it by your works of the law, or by faith?” Paul wants them and us to remember the day we received the gospel so we can remember HOW we received the gospel, which was not by works, but by faith. We received the gospel by the Holy Spirit opening our hearts to make the gospel real for our lives, then we responded with faith, which leads to #3.
#3 Remember to keep getting up = Remember to keep getting up...See the reason it’s important for us to remember the DAY we received the gospel and HOW we received the gospel, is because if you don’t you’ll slip back into trying to work your way into a relationship with Jesus and into heaven. You’ll even slip back into trying to change your life by your own self-reliance. But Paul says our faith started not by our own self-reliant works but by faith, so it needs to continue to grow by faith, continue to grow by the power of the Holy Spirit...Look I know there’s legitimate struggles in this room...There’s legitimate sin struggles, addictions, marital issues, personal issues, and on and on I could go...But there’s not a single sin or issue in this room that’s more powerful than the cross and resurrection of Jesus. There’s not a single sin or issue in this room that’s more powerful than the Holy Spirit. So by faith get up, and keep getting up!...By faith get up, and keep getting up!...Keep seeking the power of the Holy Spirit through reading your bible, prayer, Christian community, confessing your struggles to somebody in your small group so they can walk with you in your struggles, and if needed see a Christian counselor. The Holy Spirit works through all those things to help us get up and keep getting up...City Awakening let’s be a church that by faith gets up and keeps getting up. Let’s be a church that by faith gets up, keeps getting up, helps pick others up, and keeps moving forward together in our stumbling pursuits of holiness. Remember the day, remember how, remember to keep getting up.
The Big Idea:
Let’s have the worship team come up and get to the big idea. Here’s the big idea. Jesus can give us the freedom to change...Jesus can give us the POWER to change, what our own self-reliance has proved powerless to change...“Yeah but I think I can beat it. I think I can conquer this sin, this deep rooted issue on my own.” No you can’t. You have several years of history that proves you can’t. You’re stuck in your own self-reliance, but the good news of the gospel is you don’t have to remain stuck. By the power of the Holy Spirit you can get up, keep getting up, and in time the Holy Spirit will change your life. Proverbs 24:16 states, “The righteous falls seven times, and rises again...” Faith in the gospel isn’t about never falling, it’s about falling but rising again by faith, in the finished work of Jesus on the cross. It’s about falling but rising again by faith, in knowing the promises of Jesus are still standing, even though you’re still stumbling. So let’s rise again and worship Jesus. Let’s get up, keep getting up, and help to pick others up, as we stumble together into eternity, by faith in Jesus...and the power of the Holy Spirit.