You Have More Freedom than you Realize May 20, 2024

Review

Why do I bring up money, finances, prosperity, or wealth? What does it have to do with health or healing? Since so many sicknesses and health issues are stress related I think this is something we need to take a good look at. Financial stress or anxiety, happens when you worry about your income or fear something bad happening with your finances. This, is an emotional response to your financial situation. So what is your (God's) way of escape? Turn yourself into a farmer

Genesis 8:22“While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night Shall not cease.”

Seedtime and harvest is here to stay! Abraham was about to be schooled into God's plan for the earth and the expectation of how big it would be. A harvest multiplied is the expectation of planting seed and allowing growth. That is God's intended purpose, whether we are talking about plants or people or anything else. In the case of Abraham, we are talking about counting stars and dust and sand granules for comparison sake! We need to do this!

What is in a seed?

In a seed is crops or food you might think. Genesis 21:12 But God said to Abraham, “…for in Isaac your seed shall be called. So the calling of God is in your seed. Descendants are in your seed, including immediate family. The ability to multiply. The blessing of God is in your seed. The purpose of God is in your seed. Your future survival and prosperity. Those things God has promised in His Word are available to us as part of His will. His Word is seed. We can plant it in the soil of our hearts and receive a harvest through faith in God. Whatsoever things you need are available by promise and seedtime and harvest. 

How do we live and prosper in our day and age? Answer: Farming by the Word of God

You have More Freedom Than You Realize

Adam and Eve did not have as much freedom as they thought. What? Maybe we should examine the actual boundaries they had at the beginning so we might determine our boundaries and save ourselves some grief.

In the beginning, God created everything in a specific order, as He willed. You may have thought, "He gave much thought to making people, how great was the thought which went into the universe?" As He willed creation, so it was. First the heavens and the earth, then God said, "let there be light and it was. He separated it from the darkness. Next Genesis 1:6-7 6 Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” 7 Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. He gathered together the waters into one place and dry land appeared.

Now it was time to decorate the earth with stuff like grass, herbs, fruit trees, etc. and the seas with fish. Notice He did not create the fish first and they were laying around flopping on dry ground complaining they couldn't get a breath! Then birds started flying everywhere, multiplying, every creature multiplied. Answer to the question, How was Jesus able to multiply fish and bread?"

There was cattle, creeping things, beasts, (Adam had not yet named them).

Now the stage was set, God rolled out the crowning creation, man and woman. So look at the natural boundaries. God separated things in orderly fashion that man would have a stable place to live. Evidently there was no hurricanes. The beasts were not able to attack Adam, and the crawly things couldn't bite him, and cause pain. Did God prevent His creatures from harming Adam and Eve or did man prevent them? If God prevented creatures then He should have also prevented satan from attacking man also, follow me? Although, to that point, the creatures were operating in accord with His perfect will and intent.

There is this thing I call original dominion that man was given and so he named the creatures and told them what to do. Ahh, authority! Because the serpent was a creature it was probably obedient like the others until a hostile takeover occurred by an outlaw spirit being. It hi-jacked this slithering thing and used it's vocals to speak to man! Perhaps Adam didn't tell it what it could and couldn't do! Genesis 1:26   Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over  all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."

One might look at this account of creation and see that in Gods' world there was perfect order and balance.  He separated and divided parts of creation through Wisdom. What He created obeyed Him.

So what freedom did Adam have? He was charged with ruling over the fish, the birds, cattle, creeps etc. Assuming freedom outside of what God told him would be disastrous. He and Eve didn't have a handbook for living in the garden. There was no writing back then anyway. The only voice of reason was the Father's. They didn't realize the balance of the whole world rested on them doing what God said. Truth keeps the balance. Adam and Eve obeyed except when the snake talked! To them the snake was just another creature except it had a human voice! I would have been confused and thought, "did this thing swallow someone?" Their conclusion led them to the place of decision of believing something else other than God. Acting on what the serpent said proved they had changed belief in God to belief in satan. In effect they had changed allegiance to a different kingdom! How could this happen? Whoever has the authority makes the decisions. They did not have a Word from God to do this! Did they operate outside of the boundary  God gave them? Has anything changed since this time on planet earth?

One major event 

Did you notice that besides the natural boundaries there were spiritual boundaries?  Spiritual because they were dealing with the Father directly. And in the case of the serpent they talked to another spirit which had previously disobeyed God. Obedience 99% of the time is not enough to keep the enemy out of your garden! Why? We are living in a fallen world. People can be redeemed but there is still a devil to fight against. Maybe you're not convinced God is right for you 100% of the time? Some of us are not fully persuaded? Hey look at the day and age we live in. There are so many choices, so many voices, calling to us saying, "come this direction." If we are not wary we can be in the same place Adam was- inadvertently talking to a serpent trying to get us to have a little sympathy for the devil! Sometimes I think we have been sold a bill of goods by the enemy telling us to practice a "little religion and we'll be fine." Where did people come up with the idea that too much religion is harmful? Not pure religion! Lying stinking devil!

James 1:27 "Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world."

I think one thing we should do is become a discerner of  lying tongues. Let me first give you my definition of lying tongue. One that subverts the Gospel truth or attempts to twist the Words of God! Usually sounds like a con job, or a modern university education!

Example please!  The tornado was an act of God. It's my cross to bear! Let me play devils' advocate. Man proposes, God disposes. You know what that last saying meant?= Your fate is in the hands of God!

Dead, dry, religion is right next to being dead spiritually.

Hey listen, God knew there would be consequences to freedom of choice. But for the cross of Calvary. Every sin has been born by our merciful Savior in one major event!

Colossians 2:14 "having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross."

Colossians 1 :19-21  "For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, 20 and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.21 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled."

I'm going to tell you an important truth: If God has forgiven you and you don't hold anything against yourself, then you are totally free! If you've asked God to forgive you and you have forgiven all others and yourself then the crosses' victory belongs to you!

You are a free man or woman! Shake off that old unredeemed identity! Be free to clean up your speech, your cluttered mind and get a new purpose for your life.

You don't have to measure up to anyone! You are free to learn from Jesus and His Word. Enjoy your salvation! Jesus purchased it for you!

Before when we were in the dark of sin, we thought we were free-to do sinful harmful things, and our senseless minds were darkened so that we could not resist the temptation.  Now we have the mind of Christ and to the degree we listen and obey like Jesus did our thoughts will not plague us but aid us.

Freedom to Choose What You Believe

The belief that God controls everything that happens to us is one of the devil’s biggest inroads into our lives. If this belief is true, then our actions are irrelevant, and our efforts are meaningless. 'What will be will be.'

We run amuck from the gospel truth and stand ready to believe that God somehow caused all of our problems in life. 'Jesus take the wheel' was about some religious folks who wanted to excuse themselves from any responsibility before God. No faith to exercise, no destiny to fulfill, everything that happens, good or bad, came from God.

 I've been at the deathbed of my little brother when people started trying to make sense of his untimely death, saying God must have had a reason to take him early (at 17) with cancer. An unbeliever at the time, I looked at them and said, "God didn't do this to him!" Senseless! What is the devils purpose then? To help God out when the circumstance calls for punishment? No way! It was Jesus who healed people, the devil tried to stop Him! I know now that all the trouble I've gone through has been a result of living without God's guidance, the devil trying to kill me, or just living in a fallen earth.

What are You Free to do in Christ?

The smart part

Galatians 5:1 "Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage."

1 Corinthians 2:12 "Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God."

Psalm 54:6 "I will freely sacrifice to You; I will praise Your name, O Lord, for it is good."

John 8:31   "Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My Word, you are My disciples indeed." (Willing to learn from Him) (Choice)

John 8:32  "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

We are free to seek out and follow God's will for our lives.

Deuteronomy 30:19 We are free to choose our belief system, philosophy

Psalm 82:4 Deliver the poor and needy; Free them from the hand of the wicked.

Mark 4:1-20  Free to sow and reap

We will need to greatly depend on the Holy Spirit, God's grace and wisdom in any endeavor to do with what God says 'do.'

We have been given the authority (freedom) from God to run our own life. But we need His directions! We will need to lean on Him!

Romans 12:2 says, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."

Check it out, the world wants us to conform to its ways, but Paul says to be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Conform means you have no choice, transform means- Changed in form or external appearance; metamorphosed (changed in form or shape); transmuted; - (Changed into another substance or nature)  renewed-(Made new again; repaired; re-established; repeated; revived; renovated; regenerated - and indicates personal choice in the matter! Freedom!

If we use our power of choice wisely according to what God has in mind for us, life will be blessed. Sure one could put off the following God part, but that makes it harder to follow later. The world will try and get you into a putting off pattern so that you will never take up your cross, or find, follow or fulfill God's will. Life could seem good for a season. But the devil is not good! Devils are abusive by nature. To soberly realize where you are in this life's scheme and to judge what the end holds if we continued is wise. Do we persist in the same old same old or will we assess ourselves according to the Word of God and make the change? Life or death, blessing or curse, freedom in Christ or outside?

You have been given the freedom to choose, use it wisely!