(This message series is inspired and excerpted from Heaven is Now by Andrew Farley)
And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus.20 By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. 21 And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, 22 let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. (Hebrews 10:19-23 NLT)
Happy Independence Day!
“Freedom. There are many different reactions to the idea. Some feel so secure within the bounds of the law that freedom is just too intimidating. Others put one foot in freedom while keeping the other foot firmly rooted in the law. You know, just in case. [What does this double minded person look like?]
It’s difficult to allow ourselves to enjoy freedom. …We may even find ourselves tempted to commit a silly sin just to see how free we really are and what God is going to ‘do about it.’ Then we expect we will need the law again to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps. But God won’t have it. He intends for our attitudes and actions to be motivated by freedom, start to finish.” (loc. 660 of 2138) How do you check your motivation?
Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:12-18 ESV emphasis added)
“Freedom feels risky. And freedom means personal responsibility. Freedom means we can’t pull out a measuring stick to evaluate our status. It means we are accepted, no matter what. It also means our life choices will have to be motivated by something other than guilt and fear. New covenant freedom releases us to allow God’s Spirit to be all that he desires in our lives: ‘where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is [freedom]’ (2 Cor. 3:17).” (loc. 660 of 2138)
This year we will participate in one of the greatest personal responsibilities of freedom on earth. In the United States of America we are blessed with a republic and in the spirit of freedom we are responsible for selecting our earthly leadership. But, did you know that the outcome of this year’s election process cannot insure or diminish your true freedom?
Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. (1 Peter 2:13-17 ESV emphasis added)
How will you respond in this freedom to the political climate of this election?
“The bottom line of this freedom is that we don’t owe God anything! But this is hard for us to believe. Growing up in Christian homes, schools, or churches, we might hear, ‘Jesus has done so much for you. What will you do for him in return?’ Then we set out to make sacrifices to ‘pay him back’ for everything he has done for us. But the certificate of debt has been cancelled and taken out of the way.
And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. (Colossians 2:13-14 ESV)
What if the ‘sacrifice’ that heaven wants is for us to awaken our senses to the wonders of God’s grace and simply give thanks?” (loc. 660 of 2138) In what ways has this study helped you to awaken your senses to God’s grace?
“It’s really hard to just receive. We feel as if we should give in return, and when we can’t, or haven’t, we’re flooded with guilt. We try to pay people back in some way – through gifts, or favors, or friendship. Leaving it at a heartfelt ‘thank you’ and cherishing the gift just feels, well, selfish.” (loc. 679 of 2138)
“Hear, O my people, and I will speak;
O Israel, I will testify against you.
I am God, your God.
Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you;
your burnt offerings are continually before me.
I will not accept a bull from your house
or goats from your folds.
For every beast of the forest is mine,
the cattle on a thousand hills.
I know all the birds of the hills,
and all that moves in the field is mine. (Psalm 50:7-11 ESV)
“But the idea that we could pay God back, especially for what he has done for us through the death and resurrection of Jesus, is nothing short of absurd. Heaven and earth are his, and he owns the cattle on a thousand hills (ps. 50:10). He has made everything and needs nothing from us. He is not served by our human hands as if he needed anything (Acts 17:25). Instead, he gives life and breath to all things.
The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. (Acts 17:24-25 ESV)
Who has ever given God a gift that he didn’t already own? So instead of trying to give to God, how about receiving from him? Our God calls us to receive freely from His Spirit. There’s no other way to awaken to the freedom of grace. It’s all about receiving and walking in thankfulness.” (loc. 769 of 2138) Are you getting better at receiving?
Heaven Speaks (What Jesus might say if He were sitting right here)
“Not only does my grace save you and hold you tight for eternity, but it also molds you and shapes you so that you draw life from me. The self-control you so desperately seek is found in the character of my Spirit. It is my fruit, not your own, and I am released in your life through the power of my grace. The result is always a godly life, because I am God, and I am your life. There is no other form of godliness outside of me.
I will work mightily in you to live a life that you cannot otherwise live. It is you and me in union that results in a life motivated by grace. My grace is not just forgiveness and a new destination; by grace I have given you my life. I have given you a place of honor, right next to me. From this heavenly vantage point, you live life and can choose wisely from the options on earth. Regardless of your choices, I will never revoke your calling or the gifts I have given you. I accept you and embrace, with no strings attached!
Still, if you use your freedom to indulge the flesh, you will surely be disappointed. I have designed you to be most fulfilled when your life is an expression of me. And as my life overflows through yours. you sow seeds in the lives of people you love.
No matter what you do in this life, do it with thankfulness to me. It’s not that I need the thanks. But setting your mind on all that I am to you liberates you to live in gratefulness, a powerful motivator in your life. You will give and live cheerfully from the heart, not from pressure. I jealously want that for you. I love you and I so long for you to freely enjoy all the grace I have lavished on you. – Jesus” (loc. 711 of 2138) (inspired by Titus 2:11-12; 2 Cor. 3:17; 9:7; Gal. 5:13, 22-23; Col. 1:29; 3:1-4, 17; Rom. 6:5; 11:29; 1 Cor. 6:17; John 10:10; Eph. 1:6; 2:6; Phil. 2:3-4; Thes. 5:11, 18.)
Awakening to Heaven [A sample prayer to close]
Jesus, thank you for the freedom of your grace. Thank you for holding me in your arms and never letting me go. I trust you for heaven. But even more, I trust you for my daily living. Your Spirit is the source of all goodness produced in me. I do not fully understand how the freedom you have given me frees me from sin’s power, but you say it is so. You say that apart from the law, sin is dead. I believe you and ask you to awaken my senses to the wonders of your grace. I love you and cannot thank you enough for honoring me with freedom.
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