Having Been Set Free From Sin - 27.3.26

0:00Welcome to Life Devotions, and thank you for joining me today, having been set free from sin. It's the title of this devotion. You know, in John 8, oh, I love these few chapters there about all of John's to me. So dear, I learned so much constantly out of that book in John chapter 7, they're celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles and water is poured on the altar and they're singing, Isaiah chapter 12, that would joy, they would draw water from the well of salvation. And then Jesus is crying out with a loud voice in verse 38, He says, if anyone thirsts, let them come to me and out of his heart will flow forth a river of living water. And this is spoke about the Holy Spirit, whom had not yet been given, for he had not yet been glorified. I mean, you begin to meditate on these incredible things that they lived in this symbolism where we get to live in the substance of what they were picturing. Oh my goodness,

1:05what a joy, what a joy. I have my phone here somewhere, you know, and I've shown you this before, and here you see a picture of my dear wife Virginia, and I love that picture. I look at it though, all the time, all every day, I look at it. I'm just much happy that's lovely face, but I don't go home and she's standing in front of me and I say, my goodness, woman, you're so, no, my goodness, I don't look at my phone. I look at her and I kiss her. This is the symbolism, but I prefer the substance. I prefer the hugger and kiss her to say, baby, I'm so excited to see you, lovely. How are you? And just be friendly and kind and enjoy fellowship together. Oh, it's heaven to me. And friends, the same is true. We are not living in the symbolism. We're living in the substance. We're living in the reality of what they foreshadowed. And then in chapter 8 Jesus is talking in the temple, and this woman is thrown before her, and who had been caught in the act of adultery.

2:06And he ministers the mercies of God and allows her to walk away for given as they were trying to stone her. And then he says to the ones watching and standing there and all seeing this display of mercy that he see who had been condemned to death by the law was shown mercy because Jesus would pay for her sin on the cross and could say to her, go, I do not charge you either, sin no more. And Jesus then says to the ones watching him, he says, now, if you will listen to me and keep listening to me, you will discover the truth that she is experiencing. And sin will no longer be your master. You will no longer be under its yoke for whom the sun sets free is free indeed. This is the beauty having been set free from sin. Let me read to you here from Romans chapter 6 verse 15,

3:06please. What then shall we sin because we're not on the law, but on the grace, certainly not. And I've heard of these things in past years where people choose to abandon their first love and entertain a new relationship with somebody. And when somebody says, no, this is not right for you to abandon your spouse and go with somebody else. And then they say, well, I'm on the grace. I'm not on the law. And you are good, you're trying to make me feel bad for doing what is bad. No. And I know there are so many circumstances in situations. I'm never going to advocate you staying in a relationship where you're being abused. No, I don't believe that you've got to draw the line and say, hey, we're going to get along or we can't. I'm talking about being abused. And that you say no to that. Of course, you have to say no to that. Not that I may be

4:13abused for Junior, but I did have anger issues. And she said to me, we're talking here 1985 or so, 86. She said, I can't do it anymore. I can't do it anymore. You know, and I agreed with her. And I said, yeah, I agree. This is not right. The way I respond to our misunderstandings and that I get so angry. And she said, it just destroyed me. I'm having an ulcer because the pain of it all I can't do it. And I said, I agree, darling, I agree. I don't want this happening. And we got help and life changed. And I learned the grace you see in me today. And thank God that she drew the line. So no, I'm never advocating abuse about it. We do not just go with the lust of our flesh and then save around the grace and not on the lawn. So he says to me, watch and shall we sin because we're not on the lawn, but on the grace, certainly not. Do you not know that to whom you present yourself slaves to your

5:17bay? You are the one slaves who you obey, weather of sin leading to death or of obedience leading to righteousness. But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered and having been set free from sin, the title of this though devotion, you have become slaves of righteousness. And I speak in the human term because the weakness of your human nature, of your flesh, for just as you presented yourself as slaves of uncleanness and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness, but what fruit did you then have things of which you are now ashamed

6:18for the end of those things is death, but now having been set free from sin, the title of this version, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness and in the end everlasting life for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus, Lord. So really what I want to show you today is how it's when you and I say, Lord, I don't want like Virginia and I said, honey, I hated when I respond to an anger and to I miss understandings because I feel so insecure and I feel so bad and then I react to an anger and I become moody and negative towards you, I hate it, I hate that nature, I don't want to be this way, so I want to change, I want to change. What do we do when we went to go see our pastors, I learn how to pray, I learn how to read the scriptures, not just for preaching but for reading, for feeding

7:21and for being built up in my most holy faith to be able to have a prayer life that comes into the reality of God's love and power in the Spirit to be transformed into his likeness, the lay of the old man to put on the new man and it became all a reality of the power of God unto salvation in Christ Jesus and oh hallelujah, I feel the anointing just saying these things and my whole life came into a righteousness and then what it says here in Matthew 5 verse 6, let me read it to you from this little Bible, I love these verses in this little classic amplified, I love them here, Matthew 5 or 6, blessed happy and vividly fortunate and spiritually prosperous possessing the happiness produced by the experience of God's favor, especially conditioned by the revelation of His grace regardless of the outward conditions are the pure and heart that's verse 8 which also is awesome but I

8:27want verse 6, not verse 8, blessed and fortunate happy to be spiritually prosperous in the state which the born again child of God enjoys His favor and salvation are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, uprightness and right standing with God for they shall be completely satisfied, God wants to bring you and me into that place of hunger and thirst to live free from sin and to live in that beautiful righteousness peace and joy that comes through the Holy Spirit within, oh hallelujah, satisfied no longer driven by lust no longer driven by sexual passions and no longer driven by envy and strive and jealousy and outbursts of wrath and unkind ways of talking and gossip and drunkenness and oh no no Jesus never they destroy my home they destroy my marriage no

9:32Lord never do I want those things in my life I want to live righteous and you coming to a place where God begins to satisfy you where He begins to feel you with the joy like David describes so beautifully in his Psalm 71 that Psalm has so helped me 71 all these Psalms are so powerful aren't where He says in Psalm 71 I hope verse 14 continue I will praise you more and more my mouth shall tell of your righteousness my mouth shall just talk to people about how I love living in love with my Heavenly Father how it makes me so happy that He loves me and that He's with me and in me we're talking about living in that righteousness free from sin oh hallelujah my mouth shall tell of your righteousness in your salvation all that long because I cannot measure the limits of your

10:34goodness and mercy to me every day you overwhelm me with your goodness and satisfy me with your love Heavenly Father I will go in the strength of the Lord my God and make mention of your righteousness in yours only oh God you taught me from my youth and to this day I declare your wondrous works and now also when I'm old and gray headed oh God don't forsake me until I declare your strength to this generation and your power to everyone who is to come and I will go and I'll read you the next also your righteousness oh God is so very high you who have done such great things for me oh God who is like you you who have shown me great and severe troubles revive me again bring me up again from the depths of the earth Lord and increase me with your greatness and comfort me on every side I would pray that Father you have brought me through severe troubles in hardships and

11:34pains but I know you're reviving me again my loving Father and you're enlarging me in your greatness Father in surrounding me with comforts on every side on every side come on could you use some comforts on every side you have trouble on every side David said in Psalm 38 138 excuse me Psalm 138 he says I'm surrounded with trouble on every side but the Lord bring me safely through oh hallelujah many he says in Psalm 34 are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivers me out of them all and this is being satisfied in the Lord that He delivers you provides for you uphold you strengthen you bring you through safely through whatever you are going through where you can truly say in the end goodness and mercy have followed me all the days of my life

12:37and I shall be in the house of the Lord forever and ever amen have a good day, God bless