Welcome to our series called The Journey to Freedom and Courage. Before we move on, I want to stop and define that. What do we mean when we say Freedom and Courage? Have you ever spent time with a young child? Maybe around two or three years old? One of my favorite memories of having three little girls was taking them out to breakfast. We would give mom time to sleep in, jump into the van, eat breakfast, and then go to a park. The girls were so excited to go. Nothing else was on their mind. Everything was perfect of course until one of their sisters hit another sister. The way the girls charged into the day with Dad was pure freedom and courage. Why? Because at their young age, they hadn’t experienced the hurts or wounds from people yet. They were too young to experience life wearing them out. At that moment, they just had pure joy and passion.
When I say freedom and courage, that’s what I am talking about. Living life as an adult with the freedom and courage of a three-year-old hanging out with Dad. Freedom from hurts, wounds, and fear. Courage to live life with passion and clarity. This kind of trust in Jesus that says, ‘Jesus is with me, and I can relax’. The question we have to ask is, after all that has happened to us in life, how is that possible? After all the hurts and wounds, after experiencing life wearing us down, how is that possible? That’s what this series is about. We want to take you on the journey to find freedom and courage.
Sam gave us step one last week. It starts with aligning your life with Jesus. Remember the words of Jesus that Sam shared with us?
John 5:24 It’s urgent that you listen carefully to this: Anyone here who believes what I am saying right now and aligns himself with the Father, who has in fact put me in charge, has at this very moment the real, lasting life and is no longer condemned to be an outsider. This person has taken a giant step from the world of the dead to the world of the living. MSG
This is the starting point, step one, and it’s urgent. Align our lives with God. That means I fully surrender my life to Jesus. Why would I surrender my life to Jesus and make Jesus my Lord and Savior? Because when I do life without Jesus, I always end up a mess. I want to do good things, but I end up doing the things I don’t want to do. Negative emotions seem to own me, and I can’t shake them. I feel empty and lonely. My heart can turn cold, and I can become critical and judgmental of people. I don’t like who I become, and I finally realize, I need help. I don’t like who I am. I need someone to save me, rescue me. And the only person who can do that is Jesus.
When I align my life with God, Jesus is my Savior. That means Jesus rescued me from my sin and all the damage sin has done in my life. Jesus is my Lord. That means I now spend time with Jesus in a real relationship. I pray, read scripture, and worship because I need Jesus every day.
Jesus said,
John 6:35 I am the bread that gives life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. NCV
Jesus was saying, if you surrender your life to me and walk with me, I will take care of the things you don’t control. I will forgive you of your sins. I will place the Holy Spirit inside you. I will heal your soul. I will help you break through your negative emotions. I will walk with you so you will never be lonely again. I will soften your heart so you can empathize with others. I can do things in your heart that you can’t do.
Each of us is faced with a choice. We can do life on our own. Or we can fully surrender our lives to Jesus. To align our lives with Jesus means, I choose to give my life to Jesus. Then I can walk with freedom and courage. I can have trust in Jesus and know that Jesus is with me so I can begin to walk with freedom and courage.
Paul explains what happens when we are aligned with Jesus.
Romans 8:1-2 With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who enter into Christ’s being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death. MSG
Before we move on, I want you to process this with two sets of questions. The first set of questions. Have you fully surrendered your life to Jesus? If not, I want you to ask yourself, how is it going? What is the condition of my soul? In other words, am I filled with freedom and courage? Am I filled with love and joy? Am I happy with who I am? Do I feel like my life is miserable? Do I feel like my life is like a bad movie where I just keep looping in the same junk? Be honest with yourself and ask, ‘Doing life without Jesus, what is the true condition of my soul?’
Maybe you gave your life to Jesus years ago and that’s awesome. Here is your set of questions. Are you walking in a relationship with Jesus and is it transforming you? When you look back over the years of being a Christian, can you talk about how your relationship with Jesus has changed you? Are you noticing that after years of walking with Jesus, you are more aware of how much you need for Jesus? Are you noticing that you have more empathy for people? Do you look back over your life and realize that when you pushed Jesus away, He still pursued you and protected you? Are you noticing a growing passion to see that others experience the love and grace from Jesus that transformed you? If you gave your life to Jesus and you are not in a relationship with Jesus, I love you enough to tell you, scripture says you are in the most dangerous place you could be. Why? Because we are lukewarm. We aren’t hot or cold, we are lukewarm. That means we have become indifferent about Jesus and the mission of Jesus.
Revelations 3:15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm – neither hot nor cold – I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
This is what Sam was talking about last week. When we aren’t aligned with Jesus it will show up in how we follow Jesus. We can become indifferent. Instead of walking into a real relationship with Jesus that transforms us, we may view being with Jesus like it would be the very thing we don’t have time for. Our shoulders slump and we think, ‘Yeah, I need to do that.’ Being indifferent is such a spiritually toxic place to be. Why? Because the lukewarm person feels so good doing religious things while at the same time, they don’t see their lack of passion for Jesus as a big deal.
Remember the proof that we love God?
1 John 5:3 The proof that we love God comes when we keep his commandments and they are not at all troublesome. MSG
After you fully surrender your life to Jesus and feel aligned with Jesus, there is something we have to talk about. It’s the thing that most Christians struggle to have an answer for. And when it happens, people can walk away from Jesus or begin to doubt Jesus. Ready, here it is. Jesus said we will face trials and sorrows. Let me read it for you.
John 16:33
I have told you all this so that you will have peace of heart and mind. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows; but cheer up, for I have overcome the world. TLB – Jesus
So how can we have freedom and courage if we walk through rough times? How can we have the freedom and courage of a three-year-old hanging out with Dad as we walk through trails and sorrows?
There are two answers. The first answer we will talk about in detail on Wednesday night. If you can’t make it, let us know, we can send you the link. The first reason we can have freedom and courage while we walk through rough times is: that is one way Jesus spiritually transforms us.
Hebrews 12:7 God is educating you; that’s why you must never drop out. He’s treating you as dear children. This trouble you’re in isn’t punishment; it’s training, the normal experience of children. MSG
I want to take the rest of my time and share with you the second answer. When we give our lives to Jesus, we give our lives to Jesus to build His kingdom, not ours. I want you to think about what Jesus said.
John 6:38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40 For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.” NIV
Why did Jesus come to be with us? Jesus was doing what God asked Him to do. Jesus wasn’t here to do what He wanted to do, Jesus was here to do what God wanted Him to do. Jesus didn’t call His travel agent to hook Him up with a good deal on a vacation in the Middle East. This wasn’t what He wanted to do. What was required of Jesus? To bring God’s kingdom to earth and then pay the ultimate price for our sins. Jesus had to die on the cross while God poured our sins into Him. All of this meant that He would have to walk through pain and suffering. And in the last moment of Jesus’ life, Jesus prayed, ‘I don’t want to do this, is there any other way?’ Heaven was silent.
Do you remember when Jesus was tempted? The second temptation of Satan was to avoid all the pain, suffering, and death that Jesus would have to walk through.
Matthew 4:5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'” 7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'” NIV
This temptation would have been so enticing. Jesus could have become immediately popular with everyone in Israel and He would have avoided all pain and struggle. But Jesus said ‘no’ to comfort. Jesus chose to allow God’s plan to unfold. Remember, that meant pain, suffering, and death. Why would Jesus do that? Because Jesus wasn’t here to do what He wanted. Jesus was here to do what God asked Him to do.
This is hard for us sometimes to wrap our minds around because we live in a culture that is about extreme comfort, satisfying every craving, and the avoidance of anything real. We want to avoid pain at all costs and run to comfort. And we naively believe that if God is with us, we will get health, wealth, success, and comfort. But Jesus never promised those things to us.
What if God wanted to advance His kingdom through you? And what if that meant you would walk through pain and sorrow? Would that be an honor to you? Or would you push that opportunity away for comfort?
When we give our lives to Jesus, we give our lives to Jesus to build His kingdom, not ours. And that means Jesus may put you into a situation you don’t like so you can be a difference maker. Let’s ask the obvious question. Can I have freedom and courage while I walk through pain and struggle? Yes, if I fully surrender my life to Jesus. It’s the greatest honor to allow Jesus to build His kingdom through me. Can I have freedom and courage while I walk through pain and struggle? No, if I want to take my life back from Jesus and demand my way.
Jesus said this.
Matthew 5:13 Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage. MSG
Jesus might place you right where He needs you and you might not like it. You might have to deal with family drama and it’s your role to love with boundaries and it’s going to be a struggle. But that’s exactly where Jesus has you to be a difference maker. You might walk through cancer and not like it. But that’s exactly where Jesus has you to be a difference maker. Your kid might be cut from a team, or a teacher might not treat them fairly and you won’t like it. But that’s exactly where Jesus has you and your kid to be a difference maker. When you are married, you might discover your spouse is wounded and you now have a lifetime to love that wound out of them – and that can hurt. But that’s exactly where Jesus has you to be a difference maker.
Step 1 to finding freedom and courage is to align your life with Jesus. And when you align your life with Jesus, you must be prepared for when life hurts because someday it will. It’s the primary way Jesus transforms us, and it can be the very place Jesus needs us to be a difference maker.
You can have freedom and courage as you walk through what Jesus said, trials and sorrow. How? When you give your life to Jesus, you can trust that Jesus is with you.
To close, let’s quickly and talk about four things we don’t do when we have to walk through very dark times.
First, never assume that Jesus is punishing you. A lot of people were not raised to understand God’s grace. They were raised with fear and guilt. That means when you do something wrong, God is going to punish you. Because of that, they walk through life in fear of God. And they walk through life with the guilt of never doing enough. Please hear me. When you align your life with Jesus, the punishment that you deserve was given to Jesus the day Jesus died. You are now free from ever facing that punishment. That should remove all fear and guilt. When something bad happens in your life, that doesn’t mean Jesus is punishing you.
Second, never assume that Jesus isn’t with you. Truth is, Jesus can use those moments to transform you. Instead of believing Jesus isn’t with you, the very opposite is true. Like a loving parent, Jesus might be working in your life to transform you.
Third, never check out because that might be where Jesus wants you to be a difference-maker. Truth is, when we give our lives to Jesus, we give our lives to Jesus to build His kingdom. In those rough moments, Jesus may be trying to work through you. Jesus might be wanting to show everyone what it looks like to be a disciple of Jesus.
Lastly, never pull away from relationships or our spiritual family. Over twenty years of leading a church we have noticed how people respond to tough times. It is common to see people pull away from relationships. And pull away from their spiritual family. Please hear me when I say this. The very thing you need when you walk through hard times is the love and support from relationships. The very thing you need when you walk through hard times is the presence of God in worship and prayers from your spiritual family. When you pull away, you isolate yourself from the very thing you need.
Who does the enemy go after? The one who separates themselves from the pack. Why? They are the easiest to take out. When you isolate, you open yourself up to being attacked.
When bad things happen, what have you concluded about yourself? Maybe you are a failure and life is against you? Maybe embraced being a victim? Or maybe you are loved by Jesus and He is spiritually transforming you?
When bad things happen, what have you concluded about Jesus? Maybe Jesus isn’t with you? Maybe Jesus is punishing you? Or maybe Jesus deeply loves you and wants you to be a difference-maker in this difficult moment?
When bad things happen, how do you respond? Do you respond with every raw, unfiltered emotion, drama, and words? Do you ask, “Jesus, what is it that you want to show me?” Do you first pray and try to see what God might be doing? Do you then respond the way Jesus asked you to – with forgiveness, with love for your enemy, watching the words you use?
What is your first response when you walk through hard times? Pull away from relationships and your spiritual family? Or to engage your relationships and spiritual family?
Remember: When we give our lives to Jesus, we give our lives to Jesus to build His kingdom, not ours.