What if the only thing stopping you from being free is yourself?
God is more interested about freeing you
in your spirit then he is freeing you
from your situation this is a core
teaching and a core tenant not only from
this pulpit but it is the essence of the
gospel is that God is more interested in
delivering us on the inside changing us
on the inside and rearranging our
internal condition than he is about
arranging our external affairs this
gospel is not popular to preach in an
age that is so consumed with changing
scenery we are more concerned with the
scenery than we are with our spirits and
Paul is teaching us a lesson we’d be
wise to listen to him he says I’m not
out yet but I’m free I’m still right
here
in this cell physically but spiritually
I’m free free from what free from pain
no no I’m hurting free from uncertainty
no I don’t know what they’re gonna do to
me free from have you ever asked God to
set you free from certain people
and he keeps trying and you keep texting
him back so work with the Lord that was
a whole series right there I’m free oh
you’re coming home no well I’m free I’m
free I’m I’m free watch this this is
what I’ve been praying lately
I stopped praying God set me free from
it whatever it is you know this
imagination that if that got better I
would be better because sometimes that
got better and I got worse so I stopped
praying God set me free from it because
sometimes God set me free from the
situation and I took myself into a new
situation and I took my same chains from
the last situation the last relationship
into the new relationship so lately I’ve
been praying and if you want to pray it
with me repeat after me God set me free
from me
if you don’t get that you haven’t lived
long enough because you will get tired
of yourself at some point and you will
get tired of making your own movies of
which you are the star and everyone else
is a prop and you will want something
bigger in your life then how I feel in
this moment you want something bigger in
your life than what I am earning you
will want something bigger in your life
then status and so Paul said I’m um I’m
free
not not the freedom that you can see but
I am I’m free from the invisible prison
so I’m free because I’m releasing some
things and Paul says I’m I’m releasing
myself from the prison of resentment I’m
releasing myself from the need to know
the reason why everything is the way it
is I’m releasing myself and it’s really
beautiful because he could have waited
around to be set free by somebody else
but he decided I’m gonna use the keys
that God has given me so I’ve got my own
keys called faith and trust and praise
and gratitude and so I don’t need you to
free me
I am setting people free from my need
for them to validate me I found freedom
when I realized that I have all of the
resources I need through the Spirit of
God and it is through the provision of
his spirit oh it’s just an intro but
it’s so good because Paul’s saying I’m
not out but I’m free nothing has changed
in my situation but I don’t need my
situation to change God has changed me
and whom the Sun sets free is free
indeed
I’ll stop screaming on this when you get
free it makes you wanna holler when you
get free it makes you wanna clap when
you get free it makes you want to shout
it makes you wanna throw off the chain
[Applause]
[Music]
shout I’m free look at the person next
to you and say free from what you think
of me
[Applause]
hands and worship I want people to think
I’m one of those weird Christians I
think it’s kind of weird that somebody
that didn’t die for you would dictate
the level of your faith and that you
would ever be ashamed of the gospel when
you claim to be free if he set you free
we don’t have long take 10 seconds
embrace them like you’re free that’s
good six five four three two one
Philippians chapter 1 Paul said I’m I’m
free I don’t know whether I’ll get out
of this prison but whether or not I get
out of this prison is not the hinge on
which my faith swings because I made a
decision to be free free of bitterness
free of blame real freedom freedom that
nobody can give you but Jesus and
freedom that nobody can take away it’s a
different kind of freedom it’s not just
the freedom to do whatever you want and
say whatever you want that pretend
freedom it’s a real freedom it’s a deep
freedom there’s a freedom that I hope to
experience more and more in my life and
I pray the same for you because Paul
said I want you to be free in it funny
that he’s he’s praying for them he’s in
prison and he’s the freest one of them
all
some of the least free people I ever met
in my life had the most stuff and Paul
is so free at this point he’s free from
the need to know what happens next he’s
free he’s free wouldn’t it be wouldn’t
it be good to be free like that and he
sets himself free instead of waiting for
someone else to and how he does it it’s
kind of a cool I guess it’s a
psychological and theological lesson all
at once he does it by remembering
because if he dwells too much on what
he’s going through right now it will
cause him to lose hope if he dwells too
much on what’s going to happen next
it’ll cause him to be unstable and he
can’t control that anyway
so listen blakeney he says give me my
camera he says I thank my God in every
remembrance of you this is Philippians
chapter 1 in every prayer with joy and I
thank him for your partnership in the
gospel from the first day until now so
he revisits in his mind a time maybe
thirty years earlier that he began this
work with these friends in Philippi and
now he’s writing them a letter about his
current situation but the way that he
deals with his anxiety how many of you
are dealing with anxiety in your life
and you don’t mind raised in your hands
so I can preach right to you he
remembers he remembers and he concludes
something when he revisits his memory of
God’s faithfulness because there there
there is a way of remembering the past
that will paralyze the potential of
today but there is a way of remembering
the past that can fuel your faith for
tomorrow Paul does the latter he says I
thank my god every time I remember you
and I remember your partnership I’m not
in this by myself
from the very first day until now and I
am confident of this that he who began
a good work in you who started it that’s
what they used to say in middle school
and when there was a fight and you get
dragged in the principal’s office and so
we used to have a saying I didn’t start
it but I finished it and so God does
both and when the devil starts picking
on you don’t forget who started it if
God started a good working you guess
what he’s gonna do he’s gonna finish it
now you won’t know all the details when
it starts but God is not like you and so
he knows the end from the beginning God
saw the last frame of the movie before
he started casting or directing so God
reveals he sinks to us in Reverse it’s
like Abraham I’m gonna bless the whole
earth through you okay can you tell me
how no go to the land I will show you
and the details will unfold as your
obedience does
and so Paul says I remember how this
started and I know who started it it was
God because I wasn’t even trying to get
to Philip I actually when I think about
how I came to you how we started it was
almost an accidental miracle I call it
that knowing that nothing is an accident
to God but I’m one day I’m gonna preach
when I ever get the courage to do it a
whole sermon called miracles by mistake
just like what feels like the worst
mistake of your life
and it was really God using human
weakness to display divine strength my
young people know what’s up I love it so
Paul he has like a faith flashback David
did the same thing there’s Goliath he’s
big lion was big
the bear was big the bigger they come
so if the lion went and the bear went
Goliath is about to go it’s called a
fake flashback and Paul says I I
remember I’m released in Reverse it’s
kind of weird in order to go forward
with faith I got to remember hey thanks
for watching make sure to click the
subscribe button on your screen so we
can notify you whenever we release new
content go ahead and subscribe now I’ll
see you next time