Message Notes America s Great Deception

Transcription

1 Loving God! Loving People! Loving Life! Message Notes America s Great Deception Life Church Smyrna Sunday, July 3, :30am Pastor Shell Osbon Galatians 4:1-7 1 Think of it this way. If a father dies and leaves an inheritance for his young children, those children are not much better off than slaves until they grow up, even though they actually own everything their father had. 2 They have to obey their guardians until they reach whatever age their father set. 3 And that s the way it was with us before Christ came. We were like children; we were slaves to the basic spiritual principles of this world. 4 But when the right time came, God sent His Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. 5 God sent Him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that He could adopt us as His very own children. 6 And because we are His children, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, Abba, Father. 7 Now you are no longer a slave but God s own child. And since you are His child, God has made you His heir. (NLT) 1. Only Jesus Provides Life t John 10:10 The thief does not come except to kill and to steal and to destroy. I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly. (NKJV) John 10: My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from Me, 29 for My Father has given them to Me, and He is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father s hand. (NLT) John 14:26 I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through Me. (NLT) Colossians 3:4 Christ gives meaning to life... (CEV) 2. Only Jesus Provides Liberty Leviticus 25:10...you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you... (NLT) Luke 4:18 The Sprit of the Lord is upon Me because He has anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind; to set at liberty those who are oppressed. (NKJV) 2 Corinthians 3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord there is liberty. (NKJV) Galatians 5:1 Stand fast in the liberty by which Christ has made us free and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. (NKJV) 3. Only Jesus Provides Happiness Psalm 144:15 Happy are the people whose God is the Lord. (NKJV) Psalm 146:5 Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God. (NKJV) Proverbs 29:18 Where there is no vision the people perish but happy is he that keeps the Law. (NKJV) The big idea: Only Jesus can give you life, liberty and happiness.

2 Galatians 4:1-7 1 Think of it this way. If a father dies and leaves an inheritance for his young children, those children are not much better off than slaves until they grow up, even though they actually own everything their father had. 2 They have to obey their guardians until they reach whatever age their father set. 3 And that s the way it was with us before Christ came. We were like children; we were slaves to the basic spiritual principles of this world. 1

3 4 But when the right time came, God sent His Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. 5 God sent Him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that He could adopt us as His very own children. 6 And because we are His children, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, Abba, Father. 7 Now you are no longer a slave but God s own child. And since you are His child, God has made you His heir. (NLT) Perhaps the most well-known phrase from the Declaration of Independence is, We hold these Truths to be selfevident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. 2

4 While life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness may be the foci of the Declaration of Independence, they are not truly attainable apart from a relationship with Jesus Christ. 3

5 Missed a message? Click on Resources Download the notes and listen Subscribe to our podcast on itunes 1. Only Jesus Provides Life 4

6 Life is defined as the condition that distinguishes animals and plants from inorganic matter including the capacity for growth and functional activity. John 10:10 The thief does not come except to kill and to steal and to destroy. I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly. (NKJV) Life comes from the Greek word zoe which means the absolute fullness of life; life real and genuine; a life that is active, devoted to God and blessed. Abundantly comes from the Greek word prissos which means over and above; more than is necessary; much more than all others; uncommon; more excellent. 5

7 Rose Tremain: Life is not a dress rehearsal. John 10: My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from Me, 29 for My Father has given them to Me, and He is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father s hand. (NLT) The life that Christ gives will last forever and it guarantees that no one can take you out of His hand! 6

8 John 14:26 I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through Me. (NLT) True life is only available through Jesus and you don t even have to be an American citizen! Colossians 3:4 Christ gives meaning to life... (CEV) You can be alive but not really living until you have a relationship with Christ! 7

9 2. Only Jesus Provides Liberty Liberty is the state of being free from oppression or imprisonment. Leviticus 25:10...you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you... (NLT) The Year of Jubilee was God s gift to His people in which they were free from all work and from all debts. 8

10 Luke 4:18 The Sprit of the Lord is upon Me because He has anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind; to set at liberty those who are oppressed. (NKJV) The greatest liberty that you will experience is the liberty which Christ provides. 2 Corinthians 3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord there is liberty. (NKJV) Liberty may be promised in the Declaration of Independence but it is only attainable through Jesus! 9

11 Thomas Jefferson: God who gave us life gave us liberty. Galatians 5:1 Stand fast in the liberty by which Christ has made us free and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. (NKJV) The liberty Christ gives is to set you free from the things that you have been in bondage to and that you never find yourself in bondage to them again. 10

12 3. Only Jesus Provides Happiness Happiness is the state of feeling or showing pleasure or contentment. Psalm 144:15 Happy are the people whose God is the Lord. (NKJV) No matter what the Declaration of Independence says, there is no lasting happiness apart from the Lord! 11

13 C.S. Lewis: God can t give us happiness apart from Himself because it is not there. There is no such thing. Psalm 146:5 Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God. (NKJV) If God isn t helping you then you have no help, you have no hope and you have no happiness! 12

14 George Burns: Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city. Proverbs 29:18 Where there is no vision the people perish but happy is he that keeps the Law. (NKJV) You only find true happiness when you live according to God s Word. 13

15 the big idea Only Jesus can give you life, liberty and happiness. we re all about Loving God! Loving People! Loving Life! 14

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