Thank you for listening to this message from LifeHouse Church.
Well, good morning, LifeHouse.
How are we doing today?
Good.
Awesome.
So, it's so good to see you today.
In case you don't know who I am, I'm Pastor Eric.
I am the campus pastor at LifeHouse Church, East Shore Campus.
And it's going great over there.
We're gathering every Thursday for Bible study, just having a time of connection and interaction
with God's Word.
Some people come and they haven't even heard of God's Word before.
So there's awesome things happening.
We just had our first community event with a Do It Yourself Women's Crafts thing, so
I had no part in it.
I learned a lot throughout that, but it was fun.
We had 13 unchurched adults come and they just had a lot of fun.
They got to experience God's presence, His love, His gentleness, His willingness to engage
with people and just get creative.
It was an awesome time that we got to connect with them.
So there's a lot of stuff coming in the future months.
So be on the lookout on our LifeHouse page.
You'll see the East Shore Campus if you go on the LifeHouse website and there will be
a list there of things that are happening.
And also, I ask for your prayers for divine connections when we're in this journey together,
because it's not easy.
And your prayers make all the difference.
When you pray for these divine connections and the launch team, in the abstractness,
God molds something and it makes a reality for us.
And we get to experience that firsthand.
So we really appreciate all of your prayers.
And we are going to be launching in the fall, October 15th.
So after October 15th, we're going to be meeting regularly, like a regular church service every
Sunday.
So keep us in your prayers just for God to move in that.
So we've been in this series, In God We Trust.
Those four words, I wish every American citizen came out of their mouth, that in God we trust.
Those four words are found in our money, our currency.
And this was actually put into law in the 1950s by President Eisenhower to remind us
that our values, no matter what we face as a nation, we will put our trust in God first.
But over the years, it's drifted further away from In God We Trust.
And it became a huge problem as a result.
We continually kept growing in national debt.
In God We Trust became In Debt We Trust.
Amen.
The U.S. national debt as of now is $31.4 trillion.
Not a million, not a billion, or a cubillion, $31.4 trillion.
That's a lot of money.
I mean, think of all the food you could buy with that.
Buffet Sundays every day for the next 55 billion years.
I don't know.
Think of all the traveling you could do.
Go any place you want for all your future generations.
You have a stacked retirement for your family.
But let's say that this family owes $31.4 trillion.
They would all owe all this money, which would be inherited by their children and their children
and their children's children and their children, so on and so forth.
Generations of owing this money of $31.4 trillion.
Can I give you some numbers?
The average American household has a student loan debt of $58,112.
That student loan average per household, credit card debt, $14,241.
Auto loan, $31,142.
And of course, you have your mortgage, if you want to live a good American life, $202,454.
So you take the average of all that, you get the average of $158,209.
Excuse me, $158,209.
Make sure that's precise.
Per household, every household averages $158,000 in debt.
That's not something to celebrate as a nation or household.
It's not like every quarter of the year, we get a team of guys together and just to report
out every quarter how much more debt we added to our reservoir.
I mean, can you imagine if that played out?
All right, guys, how'd we do this quarter?
Oh, well, we got an extra $20,000 in debt this quarter.
Woohoo!
Good job, team.
We did it.
If they're saying, they wouldn't say something like that, it's like, what happened?
Why the huge loss in our company?
Because now they have to make up a lot of ground to get back on track.
But we live in a country that wants more and more.
You never have enough time, you never have enough resources like food or transportation,
never enough house, never enough entertainment or social media.
We want so much more all the time that we don't even celebrate what we do have.
It's never enough.
And how does it feel to perceive that you never have enough?
You're always striving for the next best thing.
And we're all familiar with this feeling, the feeling of falling behind.
You can never quite catch up to where you want to be in life or what you want in life.
You're pulled in one direction when you want to go the other way.
Slavery is pulling the strings in our lives, controlling our way of life.
It's a little known fact, perhaps, that slavery very much exists today.
I looked it up, and as of today, 50 million people are owned by somebody else.
50 million people.
Someone else controls their time, their resources, their hopes and their dreams.
50 million.
And that's how slavery is.
It's not too different, spiritually speaking.
We can be slaves to all sorts of things, and money is just one of them.
Our main passage today is going to be Romans 6, starting in verse 12.
In this passage, the audience is Roman believers who were under the dominion of Rome, under
Caesar.
Everything was all about Caesar.
They were slaves to Caesar.
So these believers in Rome had to understand grace in this new birth that they have.
So let's pray over the Word before we dig in.
Father, we just thank you so much that your Word is pure, that your Word is everlasting,
God.
It has the power to save.
It has the power to redeem, God.
I just pray that your Word would be spoken loud and clear, God, into every heart, that
you would speak into their hearts, God, and unveil your glory, unveil your truth in their
hearts, that they may be forever changed, in Jesus' name.
Amen.
So starting in Romans chapter 6, verse 12, it says this.
Do not let sin control the way you live.
Do not give in to sinful desires.
Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin.
Give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life.
So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.
Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law.
Instead you live under the freedom of God's grace.
Well then, since God's grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on
sinning?
Of course not.
Don't you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey.
You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which
leads to righteous living.
Thank God, once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we
have given you, now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves
to righteous living.
Biggest thing we can take away from that, from that passage, is what you give yourself
to, you become, it becomes your master.
What you give yourself to, it becomes your master.
What are we saying when we give ourselves to debt?
We are saying that the cost of this particular thing is worth it, even if you do not have
the money at that time.
So you can ask somebody for money, and they lend it to you, you can buy what you have
your eyes set on as a result.
Only thing is, now you have to pay the person who gave you money, typically with interest.
So now instead of saving up money to purchase it from your account, you spend all your time
paying someone else back.
Now you are no longer free financially, you are legally obligated to pay it back.
When Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden, God told Adam specifically that you may freely
eat the fruit of every tree in the Garden, except the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
If you eat its fruit, you will surely die.
Was God being mean when he told him that he could not do that?
No, it could be perceived that way, but it was not mean.
He was looking out for him, because he knew that if he chose that tree, it meant death.
And what happened next?
The serpent came into the picture.
The serpent came and asked Eve, did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of
the trees in the Garden?
Now I am no botanist or anything, but I looked it up, 2,000 fruit trees in the world.
Now the Garden of Eden is like 100% God's presence, so I think anything can live in
that environment.
I could say 2,000 trees were in that environment.
So you think about that, 2,000 trees to pick from, any of those trees you can eat from,
but not this one.
That's a lot of trees to pick from.
And the enemy got Eve to focus on the one tree that they were not supposed to eat from.
Here's what the scripture says, the woman was convinced, the serpent had convinced her,
she saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the
wisdom it would give her.
So she took some of the fruit and ate it.
Then she gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it too.
At that moment their eyes were opened and they suddenly felt shame.
So what happened?
Adam and Eve knew God's freedom very well in that Garden.
They could have eaten from any other tree there, but once Eve got focused on the tree,
she was sold on it.
She saw that the tree was beautiful and it looked delicious, and wanted the wisdom that
it would give her.
She was sold and gave herself away to sin.
She exchanged the freedom she had in God's presence in order to gain something that wasn't
allowed in his presence.
And that was sin.
Adam and Eve were in deep, deep debt, a debt that thousands of generations cannot pay back
in full.
God no longer owned them, they were owned by Satan.
Wherever paying back a debt, they cannot pay back in themselves.
The hopes of being free were slim.
Whenever we give ourselves to someone or something, we are under their requirements until what
was required has truly been fulfilled or paid back.
So it's important to ask ourselves, are we being careful to who we give ourselves to,
or what we give ourselves to?
When God has a command in scripture or an instruction, that is his freedom, that's not
him adding more weight to your life.
His yoke is easy and his burden light.
So why do we think sometimes that what he says in scripture is burdensome or too much?
If you're following God's commands and it feels heavy and hard to do, you must learn
to give yourself to him first.
Because if you are going to be in debt, be indebted to Christ.
Because he already paid for you.
When we give ourselves to him, we are not paying him back.
We're living a life of gratitude.
I'll say it again, when we give ourselves to him, we are not paying off the debt.
He already did, so we're living a life of gratitude.
And maybe that's what's missing for you right now.
Is it possible you've given yourself to something and it's hindering your ability to follow
God well?
And God's desire, of course, is for you to be set free from that.
But what happens once we know the truth?
Satan comes in to divert your attention from it.
Remember, Adam and Eve knew the truth in that garden.
God made it clear.
But the voice of the enemy got them focused on the one tree that was off limits.
It wasn't good for them.
So what we have to realize is that debt has a voice.
Debt has a voice.
What you give yourself to becomes your master.
So if you give yourself to something, it must have said something in order for you to be
convinced to give in to it.
Whether you realize it or not, there are voices in your life that you're probably a little
too familiar with.
And no, I'm not talking about your mom's voice or your kid's voice or the radio.
Not those voices.
I'm talking about the things we sometimes think are simply normal.
But do we ever question the origin of these voices?
Does someone knock on your door and you just say, come on in?
Without asking who is it or who's there?
Normally you can tell by their voice whether they are welcome or not.
At that point, you say either come in or please leave my property.
When the unknown stranger is speaking at your door and you are just used to inviting them
in time after time, it's no good.
Jesus said when he has brought out all of his sheep, he walks ahead of them and they
will follow him for they are familiar with his voice, but they will run away from strangers
and never follow them because they know it's the voice of a stranger.
Take Eve for example.
She was healthy.
She had a clear mind of God's voice and his freedom.
She personally knew him.
She was familiar with him.
But Satan came one day and quite possibly many times before that even.
Eve had treated the serpent like he was something to be trusted, but he was not for her.
He was against her.
He had asked, did God really say you can't eat from any of the trees in the garden?
She tested him though.
She had a good Christian woman response.
She was like, oh, that's not true.
He actually said this.
She took that thought captive and threw it right back at him.
This was her moment to shine and let God's word take residence in that place.
And that's in Genesis 3 verse 3.
Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden.
It's only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we're not allowed to eat.
God said you must not eat it or not even touch it.
You're going to die or something.
Serpents like you won't die.
That's a little extreme don't you think?
You eat the fruit from a tree, you're going to die.
Come on now Eve.
God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it.
And you'll be like God knowing both good and evil.
Now she was speechless.
She didn't have a response like she did before.
I wonder what she was thinking in that moment.
Wait, God never mentioned that before.
So are you saying I can know both good and evil?
Like more than God?
That's interesting.
This is when she let that voice in.
That voice of a stranger.
She didn't hold on to the truth.
She was convinced there was something more for her outside of God.
And when she took that fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, Satan became
her master.
Why?
Because what you give yourself to, it becomes your master.
Everyone say debt has a voice.
This happens to us all the time.
Thoughts flood our minds.
Satan sees an opportunity to convince you just like he did with Eve.
And when you give up what God has said and open the door to the stranger's voice, he
will own you.
Think about it.
Fear controls you because you give way for it.
Anxiety can control you and call the shots in your life.
Anger can control you.
You listen to the voices of these things and treat them like they are trustworthy masters.
But can I tell you something?
You are actually in debt with them.
They don't care about you.
They just want you to work for them.
You are convinced they make good masters.
Debt has a voice.
They promise you security by being fearful.
They are promising you intellect by doubting everything.
They are promising you safety in lack by hoarding everything.
You are never going to pay them back in full.
Without the voice of God, we are just prisoners to other things that would love to be our
masters.
When Cain was angry at his brother Abel, he had given way to these voices because he had
justified that it wasn't fair that God would accept Abel's offering and not Cain's offering.
But God said to Cain, if you do what is right, will you not be accepted?
But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door.
It desires to have you, but you must rule over it.
What's been controlling you?
Have you identified the thing calling the shots in your life?
It may not feel like captivity.
It may even feel like it's the right thing, just like Cain thought.
But he was wrong, and God told him exactly what he needed to do to rule over it.
Have we become more familiar with the enemy's voice rather than God's voice?
If you listen to an enemy more than God, doesn't that make you friends with the enemy?
I want to encourage you to really identify who's calling the shots, who or what you're
in debt with spiritually, whether that be fear or impatience or whatever.
You cannot pay yourself out of it in your own ability.
You need new ownership.
Thankfully, Jesus brought us back from these things that put us into debt.
He paid your debt off in full for your lifetime.
And you may be asking at this point, Pastor Eric, are you saying that debt is sin?
No, I'm not saying that.
In terms of finances, not necessarily, because debt is not always bad in itself.
But debt that wasn't planned out or thought through is not a good thing.
Anything can happen.
If you know the cost and what it will take, I think a lot of good can come out of it.
Jesus said, don't begin until you count the cost.
For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see
if there is enough money to finish it?
Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money.
And then everyone would laugh at you.
They would say, that's the person who started the building and couldn't afford to finish
it.
For the person in this example, maybe he was purely going out of pocket and he realized
he just didn't have enough money to do what he needed to do.
But on the other hand, let's say this guy took out a big loan to complete the project.
And it's not shameful to finish what you started, but he underestimated how much it would cost
the first time.
Now, the second, hopefully he's learned that he needs to count the cost, what he actually
needs to finish it.
He has learned that he has to count the cost before making any major decision.
And successful business people will do that.
They don't just take out a loan on a whim or just because someone said so.
They put together an intricate business plan of how much they're going to need, how much
it's going to cost, whose help are they going to need, how are they going to make it all
happen, how much time does this require, and much more.
So not all of that is bad.
Scripture says whether we eat or drink, we do it all for the glory of God.
Ask yourself the question, is this for the purpose of glorifying God or is it just so
I can have some temporary relief in my life?
Is this for God or is this for me?
And if you live in God's presence where his wisdom and counsel is prevalent, that is not
your master because you are living under the rulership of Jesus Christ.
He will give you what you need to overcome it.
Remember in our main verse, sin is no longer your master for you no longer live under the
requirements of the law.
Instead you live under the freedom of God's grace.
Amen?
When I live in God's grace, I can overcome anything.
Why?
Because Jesus is the way.
I can be a slave to debt or I can be a slave to Christ.
They lead in opposite directions.
One leads to destruction, one leads to life.
If God is leading you, it means he is leading you somewhere good.
That's his will for you.
No matter if it be financial or spiritual, his plan is real and he paid a high price
for it to become a reality for you.
Jesus counted the cost and knew he was going to even die on the cross for us.
He knew what it was going to take.
He took upon himself our debt, our sin, so it wouldn't be our master anymore.
When I give myself to him, my heart, my fears, my doubts, my finances, he will flip it upside
down.
He will turn what the enemy meant for evil and turn it for good.
But that is when I submit myself to him.
When I give my being to him, Jesus will reign and influence me for his glory.
What does that look like for you?
Have you given up on freedom in this life?
Captive to something and just thinking it is hopeless?
One step in Christ's direction is better than taking one step back from him.
When you go his direction, you are more free than you were before.
Are you trying to pay off a debt that Christ already paid for?
Let his saving grace be the voice that breaks the chains of dominion over your life.
He wants you to be free.
Would you please stand?
Is it clear now that whatever you give yourself to becomes your master?
You give them a part of your life to them and they call the shots.
The master has his own way, an invoice to keep you enslaved.
But there is a better voice, a pure voice, gentle and true.
He is Jesus Christ, the one true Lord and God.
He was designed to be your savior, the one who paid off all of your debt.
He gave himself for you so you could give yourself to him.
Who doesn't want Jesus as their good shepherd?
Where he leads, he always leads into freedom and redemption.
So if you are in financial debt, don't worry.
Trust in God.
Remember, it is in God we trust, not in debt we trust.
Really listen to the Spirit and let him identify those slave masters in your life.
And you say with the authority of God, you don't own me.
Jesus Christ does.
I am done listening to you.
I am listening to him.
I am listening to Jesus.
And he will always, always lead you into his presence, into his goodness.
Even if you are in financial debt, ask him.
Make a plan together.
He has a lot of wisdom to offer.
Make that plan together and stick to it.
So we are going to close with a song.
And really declare this over your life.
Let it be true in your heart and speak it.
Believe that Jesus truly does set you free from debts.
And wants you to go into even deeper freedom with him.
That there is nothing you can do by yourself.
Let's admit it.
Doing life alone, it is burdensome.
It is weighty.
It is hard.
You need others.
You need Jesus, his fellowship, to really live in freedom.
Let him speak to you today.
Thank you for tuning in to this message from LifeHouse Church.
We pray that you were impacted powerfully by this message.
If you have been personally affected by our ministry and you would like to partner with
us as we love God, love people, every day, visit our website at www.LifeHouseCOG.com.