Scripture referenced
The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.
-
Leviticus 23:6-8 read aloud as the main Old Testament text introducing the feast of unleavened bread
6 On the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread to Yahweh. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread.
7 In the first day you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no regular work.
8 But you shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh seven days. In the seventh day is a holy convocation: you shall do no regular work.’”
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Keep this verse
John 8:34-36
quoted to show that everyone who sins is a slave to sin but the Son sets us free indeed
34 Jesus answered them, “Most certainly I tell you, everyone who commits sin is the bondservant of sin.
35 A bondservant doesn’t live in the house forever. A son remains forever.
36 If therefore the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Colossians 2:13-14
quoted to show God forgave sins and cancelled the record of charges by nailing it to the cross
13 You were dead through your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh. He made you alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,
14 wiping out the handwriting in ordinances which was against us; and he has taken it out of the way, nailing it to the cross;
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
1 Peter 2:24
quoted to show Jesus carried our sins in his body on the cross so we can be dead to sin
24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live to righteousness; by whose stripes you were healed.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Luke 12:1
mentioned by a congregation member as the source for leaven representing hypocrisy
1 Meanwhile, when a multitude of many thousands had gathered together, so much so that they trampled on each other, he began to tell his disciples first of all, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Romans 7:15-20
quoted by a congregation member to describe the tension between wanting to do good and still sinning
15 For I don’t know what I am doing. For I don’t practice what I desire to do; but what I hate, that I do.
16 But if what I don’t desire, that I do, I consent to the law that it is good.
17 So now it is no more I that do it, but sin which dwells in me.
18 For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwells no good thing. For desire is present with me, but I don’t find it doing that which is good.
19 For the good which I desire, I don’t do; but the evil which I don’t desire, that I practice.
20 But if what I don’t desire, that I do, it is no more I that do it, but sin which dwells in me.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Hebrews 9:26
quoted to show Jesus appeared once for all to remove sin by his own death as a sacrifice
26 or else he must have suffered often since the foundation of the world. But now once at the end of the ages, he has been revealed to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Galatians 5:1
quoted as the call to stand firm in freedom and not return to slavery
1 Stand firm therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and don’t be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Hebrews 12:1-2
quoted by a congregation member about throwing off sin that entangles and fixing eyes on Jesus
1 Therefore let us also, seeing we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us,
2 looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Philippians 4:6
cited as the first scripture Brian memorized, as a remedy for worry and anxiety
6 In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Philippians 4:8
referenced as the instruction to meditate on what is pure, holy, lovely and true rather than what to avoid
8 Finally, brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are honorable, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report; if there is any virtue, and if there is any praise, think about these things.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Galatians 5:16
quoted by Lissa to show that letting the Holy Spirit guide your life means you will not carry out what the sinful nature craves
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you won’t fulfill the lust of the flesh.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
2 Corinthians 10:4
briefly cited as the verse about using powerful God-tools for smashing strongholds
4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the throwing down of strongholds,
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Recap
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
Brian walked the congregation through two of the seven feasts God lays out in Leviticus, specifically the Feast of Unleavened Bread, using the Jewish tradition of searching the home for yeast as a way into a bigger question: how do Christians actually live free from sin, not just believe they are? The conversation wove together several New Testament passages and a lot of honest back-and-forth from the room. The through-line was the gap most people feel between what the Bible says about freedom and what their daily life actually looks like.
What was said
The Jewish tradition behind the Feast of Unleavened Bread calls the father of the home to go room by room with a candle, a feather, and a wooden spoon, finding every trace of yeast and burning it before the Passover meal. Yeast and leaven in scripture represent sin, and in the New Testament Jesus expands that to include hypocrisy and anything in the heart that is not of God. The old covenant method put the entire burden of removal on the person searching.
Brian called that approach the little pink monkey strategy. Telling yourself not to think about something is the surest way to keep thinking about it. The same dynamic plays out when a person tries to fight sin by focusing all their energy on finding and eliminating it in their own strength, because all that focus does is keep the sin front and center.
Several passages from the New Testament were read together to show what Jesus actually accomplished. He canceled the record of charges against us, carried sin in his body on the cross, and removed it in a way Brian described as pulling yeast out of an already-baked loaf of bread, something that should be impossible. The Greek phrasing, he said, means out from the midst of, a complete separation of a person's sin from their identity as a son or daughter.
That raised the obvious question from the room: if all that is true, why do we keep sinning? A few people worked through it together, including one person who read from Romans 7, where Paul says he does the very things he does not want to do. The conversation landed on the idea that sin no longer defines a believer's identity or their standing in the family, even though the body still lives in a fallen world and falls short.
Brian then named what he sees as the enemy's only remaining weapon after the cross: deception. He used the image of a fired police officer who still walks in looking like a cop. Most people would comply with the order because they do not know the authority has been stripped. The devil, he said, operates the same way, convincing believers they are still obligated to obey temptation when they have no such obligation whatsoever.
The practical answer Brian kept returning to was memorizing scripture. He said the reason he has certain verses down cold is not because he is a pastor but because he has needed them in years of losing fights before starting to win some. He pointed to Philippians 4:6 as the first verse he ever memorized and the one he still uses against worry. Several people in the room added to that, including a reference to Hebrews 12:1 about throwing off the sin that entangles and fixing eyes on Jesus. The point was consistent: the word of God is the sword, and a sword you do not know how to find is no help in a fight.
Touch points
Things you could actually do this week.
- Pick one verse from this sermon, write it on a sticky note, and put it somewhere you will see it every day this week.
- When a familiar temptation shows up, say out loud that the enemy has no authority over you, then move on rather than wrestling with the thought.
- If worry or anxiety is your pattern, memorize Philippians 4:6 this week and speak it the next time the worry starts.
- Notice when you are trying to fight sin by willpower alone, and instead ask the Holy Spirit to handle it rather than straining in your own strength.
- If you are a man who wants to go deeper on identity in Christ, sign up for the Birthright book study starting the first Monday of May at 6pm.
Doing a Bible study?
Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.
- Brian walked through the Jewish tradition of searching the home for leaven before Passover, and connected leaven to sin and hypocrisy in our own hearts. What is something in your life right now that you sense the Holy Spirit is shining a light into, the way that candle searches the dark corners of a home?
- Brian described what he called the little pink monkey strategy, where trying hard not to think about something only keeps your mind fixed on it. Have you ever caught yourself fighting sin that way, by focusing on it and straining against it in your own strength? What happened?
and 3 more questions in the guide
Resumen en español
El mensaje resumido, en español.
Brian nos llevó a través de dos de las fiestas judías que a menudo se pasan por alto en el calendario de Dios, justo después de la Pascua. Explicó que estas fiestas no son solo tradiciones judías, sino tradiciones familiares de Dios mismo, y que una de ellas, la Fiesta de los Panes sin Levadura, tiene mucho que enseñarnos hoy. En la tradición judía, el padre de la familia recorre toda la casa con una vela buscando cualquier rastro de levadura para eliminarla antes de la cena de Pascua. Brian usó esa imagen para hablar de cómo el pecado, representado por la levadura, necesita ser removido de nuestro corazón, pero aclaró que tratar de eliminarlo solo con nuestra propia fuerza no funciona, igual que intentar no pensar en algo solo hace que pienses más en ello.
La parte central del mensaje fue esta: cuando Jesús murió en la cruz, despojó al enemigo de toda autoridad legítima sobre nosotros. El problema es que el diablo sigue actuando como si todavía tuviera esa autoridad, y muchos creyentes siguen obedeciéndolo por costumbre o por no saber la verdad. Brian usó el ejemplo de un policía que ha sido despedido pero que todavía se presenta uniformado dando órdenes. Si no sabes que fue despedido, le obedeces. Pero una vez que conoces la verdad, su autoridad se desvanece. Varios miembros de la congregación participaron en la conversación y enriquecieron el mensaje con sus propias reflexiones sobre Romanos 7 y la lucha diaria entre la carne y el espíritu.
El cierre del mensaje fue práctico y directo: la mejor manera de resistir las mentiras del enemigo es tener la Palabra de Dios guardada en el corazón. Brian animó a cada persona a memorizar al menos un versículo, porque esa es la espada con la que peleamos. No se trata de esfuerzo propio sino de llenarse del Espíritu y de la Palabra para que las cadenas que el enemigo quiere que sigamos cargando queden al descubierto como lo que son: una mentira sin ningún poder real.
---
Pasajes bíblicos usados
- Levítico 23:6-8
- Juan 8 (versículos sobre la esclavitud al pecado y la libertad en el Hijo)
- Colosenses 2 (el perdón de los pecados y lo que fue clavado en la cruz)
- 1 Pedro 2 (llevó nuestros pecados en su cuerpo en la cruz)
- Hebreos 9:26
- Hebreos 12:1
- Gálatas 5:1
- Gálatas 5:16
- Romanos 7 (citado por un miembro de la congregación)
- Filipenses 4:6
- Filipenses 4:8 (mencionado en la conversación)
- 2 Corintios 10:2 (mencionado brevemente)
Read the full transcript 11,346 words
Good morning, everyone. It's a good day to worship the lord. Amen. Let's stand up together. Thank you guys for being being here and being on time.
We love it. We're being prompt. Let me pray for us as we get started today. Lord, we just come before you and we thank you for every person watching on the livestream. We thank you for every person in this room and everyone on their way today, Lord.
Everyone that you long to speak to today. You long to speak to all of us so let us have our hearts open and ready today to hear from you. We tell you that we run to you today again, again, again, every day. You always have more for us in Jesus name. Come speak to us today as we worship you.
Amen.
Never gonna let. You're never gonna let me down. You're never gonna
Alright. Let's focus our minds today. I'm talking to myself. I just broke my pick on all three sides, which never has ever happened to me. Try that again.
Anything. Going We're
today. To
Thank you that you are faithful, that you are trustworthy today. As we just continue to sing, let our faith just rise, let our everything in this world just fall away, fall away, fall away. Let our hearts in this moment would just be fixed on you and you alone.
So we sing this. You're never gonna let, you're never gonna let me down. You're never gonna let, you're never gonna let me down
you're never gonna come on speak it over yourself Yes, Lord. We just tell you we love you today. We tell you we love you, Lord. Thank you for all that you have set us free from. Thank you.
Whether it's fear of man, fear of what other people think, anxiety, worries. Lord, I know that we are a work in progress, but Lord, thank you that you surround us. You surround us with a song just like we're gonna sing, and you deliver us. If there's something you need to be set free from in here today, his presence is here. Just reach out to him.
I am a child of God. Lord, thank
you that we are no longer slaves to sin,
that you've set us free, that that is
not our master anymore, and that even though we mess up, we are not in bondage to that anymore. That was our default before we knew you, but we are no longer slaves since you set us free. Yes, Lord. Just sing that together.
And I'm no longer slave to fear. I am.
Lord, we thank you for this truth today that you've set us free. And whatever measure of freedom we're walking in, it's because we're releasing and surrendering. You've already paved the way for complete freedom for us from whatever it is. Maybe lies spoken over us. So Lord, today we ask that you would show us what would hinder us today from being completely free in you.
That we would walk a 100% today in the fact that we are not slaves. That we are no longer slaves to our sin, but set free. We tell you we love you Jesus. Come speak to us through your word this morning. We tell you we love you.
In Jesus name, everybody said, amen. Great worshipers in here today. Fill up your coffee. There's some yummy is that lemon bread, Nancy? Is that lemon bread?
Yep. Lemon bread. Yep. Check it out.
We keep playing for just another second. So now I'm afraid that everybody read that text and was like, oh, I'll just go to the eleven. Everyone
just At least listen to me.
I know. They never listened to me before.
What? Yes.
Thank you for your
Thank you, sir.
Yeah.
How many guys compared to girls are in here today? Who's winning? Girls or guys? Do the guys got it?
They might. Wouldn't it? Yes. Oh, just a few.
Yes. I don't know if I have ever seen that in a church service in my life.
Way to go, guys. Whoo. Boys.
Yes. Alright. Let I do wanna count though. How many guys 11 and how guys? Yeah.
How many girls?
I don't know. Well,
let's count the girls. Are you counting me? Did you count Laura back there? Where's Colin? When we need him?
Colin? Absolutely not. Alright. Alright. It is still it is still a record that there would be as many dudes in church as there are girls.
And a lot of these dudes don't have girls with them that brought them to church. So yeah.
That's that counts for two
then. Counts for two. Dudes win. If you're a dude or a chick, there's a connect card in your seat. And if you are new or visiting, we would love to have a record of your visit.
And or if you have a prayer request, there's room on the back for that. And or if you're a young adult and would like to get connected with young adult happenings, you can fill that out. And or if you are not on the Tribe text blast, we send out weekly announcements and things like that. So if you're, if you want to stay connected with our Tribe fam, that's a great way that you can fill that. So just put your phone number on that and then you can either leave it in the seat or you can put it in that little black box to the back there.
This is the title of our conversation that we're going to have today and I'll explain the picture in a moment, but hopefully you're like, what is that?
Is that?
And what is that? We're going to talk about it. Let me take just a moment. Right. Don't race ahead of me.
I'm gonna take just a moment and pray, and I'm gonna be still as I do. Just let's just make sure we're on the right track here. I mean, of course, we're on the right track with, but I just wanna make sure of a couple things. Sometimes I feel down in my knower that the Lord may want to do something, but I'm always but some sometimes I'm super clear. Sometimes I'm not clear.
So if I'm still for a moment, I may hear better. Alright. The Holy Spirit said, Charlie Mike, continue mission. Last week was Easter. How many of you were at Easter?
It was so great. We had a 130 people filling that conference room. We ate 35 pounds of briskets. We had six people get saved. And there was one wonderful person from our tribe fam that underwrote the entire Easter service and paid for everything.
So let's praise the Lord for that. Super cool. If you have your Bibles with you this morning, let's turn to the book of Leviticus. I know. I know.
I know. I know. I know. I I know. I did too.
I did too. But it but we're not gonna stay there like we have been in in times recently.
It's all done. Yes. Oh.
More blood Famous last words. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus. Leviticus 23. You'll find out. Here we go.
Leviticus chapter 23. And we like to do things conversationally here. This venue, this the size of this venue lends itself to us being able to interact with one another. Bigger venues it may be a little bit harder for us to interact but since we're seated in this cozy living room, people always have conversations in living room so why not us have a conversation about the content that we're going to talk about today. So to prime the pump, would somebody pre please read Leviticus chapter 23, and we're gonna read just a few verses six through eight.
And we have a mic in the room so that all of our families and friends that are watching the livestream, apparently Colin Green and Zoe cuddled up in her her daddy's arms this morning, are watching the livestream, but when we have the mic in the room, we could hear your voice, but the mic is so that all of our livestream families get to stay up with us and participate in service and hear your wonderful voice. So it's just a few verses. Leviticus chapter 23 verse six through eight. Isaac, did he tip the scales? Oh, wait.
Did you count Oliver? Nope. Did you you
So that one is a Oh, wait. No, guys.
Yes. Yes. Guys, give yourselves a hand because we win today. Whoo. First time ever.
First time. Expect a call from Buckrail. Alright. Amanda, you read for us?
Sure. Would read
Leviticus chapter 23. Oh, Colin just texted and said, I'm with you. He's watching the live stream. We're going replace Oh, we're gonna replace the the batteries. Batteries.
Okay. I'll read it then. But that means I need my glasses. Alright. Well, we don't have a mic.
So I've got a mic in the room. I'm mic'd up. I'll talk loud. Here we go. Leviticus twenty three six through eight.
Okay. We gotta keep let's keep this train rolling, Brian. On the next day, the fifteenth day of the month, you must begin celebrating the festival of unleavened bread. This festival to the Lord continues for seven days. During that time, the bread you eat must be made without yeast.
On the first day of the festival, all people must stop their ordinary work and observe an official day for holy assembly. For seven days, you must present gifts to the Lord. On the seventh day, the people must again stop all their ordinary work and observe an official day for holy assembly. So, if you would put that chart up, please. So we're gonna talk about one of God's family traditions a little out of sync.
I have I've continued to develop this chart. I've taken out the book of what did it say? Oh, it was in the month of Mark, which is not accurate. So I fixed that and I've worked on filling in the Jewish tradition portion of this chart. This is a chart that I have developed and pulled from a bunch of different sources.
But at Tribe, we have been invited by the Lord to honor seven major feasts in the Jewish calendar year. And if you're anything like me, when you're growing up or if you're sitting there right now, you're like Jewish feasts. I don't know about that. Like, we're not Jewish. And if you've spent any amount of time in church, you might think, why are we talking about the Jewish feast?
Because we're under the new covenant. That's either old covenant or that's for Jews. Well, when you read about the feasts in the Old Testament, the Bible says, and God is super clear. He says it numerous times, these are my feasts. These are my feasts, the Lord would say.
And so in essence, they are God's family traditions. And so if that helps you to for the medicine to slide down a little easier, if you want to call them God's family traditions, that's great. That's what I think of them as God's seven unique yearly family traditions. He has a yearly camping trip. He has a big party.
He has times when you need to be somber and reflective. And the spring feast that we focus on a lot is the feast of Passover. And as Christians, we celebrate it as Easter. So several weeks ago, the week before Easter, we talked about the Jewish feast or God's family tradition of Passover. And with all of these feasts, seven major feasts of the year, there are three main reasons why God invites us to honor, recognize, or celebrate these feasts.
It is to remember what God has done in our life and in our heart, what he's done for other people in the Bible, what he's done for other people that we that are in our friend group or that we go to school with or that we live and do life with. Part of it is to recalibrate, help us to get back on track, get back in sync, to recalibrate the rhythm of our life and our heart to get in sync with the Lord because I don't know if you know this or not, but he has the best rhythm in the universe. And I'm not talking about his dance moves. I'm talking about when he moves, when he rests, when he's active, when he steps forward, when he pulls back. His rhythm, his way of doing things is absolutely the best.
And for any of you who have followed Jesus for any amount of time, you have seen that play out in your life. His way is the best way. And so part of honoring and recognizing these feasts is not only to remember, but also to help us recalibrate, get your mind right. And then the third thing is to rehearse, to practice. Because if you look down here on the fulfillment status, we have four checked boxes and three remaining that there will someday be a literal fulfillment of these three spring feasts.
So we celebrate or we honor. I don't know if I would say celebrate, but we honor and recognize the season, God's family tradition of Passover. Now we're not going around slaughtering lambs because we're under the new covenant. Can I have that little clicker there? I can get it to go.
I know. It was on recirculate.
That's because I think they have heat on downstairs.
Well, they should definitely go turn that up. Nope. I hear it. Preaching so hot, we gotta cool it off.
Fire. Fire.
So look on the far left column. You can see that this family tradition usually happens in March or April. It's not set all the time because we operate under a solar calendar. So things happen on certain dates like Christmas Eve is always on the twenty fourth. The Jewish religious calendar operates on a lunar calendar, and so that changes from time to time and season to season.
So that's why there's not a set date. Everybody say, There you go. So the Jewish tradition is that the blood smeared on the doorpost of a person's home would spare them from judgment, which is what we talked about at Passover two weeks ago, and we talked about it last week at Easter. The blood is enough. You can read about this family tradition in these old testament passages, and we can see Jesus beautifully in this feast through the crucifixion of the Messiah.
His shed blood is the blood that it the blood that he shed on the cross is the blood that removes the stain of sin from the human heart. And we can look about we can look at these in the New Testament. And so we spend a lot of time on Passover. And then the next feast or or date on the Christian calendar Easter would be Pentecost fifty days after Easter. But then these two beautiful little feasts, they often get overlooked.
And so as I was basking in the afterglow of a beautiful Easter service, I was like, okay, Lord. Sunday's coming. Like, where where do you where do you wanna go? And he's like, hey. Tell you what.
Let's turn to Leviticus. And I was like, you're funny. They will literally kill me. And he said, I want us to look at these two feasts. So we're gonna take we're gonna take two weeks, and we're going to touch even though we're kind of out of order because in the Jewish calendar, these things happen.
Boom. Boom. Boom. Like, over the course of, like, three days, not three weeks. But but I want us to touch on these so that we're familiar with them so that as we get to this next feast, Shavuot or Pentecost, we're like, alright.
We're on track, and then we can get back into the fall feast. Does that make sense? So if you're taking notes, at the top of your notes, you can write no longer slaves. No Longer Slaves. That's the title of our conversation that we're gonna have this morning.
Would you turn to the next slide that doesn't have the text on this? Okay. I mean, how cool is AI generated art? I said I said, I want I want a feather, a spoon, a candle, and some chains breaking. There you go.
Done. One and done. Nice work. Alright. Here's the question.
Who are you talking to? Chad.
I'm talking to Chad. You did so good. You should be nice to your AI assistant. Stop. So it won't be your Stop.
Our AI robot overlord someday. Anybody familiar with the Jewish feast of Passover and could make a connection between the objects in this image besides the breaking chains? Okay. If my friend Rabbi Zelman were here, he would be like, yes. I know what this is.
I know what this is, and I will tell you. So we just read it in scripture that there you can't eat any bread with yeast. And in fact, the verse the passage goes on to say that there can't be any yeast in your home. Alright. So we still need to connect the passage with this picture.
So we don't, as Christians and as a tri family, we don't do this. You can if you want, But but the Jewish tradition is that in preparation for Passover, the father of the home goes on a top to bottom search for anything with yeast or leaven in it and removes it from the home before the Passover meal starts. We'll talk a little bit more specifically about the leaven in just a moment. But here's what would happen in in millions of Jewish homes around the world just last week. So the family would do think of it as spring cleaning.
They'd clean all of the yeast, all of the leaven out. And you know that it's in more than just cooking things. It's in like a lot of cosmetics and other things. Cosmetics was just the first thing that came to mind. So it all has to be removed from the house.
Once the house is been purged of yeast and leaven in accordance with the scripture, then the father comes around. And according to tradition, he has a candle and he takes the candle and he looks in the back of all of the cupboards. He looks under all of the drawers. He looks in every nook and cranny, and the light of that candle is supposed to shine into the dark crevices of the home. And he also has with him a wooden spoon and a feather so that if he finds any yeast or any leaven, he takes that feather.
So you don't want to touch it yourself. And he takes that feather and he sweeps it onto like a little wooden spoon. And then the once the house has been completely certified free of leaven, the spoon with any leaven in it and the feather go into a paper bag and then it is burned in the fire and the house has been purified of yeast. Like like getting your house rid of of poison? Yeah.
Certainly. So to be a good Jew, it means that you have to work really hard to find any yeast, any leaven, and physically remove it from your home. Here's the next question I have for you. Since we're talking about yeast and leaven, what does yeast and leaven represent? Because we see that one of the great literary tactics of the Bible to help us connect with the meaning of the Bible is using types and shadows and metaphors and similes, common common literary techniques to help us connect with the deeper meaning and message because is it actually yeast and leaven that is bad?
No, It's what the yeast and leaven represents. If you get this out of your house, it's easier to make the connection to remove it from your heart and from your life. So what does the yeast and leaven represent? Sin.
Or hypocrisy if you're going with twelve one, Luke.
Or from Luke twelve one, hypocrisy, false teaching, icky bad. We'll just we'll just write write put that in your put that in your notes. Icky bad.
Well, it's like, okay. Wanna go to a pen? Well, yeah.
Icky bad. You're write it on
the bible.
Yeah. Out in the margin. So in the Old Testament, leaven or yeast represents sin. Jesus expands that definition in the New Testament to include hypocrisy. Anything in your heart that is not of God can be considered yeast or leaven, and it has to be removed.
Now the Old Testament, the Jewish methodology was for you to work really, really hard scouring your house from top to bottom to remove yeast on your own. And I don't know if you've seen they're they're, like, usually about Passover time. There are these crazy videos where you can hire a special yeast exterminator to come into your home. And all of their drawers are are open. The all of the dishes are laid out, and a rabbi will come by with a blowtorch.
He comes to your house with a blowtorch and goes, and just like
What does he do?
Cooks all the leaven like burns burns it up so that your house is free. But the old testament methodology was that it was up to you. Even one little speck of yeast left in your house and you're disqualified. And in a way, the way that I I like to think of it, dis thank you. Disqualified from being able to have a a pure space free of leaven that would then qualify you to have the Passover meal.
You'd be disqualified from the Passover meal. Yeah. Yeah. And so the way that I like to think of it is what I would consider if we think of our heart like our house and we want to be free of sin. The old covenant way of like looking for it and and trying to eliminate it yourself would be what I would call the little pink monkey strategy.
So right now I want everybody in the room and all the greens that are watching the live stream For the next ten seconds, no matter what you do, do not think about little pink monkeys. Don't do it. Don't Corey, do not think about little pink monkeys. So so it helps. Alright.
Yeah. No. This? That's good. That's a glove.
Oh, I thought it was a hook of horns.
Okay. No. You forget. I'm
seeing a cow.
Well, so I guess everybody successfully was not thinking about little pink monkey because they're thinking about my shirt. You wear when you don't want anybody. That's
right. Think
about Alright. Well, this is my visual aid. It's very effective today.
Decision this morning before church whether this was too distracting or not. Now we know. I
know. I was like, too much? Thank you. A little pink monkey shirt would be a great gift for Brian now. Oh, yep.
I really do. If only there was somebody that could print one. So here's what here's what happens is is if you're if you're from if you have any experience like mountain biking, mountain biking one zero one when you're mountain biking on single track trails is your eyes wanna continually be scanning the trail in front of you. If you see a rock that needs to be avoided on the trail in front of you and as you get closer and closer, you stare at the rock. What's your front tire going to do?
Hit that rock. You see the rock, you recognize it, and you find a way around it, and you move on. The little pink monkey strategy never ever ever works. If there is something that God has invited you to not meditate on, you will never be successful by employing the little pink link. I'm not gonna meditate on that.
I'm not gonna meditate on that. I'm not gonna meditate on that. All you're doing is Meditating. Meditating on that. It's a similar way with this old Testament methodology for the elimination of yeast or leaven.
You got to look for it. You got to hunt for it. It's all up to you. Where is it? You're looking at a candle.
You're you're trying to sweep it, sweep it, sweep it. All you're doing is thinking about yeast and leaven. Now
Instead.
Okay. That's worth fresh batteries.
Oh, it is? Yeah. I said instead meditate, and I think it's what Philippians four eight maybe? Meditate on what is pure, what is holy, what is lovely, what is true, what is right. There's another one in there, but good.
Meditate on those things, not the things you're not supposed to meditate.
I love it. Oh, Colin is making some connections and participating in service. He was like, we he's like, how about the candle could be or God the candle searches our heart. The Holy Spirit could be the feather and cleans out the sin by putting Jesus, a wooden spoon on it that breaks our chains, and I think the sermon has been preached. Oh, well, maybe maybe you got the sound effect.
I don't know how much more I can do for you people. Although with all the men in the room, a flamethrower probably would have been a really good object lesson. Alright. We go back to the chart, please. Here's the question.
How did Jesus fulfill the feast? Let us now depart from the Old Testament and the Old Covenant and venture into the New Testament. If you have your Bibles, turn over to John chapter eight. How did Jesus fulfill this feast? John chapter eight.
We'll put it it's up on the screen here, I will read it. Jesus replied, I tell you the truth. Everyone who sins is a slave of sin. Whenever you see that word sin in the New Testament, you can think in your mind now, ah, yeast, leaven. I tell you the truth.
Everyone who sins is a slave of sin. A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is a part of the family forever. So if the son sets you free, you are free. Indeed. Indeed.
This is a great verse to bury deep into as if you weren't actually matching. If the sun sets you free, you're free indeed. Free from what? Free from what? Sin.
Sin. Anything else? This is not a trick question. I'm just slavery.
Okay. What I was looking at was something yesterday that I had had seen, and it just resonated with me. And then
Here comes the mic. And
then from the the music this morning and what we're talking about, this guy was saying that the devil wants us to do nothing more than to focus on our problem and our reaction to our problem and stay in that. Stay in that hole of just spinning what the problem is, whether it's health or finances or whatever it is, and how we react to that. And that's not what Jesus taught. And our we're set free from him rather than focusing on the problem and our reaction. It's what is our solution, which is he has broken the chains that keep us bound.
Yes.
Yes. Thought that was so good.
And so yes. That's that's literally exactly what we're talking about. So a slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is a part of the family forever, even if you have to go to your room for a time out, even if you're grounded for the weekend, even if you run away from home like Lissa did when she was nine years old and made it just partway down the driveway. Over her dad. You are still you are still a member of the family.
And then Jesus says these profound words. If the son sets you free, you are free indeed. Man, this verse is so good to bury deep into your heart. Yes. Let's look at another passage.
Colossians chapter two. We're gonna assemble several of these New Testament passages together and and develop a picture of the theme of what I feel like the Holy Spirit wants to impart to us today. Colossians chapter two, we have this one up on the screen as well. Then, god made you alive with Christ for he forgave all of our sins, yeast, leaven, sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away.
Now this is really important. How did Jesus set us free? How did Jesus cancel the effects of sin in the human heart? What's it say? How did he do it?
Nailing it to the cross.
He nailed it to the cross. So this verse, then god made you alive with Christ. He forgave all of our sins. He cancelled the record of the charges against us and took it away. That phrase in the Greek took it away.
Where is it? There it is. Took it away. Your translation may say it slightly different, but the idea is to remove from you. When you look at that phrase in the Greek, it means out of the midst to separate as if you could take what what's something that's cooked with yeast?
I don't know. Bread. Okay. Imagine a loaf of cooked bread. How do you separate the yeast from that already cooked loaf of bread?
Like, it's impossible. This is how amazing the cross is. The power of the cross. Somehow, some way he did it. He could remove the yeast when the Bible says it takes it away.
The idea in the Greek is out from the midst of. He has been able to separate our sin from the rest of us. How he do that? It happened on the cross. By nailing it to the cross, you can still be a son and your sin be punished without your obliteration.
Oh, let's keep going. First Peter chapter two. The book of first Peter can be a little challenging to find. We put it on the screen here. He, being Jesus, personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right.
For by his wounds, you are healed. Here's a question. When it says, so that we can be dead to sin, What does that mean? Dead to sin.
You're staring at me.
Well, you happen to make eye contact. Everybody else is like trying to avoid the teacher's eyes. What do you think that means?
Dead
Dead to sin. And don't help them out.
That it no longer controls us.
Oh, no longer controls us.
We can have authority over it.
We can have authority over it. Okay?
We're considered saints.
Jonathan. Yeah.
Can I make a comment to the first verse that you showed? Like,
The previous one?
The one before.
Colossians chapter two?
Repeat. More.
Oh, John eight.
Yeah. So when I read this, was thinking about a slave is not a permanent member of the family. So what does the permanent mean? And for me, it makes sense that you are a spirit, you have a soul, and you have a body. And so when we sin, right, we're born again.
But when we sin, do we sin in our spirit, in our soul, or in our body? And if it's not permanent, what's not permanent? In us, our body. Right?
Yes.
So it's not a permanent member. In our bodies, they are kind of a slave to sin because we live on this earth. Right? And we are still sinners.
Okay.
However, the connection to the last verse that you showed, I see the
Go to the last one, the first Peter. The connection, yes.
Yeah. So we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By His wounds we are healed. And the other verse was the sun sets us free, right?
Yes.
So when God comes and lives in you, it says that He cannot live where sin is, right? Yes. So which part of you He is living in? And that means that your spirit which He comes and lives in you is circumcised and set apart from the sin which is in your body. If it makes sense.
Yes. I agree with what you said.
You don't have to. Okay.
So let me take what you said and pose a question from the first Peter verse. Would you go to the first yeah. Thank you. We can be dead to sin. There is a glaring thought that everyone is having.
If the Bible says that I can be dead to sin, what for probably most of us in the room, even though this is God's word and it is the truth and it is the ultimate reality, what is our experience daily? That we sin. That we sin. Okay. Now we're getting somewhere.
Why? If this is true and the ultimate reality that we can be dead to sin, and we may need to define terms, dead to something. It's like me and jam bands over in Victor Drake's. I'm just not feeling it. Like like if you're dead to something, you're not feeling it.
Like it's, you know It's nonexistent. It's nonexistent. So how can this be true? But for most of us, many of us, dare I say all of us in this room, there's a distance between what God's word says and our daily practical experience. This question is really, really, really, really important because for most Christians, they read this or even people that are exploring the claims of Jesus in the Bible.
They read this and they go, woah. That's intense. And there's a disconnect between how they live their lives and God's word. And they either dismiss it or they their brain gets partitioned so that they can believe in God's word, but then also experience the reality of their everyday life and not integrate these two things. But when a person is able to integrate the reality of their daily experience with God's word, something amazing happens.
The trick is we're just getting really, really, really practical today. What does that mean? How do you do it?
I get convicted. I mean, know I get convicted. I mean, you live your daily life, but, I mean, we are human and thank the Lord. He knows that and forgives us. And when you get convicted I mean, it could be something as simple as gossip.
You know, you're at work and k. Yep. And I'll leave I'll leave a conversation knowing I'm like, what did I accomplish by participating in that? And I love it that the Holy Spirit tweaks me, you know, and makes me aware more.
I like it.
I was just thinking about the scripture. This isn't necessarily an answer of, like, bridging that gap, but it certainly is the human condition. But I think the in Romans, Paul who
You're in chapter six?
I'm in Romans seven.
Okay.
Were you going there? No. Okay. So Paul, had a major conversion, saw, like, resurrected Jesus on the road to Damascus. Right?
I got all my facts.
Yes. Yes.
He says in Romans, he says, I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do
Okay.
I do not do. But what I hate, I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I, myself, who do it.
Jonathan. Jonathan. Well, is what Jonathan
was Yeah.
This is exactly what you were saying. I thought you were like saying
Jonathan. The good that you want to do, you no longer do.
It's all turning like a joke. It it is so this is the dichotomy of, well, how is that true but we still sin? As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is the sin living in me because we live in a body that's fallen.
In a fallen world.
In a fallen world. For I know that good itself does not for I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do. This I keep on doing.
Now, if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it. It is sin living in me that does it. Yeah. It's separate. You're not one in the same with your sin anymore.
Ah. Because you've you're you've been circumcised. Your heart's been circumcised. Yes. Yes.
You're Yes. This is wonderful.
I'm working this out as I'm reading it. Okay. I didn't have an answer, like I said. But obviously if Paul Jonathan. Jonathan.
Also for Jonathan.
Jonathan. I would say, like, for me, I don't know if this is probably not where you're going, and you're probably gonna say no, but for me, I haven't fully put on the identity of a saint.
Okay.
And like, and I definitely still have parts in me that have a slave mindset, and I'm still living in that place. Like, even today, I was I woke up cranky. And and I was like, okay. I'm gonna sit. I'm doing my silence time.
I'm gonna get my heart right. I'm gonna, like, pray. And then I'm, like, still cranky. And then I'm driving to church, and I'm like, okay, I gotta, like, think positive thoughts. I gotta focus on what's lovely and good.
I gotta do this. Have to do Little
pink monkeys.
Then someone cuts me off. And I'm like, and then I'm like, okay, I'm doing it wrong and I have to do And then I heard so clearly, you are trying in your own strength because you think you're a slave still. Like, give it to me and trust that I am going to, like, do all the things. You're still trying and striving in your own strength as You're a reacting to the problem. Right.
And you
were just hung up in your reaction.
But my identity it's because my identity I'm reacting to the problems because my identity is still as a slave, and I haven't fully put on the identity that like I am saved, I am free indeed, and that I am no longer a slave and I am a daughter.
Yes.
I'm a daughter, not a slave. Yes.
I've been
fully put that's for me.
Yes. That's beautiful. This is exactly where we're going today. One more one more verse. Galatians.
Oh. Oh, there's Hebrews. Alright. Let's read Hebrews. I mean, it's just so good.
We gotta include it. Hebrews chapter nine verse 26. But now once and for all time, he has appeared at the end of the age to remove sin by his own death as a sacrifice. I like I like the terminology that you used a moment ago. We can attack this from a bunch of different angles hoping that, like, something will connect and sink in.
I mean, I can see I can see circumcision here, the circumcision of a person's heart, separate their spirit from the flesh. At the end of the age to remove sin by his own death as a sacrifice.
All of the
leaven sin in your life has been dealt with, not dismissed and swept under the carpet, not like, well, it's okay. In our family, when our kids were little and we had to apologize to to somebody in our house, we would say, I am sorry. And we the next words out of the person's mouth who was being apologized to, it was forbidden to say, okay, or that's okay, or I'm fine. The next words always had to be I forgive you. That's very powerful.
If you ever like, if you ever want to like make a point with somebody and they hand out a cheap apology for something. And instead of you being like, oh, no. It's okay. You should be like, I forgive you. I don't really that don't really get their attention.
But it's important. It's a transaction that needs to be completed. And so so this verse in Hebrews chapter nine, it says that it has been removed. Our sins have been forgiven because they have been nailed to the cross. All of the all of the sins that and we define sin as breaking God's law.
Right? All of the sins that that we had committed, all of the sins that we will commit, they have all been the penalty. The price has been paid for when Jesus went to the cross. He carried the sins of the entire world. Those that lived before Jesus that looked forward to the cross and those of us that lived two thousand years after the cross and look back to Calvary, that's how incredible Jesus is.
That's how amazing his sacrifice was. He took all of our sins onto himself and they were dealt with, burned up by the blow by the blowtorch of judgment on the cross so that they are no longer existent as a part of our nature. Galatians five and then we're gonna I'm gonna try to sew this all together. Galatians five one, so Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free and don't get tied up again in slavery to the law.
Jonathan.
Sorry. I don't want to close, but I I got a really good verse that I was thinking And while it says, therefore, since we're surrounded by such a great cloud of witness, we must get rid of every weight and the sin that clings so closely and run with endurance, the race set out for us. And then it says, keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and the perfecter of our faith.
Hebrews, what's that? 11?
Twelve one.
Hebrews twelve one. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge cloud of witnesses, let off let us throw off the sin so that so easily entangles us. The weight of that sin that so easily entangles us and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. So for many Christians, we can intellectually understand that Jesus took our sin and nailed it to the cross.
For many Christians, we can intellectually understand, although this may be kind of tricky, that our sin does not define our sonship, that we have been adopted into God's family. We have been given a new nature. But when it comes to living free from sin that we've been talking about and talking about and talking about in this idea of slavery, we still feel practical express practically experientially these chains of bondage to the slavery of sin. How do they how do we break these chains? How do we break the bonds of sin that do so easily entangle us?
Alright. This is this is sewing it all together. Here's the idea. The Bible says that the devil is a liar. When he lies, he speaks his native language.
The authority of Satan was robbed when Jesus died on the cross and and went into I don't not exactly sure what he was doing for those three days, probably a lot. But one of the things that when he rose from the dead accomplished was to disarm disarm the rightful authority that the race of mankind had given to the enemy. Legal ground in a person's heart to run his game and to operate. He was served a trespass notice and evicted, but he still has one weapon left to his at his disposal. And what is that?
To deceive and to lie. So here is what the enemy does. And for maybe for some of you, this is so rudimentary. You're like, I got it. I knew where you were going the first two minutes of the message.
The enemy lies to us and he will tell you that you are still bound by that thing. He will deceive you into agreeing with him that you are not actually free from that. Sins shall no longer be your master because the sin has been broken and the son has set you free. I think you've heard me use this analogy before, but maybe not with this specific, but it's it's very effective. So Gretchen's husband is a cop, Jacob.
And he works on a Jackson Hole Police Force here in town. And if Jacob walked into the room and he gave us a lawful order, we would be compelled to obey because he's an officer of the law. Right. Okay. We have to and he would say, I am a police officer.
Officer. And you wouldn't even he wouldn't even need to say it because he walks in the room and you can see all the stuff in the thing and the and all the cool stuff. He's out. He's copped out. So what happens if Jacob goes into work one day and chief Michelle was like, hey, Jacob, you're fired.
And he's like, what? And he's like, yep. You're fired. You're you're not a good cop. And that's not gonna happen.
That's not gonna happen. Jacob, you're amazing. You had a promotion, but this is not working for my analogy. For my analogy, he's a bad cop and he gets fired and he walks out of the office. He's now he's now fired.
But then he gets into his cop car and he drives over here. He walks into the room all copped out and he says, you're under arrest. Place your hands behind your back. What would I mean, what would what would we do? We would do it.
We would comply. Why? Because he still looks like a cop, and we don't know what? We don't know that he's been fired. This is the amazing, incredible thing about Jesus is that when he went to the cross, he disarmed the powers of hell.
He robbed them of their authority so they have no longer any rightful claim for us to obey them in any way, shape, form, or fashion. When the devil says, you should really lean into that juicy conversation. The job of the Holy Spirit is to say you don't have to. Wait. I don't have to.
For so many of us, we have been living in the pattern of obeying the voice of the enemy that when, as a Christian, it's called temptation. When temptation arises and the enemy says, do you been doing you've been living in that pattern for twenty five years. There's no way you you break free which go okay. Because because the enemy looks copped up and his favorite technique is to try to get us to forget or not realize that we have no obligation to obey the voice of the enemy whatsoever. Oh, here we go.
It's truth. I was just listening to Chris Valentin. He was telling a story about for like two years, like a demon was would come into his room at night and like sit at the foot of his bed. And he it would terrify him and he's he's like, and I threw all of my spiritual stuff in it. Like I prayed in the spirit and I like rebuked it and I like told it to go into the and I was doing all this stuff and it wouldn't leave for two years.
And then and then finally, he was praying and he was like, I'm scared, God. And the Lord was like, yeah, because you gave him too much authority. And he was like, he's like, what technique do I need to use? And he was like, ignore him. And he did that night, he woke up, he saw it sitting at the foot of his bed again, and he looked at it and he said, oh, it's just you.
And then pretended to go back
to sleep because he was still scared so
he didn't really but he but but he never saw it again because he realized, like you were just saying, like, we he gave it way too much authority thinking that it was still copped up. And once he was like, oh, it's just you? I don't have to pay attention to you. That was it.
I love it. Yeah. So g so so Jacob walks into the room after theoretically being fired and says
He's got a promotion. So this is Put
your put your hands up. But we knew that he had been fired. What would you do? Would you obey that order? No.
But what about this? But what about this? If he's you if you were to say, no. I don't have to put my hands up. I know that you got fired.
He's like, no. But look at me. I'm a police officer. I mean, you look like one, but doesn't mean you all are one. Yeah.
But I got a gun. Fear, intimidation, deception, oppression, all these little tricks. I got the gun. I got the taser. I got pepper spray.
We haven't seen that. Yeah. Great. The Bible says greater is he that is in us than he that's in the world. So when this thought bubbles up, you will never be able to break free from the gloomies.
Because I know that you don't wanna call it depression but you call it the gloomies. It's a lie of the enemy. When the temptation is to feel like you will never be healed but you will perpetually live in this broken, wounded state but it just needs to become the new normal and adapt and cope and adjust and do the best you can because that's just how life is gonna be from now on. That is the enemy copped up with no actual legitimate authority.
I think practically speaking, when Jacob hypothetically walks into the room, it's our job to recognize what the truth is. Like, it's our job to know what the truth is about us. You know, like, with that scripture about taking every thought captive, that's Jacob walking into the room and us believing or not believing that he is who he says he is. You know, when that lie pops into your mind, like, you are never gonna be set free from that because look at you. And then you it's our job to say, in the name of Jesus, like that is not true.
Because here's what God's word says about me. It's the same thing about recognizing someone's authority.
Alright. I'm gonna put all of you on the spot for just a moment. And if you don't raise your hands, it's okay. But for how many of you, even if you maybe not have the address because I'm not great with addresses, but but how many of you would have one or more of those verses buried in your heart, meaning that you've memorized it and can quote it? One or more?
One or more of those. Okay. One. That we've that we've talked about or were up on the screen. Well, then, I mean, this is why you keep not rebuking you, but you're gonna continue to get your ass kicked by the enemy.
It's so simple. Get get it in your heart to the extent that you wanna be free. Yes. Second Corinthians ten two, we use our powerful God tools for smashing workflow. Do you know why I have these memorized?
Not because I'm the pastor or the preacher, but because I've had to employ them for years and years and years and battles and battles and battles and fight and fight and lose and lose and lose and then start to win and win and start to win a little more. If the sun sets you free, you are free indeed. Live like free people. Lord Jesus, help us. I mean, if I need to don't know what I don't
I'm Let's send
those scriptures. For you. No. We're not gonna send them to you.
Well, so you know what they were because I can't remember
Get the podcast. Go to YouTube. Well, like like, if I could memorize them for you, I would because I love you so much. So if you're like, wow, you're just kinda yelling at us. Good.
That's wonderful. It
is. Is your sword. It is your sword to fight the enemy. I mean, that's all we have is God's word. The Holy Spirit
If only if don't get my hopes up. I know it's a stubborn stiff neck.
It's righteous anger because he wants you
to be victorious. I want you to live free so bad. I want you to live free so bad, and I want you to represent the person who you claim to follow if you follow Jesus as your Lord and Savior and the boss of your life and the leader of your life. It it's too I want you to be free, and I want you to represent him with excellence. That's what draws a lost and dying world to him.
It's like, woah, wait a minute. You're different. Lord, help us. Help us to encounter the truth that you have set us free. That dirty devil walks around like a roaring lion, copped up, but his authority is illegitimate.
Help us. I ask. Oh, this is good. I'm gonna I'm gonna walk around and I'm gonna touch each of you on the knees, and I'm gonna ask that that you would experience encounter, have an experiential encounter with the truth that whom the son sets free is actually free indeed, and that the lies of the enemy would be exposed in your life. And and and and Amanda's gonna lead us in one more way for worshiping the Lord.
If you deal with worry, the first scripture you should memorize is Philippians four six. If you worry about about stuff, if you worry about the future, if you feel anxious, anxiety, Philippians four six, Philippians four six, you just speak that. That was the first scripture I ever memorized. Do not worry about anything, but instead pray about everything. Like, worry about nothing, pray about everything.
Thank God for what he's done, and then make your request known to him. You just follow this script, and it works every time. And then you will experience God's peace that surpasses all understanding. It's a promise. You do this and I'll do this.
But if I didn't know that I had that weapon, I'd just keep worrying and worrying. And it says, and then guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. He'll do that for you. Lord, thank you for your word. Help us bury it deep into our hearts so that we can be truly free and walk in the freedom you've already paid the price for.
So if we think of our life like a container and you put oil and water in it, they don't mix. Right? There has to be one or the other. And to just tie just an additional bow on what Brian was saying, this is very short, but Galatians where we were in chapter five sixteen says, so let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. This is like if it's filled with something else, God's a gentleman.
He's not gonna force the Holy Spirit into that bucket. You've gotta make the choice to dump that out so you can be filled. It says, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives, then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the spirit gives us the desire and the desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature craves, one or the other.
These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you're not free to carry out your good intentions by default. That's it doesn't say that. That's what I say. But when you are directed by the spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses. So you follow the spirit, learn the word, study scripture, even if it's just one verse from today or something else that you find.
Just memorize one scripture and start there because it is a powerful the the bible does call the word of God the sword of the spirit. That is how we fight our enemy and that is how we dispel the lies. When you bring lies into the light of the word of God, they literally lose their power because they're being brought into the light of the word. So just memorize one scripture and let the holy spirit. Romans eight six is good for that too.
Let the holy spirit guide your life so then your eventually, sinful nature will be less and less, kinda like a teeter totter has to go to this side or this. Once you're obeying the Lord again and again and again and you're practicing listening to what the Bible calls that still small voice, you get better and better and better. We're still in a fallen world, in a fallen body. We still sin. Quick repentance is the key there.
But you don't want to anymore. You know when you sin once and you're like, well forget it, I already blew it, so I'll just go ahead and do a Eat this entire cake. Well, go ahead and eat the entire cake, metaphorically and literally. Right? And but when you do what you're like, we just read what you the spirit is the opposite of what our sinful nature craves.
And he 's such a gentleman, so it's our job. Like you said, that's our God's job is the supernatural peace. Our job is reading the word, learning what the promises are, and standing on those. As we wrap up today, we're gonna worship the Lord as we always do by bringing our tithe and our offering to him. This is just a portion of our finances that we say, God, it's all yours anyway.
We love and trust you so much that we're gonna give whatever it's between you and the Lord, whatever amount the Lord puts on your heart, whether it's for all time or each time, however that rolls, we give a portion of our finances as an act of worship. There's so many ways to worship, and this is one that we do collectively when we're together as a tribe family. So I'm gonna pray, whether you're giving now or another time, just practically speaking. You know, we don't pass buckets here, but there's a little wooden bucket right here with our tribe logo, and then there's a black lockbox downstairs right outside the front door. You can drop cash or check anytime.
And then as you see on the screen, a very easy way to give is on your smartphone by sending a number to 84321, the amount you wanna give, and then just go from there. So this is a constant way. You can give any time. Right? It doesn't have to be Sunday morning.
You can give any time and it's a way to say I worship you and I trust you with this. Because we like kind of need money, right, in the world to operate. That's how the principle of exchange is at least for now. And so it's portion saying, God, this is a big deal, and I'm giving it to you. It's a sacrifice.
It's an act of worship. So let's pray while we're here together. Father, we thank you so much for the opportunity we have to bring our tithe and above and beyond that an offering to you. As your holy spirit leads and pings our heart is what because you know our heart. You know what we're bound by.
And so I thank you that you speak to each one of us as we give each time Just what the amount that you would want us to give because you know the exact to the penny amount that has a potential to grip our heart or to hinder us in some way. And you're such a loving God. You whisper those things to us. Thank you, father, for helping us not just to just to have the courage to listen and obey the holy spirit and the release of our finances, but anything else like we talked about today. Any proverbial yeast that is in our life, Lord, give us the courage to release it to you as an act of worship and an act of healing.
We thank you for it. I pray that every single penny on a practical level that comes into this local church called tribe would be stewarded well and be spent exactly the way that you want it to be spent so more and more people come to know you and become free. Thank you for the opportunity to love on the people of this valley and to the ends of the earth. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. So just a couple announce four announcements and then we'll get you out of here.
On the fridge, we have a couple things for you to sign up for. Sunday goodies is a very easy way to serve. If you're like, I don't wanna sing, I don't wanna greet, I don't like kids. Well, no problem. You can bring treats.
Right? There's lots of ways to serve. So sign up for as many as you'd like there on the fridge. And then also for Tuesday meals for young adults, there's a fresh sign up sheet there. If that's something you wanna do, the young adults meet here in this room every Tuesday, and they have a meal together, but it has to be provided by someone.
And so we don't want it to fall in the same person every time. So you don't have to stay, but drop a meal off before six if you wanna sign up. And then a third sign up sheet do you have that book next to you, Nancy? Birthright? Oh, Clay might have taken it.
Brian is starting a new men's of all ages, but men's book study called Birthright. I haven't read it. It's in my queue, but it's about your identity in Christ, and that's gonna start the first Monday of May at 06:00. I think it'll run for five weeks. So if you're interested in signing up for that, I think it'll be really good.
So sign up right there on the fridge. If you're interested and we'll get you a book, you can get started in that. We have a very special guest coming Sunday, May 18. Her name is Laura Sanger. Raise your hand if you've heard of her.
She's we hadn't either until we started listening to podcast and you know how then you start researching everything. She's, to me, one of the more brilliant minds and spiritual awareness people of our generation of this day. Brilliant. She's written a couple books. One is about this is so wild.
Open your mind. One is called, like, the Roots of the Federal Reserve, and it's how the Nephilim Agenda has make it made it into our Federal Reserve, the US dollar. Fascinating. She's so brilliant. And see, you can read like it's an don't dare say easy read.
Let's it's very easy to understand. She's a great writer. And then another one called Generation Hoodwaked. And it's all about when we read in Genesis three, you know, the seed we call it the seed war. When when the snake came to deceive Adam and Eve, What is that all about?
And she again, Nephilim Agenda. But, yeah, she's wonderful. It says right here, doctor Laura is an author, speaker, researcher, blogger, retired psychologist, so she knows the mind, and founder of No Longer Enslaved. Very appropriate for today. She's passionate about seeing people set free through the power of the Holy Spirit.
She's so smart. I can't tell you how brilliant she is. And she's coming to tribe. Brian just we heard her on a podcast, and she just kinda call and ask, and she's coming. So Sunday, May 18, but we are expecting bigger crowd with her.
Like, we've had a lot of people that follow her, like, on her site reach out and be like, when and where and are is it ticketed and all of that? So, we're gonna meet on that Sunday, not here at the TMC, but at the Virginian, just like we did for Easter last week. It's last year, feels
like last year.
10AM, one service Sunday morning, 10AM, and then you see it right here on this slide, and I think we'll send this out to you so you remember, but she'll be here on Saturday night as well. And she we we can't tell you precisely what she's speaking on because in her words she says, when I go to speak, I wait a little bit closer to the time. And in her words, she says, I let the Lord unroll the scroll because he knows exactly who will be there and exactly what they need, and that's what she's gonna speak on. So she's wonderful. Please come.
Sunday Sunday, May eighteenth. 10AM. One service on that Sunday. So there's that. Hang.
Hand it to him, Malay. In a
non angry way, can you come and pray us out
for you?
Someone lay hands on Ryan today.
Yeah. Pray us out on Ryan today. You want me to?
Okay. Shh. Just stay. Yeah.
That that book is all about what we were talking about today. So Monday, 6PM, if you can join us. Connect card. Would you stand up and I'll pray for us? Lord Jesus.
We pray for Nancy today.
And Jonathan.
And Jonathan. Father, I pray for all of our tribe fam here today and that are watching the livestream. I command a blessing over their lives that we would encounter the truth and that the truth would set us free and we would live free basking in the glory of your grace. And we would never take that freedom as as for granted, but that we would live free and run hard after you. We pray these things in Jesus' name, and everybody said.
Amen. Amen. I love you guys so very much. Have a great week, and remember
You got it.
You got this. You got this.
That
was so good. Thank you for helping me. Team effort. I couldn't stop listening. No.
No. No. It's so good. Thank you. That's great, great contribution.
Yeah. Yeah. Have a great, great, man.
Thank you.
Topics
Breaking ChainsFeast Of Unleavened BreadFreedom From SinIdentity In ChristMemorizing ScriptureSpiritual Warfare
Share this message
Every word on these came out of the message. Download one and post it anywhere.
