Walking in Freedom

I remember hearing a story from the Civil War period of time....when the slaves were freed, they were released from years of bondage as slaves & told they could go, live their lives in freedom, no more chains, no more slave owners telling them what to do....freedom. It sounds good and yet many of those slaves knew nothing else of their life. What would they do? How would they make a living? Some chose to stay right where they were & continue to serve their masters. They had lived in slavery for so long, even freedom didn't seem to make some of those men, women and children free....

The Israelites spent so many years in bondage and slavery by the Egytians that when their freedom came, they did not know how to live as free men & women either. Bondage had been all they had known.....so freedom didn't seem to make the Israelites free....

What about you? What about me? So many years in bondage to sin; slaves to sin and yet, we have been set free~ for those of us who are disciples of Jesus. We have been set free...Galations 5:1 says, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." This is the truth of what has happened to us (just as the Israelites had been set free or when the slaves in the US were set free)...the truth needs to be walked out. So, are you hungry to be free? Because it is a process; freedom is a lifestyle; we have to walk it out. In John 8:31, Jesus is talking to "church" people and the Word says, "To the Jews who had believed in him, Jesus said, 'If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free."

Freedom is the ability to live without bondage to sin!

God's desire is that we live in freedom. He has already set us free; now we have to live it out! So here are a couple principles in "walking in freedom":

1) Freedom begins with a new focus~ Seek Him First; Eyes fixed on Jesus (Matthew 6:33 tells us to seek first His kingdom)! When we focus on Jesus and His kingdom, we stop focusing on our sin.

*What you are paying attention to defines who you are.*

2) Freedom begins with a new identity~ This is a new focus to...Galations 2:20 tells us, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." I am a new creation when I receive the gift of salvation~ I have been moved from darkness to light, the old has passed away & everything is new, Jesus is my life now....Who is living in your body? Flesh? or the Holy Spirit? Galations 5:16 reminds us to live by the Holy Spirit!

*Freedom is not what you've been set free from, but who you've been set free to become.*

The reality is that we have been set free....now we need to walk in the freedom we have already been given.....