Freedom V, We Are Free

Amen. All right, let's pray together. Lord, when those moments come when we have the opportunity to take a stand, let it be said that we're willing to be a fool for Christ. If the situation calls for such grace, give it to us, Lord. I thank you that you are not reluctant to be despised for our sake. May we have that same strength of courage to do just what you call us to do in every moment of life. Thank you in Jesus' name. Amen. All right, I'm gonna invite you to take your outline out of your North Way notes and let's get the lights up so we can all read the scripture together and follow along with the text for tonight. You know, I was visiting my son Jonathan and his wife Stephanie last week, and I really, when I go away, I just so miss our worship and our expression, the vital expression. I don't know how often you all get to different churches, but I so appreciate our musicians and their dedication. They just bless us every week and don't take it for granted, folks. It's a gift that the Lord shares with us. You know, I was watching a video of a commencement address that was given by one of our North Way members just this past week, someone who God has really blessed, who stewarded his gifts very well and is quite successful. He said, as part of his message, that there are only three things that people are willing to die for. Someone says, give me your wallet, I'm gonna kill you. I'd give the wallet, right? Give me your iPod. It's over. Take the iPod, you know. Give me your car keys. I, well, we'll talk about that one. But anyhow, all right. For most everybody, the three things that he said people are willing to die for were freedom, peace, and love. And there, of course, there's layers of nuances under each one of those. I mean, when you think of love, that to me implies family and close relationships and perhaps, you know, another member of my community or whatever. When you talk about freedom, as we've been seeing, and I'm so glad he included that in his summary, we're talking about different levels of freedom. But there's great quotes that I could have pulled out through all of history where people say, look, I think there's one that says, give me liberty or give me death. Freedom is a huge thing in our lives. We've been focusing on how Paul exhorted the church at Galatia not to lose their freedom. Galatians 5.1 has been our theme verse for these weeks. It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm then and do not let yourselves be burdened again. Don't go back to the yoke of slavery. Freedom has many layers as well. But I just want to focus on one of those today because I want to be very careful to use this time to be as specific as I can about some things in our lives, where we live. You know, in the previous four weeks, we've covered a lot of territory theologically, and we've talked about some real important broad themes. And I could talk about, you know, the whole issue of, you know, the cosmic layers and issues that have to do with freedom. You know, you think about it. I'm watching what's going on in the Middle East right now, and I don't know about you, but I just keep wondering, I mean, why don't those people just stop killing themselves, you know? I mean, it's not just like Muslims killing Jews or Americans. I mean, this week, Muslims were killing Muslims, if I saw the story correctly. And it's not just them. I mean, there was a period in history where Americans killed Americans. I mean, so there's something in us, right? That's just not free, and it's just part of the DNA of who we are. I know I'm just sometimes weary of it, but I recognize that's the sinful nature, just expressing itself in us. Now, unfortunately, many of us sort of live our lives, whether we like to acknowledge it or not, as fatalists. In other words, when something good happens, we say, well, you know, hey, I'm having a good day. I'm on a roll. I'm in some good luck. I got to go on. If something bad happens, you know, we say something like, well, you know, hey, where'd that come from? I'm having bad luck. Loved ones, listen, if you're a believer in Jesus, if you're a follower of Christ, there is no such thing as luck. Okay, so get that down. Just, no offense, when people say to me, they say, good luck in, you know, whatever you're in. I write that off generally as like they're well-intended, but we serve a God who is sovereign over every detail of our lives. And we need to rest, and I appreciate Pastor Scott's prayer, in that truth, that there's not luck determining our destiny. If you're taking notes, the great gift of Jesus Christ on the cross, the shedding of his blood, was his giving us the freedom to choose our destiny. And that's what I want to focus in on tonight, is the freedom to choose our destiny, our freedom to choose what we're going to do with our lives, and how we're going to live our lives. And once we get beyond this whole thing of fatalism, and blaming others for what happened, and blaming my parents, and blaming my past, and blaming my pastor, and get on with choosing to live the way God calls us to live, because I'm free to do so, everything changes. I love our new mission statement, and we haven't talked enough about it. We will, more and more, as we go through this year. But if you haven't seen it, if you haven't gone to the website and read about our mission statement, it took us years to come down to these words, but I believe they're from the Lord. We're here to free people to follow Jesus. That's what we are here to do as a church. And that implies so much, that I can't even begin to cover it all tonight, but through demonstrating his love in our lives, and proclaiming the gospel, we want people to be free from whatever holds them from following Jesus, and learn to live his eternal life in the here and now. What do we do to gain this amazing gift of freedom? We just receive it, as we talk about week by week. It's just a gift that God gives us. And some of you are very free, living your lives day to day, walking in that freedom. And you know what? Some of you, loved ones, you're a Christian, but you're not very free. I was thinking, I don't know a lot about karate. Mike, do you know a lot about karate? No? I mean, what's the lowest belt you can get? Some of you in karate? What color is it? White. That makes sense, doesn't it? Because I know the highest belt you can get is black, right? There's other colors in between, I'm sure. Some of you are white belt Christians, in terms of freedom. You're just kind of like free, but you know what? Most of the time, you're just kind of following the promptings of your old nature, and just sort of living on the edge of, like, as long as I don't fall off the edge, you know. See, for me, the carpet's the edge here. And you, you know, hey, listen, I'm just speaking truth tonight. Now, you get away with as much as you can, but still have the belt on that you're a Christian. But you kind of indulge yourself at every chance you can. Some of you are just sold out, and man, you, you're as far to the side of following Christ as you can be. I mean, nothing is too much to give. You withhold nothing of your time, talent, treasure. I'm so proud to know so many of you, and that, you know, in that regard, it's just, it's just amazing to me how many of you give of yourself. I was today, this morning, over at Westinghouse High School, which I'd never been to before, over in the middle of Wilkinsburg, where a number, quite a number, of North Way Lamp Volunteers were for a conference, the first conference to sort of celebrate the, the finishing of this year. And the, the superintendent of the Pittsburgh Public Schools, Mark Roosevelt, specifically called out your fellow North Way members, 150 of them, who sacrificially have gone into the city, week by week, to love the city kids. And I just want to say amen. Thank you for that. Now, that doesn't necessarily mean every part of their lives is in order. I know that. But I'll tell you this, to do what they're doing requires a sacrificial spirit, one that says, I'm putting somebody else in front of, you want to think, you think it's easy and comfortable to buzz on in to the inner city, spend three or four hours with a kid, make a long drive. No, these people, they mean business. And by the way, let's be really careful here, because some of us are here, and that's great. And some of us, watch, were here, and we've drifted this way. This is why Paul said to the Galatians, who's bewitched you, Galatians 3.1? Who tricked you? You used to be believing, you used to be living free, free from the slavery of the yoke of trying to keep the law. And someone tricked you, and now you're trying to keep the law again, and trying to try to do it a different way, trying to sort of walk the line. Be very careful, loved ones, because you know what? The older you get in Christ, the more easy it is to slip into a deception that you think you know more than you do. Hello? Sorry about that. I'm really concerned at times, for some of you who've known the Lord a while, because you kind of think you know it all, or you have this certain expectation that God's got you on some inside track. And I just want you to know, we all need to push the reset button on humility, and say, Lord, compared to Jesus, I'm like, you know, I'm falling off this side, right? Just, I want to inch closer to Him. I always want to be moving closer to the Lord. And so, see, you've got to work at that. You've got to, you've got to, yeah, it's by grace, but it's according to your faith that's working in you. Because if it's not, if it's not happening, what happens? Let me ask the question about your lawn. How many of you have a lawn with dandelions? Let me see your hand. Let me tell you something about you. You're, you're a wonderful person, I'm sure, but dandelions are easy to kill. You just got to put the right stuff on them. Amen? Now, nigga, I mean, everything about the stuff we don't like just happens, right? Well, my, you know, my kids just like, my kids just don't listen to me. Well, you know, if you haven't paid attention to some things along the way, it just could be that, just, that's just their nature. That's what you're, how about your body? If you don't do anything with your body, and you just pig out and don't exercise, what's gonna happen to your body? It's gonna look bizarre, right, eventually. And it's just the kind, that's the nature, that's the old nature. We are designed to destruct. Just thought of that. It's a good term, aren't we? I mean, we just think, resist, just wave things, and that's what Jesus, see, Jesus came to redeem all of creation. That's why the Bible says in Romans 8, I think it's about verse 20, that all of creation, J.B. Phillips says, is on tiptoes waiting for the redemption of the Son of God, because Jesus didn't just redeem individuals, He redeemed all of creation, and He's putting us back on a track of restoring us to the way it was supposed to be. And that's what it is that I believe God wants us to see today, that we are free to choose. And let me just give you five things. I'll do this rather quickly, so it won't take long. But tune in, because I think for every one of us, there's an application. Let's look at our text. First thing it says is this, Do not be deceived or fooled. God cannot be mocked. Say that with me. God cannot be mocked. Never, never, never will God be mocked. In other words, God can't be made a fool of. You'll never get over on God. You'll never get by with sort of slipping one past God because you think you're pretty slick. I know students who partied up big in high school or college, and somehow, you know, nothing happens. They say, hey, look at that. I got through this. I'm doing just fine. And then along the way, boom, the bottom falls out, and something happened to them down the road. God just won't be mocked. So let's just be real upfront with God. He sees everything. He knows the thoughts and intentions of your heart, and He will not be mocked. What happens then? He says this. It's pretty clear here. This is just like straight at you. I know. A man reaps what he sows. If I had a pen, and if I were you, I'd just underline it in your Bible. A man reaps what he sows. Now, in the original language, this is in the declarative sense. A man reaps what he sows. He's just saying it. He's saying it with force. A man reaps what he sows. It's going to happen. No exceptions. It's a law of the new creation. A man reaps what he sows. Whatever you put in, you're going to get out. Well, you know, my spouse just isn't as attracted to me as he or she once was. Well, let me ask you, what are you sowing into your marriage? Well, you know, my kids just don't pay attention to me. Well, what are you sowing into the life of your kids? I never seem to have enough money no matter what I do. I can't ever catch up with my bills. Well, what are you sowing financially, according to God's Word, into the kingdom of God to do finances God's way and not just the way you think is best? I don't know how to, you know, take my next step in my career or next record. Let me ask you something. What are you doing to sow into hearing the voice of God in your life? Friends, this isn't magic stuff. There's very simple steps that we take, and if we do them, God says, I will definitely reward you. I will reward you in what you sow. Let me show you just the five things. First of all, we are free to choose what we will sow, even though we've been given the power to walk away from our sin nature. You remember in Ephesians 2, it says we were dead in our sins. See, what you don't realize, and I forget sometimes, maybe you've forgotten too, is that before you come to Christ, you don't have the power to say no to the temptations and evil desires. And, I mean, you may be a little, and I've had conversations with people about this. Some people say, well, I, you know, I've had conversations with some people today. I don't drink any alcohol at all yet, and I'm not a Christian. I don't think you have, and I say, well, I don't know what that has to do with it. It just means that maybe that's of value to you, and that's great. But you know what? Somewhere in their life, they've made choices to do things their way, and you know what the biggest thing is? They've just chosen to sort of be the captain of their life. You choose to do what you want to do, and that's because your sinful nature is the mean nature. Remember, I told you that sort of, it's what whispers in you, what's in this for me? What's best for me? It's what's best for me. Well, you know, if you start sowing into that sinful nature, you're going to just start reaping from it. So the opportunity comes along, and, and, you know, you sow a little irresponsibility, and you don't show up for something you said you'd do. Or you sow a negative word into your small group and just say, well, you know, this, this, and that little negative word starts a little fire, James says, and that little fire spreads, and there's a little negative fire going now in your small group, and every time the group meets, it just sort of fans the flames of that little negative fire. I want you to read what happens, loved ones. I've actually got a long list of different things you can sow. They're all these negative things, but look what happens. If you sow into that old sinful nature, look at it right in your text here, from that nature, you will reap what? What? I'm sorry, what? Destruction. Now, in the Greek, that word means to be destroyed. In other words, it's a very negative outcome. Why? Because you've been sowing into it, and if you happen to be a gossiper, and you're sowing gossip, you know what? You're going to reap destruction in your relationships. If you're irresponsible, you're going to reap the fruit of irresponsibility, and it's going to come back. This is very difficult, and unfortunately, some of us blindly go along thinking that, oh, yeah, I've just, just cut the corners here and there. No. God can't be mocked. He sees everything. Now, the positive side of this is, if you choose to sow responsibility into something, you're going to reap the fruit of responsibility, and people are going to look at, you know, look to you to be a leader and to take authority and to take leadership. If you sow positive words into your group and into your relationships and into your marriage and into your church, you're going to be seen as someone who's a builder and someone who's sought out, and people are going to look to you and say, please be part of this, because I love the fact that you bring this life and this joy and this certain positive faith into our relationship together. And you will plea, look what it says, you will please the Spirit, and from the Spirit you will reap, not destruction, but what's the opposite of destruction? Eternal life. And that word in the Greek is ainos, which means not just unending life, but quality of life. You'll reap life, Jesus called it abundant life, in the here and now. If you sow into the positive things of the kingdom of God, you're going to reap a positive harvest in the here and now. Your life will be enriched. You will be blessed by it. You know, this is Father's Day weekend, and I had a few people say, well, I'm not coming because I don't want to hear any sermons about fathers. My father was a tyrant. And I said, first of all, I'm sorry, but that's sad. You should never be turned away from your church because of something that you had nothing, no control over. I just want to say this to dads today. Dads, nothing you can do will guarantee that your kids will follow the Lord. Isn't that right? I know some great, great dads whose sons and or daughters are not walking with the Lord. And I don't know a thing that I would have done differently. I mean, they weren't perfect, but they followed the Lord. Let me just say this. There are things that you can do and sow that I can guarantee you that if you do them, your kids won't follow the Lord. They will rebel. And so it's wisdom for you to know what things just you just don't want to do so that your kids at least have the best opportunity possible to give their lives to God and to walk with Christ. And I'm not being callous here, please. I know that some of you have difficult times with your kids, but I want us just in truth tonight. Listen, if you know the truth, the truth will set you free. And the truth is there are some things, dads, that we need to be careful not to do, not to sow into our kids, not to be hypocritical in front of our kids. And I can go down on quite a list here so they can be free to make their own choice to follow Jesus. Just think for a moment. Let's just pause. Forget about the golf tournament for just a moment. Forget about the construction. Forget about how tired you might be or what you saw in the media last night or the person next to you who's bugging you. Just forget about it. Just for a second and think. What are you—generally speaking, what are you sowing? What's coming out of you right now? Not like this minute, but in your life right now. Are you sowing positively into different opportunities, into lives? Are you—is the general thing coming out of you positive or is it sowing back into the sinful nature? Is it about you? Is it selfish? Is it protecting and is it, you know, ambitious to the point of crushing somebody? Is it judgmental? All those things we talked about last two weeks ago. Loved ones, just think because you need to know that. Second thing is this. We are free to sow whenever we choose. Look at Galatians 6 and 9 says, let us not become weary in doing good for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Everyone knows that there are basically four seasons, right? Winter, spring, summer, fall. In the natural, we don't plant things in the wintertime. My wife loves to keep a little garden, and she got home today from a long trip, a long drive, and she walked by me. I think she gave me a little kiss, something like that. But after we unloaded the car, she went right to her plants and just started, you know, and I started hanging around the plants thinking, well, maybe, she'll come over and pour some water on me or something. But she loves to garden, okay? She loves that. It's just, you know, it's just, I don't know. She loves to see things grow. We have seasons in the natural, but you know what? In the Spirit, loved ones, you can sow at any time. Now, there are some times that are better than other times. I might want to sow something, you know, into Isaac's life, but it might not be the right time. Discernment tells me when the right time, but you can sow at any time. It's always a good time to sow into the kingdom, to sow positive words, to sow resource, to sow energy and life, and it's always a good time. You can choose whenever you want to do it, but let me just say two things about it. You can do whenever you want to, and then the second one is this. You will always reap, always reap more than you sow, okay? There's always a greater return than what you sow. I wanted to bring in an ear of corn, some vegetable. What happens if I take that ear of corn and just eat it? It's gone, right? What happens if I take one kernel of corn and put it in the ground in the springtime and fertilize it and water it and weed it and tend it? What happens? It goes down to the ground, and then it works its way up, and what? It comes out of the ground, and if everything goes right, what happens by the fall? I've got this enormous stock of corn, right, with how many ears on it? And this, I mean, that's the way God designed things. I have discovered in life that we reap both, watch now, both more in evil than we sow. Yes, that's right. Do you know how many people have told me that they lived a really good life except for one thing, but that one thing ruined most of what the good things that they accomplished in life? Oh yeah? The devil loves to give you back way more than you deserve. We reap more evil than we deserve, but we also reap more good. And if you get a hold of that, if that's something you allow to happen in your life, you see, we just have to know, here's the thing, there's always a delay on that return. That's the problem. Wouldn't it be great if you just gave that offering? Jim gave two offerings tonight. If Jim's double offering, and if tomorrow, Jim, not tomorrow, it'd be Sunday, but Monday, Jim went out to the mailbox, and one of his relatives said, man, Jim, I've missed you, and here's a hundred thousand dollars just to bless you. That'd be great, wouldn't it? Well, Mike would like it, I'm not sure, but okay. Here's the problem with that. I have found, we rarely sow into something and the next day reap it. Isn't that true? I mean, it's not true in the natural either. I mean, if I put that kernel of corn in the ground and pull it up the next day, I'm done, right? The problem is with many of us, we just, we think, well, I've sown into, you know, I've been giving to God here for months now, and I haven't seen anything change. So I'm not giving anymore. Interestingly today at that LAMP conference, the main speaker was really a powerful, energetic guy. He came all the way from California to speak to the group, and he said the first time he mentored a young man for three months, he was an eight-year-old boy. He went to the boy's house. He tried to find the boy, and the boy would not talk to him. The boy would not engage him. In fact, he went to the boy's house one time, and he could hear the boy messing around in his room, and the mom wouldn't even make him come out and meet this guy. And this was a, this guy was a college athlete. He played football at Stanford, or at Cal Berkeley, rather, if I got it right. I mean, he's a, and this other little eight-year-old kid just wouldn't give him the time. Three months he sowed into his life, and the kid just ignored him. I don't know about you, but I would have been tempted to say, hey, listen, there's a lot of other kids that need someone. Just forget you, dude. Three months into that process, as he told the story, one day he's sitting in his dorm room, and he gets a phone call from this eight-year-old kid saying, hey, would you take me to a movie? Three months of sowing, and the kid calls. He didn't say, hey, how are you? He just said, would you take me to a movie? Because it was clear to him that no one else would take him. And the little eight-year-old, and that was the beginning, now listen, of a 17-year relationship. And now that young eight-year-old boy, this year, graduated from law school because of the 17 years of mentoring that started with that perseverance of hanging in there, hanging in there, waiting for the time to come when the harvest would be ready. Loved ones, listen, we can sow whenever we choose. One of the saddest things that I see is some people who just wait. Do you know people like this? I've talked to people about the Lord, and they say, well, I'm just going to wait until, you know, I get near the end of my life, then I'll just kind of deal with that. How many of you know that we have no idea when our life's going to end? It's just like that. It can be over. And there's some amazing quotes, and I don't have time to go through a lot of them, but there was a man by the name of Charles Templeton who started as an evangelist with Billy Graham. And along the way, Templeton read a book, and unfortunately, I lost the name of the author here. If you come back tomorrow, you can hear the morning message. I doubt that many of you will do that, but you can go online. Here's what the author, Templeton read this book, and it sowed doubt into his mind, and he wasn't able to overcome it. But here's what the author of the book called The Age of Reason, and you know the author of that book, Mike? I don't. I know that. I wish I could remember, but here's what the author said on his deathbed. It's from a book, by the way. The title of the book is Famous Last Words of Saints and Sinners. Great little book, and here's what he said. I would give worlds if I had them that The Age of Reason had never been published. Oh, Lord, help me. Christ, help me. Oh, God, what have I done to suffer so much? But there is no God. But if there should be, what will have become of me hereafter? Stay with me, for God's sake. Send even a child to stay with me, for it is hell to be alone. If ever the devil had an agent, I have been that one. That's the author of the book that Templeton read that caused him to drift away from his faith. Let's skip down to the one by Charles IX. This was the King Charles of France who was persecuting the French Huguenots. That was my great-great-grandfather, the one that founded the hospital. His family fled the persecution. Here's what happened. Asleep or awake, I see the mangled... He was killing these believers. Asleep or awake, I see the mangled form of the Huguenots passing before me. They drip with blood. They point at their open wounds. Oh, that I had spared at least the little infants at the breast. What blood? I know not where I am. How will all this end? What shall I do? I am lost forever. I know it. Oh, I have done wrong. God, pardon me. And I could read several other quotes. People sowed into their selfish nature at the end of their life. They feared what was coming. On the flip side of it... And here's some just different people you may or may not know, so I won't quote their names here. The chariot is coming. I'm ready to step in. Another says, this eternity rolls up before me like a glory. Another says, how bright the room, how full of angels. Another, I wish I had the power of writing. I would describe how pleasant it is to die. Another, the sun is setting, but mine is rising. I go from this bed to a crowned farewell. And skip down to... This is John Bunyan, who wrote Pilgrim's Progress. Weep not for me, but for yourselves. I go to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will, through the mediation of His blessed Son, receive me, though a sinner. Or I hope we shall meet again to sing the new song and remain an everlastingly happy world without end. See, loved ones, in life and in eternity, you can choose what you will sow and when you will sow. You will reap a reward. Number three, quickly, we are free to sow a little or sow a lot. We can sow a little or a lot. We can hold back or we can really pour it on. You know, what I'm concerned about right now is that some of us are just sort of like afraid to sow. And so we just hold back. You know, what we've chosen to do here at North Way is we've chosen to sow into the next generation. And I want to be really clear about that. And I don't really care if it takes a little too much time tonight. I believe so strongly that we're called to do this, that I've recommitted my life in the next five to ten years of my life, as long as I feel that this next generation is responsive to what I can pour into their life. I'm committed to seeing the next generation rise up and take the church wherever God wants it to go. And I hope, I pray, that you're not in your 50s or 60s right now just looking for just the person that's going to meet your need. It is so twisted to think that way. If you're in your 50s or 60s right now, you should have a group of young men or women that you're pouring into. And the last thing you should be worried about is feed me, give me more meat, make me happier. That's the last thing you should be thinking about. You should be giving of yourself. And I just want to say, as long as there's a Dan and a Mike and a Kent, as long as there's people. Did you see this platform full of young people tonight? Loved ones, if you're in your 50s or 60s or 70s, you should be rejoicing because the church of Jesus here at North Way is coming on up. And you know what? They're going to come on up and just sort of push us along. That's what they're going to do because they're on fire. And it's our privilege to be part of that, to be included in that. I want to sow all I can into that, and I hope you do too. Or we can choose to withhold, and we can choose to just give a little bit and, you know, all right, and just be reluctant about it and hold back. And that never blesses anybody, least of all you. You know what I fear? I fear, and you can put this on me, I guess. I fear that some of you will get to the end of life, and you'll regret that you held back. Most of you heard the story about Oscar Schindler. It wasn't really uncovered until 1980 when his book was discovered. But if you saw the movie Schindler's List by Steven Spielberg, you remember this powerful moment at the end of the movie when Schindler realized, even though he had saved sacrificially the lives of 1,100 Jews by figuring out ways to get them to work in his munitions factory, there were still Jews that he didn't save and could have. Watch this little clip as we just get a picture of what will happen if we hold back when we could give more. I threw away so much money. You have no idea. If I just... Generations because of what you did. I didn't do enough. You did so much. This car. I'm good. What about this car? Why did I keep the car? Ten people, right? People. Ten more people. This is gold. Two more people. You could have given me two for it. At least one. You would have given me one. One more. One more person. One more person, you understand? For this. I could have got one more person. And I didn't. And I didn't. Face with life's ultimate realities. It makes us all wonder, doesn't it? What could we do? I mean, if we really, really set ourselves to do it, we can sew a little or we can sew a lot. We're free to walk away at any time. You can choose to say, you know what? I've had enough. I'm just giving it up. I want to go on my own. I want to do my own thing. Galatians 6, 9 says, let us not become weary in doing well. For in the proper time we will reap a harvest. Loved ones, do you know, because so many of you have chosen just to keep walking in faith, we're seeing such great things. The Oakland campus is going awesome. I mean, it's the middle of summer, and it's actually growing. And people are excited. I was just over there the other day having a conversation with somebody about the impact of just the presence of those people in Oakland. Our Kids Check-In is helping facilitate kids' ministry. It's going to be awesome as we improve more so in coming months. The Worship Cafe is about, that whole venue is about to g