FBCPS
How to Experience Freedom | Galatians 5:13
What does true freedom mean to you? As we honor the blessings and freedoms we cherish as both a church and a nation, we invite you to join us in a heartfelt celebration of our military service members. We kick things off with a standing ovation for these brave individuals and the gifting of unique First Baptist Church challenge coins.
Discover the liberating concept of freedom in Christ as we delve into scripture, examining how truth sets us free, as highlighted in John 8:32 and John 8:36. We explore the profound nature of freedom in Jesus, which liberates us from sin and fills our lives with God's presence, righteousness, and hope. Our discussion emphasizes living righteously and the assurance of eternal security for believers, affirming that nothing can separate us from the love of God and our salvation in Christ. This chapter is packed with powerful insights and promises that can transform your understanding of spiritual freedom. Our episode concludes with an encouragement to embrace and celebrate the freedom Jesus offers, fostering a supportive community that worships wholeheartedly and lives out the gospel with love and joy.
Thanks for listening! Find us on Instagram or visit our Website.
What does true freedom mean to you? As we honor the blessings and freedoms we cherish as both a church and a nation, we invite you to join us in a heartfelt celebration of our military service members. We kick things off with a standing ovation for these brave individuals and the gifting of unique First Baptist Church challenge coins.
Discover the liberating concept of freedom in Christ as we delve into scripture, examining how truth sets us free, as highlighted in John 8:32 and John 8:36. We explore the profound nature of freedom in Jesus, which liberates us from sin and fills our lives with God's presence, righteousness, and hope. Our discussion emphasizes living righteously and the assurance of eternal security for believers, affirming that nothing can separate us from the love of God and our salvation in Christ. This chapter is packed with powerful insights and promises that can transform your understanding of spiritual freedom. Our episode concludes with an encouragement to embrace and celebrate the freedom Jesus offers, fostering a supportive community that worships wholeheartedly and lives out the gospel with love and joy.
Thanks for listening! Find us on Instagram or visit our Website.
and welcome to First Baptist Church, powder Springs. Aren't you glad you came to church this morning? Man, god is so good and he is doing so many good things. He has so many good plans for you, so many good plans for us as a church. I wanna say happy early Independence Day, happy early 4th of July, as we get to celebrate that this Sunday.
Speaker 1:What a powerful video just to honor our military and every sacrifice that has been made in our military. And we just want to honor and celebrate those who are here today that are representing our military. Maybe you are active military, maybe you are retired military. We just want to celebrate you, we want to honor you, we want to say thank you. If that's you, if you're active or retired military, would you mind just standing up right now, just so we can give you a round of applause? Would that be okay? Just right here, right now. Thank you so much, thank you, thank you. Thank you so much for your service, thank you for your protection, thank you for your sacrifice, thank you for all that you have done for our country, thank you for all that you have done for us personally that we can worship Jesus in freedom and all God's people said amen, amen. Well, that's what we are celebrating here today, as we are talking about, as we're celebrating God and country, we'll be talking about freedom this morning. Before we get there, I just want you to see this morning, is this not gonna advance? No, okay, here we go. Maybe y'all can advance it from where you are. We're gonna talk first of all, if you are military this morning active, retired military we have challenge coins this morning, as you can see, first Baptist Church challenge coins and they are specially issued. We've never made these before. It Church Challenge coins and they are specially issued. We've never made these before. It has our church logo on the front and it has all the branches of the military on the back. So, if you are active or retired military, make sure that you stop by our Next Step station on your way out after the service, and we would love to bless you with that.
Speaker 1:Also, our Leviticus series starts next week. So we've been going through the Bible together and we've already gone through Genesis. We've gone through Exodus. Let's see if this hits. No, nope, all right, next slide, please. There it is. And so Leviticus is next week, and so we're, as we're, journeying through the Bible, journeying through the Bible together. Typically, what happens when people read through the scriptures in their personal devotions? They'll get through Genesis, everything is good. They'll get through Exodus a little bit of challenge, but everything's still fine. Then the train falls off the track in Leviticus. Can I get an amen? Leviticus is typically where your personal devotions go to die and barely anybody makes that alive.
Speaker 1:Of Leviticus, well, there is so much to offer you and us as a church through the book of Leviticus. I've preached through it a few times, to be honest. I've preached through it as a series in churches before, but I've honestly never sat through one and heard someone else. But I believe that we're going to talk about the sacrifices, going to talk about the priest, going to talk about the laws, going to talk about the feast and what all it has to do with you today, in our church today, in our lives today. So that will start next week and that will be through the month of July. I'll just let y'all keep up with me, wherever you are. Who's ever behind the curtain operating this? I appreciate it, but this morning we're going to be talking about God and country, as we're going to be learning about freedom. This morning, when I point at the TV. That's a great time to maybe do that. Thank you, thank you, god and country, just that. That's. That's your side. There's your side. How to experience freedom. You can open up your Bible to Galatians, chapter five, verse 13. Galatians five, verse 13, which is one verse that we're going to talk about this morning and we're going to bring in some other scriptures from that verse, and we're going to talk about freedom that God offers us.
Speaker 1:I have a nephew. His name is Josh. He lives up in New Jersey. He's actually born in the Ukraine. My sister adopted him at the age of two. Josh is a miracle. He has one fully functioning hand. His other hand is not fully functioning and he was in an orphanage in Ukraine and my sister and brother-in-law came and adopted him at the age of two and he and his sister she was adopted as well, and then, later on, their brother was adopted and Josh obviously grew up in America, obviously became an American citizen, and now he's in his mid-20s and he is married. He has his master's degree, going to be working on his PhD, he's already written three books with one hand. What's your excuse and what's my excuse? And he just he does an incredible job. He has an online social media profile called Hidden History. They do a really good job with it and he wrote this, he said on a seasonably mild day in Philadelphia, our founding fathers agreed on what freedom actually meant.
Speaker 1:Their country began over 150 years earlier as a group of colonies founded on the principle that all people from all walks of life had the right to worship without fear of persecution. And these men, our founding fathers, desired that religious freedom continued. To them, it was self-evident that we were guaranteed the right to liberty freedom by our creator, but they also recognized that freedom is never free. In signing the Declaration of Independence, they were willing to die for their freedom. 56 men signed this document ready for the result of their resolve. The men and women who, some of them, lost property, others their freedom and some lost their families. The men and women who sacrificed their lives over 240 years ago laid the foundation of service that American men and women have given to us through the decades. John Adams noted that the general principles that guided our liberty were the general principles of Christianity. Benjamin Franklin reminded his fellow statesmen that God governs in the principles of Christianity. Benjamin Franklin reminded his fellow statesmen that God governs in the affairs of men, and Jefferson urged his countrymen to remember that the God who gave us life also gave us liberty.
Speaker 1:In that revolutionary age there was a popular statement going around where liberty dwells, there is my country. And praise God, our home is in heaven, our faith is in Christ and in him is true freedom. Can we put our hands together and thank God for the freedom in our country to worship him and the freedom in Jesus? And that's what we want to talk about this morning. We want to talk about freedom Because, let's be honest, that is something that we all get to enjoy in our country. We're so thankful for those that have served and have sacrificed before us, those who are serving and sacrificing today. We're so thankful for the continued freedoms that we have. But if I can be so honest this morning, as thankful as I am to be a citizen of the United States of America, I'm even more thankful to be a citizen of heaven. Can I get an amen, as I as just to be very honest this morning, as I have so much hope and joy and pride in our country? My hope and my joy and my faith ultimately is in Jesus Christ and in his gospel for salvation. Can I get an amen, and so I'm so thankful that we get to experience freedom in our country. But there is an even more important freedom. As thankful as we are for national freedom, there's even a more important freedom that we get to experience, and it's that freedom. And it's our spiritual freedom, it's our biblical freedom, it is our freedom in Jesus Christ, because there are Christians all around the world, citizens of other countries and nations, that do not have our national freedom, but they do have our biblical freedom. They do have our spiritual freedom, which is the most important freedom of all of life. You can be free as an American and not be free biblically or spiritually for your eternity, and that's the type of freedom that Jesus offers.
Speaker 1:So we're gonna look at one verse this morning Galatians, chapter 5, verse 13. It says this you, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free, but do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh. Rather serve one another humbly in love. Heavenly Father, I just pray that you would bless this morning. I pray that you would speak to every heart. God, I ask and I pray in Jesus' name, that you would just impart your word into our lives. I pray, god, if anyone in here is not saved, that they would be saved today. That if anyone has not been baptized since their salvation, that God, you would move them to make a decision for baptism today. For anyone that is struggling in their spiritual freedom. God, you would move them to make a decision for baptism today. For anyone that is struggling in their spiritual freedom. God, that you would reveal to them how free they are in Jesus. God, we love you and we pray these things in Jesus' name, and all God's people said so. The question is how can you experience real, true freedom? Number one we will see here is be free in Jesus. Be free in Jesus, be free in Jesus.
Speaker 1:Galatians, chapter five, verse 13, starts out like this you, my brothers and sisters were called to be free. Now, let me just stop for a second and just show you a couple of things. First of all, I think that you is important. Everybody say you. You that you is, it's not a singular you, it's actually a plural you, but most importantly, it's a personal you, and that means you. That means God's word is just as important for you as it is for anybody else, because you matter, no matter who you are or what you're going through. You matter just as much to God as anybody else on this planet, that God loves you just as much as anybody else who ever has lived, who is living now or whoever will live.
Speaker 1:The Bible says that God knitted and formed you in your mother's womb. The Bible says that Jesus died for you. The Bible says the Holy Spirit is calling you. The Bible says that heaven is for you. The Bible says that salvation is for you. Everybody say you because you matter. So we see you. It is personal, but also it's plural. Not only does God see you and love you as much as he sees and loves anybody else today, but also God sees us collectively as his church. He sees us corporately, he sees us collectively together as First Baptist Church, powder Springs. And so when God looks at us, he sees a church and he loves our church just as much as he loves any church in the world, just as much as he loved any church before us or any church after us. And God has good plans for our church. Can I get an amen? We see you Also. We see.
Speaker 1:He says my brothers and sisters he's talking about here, my brothers and sisters, that we are family. We are family, listen to me. We are family in Jesus, no matter brothers and sisters, your gender, if you are born male or if you are born female, no matter how old you are, no matter what ethnicity you are born male or if you are born female, no matter how old you are, no matter what ethnicity you are, no matter where you've come from or your background or what you're going through. We're all family here and we're all family. We are bought with the blood of Jesus and the Bible says that all ground at the cross is level ground is equal ground. We all find our equality in Jesus. Can I get an amen? And we are brothers and sisters. We are called to be family and we are called to love one another as Jesus has loved us. And then he tells us that we have been called to be free, called to be free Now. When I hear that word, when he talks about being called to be free, that word call for me.
Speaker 1:I don't know about for you, but I automatically personally go back to the calling of Saul in Acts, chapter nine. We're not going to turn there, but, if you can remember, saul was an evil man, he was a wicked man, but he was known as one of the most religious men on the planet. Saul was one of the Judaizers and Saul was one of the ones who were persecuting Christians, killing Christians, imprisoning Christians for believing in Jesus. Saul did not believe in Jesus. Saul believed in the law, not in the gospel. And then we know on a road as he was traveling to Damascus, the Bible says that a bright, blinding light, the light of the glory of Jesus himself, broke through the clouds, shone onto Saul, blinded him, fell on the ground and Jesus spoke to him personally and said Saul, saul, why are you persecuting me? And that was the day hear me of Saul's salvation that we know today, as the apostle Paul and Jesus called out his name. He called Saul to be saved and in the same way, if you're saved, jesus has called your name and if you're saved, you have called Jesus's name. He's called your name to be saved and you've called on his name as Lord so that you can be free and you can experience salvation in him. If you believe that, say amen. So we see that in scripture.
Speaker 1:We also see, let me just, we also see, in being free in Jesus, that there are several scripture passages that talk about our freedom John, chapter eight, verse 32, then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. What is it that sets you free in life? Not, ultimately, laws, but it's truths. Truths are the things that we believe that set us free John 8, 36. So, if the sun sets you free, you will be free. Indeed, who sets you free? If it's truths or the, what that has set you free, the who sets you free is Jesus himself. He gives us what real freedom actually is.
Speaker 1:In 2 Corinthians 3, verse 17 says where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. In other words, when you believe the gospel, then you're freed. When you give your life to Jesus, then you are freed, and then you are given the Holy Spirit, so that you were not just freed but you get to live as free. So maybe your question is what are you free from? Check this out you are free. It says freedom in Jesus. I want you to know this morning that you are freed from Satan. You are freed from the domain of darkness. You are freed from sin. You have freedom from temptation. You have freedom from guilt. Go to the next one for me. You have freedom from shame, freedom from the law, freedom from the curse, freedom from death and freedom from hell. You have freedom from shame, freedom from the law, freedom from the curse, freedom from death and freedom from hell. You have freedom from everything that is truly against you. You have freedom in Christ.
Speaker 1:Everybody say free, but go back to the previous screen for me, the previous slide. Let me just show you this Not only is it freedom from, but it's also freedom to. Not just freedom from Satan, but you have freedom to God. Now you can come into God's presence. Not just freedom from the domain of darkness, but you have freedom into the kingdom of light. Not just freedom from sin, but you have freedom to do righteousness. Not just freedom from temptation, but righteous desires in your heart to do good. Not just freedom from guilt, but freedom to joy. Go to the next one. Not just freedom from shame, but freedom to hope. Not freedom just freedom from the law, but freedom to the gospel. Not just freedom from the curse, but freedom to the spirit. Not just freedom from death, but freedom to life. And not just freedom from hell, but freedom to heaven. Everybody, put your hands together right now, because it is Jesus who makes us free.
Speaker 1:So my question for you this morning is how to experience freedom. See, the Bible says that there can be things that are true about us, that we do not live as though they are true. The Bible says that we can have a freedom in life, but yet we can still live in bondage. So my question for you is not how free are you? Because Jesus is the one that grants us with total, complete freedom spiritually. So my question for you is not how free are you. My question for you is in what kind of freedom are you living? Or how are you experiencing freedom in your life? Go to the next one. For me, here's what I want you to see. So you might be asking the question well, how can I experience more freedom in my life? And I want you to know. I am so glad you asked that question.
Speaker 1:Number two be free from sin. Everybody say sin. Be free from sin. Galatians 5.13. He said you, my brothers and sisters were called to be free, but check it out. He says he said you, my brothers and sisters were called to be free, but check it out. He says this, but do not. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh. He says you have been called to be free, but do not use the freedom to indulge the flesh. Why did he say that? Because God has. The Bible says, lavish. You ever thought about this? He has lavished his grace upon you when you were saved. You were just as much saved that moment. You are just as much saved now as you will ever be saved that when God saves you.
Speaker 1:The Bible says that you are free from the law, you are free from guilt, you are free from hell, never having to go back to any of those again. In other words, that there is no sin that you can commit in your life or no sinful lifestyle that you can live while you're saved and lose your salvation. The Bible says that you are crazy free. The Bible says that he has lavished grace upon grace. It would be like if God's grace is the ocean and your life is a cup, how much grace has he given you? He has dumped the entire ocean into your cup of life. He has given you a crazy freedom. He has given you a crazy grace. The Bible says that there is nothing you can do and nothing anyone can do to where you can lose your salvation.
Speaker 1:Let me show you the eternal security of the believer. Go to the next slide for me. John, chapter 10, verse 28 says I will give them eternal life. Jesus said I will give them eternal life and they will never perish and no one will snatch them out of my hand. Keep it there for me. Ephesians chapter 4, 30 says the Holy Spirit of God has sealed you for the day of redemption.
Speaker 1:Romans 8, chapter 38, chapter 8, verses 38 and 39,. Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord, which means you get to experience eternal security in Jesus. He said that no one can snatch them out of my hand when you're saved. It is like God dipped you in the blood of Jesus and then God took you and he gripped you, he grabbed you with his own hand and you are in the hand in the love of God. And then God took his Holy Spirit and he wrapped his Holy Spirit around his own hand.
Speaker 1:So if the devil ever wanted to come after you and take your salvation, the Bible, I've heard a pastor say that the devil would have to unwrap the very hand of God from the Holy Spirit. That then the devil, if he could do that, then he would have to pry open the hand of God from the Holy Spirit. That then the devil, if he could do that, then he would have to pry open the hand of God and then the devil would have to dive into the blood of Jesus in order to get you out. And if the devil ever dove in the blood of Jesus, he'd be a saved devil. Can I get an amen? So we are eternally secure.
Speaker 1:But I want you to notice that the Apostle Paul had to say this. He had to say but don't use your freedom as an opportunity to indulge the flesh. Because here's why, because so many people try, because so many people go into seasons of indulging the flesh I have, you have maybe you are even in our salvation that we go through these seasons of indulging the flesh. To indulge the flesh means to seek to satisfy the desires of your sinful flesh. In fact, there was a man of the Old Testament that tried it. It was Solomon. Solomon, in Ecclesiastes, chapter two, verse one, go and throw that out there for me, please, says I will test myself. He's the richest, most powerful man of his day. I will test myself with pleasure to find out what is good. But that also proved to be meaninglessness. Solomon had the wealth, solomon had the power to try whatever he wanted to.
Speaker 1:And here's what Solomon did. He went on a search for satisfaction. He went on a search to indulge, to please his flesh. Here's all the different things that he tried. He tried laughter. He tried comedy. He tried alcohol, which is today like our alcohol in drugs. He tried houses, or he built houses. He built mansions. He built neighborhoods. He built communities. He built cities with gardens and pools surrounding them. He tried servants, people waiting on him hand and foot. He tried herds and flocks, which is all the different kind of vehicles back then that you could imagine. He tried silver and gold. I picture back in the day watching DuckTales with Uncle Scrooge jumping in his money bin right and just swimming around his money and all that. That Solomon. He said well, maybe if I just have all the money in the world.
Speaker 1:The Bible says that he tried music. Solomon said I could have gotten anybody in the entire world to come and play personally for me at my palace. He tried sexual immorality in any way that he wanted. He tried a greatness and glory and he said all of these things that he sought to satisfy his flesh are meaningless. In other words, on one hand Paul is saying don't use your freedom to indulge your flesh in sin? Why? Because it won't work. A lifelong search for satisfaction in sin always comes up empty.
Speaker 1:Jesus said in John, chapter 15, if you obey my commands, then I will put my joy in you and your joy will be complete. The happiest that you will ever be are the seasons in your life that you are closest to Jesus, are the seasons in your life that you are most faithful to him. Why else should we not indulge the flesh? Well, the Bible says actually hear me. The Bible says that actually a Christian can't. Here's what I mean. It says in 1 John, chapter 3, verse 6,. It says no one who abides in him, in Christ, keeps on sinning. No one who keeps on sinning has ever seen him or known him. That does not mean that if you struggle in sin, you're not a believer. That does not mean that you can't get in the bondage of sin as a believer. It does not mean that you can't get in the addiction of sin as a believer. It does not mean that you can't go through long periods of time where you're struggling with sin. Here's what it means that you can't be in sin and not be convicted by the Holy Spirit, that the Holy Spirit is working on you.
Speaker 1:Acts, chapter 13, verse 39,. Through him, everyone who believes is set free from every sin. You can write this down Romans 6, 1, shall we continue in sin, so that grace may abound? God forbid. You can write this down 1 Corinthians, chapter 6, 12, all things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful, but I will not be dominated by anything. You can write this down 1 Peter, chapter 2, verse 16, that we are to live as people who are free, not using our freedom as a cover-up for evil.
Speaker 1:I remember meeting a Texas, meeting a neighbor, when I lived in Texas several years ago probably 20 years ago at this point, and I remember meeting him Maybe you've heard me tell this story before and he said I understand, you're studying to be a pastor. I said that's right. He said what type of pastor? I said, well, it's in a Southern Baptist church. But really I'm just a Christian, I just follow Jesus. And he's like, oh, thank God, you're a Southern Baptist. And I said well, why? He said, well, y'all believe in eternal security. Once saved, always saved. And I said well, tell me more, what do you mean? And he said well, I gave my life to Jesus at seven. I had never been to church before. I went to a vacation Bible school. I prayed the prayer he said. I never went to church again. I've never read the Bible, I've never prayed, I've never lived for Jesus. I've been to jail several times. I can't even count. I don't know how many wives I've had. I've been married several times, but so I've never really lived for Jesus. But I know that I said that prayer. He said so, I'm okay, right. And I looked at him and I said you're my neighbor, you know that I love you. And he said yeah. I said well, I just need are you talking about? I said you've never lived your life for the Lord. Living your life for the Lord doesn't save you. Living your life for the Lord shows you an evidence that you've been saved and you don't have any evidence of your life, of your salvation, that Jesus has changed your life.
Speaker 1:I had a young man one day that I was interviewing for baptism years ago, probably 15 years ago, and I said hey, we want to interview you for baptism. I understand you believe in Jesus. He said I believe in Jesus. I said great. I said well, do you want to get baptized? He said yeah, I said great. I said well, have you repented of your sins? That's all I said. Have you repented of your sins? And you can't make this stuff up. He said well, pastor Chip, I still like girls. I said that's actually really good, like I'm very proud of you, I'm very happy to hear that. And he said no, I really like girls. You know what I mean. And I said Kyle, are you telling me that you're sleeping around man? He said yeah. I said Kyle, are you willing to give up that lifestyle to follow Jesus? He said no. He said I want to give my life to Jesus, but I want to keep doing what I'm doing. I said Kyle, in order to follow Jesus. It's not a life of perfection, it's a life of direction and it's a willing to give up any sin.
Speaker 1:See, the Bible says that we are called to not indulge in our flesh, and it's so interesting because it says that the Holy Spirit, actually we can't indulge the flesh of our life, in our salvation without conviction. If you're someone that maybe you're tempted to go back to your old life before you were saved, I would encourage you to think about what do you remember feeling before you were saved? How empty you felt how lonely were saved, how empty you felt, how lonely you felt, how hopeless you felt, how much you felt like you needed a serious change in your life. And then remember what you felt like when you got saved, how much you loved God, how much you realized that God loves you, how much that you were able to say no to sin and to say yes to Jesus, and how excited you were to live your life for Jesus, because now the God of the universe was in your life. Maybe you're here this morning and you're in a season, right here, right now, of indulging your flesh. Maybe you're in a difficult part of your life. Look at me and hear me say this right now we do not judge you or condemn you. We love you. You are not alone. We have all been there in some way, shape or form. This is a place of grace.
Speaker 1:I love the statement that says it's okay to not be okay. It's just not okay to stay that way. If you are here and you've come this morning and you're just, I just need some help. What do I do? I'm indulging the flesh. I believe that I'm a believer, but I'm indulging my flesh. I'm in a season of sin. I would encourage you.
Speaker 1:Number one embrace the conviction of your sin by the Holy Spirit. Embrace it, fill every ounce of the Holy Spirit's conviction. Number two simply repent and confess your sin to Jesus from your salvation. Number three make no provision of your flesh. How is it? What are your trigger points? When is it that you fall into that sin? Then get rid of those types situations, those type of opportunities. Number four come clean to someone and have them pray for you personally and regularly. Number five memorize scripture, read books, blogs and articles that deal specifically with your sin, to give you the knowledge of God's truth over your sin. And then I would say, number six go get a counselor. I have a counselor in my life. I believe that every believer, every person, should have a counselor, someone that they can be honest with, someone that they can talk to, someone that they can get help from.
Speaker 1:So how to experience freedom? Number one be free in Jesus. Number two be free from sin. And number three be free to love. We'll finish it out and I'm done you, my brothers and sisters, you, we were called to be free, but don't use your freedom to indulge the flesh. Here we go, rather, serve one another humbly in love. Let me show you this To serve one another humbly in love. When we think about that, serve one another humbly in love that is exactly what Jesus did for you.
Speaker 1:See, the problem is that when we indulge in our flesh, we are living a selfish lifestyle. When we engage in sin, when we indulge in sin, when we live in sin, then we are making life about me, my feelings, my needs, what I want, and other people are suffering around me, but my life is about me because this is what I feel that I need for me. But the Bible says when you get saved, the Bible says your life is not about you, your life is about Jesus and your life is about others, because that's how Jesus lived his life for us. When Jesus came to this earth, he served us by saying no to every sin, saying yes to every commandment. Jesus served one another, every single person, and he did it humbly. He did it selflessly. Everything that Jesus did was not to please himself, but to please God and to serve us, and everything he did was in love. Everybody say love. Everything he did for you and everything he did for me, he did it in love. So we are called to love one another. That's the opportunity for freedom. What is true freedom? You can write this down True freedom is freedom from sin to live for him. Freedom is freedom from sin to live for him. We are freed so that we don't have to sin and we're freed so that we can live for Jesus. And how do we live for Jesus? The Bible says that all the commandments come down to two to love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, your soul, your mind and your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself. To love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, your soul, your mind and your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself. So you are free to love others rather than loving you. You are free to serve. You are free to live humbly.
Speaker 1:I remember going through the interviews to become the senior pastor here at First Baptist Church, powder Springs, and the search team just told me what a loving church this church is. And I thought to myself, to be honest with you the first time I heard it I was like, yeah, every church says that about themselves. I just went out to eat with Bo Smith just a couple of weeks ago he was the chair on the search team and Bo looked at me and Bo said Pastor Chip. He said I hope we didn't oversell or undersell the church in any way. And I looked at Bo and I said actually, bo, you did. He said how did we do that did? He said, how did we do that? I said you undersold the church man. I said this is absolutely the most loving, gracious, generous, serving, family-filled church I have ever been a part of in my life, michelle, and I have never experienced anything like this. We love you, we love our church, we love our community so much and I just want to encourage, I want to remind you that maybe you're here because it's God and country Sunday. Maybe you're here because it's God and country Sunday. Maybe you're here because we just had basketball camp. Can I just tell you we don't just wanna be a church in your community. We want to be your community, as your church. We would love to be your family, we would love to call you brother and sister.
Speaker 1:I don't think that people today are looking for a place to worship. I think they're looking for a family to belong to, to worship Jesus together, a place where you know that you can be loved and not be judged, a place where you can belong and not be casted aside. This is a place where you can be loved and where you can love others too. So we're here not for ourselves, we're here for one another. The last thing I'll say hear me. We are here for those another. The last thing I'll say hear me, we are here for those who are not yet here, because there are people out there who have not been freed by Christ and they still feel the captivity, they feel the bondage and they feel the hurt and the loneliness and the hopelessness and they don't know what Jesus has offered them.
Speaker 1:When I went to the Amazon jungle of Brazil, I met a young man. His name was Endor. He grew up in the jungle and he told us about all of the captivity and bondage, of addiction and sin in the jungle. He said he came out of the jungle when he was 20 to go to college. He met a young girl. She shared Jesus with him. He got saved, they got married and now he feels like that God is calling him back into the jungle, where it's illegal to share the gospel. He said, because I want my family and my friends, my people, to know that they can be free. You can experience freedom. Be free in Jesus, be free from sin, be free to love. Experience this freedom and share it with others so that they can experience it too. Let's all bow our heads and close our eyes, with every head bowed and every eye closed.
Speaker 1:This morning, I just wanna encourage you. Maybe you're here this morning and you just need to thank God. Maybe it's been a while. You just need to thank God for your freedom in Christ. Thank him that he has freed you, thank you that he has freed you to Jesus, from sin to love. Maybe you're here this morning and you wanna experience that freedom. I want you to know there's nothing you have to do to get the freedom that God is offering you in Jesus. All you have to do is ask. Jesus has done all the work. He's died for you. He's risen from the dead. All you have to do is pray and ask. I can't pray this prayer for you, I can't save you. To do is pray and ask. I can't pray this prayer for you, I can't save you. But you can pray a prayer like this right now, and he will save you and he will free you.
Speaker 1:You can say something like this from your own heart, your own words, to God. You can say God, I believe in you, I believe in your freedom, I believe in Jesus. I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sins and I'm asking Jesus to forgive me and I wanna turn from my sin and I wanna turn and give my life to him. Would you forgive me of all of my sin, everything I've ever done. And you can say God, and I believe that Jesus rose from the dead. He's alive and he's real and I want him. Jesus rose from the dead, he's alive and he's real and I want him really in my life and I trust in him. I call on him to be the Lord and the savior of my life, and the Bible says that if you call on him to be your Lord and you believe with your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. And God, we pray all of these things in Jesus' name and all God's people said amen. Would you put your hands together for anyone that gave their life to Jesus?
Speaker 1:This morning we just want to say welcome to the family, welcome to freedom. We're so thankful for what God has done in your life. I'm going to ask us all to stand and we're going to sing. I'm going to pray first before we sing. But here's what I want you to know is this morning, you have the freedom, this last part of our worship service together. You have the freedom to sing. You have the freedom to lift your voice to Jesus. You have the freedom to not worry about what other people think you sound like. You have the freedom to sing your heart out to the one who has freed you from everything. So I wanna encourage you to do that.
Speaker 1:Heavenly Father, we love you. We celebrate the freedom, father, that you have given us in Jesus, your son. God, we thank you that you freed us from sin. We thank you that you freed us from hell. We thank you that you have freed us from hopelessness and from darkness and from addiction and from bondage and from captivity. God, I thank you that you have freed us from the domain of darkness and you have freed us to the kingdom of light, to Jesus, to salvation, to your Holy Spirit and God, I just pray that we would be a church who would live free. We would be Christians who would live free. I pray that we would not indulge in the flesh, but we would humbly serve others and not ourselves, because we serve Jesus God, we love you and we pray these things in Jesus' name, and all God's people said amen. Let's sing to Jesus right now.
Speaker 2:Amen. Let's sing this in freedom church.
Speaker 3:I won't forget the wonder of how you brought this in freedom. Yeah, you're the God who fights for me, lord of every victory, hallelujah, hallelujah. You have torn apart the sea. You have led me through the deep, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah. The cloud by day is a sign that you are with me. The fire by night is a guiding light to my feet. You allow me, you free me, hail back the waters from my wings. Oh, yahweh, you're the God who fights for me, lord of every victory, hallelujah, hallelujah.
Speaker 2:And you have torn apart the sea. You have led me through the deep, hallelujah, hallelujah on the sea, you have led me through the deep, hallelujah, hallelujah. You're the God who fights for me, lord of every victory, hallelujah, hallelujah. You have torn apart the sea. You have led me through the deep. Hallelujah, oh, hallelujah. I want to read Romans 8, 1 through 4. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, for the law of the spirit of life has set you free, in Christ Jesus, from the law of sin and death, for God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do, by sending His Son in the likeness of sin and flesh and for sin. He condemns sin in the flesh in order that the righteous requirement of those who walk according to not according to the flesh, but according to the spirit. Let's sing this you stepped into my Egypt, you took me by the hand, you marched me out in freedom into the promised land. I will not forget you.
Speaker 3:I'll sing of all you've done. I will not forget you. I'll sing of all you've done. Death is swallowed up forever by the fury of your love. You're the God who fights for me, lord of every victory, hallelujah, hallelujah. You have torn apart the sea. You have led me through the deep. Hallelujah, hallelujah, let me through the deep. Hallelujah, hallelujah. You're the God, lord of every victory, hallelujah.
Speaker 2:He has torn apart, you have torn apart the sea.
Speaker 3:Let me through the deep hallelujah torn apart, you have torn apart the sea and hallelujah grab your mic.
Speaker 1:Thank you all right. Hey, real quick. I want you have a seat very quickly. Thank you so much. I just hey real quick. I want you to have a seat very quickly. Thank you so much. I just have one quick announcement that I want you to make sure that you are a part of that. You're in the know of what the Lord is doing in our church. Put your hands together for our traditional worship. Pastor search team chairman, mr Kirk Elliott, good morning everybody.
Speaker 4:Good morning. Good morning everybody. Good morning. I'm not going to take very much of your time, but I wanted to make sure that you were included in what's going on.
Speaker 4:The search team has finally come to a point where we feel like we have a gentleman to present to the church. He will lead us in worship on July 14th and then we're going to have a boat right after the 930 service. But we want you guys to participate if you desire to. We're going to have a meet and greet right where we are right now, on the 13th at 2 o'clock, so you'll have an opportunity to come and meet him and shake his hand and meet his wife and his kids. This fellow is highly qualified, but that's not why we chose him. We've chosen through the guidance of the Holy Spirit and because he has a pastor's heart. He's going to have the title of the choir and orchestra worship pastor, but he's a pastor and he has a pastor's heart. He's going to minister to the entire church.
Speaker 4:Now, he won't be in charge of this service that's Will's job but he is going to make himself available and serve in every way that he can, from the youngest to the oldest. That's his desire is to use his gifts. He has gifts in music, he has gifts in IT, he has gifts in AVL and he wants to be of use and service to the Lord right here in Powder Springs, lord, right here in Powder Springs. So you're invited to come on the 13th. You're invited to do as you will on the 14th. You may come to the 930 service and participate with us in worship and then be there for the vote, or you may just show up at about I'm going to say 1040, pastor, and shortly thereafter we'll have a vote and you can participate if you wish. I hope you're as excited about all this as I am, because this is going to be a boon for everybody that loves Jesus in this church. Thank you, amen. Thank you, sir.
Speaker 1:So just to reiterate, saturday July 13,. There'll be a meet and greet here at two o'clock Saturday. Sunday the 14th. The candidate will lead in the 9.30 service. You're welcome to come or just welcome to. Maybe you wanna watch him in Sunday school? Then come vote at the end. But we will still have an 11 o'clock service in here that Sunday of course as well. Like we do every single Sunday, have an 11 o'clock service in here that Sunday of course as well, like we do every single Sunday, have an 11 o'clock service in here. We're very excited.
Speaker 1:I want to thank our Winshape staff for being in here this morning. Thank y'all for being in here today and all this week. Thank you for ministering to our kids and our community. Thank you so much. If you're here from our basketball camp, we have a free gift for all of our basketball campers and our Connection Center, which is right across the hallway right here. If you're here, active retired military, we have a challenge coin for you at our Next Step station and if you are looking to be a part of one of our groups, we always have the group booklets that are out there. If you're a first-time guest, we've got a free gift just for you. We just wanna say thank you. Thank you for coming, thank you for being a part of First Baptist Church Powder Springs, and we hope you have your best Sunday ever. We'll see you soon. Thank you so much. Have a great day.