Introduction

Today, I want to share a very important topic with you: Receiving Grace Frees Us. Freedom is of utmost importance! Losing one's freedom is a very serious matter. We must know for sure that God saves us to set us free!

Last Sunday, I was immersed in extreme pain. While I was preaching, one of my colleagues made a series of arrangements, as if preparing for her departure, suddenly falling into depression. I wondered, How can people become less free the more they believe in the Lord? Are there still many among us who become less free as they believe, doubting their abilities in this and that? They used to be quite free, but now they are becoming increasingly unfree.

I have ministered to many brothers and sisters and have come to two types of people: one is too free, and the other is completely unfree. This week has been a very happy one because my colleague was quickly released from severe depression. This colleague is highly educated and does things well, but she feels that she is not good at pastoring and cannot do anything well. This sister actually has a lot of room for improvement, and her work is not entirely useless.

While I was ministering to this sister, a colleague sent me a passage from Galatians 5. The topic I am sharing today comes from Galatians 5. Many years ago, I studied Galatians and wrote a book called The Pure Gospel.

Last week, I was extremely heavy-hearted, so I buried myself in work, constantly shedding tears. Whenever I am troubled, I like to work, and as I worked, I pondered how to solve my sister's problem and how I could bring her out of severe depression. I also pondered what had caused her to fall into such depression. Today, I want to tell the brothers and sisters who are trapped in this kind of bondage how to gain freedom.

At night, after finishing work, I kept pondering on my way back. I suddenly realized that our God is love, and only God's love can set us free. Not rebuke, not reasoning, but God's love. That night, I told her, You know, we all love you very much. Her expression was surprised, as she thought we had a relationship of mutual exploitation. We need to know for sure that our relationship is one of love.

When we repeatedly told her that we loved her, I was really thankful to God. When I shared God's love with her, she immediately came out of her depression and was immediately joyful. She recovered so quickly that it exceeded my expectations! My God is awesome; if God had a social media account, I would definitely give Him a thumbs up!

Working with God and serving people is simply a wonderful way of life! We have shared too many testimonies just now; this is only a small part, and such testimonies are countless. I wonder how those without God live? How do those who have experienced God and then abandoned Him live?

A few weeks ago, some of my colleagues were slacking off at work, being loose and chatting idly together, very free, but could this kind of freedom edify people? They were treating God's grace as an opportunity for licentiousness, so I disciplined them severely. Actually, church work is very difficult; strict discipline makes people feel very unfree, and lax discipline leads to indulgence and disorganization. It's really difficult to walk the right path!

But I am very thankful to God! I arranged for another colleague to minister to them, and afterwards, I received a lot of good news: they are experiencing great turnarounds in what they are doing! What we are experiencing is not new today; it happened in the days of the Apostle Paul: either indulging in the desires of the flesh, which is the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, or becoming rigid and adhering to rules. It turns out this is the devil's scheme. God wants us to not deviate to the left or the right, but to walk on God's righteous path, which is not an easy thing. The gate of the kingdom of heaven is narrow, and one can fall to either the left or the right. Therefore, we must strive to enter, not by ourselves, but by relying on God.

Scripture

For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Galatians 5:13-14)

Prayer

Lord Jesus, today I want to be free through You! I know I am terrible, but through You, I can live out Your glorious image! Lord Jesus, work in me today! Lord Jesus, I open my heart and invite the Holy Spirit to come into me, to reign and be in first place in me, constantly dealing with all the carnal habits within me! Today, through the Lord Jesus who loves me, I will be free! All accusations must retreat! Everything useless and ineffective must leave! I declare in the name of Jesus Christ: I will be completely free through the Lord Jesus who loves me! Anything that deprives me of my freedom must completely retreat! I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!

Scripture Background

The background of the entire Book of Galatians is a debate about one thing: whether to keep the circumcision or not. Some people insisted on keeping the law of Moses. The Israelites went through 1500 years, from Moses all the way to Jesus Christ. What was the situation after 1500 years? These Israelites could not keep it, and then the country was destroyed. By the time of Jesus, the country had been destroyed for more than 600 years. That is to say, the history of the Israelites tells us that it is unsuccessful for people to keep the law of Moses.

Then, in the time of Jesus, they were crucified by these Pharisees. This is how these Pharisees came to be. About four or five hundred years before Jesus came into this world, there was a man named Ezra, and another man named Nehemiah. The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah both record this matter. Ezra was a scribe who trained a large group of people to restore a God-centered life. After 400 years of evolution, the people trained by Ezra evolved into the Pharisees.

As a result, this group of Pharisees crucified Jesus, which is simply a very strange thing. Those who served God in the temple did not recognize Him when God became flesh and came among them. How could people become like this?

There is another thing; I am very glad that I did not study theology. Actually, I used to study theology. I worked while studying theology, which was very hard. I used all my holidays to attend classes. When I went to class, I asked the teachers questions, and the answers I heard were very strange. I asked one teacher, If it were Jesus, how would Jesus view this matter? The teacher widened his eyes and said to me, I am not Jesus, how would I know?

I wondered, you teach theology, and you don't know how Jesus views it, then what am I learning? I thought, forget it, I will not study this thing in the future, it is not very useful, studying it leads to a loss of freedom. Therefore, today our brothers and sisters must be careful.

In Paul's time, Jesus Christ had already been crucified, had risen from the dead, had ascended to heaven, and was seated at the right hand of God the Father, bestowing the Holy Spirit, which greatly manifested His power among Christians. As a result, there was a group of people from Jesus' physical brother, Mary's other son, named James. Many people in James' group promoted the law of Moses, believing that the law of Moses was a matter of life and death and must be kept. There were many articles in the law of Moses, and they only picked a few, one of which was called circumcision.

Circumcision is the removal of the foreskin of the male reproductive organ. Fortunately, there is Paul; today, Christians do not need to keep circumcision. At that time, there was a lot of controversy over the matter of circumcision. Paul opposed this matter, saying that if you keep circumcision, you keep the whole law. If you say you rely on the law, you don't need to rely on Jesus, you don't need to rely on the Holy Spirit. If you want to rely on the Holy Spirit, you don't need to keep circumcision anymore.

Understand God's Intentions Behind the Rules

This matter is very confusing. Isn't circumcision written in the Bible? Then why is it not needed now? Actually, I tell you that not only are you confused, but I am also confused. Today, let us explore this matter together. I want to tell you that it is only important whether something is effective or ineffective. The problem is not with circumcision. If you keep circumcision, there is another article, one article plus another article plus another article. The problem is that it is not an essential thing, do you understand?

I think this rule-based thing is very powerful. People believe in the Lord, and as they believe, they become less free. Why? Because they add a rule, then add another rule, then add another rule, and then they lose their freedom. What will happen in the future? The person will become so rigid that they will not even recognize God Himself when He comes among us, just like the Pharisees.

Actually, this is not a critical matter. What is critical is that if we rely on these rules to be effective, then we don't need to rely on the Holy Spirit. But if we rely on the Holy Spirit, then we don't need to rely on these rules. It's not a matter of saying, Can't I rely on the rules and the Holy Spirit as well? It's not done that way. Then the problem comes: There is something very powerful in these rules. It is very simple to keep one rule. Do you know God's intentions behind keeping the rules? You don't know. If you don't know that this is God's intention, you will lose your freedom as you keep the rules.

I think today we must return to a very essential thing in order to be free. For example, keeping rules cannot make a living person spiritual. Keeping rules easily makes people forget the meaning behind them. Today, if you have been in management, I think the type of employee you like the least is the one who does whatever you tell them to do, but does nothing that you have not specifically instructed or ordered. Will this type of employee be a good employee? No!

An employee who understands the boss's intentions is a good employee; doing things according to the boss's intentions will be effective. Actually, such things are very common. When you assign someone a job, they can only do it well if they understand your intentions, understand what needs to be done, and what the goal is.

For example, I asked a sister to plaster the wall, but the wall was plastered into a pockmarked face. So I asked this sister, If someone plastered your house's wall into a 'pockmarked face,' would you want it? The sister said no. I said, Then why did you plaster my wall like this? She said, I was plastering the wall. So you just plaster the wall because I asked you to plaster the wall? A person who keeps rules is not in a state of freedom and cannot do things well because the law is a set of rules.

Reject the Heart of a Slave

The scripture says:

And who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. (2 Corinthians 3:6)

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1)

What exactly makes people lose their freedom? It turns out that it is not just a matter of laws and rules, but a heart of a slave. The thinking of a slave's heart is, Oh no, don't do this wrong. If I do it wrong, the boss will scold me. I often scold people too. You can't not scold people in management. As a result, the feedback from people is that you will be scolded if you do something wrong. Scold means to train. He doesn't know that I scold him to help him grow. This is the yoke of slavery.

The yoke of slavery is the heart of a slave. The relationship between us is not a boss-subordinate relationship, but a mutually loving relationship. It does not allow a person to operate in a state of slavery. The heart of a slave will become rigid and keep rules.

Modern management concludes that keeping rules cannot solve problems. For example, going to work at 8:30 in the morning and leaving work at 5:30 in the evening is easy to keep the discipline, but what you do in the middle eight hours, whether you solve problems, and whether you create value is the key.

The heart of a slave is related to our inner preferences. Our inner preferences are that I will do whatever you ask me to do. Whether it is done according to your intentions is another matter. Therefore, there is something inside us, namely, the sin that dwells within us, which I shared last week.

Sin is explained very clearly in Genesis:

If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it. (Genesis 4:7)

Here it says that sin is crouching at your door, not that a demon is crouching at your door, because sin is an inherent nature. The sin within us will often release some strange things that cause us to lose our freedom.

The sin within us is a carnal thing that seeks rules and methods. In fact, sin is ubiquitous in every aspect of the church today. The sin that dwells within us, that is, our inherent nature, will lead us into the yoke of slavery and give us a slave's heart.

In the Old Testament, God brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt. The Israelites ate manna given by God and drank water given by God, but as soon as they encountered problems, they immediately complained, God, are you going to kill us in the wilderness? This is the heart of a slave. They treated themselves as slaves before God. Therefore, they feared God, did not revere Him, but had the heart of a slave.

To Be Children of God by Faith

The sin within us will deprive us of our freedom. Today, we must all rely on the Holy Spirit and put to death the evil deeds of the body by faith. If we have the heart of a son within us, our inner state is Father is my dad, my dad loves me, but He also disciplines me. When God disciplines me, I thank God for disciplining me because You love me. This is the heart of a son, while the heart of a servant is God, look, I did this wrong, and as a result, I got scolded.

There are five siblings in my family. My father was very strict. He didn't have the opportunity to study when he was young. He herded cattle and then saw other children studying. He hid outside the classroom window and eavesdropped. He wanted to go to school but couldn't, so he listened as much as he could. After he had us, my father hoped that each of us would study hard. I studied hard, which suited my father's intentions the most. As long as I didn't study hard, my father would beat me. As a result, I was whipped into a prestigious university by my father's belt, but I never hated my father.

Our siblings do not all have such aspirations. Some people think, Am I not my father's biological child? Was I switched at the hospital? Is my father a stepfather? This is the heart of a slave. People like this will definitely suffer a lot when they grow up.

Whether a person has the heart of a son or the heart of a slave is all thought out by themselves. If you think you are a slave, you are a slave. If you think you will be scolded, you will be scolded. If you think God is disciplining you for your benefit and for your growth, then that is your benefit. It is all thought out by you.

Therefore, our brothers and sisters should stop being restrained by the yoke of slavery. We must be children in the kingdom of God. We are children of God, and God gave birth to us with His Spirit. If we are seduced by the sin within us, by the carnal desires within us, we will either indulge in the flesh or lose our freedom. From today onwards, be children of God by faith in the kingdom of God.

One of my colleagues re-entered severe depression last week. Her inner thought was, She is useless, and I will kick her away. This is obviously a lie; it is brought about by the sin within her. When she first came to the church, she came with depression. I released her from depression. Did I do it to make her depressed again? We met by chance and served her. Did we do it to make her a slave? No, even when we didn't know her, we served her like that. How could we abandon her today just because she is not good?

If you are someone being served, you must have the heart of a son. If you are someone serving, you must have the love of the Father. Because only love can release people from bondage, because with God's love, we freely give what we have freely received. This is the motivation and purpose of our service.

Abandoning Works-Based Righteousness, Returning to Faith-Based Righteousness

Slaves often cannot withstand trials, and the yoke of servitude is deadly. Today, we are not about keeping rules, but about grasping God's heart. We must break free from the yoke of servitude. In reality, it is easy for people to fall from grace.

As the scripture says:

Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. (Galatians 5:2-4 NIV)

We must not fall from grace. Paul's theological concept is that the Israelites wanted to establish their own righteousness, thinking they were doing well and therefore deserving. In reality, we must understand that we are all unworthy, and everything we receive is grace, for which we should all thank God. Today, it is not because we are doing well enough that we are works-based. If we all focus on our own actions, we will certainly fall from grace.

If we feel that we deserve something when we do well and don't deserve it when we don't, that is called being works-based. Today, we must return to being faith-based, beginning with faith and leading to faith, relying on the Holy Spirit through faith. Through the Spirit, we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. (Galatians 5:5 NIV). That is what God does in us. Today, God is constantly shaping us, and we will become better and better. Continuing on this path, we will become more and more like Jesus.

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? Such persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.” (Galatians 5:6-9 NIV)

A small rule can corrupt people, because one small rule can become two, and two can become three. Then people will lose their freedom. Once people lose their freedom, they cannot obtain grace, because we are graced to be free.

The scripture continues:

I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view of things. The one who is throwing you into confusion will pay the penalty, whoever he may be. Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves! (Galatians 5:10-12 NIV)

Today, if someone is stirring you up, he will bear his guilt. I wish those who are disturbing you would castrate themselves! What is castration? The Chinese expression is more civilized, but the English translation is: since they want to keep circumcision, why not cut off the entire genitals? This is abusive language. Paul wrote so eloquently to preserve this pure gospel, so that we may continue to live in the grace of Jesus Christ, and walk the path of faith, not the path of works. If we rely on works, we are all unworthy, and we will always enter into negativity. However, if we rely on faith, we will see ourselves getting better and better. This is faith.

Relying on the Holy Spirit Through Faith

Paul also advises us:

You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. (Galatians 5:13 NIV)

Serve one another humbly in love. I truly serve everyone with love. Some think I want to use them, but I can completely do without using anyone. I can live a good life in this world with my own hands. But today, because of my love for God, I serve everyone, and I hope that everyone can serve one another humbly in love, because the entire law is summed up in the statement, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Point six, relying on the Holy Spirit through faith, the only way for people to obtain freedom is through the Holy Spirit and faith. Today, why do we have so many carnal things? It is because we feel that those things will bring us benefits, but in reality, they will only bring corruption. Many people like to compare themselves with others and compete, but in reality, everyone wants to do well, but that is not the way. There is only one way, which is to rely on the Holy Spirit through faith. When we rely on the Holy Spirit through faith, we rely on God's power to serve. What we say is no longer relying on wise and persuasive words, but on the demonstration of the Spirit's power. Relying on the Holy Spirit through faith to put to death the evil deeds inside us, we no longer crave vain glory.

Today, if we rely on the Holy Spirit, it is not because of something else, but because God loves us, not because we deserve it. But because we believe and accept, God becomes our help, and our weaknesses are helped by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, today, brothers and sisters, if we are weak and incapable, it is not a problem. Who is weak that I am not weak? In reality, I am weaker than everyone else, but I have a heart that trusts in God, and the power of the Holy Spirit is manifested through my service.

Last night when I was ministering, I originally wanted to give everyone a lesson first, but I saw that too many people had needs for ministry. These people are all believers, but they are sheep that have not been shepherded. Then I said, God, have mercy on these people! They are all believers, but no one shepherds them, no one cares for them, and no one cares. When I minister through the Holy Spirit, many people are healed. Blurred vision, headaches, head swelling, unclear hearing, and other symptoms have improved.

I said, God, you are really great. Who else do I have besides you? I am really grateful to God. Without God, I really don't know how one's life should go. Today, with God, shouldn't we continue to trust in God?

Possessing the Holy Spirit Means Possessing Everything

Today, no matter what kind of person you are, even if you are very bad, it doesn't matter. You can trust in God, and God is working in you! Our Jesus has died for us, who can accuse us? Jesus has resurrected for us and ascended to sit at the right hand of God the Father. He has bestowed the Holy Spirit on us so that we can manifest God's glory in the world! With the power of the Holy Spirit, do we still rely on jealousy? Do we still rely on strife? Do we still rely on competition? No need! With the Holy Spirit, we possess everything!

We are all works in God's hands. We cannot judge God and say that the work you are doing is too bad. If you say I am bad, really not good, then you say, God, today I am a work in your hands. Although today is a semi-finished product, I am still willing for you to continue working on me. Continue to sculpt me so that I can become like you. Continually put to death the evil habits of my flesh, God, one day I will be like you! God, may you continue to work!

When your faith is like a mustard seed, the Holy Spirit is working on you. If your faith changes from a millet seed to a rice grain, to a corn grain, and later to a watermelon-sized faith. God continues to work on us.

The faith of a mustard seed can move mountains into the sea. What difficulties can stand before us. Today, trusting in God and being strong is effective. If you have the faith of a mustard seed, you begin to experience God. Our God is such a good God!

Never think you are not devout enough. Because devotion is based on keeping rules. Today, we rely on the Holy Spirit, through faith to draw on God's promise. We stand in the grace that God has given us, so that we do not become separated from Jesus Christ, but are constantly united with Jesus Christ, and do not fall from God's grace.

Learning to Love Your Neighbor As Yourself

Inside us, we know that God loves us, and we freely give what we have freely received. We begin to learn to love our neighbor as ourselves. If we learn to love our neighbor as ourselves, our eyes will not be on ourselves. If I am bad, but God is using me! Then when I am better, God will use me even more. Don't rely on yourself!

Many times, people take things out of context, Didn't you say to make things happen? But I haven't made anything happen. In reality, you forgot what you made happen. You only see what didn't happen, so of course nothing happened. Those who work hard get it, I am not working hard enough. These lies released by the devil are really too bad.

Our God is a Spirit, so those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth! Whatever you are like, that is what you are like, you worship God with your most authentic self. We must fix our eyes on one thing, which is that we must continue to grow and grow to the full stature of Jesus Christ. Children grow up day by day. If some children grow to 1.8 meters at the age of 5, no doctor would say that this is very good. That is unhealthy and abnormal.

Therefore, let us follow the laws of life and let God continue to shape us. In fact, people's joy lies in growth. Constantly knowing God and constantly growing in Jesus Christ! Today, brothers and sisters, no matter what kind of person you are, let go of yourself, which is to love others as yourself! Then let yourself become a channel of blessing, so that God can greatly use us!

We will really start not to care about ourselves. I am a person who doesn't care much, I don't care about many things, I don't even care about death, so I am very free.

A Spiritual Person Sees Through All Things

Point six, relying on the Holy Spirit through faith, point seven, being a spiritual person who sees through all things. I think many times, why people are entangled is because they are ignorant, do not understand, and are confused in their hearts. If a spiritual person is a person who sees through all things, he should be a free person!

People are often entangled in their own thoughts. What people think inside, how people will be their whole life. Therefore, people must constantly transform themselves throughout their lives, so that we can become a living person with a spirit! Today, brothers and sisters, to be a living person with the Holy Spirit, we are born of the Holy Spirit, so we should be like Jesus!

Some time ago, someone listened to me talking about being like Jesus online. Some people said, There is only one Jesus, there is only one Paul. In fact, he was wrong. He was looking at it from the flesh. I am talking about it from the Holy Spirit. Aren't we all born of the Holy Spirit? Those born of the Spirit of God are guided by God and are all sons of God. We are all born of the Holy Spirit. As Jesus is, so shall we be. Although our flesh is not like Jesus, who became incarnate, but the Holy Spirit sanctifies us.

The Holy Spirit has regenerated us. What is born of the Spirit is spirit, and what is born of the flesh is flesh. Of course, this is a theological debate. I think: we are born of the Holy Spirit, our view must be the same as God's. We are sons of God, we are free people, freely drawing on God's grace and heavenly resources.

Today, we must be spiritual people! I thank God! I am a very free person, free to what extent? Many things cannot control me. When I say this, many people cannot accept it, because they only see the surface of things, not the essence of things. For example, my mother said to me, I'm going to die. The average child would cry when they heard their mother was going to die. I am a spiritual person, I don't do that, die what die, who told you. Mother said, Old Ma told me. What Old Ma said doesn't count, I said, You won't die! I grabbed her and prayed, and before long, she was running around on the ground.

That is a carnal view, but a spiritual view is another matter. Looking at problems with spiritual eyes, you see through all things, you grasp the essence of living, and many things cannot be controlled.

The Apostle Paul said this in Galatians:

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. (Galatians 5:16-17 NIV)

If you cannot do what you want, it is because you are a carnal person. You can only solve one thing, which is to rely on the Holy Spirit to put to death the carnal laziness, nonsense, and the bad habits of indulging yourself and wasting time.

The scripture says:

But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. (Galatians 5:18-26 NIV)

Paul is saying that these Corinthians cannot see through. If you are not a spiritual person, you cannot see through. Today, can we all see through, and be filled with the knowledge of God in understanding, truly know God, and rely on the Holy Spirit to put to death the carnal evil habits, completely nail them on the cross, and being graced and free is a fundamental issue, and we will walk out of evil.

Summary

In the beginning, we relied on God. When you came to church, with a body full of sickness, didn't you get release by relying on God? Did you deserve it? No, it is because God loves you. Why are you relying on yourself again today? Starting by relying on God,now constantly rely on God, start by relying on the Holy Spirit to be free, and now constantly rely on the Holy Spirit to be free, and can live out God's glory in the world.

Why should we crave vain glory, why cannot we see through? This vain thing will control us and make us lose our freedom. Craving vain glory, provoking each other, envying each other, will cause cancer over time. If the spirit gets cancer, the body will get cancer. If the spirit is free, the body will also be free. Our God has given us all the good things in heaven and on earth, are we still relying on something else? Having experienced the omnipotence of God, we must know for sure that all our needs are in the Holy Spirit, and our God reigns over all things in the universe through His Spirit.

Today, let the things in our minds be renewed by the Holy Spirit, so that we may know for sure that we are called to be free. Today, let us become free people in Jesus Christ. No longer relying on rules, but on the Spirit of God, living out the glorious image of sons. Let the Spirit of Jesus Christ, let our Heavenly Father be glorified because of us, forever and ever, Amen!

May God bless everyone!