Rooted: Living in True Freedom (Week 2)

Preacher: Daniel Erasmus

Worship:
As you spend time in worship, consider the lyrics of the song Freedom – Jesus Culture. What line particularly stands out for you? Pray your response to this back to God.

Check-in:
How has your view of freedom shifted since hearing Pastor Daniel share about living in true freedom?

Synopsis of message:
This past Sunday, Pastor Daniel explained what true freedom looks like, using Galatians 5:1 as the starting point of his message. The verse states, ‘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.’ From this, he explored how we must stand firm when it comes to being rooted in freedom.

Freedom is always connected with Lordship. This is because freedom has boundaries. Based on this truth, Pastor Daniel shared the following three ways that we may be living:

1. Living with no boundaries. While this may look like being able to do whatever you want and live however you want, it comes with a cost and consequences.
2. Living with our own boundaries. While living this way may give us a greater sense of control, living with our own boundaries means that we have no Lordship. Consequently, it means that we haven’t fully surrendered to God.
3. Living in God’s boundaries. Freedom is not the absence of boundaries. Instead, it is living by the boundaries that God set out to enable us to live in His freedom.

After sharing these different ways of living, Pastor Daniel posed three questions that act as a ‘freedom filter’ that will enable us to remain rooted in freedom:

1. Is it pleasing to God? The Bible is the truth that we live by that sets us free (John 8: 31-32). It is not only a tool that brings us closer to God, but it provides us with the guidelines of how to live in a way that pleases God.
2. Is it upholding my convictions? Our personal convictions are inspired by the Holy Spirit, so they are never in contradiction of God’s Word. Because of this, Paul tells us that when we aren’t following our convictions, we are sinning (Romans 14: 23).
3. Is it representing God’s love? We are called to represent God’s love, and we are required to let nothing get in the way of doing so (Galatians 5: 13-14).

Discussion questions:

1. Pastor Daniel mentioned that the amazing freedom that comes from God has boundaries. Consider a real-life situation where a swimming pool has fencing around it to prevent any young children falling into the pool. Can you think of an example of boundaries that God has in place for our protection and growth?
2. Think about the current culture of our world and the concept of control we want to have over every aspect of our lives. Has there been a time where you’ve taken control (or tried to) instead of leaving God to work out the matter? We all have some areas we want to hold on to. How differently would we feel if we’d truly surrendered to God? How would the outcome look?
3. Consider the Freedom Filter mentioned in the sermon. This is made up of the following:
   • Is God first?
   • Is it upholding my convictions?
   • Is it representing his love?

Can you think of a time when you have put one of these points into practice?

Additional resources:

• Keys to Freedom: Practical Discipleship Tools for Living in Freedom (RightNow Media)
• Freedom in Christ (bible.com)
• Living in Freedom (bible.com)