Here are some words of inspiration from a sermon I preached recently.
I pray it blesses you.
#stayunsettled
jsb
“You Deserve to Be Free” (Exodus 3:7.8) April 29, 2018
“Black liberation theology centers around God’s deliverance of the oppressed through the finished work of Jesus Christ— brings to bear an interesting dynamic that must be reexamined in light of the world in which we live. When we look at the shootings of unarmed black men and women in the streets- when we look at the sexual assaults committed by people in positions of influence and power- when we look at the disparity of justice between those with money and those without money, we as a people must reassess what good is the Gospel if it is only teaching us to be better slaves. What good is singing and swaying, clapping and confessing if the Gospel is only considered about keeping us as consumers and never in control of our own destinies? The reality of the Gospel is God desires you to be free (“God wants you to be free”)— and for many of us, the concept of freedom is too “out of the box”, too beyond our “comfort zones” because we have been indoctrinated to believe that in order to be Christian, we have to be controlled by others- have to be dominated and dictated to by others- have to be under the supervision and the approval of others, but hear me: God does not want you controlled; yes, you were chosen to live under his command, but no one has the right to control you. You deserve to be free.
Salvation delivers you from the bondage. Jesus’ work was not about giving you a new job, or buying a new car; not about you dressing in Yves St Laurent or rocking the latest Brioni suits, but Jesus came to deliver you from the systems of oppression that seek to rob you of your freedom. We all have people, places, and things that daily- moment by moment- try to rob us of our God-given freedom in Christ.
[It] could be a boss, situation, spouse, relationship… we all have those things in our lives that seek to exploit us, manipulate us, take advantage of us, and misappropriate us for their own personal advantage— but the truth of living for God. God gives you the power to walk in a place of freedom and flexibility that you cannot have anywhere else.”