RELEASE!
Most people have heard of Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan
Swift and his trip to the land of the Lilliputians who tied him down while he
slept. They were only about 6 inches tall but had successfully bound him while
he slept. Eventually, they released the
one who appeared to be a giant to them.
What would happen if the sleeping giant,
the church, would wake up and be set free?
We have been bound by the tiny and inconsequential ropes of thousands of
little things and rendered powerless.
The time has come for us to be released…and more importantly, for the
Lord to release His power through us.
THESIS: When we
present ourselves to the Lord as those who are free in Christ, He will set us
free and release us to enjoy the fullness of His pleasure and the fruit of His
power.
“It is for freedom that Christ
has set us free…” Galatians 5:1
Liberating…that is what the gospel of
Jesus Christ is to those who believe and whose lives have been transformed by
the power of His name! All that once
held us in captivity, and all that we once held onto, have been set free
through the new life He has given us.
Therefore, the focus for this ministry
year will be to celebrate the release
of all things for the glory of the name of Jesus Christ.
Release of Power
–
· Learning
the power of Christ’s love when it is poured out in full measure;
· Learning
the power of prayer when we have prayed by faith without ceasing;
· Learning
the power of walking by the Spirit instead of depending upon merely human
resources; and
· Learning
the power of the Gospel when we proclaim it accurately and in the power of the
Spirit
Release of Expectations
–
· Lightening
up on the heavy demands we place on other people to meet our expectations; and
· Offering
grace instead of condemnation, acceptance instead of rejection, and mercy instead of judgment
Release of Prejudices
–
· Letting
go of deeply held ways of thinking about those who are different from us;
· Letting
go of old patterns of doing things that are different from new ways of
accomplishing eternal purposes; and
· Letting
go of worldviews based on unbiblical assumptions
Release of Resources
–
· Liberating
the wealth of God’s riches, given freely to us, but held captive by our own
designs for our own agendas instead of
· Liberating
the design God has always intended and allowing our talents, treasures, time
and truth to be set free to fulfill the desires and delight the heart of the
Giver
Release of Imagination
–
· Listening
openly for the instruction of the Lord to move forward into new arenas of
service; and
· Asking
God to give us new ideas and allow our minds to consider new opportunities for
faithful ministry as they arise
Could this be a “break out” year of
ministry? Only the Lord knows exactly
what He has in store for us. But with
the foundations that have been laid, and with the power of His Spirit at work
among us, and with the mind of Christ directing our way to understand and apply
His Word—yes, this could be the beginning of something very special here at
Providence! What needs to be released in
and through you so that you can be a part of it all?
May 15, 2005
Providence Baptist Church
©
David Horner 2005
Sermon
outlines are copyrighted in the event of future publication.
They
may be used for preaching and teaching purposes
but
may not be published or sold.