Almost Free Blog

Almost Free Blog

The past couple weeks we have been talking about "Almost Christians." Last week we discovered that "Almost Christians" have the propensity to be almost full when God desires us to be full of him and his Word. This week we are talking about being "Almost Free."

When my family first moved to Jacksonville Aaron and I would go down to the local park and play basketball at night. We usually walked or biked since it was near our house. One night after playing we were walking back home when we were inconveniently interrupted by a group of punk high schoolers. I remember a green Honda Accord driving by us with the windows rolled the windows rolled down, and guys goofing off yelling provocative things at Aaron and me. Two minutes later this crew drove by us again. This time one of them got out of the car and pulled out a tennis racket and hit tennis balls at us (I guess this is how punk teenagers scare people in country clubs). I, in my middle school pride, yelled back: "Come on sissies!! Is that all you've got!?" (that was a bad mistake).

The next three minutes Aaron and I were running for our lives. The car was driving right towards us as we were walking on the sidewalk. It had driven up into the yard missing us by about a yard. Aaron and I sprinted behind the houses and ran back home scared to death. For the next two hours we sat in fear in our house: "Were we safe? Were we free?" We didn't know if we were safe or free. For next two hours we sat in agony. We'd think, "They've left." then we'd here something outside: "They're trying to break in!" (it was actually water sprinklers hitting the house).
Being "almost" free is never fun.

Many young people live an almost free life today. When we look at sin and temptation and how it works we discover why we often fall into the cycle of freedom and slavery.

Temptation never boils the frog the moment he jumps into it. It is a subtle, slow seed planting that grows inside of us over a longer period of time than we know. For example, a man doesn't just one day fall into pornography, or a girl doesn't all of a sudden become a habitual liar. Their sin nature is molded over time.

Take the young man as an example. Sometime before the addiction to porn developed, this young man was bored and lonely. He decides to get on Facebook and notices a cute girl from his school. He simply clicks on some of her profile pics to see what she's up to. He "innocently" sort of day dreams about her, but nothing too serious. This was the planting of the "seed" of temptation.

This seed is watered two weeks later when he feels the same loneliness and boredom, and decides to turn on the TV. Completely oblivious to the sin that is waiting at the door of his heart, a seductive girl comes on TV, and being caught in the moment he lets his mind soak in the pleasure for a moment, then awakes out of his dream state and turns the channel. No more temptation, right? Wrong! The seed sown two weeks earlier has just been watered. Nothing serious has happened yet (or at least you cannot see it).

Likewise, the young lady who became a habitual liar underwent a similar process. One day she exaggerated to her friends because of her pride and insecurity, and the moment she did a seed was planted. The seed was later watered when on another day she exaggerated even more to keep her facade believable.

Time goes on and the young man and woman go to school. This time the loneliness and boredom come back to the young man, and the insecurities to the young woman. But now they are accompanied by a craving. They now need more "water" (more flesh to feed the roots of carnality and sin in their soul). This time the guy craves attention from that cute girl across the class that smiles at him with her "seemingly innocent" appearance, oblivious to any wrongdoing. So the young man glances at her and smiles. Now the roots just got the "nutrients" and "water" they needed.

While this is going on the young lady is in her class and the teacher asks for a homework assignment worth 15% of her grade. The girl caves into the seed of exaggeration and lies to the teacher: "My computer crashed last night, so I lost my paper. I tried going to the library but my car stalled out. I tried getting a ride from my parents but they worked late." "Ok, I'll let you make it up later."

To the girl and the guy it felt so good for that seed of carnality to be fed and to be opened up and just breathe, wow! The pleasure felt great, but now there are more roots! They have expanded, split in twos, and those twos into twos, and so on.

The feeding of the flesh in that moment increased the roots of sin in your life three-fold. What started off as such a small, innocent desire has now lavished into an uncontrollable need. Now it's going to take at least double the "water" and feeding so these roots don't starve. And we dare not starve those roots, because they aren't just floating arbitrarily inside of us. Rather those roots are connected to your heart. To let them starve and die would be suicide to us.

We then decide somewhere along the journey this has gone too far, so we decide to put an end to feeding the flesh. We go two to three weeks walking in "freedom." We let ourselves get dried out, but not the the death of the sin. We simply "dehydrate" ourselves from the flesh. But then we wake up one day two months later willing to do whatever to feel the pain of dehydration, so we give ourselves a bit of "water" to make the soars and pain subside.

This feels great for the moment, but then the sin comes back to haunt us. These "pain killers" only hide the pain; they don't fix the problem. THIS TURNS INTO A VICIOUS CYCLE OF FEELING FREE AND BEING A SLAVE. The moment we start feeling set free we find ourselves right back in chains. Like a dog with a retractable leash we run: "I'm free! I feel great! (Yank!) My neck! My neck!" We repent and come back to our Owner (Jesus). We stay by his side for a while, but then we wander off again seeing that cat or squirrel that makes our imagination run wild.

My dog Homer used to do this. He would go off and be yanked and then remember to stay by me, but eventually he'd forget and go all out for the cat.

WHAT IS FREEDOM?

The only way for a dog to walk without a leash is for it to walk in the footsteps of its owner. Likewise, we won't be a slave if we walk in obedience to our Owner. You may be saying, "Ryan, isn't that slavery! To be walking in the footsteps of your owner? Why does God allow us to be yanked by the leash if he desires us to be free? How is that freedom?" I will answer you by asking this: "Why do we put dogs in retractable leashes that stop them from running anywhere? Is it because we want them to be our slaves? Why did my parents place an electrical fence up in our yard so Homer couldn't run into a street filled with traffic? Was it because they wanted to see him get shocked?" No!!! It was because they loved him and wanted him safe from traffic. They knew a dog running freely in a high trafficked street would not last. They wanted him to enjoy a long life of safety, free from danger.

Freedom is not the ability to do whatever our flesh desires-that is slavery. Freedom is being able to do what God desires. Without boundaries we have no freedom. We have danger. God disciplines is because he loves us. You're lucky God doesn't let you off the leash. If you ever break the leash in your stubborn pride, beware! Disaster is coming!

HOW TO BE SET FREE

1. Let the Son shine on you

In John 1:35-49 it talks about Jesus calling forth his first disciples. One day two of John the baptist disciples are talking with John when Jesus walks by and John proclaims: "Behold the Lamb of God!" The two disciples think to themselves, "Let's go check this Jesus guy out." They immediately start walking behind Jesus, and Jesus turns around and invites them to come to his house. By the end of the day the two disciples are blown away. They heard John speaking about how amazing Jesus, but now that they had met Him they realized he was more amazing than they ha ever imagined. They immediately went off and told their families: "We have found the One that Moses and the prophets spoke about! You've got to check him out!"

The next day another young man named Nathan, from the town of these two men was told about this amazing Jesus. When he heard Jesus was the One he Nathan proclaimed, "How can it be him? He's from Nazareth!" Soon after Nathan said this he met Jesus face to face and he had a revelation: "Surely you are the Son of God!"

I want to point out something really intriguing. Notice that every one of these young men had heard about Jesus and never really thought too much of him. But the moment they encountered Jesus met him personally they discovered something they had never felt before.

John 1:4-5 says, "Jesus has brought life into the world and this life was the light of men. And the darkness has not overcome it." I believe this life was what these disciples experienced. Imagine living in darkness all your life. Imagine how cold it would feel, how scary, and boring life would be, how colorless and lifeless. Imagine living in this all your life then one day meeting the Light. For the first time you see the green grass. For the first time you feel the warmth of the suns' rays and see the iridescent clouds and the lustrous plants and colorful flowers. You would see the purpose, joy and beauty of life. You'd never be the same.

I believe this is what these disciples experienced when they encountered Jesus. For the first time they saw light.

Likewise, the key to freedom is allowing Jesus to come into your life. Like a plant without sunlight dies and cannot grow so we will remain in slavery until we really come into contact with the Son's Light.

2. Uproot the root of sin

Jesus said: "Whatever causes you to sin cut it off.. If your hand causes you to sin cut it off... It is better for you to enter life maimed than go to hell." Jesus is using hyperbole to make a point. He's saying whatever causes you to sin get rid of it! If its watching TV, getting on Facebook too much, hanging out with the wrong friends or listening to secular music. Whatever causes you to sin cut it out. We must uproot the roots of sin if so we an allow God's seed to grow.

3. Lastly, remain in the Vine.

Jesus says in John 15: "I am the Vine, you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit. But apart from me he can do nothing."

Are you remaining in God's presence throughout the whole day? We remain in Him when we read his Word in the morning, but also meditate and regurgitate on it throughout the day. We must hide God's Word in our hearts (Psalm 119:11). Remaining is obeying. Unless we obey what God speaks we fail to remain in his life of freedom.

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Almost Full

Last week we talked about how "almost" Christians give almost everything. This week we are addressing how "almost" Christians are almost full.

There's nothing worse than being almost full. I hate going to expensive restaurants where the $30 entree is one cubic inch, dazzled with a funky sauce that looks pretty but doesn't satisfy.
One of the greatest fears in the Austin' home is the fear of not having enough food. When Aaron and I were in high school we would go to Al's Pizza for lunch and each order a large pepperoni and completely consume both pizzas. I remember in college when we were living together trying to survive 5 miles away from mom's cooking (we still went over there and ate almost every day) we would sometimes go to Golden Corral. Golden Corral was like manna from heaven to us. We would go there for breakfast and leave after lunch. We saw other people doing it and thought "What a great idea!" People constantly told us the cooks used MSG in their food to make you feel full but keep you addicted to it. The first apparently didn't affect us, but the latter did.

Even our dog Homer had this problem. If food was left out he would eat until he burst. We used to call Homer the "Vacuum Cleaner." Any time food would fall on the floor Aaron and I would call out "Vacuum Cleaner! Homer!" and Homer would do his job.

One day we were famished, and my dad decided to treat us to an Outback Special Steak. I get everything out and I'm ready to devour it when the phone rings. I go and take the call and then come back only to find Homer on the table next to my EMPTY plate stuffed like an anaconda! I was furious. How he got up there only God knows. He was only about 4 inches tall. Goes to show when your hungry you'll do anything.

Whenever homer rebelled against us escaping miles from our house all's we had to do was yell out "hungry" in a high pitch tone and Homer would come sprinting to us. You would always see him about a quarter mile away on the golf course going all out to reach us. Sometimes I think Homer just escaped so we would call out "hungry" and feed him. He was a smart dog.
Getting almost full is not just a terrible feeling, it's dangerous. The almost full person thinks they have eaten enough and are ok. But the truth is being almost full nearly always leads to indulging yourself into temptation.
Case in point: for Shelby's birthday a few weeks ago, my family went to Seasons 52. I had heard a lot of good things about this restaurant and was excited to try it out (but only from girls trying to lose weight. I should have known what was coming). I ordered the largest plate on the menu, the grouper with veggies, along with an extra side salad. I knew I was in trouble when the waitress came out and the first thing she said was, "You'll be glad to know that we are a very healthy restaurant. Our largest plate is 450 calories." My heart literally stopped when she said this. I ate my plate, half of Shelby's, stole some of my sisters flat bread, and ate Madison's desert and I was still hungry. Needless to say, I came home and indulged myself in chips and junk food.

I see wives do this with there husbands all the time. The husband sees what she orders at dinner: "Honey is that all your eating!?" "Yeah I'm trying the portion control diet." "Wow! That must really take some discipline." (30 minutes later) "Honey, look ice cream!" "Babe we just ate!"

There are too many Christians today that are almost full. They are malnourished and are dying to be full. They get their quick microwave meals, and the moment worldly food is presented to them they indulge in the temptation. We often wonder why temptation feels like it has such a strong pull. Could it be we are hungry? We are craving to be filled and satisfied.

There are three different people that I want to talk about that are not getting filled spiritually: the junk food eaters, the anorexics and the bulimics.

The "Junk Food Eaters" are people who work really hard to feed the flesh. Whatever desire they have, they indulge in. Like physical junk food eaters who eat pizza, twinkies, donuts and fries, these people listen to provocative music, feast their eyes every night on the TV, spend hours upon hours wasting their lives playing video games or surfing the net. They also check girls out when they have the desire and hang out with friends that feed their flesh. These people are so filled up on junk that to even think of Jesus, church and the Bible is repulsive to them. They think these things are disgusting even to think about.

The anorexics are those who have stopped binging on the junk food. They'll eat a bit of junk here and a bit of Jesus there, but just enough to "stay" alive. They think they are surviving, but in reality they are slowly dying. Anorexics are afraid of letting God have complete control.
Finally, the bulimics are those who feast on Jesus. They come to church every week, read the Bible time to time, go to life group, pray and are apparently in with Jesus. But they never let Him settle deep in their hearts. As soon as He starts to challenge them and move in their lives or show them something to change they spit him out. They love to taste Jesus and church. They are actually fed quite often. You would think that they would be full with all the "food" they are taking in. But the problem is they never allow this "food" to settle and be digested. They hear and see so many incredible truths from God's Word, but fail to change because they simply don't obey and apply what they hear.

Are you "anorexic" spiritually? Are you simply nibbling at the crumbs of God's table? Are you "bulimic" in your walk with God like so many in the church are today? Are you filling yourself on the junk of this world? If you are any of these then you are not full. You are unsatisfied and are on a downward cycle of hopelessness and despair. But the good news is Jesus can and wants to fill you.
Jesus says in Matthew 5:6, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." In Mark 6 Jesus and his disciples come ashore in Galilee and thousands of people come to meet and hear Jesus. When Jesus comes ashore Mark says He has compassion on the people because they are like sheep without a Shepherd. As Jesus spoke to this crowd and healed their sick it started getting late and time for dinner. Noticing this the disciples said to Jesus, "Shouldn't we let the people go and get something to eat?" Jesus looked at his disciples and said, "You feed them." The disciples astonished asked, "How? It would take a year of working to feed a small portion of this crowd." Jesus asked his disciples what they had and miraculously multiplied five loaves of bread and two fish to feed over 15,000 people (counting women and children).
Jesus was telling his disciples, "Don't let these people go away hungry. I love them and have compassion for them. Feed my sheep! They are hungry!" Jesus wants to fill you. He sees your hunger and he wants to satisfy you.

After Jesus feeds this enormous crowd he gives us the solution to being full and satisfied. He says, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst."(John 6:35 ESV) ONLY JESUS CAN FILL US UP.
So how do we get filled practically speaking?

We first must come to Jesus and surrender everything to him. Until we let go and allow Him to take control we will remain empty. Spiritual anorexia and bulimia cannot be beaten through self-help programs and books. When we think we can get full by our own strength it's like trying to perform brain surgery on yourself. We can't fix ourselves, only Jesus can.

Once we come to Jesus we can now get rid of the junk and start filling up on the right food.

FEAST ON GOD'S WORD
"Man does not live on bread alone but on every Word that comes from the mouth of God" (Matt 4). Feast on God's Word in the morning. When you don't eat breakfast you almost always fill up on junk. When I get through working out, and I miss breakfast I almost always eat junky. When you fail to eat you won't simply eat nothing, you'll eat anything just to stop the hunger. God made you to hunger. It's up to you to choose what to fill up on.

After breakfast continue to chew on the Word just like a cow chews on its cud. Regurgitate the major theme of what God speaks to you in the morning throughout he day.

King David did this:"The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken."(Psalm 16:5-8 ESV)
David's portion and cup was God. He was filled up and satisfied like we are after a delicious, healthy, hearty meal. He was so filled and satisfied with Jesus that he regurgitated God's commands in the middle of the night. Notice that God was David's "chosen" portion and cup. We have a choice what to fill up on. David always set Jesus before him. The full Christian sets Jesus before him. He feasts on the will of God, therefore temptation does not appeal to him.

DO GOD'S WILL

Jesus said, "My food is to do the will of my father." So many young people come up and ask me "What is God's will for my life?" God's will is not some super mystical, mysterious equation. It's simple, God's will is his Word. The more you read the Word the more familiar you become with God's will. The more familiar you become with God's Word the easier it will be for you to know what to do. So first read the Bible then do what it says. Doing God's will is simply obeying the Bible. When we do this we will be filled. The problem is we have many bulimic Christians that hear God's Word all the time but don't do what it says and let it transform them.

GET RID OF NEGATIVITY. FILL UP BY ENCOURAGING.

Get rid of negative talk. Fill up on positive and encouraging words. James 3 says that negative words set the whole course of your life on fire. Gossip is like choice morsels. Fill up on negative words and you will become a negative person. Every time I speak negatively about someone I feel the energy and joy being zapped out of me. Jonathan Edwards said, "I am resolved to not speak negatively of anyone and to think of no one as more vile than I. But when I see a flaw in someone else may it remind me of the vileness of my own sin and lead me to repentance." When we get rid of this negativity and replace it with encouraging words God will fill us up with his energy and joy.

Ryan Austin