From Bondage to Bride

(31) Ken Loucks - From Bondage to Bride - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-QT46jDxhY

Transcript:
(00:00) now last week you will remember that we went through the bondage of sin how it begins how it deceives how it traps starts with our emotions we heard some of that in the sermonet it begins with our emotions and it works on us with those tugs and pulls that sort of lead us down that wrong road emotionally first and then it begins to work on our minds where we begin to find ways to justify misbehavior what we call sin openly that leads obviously from the mind to action and once we begin the action we begin down that path of being
(00:35) in bondage where sin becomes our master and it wants to rule our thoughts our desires and of course ultimately our lives and if Christ had not intervened we'd still be held captive that's our reality we would be powerless to break free on our own on our own so this coming Friday we're keeping the Passover we're going to remember the lamb who was slain to redeem us from that bondage the penalty of sin of course is death but Christ paid that price for us so that the death sentence would pass over us that makes the Passover a very
(01:22) personal event for us and yes we come together to do the service together but it's personal christ sacrifice is personal for each and every one of us but the Passover is not the end of the story it's the beginning the very next day we begin the days of unleaven bread now obviously that's a week-long event that pictures us walking away from the sins of the past not only do we dig them out which is what we picture by removing the leaven and the leavened bread so not only the agent of leavening but the bread itself
(02:01) that which is leavened we get those out okay we've been working on that we'll be working on that the rest of this week no doubt to finish that process and while we're doing that hopefully what we're thinking about is that correlation to us spiritually we need to be getting the sins out of our lives repenting is our version of getting the sins out of our lives isn't it where we dig into our homes and we pull the bread and the yeast out repentance is that process spiritually but this definitely puts us on a journey
(02:45) so I've been thinking since last Sabbath's message about bondage and how we were entrapped and enslaved to a master called sin how we how we journey out of that doesn't start with us it starts with God calling us and us responding to that but it is God who rescues us from that we are powerless over the slave master that we call sin and when God rescues us from that he doesn't just take us out of sin he puts us on a journey to something else galatians chapter 5 I'll start here today galatians chapter 5 and verse
(03:33) 1 where Paul says "Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free and do not be entangled again with the a yoke of bondage so here Paul's obviously referring back to that former way of life that we came out of we've left that sinfilled life because God rescued us from that sin-filled life god took the action we've responded he freed us from bondage in exactly the same way as he freed Egypt from or Israel excuse me from bondage in Egypt egypt for us pictures sin and so we see that correl correlary so what does this
(04:20) new journey look like today I want to answer that question by walking through the stages of spiritual freedom the stages of spiritual freedom and they begin with number one being delivered from the authority or rulership or bondage of sin the very first step of course is being freed being delivered from the bondage we couldn't do that on our own deliverance begins with a defining moment it's that moment where something ends and something new begins and for us that was that point at which Christ sacrificed himself and we heard a
(05:06) calling where God offered us freedom of course we can't break free on our own as I mentioned because it can't be done by human strength or willpower or even religious effort it happens when we are rescued by the one who has the power to set us free and I want us to be thinking about this as we move through this message today that the Bible doesn't say that we escaped sin it doesn't say that we wandered out of sin that we somehow magically got ourselves out of sin god rescued us from sin colossians chapter 1 13 and
(05:59) 14 colossians 1:es 13 and 14 where it says he has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the son of his love in whom we have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of sins you know that word delivered has the meaning of drawing or snatching someone from danger often by force or even against their will this is the term that Paul chose here it conveys or implies that someone is in real trouble and then unless action was taken that they would be lost or would not be able to escape or or be delivered
(06:52) on their own that's why he picked that word that we've been delivered from the power of darkness we couldn't do that for ourselves we didn't none of us gradually looked at our lives and realized on our own that there was a better way god opens our eyes to see that god is the one who rescues us from where we were if it wasn't for God that's where we would be being rescued from darkness is what the Passover pictures being rescued by the death really the intervention of Jesus Christ and obviously by that word that's
(07:37) used there for deliverance it's not a soft process it it we have to be pulled out of that for our own good so what are we rescued from from it doesn't say the quote acts of sin meaning it doesn't mean that we don't sin obviously the actions of sin are what convict us but what we're being rescued from is the bondage our inability to break free from it that's what God's pulling us out of and freeing us from it's the bondage because it says it's a power more powerful than us how do you break free from that power
(08:17) on your own it's impossible for us to do that on our own because it has authority over our minds it has dominance over our minds our desires and our decisions i'm going to turn over here to Romans chapter 6 verses 16 to 18 romans 6 16 to18 where where Paul says here "Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey you are that one's slaves whom you obey?" Whether of sin obeying sin is the obvious link so whether we obey sin leading to death that's the outcome of that or obedience leading to righteousness so God is not just taking
(09:08) us out of sin he's leading us somewhere he wants to put us on a path to something better so it's not just being rescued it's about being rescued and then put on a new journey taken from where we were and pointing us someplace else he's given us a new master himself so when God rescues us from that former master he becomes the new master we no longer serve a a harsh cruel master called sin we have a loving and merciful master that we call God the Father so now because of Jesus Christ we're no longer under sin's rule and this is the
(10:04) starting point of spiritual freedom before we can grow before we can walk before we can even hope to change we must be delivered from the rule of sin which kept us in bondage that was the entire point of last week's message but that's what God did for us through the blood of Jesus Christ our Passover lamb he has broken the authority of sin over our lives but even after we've been delivered sometimes we don't act free you know the longer you're in the journey the longer you've been breaking free if you will the longer you've been down this
(10:52) road perhaps you might say it's maybe it's a little easier today some of us have been doing this for many well I won't say us some have been doing this for many many decades some of us have been doing it for a few decades some are at the very front end of that it's interesting to contemplate this this thing that we were trapped in there's a psychological condition known as Stockholm syndrome it describes what happens when a hostage begins to identify with their captor when fear turns into loyalty when survival turns into attachment
(11:32) you've heard of this I'm sure where what you would expect to see from somebody who has been held captive by someone else you would expect to see them shouting for joy at release but when Stockholm syndromes in play they sympathize with their captor and that's a wonderful little correlary for us to keep in mind about the effect of sin as our master it doesn't just let us go it lingers out there innocent right remember how it first approached us did it lead with its danger with death no it led with that tug and pull of satisfaction of
(12:14) enjoyment of something better maybe a relief it certainly didn't tell the truth about who it was and so we naturally want to associate ourselves with that captor we don't want to leave that behind why because how many years did we spend in captivity such that we began to identify with our captor and have feelings about our captor the sins that we kept before why is it so hard for us to walk away and change from the sins if it isn't that we're attached to them when we're first called did you just feel a light switch go off and you
(12:52) were like "Oh perfection god has called me i come up out of the water and all that's gone no temptations anymore all I want to do is live in the shining light of God's glory and mercy okay really sin doesn't let us go like that we have an attachment to that that we have to get over is that instant for any of us on anything like that of course not it's a process we've got to overcome over time but it helps us to see that i think that imagery of Stockholm syndrome helps us to see that we have an attachment that we have to deal with
(13:37) we've got to let go god says "I have rescued you i have paid the price the penalty for you to be redeemed was death i paid that for you through the son through my son Jesus Christ but you've got to come now you have a new master you've got to leave that do we just want to run away from all the things that we've been doing i think it's more like at the beginning of our journey it's more like a tug a struggle a a fight to overcome that and to move towards God our rescuer because sin for all its damage can become familiar and comfortable
(14:16) it can feel like a part of who we are like something we need to survive emotionally and we may say we want to be free but we find ourselves defending the very habits mindsets or patterns that once enslaved us in here john chapter 3 and verse 19 john chapter 3 and verse 19 christ says "And this is the condemnation that the light has come into the world.
(14:51) " That's Christ and men loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil it is a painful truth that we don't always run toward the light sometimes we cling to the darkness and not because it's anything good but because it's familiar or comfortable or just the way we've lived and this is why deliverance must be a kind of force that happens for us from God because he knows that unless he pulls us out we won't leave on our own so this is the first step in our spiritual journey it's about recognizing this truth sin no longer owns
(15:41) me i don't have to answer to its voice i have been rescued and I do not have to go back you know I've had the privilege of baptizing two people this month this in the month of March and it's my first experience with baptism counseling it's remarkable to go through that with somebody to see that mental transformation where they finally come to grips that their life before is not the life they want they see something that glimmer of hope a promise that God's going to deliver them from that from themselves when they can see and they
(16:25) can honestly look at and point to the sins of their lives and recognize that they were what they were but they don't have to live there anymore god has rescued them second Timothy chapter 2 and verse 26 2 Timothy 26 where he says that they may come to their senses and escaped the snare of the devil having been taken captive by him to do his will this is all of us before God rescues us they're not we're not evil people in that sense it describes people who've
(17:30) been trapped deceived controlled but it also offers hope that people can wake up that we can escape and we have if we're here we've been baptized we've accepted the sacrifice of Jesus Christ then we realize we've been rescued from that but God did that for us so as we begin to walk the path that follows the Passover we start here we are not slaves to sin we've been delivered from its grip we did not escape we were rescued and that's a huge distinction god did that because he knew if he did not do that we would not be
(18:18) truly free unless he acted the second phase or aspect of being freed from sin we now belong to God through Christ we have a new master the first phase is simply understanding we were under a different master we were rescued by the new master we have to come to terms next with the new master he has a way he wants us to live because being delivered from sin well that's not the end of the journey that's the beginning of it so when God frees us from the rule of sin he does not leave us wandering in other words he doesn't turn
(19:14) us loose to just figure things out on our own you've been rescued from sin now go figure it out he claims us as his he brings us into a new relationship one that's founded not on fear or force but on love and purpose and a promise romans chapter 6 and verse 22 romans 6:22 says "But now having been set free from sin and having become slaves of God you have your fruit to holiness and the end everlasting [Music] life.
(20:08) " This is one of the most important shifts in the entire spiritual journey because we're not simply free we are God's slaves of righteousness now Paul uses a strong word here it it means bondervant or slave and that's true and that can kind of sound to me like well we're just moving from one form of captivity to another form of captivity but that's not what it means paul is very meticulous in his word choices he's not speaking about oppression he's speaking about allegiance about who has the right to to direct our lives and in this case it's not sin anymore it's not even us it's
(20:54) God you know if you think back go all the way back to that Garden of Eden and what Adam and Eve did when they chose Adam chose that apple from the tree or that fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and what did he do in that moment chose for himself to decide what is right and wrong no longer would God be the one to decide what is right and wrong god doesn't rescue us from our sins of us choosing what is right and wrong for ourselves he doesn't rescue us from that to turn us loose to keep doing
(21:28) that he has his own set of standards and he's saying you are now under a new master who will be deciding what is right and wrong not you anymore it's me that decides i own you because I purchased you with the blood of my son and that distinction matters 1 Corinthians chapter 6 verse 19 to 20 [Music] 1 Corinthians chapter 6 19 and 20 or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you which you have from God and you are not your own for you were bought at a price therefore glorify God in your body and
(22:31) in your spirit which are God's now he owns them he rescued us he paid the price he redeemed us from captivity he owns us now but let's be clear about how that happened because it was God the Father who made the decision to rescue us and it was Jesus Christ his son who paid the ransom for that rescue god redeemed us through the blood of his son that's why we take the Passover to remember that he bought us not with money but with the life of his own son now we have to pause and consider why would God do that why would he go to such lengths as this
(23:31) to claim us as his own what does he see in us that he'd be willing to do that well he sees more than forgiven sinners and he sees more than future servants the scripture reveals that God sees a future bride for his son revelation chapter 19 and verse 7 the chapter that describes Jesus Christ's magnificent return in verse 7 of Revelation chapter 19 let us be glad and rejoice and give him glory for the marriage of the lamb has come and his wife has made herself ready from the beginning God's plan was not just to rescue us it was to prepare
(24:36) us for a relationship a covenant relationship that reflects not only service and obedience obviously but trust devotion and love now we know that kind of relationship is going to take time that's why we're in a process of change god's rescue is immediate but our ability to receive his love isn't so I want us to keep in mind as we as we move through the remainder of this message this idea that we're being called god didn't just rescue us for no reason like there's a special purpose for his first fruits to become the bride
(25:16) of his son he was it that's so important to God that he paid the penalty for our sins with the blood of his own son in death for us this is a very important idea but I was thinking about this especially for the younger who are maybe at the earlier or the newer stages of their conversion this challenge of coming out we like we can say the words I have been freed i am on a new path i want to follow my new master have you ever seen how an animal that has been abused behaves there's all kinds of videos on this kind of stuff out there i was
(26:01) watching one I'm always amazed by handlers who understand the nature of the animal they're working with and I've watched one that was dealing with a dog medium-sized dog that had been severely abused and it was so abused that you know the only way to rescue it was to throw a blanket over it to capture it right and then drag it into a kennel or someplace where it couldn't escape and then to take care of it by washing it and bathing it and and feeding it and giving it care and treating it for whatever diseases or illnesses that it
(26:37) may have and you know not once early on does that animal appreciate it it sherks it yelps it barks it bites that's kind of like us when we're coming out of sin we don't want to let it go we don't want to see that go away we want to fight with everything we have to keep it because that's what sin wants but who is God except that merciful loving hand that reaches for us and says "From where you were I'm pulling you out of that to something better this is where I want you to be and I'm going to love you and protect
(27:11) you." And so in freeing us we're not wild animals he doesn't free us like you would go into the jungle you'd find a wild animal trapped and out of compassion you might let it go and what hope that it doesn't eat you cuz you know that seems like a real possibility i've seen videos have you seen videos of what happens when they when they release really wild animals do they stick around to show a lot of affection and love and appreciation they are out of there it I I've seen all kinds of these whether that's a you know whether that's a shark
(27:51) caught in a net it doesn't stick around and wave or a bear that's been caught in a trap or a wolf or a cougar or mountain lion you can be even a deer this is even a deer you rescue them they're out they're not sticking around they have no desire to be around you so what value do they place on being rescued that's what makes us different isn't it and are we called wild animals in scriptures how does God refer to his people what are we called sheep is a sheep turn turn a sheep loose is it run out into the middle of the
(28:31) Well the really stupid and ordinary ones might but basically no they're pack They're they're her animals they they they want safety and protection they're prey animals they kind of know after a while they're the ones that are going to be getting eaten so they want safety and they want protection and that's the attitude God's looking for in us don't you recognize that I have saved you i have rescued you not to go back not to turn you loose on your own as some wild animal would be but I've rescued you from that now come
(29:02) with me i will protect you i will care for you i will love you at some point we have to stop biting his hand and that's a part of the journey learning to stop biting the hand of the creator who rescued us from ourselves from the master we had previously chosen but just like any animal that's been abused it's going to take us time to acclimate to the treatment that we get that's so different from the way the world is a loving and merciful and gentle God who actually provides for us who cares for us who protects us in a
(29:43) world that's filled with chaos and anger violence and destruction and God says "No no no i have a way that you won't have to experience all of that." But we have to learn to trust that we have to be willing to accept that john chapter 10 john chapter 10 14 and 15 christ says,"I am the good shepherd and I know my sheep and am known by my own and the father knows me even so I know the father and I laid down my life for the sheep.
(30:36) " This is the kind of master that we belong to now willing to lay down their life for us christ was willing to lay down his life for us so as we move through the days of unleven bread we must not only ask what we've left behind but what we're now being prepared for so God might have seen what we were which was that abused person but he sees something more in us than that as a bride for his son think the bride's ready when he first calls her we have to recognize that we're not under sin's control we're no longer alone we now belong to God through
(31:29) Christ and he sees us as something beautiful this bride in the making becoming something holy ready to be and equal with his son the third element here I want to cover on the process of being freed we are being renewed from within we're being renewed from within once God delivers us from the rule of sin and brings us into his own care through the sacrifice of his son something begins inside of us at that moment we accepted and we repented and we were given that Holy Spirit through the baptism process something deeper began in us to
(32:20) change us god has begun a transformation within us not just in what we do yes we still do things but it's who we're to become and this is the part of the journey many people can struggle with they know they've been forgiven they know they've been rescued but they still feel the same person inside they might even wonder what now i know many people struggle to get through that at the front end of conversion well the answer is God needs to begin a process of renewal within us and he did at our baptism what's that look like in
(33:04) Romans 12 romans chap 12 verses 1 and two paul says "I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice holy acceptable to God which is your reasonable service and do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
(33:43) " A couple of things to think about about this passage it's worth it's worth a much bigger deep dive but a couple of things one is we're a living sacrifice and of course the imagery comes from the Old Testament the sacrifices of Israel which of those sacrifices ever lived blood had to be spilled that meant the death of the sacrifice paul says "I want you to be a living sacrifice the sacrifice that lives to do what to to be transformed he says and you know what else he says this is your reasonable service well I think we all we all have a sense
(34:31) of what the word reasonable means right reasonable it's reasonable two people could look at something and if they think it makes sense it's reasonable should be reasonable that's it's not the right word the actual word here would be better translated as rational this is what God sees as rational in our response what he thinks we should do because of what he's done for us your reasonable service is what God thinks is what you should rationally do once you realize what I did for you but of course we're human beings and
(35:06) what God thinks is rational we think is irrational and what God and what we think is rational God thinks is irrational because that's who we are but the word transformed here to be transformed is from the Greek word from which we get the word metamorphosis so I picture the caterpillar going into its what do we call that thing cocoon thank you the caterpillar goes into its cocoon and it comes out something very different and that's what God's looking for from us yeah we came in we looked one way and I think that the imagery
(35:47) that's working for me today at least is that abused animal we look like that but you know when that animal is alive and cared for and and he's been medically taken care of also and he just they're very different looking animal as well having experienced what love looks like real love and mercy and kindness those animals begin to flourish they look different they act different they respond differently they no longer bite the hand of the rescuer i think it's important for us to just fully realize that God is not
(36:25) trying to make a better version of us he's trying to provide to prepare a bride for his son that's the vision behind the transformation we're being prepared to be useful you know I want you to think of it this way god is preparing us to become the bride of his son does he want his son unequally yolked christ has already reached the pinnacle that we must strive to become in order to become equal to him in marriage as the bride god does not want his son unequally yolked to his bride that's why we have to transform
(37:12) our lives to become an equal to our future husband 2 Corinthians chapter 5 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 17 5:1 17 therefore if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation old things have passed away behold all things have become new that word new means a new kind new in quality new in essence it's not a recycled life it's a new life it's not our old self that looks a
(38:15) little better it's a new self as Albert Barnes puts it he's a new creature not the same as he was before not the same in principles that actuate him not the same in the ends he lives for he has new views new motives new principles new objects and new plans for life he is the work of God created a new unto good works and of course why would God do that because he is preparing a bride for his son a bride who will be equally yolked with his son but this takes time this transformation that we must make and it is not going to happen by our
(39:02) will or our desires this only happens through the power of the Holy Spirit which God gives to us allowing it to convict us and cleanse us soften us and reshape us and start till we start to resemble the character of Christ himself ezekiel you know this one very well ezekiel chapter 36 verses 26 and 27 ezekiel 36 26 and 27 where God says of Israel I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you i will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh i will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk
(39:55) in my statutes and you will keep my judgments and do them the only thing that's going to enable us to make the changes is the spirit of God which he gives to us that's what he's saying very plainly here there's no shortcut to this transformation we have to have the Holy Spirit to do it this is how the bride makes herself ready not by passively believing but by actively being changed i'll just refer back to Revelation 197 and 8 to remind you that it said "And his wife made herself ready.
(40:36) " I had the privilege of conducting the first ever double wedding I think in United but I know this one's true it's the first double wedding of twins in United twin girls girls we've known since they were very small knew them all throughout the camp program and they wanted to get married together that was absolutely fantastic to be a part of that you know what was amazing to me so I got to stand right here front and center the grooms were both slightly off center i So I was dead center the groom slightly off center so I had the chief seat in
(41:21) the house as dad walked each bride individually on her turn down that aisle with everyone's eyes and everything every face aimed at them do you think the girls prepared for that 100% if they had walked down there in cut offs and flip-flops and a t-shirt I mean I think we would have all just probably passed out like that's not anything we could conceive of so if we knowing that we would not do that for our own weddings and by the way every lady is magical on her wedding day and not one of you should feel bad when you look back you know like you I'
(42:08) I've often thought to myself is it insulting to a woman when you say you look the best I've ever seen you on your wedding day and I think no isn't that the point you think she was trying to look her worst you marry in your youth you look the best you'll probably ever look in your whole life at least in your mind at the time yes you are preparing for that wedding and you are absolutely dawning yourself up and you look the best you'll you might get close later like there are going to be moments where you're super
(42:36) close but that day should be in your mind the best day of your life the day you did everything you could to be as beautiful as you could to take those vows to me that's special and I got to sit there and watch those ladies walk down toward taking their position it was incredible to watch that and I thought to myself this is this is the father awaiting for the bride for his son are we preparing ourselves for that wedding i hope so i hope we have that vision in our minds that that's what God has called us to do
(43:12) to make ourselves ready the days of unleven bread reminds us that this is a process and it's not automatic we have to clean out what defiles that's what we're supposed to be working on right now and of course spiritually that means we're looking at what's in there i know I keep saying this all year long we're supposed to do that but you know this time of year we give a little special attention to this to make sure that we aren't leaving bread all over the place we're finding what defiles and we're examining what's
(43:44) left but we have to cooperate with God we have to yield to his spirit as he works to purify us so that we can be fit for what lies ahead is our role as the bride of Christ okay the fourth element then of this being freed from the bondage of sin what does that look like as we walk forward in freedom it means walking forward in freedom god didn't call us out of that as I mentioned earlier to just wander he didn't call us out there to say "Okay you've been freed like a wild animal go be wild again he called us he brought us into
(44:31) his safe pasture and he says "Now there's a way of life I want you to live but you have to do it you have to walk it every day you have to take those steps towards the kingdom." We're all going towards the kingdom we're not called to stand still we're not called to go back we're called to move forward one step at a time deliverance is not just a flash it's not just a moment it is a journey it's a direction that we have to go with purpose to walk with God now and to be joined with Christ forever that's where we're going we're walking that
(45:12) long walk up the aisle to the wedding to stand there with our future husband spiritually psalm 119:es 1-3 psalm 119:es 1-3 blessed are the undefiled in the way who walk in the law of the Lord blessed are those who keep his testimonies who seek him with the whole heart they also do no iniquity they walk in his ways these are all action verbs they indicate we're doing walking seeking changing we're not called to be perfect today but to pursue perfection we're walking towards that and that of course is what the days
(46:16) of unleven bread are all about they don't celebrate what we've left behind they remind us to keep going you know that's the imagery that I want us to be thinking about about the days of unleaven bread some will ask the question I'm not criticizing it but I have a different response than you might anticipate some will ask the question "Do we have to eat unleaven bread every day during the days of unleaven bread?" And I would say if you're walking the walk why aren't you eating unleavened bread every day during the days of unleaven bread at
(46:50) every meal because you should crave that new life to put on the wedding garment every single day put it on eat that unleavened bread and take on Jesus Christ it isn't a question of should we it's a question of why wouldn't we if we have that attitude and that desire to be the spouse the bride of Jesus Christ we should want to but we do need to realize as we look around a room this size that we're not all at the same place that's okay some of you have been doing this for many decades i mentioned that earlier many decades of doing the same
(47:40) walk of having come out having been rescued having been given a new way of life and having walked that way of life for decades and you've overcome a lot you've changed a lot including some spiritual fatigue I would think by now which can be very real if you've been doing this for six or seven decades so you serve as an encouragement to the rest of us to keep going keep walking you're still here you're still walking so we need to keep walking some of us are at the very front end of that and that journey can look very
(48:21) frightening can look very scary because we've just been called out of the world we've just left behind all the ways of sin and now we've got to be moving forward into this new way of life we're going to do that perfectly which one of us did that perfectly hopefully each and every one of us when we're at the front end can look around and see that we're not walking alone you know I'm always thankful that God has given us a church where he has called us out of this world and placed us with other people who believe the same things so we
(48:59) can walk with someone else we don't have to do this alone we have other people we can lean on when we need to lean on someone god did that for us some may be I think of some as being at the very very front end where they haven't yet made the commitment but they're looking they're looking at it they're evaluating that we probably some of us probably know someone who might be in that category i certainly do maybe they're counting the cost if they asked "What will it cost me to do that?" I think I would respond "Everything you were never meant
(49:48) to carry guilt shame bondage fear god never intended us to live that way he offers us freedom from that but you have to be willing to take that on you have to be willing to walk the walk that leads away from that because this walk doesn't just lead to freedom it leads to a wedding hebrews chapter 12 hebrews 12:es 1 and 2 where Paul says it this way "Therefore we also since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ens snares us and let us run with endurance the
(50:45) race that is set before us looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross despising the shame and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God boy there's a lot in there isn't there some people in a marathon can't run they have to walk you can still make it it's just an indicator that we don't all run at the same pace we're not capable of all running at the same pace but so long as we continue to put one foot in front of the other and just continue to go down that path
(51:29) that's what God expects us to do again this isn't about achieving perfection today it's about pursuing perfection preparing ourselves to be the bride that God wants for his bridegroom because this is about relationship john chapter 14 Christ had a lot of things on his mind here on his last Passover and in John chapter 14 where he's expressing some of his deep thoughts in verse 23 Jesus answered and said to him "If anyone loves me he will keep my word and my father will love him and will come to him and make our home with
(52:21) him." That's a beautiful idea isn't it it's not just about being in the same room it's about having a home together that's what God wants that's the kind of closeness that he wants in a relationship with us to dwell with him and his son together in their home that's why every day of unleavened bread matters every step forward every sinful habit discarded every truth embraced it all prepares us for that day when the bride is made herself ready ephesians chapter 5 I think I'm going to wrap up here with Ephesians chapter 5 i think I touched on
(53:06) this before but Ephesians chapter 5:es 1 and two therefore be imitators of God as dear children and walk in love as Christ also has loved us and given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling aroma so wherever you are wherever you've walked this path whether you've walked this path for years or whether you're just taking your first steps walk that's the whole point walk god can't do that part for us so we have to do our part and walk so in just a few days we're going to come together and we're going to keep
(53:50) the Passover this is not just a tradition it's commanded service yes but it commemorates the death of Jesus Christ our personal savior he died for me he freed me from the bondage of sin this is the cost of sin and it also expresses the very depth of God's mercy and love so when we take the bread and the wine we're not just remembering what Christ did we're reaffirming that we've accepted his sacrifice on our behalf personally and that we're committed to following him and we're acknowledging that we've been called we've been washed
(54:35) and and made clean we've been set apart by God and that we are still choosing to live that calling and that's exactly why the days of unleven bread come after we've reaffirmed our commitment but Passover is not the end of the story it's the beginning of a different way of life [Music] the leaven we put out isn't about bread it's about getting those things that separate us from God out of our lives it's about replacing those things with what matters christlike character sincerity and truth that's what this journey is about
(55:19) and wherever we are on that path whether we've walked for years or are just beginning this season is a chance for us to reset again to commit again to remember why we're called and to choose to grow passover reminds us who saved us unleaven bread shows us what comes next not performance or perfection but a real dayby-day walk toward the kingdom of God let's take these steps together