FREE!
Looking Up Camp - Nelspruit
Friday 10/1/13
Story of The Glen ... my kilt ... & Braveheart
"I am William Wallace. And I see a whole army of my countrymen, here in defiance of tyranny! You have come to fight as free men. And free man you are! What will you do without freedom? Will you fight?"
"Two thousand against ten?" - the veteran shouted. "No! We will run - and live!"
"Yes!" Wallace shouted back. "Fight and you may die. Run and you will live at least awhile. And dying in your bed many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days from this day to that for one chance, just one cahnce, to come back here as young men and tell our enemies that they may take our lives but they will never take our freedom!"
Every man dies, not every man truly lives.
FREE - Future
Jeremiah 29:11-13
11 I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out-- plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.
12 "When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I'll listen.
"When you come looking for me, you'll find me.
13 "Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, 14 I'll make sure you won't be disappointed."
The starting point to living free is to realise that God has an incredible future planned for us ... a future full of hope and promise ... a future that is wound up in Him.
Your future is not ahead of you, your future is in fact inside of you.
Myles Munroe:
1. Where is the richest place on earth? The graveyard
2. What do you see in my hand? A forest
Gabe provided incredible insight into this very point last night ... God wants to bless us and make us famous!
FREE - Redemption
Ephesians 1:7-10
7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in 10 Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
Redemption denotes ransoming someone from captivity or from slavery.
apolytrosis ~ (the act) ransom in full
> a releasing effected by payment of ransom
> riddance, salvation, deliverance, redemption
Ephesians 1:7-8 (Message)
Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we're a free people -- free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free!
Romans 6:15-22 ... What Is True Freedom? (Message)
15 So, since we're out from under the old tyranny, does that mean we can live any old way we want? Since we're free in the freedom of God, can we do anything that comes to mind? 16 Hardly. You know well enough from your own experience that there are some acts of so-called freedom that destroy freedom. Offer yourselves to sin, for instance, and it's your last free act. But offer yourselves to the ways of God and the freedom never quits. All your lives you've let sin tell you what to do. 17 But thank God you've started listening to a new master, 18 one whose commands set you free to live openly in his freedom!
19 I'm using this freedom language because it's easy to picture. You can readily recall, can't you, how at one time the more you did just what you felt like doing -- not caring about others, not caring about God-- the worse your life became and the less freedom you had? And how much different is it now as you live in God's freedom, your lives healed and expansive in holiness?
20 As long as you did what you felt like doing, ignoring God, you didn't have to bother with right thinking or right living, or right anything for that matter. 21 But do you call that a free life? What did you get out of it? Nothing you're proud of now. Where did it get you? A dead end.
22 But now that you've found you don't have to listen to sin tell you what to do, and have discovered the delight of listening to God telling you, what a surprise! A whole, healed, put- together life right now, with more and more of life on the way!
FREE - Equipped
Ephesians 6:10-13 ... A Fight to the Finish
10 And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. 11 So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. 12 This is no afternoon athletic contest that we'll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels. 13 Be prepared. You're up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it's all over but the shouting you'll still be on your feet.
As mentioned in the note on v.13, these are aspects of God's own character and work (as depicted in Isaiah) with which Christians are now equipped.
Ephesians 6:14-17
14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
FREE - Evangelise
Evangelist ~ bringer of good tidings
Matthew 10:7-8
7 As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.
Acts 1:8
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
Matt 24:17 ... At the annual census, each person over the age of 20 was to give a half- shekel offering for the support of the tabernacle (Ex. 30:11–16), which was later applied to the temple.
The religious tax collectors approach Peter, and ask if Jesus will pay the taxes ... Jesus then orders Peter to pay for the two of them so as not to offend the tax collectors.
•Argument stands to reason that all of Jesus Disciples except Peter were under the age of 21