WEBVTT 00:00:06.660 --> 00:00:17.660 2 Corinthians 3, verse 17. Let's pray, and we'll 00:00:17.660 --> 00:00:21.140 get started. God, we thank you for these good 00:00:21.140 --> 00:00:24.160 words, and I pray that you would help us to find 00:00:24.160 --> 00:00:28.160 some encouragement in them tonight. It is a good 00:00:28.160 --> 00:00:31.100 reminder for us, dear Lord, that we are free 00:00:31.100 --> 00:00:34.670 in Jesus Christ. And so I pray. that we would 00:00:34.670 --> 00:00:36.869 rest in that freedom and find peace in that freedom. 00:00:36.969 --> 00:00:38.969 I pray that your Holy Spirit would free us of 00:00:38.969 --> 00:00:41.929 the worries and the distractions and the things 00:00:41.929 --> 00:00:44.289 of this world, dear Lord. I pray that you would 00:00:44.289 --> 00:00:47.130 help our minds and our ears and our hearts to 00:00:47.130 --> 00:00:49.329 listen to you tonight, dear Lord. I pray that 00:00:49.329 --> 00:00:51.350 you would hide me behind the cross, that I would 00:00:51.350 --> 00:00:53.869 preach and teach in a way that brings glory to 00:00:53.869 --> 00:00:56.090 you, and I pray that you would let your word 00:00:56.090 --> 00:00:59.810 speak to us tonight. In Jesus' name I ask it. 00:01:00.250 --> 00:01:04.840 Amen. Paul had talked about in the verses before 00:01:04.840 --> 00:01:08.579 that we looked at last week that God had given 00:01:08.579 --> 00:01:11.019 the law in the Old Testament, and the law was 00:01:11.019 --> 00:01:14.500 good. It served a purpose. And when Moses was 00:01:14.500 --> 00:01:18.560 communicating with God on the mountain, and Moses 00:01:18.560 --> 00:01:20.859 wanted to see the glory of God, and God said, 00:01:20.920 --> 00:01:23.400 Look, Moses, you cannot see me in all my glory 00:01:23.400 --> 00:01:26.739 and live. But he allowed Moses to see his back 00:01:26.739 --> 00:01:30.980 as he walked by, just a little bit of God. And 00:01:30.980 --> 00:01:34.900 this experience affected Moses physically because 00:01:34.900 --> 00:01:37.739 when he came down from the mountain, his face 00:01:37.739 --> 00:01:41.120 was glowing and it was evident before all who 00:01:41.120 --> 00:01:44.159 saw him that he had been in the presence of God 00:01:44.159 --> 00:01:47.500 and the glory of God was radiating from Moses' 00:01:47.659 --> 00:01:52.069 face. Moses wore a veil when he came off the 00:01:52.069 --> 00:01:53.909 mountain when he communicated with the other 00:01:53.909 --> 00:01:57.129 Israelites so that they wouldn't see the glory 00:01:57.129 --> 00:02:00.030 of the Lord fading. It says that the people were 00:02:00.030 --> 00:02:02.750 afraid of Moses when he came down, and I'm sure 00:02:02.750 --> 00:02:05.890 that probably was kind of a crazy thing. However, 00:02:06.090 --> 00:02:09.270 because of what it was, you would think there's 00:02:09.270 --> 00:02:11.050 really nothing to fear with the glory of the 00:02:11.050 --> 00:02:16.009 Lord. Nonetheless, Paul uses this story to make 00:02:16.009 --> 00:02:20.050 an illustration. He says, look. In the Old Testament, 00:02:20.189 --> 00:02:23.750 we saw God's glory a little bit. We saw a little 00:02:23.750 --> 00:02:25.909 bit of the glory of God in the way he interacted 00:02:25.909 --> 00:02:28.150 with his people, in the giving of the law, in 00:02:28.150 --> 00:02:30.729 the commandments, and all of the things in the 00:02:30.729 --> 00:02:33.509 Old Testament showed us just a little bit of 00:02:33.509 --> 00:02:37.150 the glory of God. But Paul is really making the 00:02:37.150 --> 00:02:40.530 point that in Jesus Christ, we have seen God 00:02:40.530 --> 00:02:43.300 in all of his glory. We have seen the love of 00:02:43.300 --> 00:02:46.560 God in Jesus Christ who came to this earth and 00:02:46.560 --> 00:02:49.080 gave his life on a cross so that we could be 00:02:49.080 --> 00:02:52.259 forgiven. We have seen the fullness of who God 00:02:52.259 --> 00:02:55.000 is. God came in the flesh, so to speak, and so 00:02:55.000 --> 00:02:58.219 we know God. Now, we haven't seen God in the 00:02:58.219 --> 00:03:00.080 way that we're going to see him one day when 00:03:00.080 --> 00:03:03.699 we are with him for eternity, but we have seen 00:03:03.699 --> 00:03:07.199 enough in Jesus Christ that it does not get any 00:03:07.199 --> 00:03:09.610 more beautiful. What is more beautiful than a 00:03:09.610 --> 00:03:12.530 man laying down his life? Than God sending his 00:03:12.530 --> 00:03:15.210 only begotten son to give his life so that our 00:03:15.210 --> 00:03:18.830 sins could be forgiven. Now the problem with 00:03:18.830 --> 00:03:21.330 many of the people of Israel in Paul's day and 00:03:21.330 --> 00:03:24.169 still today in our world is that they still seek 00:03:24.169 --> 00:03:27.610 to live by the law. So Paul uses this story with 00:03:27.610 --> 00:03:32.669 Moses and he says, look, the way it is now is... 00:03:33.050 --> 00:03:35.629 The people of Israel are still trying to live 00:03:35.629 --> 00:03:39.409 by the old ways, and it's as if a veil is covering 00:03:39.409 --> 00:03:42.729 their face. They're not seeing the glory of God. 00:03:42.810 --> 00:03:44.870 They didn't see it with Moses because Moses' 00:03:45.050 --> 00:03:48.330 face was veiled. And he says the Israelites are 00:03:48.330 --> 00:03:51.610 still missing the glory of God. Why? Because 00:03:51.610 --> 00:03:54.650 they are missing Jesus Christ. And so he says, 00:03:54.729 --> 00:03:57.189 look, it's still as though their faces are veiled 00:03:57.189 --> 00:04:00.439 even to this day, Paul says. Fast forward to 00:04:00.439 --> 00:04:04.219 2025, it's still true. The Jewish people still 00:04:04.219 --> 00:04:06.879 do not trust in Jesus Christ. They still seek 00:04:06.879 --> 00:04:10.219 the law. That veil is still there. They still 00:04:10.219 --> 00:04:14.719 have not experienced the glory of God. And so 00:04:14.719 --> 00:04:17.079 that's kind of a recap of what we talked about 00:04:17.079 --> 00:04:20.879 last week. But with that in mind, we continue 00:04:20.879 --> 00:04:27.220 to verse 17. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and 00:04:27.220 --> 00:04:30.939 where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 00:04:31.319 --> 00:04:35.899 We all, with unveiled faces, are looking as in 00:04:35.899 --> 00:04:39.279 a mirror at the glory of the Lord, and are being 00:04:39.279 --> 00:04:42.879 transformed into the same image from glory to 00:04:42.879 --> 00:04:47.100 glory. This is from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 00:04:47.660 --> 00:04:50.220 Now, what a beautiful verse we have there in 00:04:50.220 --> 00:04:53.439 verse 17. The Lord is the Spirit, and where the 00:04:53.439 --> 00:04:57.360 Spirit of the Lord is, there is... Freedom. Now, 00:04:57.439 --> 00:05:00.139 in the context of the audience he's talking to 00:05:00.139 --> 00:05:02.959 here, he's certainly talking about, in some level, 00:05:03.019 --> 00:05:05.540 I think, freedom from the law, that we are not 00:05:05.540 --> 00:05:07.720 under the law of Jesus Christ, that we are not 00:05:07.720 --> 00:05:10.160 under the wages of sin that is death, but there 00:05:10.160 --> 00:05:13.100 is freedom for those who are in Christ. We are 00:05:13.100 --> 00:05:15.300 not seeking to live by the letter of the law, 00:05:15.399 --> 00:05:18.139 but we have found redemption in Jesus Christ. 00:05:18.240 --> 00:05:21.720 Now, when you flip over to Galatians and read 00:05:21.720 --> 00:05:24.199 it, that's kind of the... One of the main themes 00:05:24.199 --> 00:05:27.199 in the book of Galatians is freedom in Jesus 00:05:27.199 --> 00:05:30.759 Christ, that we are free, that we are freed from 00:05:30.759 --> 00:05:33.779 our sin, that we are freed from the law. And 00:05:33.779 --> 00:05:35.759 what do we do with that freedom? Paul says, look, 00:05:35.860 --> 00:05:38.519 don't use your freedom for yourself, but use 00:05:38.519 --> 00:05:40.779 that freedom that you have received in Christ 00:05:40.779 --> 00:05:44.300 and use it to serve other people. The love that 00:05:44.300 --> 00:05:46.500 you've experienced in Jesus, you need to use 00:05:46.500 --> 00:05:49.800 that to love other people. Now, where the Spirit 00:05:49.800 --> 00:05:53.300 of the Lord is, there is freedom. Now, you may 00:05:53.300 --> 00:05:55.920 remember at the first part of chapter 3, he had 00:05:55.920 --> 00:05:58.980 spent some time talking about the ministry of 00:05:58.980 --> 00:06:02.600 death. That is the letter of the law, a letter 00:06:02.600 --> 00:06:05.180 that was chiseled in stone. We are familiar with 00:06:05.180 --> 00:06:08.740 the Ten Commandments. And there were, of course, 00:06:08.779 --> 00:06:11.740 plenty of other laws. But when he talks about 00:06:11.740 --> 00:06:15.519 these laws chiseled in stone, he's talking about 00:06:15.519 --> 00:06:19.569 the law, the Ten Commandments. He's making a 00:06:19.569 --> 00:06:21.649 point at the beginning of the book. He says, 00:06:21.670 --> 00:06:25.470 look, we're looking for something better than 00:06:25.470 --> 00:06:29.290 letters chiseled in stone. We are living letters, 00:06:29.410 --> 00:06:32.589 he said, by the Spirit of God through Jesus Christ. 00:06:32.750 --> 00:06:35.329 There's something unique. There's something beautiful. 00:06:35.509 --> 00:06:38.269 There's something about us that is more beautiful 00:06:38.269 --> 00:06:41.589 than the old system. And so he says, look, we 00:06:41.589 --> 00:06:44.089 don't live by... the stone laws that are going 00:06:44.089 --> 00:06:46.529 to lead to death, but we live by Jesus Christ 00:06:46.529 --> 00:06:50.170 who brings with him the Holy Spirit once we accept 00:06:50.170 --> 00:06:53.870 Jesus Christ. And so once we have accepted Jesus 00:06:53.870 --> 00:06:57.250 and the Holy Spirit dwells in us, there is freedom. 00:06:57.410 --> 00:07:01.050 Now that's good news for us because in the law 00:07:01.050 --> 00:07:03.550 we are doomed. If we lived under the law still 00:07:03.550 --> 00:07:05.810 today, we'd be doomed because our sins would 00:07:05.810 --> 00:07:08.829 be ever before us. We would be a slave to our 00:07:08.829 --> 00:07:11.490 sin. Even things that we may have quit doing 00:07:11.490 --> 00:07:13.750 that we don't do anymore, we would still have 00:07:13.750 --> 00:07:16.430 to answer for those sins. There would be no sacrifice 00:07:16.430 --> 00:07:19.230 that would be sufficient for those sins. And 00:07:19.230 --> 00:07:22.129 that is no freedom. There's no freedom in that. 00:07:22.550 --> 00:07:25.189 And so Paul says, look, why would you want to 00:07:25.189 --> 00:07:28.170 be a slave to the law? Go read Galatians again 00:07:28.170 --> 00:07:30.569 if you want some homework this week, short book. 00:07:30.769 --> 00:07:33.389 But that's the point he's making. Don't be a 00:07:33.389 --> 00:07:36.959 slave to the law. Don't be a slave to the letter 00:07:36.959 --> 00:07:40.860 of the law, but experience freedom in Jesus Christ. 00:07:41.160 --> 00:07:43.740 There's no peace if you know your sin is ever 00:07:43.740 --> 00:07:46.600 before you. There's no peace if you know that 00:07:46.600 --> 00:07:49.800 there's no power to overcome your sin. But there 00:07:49.800 --> 00:07:52.879 is great peace. When we have put our faith and 00:07:52.879 --> 00:07:56.439 trust in Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit indwells 00:07:56.439 --> 00:07:59.379 in us, there is a freedom and a peace there. 00:07:59.519 --> 00:08:02.079 That when we come up against the sin, that we 00:08:02.079 --> 00:08:04.540 don't have to give in to it. Now maybe we do. 00:08:04.720 --> 00:08:07.600 Maybe we do more times than we want. But we don't 00:08:07.600 --> 00:08:10.899 have to. We have freedom over that in Jesus Christ. 00:08:11.600 --> 00:08:14.899 Those past sins that maybe even still the devil 00:08:14.899 --> 00:08:17.399 wants to bring up to us, we're free from those 00:08:17.399 --> 00:08:20.240 things in Christ. When we have asked Jesus Christ 00:08:20.240 --> 00:08:22.480 to forgive us and become our Lord and Savior, 00:08:22.680 --> 00:08:25.300 he has forgiven our sins, and they are cast as 00:08:25.300 --> 00:08:28.519 far as the east is to the west. And so there's 00:08:28.519 --> 00:08:30.899 great freedom, and there's great peace, and that 00:08:30.899 --> 00:08:34.649 only comes in Jesus Christ. And so Paul says 00:08:34.649 --> 00:08:37.090 where the Spirit of the Lord is, if you're following 00:08:37.090 --> 00:08:40.029 Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit is within you, 00:08:40.129 --> 00:08:43.110 and you need to live in the freedom that you've 00:08:43.110 --> 00:08:45.549 experienced. Freedom from the law and freedom 00:08:45.549 --> 00:08:48.009 from our sin doesn't mean that we just have a 00:08:48.009 --> 00:08:50.350 license to sin and go and do what we want to 00:08:50.350 --> 00:08:52.789 do. That totally misses the point, if that's 00:08:52.789 --> 00:08:55.330 our attitude. Oh, wait, Jesus died for me, my 00:08:55.330 --> 00:08:57.409 sins are forgiven, I can do what I want to do. 00:08:57.490 --> 00:09:01.309 Well, we haven't appreciated the love of Jesus 00:09:01.309 --> 00:09:03.710 Christ. Jesus didn't die so we could do what 00:09:03.710 --> 00:09:06.110 we wanted to do. He died so we could have freedom, 00:09:06.269 --> 00:09:08.929 so that we could say no to sin, so that we could 00:09:08.929 --> 00:09:11.289 have the strength to stand up to sin. And that 00:09:11.289 --> 00:09:13.929 strength comes through Him. So where the Spirit 00:09:13.929 --> 00:09:16.809 of the Lord is, there is freedom not to sin, 00:09:16.990 --> 00:09:19.950 but freedom to serve. Freedom to serve the Lord. 00:09:20.870 --> 00:09:23.690 Freedom to choose Jesus Christ. Yeah, we could 00:09:23.690 --> 00:09:26.769 choose to sin, but we don't have to. We're free 00:09:26.769 --> 00:09:29.509 from that. And that's a beautiful verse for us 00:09:29.509 --> 00:09:33.570 to remember. Verse 18, we all with unveiled faces 00:09:33.570 --> 00:09:36.990 are looking as in a mirror at the glory of the 00:09:36.990 --> 00:09:39.409 Lord and are being transformed into the same 00:09:39.409 --> 00:09:44.169 image from glory to glory. Now, this is an interesting, 00:09:44.269 --> 00:09:47.370 interesting verse. You may remember in 1 Corinthians, 00:09:47.450 --> 00:09:50.740 I believe it's chapter 13. Where he talks about 00:09:50.740 --> 00:09:55.059 that now, in the current world, we look in a 00:09:55.059 --> 00:09:57.580 mirror as though we're looking dimly. Like we 00:09:57.580 --> 00:10:01.620 can kind of make out what the glory of God is 00:10:01.620 --> 00:10:03.679 and how God works, but we can't see it clearly. 00:10:03.779 --> 00:10:06.379 Now, we have to go back in time to understand 00:10:06.379 --> 00:10:09.019 what Paul is saying in 1 Corinthians. Now, when 00:10:09.019 --> 00:10:11.419 we look in a mirror, you see a perfect replica 00:10:11.419 --> 00:10:13.559 of what you are. I mean, it's as clear and as 00:10:13.559 --> 00:10:16.460 pretty as it can be. But in those days, they 00:10:16.460 --> 00:10:18.440 didn't have mirrors like we do. It would have 00:10:18.440 --> 00:10:20.419 been a piece of metal that would have been just 00:10:20.419 --> 00:10:22.919 polished to perfection. And while you could have 00:10:22.919 --> 00:10:25.259 seen your reflection pretty good, it probably 00:10:25.259 --> 00:10:28.919 wasn't quite as clear as what we would see in 00:10:28.919 --> 00:10:31.940 our mirrors today. So in 1 Corinthians, Paul 00:10:31.940 --> 00:10:34.500 talks about kind of seeing in that mirror dimly. 00:10:34.519 --> 00:10:36.899 We don't see God fully. We don't see everything. 00:10:37.080 --> 00:10:40.940 We just kind of see a part of God's glory. I 00:10:40.940 --> 00:10:43.139 don't know that he's using that same idea here. 00:10:43.320 --> 00:10:46.279 I think he's using, when he uses the term mirror 00:10:46.279 --> 00:10:48.940 here, he may be using it differently. Now, he 00:10:48.940 --> 00:10:51.820 may be using it the same way. I suppose it's 00:10:51.820 --> 00:10:55.120 possible that he's saying, even still, we see 00:10:55.120 --> 00:10:57.539 God's glory, and even in Jesus Christ, but even 00:10:57.539 --> 00:11:00.419 still, we haven't seen God in all of his glory. 00:11:00.539 --> 00:11:03.000 And that certainly could be what he's saying. 00:11:03.179 --> 00:11:06.700 But I think that he's making a contrast with 00:11:06.700 --> 00:11:09.919 the veil. That is, those who wear a veil, they 00:11:09.919 --> 00:11:13.419 can't see God's glory at all. And so for those 00:11:13.419 --> 00:11:15.899 who are in Christ, we're not looking at a veil, 00:11:16.039 --> 00:11:19.090 we're looking at a mirror. We see in Jesus Christ 00:11:19.090 --> 00:11:23.210 the glory of God. When we see Jesus, we see the 00:11:23.210 --> 00:11:25.809 glory of God. It's reflecting back on us. We 00:11:25.809 --> 00:11:28.149 see the works of Jesus and the words of Jesus 00:11:28.149 --> 00:11:30.830 and the sacrifice of Jesus and the resurrection 00:11:30.830 --> 00:11:34.190 of Jesus. And we see that, and that's reflecting 00:11:34.190 --> 00:11:37.970 on us and should reflect from us onto other people. 00:11:38.409 --> 00:11:41.850 And so he says here, we all with unveiled faces, 00:11:41.889 --> 00:11:44.190 that is, we don't have a veil on our face anymore. 00:11:44.330 --> 00:11:47.330 The veil has been removed through Jesus. We are 00:11:47.330 --> 00:11:50.029 seeing clearly. We are seeing so clearly. We 00:11:50.029 --> 00:11:54.429 are seeing exactly what the glory of God is in 00:11:54.429 --> 00:11:57.509 Jesus Christ. And he says, we are looking as 00:11:57.509 --> 00:11:59.549 in a mirror at the glory of the Lord and are 00:11:59.549 --> 00:12:03.929 being transformed in the same image from glory 00:12:03.929 --> 00:12:10.929 to glory. Now what does that mean? Well, it means 00:12:10.929 --> 00:12:13.950 that we've seen the glory of God in some way, 00:12:13.990 --> 00:12:17.149 I think. but we haven't experienced it in its 00:12:17.149 --> 00:12:19.970 fullness. That we've come to Jesus Christ and 00:12:19.970 --> 00:12:23.210 we've seen the love of Jesus Christ, and when 00:12:23.210 --> 00:12:26.129 we accept Him and follow Him as our Savior and 00:12:26.129 --> 00:12:28.970 put our faith in Him, then we experience the 00:12:28.970 --> 00:12:32.669 glory of God, but it's a process. It's not an 00:12:32.669 --> 00:12:36.710 instantaneous thing, but it's a process from 00:12:36.710 --> 00:12:39.669 glory to glory, to the glory that we've experienced 00:12:39.669 --> 00:12:42.370 now, to the glory that we will one day experience 00:12:42.370 --> 00:12:46.759 in its fullness. once we spend an eternity with 00:12:46.759 --> 00:12:50.960 God. And so we're in this process of going from 00:12:50.960 --> 00:12:54.879 glory to glory. So maybe this is a good test 00:12:54.879 --> 00:12:58.460 for us, is to look at our life now, and look 00:12:58.460 --> 00:13:00.980 at our life six months ago, a year ago, two years 00:13:00.980 --> 00:13:04.299 ago, ever how long it's been since you came to 00:13:04.299 --> 00:13:07.960 Jesus Christ, and you should look more like Jesus 00:13:07.960 --> 00:13:12.570 today than you did a few years ago. Now, if we 00:13:12.570 --> 00:13:16.049 accept Jesus and 10 years go by and there's not 00:13:16.049 --> 00:13:18.049 been much change in our life, I'm not saying 00:13:18.049 --> 00:13:20.470 you're not a Christian. Your sins may very well 00:13:20.470 --> 00:13:23.009 be forgiven. You may very well have faith in 00:13:23.009 --> 00:13:26.190 Jesus Christ, but there needs to be some growth 00:13:26.190 --> 00:13:29.970 in this process of going from glory to glory, 00:13:30.049 --> 00:13:32.190 that once we experience the love and the forgiveness 00:13:32.190 --> 00:13:34.970 through Jesus Christ and experience the glory 00:13:34.970 --> 00:13:38.730 of God, there should be some growth in our life. 00:13:39.500 --> 00:13:41.799 And so the question that we have to answer is, 00:13:41.879 --> 00:13:45.620 is there any growth? Am I walking closer to the 00:13:45.620 --> 00:13:49.519 Lord than I was then? Do I love people more than 00:13:49.519 --> 00:13:53.419 I used to? Do I serve the Lord more than I used 00:13:53.419 --> 00:13:56.399 to? Do I serve others more than I used to? Those 00:13:56.399 --> 00:13:59.059 things that used to be a struggle for me, the 00:13:59.059 --> 00:14:02.259 language that I used, do I still use that language? 00:14:02.620 --> 00:14:05.559 My attitude, do I still have a bad attitude? 00:14:06.600 --> 00:14:09.399 Do I still treat people poorly? Do I still gossip? 00:14:09.759 --> 00:14:11.779 I mean, there's lots of areas in our life. We 00:14:11.779 --> 00:14:13.460 all struggle in different ways. I don't know 00:14:13.460 --> 00:14:15.639 what your struggle is. We all got them, though. 00:14:15.759 --> 00:14:17.559 And there's some things you struggle with that 00:14:17.559 --> 00:14:19.279 I don't, things that I struggle with and you 00:14:19.279 --> 00:14:25.360 don't. But there should be some measure throughout 00:14:25.360 --> 00:14:27.960 our life in which we can say, you know, this 00:14:27.960 --> 00:14:30.600 area of my life is getting better. And maybe 00:14:30.600 --> 00:14:32.779 there are some that are getting better and some 00:14:32.779 --> 00:14:34.700 that you still need to work on. Praise the Lord 00:14:34.700 --> 00:14:37.110 God is patient. Praise the Lord, God doesn't 00:14:37.110 --> 00:14:39.529 say the day that we follow Jesus Christ. And 00:14:39.529 --> 00:14:42.889 now you must do everything perfect. If God revealed 00:14:42.889 --> 00:14:45.409 everything to us the day that we came to Christ 00:14:45.409 --> 00:14:47.169 and said, Okay, here's all the things that are 00:14:47.169 --> 00:14:48.570 wrong with you. You better change them right 00:14:48.570 --> 00:14:51.850 now. Boy, we'd be in big trouble. Because we 00:14:51.850 --> 00:14:54.830 could not change all those things. But that's 00:14:54.830 --> 00:14:56.549 why it's important for us to come to meetings 00:14:56.549 --> 00:15:00.850 like this. To read our Bible. To pray. Because 00:15:00.850 --> 00:15:05.759 as we walk with the Lord, We grow in the Lord. 00:15:06.059 --> 00:15:09.080 And there are things that God reveals to us maybe 00:15:09.080 --> 00:15:12.460 15, 20 years into our walk with the Lord that 00:15:12.460 --> 00:15:14.799 maybe we weren't ready for. We weren't spiritually 00:15:14.799 --> 00:15:17.039 mature enough to take those things on to grow 00:15:17.039 --> 00:15:20.179 in that way. And so God knows that it's a process. 00:15:20.320 --> 00:15:23.220 Some grow faster than others. But there needs 00:15:23.220 --> 00:15:28.159 to be some level of growth. If you have a child 00:15:28.159 --> 00:15:31.259 that's in kindergarten, and then they go to first 00:15:31.259 --> 00:15:32.879 grade, and then they go to second grade, and 00:15:32.879 --> 00:15:35.070 every year they're... They take every test, and 00:15:35.070 --> 00:15:37.190 they're still doing the same things they were 00:15:37.190 --> 00:15:39.570 doing in kindergarten, and then there's a failure 00:15:39.570 --> 00:15:41.809 in the system somewhere. If there's a failure 00:15:41.809 --> 00:15:44.830 in the system, it's not with God. It might be 00:15:44.830 --> 00:15:47.210 us. It might just need to be that we need to 00:15:47.210 --> 00:15:49.710 look at our life and say, okay, God, maybe I 00:15:49.710 --> 00:15:52.830 need to take some more things more serious than 00:15:52.830 --> 00:15:55.389 I am. God, maybe there's some areas that I don't 00:15:55.389 --> 00:15:57.669 know of. God, help me to see those areas that 00:15:57.669 --> 00:16:00.570 I'm not growing. Help me to continue to grow 00:16:00.570 --> 00:16:03.259 in those areas that I am growing. But there needs 00:16:03.259 --> 00:16:05.539 to be some sign of progress in our life as we 00:16:05.539 --> 00:16:10.620 are growing from glory to glory. And so Paul 00:16:10.620 --> 00:16:14.200 says to his people here, he says, look, don't 00:16:14.200 --> 00:16:16.179 get caught up in the things of the world. Don't 00:16:16.179 --> 00:16:18.340 get caught up in the law and the old system and 00:16:18.340 --> 00:16:22.820 all those things. Don't be a slave to sin. Now, 00:16:22.879 --> 00:16:24.679 we might not be caught up with the law of Moses. 00:16:24.779 --> 00:16:26.879 We're probably not struggling too much with that. 00:16:27.759 --> 00:16:30.480 But maybe there are things in our life that we 00:16:30.480 --> 00:16:33.419 have become a slave to. That we have become a 00:16:33.419 --> 00:16:35.580 slave to this, or we've become a slave to that. 00:16:36.299 --> 00:16:38.659 And these words that Paul speaks are true for 00:16:38.659 --> 00:16:41.740 us today. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there 00:16:41.740 --> 00:16:44.919 is freedom. We don't have to be a slave to our 00:16:44.919 --> 00:16:50.559 sin. It might not be easy to overcome those temptations, 00:16:50.580 --> 00:16:53.039 and there still may even be times that we fail. 00:16:53.679 --> 00:16:55.740 But we have to realize that there is freedom. 00:16:56.120 --> 00:16:58.480 That if we would seek Jesus, if we would call 00:16:58.480 --> 00:17:01.240 on Him, that He would give us the strength. that 00:17:01.240 --> 00:17:03.179 he would give us the power to overcome those 00:17:03.179 --> 00:17:05.799 temptations, to overcome our attitudes, to overcome 00:17:05.799 --> 00:17:08.599 opening our mouth when we shouldn't. Whatever 00:17:08.599 --> 00:17:11.680 it is, he can give us the ability to conquer 00:17:11.680 --> 00:17:15.339 those things. And it's not easy. But once we 00:17:15.339 --> 00:17:18.539 trust in Jesus and seek him, and once we begin 00:17:18.539 --> 00:17:21.859 to overcome one thing and two things, boy, the 00:17:21.859 --> 00:17:24.480 weight of that sin and that struggle that we've 00:17:24.480 --> 00:17:27.059 been battling against, it just lifts itself. 00:17:27.720 --> 00:17:31.859 And we begin to experience that. Freedom. And 00:17:31.859 --> 00:17:34.839 where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 00:17:35.259 --> 00:17:37.500 And we want to live in that freedom through Jesus 00:17:37.500 --> 00:17:41.319 Christ tonight. Let's pray. God, we come to you. 00:17:41.339 --> 00:17:43.099 We thank you for these good words, and I pray 00:17:43.099 --> 00:17:45.420 that we would take them to heart. Dear Lord, 00:17:45.640 --> 00:17:48.019 I pray that if there are any areas that we need 00:17:48.019 --> 00:17:49.980 to grow, that you help us to see those areas. 00:17:50.079 --> 00:17:51.519 And maybe there's some you've been working on 00:17:51.519 --> 00:17:53.559 us, dear Lord, and sometimes it's a slow go, 00:17:53.700 --> 00:17:55.759 but we appreciate your patience, God, and we 00:17:55.759 --> 00:17:58.279 thank you for giving us the grace and mercy. 00:17:58.859 --> 00:18:01.500 So help us to continue to improve and seek you 00:18:01.500 --> 00:18:04.500 on the areas of the things that we know we need 00:18:04.500 --> 00:18:08.140 to grow in. And I pray that you help us to be 00:18:08.140 --> 00:18:10.359 aware maybe of some things that we are not aware 00:18:10.359 --> 00:18:13.339 of. Maybe some areas that have slipped up on 00:18:13.339 --> 00:18:15.099 us. There's some new things in our life that 00:18:15.099 --> 00:18:17.900 have reared their ugly head, dear Lord. And I 00:18:17.900 --> 00:18:20.680 pray that you just give us freedom over those 00:18:20.680 --> 00:18:22.500 things. So help us, dear Lord. You know where 00:18:22.500 --> 00:18:24.720 we are. You know what our struggles are. You 00:18:24.720 --> 00:18:27.039 know what our sins are, our temptations are. 00:18:27.769 --> 00:18:29.849 I pray that you free us from those temptations, 00:18:29.890 --> 00:18:32.250 but when they come, I pray that you give us freedom 00:18:32.250 --> 00:18:34.970 in them. That through Jesus Christ, dear Lord, 00:18:35.089 --> 00:18:37.470 through the Holy Spirit that dwells within us, 00:18:37.690 --> 00:18:40.549 that you would strengthen us and guide us and 00:18:40.549 --> 00:18:43.789 help us to find freedom tonight in Jesus Christ. 00:18:44.089 --> 00:18:46.769 And I ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen.