Getting Closer to God brings Freedom! - Pastor Gino Bryant

Jul 05, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Gravity’s Pull vs the Spirit’s Lift

The world operates under a downward drag – like gravity pulling fruit to rot. But Christ’s resurrection power in believers defies this decay. Just as muscles overcome gravity to lift objects, the Spirit’s law of life supersedes sin’s destructive force. This isn’t about willpower but about the indwelling Christ who conquered death. Freedom comes when we stop fighting fleshly battles and let the superior law of the Spirit prevail. [15:04]

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:1-2, NKJV)

Reflection: What area of your life feels stuck under “gravity’s pull”? How might focusing on the Spirit’s lift rather than self-effort change your approach?

Day 2: Elephant Ropes of Inherited Limitations

Young elephants believe frayed ropes can bind them – even when grown. Many carry lies about their capacity to break free. The enemy perpetuates generational cycles of addiction, fear, or defeat. But the same Spirit that resurrected Christ shatters these mental chains. Freedom begins when we test the ropes of old narratives and discover our strength in Him. [28:50]

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17, NKJV)

Reflection: What “rope” have you stopped testing because you assume it still binds you? How does being a “new creation” redefine what’s possible?

Day 3: Cutting the Ham – Empty Traditions

A family wasted ham for decades because no one questioned why they cut the end off. Some spiritual practices become empty rituals when disconnected from their purpose. The enemy distracts through religious busyness that lacks heart transformation. True freedom comes when we audit traditions – keeping what nourishes souls, discarding what merely fills pans. [27:13]

He said to them, “All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition. For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; but you say, ‘If a man says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban”’— then you no longer let him do anything for his father or mother, making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down.” (Mark 7:8-9, NKJV)

Reflection: What “ham-cutting” tradition have you maintained without understanding its purpose? How might renewing its meaning deepen your walk?

Day 4: Alignment – When Joints Determine Anointing

A dislocated shoulder disrupts the whole body’s function. Similarly, believers out of alignment with their church family hinder the flow of God’s oil. The enemy sows distrust in spiritual authority to isolate believers. True freedom flourishes in covenantal relationships where the Spirit’s anointing moves through united hearts. [41:50]

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his garments. (Psalm 133:1-2, NKJV)

Reflection: Where have you allowed criticism of spiritual leaders to create misalignment? How might honoring your “joints” increase collective anointing?

Day 5: Born Again to the Bone

A man kept doubting his salvation because his cravings didn’t change. Being born again isn’t a one-time prayer but a lifelong surrender to the Spirit’s surgery. The enemy wants believers stuck in superficial conversion. True freedom comes when Christ’s resurrection life penetrates marrow-deep, transforming desires and hungers. [36:20]

Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3, NKJV)

Reflection: Does your spiritual hunger feel like a surface-level decision or a bone-deep transformation? What evidence confirms the Spirit’s work in your core?

Sermon Summary

Paul opens Romans 8 like an emancipation proclamation for Christ’s people. “No condemnation” lands with force for those in Christ who choose to walk by the Spirit and not the flesh. The text names two rival laws pulling on a life. The law of sin and death drags like gravity. The law of the Spirit of life lifts stronger, like an arm raising a phone against the pull. The Spirit changes what a person minds. Carnal thinking ends in death. Spiritual mindedness brings life and peace. The devil’s agenda is steady theft, death, and destruction, but Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil and restore the dominion lost in Adam. So anything sin and Satan offer is always less than what the Father intends, a shortcut with a hook in it.

Luke 4’s anointing shows how yokes actually break. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. That liberty is not achieved by willpower but by new birth. Being born again is not cosmetics. It is the Spirit of God living inside a person. Old things pass away. New desires rise. The Spirit wants to pray, gather with the church, serve, give, and go. If those hungers are absent, the call presses for honest self-examination. The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in believers, so resignation is a lie. Nothing stopped Jesus, not even the grave.

Sin still tries to bait the flesh, especially in stress, grief, and trauma, but the Spirit trains clear eyes. Sin is a trap. It never delivers what it advertises. Seeing through sin’s false promise makes “no” believable. Stories of needless ham cutting and an elephant tied by a string expose how habit and old lies can hold a person who could walk free. Like Lazarus, many have been raised yet still wear grave clothes. The call is to take them off.

James 4 gives the posture. Draw near. Cleanse hands. Purify hearts. Humble yourself and He will lift you up. Salvation cannot be procrastinated. Hell is real, and pride keeps people from the great plus sign in the sky, the cross. Freedom has a second key too. Alignment matters. Oil flows down when joints are rightly set. Staying planted under the voice God assigns protects a home and keeps the Spirit’s oil moving. Jesus is lifting people over sin, sickness, fear, and family yokes. The Father is still adopting sons and daughters who cry, Abba.

Key Takeaways

1. Jesus destroys the devil’s works Jesus does not negotiate with darkness. He crushes it. 1 John 3 says He was manifested to destroy the works of the devil, undoing what the fall released and giving back what was stolen. So hope rises not from trying harder, but from Christ’s present authority to break yokes. [05:52]
2. The Spirit outruns the pull Sin’s gravity is real, but the Spirit’s law lifts stronger. That picture resets expectations. Freedom is not the absence of temptation but the presence of greater power inside a mortal body. Expect lift, not drift, when the Spirit is obeyed. [16:04]
3. Born again means new desires New birth is the Spirit in a person, not just a tidier schedule. The Spirit wants to pray, gather, serve, and go, and those desires start showing up. When they do not, honest questions and fresh surrender open the heart to real life from above. [21:02]
4. See through sin’s false promise Sin always offers quick relief with a hidden bill. The Spirit exposes that lie early, reminding the heart that the end of sin is always bitter. Clarity about the end helps the heart choose a better beginning in the moment of lure. [25:11]
5. Alignment keeps the oil flowing God’s oil runs where joints are set. Staying planted under the voice and house God assigns keeps grace moving through a life and a family. Perpetual church shopping dries the flow and teaches the next generation indifference to what saves them. [41:29]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:23] - Mission heart and support
[03:56] - The thief and abundant life
[05:52] - Why the Son was manifested
[09:54] - Stress, grief, and snares
[11:47] - The anointing breaks the yoke
[14:40] - Romans 8: No condemnation
[15:04] - Gravity and the stronger law
[17:47] - Mindset of flesh or Spirit
[21:02] - Signs of being born again
[23:18] - Resurrection power within
[30:24] - Adoption, Abba, and heirs
[32:52] - Lazarus and grave clothes
[41:29] - Freedom’s second key: alignment
[47:42] - Call to be born again

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Romans 8:1-2 (NKJV)
“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.”

Observation Questions

What two opposing "laws" does Romans 8:1-2 contrast, and what are their effects?
According to the sermon, how does the analogy of gravity versus lifting a phone illustrate the battle between sin and the Spirit’s power? [15:04]
What practical examples were given in the sermon to show how old habits or lies can keep people bound even after experiencing freedom? [28:50]
How does James 4:8-10 connect the idea of humility to receiving God’s lifting?

Interpretation Questions

Why does Paul frame the Christian life as a conflict between two opposing forces (sin/death vs. Spirit/life) rather than a neutral state?
The sermon compares sin’s traps to a “shortcut with a hook in it.” Why might people still choose these shortcuts despite knowing the consequences? [06:49]
What does it mean to “walk according to the Spirit” in practical terms, and how does this differ from relying on willpower? [21:02]
How does the story of Lazarus still wearing grave clothes after being raised relate to believers struggling with old patterns? [33:31]

Application Questions

What is one area where you’ve felt the “pull” of sin’s gravity recently, and how could you actively rely on the Spirit’s strength instead of your own effort? [16:04]
The sermon warns that alignment with a church community is key to keeping God’s “oil” flowing. Are there ways you’ve prioritized convenience over commitment in spiritual relationships? How could this affect your growth? [41:50]
What “grave clothes” (old habits, mindsets, or lies) do you need to intentionally remove this week to walk in the freedom Jesus has already given you? [33:31]
When stress or grief hits, what non-God-centered “relief” do you tend to reach for first? How could you create a plan to turn to Christ instead in those moments? [10:23]
The sermon says, “Born again means new desires.” Are there areas where your desires still feel disconnected from God’s heart? How could you invite the Spirit to renew those hungers? [21:02]
Have you ever dismissed a conviction as “just a preacher’s opinion”? How might pride be blocking you from receiving God’s truth through His appointed voices? [45:27]

Sermon Clips

55s

#SinDoesntSatisfy

“When you finally see through sin and you finally realize sin does not ever help you, sin does not ever fulfill you truly, Sin does not ever bring anything good. When you finally look at sin that way, dismiss it. Right? Sin, you're not what you're offering, it may feel touch my flesh for a second, but it's not ever gonna fulfill. Right? If you ever get to that place where you can see through sin and know it's not gonna fulfill you, you can say no to it. And that's what the spirit of God will do for you. The spirit of God tells you immediately. It's a lie. It's deceitful. Oh, I'm missing something. I've been in the church all my life. I must be missing something. You're not missing anything but the pain of sin. Somebody say amen.”

66s

#AnointingSetsYouFree

“How does someone get free? How you get free when you find yourself bound? Cry out to God. Right? Cry out to the Lord. The anointing, as pastor Stephanie was sharing there in Luke chapter four verse 18 through there. It's it's the anointing that sets you free. The anointing breaks the yoke. Ain't it good that God breaks the yoke from us? Have you ever caught have you ever had a time when you felt you were bound by something and the Lord moved in in your life? I had times when I was bound and the anointing set me free. The anointing sets us free. The Christos, Jesus, the anointing of the Holy Spirit is a freeing spirit. Right? Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. Where the spirit of the Lord is, right, we are free. Christ sets us free from the bondages, from the from the yokes, from the from the things the enemy has used against us. He sets us free.”

63s

#DontDelaySalvation

“But you know what the biggest gap is in the world? Procrastination From the time we get the urge and the revelation that we should do it to the time we actually do it. And in hell, there's a lot of people that procrastinate. Oh, I'll get to it next week. Oh, I'll get better at this next week. Oh, I'll make God a priority maybe when I'm a little older. Ladies and gentlemen, don't get caught in that procrastination and miss heaven and miss eternity and miss being born again. We need to be born again. Listen. If you're a Christian and you don't have a hunger for the things of God, you might need to be born again again again. Somebody say be born again again again again.”

58s

#CloserEqualsFreedom

“So the devil, he comes to steal, kill, and destroy. Next slide is telling us that Jesus came to destroy. He says, why was the son of God manifest? Why did he come forth? First John three eight, it indicates to us that he was he came to destroy the works of the devil. So what the devil brought in through the fall, through beguiling Eve and Adam's rebellion, that what he brought in, Jesus came to to destroy, right, to stop, to give us back that dominion that the enemy stole. So Jesus has come to destroy. So every time we get closer to God somebody say, I get closer to God. Every time you get closer to God, your freedom, you become more free in Christ. Right? You become more free in the Lord. When you get closer to the Lord, your freedoms become evident and and are more revealed.”

55s

#LifeGivingSpirit

“But the spirit of God is life giving. It's what overcomes gravity of the world pulling on you. It's what caused David to stand out there in the in the middle of the Valley Of Elah. When all the others were weak, he was strong. It's what caused Gideon to rise up with his 300 and defeat the Midianites. It's what caused Moses to be able to stand in front of pharaoh. It's what caused Paul to raise up from the being stones a couple of times. It's Jesus. His spirit in you, as Romans eight says, his spirit on the inside of you leads to liberty.”

59s

#TakeOffTheGraveClothes

“So that means the old things are passed away. Brother Albert had a great sermon a few months ago about Lazarus. And when Jesus called Lazarus forth, what happened? Lazarus rose from the dead. Right? He was resurrected. And Jesus told us, brother Albert was speaking, he said, Jesus told the people around Lazarus. He said, take off the grave clothes. He said, pull those grave clothes off of Lazarus. Some of us, the spirit of God has redeemed or has resurrected us. We've been born again, but we still have Lazarus clothes on us. We still have old clothes on us. Right? We gotta release those. We gotta set each other free. Right? Of those. We gotta get set free of those things in our lives.”

48s

#NotByWillpower

“Now listen. I'm I'm giving you things that's hard for us to do in our own power. How many of you can say that? Yes. It's hard to do this in my own power. When sin is in front of me, when overeating, when whenever I'm whenever I'm stressed, I go to food. You know? That's my challenge all the time. Go get that extra little Debbie cake or something. Right? You we all have those things that we can turn to if we're not careful. Right? And in our own power, we are we are unable to conquer it. We may have some willpower for a season, but ultimately, Satan's goal is destruction. Right? He wants to take us down. When sin knocks or tempts or is thrust in our face, we need to deny the flesh and turn to Jesus.”

66s

#SpiritDefeatsGravity

“So I can give you just a little example of that. We have we have gravity. Everybody everybody say gravity. the law that is at work in life is gravity. Right? Gravity's got everything on the earth pulled down. Right? Gravity. It's gonna take your phone down. It's gonna pick up something close to you and drop it, and watch what happens. That's gravity. Right? That's the law of gravity. Right? But there's another law at work when you pick it up. It's a spirit of life in you. Right? The spirit of life in you, the power in you, the muscles, the biceps. I got a I got a a a my daughter's boyfriend, he's got some big old biceps. You gotta look at him over there and see them big old biceps. I asked him the other day. I said, you gonna get some muscles one of these days, man? You gonna get some muscles? Right? When you go get some muscles? Right? Pick it all up. He's big, strong, mighty young man. But the the law that's at work when I pick up my phone overcomes what? Gravity. It's the same in Christ.”

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Getting Closer to God brings Freedom! - Pastor Gino Bryant

Devotional

Day 1: Gravity’s Pull vs the Spirit’s Lift

Day 2: Elephant Ropes of Inherited Limitations

Day 3: Cutting the Ham – Empty Traditions

Day 4: Alignment – When Joints Determine Anointing

Day 5: Born Again to the Bone

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Getting Closer to God brings Freedom! - Pastor Gino Bryant

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