Introduction
The CSA budget's a bit low after freshers week, so instead of the usual high calibre speaker, you've got me.
Pray
Background
My name's Anne. Work full-time for CSA along with Geoff, Caroline and Duncan.
Prayed about what to talk about and God was telling me to talk about freedom.
Talk
People talk a lot about freedom and what it means to be free. Here in the western world we supposedly live in a 'free' society. At university in particular there is freedom of choice and freedom from external restraints. Freshers - choose what you want to do, who you want to be (Sports, hobbies, lifestyle - pub crawl, gay and lesbian, religious societies).
Braveheart (haven't watched - never had spare 8 hours!)
"They can take our ..... but they'll never take our freedom."
Bible has a lot to say about freedom and during the next few minutes I want to explore some of that:
John 8: 36
If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
Gal 5: 13
You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free.
It's clear that freedom is an important issue, but what is God promising to set us free from?
FREEDOM FROM:
(1) Penalty for sin: Punishment and death
Rom 8: 1
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Sin = rejection of God's authority in your lives.
Damages you, others and relationship with God.
Any sin we do, however seemingly inconsequential, cuts us off from God. We have a tendency to quantify sin and rate some sins as much worse than others. But it's more like failing to hit a target. There's no grey area. You either hit or miss. You may miss by 3 metres or 3 millimetres, but you've still missed.
Roll-a-penny arcades - so frustrating when you get it nearly in the winning band, but not quite.
In the same way, an otherwise good person who tells a few lies and a murderer have both missed the target of perfection and so need their relationship with God restored by Jesus.
I became a Christian when I was in my first year at university. I came to university with the expectation that I could finally be who I wanted and do anything I wanted without having to be answerable to anyone. I used my new found 'freedom' to do lots of things like drinking, smoking and having dodgy relationships. But I still felt empty inside. I had always thought that I was good enough to get to heaven - after all I'd never done anything that evil! It wasn't until I realised that the things I was doing were wrong and the way I was living my life showed a total disrespect towards God, that I was able to accept Jesus' sacrifice of himself on the cross.
Crux of gospel:
We all deserve to die for our sins, but Jesus has died that death for us, and risen again, so that we can have eternal life.
By accepting Jesus, we can have forgiveness for the things we've done wrong and have a right relationship with him. God has put your sins behind his back, not just in the corner of his eye:
Isaiah 38: 17
In your love you kept me from the pit of destruction; you have put all my sins behind your back.
(2) Power of sin / slavery to sin
Before I was a Christian, I tried to be a better person and one thing I tried to do was give up smoking. I couldn't give it up no matter how hard I tried - I was a complete slave to addiction. Only God has the power to transform our lives and do what we can't do for ourselves - nothing is impossible for God. By the power of the Holy Spirit, God can set us free from destructive behaviour, addiction, selfishness, pride, envy, insecurity, fear and all the other things that hold us captive.
Selfishness - Our society, and we as individuals are selfish. But that's not what we were created to be and selfishness leads to misunderstanding, lack of love, breakdown of relationships, families etc. Daytime TV (students always watch it!) "Where there's blame there's a claim".
Woman slipped on a rogue carrot in a supermarket and sued them for thousands of pounds.
Poster at entrance to union - payouts for injury:
Broken arm £10,000
Whiplash £8000
Stubbed big toe - a fiver!
Jesus can set us free from our selfishness. When we accept Christ, Jesus is now the centre - we live for him and not for ourselves. Born again. He gives us the power and ability to live our lives to please him and not ourselves.
Gal 5: 1
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.
(3) Presence of sin - we have the hope of an eternal life where there is no sin.
In heaven we will have a perfect relationship with God and will no longer need to struggle with a rebellious attitude or temptation to reject his authority in our lives. Hell is eternal separation from God, but once we've accepted Jesus, nothing can separate us from Christ.
Rom 8: 39
...nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
FREEDOM FOR:
(1) A life with God at the centre.
God's forgiveness doesn't just give us a licence to act exactly as we want - we are not to use our freedom to indulge the sinful nature.
Gal 5: 13
But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.
We saw earlier how God can set us free from the destructive behaviour of our old life without him.
Some people think Christianity is about following a list of rules and regulations and therefore that it stifles freedom. However, the opposite is true. Christianity is about having a relationship with Jesus Christ and being set free from our old way of life, so that we are truly able to fulfil our potential.
Psalm 119: 32
"I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free"
God wants us to have good stuff - wants us to have fun. Sometimes we think God's a killjoy - that he wants us all to sit round in woolly jumpers singing Kum-by-ah and swapping knitting patterns (Apologies to anyone who enjoys that!) God doesn't want to stop us having fun, he just doesn't want us to hurt ourselves and others because he loves us. (If your Mum sent you out to play chase on the central reservation of a motorway you'd start to doubt whether she cared about you).
(2) Being the person God created us to be
A relationship with God was his plan for us from the very beginning. You can't use a spoon to saw through a plank of wood - it's simply not what it was created for. Similarly, we're not created for a life of sin (=rebellion against God).
Diode example - In an electric circuit with a battery, a diode and a light bulb, the bulb will only light if the diode is connected the right way round. In the same way, we need to completely turn round from going our own way and face God's way (repent) and then his light will shine through us.
(3) Being challenged to grow to maturity.
Freedom brings challenges - can be frightening. When captives are released they often find it harder than being in prison because they have new choices and responsibilities. Being a Christian isn't easy - there are many challenges on the way - but having a relationship with Jesus is what life is all about.
"This is true freedom - to be in God. And I did not know this before. Until I was 27 I simply believed that God was, but I did not know him; but when my soul knew him by the Holy Spirit I was consumed with longing for him, and now day and night I seek him with a burning heart."
[Starez Silouan, Russian monk]
Challenge
Becoming a Christian was the best thing that has ever happened to me. One of my favourite hymns when I first became a Christian was 'And Can It Be'. 'my chains fell off, my heart was free; I rose, went forth and followed thee.'
Application:
Non-Christian
Christian, but know there are things in the way of your relationship with God. Peer pressure - have to behave in a certain way to be liked. Rejecting God's authority.
Challenge - don't ignore God tonight (It makes about as much sense to ignore God as it does to ignore gravity. You could say "I'm going to ignore the law of gravity" but that doesn't mean that the law of gravity is going to ignore you - you can't opt out.)
Speak to me or someone from CSA about this. We'll pray with you, explain stuff, arrange to meet up, give you stuff to read.
Pray to finish
