“The Spirit of Freedom”
May 2026
“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”
2 Corinthians 3:17
One of the things that has struck me most in our sermon series, “The Holy Spirit: God With Us” is how big the Holy Spirit is. Countless books, songs, and poems have been written to attempt to describe the mystery of God the Spirit. I’ve found that breaking it down into 7 sermons is a Herculean task.
But as big as the Holy Spirit is, his purpose isn’t to overwhelm or paralyze us. Go back and read our scripture again. “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”
That’s a powerful statement. There is freedom in the Spirit because through the Spirit we are no longer limited to our own strength. There is freedom in the Spirit because we find guidance, encouragement, and correction to make wise choices. There is freedom in the Spirit because the power of God is with us.
But how can we tell if we’re full of the Holy Spirit or just full of ourselves?
In his book, The Challenge of the Disciplined Life, Richard Foster listed “7 Marks of Spiritual Power” to help us discern the difference between our power and the Spirit’s power. Foster says that to see these things in our lives is to affirm the work of the Spirit within us.
1. Love - “Love demands that power be used for the good of others.”
2. Humility - “To really know the power of God is to be keenly aware that we have done nothing more than to receive a gift. Gratitude, not pride, is our only appropriate response.”
3. Self-limitation - “Those who live and move in God know that there is a time to withhold the hand of power just as there is a time to use it.”
4. Joy - “To see the kingdom of Christ break into the midst of darkness and depression is a wonderful thing.”
5. Vulnerability - “We are not in control and we know it. But the normal reactions of anger and resignation do not need to be ours.”
6. Submission - “Submission is power because it places us in a position in which we can receive from others. We are impoverished people indeed if our world is narrowed down to ourselves.”
7. Freedom - “Jesus never used his power to exploit or to control others…he freed them to be themselves, fully and uniquely.”
My prayer is that we would cultivate a deep ongoing relationship with the Spirit so that we will find the freedom of the Spirit at work in our lives.
In Christ,
Pastor Thomas
2 Corinthians 3:17
One of the things that has struck me most in our sermon series, “The Holy Spirit: God With Us” is how big the Holy Spirit is. Countless books, songs, and poems have been written to attempt to describe the mystery of God the Spirit. I’ve found that breaking it down into 7 sermons is a Herculean task.
But as big as the Holy Spirit is, his purpose isn’t to overwhelm or paralyze us. Go back and read our scripture again. “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”
That’s a powerful statement. There is freedom in the Spirit because through the Spirit we are no longer limited to our own strength. There is freedom in the Spirit because we find guidance, encouragement, and correction to make wise choices. There is freedom in the Spirit because the power of God is with us.
But how can we tell if we’re full of the Holy Spirit or just full of ourselves?
In his book, The Challenge of the Disciplined Life, Richard Foster listed “7 Marks of Spiritual Power” to help us discern the difference between our power and the Spirit’s power. Foster says that to see these things in our lives is to affirm the work of the Spirit within us.
1. Love - “Love demands that power be used for the good of others.”
2. Humility - “To really know the power of God is to be keenly aware that we have done nothing more than to receive a gift. Gratitude, not pride, is our only appropriate response.”
3. Self-limitation - “Those who live and move in God know that there is a time to withhold the hand of power just as there is a time to use it.”
4. Joy - “To see the kingdom of Christ break into the midst of darkness and depression is a wonderful thing.”
5. Vulnerability - “We are not in control and we know it. But the normal reactions of anger and resignation do not need to be ours.”
6. Submission - “Submission is power because it places us in a position in which we can receive from others. We are impoverished people indeed if our world is narrowed down to ourselves.”
7. Freedom - “Jesus never used his power to exploit or to control others…he freed them to be themselves, fully and uniquely.”
My prayer is that we would cultivate a deep ongoing relationship with the Spirit so that we will find the freedom of the Spirit at work in our lives.
In Christ,
Pastor Thomas
