1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:08,800 if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone and the new has come. 2 00:00:10,080 –> 00:00:14,640 And we’re seeing together that the heart of the Christian life is that you discover your 3 00:00:14,640 –> 00:00:23,040 new identity in Jesus Christ and then be who you are. We took our first step last week 4 00:00:23,040 –> 00:00:28,160 in looking at first Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 30 you might like to look that verse up it’s 5 00:00:28,160 –> 00:00:36,880 our foundation for this entire series. Christ Jesus has become wisdom for us from God, that is 6 00:00:36,880 –> 00:00:42,959 our righteousness holiness and redemption. And last week we focused on this great theme that 7 00:00:42,959 –> 00:00:49,520 Christ is your righteousness. In other words, in Jesus Christ you are clean even though you 8 00:00:49,520 –> 00:00:57,360 still sin, he is righteous you are in him and that means that his righteousness is yours. So 9 00:00:57,360 –> 00:01:01,599 here’s the first thing that you need to know about yourself, if you’re in Jesus Christ 10 00:01:02,560 –> 00:01:11,599 you are clean. So be who you are. Now today we’re going to take the second step in discovering our 11 00:01:11,599 –> 00:01:20,239 new identity and here it is in Christ you are free, in Christ you are free. Now notice again 12 00:01:20,239 –> 00:01:27,919 from 1 Corinthians 1 and verse 30 how this is stated, Christ Jesus has become for us wisdom 13 00:01:27,919 –> 00:01:36,879 from God, that is our righteousness, holiness and here’s our word for today, and redemption 14 00:01:36,879 –> 00:01:45,040 our redemption. Now redemption is a freedom word, redemption is about setting a person free 15 00:01:45,519 –> 00:01:53,919 by the payment of a price. In fact the word redeemed was often used of the purchase of slaves 16 00:01:53,919 –> 00:01:59,919 into freedom, more recently perhaps about a generation ago and perhaps still in some places 17 00:02:00,559 –> 00:02:06,320 the word redeemed was used in pawn shops. Now hands up everyone who knows what a pawn shop is, 18 00:02:06,320 –> 00:02:10,559 all the older people know what a pawn shop is, hands up everyone who’s been in a pawn shop. No 19 00:02:10,960 –> 00:02:17,679 we won’t do that. I’ve been in a pawn shop. I was in a pawn shop. I bought my first record player 20 00:02:17,679 –> 00:02:22,399 as shows how long ago it is, as a high school student in a pawn shop. Now let me tell you for 21 00:02:22,399 –> 00:02:28,160 those who don’t know how a pawn shop works. About a generation ago if you ran out of money 22 00:02:28,960 –> 00:02:32,960 a pawn shop was a way of getting hold of some money to tide you through for a time. 23 00:02:32,960 –> 00:02:38,559 You could take something of value like a golden ring and you put it in the pawn shop and the pawn 24 00:02:38,559 –> 00:02:43,679 broker would give you some money, or at least loan you some money, for a period of time and hold 25 00:02:43,679 –> 00:02:52,160 the ring. He would hold it for 30 days and during that time you had the right to redeem it. In other 26 00:02:52,160 –> 00:02:58,240 words to buy it back. But if you didn’t redeem the ring or whatever it was that you had pawned 27 00:02:58,240 –> 00:03:04,880 within a period of 30 days then the pawn broker would put it in the window of his shop and it 28 00:03:04,880 –> 00:03:10,000 was available to anyone else to buy, and that’s how, as a teenager I bought my first record player. 29 00:03:10,000 –> 00:03:14,559 I kept my eye on this thing for a long time, and then I suddenly saw the very model that I decided 30 00:03:14,559 –> 00:03:19,039 I wanted in the pawn broker’s window. It’s a Scottish kind of thing you know? You can get it 31 00:03:19,039 –> 00:03:27,199 for cheap, and that’s what I did. Now as long as the ring or the record player or whatever it is 32 00:03:27,199 –> 00:03:34,960 is in the shop, it is in the power and the possession of the pawn broker. Only when it is 33 00:03:34,960 –> 00:03:41,360 redeemed is it brought back to where it belongs. Now this is the word we’re focusing on today, 34 00:03:41,360 –> 00:03:49,919 and it is one of the most wonderful titles ever given to our Lord Jesus Christ that he is our 35 00:03:50,800 –> 00:04:00,000 redeemer, our redeemer. Christ is our righteousness and that means that he releases you from the guilt 36 00:04:00,000 –> 00:04:08,000 of sin, but Christ is our redeemer, and that means that he releases you from the grip of sin. 37 00:04:08,960 –> 00:04:14,720 Now we’re seeing in this series that the gospel touches some of the deepest issues of our lives. 38 00:04:14,720 –> 00:04:21,040 Last week when we were talking about the righteousness of Christ we saw how this 39 00:04:21,040 –> 00:04:30,279 touches some of the most painful issues of abuse. Today I want us to see as we look at 40 00:04:30,279 –> 00:04:38,059 Christ our redemption, how the gospel touches some of the most powerful issues of addiction. 41 00:04:38,059 –> 00:04:44,279 Today we’re going to focus on the struggle, the battle that we have with the power of 42 00:04:44,279 –> 00:04:51,920 temptation, the power of habit, the whole area of compulsive patterns of behavior with 43 00:04:51,920 –> 00:04:56,519 which we struggle. Now you can define addictions in different ways but here’s the definition 44 00:04:56,519 –> 00:05:03,799 that I’m using today. I’m defining as an addiction as a compulsive power that leads you to do 45 00:05:03,799 –> 00:05:09,239 something that you regret when you do it. Now something irrational about it, I do something 46 00:05:09,239 –> 00:05:17,040 and then I regret it, but then some compulsion within causes me to do it again. Now we all 47 00:05:17,040 –> 00:05:26,000 know what that is. The question is does the gospel address this issue? Is this an area 48 00:05:26,000 –> 00:05:34,339 in which Jesus Christ can help you? Or do you have to look somewhere else beyond Christ 49 00:05:34,339 –> 00:05:42,059 for help when it comes to the fundamental battles with some of the most powerful impulses 50 00:05:42,059 –> 00:05:48,980 that we find within us? And you see, that’s a huge question, isn’t it? If I am to be delivered 51 00:05:48,980 –> 00:05:57,279 from sin, I need more than forgiveness. I need more than a Savior who’ll cleanse me. 52 00:05:57,279 –> 00:06:05,820 I need a Redeemer who will break the power that leads me into sin in the first place. 53 00:06:05,820 –> 00:06:10,320 Now we’ve seen that Jesus Christ is our righteousness. Today we’re going to explore what the Bible 54 00:06:10,320 –> 00:06:16,140 means when it tells us that he is also our redemption. You see, Jesus not only paid the 55 00:06:16,140 –> 00:06:23,079 price to make sinners clean, he paid the price to set prisoners free. 56 00:06:23,140 –> 00:06:29,239 Now before we get into the Bible’s teaching on this today, I want us to look at some real 57 00:06:29,239 –> 00:06:35,279 life examples, so that we’ve got a clear idea of the sorts of issues and struggles 58 00:06:35,279 –> 00:06:40,239 that we’re talking about. So I want you to turn over just a few pages from 1 Corinthians 59 00:06:40,239 –> 00:06:46,859 1 to 1 Corinthians chapter 6. Remember that this first letter of Corinthians 60 00:06:46,859 –> 00:06:52,320 was written by the apostle Paul to a real community of Christian believers about 2000 61 00:06:52,320 –> 00:06:59,320 years ago in a town called Corinth. Now Paul knew these folks. He had been the founding 62 00:06:59,320 –> 00:07:05,299 church planter. He had been in Corinth for about a year. And so when he writes this letter, 63 00:07:05,299 –> 00:07:10,220 he’s not writing to some unknown group of people, he’s writing to a community of 64 00:07:10,220 –> 00:07:16,500 people, most of whom he would have known by name. And as he writes under the inspiration 65 00:07:16,519 –> 00:07:23,100 of the Holy Spirit, he’s able to think about the particular people in Corinth who he knows, 66 00:07:23,100 –> 00:07:30,100 many of whom he personally led to faith in Jesus Christ. And in chapter 6 he talks quite 67 00:07:31,140 –> 00:07:36,160 honestly about the remarkable transformation that has taken place in many of the members 68 00:07:36,160 –> 00:07:41,619 of the congregation in Corinth. And he says 1 Corinthians chapter 6 and verse 9, Don’t 69 00:07:41,739 –> 00:07:48,739 be deceived, neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor male prostitutes, 70 00:07:51,739 –> 00:07:58,739 nor homosexual offenders, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, 71 00:07:59,940 –> 00:08:06,940 nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God and that is what some of you wear. 72 00:08:07,160 –> 00:08:11,600 I was thinking around the congregation and he’s saying there are folks who have struggled 73 00:08:11,619 –> 00:08:18,619 with all of these compulsive patterns of behaviour, but you were washed. You were sanctified. 74 00:08:23,420 –> 00:08:28,079 You were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ by the Spirit of our God. 75 00:08:28,079 –> 00:08:34,020 Now notice the patterns of compulsive behaviour. We would probably call most of these things 76 00:08:34,020 –> 00:08:40,820 addictions today. The sexually immoral. There’s the whole world of sexual addiction right 77 00:08:41,479 –> 00:08:45,159 there. The thieves. If ever there was an ingrained 78 00:08:45,159 –> 00:08:52,159 way of patterned living, surely this is it. The greedy. Now we would call these folks 79 00:08:53,820 –> 00:08:58,599 the shopaholics, right? This is the person who can’t go into a shop and see something 80 00:08:58,599 –> 00:09:01,359 nice without getting out their credit card, you see. 81 00:09:01,359 –> 00:09:06,500 The impulse. So strong. Greedy. The drunkards. Here are folks who are the under the power 82 00:09:06,500 –> 00:09:12,500 of alcohol, not sober. Here are slanderers—people who can’t control 83 00:09:12,500 –> 00:09:17,520 the power of the tongue. You know, they just burst out. They can’t control what they 84 00:09:17,520 –> 00:09:21,099 say, and they speak so unkindly of other people. 85 00:09:21,099 –> 00:09:24,119 The swindlers. Here’s the guy who’s run a business, but he’s never cut a straight 86 00:09:24,119 –> 00:09:29,340 deal in his life. The way he does business, he cuts every corner there is, and he becomes 87 00:09:29,340 –> 00:09:35,440 known for what he is—a swindler. Now, Paul is writing this letter and he thinks 88 00:09:35,440 –> 00:09:41,799 about the past experience of these folks in the congregation at Corinth, and he’s 89 00:09:41,799 –> 00:09:45,520 thinking of their faces and their names and people he’s led to faith in Jesus Christ—old 90 00:09:45,520 –> 00:09:53,659 Mike. You know, he was a prostitute. Leslie. She was an idolater. John was a thief. Dan 91 00:09:53,659 –> 00:10:04,919 was an alcoholic. That’s who you were, he says, but not now. 92 00:10:05,440 –> 00:10:14,719 Here are folks who have been set free from deeply-ingrained patterns of compulsive behavior. 93 00:10:14,719 –> 00:10:21,219 Now that’s what we are talking about today. You see, the gospel is the power of God for 94 00:10:21,219 –> 00:10:26,140 the salvation of those who believe. That’s 1 Corinthians 1.18. That’s the significance 95 00:10:26,140 –> 00:10:33,400 of the word redemption. It’s a power word. The gospel is about more than forgiveness. 96 00:10:33,400 –> 00:10:40,359 The gospel is about the ability of Jesus Christ to release a person from deeply-ingrained 97 00:10:40,359 –> 00:10:47,179 patterns of compulsive behavior. If Jesus Christ can’t do that, who can? 98 00:10:47,179 –> 00:10:52,780 Now, in order to explore this together, I want us to turn to Romans in Chapter 6. And 99 00:10:52,780 –> 00:10:58,679 that’s where we are going to be for the substance of our time this morning. Romans and Chapter 100 00:10:58,859 –> 00:11:04,080 6. Now I want us to discover three things there that are really crucial to knowing who 101 00:11:04,080 –> 00:11:10,760 you are and then being yourself. The first is stated wonderfully clearly in verse 14, 102 00:11:10,760 –> 00:11:22,760 though it runs right throughout the chapter. Romans 6 in verse 14, sin is not your master. 103 00:11:22,760 –> 00:11:32,080 Verse 6, verse 14, sin shall not be your master. Now I think, just look at that. That is one 104 00:11:32,080 –> 00:11:39,760 of the most triumphant, marvelous statements in all of the New Testament. Sin, the apostle 105 00:11:39,760 –> 00:11:51,119 says to those who are in Christ shall not be your master. Sin is a power. And when it 106 00:11:51,419 –> 00:11:57,159 gains a grip in a person’s life it doesn’t want to let go. And Paul has been describing 107 00:11:57,159 –> 00:12:07,440 what this is like in chapter 5 and verse 21 he says sin reigned, it reigned, it was ruling, 108 00:12:07,440 –> 00:12:14,820 it was like a tyrant, it bossed you about, it was in the driving seat of your life. Sin 109 00:12:15,320 –> 00:12:22,820 calling the shots be your master. But now notice what he says in chapter 6 and 110 00:12:22,820 –> 00:12:32,859 verse 2 we died to sin, we died to sin, now see that in your Bible and notice 111 00:12:32,859 –> 00:12:38,419 what he says he doesn’t say you know we ought to die to sin, he doesn’t say we 112 00:12:38,419 –> 00:12:45,340 need to die to sin, he says we died to sin, he’s talking about something that 113 00:12:45,340 –> 00:12:54,659 has happened. It’s the same in verse 5, we have been united with Christ in His 114 00:12:54,659 –> 00:13:02,020 death, that’s verse 5, or verse 6 we know that our old self was crucified with him 115 00:13:02,020 –> 00:13:07,479 not should be crucified or needs to be crucified but we know that our old self 116 00:13:07,719 –> 00:13:14,359 was crucified. He’s talking about something that has happened and then he 117 00:13:14,359 –> 00:13:21,200 says in verse 14 sin shall not be your master. Now whatever it is precisely that 118 00:13:21,200 –> 00:13:23,719 Paul means, and we’ll get to that in just a moment. 119 00:13:23,719 –> 00:13:28,559 He is clearly talking about something that has already happened to the 120 00:13:28,559 –> 00:13:31,559 Christian believer, not something that needs to happen 121 00:13:31,559 –> 00:13:37,159 something that has already happened we died, our old self was crucified and it’s 122 00:13:37,239 –> 00:13:42,380 a result of this that sin shall no longer be your master. In other words 123 00:13:42,380 –> 00:13:48,419 when you are in Christ you stand not only in an entirely new relationship 124 00:13:48,419 –> 00:13:55,159 with God but also you stand in an entirely new relationship with sin. Sin 125 00:13:55,159 –> 00:14:02,840 used to be your master, it used to reign over you but now you have died to the 126 00:14:02,840 –> 00:14:10,599 reign of sin. Now we read what the Apostle says here and we relate it to 127 00:14:10,599 –> 00:14:13,960 our experience. We all know that we still struggle with sin. We struggle with 128 00:14:13,960 –> 00:14:18,700 temptation. We fail often. We fight the battle every day and so forth. Sin seems 129 00:14:18,700 –> 00:14:24,320 pretty much alive and sometimes very powerful so what does he mean, what is 130 00:14:24,320 –> 00:14:29,719 this thing that has happened that we died to sin? 131 00:14:29,760 –> 00:14:35,099 Well perhaps a picture will help us. I want you to imagine for a moment that 132 00:14:35,099 –> 00:14:40,219 you’re travelling down a road and on the one side of the road you see a high 133 00:14:40,219 –> 00:14:46,859 fence. On the other side of the road you see an open field. There are people 134 00:14:46,859 –> 00:14:52,219 behind the fence and there are people in the field. You’re curious, so you get out 135 00:14:52,219 –> 00:14:57,000 of your car and you take a closer look and you discover that the fence is 136 00:14:57,099 –> 00:15:03,580 actually part of a huge cage. There’s lots of room inside the cage but there’s no 137 00:15:03,580 –> 00:15:09,840 way that the people in the cage can actually get out. And as you stand and as 138 00:15:09,840 –> 00:15:14,760 you watch you notice that there’s a man in the cage. He’s obviously in charge and 139 00:15:14,760 –> 00:15:20,559 he seems to be angry. He’s shouting orders at various people. He’s telling 140 00:15:20,559 –> 00:15:25,440 them what to do. Sometimes the folks in the cage seem to protest but you notice 141 00:15:25,559 –> 00:15:31,840 as you watch that eventually that they always do what he tells them. Now that’s a 142 00:15:31,840 –> 00:15:40,000 picture of what the Apostle is describing here. Sin reigned. Sin ruled. 143 00:15:40,000 –> 00:15:44,859 You were in a position where sin told you what to do. 144 00:15:44,859 –> 00:15:49,119 Now the Bible speaks about this in many ways. It says in Colossians for example 145 00:15:49,919 –> 00:15:56,460 you belonged to the kingdom of darkness. You lived in the realm where darkness 146 00:15:56,460 –> 00:16:05,520 reigned. You were in an environment that was under its control. It’s stated most 147 00:16:05,520 –> 00:16:11,119 clearly in Galatians chapter 3 and verse 22 where Paul says 148 00:16:11,119 –> 00:16:23,140 world is a prisoner of sin. Think of that. The whole world is a prisoner of sin. The 149 00:16:23,140 –> 00:16:32,679 whole world, Paul is saying, is in the cage. It’s in the cage. It’s a prisoner 150 00:16:33,239 –> 00:16:41,940 of sin. Now, Paul says, we died to sin. Now, what 151 00:16:41,940 –> 00:16:50,179 happens when you die? Well, when you die, you move from one realm to another. When 152 00:16:50,179 –> 00:16:54,599 you die, physically you will be translated from this world into the 153 00:16:54,599 –> 00:16:57,880 immediate presence of the Lord Jesus. You will immediately move from one realm to 154 00:16:57,880 –> 00:17:03,940 another. That is what death is. Death involves a translation from one realm to 155 00:17:03,940 –> 00:17:06,900 another. You will have nothing more to do with this world but you will find 156 00:17:06,900 –> 00:17:12,719 yourself in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, you see, the Apostle 157 00:17:12,719 –> 00:17:18,880 Paul uses that as a way of describing what has already happened to you in 158 00:17:18,880 –> 00:17:25,300 Jesus Christ. When you came to faith in Christ, you came to be in Christ, you 159 00:17:25,660 –> 00:17:37,040 died to sin. You were in the cage, but the person in the cage died. Now you are 160 00:17:37,040 –> 00:17:42,199 alive to Christ. You’ve popped up in a new life not in the cage but out there 161 00:17:42,199 –> 00:17:48,979 in the field. When you came to faith in Christ, you were translated from the one 162 00:17:48,979 –> 00:17:55,020 realm into the other. You died to sin. You are alive with Jesus Christ. You are no 163 00:17:55,020 –> 00:18:00,579 longer in the same position. You are not in the cage. You are in the field. Sin is 164 00:18:00,579 –> 00:18:08,660 still your enemy, but it is not your master. The angry man may still shout 165 00:18:08,660 –> 00:18:16,199 instructions across the road, but when He does, you do not need to feel that you 166 00:18:16,199 –> 00:18:22,900 must do what He says. You are no longer under His power. He is no longer your 167 00:18:23,619 –> 00:18:29,619 master. He’s still your enemy but you’re in an entirely different position in 168 00:18:29,619 –> 00:18:38,020 regard to Him. Now I think this is one of the most difficult teachings in all of 169 00:18:38,020 –> 00:18:44,699 the Bible to grasp hold of, but as is often the case with that which is most 170 00:18:44,699 –> 00:18:51,319 complex, the children can grasp it very, very quickly. You just draw the cage. Then 171 00:18:51,319 –> 00:18:55,520 you draw the field. And you draw a coffin in the cage. R.I.P on the top you 172 00:18:55,520 –> 00:19:00,199 see, the guy in the cage died and the guy that you are is the guy in the field. 173 00:19:00,199 –> 00:19:06,160 That’s what the apostle Paul is saying in its very simplest terms. Now he’s not 174 00:19:06,160 –> 00:19:12,579 saying you no longer struggle, he’s not saying that you no longer fail. The 175 00:19:12,579 –> 00:19:15,599 battle and the struggle with sin continues but what he’s 176 00:19:15,680 –> 00:19:24,280 saying is you fight from an entirely new position. There is all the difference in 177 00:19:24,280 –> 00:19:30,040 the world between sin being your enemy and sin being your master. There’s all 178 00:19:30,040 –> 00:19:34,160 the difference in the world between the soldier who’s a hostage and who is held 179 00:19:34,160 –> 00:19:38,219 up behind closed doors and he’s bound and he’s gagged. There’s all the 180 00:19:38,219 –> 00:19:41,479 difference in the world between the soldier who’s a hostage and the soldier 181 00:19:41,479 –> 00:19:45,400 who’s in the open field of battle, who’s engaged with the enemy. In the one 182 00:19:45,599 –> 00:19:53,119 position he is unable to act. In the other position he is released and 183 00:19:53,119 –> 00:19:58,000 equipped to fight. We’re not saying that the struggle is over, we’re saying that 184 00:19:58,000 –> 00:20:03,239 you fight from an entirely new position. You’re not only in a new position in 185 00:20:03,239 –> 00:20:08,040 relation to God but you are in a new position in relation to sin. Sin is not 186 00:20:08,040 –> 00:20:14,479 your master. It is your enemy but it is not your master, and that is the first 187 00:20:14,479 –> 00:20:18,160 thing that you need to know about yourself if you are to enter into and 188 00:20:18,160 –> 00:20:26,079 live the freedom that is yours in Jesus Christ. This is crucial to discovering 189 00:20:26,079 –> 00:20:29,479 who you are. You’re either in the cage or you’re in the field. You cannot be in 190 00:20:29,479 –> 00:20:34,119 both places at the same time. It is either one or the other. We’re all born 191 00:20:34,119 –> 00:20:38,280 in the cage, the whole world is the prisoner of sin. You may live a very 192 00:20:38,280 –> 00:20:41,959 decent life in the cage but at the end of the day you’re still in the cage and 193 00:20:42,280 –> 00:20:47,260 in the cage, sin is your master. But if you’re in Christ, you’re not in the cage 194 00:20:47,260 –> 00:20:52,319 in the miracle of his grace you’ve been brought into the field you are in an 195 00:20:52,319 –> 00:20:56,380 entirely new position. Therefore sin though it’s still your 196 00:20:56,380 –> 00:21:06,219 enemy, is not your master. There is all the difference in the world. Now here’s 197 00:21:06,280 –> 00:21:12,880 the second thing I want us to grasp. Not only is sin not your master, but 198 00:21:12,880 –> 00:21:18,239 secondly, I want us to see that it is Christ who has set you free. 199 00:21:18,239 –> 00:21:29,359 Our core verse from 1 Corinthians 1 30. Christ is our redemption, Christ is our 200 00:21:29,400 –> 00:21:38,760 Redemption. You died to sin, Romans six, in Christ. You have been crucified with 201 00:21:38,760 –> 00:21:48,020 Christ. The new position rests entirely on Christ and we enter into it by our 202 00:21:48,020 –> 00:21:54,239 union with Him. Now, that should not surprise us, the Lord Jesus Christ is 203 00:21:54,280 –> 00:22:02,959 central to everything that is truly Christian. Now, this is so important for 204 00:22:02,959 –> 00:22:10,040 us today, because what it’s telling us is that the way in which you become free 205 00:22:10,040 –> 00:22:19,760 is not through a technique, but it is through a person. Christ is our 206 00:22:19,900 –> 00:22:24,579 redemption. A lot of people want to substitute something else in place of 207 00:22:24,579 –> 00:22:30,199 Christ as a way of getting free, but the Bible says Christ is our redemption, if 208 00:22:30,199 –> 00:22:37,359 the Son shall set you free, you will be free indeed. Now the Apostle Paul gives 209 00:22:37,359 –> 00:22:41,459 us another description of the man in the cage in Romans chapter 7, which some of 210 00:22:41,459 –> 00:22:46,119 us are very familiar with. Remember that he describes in Romans 7 the man 211 00:22:46,199 –> 00:22:52,500 who is overwhelmed by the compulsive power of sinful habits. This man says 212 00:22:52,500 –> 00:22:57,140 that he is a prisoner to the law of sin. The fact that he calls himself a 213 00:22:57,140 –> 00:23:03,079 prisoner indicates quite clearly that he is in the cage. He describes how he is 214 00:23:03,079 –> 00:23:07,500 unable to do what he wants to do, he’s a prisoner, and he always ends up doing what 215 00:23:07,500 –> 00:23:13,020 he doesn’t want to do because sin keeps telling him to do it. Finally he says in 216 00:23:13,160 –> 00:23:15,079 Romans chapter 7 and verse 24, 217 00:23:18,599 –> 00:23:21,660 It’s always a wonderful verse for practicing the rolling of an R, 218 00:23:21,660 –> 00:23:22,380 that one. 219 00:23:27,020 –> 00:23:30,000 Now, if you have felt that experience of 220 00:23:30,000 –> 00:23:40,099 the frustration, the wretchedness of repeated failure of compulsive behavior, 221 00:23:41,040 –> 00:23:42,979 What a wretched man I am, 222 00:23:45,199 –> 00:23:48,959 notice the question that the apostle Paul then asks, 223 00:23:48,959 –> 00:23:53,260 who will rescue me from this body of death? 224 00:23:53,260 –> 00:23:55,300 That’s Romans 7 verse 24. 225 00:23:55,300 –> 00:23:56,640 Now notice the question. 226 00:23:59,079 –> 00:24:07,280 The question in his wretchedness and his compulsive behavior is not what will deliver me. 227 00:24:08,280 –> 00:24:13,900 The question is who will deliver me. 228 00:24:13,900 –> 00:24:19,119 Now it seems to me that many people 229 00:24:19,119 –> 00:24:23,199 who are struggling with problems of compulsive behavior 230 00:24:23,199 –> 00:24:26,780 are asking the wrong primary question. 231 00:24:26,780 –> 00:24:32,280 If you ask the question what will deliver me 232 00:24:33,160 –> 00:24:35,839 there are all kinds of answers on offer 233 00:24:35,839 –> 00:24:39,739 in the spiritual and psychological market, 234 00:24:39,739 –> 00:24:45,920 what will deliver me, spiritual disciplines, 235 00:24:45,920 –> 00:24:51,540 accountability, counseling, 236 00:24:51,540 –> 00:24:54,420 getting involved in a ministry, 237 00:24:54,420 –> 00:24:56,160 making Christian friends. 238 00:24:56,160 –> 00:24:58,439 We instinctively go down the list, 239 00:24:58,459 –> 00:25:02,380 what’s going to be the thing that fixes the problem, what? 240 00:25:02,380 –> 00:25:06,180 Now, hear me carefully, 241 00:25:06,180 –> 00:25:11,319 all of these things may be very helpful, 242 00:25:11,319 –> 00:25:13,520 but none of them in themselves 243 00:25:13,520 –> 00:25:17,500 have the power to get you out of the cage. 244 00:25:17,500 –> 00:25:21,140 Spiritual disciplines can’t deliver you from sin’s power. 245 00:25:23,459 –> 00:25:26,500 Accountability can’t deliver you from sin’s power. 246 00:25:26,520 –> 00:25:28,400 Ministry, getting involved 247 00:25:28,400 –> 00:25:30,640 won’t deliver you from sin’s power. 248 00:25:30,640 –> 00:25:33,479 You can pray in the cage, 249 00:25:33,479 –> 00:25:36,400 you can be accountable in the cage, 250 00:25:36,400 –> 00:25:39,260 you can get involved in ministry in the cage, 251 00:25:39,260 –> 00:25:42,160 but at the end of the day you’re still in the cage. 252 00:25:42,160 –> 00:25:46,660 The Biblical question is never what will deliver me. 253 00:25:47,880 –> 00:25:52,880 The Biblical question is always who will deliver me, 254 00:25:52,900 –> 00:25:56,540 because if we’re thinking Christianly 255 00:25:56,540 –> 00:26:00,119 we always have to begin with Christ. 256 00:26:01,199 –> 00:26:04,660 That is why the answer to Paul’s question 257 00:26:04,660 –> 00:26:06,020 that goes to the very heart 258 00:26:06,020 –> 00:26:08,660 of the issues of compulsive behaviour, 259 00:26:08,660 –> 00:26:11,619 who shall deliver me, is in Romans chapter seven 260 00:26:11,619 –> 00:26:16,619 and verse 25, thanks be to God, Jesus Christ, our Lord, 261 00:26:16,619 –> 00:26:21,619 our Lord, the Lord sets prisoners free. 262 00:26:26,060 –> 00:26:28,780 Now some of the stories of the war in Iraq 263 00:26:28,780 –> 00:26:30,420 are beginning to come out these days 264 00:26:30,420 –> 00:26:33,920 I saw a fascinating interview or at least just a clip of it 265 00:26:33,920 –> 00:26:36,900 with a soldier who had been taken prisoner of war 266 00:26:36,900 –> 00:26:41,180 I think it was in Naseriah, I saw this interview on CNN 267 00:26:41,180 –> 00:26:44,420 and the part that I saw, absolutely compelling, 268 00:26:44,540 –> 00:26:47,040 where he described the moment of his liberation. 269 00:26:48,140 –> 00:26:52,660 He’d been sitting there in some center 270 00:26:52,660 –> 00:26:56,599 behind sealed doors and bound 271 00:26:58,020 –> 00:27:02,859 and he said, they came in like professionals 272 00:27:02,859 –> 00:27:05,500 just as they’d been trained to do. 273 00:27:06,739 –> 00:27:09,020 And then he said, it was beautiful, 274 00:27:10,140 –> 00:27:14,160 it happened in a moment and they had us out of there. 275 00:27:15,060 –> 00:27:17,219 And he broke down understandably in tears. 276 00:27:17,219 –> 00:27:19,260 He just couldn’t describe it anymore. 277 00:27:20,660 –> 00:27:22,060 You see, that’s the picture. 278 00:27:23,099 –> 00:27:26,579 The Lord sets prisoners free. 279 00:27:27,839 –> 00:27:29,699 The man in the cage doesn’t get out of the cage 280 00:27:29,699 –> 00:27:32,640 by some technique in which he manages to work his way out. 281 00:27:34,760 –> 00:27:36,619 The man in the cage gets out of the cage 282 00:27:36,619 –> 00:27:39,099 because by his union with Christ, 283 00:27:39,099 –> 00:27:41,180 the old person dies and he’s brought through 284 00:27:41,180 –> 00:27:43,819 a death and resurrection into a new being, 285 00:27:43,979 –> 00:27:46,339 a new creation and begins a new life 286 00:27:46,339 –> 00:27:48,920 in the field in Jesus Christ. 287 00:27:50,140 –> 00:27:52,339 Christ sets you free. 288 00:27:52,339 –> 00:27:54,939 You are a new person in Christ. 289 00:27:54,939 –> 00:27:57,819 If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 290 00:27:59,099 –> 00:28:01,060 And it’s because of what he does, 291 00:28:01,060 –> 00:28:02,920 what it means to be in Christ 292 00:28:02,920 –> 00:28:05,140 that sin will no longer be your master. 293 00:28:05,140 –> 00:28:07,260 If you’re in Christ and he is your master, 294 00:28:07,260 –> 00:28:09,020 how can sin be your master? 295 00:28:09,020 –> 00:28:11,280 You died to that. 296 00:28:11,319 –> 00:28:13,199 Now, this is what it is to be Christian, 297 00:28:13,199 –> 00:28:15,619 Christ is our redemption. 298 00:28:15,619 –> 00:28:17,959 You see, some of us have understood 299 00:28:17,959 –> 00:28:19,199 that he’s our righteousness. 300 00:28:19,199 –> 00:28:20,800 We understand about forgiveness, 301 00:28:20,800 –> 00:28:23,560 but we’ve never really understood 302 00:28:23,560 –> 00:28:26,040 that he is our redemption. 303 00:28:27,199 –> 00:28:29,239 And we’re not in the cage. 304 00:28:30,859 –> 00:28:32,099 We’re in the field. 305 00:28:33,839 –> 00:28:35,839 Maybe for some of us, we need to make the promise 306 00:28:35,839 –> 00:28:37,020 of God more specific. 307 00:28:37,020 –> 00:28:39,260 Sin shall no longer be your master. 308 00:28:39,699 –> 00:28:40,800 Drink. 309 00:28:40,800 –> 00:28:43,300 Well, why not take the specific area 310 00:28:43,300 –> 00:28:44,540 of sin and temptation, 311 00:28:44,540 –> 00:28:46,380 and put it right into that statement, 312 00:28:46,380 –> 00:28:47,739 and make that promise yours. 313 00:28:47,739 –> 00:28:49,420 And here it is, the very word of God, 314 00:28:49,420 –> 00:28:50,780 which it is. 315 00:28:50,780 –> 00:28:55,780 Drink shall no longer be your master. 316 00:28:58,859 –> 00:29:03,739 Money shall no longer be your master. 317 00:29:04,199 –> 00:29:09,199 Sex shall no longer be your master. 318 00:29:11,520 –> 00:29:15,319 Pride shall no longer be your master. 319 00:29:15,319 –> 00:29:18,040 You’re free. 320 00:29:18,040 –> 00:29:20,880 You stand in a whole new relationship to sin. 321 00:29:20,880 –> 00:29:22,520 You still fight the battles. 322 00:29:22,520 –> 00:29:24,040 You still fight the struggles. 323 00:29:24,040 –> 00:29:26,719 But sin is not your master 324 00:29:26,719 –> 00:29:29,400 like it used to be. 325 00:29:29,400 –> 00:29:31,920 You may still fall back into some 326 00:29:31,920 –> 00:29:34,400 of the things you once did. 327 00:29:34,400 –> 00:29:36,800 You may do them out of habit. 328 00:29:36,800 –> 00:29:39,199 You may do them out of weakness. 329 00:29:39,199 –> 00:29:42,780 You may do them out of choice. 330 00:29:42,780 –> 00:29:49,079 But you don’t have to do them now. 331 00:29:49,079 –> 00:29:52,199 Sin is not your master, 332 00:29:52,199 –> 00:29:57,599 Christ has set you free. 333 00:29:57,599 –> 00:29:58,920 The fundamental truth that you need 334 00:29:58,920 –> 00:30:00,359 to know about yourself in relation 335 00:30:00,459 –> 00:30:04,640 to sin’s guilt is that you’re clean. 336 00:30:04,640 –> 00:30:06,439 The fundamental truth that you need 337 00:30:06,439 –> 00:30:07,880 to know about yourself in relation 338 00:30:07,880 –> 00:30:14,199 to sin’s power is that you’re free. 339 00:30:14,199 –> 00:30:15,119 Now let’s just bring this to a 340 00:30:15,119 –> 00:30:16,660 practical application in these 341 00:30:16,660 –> 00:30:18,099 last moments. 342 00:30:18,099 –> 00:30:18,920 As we come to the heart 343 00:30:18,920 –> 00:30:20,719 of our whole series. 344 00:30:20,719 –> 00:30:23,760 Be who you are. 345 00:30:23,760 –> 00:30:24,540 See, maybe you’re thinking well 346 00:30:24,540 –> 00:30:26,060 it’s all very well to tell me 347 00:30:26,060 –> 00:30:28,160 I’m free but I don’t feel free. 348 00:30:28,160 –> 00:30:29,859 In fact I sometimes feel 349 00:30:29,859 –> 00:30:31,079 totally defeated. 350 00:30:31,079 –> 00:30:35,219 Well, that’s not too surprising. 351 00:30:35,219 –> 00:30:37,479 You know, when slavery was abolished 352 00:30:37,479 –> 00:30:39,459 in this country after the Civil War 353 00:30:39,459 –> 00:30:41,599 there were many stories of folks 354 00:30:41,599 –> 00:30:44,380 who had spent years as slaves 355 00:30:44,380 –> 00:30:45,579 who found it very difficult 356 00:30:45,579 –> 00:30:48,319 to enter into and live in their freedom. 357 00:30:48,319 –> 00:30:51,319 They were legally free but they 358 00:30:51,319 –> 00:30:53,099 found great difficulty some of them 359 00:30:53,099 –> 00:30:55,040 in actually leaving the environment 360 00:30:55,040 –> 00:30:57,739 to which they had become accustomed. 361 00:30:57,739 –> 00:30:58,819 They were free but they didn’t 362 00:30:58,819 –> 00:31:01,859 live in their freedom. 363 00:31:01,859 –> 00:31:04,459 And if you have been a slave to some 364 00:31:04,459 –> 00:31:07,260 compulsive habit for 10, 20, or 30 years 365 00:31:07,260 –> 00:31:10,420 and you hear, Christ has redeemed me, 366 00:31:10,420 –> 00:31:14,140 you know, it’s not surprising that 367 00:31:14,140 –> 00:31:18,540 you don’t immediately feel redeemed. 368 00:31:18,540 –> 00:31:20,160 You’ve been thinking of yourself 369 00:31:20,160 –> 00:31:21,699 as if you were in the cage 370 00:31:21,699 –> 00:31:23,180 for a long time. 371 00:31:23,180 –> 00:31:25,020 You need to open up your mind 372 00:31:25,020 –> 00:31:27,979 to God’s truth and think of yourself 373 00:31:27,979 –> 00:31:31,079 as the new person you are. 374 00:31:31,079 –> 00:31:35,099 Discover your identity in Jesus. 375 00:31:35,099 –> 00:31:36,699 So here’s three very simple 376 00:31:36,699 –> 00:31:37,900 and practical strategies. 377 00:31:37,900 –> 00:31:40,180 Number one, tell yourself the truth. 378 00:31:40,180 –> 00:31:42,800 Just keep feeding this truth of God’s 379 00:31:42,800 –> 00:31:43,819 Word to your soul. 380 00:31:43,819 –> 00:31:46,780 Tell yourself the truth. 381 00:31:46,780 –> 00:31:48,540 I think that’s the point of verse 11, 382 00:31:48,540 –> 00:31:50,880 count yourselves dead towards sin 383 00:31:50,880 –> 00:31:53,660 but alive to God in Jesus Christ. 384 00:31:53,660 –> 00:31:56,359 You know the biggest cause of defeat 385 00:31:56,359 –> 00:31:57,699 in the Christian life, I believe, 386 00:31:57,819 –> 00:31:59,400 is that we keep telling ourselves 387 00:31:59,400 –> 00:32:01,000 the devil’s lies. 388 00:32:01,000 –> 00:32:02,839 We speak his lies for him. 389 00:32:04,040 –> 00:32:05,579 We say within our own minds, 390 00:32:05,579 –> 00:32:08,140 oh, I can’t overcome this temptation. 391 00:32:09,760 –> 00:32:11,439 And we’re listening to his voice. 392 00:32:12,339 –> 00:32:14,160 We’re not acting in faith 393 00:32:14,160 –> 00:32:16,199 in what God has told us about ourselves. 394 00:32:16,199 –> 00:32:18,319 Stop talking defeat. 395 00:32:18,319 –> 00:32:21,760 Start telling yourself the truth. 396 00:32:21,760 –> 00:32:24,800 Sin is no longer your master. 397 00:32:24,800 –> 00:32:25,839 You’ve died to sin. 398 00:32:25,839 –> 00:32:27,640 You are not in the cage. 399 00:32:28,400 –> 00:32:30,599 You may feel the pool of temptation. 400 00:32:30,599 –> 00:32:32,000 You don’t have to go there. 401 00:32:32,000 –> 00:32:34,880 Sin is not your master. 402 00:32:34,880 –> 00:32:36,479 Christ has set you free. 403 00:32:36,479 –> 00:32:37,660 Count on it. 404 00:32:38,640 –> 00:32:41,239 Tell yourself the truth. 405 00:32:43,140 –> 00:32:46,359 I was speaking to a friend just yesterday on the phone. 406 00:32:46,359 –> 00:32:47,880 He lives in California 407 00:32:47,880 –> 00:32:52,880 and he’s just come back from three weeks in Eastern Europe 408 00:32:52,880 –> 00:32:54,560 which means that the day before yesterday 409 00:32:54,599 –> 00:32:58,000 he crossed nine different time zones. 410 00:32:58,859 –> 00:33:01,280 So I asked him how he was doing and he said, 411 00:33:01,280 –> 00:33:02,920 it’s what he said on the phone yesterday, 412 00:33:02,920 –> 00:33:07,920 I’m glad to be back but my body hasn’t caught up yet. 413 00:33:08,800 –> 00:33:11,119 Now anyone who’s traveled any distance around the world 414 00:33:11,119 –> 00:33:13,280 knows what he means. 415 00:33:13,280 –> 00:33:17,239 You have moved from one time zone to another 416 00:33:18,359 –> 00:33:22,800 but it takes time for your body to adjust. 417 00:33:22,880 –> 00:33:26,599 The impulses of your body contradict the new reality, 418 00:33:26,599 –> 00:33:27,920 it’s crazy. 419 00:33:28,880 –> 00:33:32,459 It’s time to get up and your body wants to go to sleep, 420 00:33:32,459 –> 00:33:34,160 it’s time to sleep and your body tells you 421 00:33:34,160 –> 00:33:35,239 it’s time to get up. 422 00:33:36,260 –> 00:33:39,439 And there is this tension between the reality 423 00:33:39,439 –> 00:33:44,000 in which you now find yourself in a new time zone 424 00:33:44,000 –> 00:33:47,319 and the feelings of your body that keep wanting to act 425 00:33:47,319 –> 00:33:48,800 as if you were in the old one. 426 00:33:49,800 –> 00:33:51,060 So what are yougonna do? 427 00:33:51,859 –> 00:33:53,780 Well, I guess you’ve got two choices. 428 00:33:53,780 –> 00:33:55,979 Either you go with what your body tells you, 429 00:33:57,180 –> 00:33:59,060 in which case you’ll be up all night 430 00:33:59,060 –> 00:34:01,260 and asleep all day for the rest of your life, 431 00:34:02,959 –> 00:34:07,020 or you go with the new reality, 432 00:34:07,020 –> 00:34:09,580 in which case there’ll be a struggle for your body. 433 00:34:10,500 –> 00:34:11,699 You’ll fight a bit of a struggle, 434 00:34:11,699 –> 00:34:13,020 keep yourself awake during the day 435 00:34:13,020 –> 00:34:15,179 and go to sleep at night. 436 00:34:15,179 –> 00:34:17,620 But gradually, as you do, 437 00:34:18,120 –> 00:34:22,699 your body will conform increasingly to the new reality 438 00:34:22,699 –> 00:34:25,040 and be at ease in it. 439 00:34:26,659 –> 00:34:28,159 So tell yourself the truth. 440 00:34:29,860 –> 00:34:32,459 Don’t live as if you were still in the old time zone 441 00:34:33,500 –> 00:34:35,399 when you’ve been brought into the new. 442 00:34:36,679 –> 00:34:39,719 And that means secondly, put up a fight, verse 12. 443 00:34:39,719 –> 00:34:42,979 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body 444 00:34:42,979 –> 00:34:44,899 so that you obey its evil desires. 445 00:34:44,899 –> 00:34:47,479 Sin’s not your master, so don’t do what it says. 446 00:34:47,939 –> 00:34:49,879 Put up a fight, you’re not in the cage, 447 00:34:49,879 –> 00:34:52,100 you’re in the field, you’re not the hostage, 448 00:34:52,100 –> 00:34:55,739 you’re now the equipped soldier on the field of battle, 449 00:34:55,739 –> 00:34:56,580 put up a fight. 450 00:34:56,580 –> 00:35:00,000 Don’t sit there simpering as if you were still a hostage. 451 00:35:01,739 –> 00:35:03,179 When you’re faced with temptation 452 00:35:03,179 –> 00:35:04,760 the little voice in your head says, 453 00:35:04,760 –> 00:35:06,780 you can’t overcome this. 454 00:35:06,780 –> 00:35:07,780 Just say the little voice, 455 00:35:07,780 –> 00:35:09,760 hey, you’re talking to the wrong guy. 456 00:35:09,760 –> 00:35:13,919 He’s dead, I’m in the field and I’m up for a fight. 457 00:35:14,439 –> 00:35:16,639 And you will find that by the power 458 00:35:16,639 –> 00:35:18,399 of the Spirit of God within you 459 00:35:18,399 –> 00:35:20,080 as you tell yourself the truth 460 00:35:20,080 –> 00:35:22,199 and you give yourself to the fight, 461 00:35:23,320 –> 00:35:26,520 you will begin to know victories you never knew before. 462 00:35:26,520 –> 00:35:28,419 And here’s the third thing very practically, 463 00:35:28,419 –> 00:35:29,919 offer yourself to God. 464 00:35:29,919 –> 00:35:32,340 Verse 13, offer yourselves to God 465 00:35:32,340 –> 00:35:35,280 as those who have been brought from death to life. 466 00:35:35,280 –> 00:35:37,520 God’s given you this new life. 467 00:35:38,399 –> 00:35:41,840 He’s brought you into the field, why? 468 00:35:41,899 –> 00:35:46,080 So that you can live for him and fulfill the purpose 469 00:35:46,080 –> 00:35:49,520 for which he has brought you into the world. 470 00:35:49,520 –> 00:35:51,040 How many Christians have the sense, 471 00:35:51,040 –> 00:35:52,760 I’m so messed up. 472 00:35:52,760 –> 00:35:55,219 I’ve got nothing to offer God. 473 00:35:56,320 –> 00:35:58,040 But if you’re alive in Christ, 474 00:35:58,040 –> 00:36:01,399 you have the life he’s giving you to offer to him. 475 00:36:02,439 –> 00:36:05,719 Offer yourself to God as one who has been brought 476 00:36:05,719 –> 00:36:07,600 out of the cage and into the field, 477 00:36:07,600 –> 00:36:10,719 brought from death to life, 478 00:36:10,719 –> 00:36:13,399 cause that’s who you are. 479 00:36:15,020 –> 00:36:16,620 One story and then we’re through. 480 00:36:17,820 –> 00:36:20,300 There’s a wonderful line that I discovered 481 00:36:20,300 –> 00:36:22,840 in Victor Hugo’s great book. 482 00:36:22,840 –> 00:36:25,280 You know, Les Misérables? 483 00:36:25,280 –> 00:36:30,280 Great story, and beautifully and wonderfully written. 484 00:36:30,360 –> 00:36:31,280 For those who don’t know it, 485 00:36:31,280 –> 00:36:34,899 it is the story of Jean Valjean, 486 00:36:35,100 –> 00:36:36,639 a heartless criminal. 487 00:36:37,659 –> 00:36:40,439 And Jean Valjean is shown great kindness 488 00:36:40,439 –> 00:36:44,000 by a bishop and it changes his life. 489 00:36:45,139 –> 00:36:46,500 But later in the story, 490 00:36:46,500 –> 00:36:50,360 Jean Valjean’s past gets the better of him. 491 00:36:50,360 –> 00:36:53,620 And in one incident where he kind of reverts 492 00:36:53,620 –> 00:36:56,179 to his previous pattern of behavior, 493 00:36:56,179 –> 00:37:00,939 he heartlessly steals a coin from a small boy, 494 00:37:00,939 –> 00:37:03,219 the boy drops the coin and Jean Valjean 495 00:37:03,239 –> 00:37:05,979 puts his foot on it and takes it from the boy. 496 00:37:06,879 –> 00:37:11,219 Now, this is what Victor Hugo writes about Jean Valjean. 497 00:37:12,879 –> 00:37:14,520 Let us say simply, 498 00:37:15,620 –> 00:37:19,419 it was not he who robbed, 499 00:37:19,419 –> 00:37:23,340 it was not the man but the brute beast 500 00:37:23,340 –> 00:37:25,719 that through habit and instinct 501 00:37:25,719 –> 00:37:28,860 stupidly placed its foot on the coin. 502 00:37:29,719 –> 00:37:34,719 When the Intellect awoke and saw this brutish action, 503 00:37:36,379 –> 00:37:40,199 Jean Valjean recoiled with agony 504 00:37:40,199 –> 00:37:42,639 and uttered a cry of horror. 505 00:37:43,600 –> 00:37:45,439 Then Hugo says, 506 00:37:45,439 –> 00:37:48,840 it was a curious phenomenon 507 00:37:48,840 –> 00:37:52,419 and one only possible in the situation he was in 508 00:37:53,379 –> 00:37:56,300 that in robbing the boy of that money, 509 00:37:57,260 –> 00:38:02,260 he committed a deed of which he was no longer capable. 510 00:38:03,979 –> 00:38:05,699 Now that is a brilliant line. 511 00:38:06,879 –> 00:38:11,879 He committed a deed of which he was no longer capable. 512 00:38:15,060 –> 00:38:20,060 Jean Valjean, that’s not who you are. 513 00:38:20,899 –> 00:38:25,899 It’s who you were, but it is not who you are. 514 00:38:30,320 –> 00:38:32,239 You are not a thief. 515 00:38:33,280 –> 00:38:36,879 You are not a brute beast. 516 00:38:36,879 –> 00:38:40,560 You have been redeemed by grace. 517 00:38:41,679 –> 00:38:45,280 Be who you are. 518 00:38:45,280 –> 00:38:49,100 Have you been redeemed? 519 00:38:52,780 –> 00:38:55,500 Be who you are. 520 00:38:58,820 –> 00:39:00,260 Let’s pray together, shall we? 521 00:39:03,600 –> 00:39:07,060 Father, we acknowledge that Satan 522 00:39:07,060 –> 00:39:11,679 so often has us defeated by lies. 523 00:39:12,639 –> 00:39:14,879 Telling us we’re in the cage, 524 00:39:16,060 –> 00:39:18,179 when actually we’re in the field. 525 00:39:19,620 –> 00:39:22,199 Causing us to believe that we’re hostage, 526 00:39:23,620 –> 00:39:25,979 when actually we are armed for the fight. 527 00:39:28,379 –> 00:39:30,899 Telling us that there’s no road but defeat, 528 00:39:32,659 –> 00:39:35,620 when actually, by your spirit, 529 00:39:35,620 –> 00:39:37,219 you’ve positioned us for victory. 530 00:39:39,520 –> 00:39:42,020 Oh God, how often we have listened to these lies 531 00:39:42,020 –> 00:39:44,159 and been defeated because we believe them. 532 00:39:46,239 –> 00:39:49,399 Thank you that the entrance of your word gives light. 533 00:39:52,120 –> 00:39:55,840 And as we discover who we are, let us be ourselves. 534 00:39:57,340 –> 00:39:59,159 Not the hostage but the soldier, 535 00:40:00,780 –> 00:40:03,540 not the one held captive but the one set free, 536 00:40:05,120 –> 00:40:07,820 not the one in the cage but the one in the field, 537 00:40:09,439 –> 00:40:10,860 not the one who’s prisoner 538 00:40:11,139 –> 00:40:16,120 but the one who is in Jesus Christ. 539 00:40:17,820 –> 00:40:20,139 Thank you that the Lord sets prisoners free. 540 00:40:21,780 –> 00:40:25,520 Pray that for any who know themselves to be in the cage, 541 00:40:26,739 –> 00:40:31,639 that today will be the moment of coming to Jesus Christ, 542 00:40:32,840 –> 00:40:35,760 that He may be our righteousness 543 00:40:35,760 –> 00:40:37,479 in whom we find forgiveness 544 00:40:38,379 –> 00:40:40,600 and our redemption 545 00:40:42,739 –> 00:40:44,340 in whom we find freedom, 546 00:40:46,360 –> 00:40:48,560 that even now, believing in Him 547 00:40:50,000 –> 00:40:52,419 that miracle of your grace may become ours 548 00:40:52,419 –> 00:40:55,219 in which, being in Christ, 549 00:40:56,379 –> 00:40:57,800 I am a new creation. 550 00:40:59,239 –> 00:41:00,280 The old has gone, 551 00:41:01,679 –> 00:41:02,800 the new has come. 552 00:41:03,760 –> 00:41:06,260 And for all this, all of us who know this 553 00:41:06,260 –> 00:41:08,000 to be the reality of our lives, 554 00:41:08,000 –> 00:41:09,399 and the truth about us, 555 00:41:10,360 –> 00:41:12,300 let us go in the power of your spirit 556 00:41:12,300 –> 00:41:13,399 to be who we are, 557 00:41:14,399 –> 00:41:15,399 for your glory, 558 00:41:16,439 –> 00:41:17,500 and for your honor. 559 00:41:18,679 –> 00:41:19,800 In Jesus’ name, 560 00:41:21,459 –> 00:41:22,300 Amen.