God wants to free us from our wrong prio\u00adri\u00adties and fears. Jesus saved us on the cross, ther\u00adeby giving us the free\u00addom to make good choices. He sets us free to choo\u00adse the right path, even if it is not always easy. This free\u00addom brings real life, which rewards us with abun\u00addant fruit.<\/p>\n
Aron Ral\u00ads\u00adton, a gifted clim\u00adber and moun\u00adtai\u00adneer, was loo\u00adking for\u00adward to some time alo\u00adne in the Blue\u00adjohn Gor\u00adge in Utah Ame\u00adri\u00adca. Far away from civi\u00adli\u00adsa\u00adti\u00adon, after 50 km of san\u00addy road through a desert moon\u00ads\u00adcape, he park\u00aded his pick-up. He then hik\u00aded 13 km to the 18 km long, nar\u00adrow and tech\u00adni\u00adcal\u00adly very deman\u00adding gor\u00adge with many obs\u00adta\u00adcles. Aron wan\u00adted to go down to the gor\u00adge and loo\u00adked for a good ent\u00adry over some bould\u00aders that were wed\u00adged in the gor\u00adge. Sud\u00adden\u00adly one turns and Aron jumps down seve\u00adral met\u00adres from the bould\u00ader, looks up and sees in slow moti\u00adon how the bould\u00ader comes cras\u00adhing down on him. He tri\u00ades to flee but the bould\u00ader is fas\u00adter and falls on his right hand. \tWhat are the cares of this world and are the\u00adse cares important to God? God wants to free us from our wrong prio\u00adri\u00adties and fears. Jesus saved us on the cross, ther\u00adeby giving us the free\u00addom to make good choices. He sets us free to choo\u00adse the right path, even if it is not always easy. This free\u00addom brings real life, which rewards us with abun\u00addant fruit. Aron\u2026<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","wpfc_preacher":[73],"wpfc_sermon_series":[72],"wpfc_sermon_topics":[],"wpfc_bible_book":[],"wpfc_service_type":[12],"class_list":{"0":"wpfc_preacher-daniel-bieri","1":"wpfc_sermon_series-metamorphose","2":"wpfc-sermon-single","3":"post-3648","4":"wpfc_sermon","5":"type-wpfc_sermon","6":"status-publish","7":"hentry","10":"wpfc_service_type-gottesdienst"},"acf":[],"sermons_blog_filters_topics":"\t\t\t\t
\nA gre\u00adat pain shoots through his body. Aron rea\u00adli\u00adses his fate. In shock and adre\u00adna\u00adline, he despera\u00adte\u00adly tri\u00ades to free hims\u00adelf from the stone. He tri\u00ades to lift it, hoping for super\u00adna\u00adtu\u00adral powers, but he has no chan\u00adce against the 360 kg stone. For hours he tri\u00ades to remo\u00adve pie\u00adce after pie\u00adce with his mul\u00adti\u00adtool to get his hand out.
\nAron sur\u00advi\u00adved the first night. Wea\u00adring only a T\u2011shirt, it was very cold. He rea\u00adli\u00adses the sad rea\u00adli\u00adty, no one knows whe\u00adre he is, he only has 3.5 dl of water, so his chan\u00adces of sur\u00advi\u00adval are very slim. He plays with the idea of cut\u00adting off his fore\u00adarm. After a hesi\u00adtant attempt, he loses his courage.
\nAron sur\u00advi\u00adves the second cold night, the third and also the fourth. He is sure that he will not sur\u00advi\u00adve ano\u00adther night and car\u00adves his bir\u00adth\u00adday and date of death into the wall. His body is at the end. He has lost so much flu\u00adid and burnt up all his ener\u00adgy in the cold nights. His body shakes \u2013 he has short dreams and hal\u00adlu\u00adci\u00adn\u00ada\u00adti\u00adons. One last time he takes his video came\u00adra and says a fare\u00adwell to his fami\u00adly and fri\u00adends. In the night he has a visi\u00adon of a 3\u2011year-old son jum\u00adping into his arms. He wakes up and is more moti\u00adva\u00adted than ever to sur\u00advi\u00adve. Aron is con\u00advin\u00adced that he will have a son one day and does ever\u00ady\u00adthing he can to get free. He abso\u00adlut\u00ade\u00adly has to be able to free hims\u00adelf in some way. Sud\u00adden\u00adly he has an idea: if his fore\u00adarm is bro\u00adken, he can ampu\u00adta\u00adte his hand. He does this imme\u00addia\u00adte\u00adly, then takes his blunt kni\u00adfe and starts to ampu\u00adta\u00adte. After a pain\u00adful 45 minu\u00adtes he is final\u00adly free. Aron feels free as never befo\u00adre. It feels like being born again. He has been given a new life. The joy, howe\u00adver, is short-lived. He still has a long way to go with many hurd\u00adles. But he mana\u00adges to abseil down 20 m with one hand, drink from a water hole and sets off on the 13 km hike to his truck. The heat, the blood loss and his wea\u00adk\u00aden\u00aded, dehy\u00addra\u00adted body wants to give up 3 km befo\u00adre the finish. For\u00adt\u00adu\u00adna\u00adte\u00adly, at the same time, peo\u00adp\u00adle meet him, come to his aid and alert a res\u00adcue heli\u00adc\u00adop\u00adter. What an incre\u00addi\u00adble sto\u00adry. Aron was hope\u00adl\u00adess\u00adly trap\u00adped, but gai\u00adned his free\u00addom. This stone almost cost him his life, but now he is free.
\nOur Bible text today, the para\u00adble of the sower, is also about impri\u00adson\u00adment and free\u00addom. \u00abStill other seeds fell into the thor\u00adny bus\u00adhes, but the\u00adse soon over\u00adgrew the young seed, so that it final\u00adly cho\u00adked\u00bb (Matthew 13:8 HFA<\/span>). Some seeds were over\u00adgrown by thor\u00adny bus\u00adhes and never had the free\u00addom to deve\u00adlop pro\u00adper\u00adly. Per\u00adhaps we are now thin\u00adking: what, a thor\u00adny bush can cho\u00adke a grain plant? Sure\u00adly the plant con\u00adti\u00adnues to grow? Unfort\u00adu\u00adna\u00adte\u00adly this is not the case. Most cere\u00adals do not tole\u00adra\u00adte com\u00adpe\u00adti\u00adti\u00adon that depri\u00adves them of light. I have seen this fact many times in Cana\u00adda. In fields with a lot of weeds, the plants remain\u00aded very small. They did not deve\u00adlop fur\u00adther and often gave litt\u00adle or no fruit.
\nJesus used the soil as a com\u00adpa\u00adri\u00adson of our heart. For\u00adt\u00adu\u00adna\u00adte\u00adly, he explai\u00adned to the disci\u00adples. \u00abYet ano\u00adther part of the seed falls into the thor\u00adny bus\u00adhes. That is, someone hears the word, but the cares of this world and the lure of wealth cho\u00adke it, and it remains wit\u00adhout fruit\u00bb (Matthew 13:22 NG\u00dc<\/span>). Jesus men\u00adti\u00adons two things that keep us from fruit. First, the cares of this world and second, the lure of riches. He says that when we focus on the cares of this world and on wealth, it stif\u00adles our spi\u00adri\u00adtu\u00adal deve\u00adlo\u00adp\u00adment and the pos\u00adsi\u00adbi\u00adli\u00adty of bea\u00adring fruit. Jesus is not against wealth, but as always he goes a step fur\u00adther. True wealth is in God and in eter\u00adni\u00adty. Money is useful and good but must not be our focus. In Cana\u00adda we lived in a very reli\u00adgious vil\u00adla\u00adge. Many peo\u00adp\u00adle thought that having litt\u00adle money was a sign of spi\u00adri\u00adtua\u00adli\u00adty. My obser\u00adva\u00adti\u00adon was that peo\u00adp\u00adle with litt\u00adle money often worried about money more than tho\u00adse who had a lot. An unex\u00adpec\u00adted bill cau\u00adsed them gre\u00adat worry and the world see\u00admed to come to an end. In the Old Tes\u00adta\u00adment, wealth was a sign of bles\u00adsing (Pro\u00adverbs 10:22). We too are bles\u00adsed to be a bles\u00adsing, so that we do not always have to ask for money, but can give money or even lend it.
\nJesus goes on to tell us that the worries of this world stif\u00adle our fruit. Worries can be posi\u00adti\u00adve or nega\u00adti\u00adve. In this con\u00adtext they are nega\u00adti\u00adve and could also be trans\u00adla\u00adted as fear. In other words, the anxie\u00adties of this world strang\u00adle us and take away all vita\u00adli\u00adty. God does not want us to be crus\u00adhed by our wrong goals, worries and fears but wants us to live in free\u00addom. God wants to free us from this hea\u00advy stone that holds us cap\u00adti\u00adve. But don\u2019t worry, we don\u2019t have to break our own arm like Aron and cut off our hand to get free. The good news is that Jesus has alre\u00ada\u00addy done that. Through his blood on the cross we are free.
\nJesus wants to make us free \u2013 but what is free\u00addom? What does free\u00addom mean to you? May\u00adbe you think I am free when I can move out of home, when I have finis\u00adhed my edu\u00adca\u00adti\u00adon or when I am reti\u00adred. For others, free\u00addom is spee\u00adding down the Ger\u00adman Auto\u00adbahn. For Joce\u00adlyn and me, free\u00addom starts when all 5 child\u00adren are in bed \ud83d\ude00.
\nJoking asi\u00adde, many peo\u00adp\u00adle think free\u00addom is doing what you want. The defi\u00adni\u00adti\u00adon of free\u00addom from the Duden is \u00abFree\u00addom is being able to choo\u00adse and deci\u00adde bet\u00adween seve\u00adral pos\u00adsi\u00adbi\u00adli\u00adties wit\u00adhout coer\u00adci\u00adon\u00bb. But if ever\u00adyo\u00adne wants to do what they like, it does\u00adn\u2019t turn out well. Diet\u00adrich Bon\u00adhoef\u00adfer said, \u00abBeing free just for the sake of being free leads to anar\u00adchy.\u00bb Real free\u00addom, as we see it in the Bible, is not just being able to choo\u00adse, but true free\u00addom is being free to choo\u00adse what is right. Jesus exem\u00adpli\u00adfied this free\u00addom. He was free to choo\u00adse the dif\u00adfi\u00adcult path to the cross.
\nThe geni\u00adus of the Chris\u00adti\u00adan faith is that Jesus pas\u00adsed this free\u00addom on to us. We read \u00abTo free\u00addom Christ has set us free! \u2026\u00bb (Gala\u00adti\u00adans 5:1 NG\u00dc<\/span>). But often this free\u00addom is not easy and we fall back again. That is why Paul admo\u00adnis\u00adhed us in the second part of the sen\u00adtence \u00ab\u2026Stand firm, the\u00adr\u00ade\u00adfo\u00adre, and do not be forced back under the yoke of slavery!\u00bb (Gala\u00adti\u00adans 5:1 NG\u00dc<\/span>).
\nUnfort\u00adu\u00adna\u00adte\u00adly, we tend to fall back into slavery. A bibli\u00adcal exam\u00adp\u00adle of this is the Israe\u00adli\u00adtes. They were oppres\u00adsed as slaves for 400 years until God sent Moses to free them. They expe\u00adri\u00aden\u00adced a spec\u00adta\u00adcu\u00adlar deli\u00adver\u00adance through the Red Sea, saw mira\u00adcle after mira\u00adcle. Yet at every sligh\u00adtest dif\u00adfi\u00adcul\u00adty they wan\u00adted to go back into slavery. We too live in this ten\u00adsi\u00adon bet\u00adween the old and the new man.
\nJesus says: \u00abCome to me, all you who labour and are almost crus\u00adhed by your bur\u00adden; I will take it off you. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am kind and hum\u00adble of heart. In this way you will find rest for your soul. For the yoke I put on you is not oppres\u00adsi\u00adve, and the bur\u00adden I give to bear is light\u00bb (Matthew 11:28\u201330 NG\u00dc<\/span>). Jesus invi\u00adtes us to come to him. He takes the bur\u00adden from us. Then he con\u00adti\u00adnues: Take my yoke and you will find rest. The rest he descri\u00adbes is not the same as doing not\u00adhing or pas\u00adsi\u00advi\u00adty. His pro\u00admi\u00adse is the inner peace of not living under con\u00adstant anxie\u00adty. Take my yoke says Jesus. The yoke is used to harness two ani\u00admals, often oxen, tog\u00ade\u00adther to do work. His yoke is easy becau\u00adse he is the strong ox, so to speak, pul\u00adling and stee\u00adring in the right direc\u00adtion. How good it is to have a strong part\u00adner. Under this yoke we get a new iden\u00adti\u00adty and a new direc\u00adtion in life. Rest and free\u00addom come through our new iden\u00adti\u00adty in Jesus.
\nWhat does this new rea\u00adli\u00adty look like in prac\u00adti\u00adce? Free\u00addom beg\u00adins when we see how God sees us. Jesus gives us a new image. Many times we have an image of our\u00adsel\u00adves and belie\u00adve that if I do a gre\u00adat job I will be loved. But as Chris\u00adti\u00adans we do not work to be loved or accept\u00aded by God. We work becau\u00adse we love like Jesus. We must not only know that we are loved but also see it inward\u00adly like a visi\u00adon. We must be able to visua\u00adli\u00adse it. Aron Als\u00adton knew that if he sur\u00advi\u00adved, he could rai\u00adse a fami\u00adly. But this was not enough. It was only when he could see it visual\u00adly that it cli\u00adcked for him.
\nFree\u00addom beco\u00admes a rea\u00adli\u00adty when we attain true free\u00addom through our rela\u00adti\u00adonship with God. True free\u00addom is being free to choo\u00adse the right thing even if it is not the easie\u00adst way. With his help we are also able to car\u00adry out the cho\u00adsen one.
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\nPos\u00adsi\u00adble ques\u00adti\u00adons for the small groups
\nRead Bible text: Matthew 13:18\u201323<\/p>\n
\n\tWhe\u00adre do our worries and fears lead us?
\n\tCan I be rich as a Christian?
\n\tWhat is true freedom?
\n\tIn which area of my life do I wish for more freedom?
\n\tHow should I under\u00adstand the fol\u00adlo\u00adwing Bible ver\u00adse: \u00abAnd if your right hand cau\u00adses you to do evil, cut it off and throw it away! It is bet\u00adter to be mai\u00admed than to go to hell unharmed.\u00bb<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"