Move Out of Grumbling Lane: Stand Fast in Your Liberty

Sermon outline

Christ has moved you to a new address of liberty, so refuse every pressure to pull you back into bondage, sickness, poverty or a joyless life, and hold your position by love, the Word and the words of your mouth.

1. Stand fast: a command to keep your new position

   Standing fast is not a request but a spiritual command, and the responsibility is ours, not God's. He did not say stand fast in bondage, sickness or poverty, but in the liberty: when you were born again God translated you from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of His Son and gave you a new address. You are no longer classified by race, social position or income, because Christ came to give life to the full and overflowing.

   “Your geographical location in the spirit has changed.”

   • Galatians 5:1
   • Colossians 1:13
   • John 10:10

2. Be not entangled again

   'Again' means you were once entangled and are now free, but you can put yourself back there. We put all the pressure on God by 'waiting on the Lord' and blame every negative thing on the devil, but the Bible says you stand fast. When someone interferes with your freedom or steals your joy at work or at home, stand fast, and overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of your testimony.

   Illustration: Someone releases you from prison and says, 'Don't go there again,' because you can step back in and lock yourself in.

   “The responsibility then lays square on your shoulders, not to be entangled.”

   • Galatians 5:1
   • Revelation 12:11

3. Grace, and faith that works by love

   Going back to the law makes Christ of no effect: grace is the unmerited favour of God, giving kindness, miracles and answers we do not deserve. Faith works by love, so without love your faith is crippled, which is why Christians cannot afford the luxury of grudges: they short-circuit God's power in you, not the other person. You were born by love, with God's love poured into your heart by the Holy Spirit, so you are a love child, and love makes you a giver, not a miser.

   “If you function not in love, your faith suffers from arthritis.”

   • Galatians 5:2-6
   • Romans 5:8
   • Romans 5:5

4. You did run well: who hindered you?

   Remember the joy when you were born again, when the torn mattress and the empty cupboard did not matter. Who stole that joy? When someone is mean to you and you react and become dejected, that person is controlling you: they pressed the button and now you cannot pray or receive. Love and faith are forces, and God is no respecter of persons, so if prayer is not answered, something you did, said or let into your heart has short-circuited the flow.

   Illustration: Many years ago, driving on the North Coast at work with his partner in the car, he was born again and filled with the Spirit: the sky looked bluer, the trees greener and the clouds like balls of cotton wool, and his fear of death was gone. He turned to his partner and asked, 'Can you see that?'

   “Love is a force. Faith is a force.”

   • Galatians 5:7
   • Acts 10:34

5. Change your address in the spirit

   In the Amplified, Paul says Christ has completely liberated us, so do not be hampered or submit again to slavery to sin, poverty, sickness or hatred. Liberty is a place in the spirit, and there is a place of poverty and a place of abundance there: you move by changing your consciousness through the entrance of the Word. Your words reveal your address. There is an anointing for wealth, healing and abundance, and just as people yield to sickness and poverty, you can yield to that anointing, because prosperity begins in how you think.

   Illustration: A murmurer and complainer lives in Grumbling Lane, and he only needs the house number. A person full of faith, always advancing the kingdom, lives in Pioneer Lane.

   “By your words, we can locate where you are staying.”

   • Galatians 5:1-4
   • Romans 14:17
   • Psalm 119:130
   • Proverbs 23:7

6. Stand fast means be stationary: don't even look back

   The Greek word means be stationary, persevere and stand firm. Fear, doubt, friends, the status quo and the world's system constantly pull you back towards where you came from, so make a quality decision to stay put and not even look back, because looking leads to desiring. Humility is an attitude of the heart, not a bank balance: hate poverty and sickness, and when the pressure comes to recant your confession because of rent or the bond, stand fast.

   Illustration: He walked past a creamy cake in a store the night before, looked at it, and soon came back and bought four. Lot's wife looked back at Sodom, desired it and became a pillar of salt.

   “When the pressure pulls you back, then you put pressure to stay put.”

   • Genesis 19:26

7. Don't be ensnared: the Holy Ghost is your counterweight

   Entangled means ensnared: Satan has baited a trap of his thinking and philosophy, so fill yourself with God's thoughts. Opportunities to be poor or sick will come, but you let them pass and rebuke the pain in Jesus' name. Winds of adversity will sway you, but the Holy Spirit who lives in you brings you back. Doctors, nurses and family are good people, but they are not God.

   Illustration: High-rise buildings are built with a counterweight at the bottom that lets them sway and always brings them back.

   “The counterweight that you have in you is the Holy Ghost.”

   • John 14:16
   • Acts 2
   • 1 Corinthians 3:16
   • 1 Corinthians 6:19

8. Send the Word

   The Word created everything: God said, and there was. He sent His word and healed them, so whether it is lack, sickness or being told you cannot afford a house, send the Word and it makes a way. Believers are kings who decree and priests who pray: like the priests whose feet touched the Jordan and Joshua who was given every place his foot would tread, step into what God has told you to do. There are giants, but there is a David spirit in you, and 'greater is He that is in me' is a declaration of war.

   Illustration: As Moses lifted his rod and the Red Sea split, he lifts the Word of God and says, 'Open.'

   “I don't cry, I send the word. I don't moan and murmur, I send the word.”

   • Psalm 107:20
   • John 1:1
   • Genesis 1:3
   • Psalm 119:105
   • Exodus 14:16
   • Revelation 1:6
   • Joshua 3:13-16
   • Joshua 1:3
   • 1 Samuel 17
   • 1 John 4:4
   • Mark 11:23

9. Receive means seize it

   In Mark 11:24 'receive' translates a Greek word meaning to grab hold of, seize and run away with: a violent taking. So why stand still? Command, decree and declare: bind the devil and loose the job, the spouse or the healing God has for you. Jesus did not whisper at the tomb but shouted 'Lazarus, come forth', and God is waiting for your victory shout.

   “God's waiting for you to activate your faith.”

   • Mark 11:24
   • Matthew 11:12
   • John 11:43

10. The spirit of faith: believe, then speak

    Faith is a spirit, and as the Spirit hovered over the waters waiting for God's word, the spirit of faith hovers over your life waiting for your words. Believing comes first and speaking second, and many are getting what they say without wanting it, so say what you want to see: money, promotion, healing, job, come. Do not hitchhike on other people's faith or keep asking for handouts: God has given everyone a measure of faith, so operate your own instead of expressing faith in the devil's system.

    Illustration: Some people love going to the doctor to ask how their blood pressure is, instead of speaking to the pressure.

    “You will only see after you speak.”

    • 2 Corinthians 4:13
    • Genesis 1:2
    • Romans 12:3
    • Psalm 23