A New Me is a Free Me!

2022 is our year of breakthrough. Nothing that is trying to hold us back will hold us back because we understand the truth of our freedom is in Jesus. So, I’m going to step into all that I know that Jesus has for me so I can live in that freedom He’s provided.

Here’s our core scripture for our A New Me series:

”So, here I am dead and alive at the same time. I’m dead to the old me I was trying to be and alive to the real me which is Christ in me. Co-crucified, now co-alive. What a glorious entanglement. I was in Him in His death; now I discover that He is infused in me, in my life. For the first time, I’m free to be me in my skin, immersed in His faith in our joint-sonship. He loves me and believes in me. He is God’s gift to me. “ – GALATIANS 2:20 (MIRROR)

I’ve been talking about the seamless union we have with Christ. Let’s look at what the Mirror Bible says in John 14:20…Jesus is talking.

“In that day you will know that we are in seamless union with one another! I am in My Father, you are in Me and I am in you!” – JOHN 14:20 (MIRROR)

I think sometimes we have a wrong concept of that seamless union. We see three circles and there’s one section where they intersect; the circles represent the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit and we’re in the center. But really, it’s more one large circle (God the Father), with a smaller circle inside it (Jesus), with a smaller circle that’s us, and one inside of that of the Holy Spirit in us.

We’re all in God; there’s not parts of God that are separate…they’re all one. So, they can’t be separated, operating in different directions or desires. They all have one desire to reconcile us back to them, to make us centered in that bullseye with the Holy Spirit inside of us showing us we’re in Christ and in the Father.

I was reading some of the Mirror commentary on John 14:20 and it essentially says if gold is in the ground somewhere, it’s still gold whether we know it’s there or not. We just don’t KNOW it. But when we find it, and we dig it out, now it becomes currency. The value is now there.

In the same way, whatever truth you KNOW sets you free.

The gold is there. People do a lot of stuff to dig for gold, to find that gold. Why? So they can turn it into money so they can have currency to do the things they need to do. But it’s always gold.

Truth is there. It doesn’t change if we don’t know it’s truth or not. It’s always truth. When we dig it out of the Word and make it our own, it becomes something we can place our faith in. It becomes currency in Heaven. We can say, “God, this is what you purchased for me and I claim it as mine.” And it sets us free in that area of our life!

We really need to get into the Word of God to understand and get revelation of who we are in Christ so we can understand how free we are!

“31 Jesus said to the people who believed in Him, ‘You are truly My disciples if you remain faithful to My teachings. 32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’ 33 ‘But we are descendants of Abraham,’ they said. ‘We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, “You will be set free”?’ 34 Jesus replied, ‘I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. 35 A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.’” – JOHN 8:31-36 (NLT)

Re-read verses 34-36. Galatians 4:7 tells us, “Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child; and since you are His child, God has made you His heir”! He MADE us His child; He didn’t qualify that we do and act and be perfect. Since we’re His children, everything is ours.

Are we going to dig that gold out to understand that truth so we can turn it into currency and operate as heirs to everything God has? I think that’s our challenge.

The New Me is a Free Me, Free From Sin

The new me is free from sin, and I am now part of the family of God! In John 8, Jesus is answering the question, “What am I free from?” Sin and everything that surrounds it.

It’s not just the action (the verb) of sin, but the place (the noun) of sin. The place we think we’ve fallen to or that we’re at, God is setting us free from that place of sin so that we no longer have a desire to do the action of sin.

See, our dead nature prevented us from being part of God’s family, but Jesus came to make all things new, setting us free from our old nature. As Romans 6:14 states, “Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.” Then Paul continues…

“15 Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! 16 Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. 17 Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. 18 Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.” – ROMANS 6:15-18 (NLT)

Paul’s not even saying to not sin because God’s angry; he knows sin isn’t good for you, so he’s trying to help you understand you’ve been freed from it so you don’t have to think in a mindset that God’s angry, that you’re “outside of the Covenant” and have to earn your way back in. You’re not under law; you’re under grace!

You can be a slave to sin that leads to death, or you can be a slave to righteous living. You have a choice.

If we know that we’ve been made righteous by His grace, now our actions stem from that new place He’s showing us. That’s what Paul’s preaching about. Our old ways are going to die and become less and less. Do they still occasionally rear their ugly heads? Yes. The enemy will always provide opportunity, but whatever you choose to obey you become a slave to that. Are you going to stay in the freedom that was purchased by Christ or are you going to choose to be enslaved to sin?

Pastor Eddie Smith likes to say, “What you don’t master will end up mastering you.” We tend to let things in our life linger instead of killing (turning away from) them. Certain behaviors trigger us to do wrong things and we fall.

He gave an example about a boy who was always falling out of his bed. When he asked his mom why it was happening, she pointed out that he always slept close to the edge.

So many of us are living on the edge: “I’m with You, God, but here’s what I really want to do in my flesh.” You keep slipping because you’re living on the edge. So, take a step away from the edge, then another and another, so that when you get that thought, you instead think, “I’m so far away from that and so much closer to God; I don’t want to go back to that old stuff.”

Turn your attention and focus on God.

Every Decision You Make

Every decision you make decides who you’re going to be a slave to. There’s no middle ground or grey areas; it’s life or death, black or white. Even in the Old Covenant this was true.

“Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! 20 You can make this choice by loving the LORD your God, obeying Him, and committing yourself firmly to Him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the LORD, you will live long in the land the LORD swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” – DEUTERONOMY 30:19-20 (NLT)

Who’s making the choice? We are. God’s will for us is to choose life. Note that our choices impact others too…descendants, family, friends, those you hang around with.

I have the privilege to live in joint sonship with Christ. “That is so awesome that You died for me! That desire for which a year ago I would have stepped off the edge is now five feet away. Though I remember it, I’m now so fresh in seeing and understanding who I am in You, my desire is changing.”

What is the key to your life? Verse 20. “You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying Him, and committing yourself firmly to Him.” That’s the key! Don’t live on the edge; live in Him.

If you chose life, there’s so much good awaiting you!

As New Covenant believers, we don’t have to go to a certain land. That land – where He is – is in us. We are part of a greater Kingdom. We’re part of the best family, with the best Father, best Brother and best Helper we could have.

Choose life and follow God. Walk in freedom!

To watch the July 3, 2022 message on which this post is based, CLICK HERE.