What if the only thing stopping you from being free is yourself?

God is more interested about freeing you

in your spirit then he is freeing you

from your situation this is a core

teaching and a core tenant not only from

this pulpit but it is the essence of the

gospel is that God is more interested in

delivering us on the inside changing us

on the inside and rearranging our

internal condition than he is about

arranging our external affairs this

gospel is not popular to preach in an

age that is so consumed with changing

scenery we are more concerned with the

scenery than we are with our spirits and

Paul is teaching us a lesson we’d be

wise to listen to him he says I’m not

out yet but I’m free I’m still right

here

in this cell physically but spiritually

I’m free free from what free from pain

no no I’m hurting free from uncertainty

no I don’t know what they’re gonna do to

me free from have you ever asked God to

set you free from certain people

and he keeps trying and you keep texting

him back so work with the Lord that was

a whole series right there I’m free oh

you’re coming home no well I’m free I’m

free I’m I’m free watch this this is

what I’ve been praying lately

I stopped praying God set me free from

it whatever it is you know this

imagination that if that got better I

would be better because sometimes that

got better and I got worse so I stopped

praying God set me free from it because

sometimes God set me free from the

situation and I took myself into a new

situation and I took my same chains from

the last situation the last relationship

into the new relationship so lately I’ve

been praying and if you want to pray it

with me repeat after me God set me free

from me

if you don’t get that you haven’t lived

long enough because you will get tired

of yourself at some point and you will

get tired of making your own movies of

which you are the star and everyone else

is a prop and you will want something

bigger in your life then how I feel in

this moment you want something bigger in

your life than what I am earning you

will want something bigger in your life

then status and so Paul said I’m um I’m

free

not not the freedom that you can see but

I am I’m free from the invisible prison

so I’m free because I’m releasing some

things and Paul says I’m I’m releasing

myself from the prison of resentment I’m

releasing myself from the need to know

the reason why everything is the way it

is I’m releasing myself and it’s really

beautiful because he could have waited

around to be set free by somebody else

but he decided I’m gonna use the keys

that God has given me so I’ve got my own

keys called faith and trust and praise

and gratitude and so I don’t need you to

free me

I am setting people free from my need

for them to validate me I found freedom

when I realized that I have all of the

resources I need through the Spirit of

God and it is through the provision of

his spirit oh it’s just an intro but

it’s so good because Paul’s saying I’m

not out but I’m free nothing has changed

in my situation but I don’t need my

situation to change God has changed me

and whom the Sun sets free is free

indeed

I’ll stop screaming on this when you get

free it makes you wanna holler when you

get free it makes you wanna clap when

you get free it makes you want to shout

it makes you wanna throw off the chain

[Applause]

[Music]

shout I’m free look at the person next

to you and say free from what you think

of me

[Applause]

hands and worship I want people to think

I’m one of those weird Christians I

think it’s kind of weird that somebody

that didn’t die for you would dictate

the level of your faith and that you

would ever be ashamed of the gospel when

you claim to be free if he set you free

we don’t have long take 10 seconds

embrace them like you’re free that’s

good six five four three two one

Philippians chapter 1 Paul said I’m I’m

free I don’t know whether I’ll get out

of this prison but whether or not I get

out of this prison is not the hinge on

which my faith swings because I made a

decision to be free free of bitterness

free of blame real freedom freedom that

nobody can give you but Jesus and

freedom that nobody can take away it’s a

different kind of freedom it’s not just

the freedom to do whatever you want and

say whatever you want that pretend

freedom it’s a real freedom it’s a deep

freedom there’s a freedom that I hope to

experience more and more in my life and

I pray the same for you because Paul

said I want you to be free in it funny

that he’s he’s praying for them he’s in

prison and he’s the freest one of them

all

some of the least free people I ever met

in my life had the most stuff and Paul

is so free at this point he’s free from

the need to know what happens next he’s

free he’s free wouldn’t it be wouldn’t

it be good to be free like that and he

sets himself free instead of waiting for

someone else to and how he does it it’s

kind of a cool I guess it’s a

psychological and theological lesson all

at once he does it by remembering

because if he dwells too much on what

he’s going through right now it will

cause him to lose hope if he dwells too

much on what’s going to happen next

it’ll cause him to be unstable and he

can’t control that anyway

so listen blakeney he says give me my

camera he says I thank my God in every

remembrance of you this is Philippians

chapter 1 in every prayer with joy and I

thank him for your partnership in the

gospel from the first day until now so

he revisits in his mind a time maybe

thirty years earlier that he began this

work with these friends in Philippi and

now he’s writing them a letter about his

current situation but the way that he

deals with his anxiety how many of you

are dealing with anxiety in your life

and you don’t mind raised in your hands

so I can preach right to you he

remembers he remembers and he concludes

something when he revisits his memory of

God’s faithfulness because there there

there is a way of remembering the past

that will paralyze the potential of

today but there is a way of remembering

the past that can fuel your faith for

tomorrow Paul does the latter he says I

thank my god every time I remember you

and I remember your partnership I’m not

in this by myself

from the very first day until now and I

am confident of this that he who began

a good work in you who started it that’s

what they used to say in middle school

and when there was a fight and you get

dragged in the principal’s office and so

we used to have a saying I didn’t start

it but I finished it and so God does

both and when the devil starts picking

on you don’t forget who started it if

God started a good working you guess

what he’s gonna do he’s gonna finish it

now you won’t know all the details when

it starts but God is not like you and so

he knows the end from the beginning God

saw the last frame of the movie before

he started casting or directing so God

reveals he sinks to us in Reverse it’s

like Abraham I’m gonna bless the whole

earth through you okay can you tell me

how no go to the land I will show you

and the details will unfold as your

obedience does

and so Paul says I remember how this

started and I know who started it it was

God because I wasn’t even trying to get

to Philip I actually when I think about

how I came to you how we started it was

almost an accidental miracle I call it

that knowing that nothing is an accident

to God but I’m one day I’m gonna preach

when I ever get the courage to do it a

whole sermon called miracles by mistake

just like what feels like the worst

mistake of your life

and it was really God using human

weakness to display divine strength my

young people know what’s up I love it so

Paul he has like a faith flashback David

did the same thing there’s Goliath he’s

big lion was big

the bear was big the bigger they come

so if the lion went and the bear went

Goliath is about to go it’s called a

fake flashback and Paul says I I

remember I’m released in Reverse it’s

kind of weird in order to go forward

with faith I got to remember hey thanks

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