Freedom Is Here: A Study of Galatians | Donovan Rillion | Freedom For The One

But super glad you're here. Super glad that we

get to talk about the gospel. That's what we're

here for. We're here for the good news. And the

truth is, last week we talked about the gospel

and what it is. And I kind of gave you this little

illustration or image to base your thoughts of

the gospel message on God created. We messed

it up and died. He promised. He came, he died,

he rose, he left. He's coming back to restore

what he designed, what he created in the beginning.

And that's the gospel. It's God's desire to live

with us for eternity and constantly showing us,

proving to us that he is coming back to finish

the job, to bring us home. And we talked about

last week how it is the mission of the church

to carry that good news message to the world.

To bring the gospel to the world so that they

can know, they can see this truth. And so that

they can experience the grace, the mercy that

only God brings. And today I want us to kind

of take a step back and make it personal because

we talked about it in a large grand scale view

and we talked about our mission as a unit, but

I want us to make it personal. And to do that,

I first have to ask this question. How has the

gospel changed your life? You individually. How

has it changed your life? What's it done? How

have you seen it transform you? What freedom

has it brought you? If you've noticed. The series

title is Freedom is Here. And we're going to

be studying Galatians. We're going to kind of

sneak peek at this week, but next week we'll

really dive into Galatians and this freedom packed

gospel letter from the Apostle Paul and what

it meant for them and what it means for us. Because

the gospel, if it has changed you, it has brought

you freedom. What freedom has it brought you?

What difference has it made in your story? And

then who is one person? that you know that needs

to hear the gospel message, who's one person

that you know that needs to experience that freedom.

Because the truth is, and this is the truth we

have to know today, is that the freedom that

Jesus gives us, the freedom that he brings into

our lives, this life -changing, transformational

gift of grace that Jesus brings, it's not just

for us. It's not just for me. It's not just for

you. But it is for... When Jesus says go into

all the world, proclaim the gospel to all creation,

he doesn't say go proclaim it to the people you

like, go proclaim it to your friends, go proclaim

it to your family. It is all creation. I love

the song, you've got to take the Lord with you

everywhere you go. In the street, in the home,

on the job, on the road, highways, byways, you've

got to take the Lord with you everywhere you

go. Take the gospel with you because it's meant

to be shared. It's meant to be handed over and

passed on to the next person. It's kind of that

pay it forward mentality where because you've

received grace, you then give grace to others

because you've received. Freedom, you then pass

freedom to others. It's meant to be shared. See,

Paul, he starts this letter to the church in

Galatia with these words in verses or in chapter

one, verses three through five. He says, grace

to you and peace from God, our father in the

Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins.

to deliver us from the present evil age according

to the will of our God and Father, to whom be

the glory forever and ever. Amen. Paul doesn't

waste any time. Right in this letter, he gets

straight to the point, straight to the heart

of the matter, and that is that Jesus willingly

gave himself to rescue us. He willingly died,

was spat on, was beaten. Was ridiculed, was mocked.

I mean, can you imagine some of the words that

were said to him? And you've seen how people

treat people that they disagree with. You've

seen how people treat people that are on the

other side of the aisle from them. I mean, just

get on Facebook in November of an election year

and you'll see it. You see how people treat people

they disagree with. Just imagine how they treated

Jesus who was coming in and saying things and

doing things that completely went against everything

they had ever known, ever believed. And it was

just completely countercultural. And this Jesus

was a threat to their life, to their society.

And so just imagine how they treated him. And

he did that. He endured that. for us, willingly

gave himself to rescue us, not because we deserved

it, not because we were good enough, but because

it was the will of God to save us. And that is

good news. That's good news. It's the best news.

Because... If he doesn't willingly give himself

to save us, even in the midst of all of our transgressions,

in the midst of all of our wrongdoings, I've

seen how evil and how sinful I can be. And maybe

when you've looked in the mirror at times in

your life, you've seen just how ugly you can

be. And Jesus looks past that and says, I still,

I love you. I love that song. God is love because

he is. This all -loving God that looks past all

of our wrongdoings and says, I'm going to save

you. I'm going to do everything I can to rescue

you. And that's good news. That Jesus rescues.

That Jesus frees. And that's exactly what happened

in the life of a man named John Newton. You see,

John Newton's early life was filled with rebellion.

He was an angry, profane, and hardened man, somebody

that lived a life that was against God. He worked

as a slave trader. He made his living off of

the suffering of other people, and he didn't

care. But one night, John Newton was out at sea,

and he's caught in the middle of this violent

storm. And so he thinks he's going to die, and

as anyone does when they think it's their time,

They cry out to God. Even if they don't believe

in Him. Even if they don't trust in Him. For

some reason, when it gets hard and life starts

to dwindle, they cry out to God. And he cries

out to God and he begs for mercy. And John Newton

believes God answered because he survived the

storm. And he came out of it alive. And over

time, John Newton's heart becomes transformed.

He ends up leaving the slave trade. He ends up

becoming a preacher, actually, of all people.

And he later wrote one of the most famous hymns

of all time. Maybe you've heard it. Amazing Grace.

And this is what John Newton famously once said.

I am not what I ought to be. I'm not what I want

to be. I'm not what I hope to be in another world.

But still, I am not what I once used to be. And

by the grace of God, I am what I am. See, that's

Galatians 1 .4 in real life. An example of Christ

gave himself to rescue somebody like John Newton,

somebody that was a part of this present evil

age that Paul talks about. And the gospel, it

comes into this guy's life. It takes this man

that was enslaved by sin, that was consumed by

his own hatred and evil, and it turns him into

a man proclaiming the freedom that is only found

in Christ. He didn't earn it. He definitely didn't

deserve it. But grace is greater than all of

our sins. And freedom, freedom transforms. Maybe

you've had moments in your life where you felt

like you were trapped by something. Maybe it

was death. Maybe it was a sickness. Maybe it

was a family curse. Maybe it was a location or

a job or whatever it was. You felt like you couldn't

get out. You couldn't press forward. And hopefully

you've come out on the other side of it. And

now you know what that freedom feels like. I

think of somebody in modern day because the truth

is the gospel still changes lives, does it not?

It's not history. There's a guy, he's a relatively

young guy. His name's Lecrae. He's a Christian

rapper. But Lecrae, he grew up in a broken home.

He didn't have a father. He was surrounded by

drug abuse. He was surrounded by violence, instability.

He chased after the acceptance of his peers through

partying and being involved with gangs and drugs.

And eventually he finds success in the rap scene.

he looked like he had it all together, but he'll

tell you that inside he felt like he was dying.

And he felt like he had nowhere to go. He was

enslaved by sin. He was enslaved to addiction.

He was enslaved to the pressure of image. And

at one point, Lecrae says this, I was running

away from God as fast as I could, but he kept

pursuing me. And it was in college. After nearly

losing his life in a car accident, that he finally

surrendered his life to Jesus. Again, when life

looks thin, people turn to Jesus. He gives his

life to Jesus. The gospel broke through his pride.

It broke through his heart and heart. It broke

through all the shame. And it gave him a new

identity. He was no longer just a product of

the streets and a product of a broken home, a

product of a fatherless home. But now he is a

son of God. Because the gospel transforms lives.

It frees souls. Today, Lecrae is still making

music. But instead of glorifying the things that

once enslaved him, what Lecrae uses his platform

to do is to tell millions of young people about

the freedom that is found only in Christ. And

he's honest, and he tells people very clearly

that he still wrestles with doubt. He still wrestles

with depression. In fact, Lecrae has been ridiculed

by Christians more than anybody. Because of the

way that he tells people about Jesus. But you

know what he keeps doing? He keeps telling people

about Jesus because he doesn't care about anything

else except for sharing the freeing gospel message

with the world. And this is what he says the

difference is in his life. I'm free. Sin does

not own me anymore. I know who I am. And I know

whose I am. And if you've ever seen Lecrae, he's

got a tattoo on his arm that says 116. And it

stands for Romans 116. I'm unashamed of the gospel.

And because that's his life story. He's lost

friends. He's lost family members. He's lost

fans. Because he is unashamed to tell people

that if you will give your life to Christ, he

will free you from everything this world seeks

to use to entrap you. The gospel looks at our

ugly lives. It looks at our broken selves and

it says, that's not your story anymore. You've

got a new one. That's not who you are anymore.

That is not the life that I'm writing for you

in this book. Jesus is rewriting it. And that's

what he wants to do for you. And it's what he

wants to do for me. And it's what he wants to

do for the people outside of this building. Jesus

wants to use this good news message to take broken

people and make them whole. He wants to take

this gospel message and take guilty people and

show them they're forgiven. To take the gospel

and take the outsider and show them that they

are now a child of God. They are a part of a

family greater than anyone that could ever be

on this earth. He wants to take this gospel message,

look at your chains and break them and free you.

So let me ask you again. How has the gospel changed

your life? Because it has in some way, whether

you know it or not. And for some of us, it's

not this grand scale thing. I mean, some of us

grew up in the church. And we always had this

faith -filled household. And we've never really

known rebellion, but we know what it looks like

to live a life that isn't exactly in step with

God's will for our lives, right? And so no matter

where we come from, whether we came from a household

of sinners or we came from a family of God, we

have been in a place where we need redemption,

where we need forgiveness. And so in some way,

the gospel has changed your life. It's changed

mine. We just have to look and see how has it.

Because here's the thing. The freedom that the

gospel brings isn't just for us. It is for everyone.

Because Jesus wants to transform. He wants to

free everyone. And I'm sure you know somebody.

You know some one person that needs freedom.

In Luke chapter 15, the Pharisees, they're upset

Luke 15 · chapter mention

that Jesus keeps spending his time with sinners,

that Jesus would choose to spend his time in

the bars, that Jesus would choose to spend his

time at these wedding feasts where people are

just getting drunk, that he would choose to spend

his time with the leper, with the woman in adultery,

with the woman with multiple husbands, that he

would choose to spend his time with a tax collector.

And they just can't wrap their heads around the

fact that Jesus, the person claiming to be the

Holy Son of God, would choose to be with sinners.

And Jesus tells a story. What man of you, having

a hundred sheep, if he's lost one of them, doesn't

go out leaving the 99 to go after the one that

is lost until he finds it? And when he's found

it, He lays it on his shoulders rejoicing. And

when he comes home, he calls together his friends,

his neighbors, saying to them, rejoice with me

for I have found my sheep that was lost. Just

so I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven

over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous

persons who need no repentance. Think about that.

Jesus is saying, when I leave the 99, first of

all, He's saying, I leave the 99 to go find one.

Now, when thinking about the whole shepherd thing,

if a shepherd left his sheep on their own, he's

leaving them defenseless. And so, a shepherd

leaving his sheep defenseless, he runs the risk

of losing a lot of sheep to wolves or whatever

kind of vicious animals are out there trying

to kill him. He runs the risk of people coming

and stealing his sheep. But he's willing to risk

that to go find one. To go find the lost one.

And what he says is, is heaven throws a party.

Over one saved soul. And again, we'll get up

and get loud for a football game. We will get

up and get loud for our babies graduating. We

will get up and get loud because we got the promotion.

Heaven rejoices. It throws a party when one person

is saved. But when somebody gets saved, we're

just like, oh, that's so sweet. We give them

a little hug and welcome to the family. Heaven

throws a party. It rejoices over one. The shepherd

doesn't say 99 is good enough. He doesn't shrug

his shoulders and just write it off. He goes

after the one. And if Jesus is that kind of shepherd,

and we as a church want to follow the example

of our leader, then we can't be content to stay

in the pen with the 99. If we know that there's

just one out there, we got to go find them. Because

they deserve freedom too. They deserve to be

saved too. And it's not because I said so. It's

not because we feel bad for them. It's not because

you just want to bring everybody and anybody

into this building. It's because Jesus says that

one is important. So important that heaven throws

a party. When they come home. And that's why

today, we're asking this question as a church.

Who is your one? How's the gospel changed your

life? And who's the one that needs to know how

the gospel transforms? That needs to know how

the gospel frees? Who's your one? I'm not asking

you to go save all of Union County. I'm asking

you to go find one person that you work with,

that you go to school with, that you play ball

with, that you play golf with, whatever it is

that you do in your life outside of this building

for the rest of the day or the rest of the week.

Who's the one person that just needs to hear

about Jesus? Who's one? Who's the one person

that you know that you can just see? That they're

still carrying guilt. That they're still carrying

shame and fear and hopelessness. That they don't

feel like they have a real clear direction of

life. Who's the one person that you know? Because

we all know one. It may be a cousin. It may be

a co -worker. It may be a classmate. But you

know one. And all you have to do is tell them

the sweetest story ever told. The good news.

You know, we've got our Friends and Family Day

coming up. And we've got these cards out here.

And I told you, all you've got to do is just

hand it to somebody. You don't even have to talk

to them about it. You just hand it to them. Put

it on their desk. Leave it on their counter.

When you're at their house for dinner, just put

it on the fridge. Or you can just... Up front,

say, hey, this is what God has done for me in

my life. This is how he's freed me from the baggage

that I've been carrying. And I don't know if

you need that, but I would love to share it with

you because here's the truth. We're called to

love people. And I heard somebody say, how much

do you have to hate somebody to not tell them

about the life -saving medicine that comes from

Christ? If I know the cure, if I've got the life

raft and I see him drowning, How much do I have

to hate them to not throw it to them? And sure,

they may be able to swim, but for all I know,

they need this life raft. And so Friends and

Family Day is not just a day that we're trying

to, you know, hype up so we can fill the seats.

That would be nice. It's a day that we're trying

to hype up because we need people to hear about

Jesus. We need people to feel and know that there

is a home here of people that want to help them

experience the love and the family of God, the

freedom that only Christ brings. And so I'm asking,

who is the one that you're going to tell about

this freedom? Because it's not just about an

event. It's about a lifestyle of caring for the

one. You know, sometimes we get so wrapped up

in trying to save the whole world that we forget

that all we have to do is just save one person.

And I saw this illustration and I loved it. And

I'm not good at math and I think I probably already

told you guys this before, but I'm going to say

it again because it just blows my mind. We've

got 90 people in here. And 90 people go and they

tell just one person about Jesus. That's 180

people now in the kingdom of God. And now if

180 people go and tell just one person. Somebody

do some math for me. Anybody. 180 plus 180. 360.

Did I get it right? Oh, look at me. Mississippi

education, baby. All right. So 360 times two.

720. And if 720 go and tell one. 1440. And if

1440 go and tell one. You see how this keeps

going? It's just compounding interest. And all

we got to do is tell one. And maybe we won't

bat 1 ,000, right? But I used the illustration

earlier. If I'm batting 300, I'm pretty good.

And so we've got 90 people in here, but only

30 people come. Well, that's just 120. And now

120 go until 120. And again, you're only batting

300. I'm not going to do the math. Quite frankly,

I just hurt my brain. But you get the point.

If we will just go and tell people the gospel

and how it's changed our life and how Jesus desires

to have them in his household, how he desires

to see them in heaven with him one day and to

live with them for eternity and how he desires

for them to be free. If we'll just tell one,

we can change the world. There's a reason that

in the first century, the Christian church multiplied

like crazy. It's because those people believed

and were convicted about this gospel, this man

named Jesus that came to save them. And they

told everyone about it. And all I'm asking is

that we just tell one person about it. So before

we dive into Galatians next week, I want to just

highlight these two questions. How has the gospel

changed your life? How has it transformed you?

What freedom has it brought you? And who's one

person that you need to share it with, that I

need to share it with? Because we all know somebody

that needs to experience the freedom that Christ

has brought us. Over the next 10 weeks, we're

going to see how... Galatians unpacks this very

key truth. For freedom, Christ has set us free.

We're not bound to the law anymore. We're not

bound to traditions of man. We're not bound to

the laws of this world. We are bound only to

life in Christ and His gospel message. For freedom,

Christ has set us free. That freedom is here

for you. It's here for me, and it's here for

your one. And so, this morning I ask you, have

you allowed Jesus to set you free? Have you let

him take the handcuffs off of you to break the

chains from your life? And if not, will you today?

See, the shepherd is still seeking. He's still

saving. He's still bringing home the lost one.

And so if you are lost, If you don't know if

you're saved, if you just want to make sure,

if you just need prayers because you feel like

you have not embraced that freedom that Christ

has brought, or if you want to pray for one person

specifically that you know that needs Christ,

we're offering an invitation for whatever your

need is now as we stand and as we sing.