Freedom – Life In The Flesh

‘It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. ‘ Galatians 5:1

Pastor Jeremy Smith continued the sermon series Freedom today at Crosspoint Church in Niceville, Florida. Here are the posts from the previous messages in this sermon series:

In Paul’s letter to the Galatians, he goes into the heart of the matter. He spent time with this group of Christians, pouring his life into theirs.

He gave them the true Gospel that salvation is through Christ alone, but some false teachers came in behind him to “help” these young believers have a better understanding of what it means to be saved.

‘Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” ‘ Acts 4:12

‘Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ‘ John 14:6

These teachers started to impose the Jewish laws on the Gentile Christians, telling them that it was the only way to true salvation. These teachers told the Galatian believers that they needed to be circumcised, follow the dietary restrictions, and celebrate the Holy days of those in the Jewish religion.

Being young in their faith, the Galatians started to buy into these ideas, which prompted Paul to write this letter to the church.

Paul was a man on the move; he was a church planter. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Paul’s letters make up most of the New Testament. He brings a profound message to the Galatians in these letters.

The first thing that he goes after is the head. He steps them through where they came from when they first received the Lord’s grace and explains that God’s only thing that matters is God’s grace, a gift from God through Jesus Christ.

There is nothing that we can do to earn our salvation. But once we receive that wonderful gift from the Lord, we enter into a battle. There is a battle between good and evil, and we are in the middle of that battle.

Once we enter this battle, we must recognize the true enemy. For most of us, we tend to think that it is the people around us. And this is where the trouble begins.

‘For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ‘ Ephesians 6:12

Paul does call out the false teachers, but that is not where he spends most of his time with these letters. He spends most of his writing focusing on the heart of the believer.

It is effortless to focus on the people or the outside circumstances to change for us to get what it is we feel we should be entitled to, but Paul does not go there. His focus is on the heart.

When we first receive that saving grace, we are glowing. We feel something different in our hearts and minds. We want to get out and scream from the rooftops about what has happened to us. And as time goes on, life starts to happen, and that glow will begin to diminish. This happened to Moses after he came down from the mountain.

‘When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord . When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him. But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and he spoke to them. Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai. When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. But whenever he entered the Lord ’s presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the Lord .’ Exodus 34:29-35

Moses put on the veil to conceal his diminishing glow from those around him.

‘We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to prevent the Israelites from seeing the end of what was passing away. But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.’ 2 Corinthians 3:13-18

“But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.“

So why is it that we tend to go back to our old way of doing things?

Over and over in scripture, we are told to “stand firm.” “Standing firm is essential because the pull of our old thinking and way of doing things has a powerful pull on us.

With this in mind, we must recognize that our battlefield is the 5 – 6 inches between our ears. It is our thinking that ultimately determines the position of our hearts.

And the good news here is that we have complete control over what we are thinking.

What are we paying attention to?

What are we allowing to go into our minds?

And is this bringing us closer in relationship to Jesus, or is it moving us further away from Jesus?

You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.” I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty. Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves! Galatians 5:7-12 NIV

“You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you.“

In other words, who is it that you have chosen to listen to and influence you?

This world has a lot of voices.

We must allow the right voices into our minds.

We need to have discernment. The definition of discernment “is the ability to judge well.” The question to consider is, who am I listening to?

‘Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. ‘ 2 Timothy 2:15

Time with Jesus in the Word of God is a discipline that we should develop to grow spiritually. Without this, we leave ourselves open to false teachers. James says:

‘If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do. ‘ James 1:5-8

Paul will say in Ephesians:

‘Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. ‘ Ephesians 4:14

This is what was happening to the Galatians. As Paul was very open about what he thought about the false teachers: “As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!“

But Paul doesn’t recognize the Galatians as victims of these false teachers, but he puts the blame squarely where it belongs. And that is on a congregation of believers who moved away from the truth of the Word of God.

When we move away from the truth of the Word of God, it shouldn’t surprise us when things start to go sideways in our lives or our church.

But a church that encourages and actively teaches the truth of the Bible will impact its community.

But it shouldn’t stop at the doors of the building where the congregation of believers meets; that study should continue individually for any believer who wants to walk closer with Jesus and impact the Kingdom of God.

The only way to combat the works of the flesh is to study and apply the things of the Spirit. And that only happens by consistent study and application of the Word of God.

‘For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. ‘ 2 Corinthians 10:3-5

The more consistent we make this happen in our lives, the less influence the “flesh” will have over us.

The ways of the “flesh” are:

• sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery
• idolatry and witchcraft
• hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, and envy
• drunkenness, orgies, and the like

The “renewing” of our minds with the Word of God will move us away from the ways of the flesh and move us into living a life by the Spirit.

‘Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. ‘ Romans 12:1-2

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Word. I pray that you make the desire to be in Your Word and ever-increasing fire in my heart.

Thank You for the Pastors who faithfully preach Your Word week in and week out.

I pray that You continue to help me examine my heart against Your Word and that You allow me the strength, courage, and wisdom to change my thoughts and act in Your Will.

I pray that the mediation of my heart and the words of my mouth are pleasing to You.

In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray, Amen!! 🙏❤️