Freedom

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,

                because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor;

he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

                to proclaim liberty to the captives,

and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

                to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor….

                                --Isaiah 61:1-2

Let’s talk about freedom.

Freedom is, ultimately, what Jesus came to give us. He said so Himself, when He unrolled the scroll in the temple and read the verse above. He just stood up, read it, told them it was fulfilled in Him, and sat down again like it was no big deal (Luke 4:18).

But of course it was a big deal. This was the verse Jesus chose to use to reveal His identity. He could have used any verse he wanted—all the scriptures predicting the messiah were about Him. But He wanted to make it clear: I have come to set the captives free.

What does that mean?

Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses. (Acts 13:38-39)

Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. (1 Corinthians 15-17)

In a fallen world, people are captive to sin. Jesus came to free us from sin so that we could have a restored relationship with His Father. He fulfilled the law so that its accusing voice could be silent, and we could walk in relational freedom with our Creator.

I know, big concept. But let’s scale it down a bit and talk about the opposite of freedom—idolatry.

That’s right, I said it: idolatry. Idols. They’re not just little golden statues. They’re the comforts and pleasures your heart settles for in the place of God.

I know you don’t want to talk about them. Right now, you’re probably thinking about an idol you don’t want to face. ….Or you’re just confused about what idols are. So let me help you out: idols are anything that keeps you from concentrating on God—even things that appear to be good.

One of our pastors this Sunday gave me a spiritual kick in the face (although he was very nice about it). I am going to plagiarize the story he used (although I’m not sure you can plagiarize the Bible, because then God would have to sue you), because it was that good. He was speaking about the story in 1 Kings when Elijah challenges the worshippers of Baal to see whose god is stronger. Baal was the local neighborhood idol who (in this story) was in charge of fertility. Coincidentally, Baal also demanded child sacrifice.

Seems a little hypocritical, right? The pastor said, “Your idol will take from you the very thing it promises.”

“Baal” is a name that comes up throughout the Old Testament, and it can refer to any of the many made-up gods in ancient times. The Israelites repeatedly cheated on God with Baals, even though God sent prophets, did signs, and proved Himself to them time and again.

You may think, why would anyone do that, when they had all these signs and wonders to prove that their God was faithful to them? Why would they go off and worship something made up?

Well, why would I run to anything but God for comfort or security? Why would I want to think about anything but His goodness and majesty, when my life is a testimony to it already?

Maybe my idols are just as impressive as dinky little statues, but I can still see them. They’re easier to dedicate myself to than the all-powerful God of the universe. They’re easier because, when I worship them, it’s all about me; I don’t have to worry about them actually loving me back.

This brings us full circle to the subject of freedom. Before we are freed by the Messiah, Jesus, we are enslaved to sin. All sin boils down to idol worship at its core, because sin is a way to seek security, value, and pleasure outside of the One we were created to seek security, value, and pleasure from. Sin is placing your trust in anything that isn’t Jesus.

If you’re a believer, Jesus has set you free, and the ONLY way you can be enslaved is if you choose to be.

Listen to what Paul says:

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1)

This verse would not even be necessary if the early Christians weren’t willingly submitting themselves to other things that were not God. In their case, their idols looked good—righteousness and following the law. However, their good intentions devolved into judgment, exclusion, and strife—not to mention a gross misunderstanding of the complete work of the cross of Christ. Additionally, their relationships with God surely suffered, because they misunderstood their right standing with Him based on Jesus’ blood instead of works.

So…..even good things can be idolatry. One of the sneakiest ways the devil can get us is through idolatry in human relationships—especially Christian relationships.

It looks good, right? You are walking in fellowship with someone (a significant other, friend, mentor—any other believer), and he or she is helping you along in your spiritual walk, just as we are supposed to do in the body of Christ. But then that person slowly slips into the place where Jesus should be; after all, it’s easier, not to mention more tangible (usually) to receive appreciation, affirmation, and love from another person instead of God.  

This may have happened to me recently.

Relationship idolatry can be a crafty thing. You think, “It’s ok. It’s just a little pet idol. It’s not really going to hurt me.” Anyone who has ever looked at a cute kitten, reached down to stroke it, and had teeth sunk into his flesh can tell you it’s not just a pet. You’ll never shake it off without drastic measures. (I mean, I love kittens, but the metaphor fits.) And relationships aren't the only "good" idols. Performance, work, "fighting for a good cause"--all of these things can become idols when they begin to become your security and comfort.

You don’t just get to accept your pet problems if you belong to Jesus. You may think the things you struggle with aren’t that bad, and you’re willing to keep them around even though you have to fight them regularly. 

Saying, “Oh, that’s just something I’ll always struggle with” isn’t an excuse. Jesus is just as satisfied with that as He is when an alcoholic says, “Oh, I’ll always be tempted by alcohol”; or when a porn addict says, “Well, I’m going to fight this addiction my hardest, but I guess I’ll always be tempted by it.”

What part of “set the captives free” don’t you understand?

If you want to be free from those things that consume your thoughts, you can have freedom today, this very minute.

But you have to want it. That’s the tricky thing about freedom. Most people are perfectly happy to be enslaved to their idols. I have been, at least. 

Only when it gets to the point where slavery is more uncomfortable than sacrificing what we love are we willing to change. For example, I realized that my addiction to a relationship was actually interfering (for an embarrassingly long time) with my ability to talk to God. To me, this was devastating—I wanted to enjoy the communion with God that I have always enjoyed. So I had to take what I loved with my selfish, human love and throw it at His feet.

It's not easy, and it hurts. However, almost as soon as I (we—there are, after all, two people in a relationship) destroyed the idol, I experienced a kind of freedom that I have come to expect from a redemptive God.

Give God your idol, and He will give you a changed heart in return, so that you won’t even want the thing you wanted. In fact, He'll turn it around and redeem it, so that the very thing that was intended by the devil to take your relationship with God will drive you more and more toward Him.

THAT’S how Jesus sets the captives free.

I think the process of sanctification is simply just the process of becoming more and more free, one chain link or  padlock at a time. We tend to think of sanctification as God’s discipline, and it does lend itself to pain, but only because our deceitful hearts want something besides God. When He takes those things out of our hands, we are able to open our grasp and receive the love He wants to give us. We are able to receive Him.

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes for the Lord who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:18)

And where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

Fruit by the Fathom

Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.--Hebrews 13:15

I have prayed recently that I would see the fruit of my prayers manifested in small ways, that my heart might be encouraged. Several days this week, God has shown me a garden of people who have been nourished by His words over them through me, and I was delighted.  The fruit of our prayers is made manifest every day; we just seldom stop and look for it. 

I would like my life to be like a beautiful garden where other people can grow and be nourished by His word.

"With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade."—Mark 4:30-32

God has lately been teaching me about how His word grows fruit.

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.—Isaiah 55:10-11

What an awesome promise that is. This has always been one of my favorite verses because it emphasizes the creative power of God’s word.

After my hop to Isaiah 55 the other morning, I skipped over to Isaiah 58, which speaks of the result of believing His word and deciding to follow it:

…if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.—verses 10-11

I don’t know about you, but to me, “pouring yourself out” indicates that you will become empty. But this verse says you will be like a spring of water that never runs dry, a garden that never lacks rain. This is because the thing you’re pouring out isn’t everything you have to give; it’s something that comes directly from God. He gives the growth (1 Corinthians 3:7). His word in us accomplishes what He purposes.

Not only do we have access to His word in the scriptures, we can also hear directly from Him if we have the Holy Spirit living in us. If we abide in His word, as Jesus said (John 15:7), it can continually be creating beautiful things in us.

Confession: I struggle to listen to God and allow myself to be nourished by the word He has for me. I am a chronic multi-tasker with an overactive mind and body. This combo pretty much wrecks my ability to focus on any one particular thing without trying very hard; you can forget about sitting still. (If you’ve ever sat next to me, you know this…sorry.) But the other day, I was patiently listening to someone speak because I knew God wanted me to listen. This verse came to mind: “…for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen” (1 John 4:20). It stands to reason: if you can’t listen to your brother whom you have seen, how can you listen to God whom you have not seen?

Ouch.

Listening to other people is hard enough, because I can actually look into their eyes. I start trying to listen to God, and next thing you know, I’m distracted by my laundry or my breakfast dishes. Talk about settling for less than His best.

As I was praying about that this morning, I got an image of one of my more difficult students. I have a lot of super-relational children. They are hooked on the care and attention of others. So when I go and pick them up, they have to tell me everything about their day—and I listen, even though I have a thousand other things to do, and what they’re telling me is really small and inconsequential in the grand scheme of things.

I think God listens to us like that. I think I long for His attention so much that I begin to chatter on about things that are unimportant, and He just patiently waits for a chance to get a word in edgewise.

Just as I want to nourish and shape my children by my words, God seeks to tell us things that build us up and mold us for our good. See, unlike our words, which are basically meaningless, even destructive, apart from Him, God’s words are always good, and always fill us up, sprinkling our garden with water so that we may grow up to be beautiful.

Unfortunately, too often I react to God like my students react to me. I understand, vaguely, that He cares for me and that His words are good for me; however, my immediate desire is to take my shoes off, be distracted by His other children, complain about being hungry, slouch in my chair, and chatter on and on about Pop Tarts instead of listening to what He has to say. (True life elementary school situations.)

I have one particular student who is always driven to finish all the tasks we agree to do during our session; he always says, “Can we just skip this? Can we go ahead? I want to get finished!” Like him, I can see the vision, the end result, and I just want to move ahead. But, ironically, in order to move ahead and be able to accomplish the vision, I have to sit still and listen to His instruction. Like this student, I prefer to interrupt my own lesson (even though I am the one who wants to finish) to ask irrelevant questions and demand candy for no reason. (Yes, this really happens in real life.)

But I think God wanted to show me that image of my students not to emphasize how bad I am at listening, but how delighted He is with me when I do. The sheer pleasure I feel when these little ones turn their eyes to me, receive the instructions I give, and absorb information from my mouth is a feeling that is hard to beat. If you are a teacher, you know what I mean. God wants me to know that this is how He feels when I quiet myself long enough to receive what I know is good for me, to be nourished so that I can grow.

The original sin of Adam and Eve is that they did not listen to God—they listened to a liar. The liar told them that God was not trustworthy, and they ought to ingest the fruit of the tree of life. You see, we should not be grabbing this fruit and stuffing ourselves with it; we are meant to produce the fruit, in a metaphorical sense. And problems always occur when we stop listening to God’s voice and believing what He says, and start listening to a lying imposter, who has crept into the wondrous garden that God created with His words. Adam and Eve tried to do things backwards. (It’s a common problem for humanity.) We want to eat the fruit instead of receiving the water that makes it grow from our own branches so that others may share in it.

In Colossians 1:6, Paul speaks of the hope we have in the gospel. “Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth…”

The word bears fruit, guys. Let’s receive it, so that we can speak it, and so that it can go forth and create a garden of the whole world.