Freedom Week #3

PARTICIPANTS GUIDE

THE TREE OF LIFE

“For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters.” GALATIANS 5:13

If you have weak muscles that you haven’t been using correctly, you might begin a weight-training program to grow in strength and skill. As followers of Jesus, we have to build up our faith by reading God’s Word, retraining our thought processes to line up with Biblical truth. Just like weight lifters need a spotter to help encourage, challenge, and assist them when the burden is heavy, we need partnership and support in this faith-building process. This Small Group is designed for your leaders and fellow group members to help you learn how to truly live in freedom.

As you progress through this group, you will be able to use Tree of Life thinking as a framework for the way you approach every situation you encounter. Remember that God’s commands were never meant to be burdensome. In fact, as you grow close to Him and learn to hear His voice, you will find His heart for you. His divine plan was made for your sake—not for His. He simply wants to protect you from very real danger, and He desires your success.

THE FRUIT OF LIVING IN THE TREE OF LIFE

  1. The Tree of Life results in fellowship with God.

    “Now this is eternal life: that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” JOHN 17:3 NIV

    According to Vine’s Bible Dictionary, “know” in this verse is the Greek word ginosko, which means to recognize, to understand, or to understand completely. It indicates a relationship. The only way to experience abundant life is by truly knowing the living God. He asked us to love Him, but only after His lavish display of love for us through the sacrifice of Jesus. “God showed how much He loved us by sending His one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through Him.

    This is real love—not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.” (1 John 4:9–10) The Bible says in 1 John 4:19 that the only reason we have any love at all is because He first loved us.

    God loved us so much that He sent His Son to die on a cross to make a way for us to be in a relationship with Him. The cross represents more than a sacrificial death. It is a promise, a blood covenant, God made with His Son so that we could have confidence that He would never change His mind about His relationship with us (Hebrews 6:17–18). In the Old Testament, God made covenants with man, and man always broke them. This time, God sealed the covenant with the blood of His Son Jesus so that nothing can separate us from His love.

  2. Fellowship with God results in innocence— not the other way around.

    “They realized they were naked.” (Genesis 3:7 NIV) As we spend time walking with God, listening to His voice, talking to Him, obeying Him, worshipping Him, and enjoying Him, we will notice a transformation taking place, not only on the outside but on the inside as well. We will become, in a sense, “naked” or transparent and unashamed before Him.

    “Nakedness,” in Genesis 3:7, speaks of innocence. Adam and Eve were unaware of any reason to hide anything from God. They had no sin-consciousness. Think of little kids running around with no clothes on after a bath. Absolutely no shame! Childlike innocence is an amazing virtue. Adam and Eve’s nakedness was part of the innocence and simplicity of their lives. Before they sinned, they had nothing to be ashamed of.

    This is the same concept Jesus was talking about when He said we had to be like little children to enter the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 19:14). Children are not technically innocent; they just don’t have any hesitation about them. They are not weighed down by guilt, shame, or burdens.

    As we are transformed into the image of God, we become less and less affected by the negativity of the world. If we truly live with an innocent spirit, the enemy has no ammunition. If we sin, we know how to receive forgiveness, and if someone offends us, we know how to forgive.

  3. Innocence is a conduit of God’s power.

    “The Spirit of the Lord is on me because He has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19 NIV) This is what Jesus said after His great temptation by satan in the desert. He came out full of the Holy Spirit and power to begin His public ministry.

    This Scripture says God anointed Jesus to preach good news. What does it mean to be “anointed” to do something? It means to be empowered by the Holy Spirit. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit and abide in Jesus, we become free from the works of darkness in our lives. We become vessels of honor useful to God.

    Innocence keeps our minds and hearts pure, helping us continually recognize our need for God. An attitude of dependence on God is fertile ground for the anointing of the Holy Spirit. As we seek God and submit our lives to Him, He equips us for every good work (2 Timothy 3:17).

  4. Innocence results in freedom.

    “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.” (Galatians 5:1 NIV) This is the mystery of godliness: we will sin and fall, but if we sin with the Tree of Life as our perspective, we can easily receive forgiveness and get back up. How quickly we get back up depends on the degree of understanding we have in our hearts of the completeness of God’s forgiveness.

    When we approach life with an innocent spirit, it changes the way we live and think about every part of our lives. If we attend church in the Tree of Life, we will love everything about it. We will love the pastor, the people, and the worship because we are focused on the reason we go to church in the first place.

    On the other hand, thinking in terms of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil will result in ideas like, “These songs are too long and too loud,” “The preaching is too simple,” “The children are too noisy,” or “No one talked to me.” Approaching life with innocence allows us to see the good things in front of us instead of picking every person, church, or situation apart. Innocence sets us free!

HOW TO LIVE IN THE TREE OF LIFE

Now that we know it is possible to be free from bondage in our thinking, our actions, and our relationships with God and people, let’s take a look at some powerful truths that can help us form a firm foundation upon which we can build a life that is both abundant and free. In order to move out of the shadow of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and into the light of Tree of Life living, we must know who Jesus is and who we are because of Him. To help us understand this, we need to “be transformed by the renewing of [our minds].” Romans 12:1–3 (NIV)

Let’s take a look at a few truths that will help us live in the Tree of Life.

We must remember that a relationship with the Father is essential to living in the Tree of Life. In order to enjoy this right relationship with God, we must receive His extravagant love for us. Romans 5:8 (NIV) says that God expressed His great love for us in this way: “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Before we looked for God, He made a way for us to be in a relationship with Him.

He made the first move. Because of the finished work of the cross, we are declared righteous before God. Romans 5:1 says: “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Many of us have been serving God out of duty or fear—much like a servant. A servant has an obligation to do what is expected. He is required to be faithful or suffer consequences. A son serves because he is a part of the family. A son is faithful because of the love that he has for his father. Because of the sacrifice of Jesus, God now sees us as sons and daughters.

Recognize the two environments where you can live: the Tree of Life or the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Knowing that you can choose a Tree of Life response and attitude in every circumstance is crucial to walking in freedom.

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