### Summary

Today, we explored the concept of being "unhooked" from sin and living a life that is Christ-centered, God-focused, and Spirit-led. Over the past weeks, we've discussed the gravity of sin, but today, we shifted our focus to the freedom that comes through Jesus Christ. Being unhooked means we are no longer slaves to sin; instead, we are free to be used by God in any capacity He chooses. This freedom starts with knowing the truth, which is rooted in the Word of God. Paul, in Romans 6, 7, and 8, emphasizes the importance of understanding and internalizing this truth.

Paul teaches that our freedom begins in the mind, knowing and understanding the truth of God's Word. This knowledge must move from intellectual understanding to heartfelt belief, which then translates into action. We must reckon ourselves dead to sin and alive to God, fully trusting in the promises of God as if they were tangible gifts. This belief should lead to a lifestyle that reflects our faith, as our actions are the true indicators of what we believe.

Paul also addresses the internal struggle between our sinful nature and our redeemed spirit. He acknowledges that while our flesh may still desire sin, we are not obligated to follow those desires. Instead, we are called to live by the Spirit, which empowers us to overcome the flesh. This Spirit-led life is marked by the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Living unhooked means we are not just free from sin but are also fruitful in our daily lives. Everywhere we go, we should leave evidence of the Holy Spirit's work in us. This fruitfulness is a testament to our freedom and our commitment to living a life led by the Spirit.

### Key Takeaways

1. **Freedom in Christ**: Being unhooked means we are no longer slaves to sin but are free to be used by God. This freedom starts with knowing the truth of God's Word, which sets us free. Understanding and internalizing this truth is crucial for living a life that is Christ-centered and Spirit-led. [39:52]

2. **Heartfelt Belief**: True freedom is not just about intellectual knowledge but also about heartfelt belief. When we truly believe in our hearts that we are dead to sin and alive to God, our actions will reflect this belief. This heartfelt conviction leads to a lifestyle that honors God. [47:12]

3. **Internal Struggle**: Paul acknowledges the internal struggle between our sinful nature and our redeemed spirit. While our flesh may still desire sin, we are not obligated to follow those desires. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can overcome the flesh and live a life that pleases God. [59:15]

4. **Spirit-Led Life**: Living unhooked means being led by the Spirit in all aspects of life. The Holy Spirit acts as a spam filter, warning us against sinful desires and guiding us towards righteousness. By listening to and obeying the Spirit, we can live a life that is free from sin and full of God's purpose. [01:06:19]

5. **Fruitfulness**: A Spirit-led life is marked by the fruit of the Spirit. Everywhere we go, we should leave evidence of the Holy Spirit's work in us. This fruitfulness is a testament to our freedom and our commitment to living a life led by the Spirit. It demonstrates that we are truly unhooked from sin and are living for God's glory. [01:10:04]

### YouTube Chapters

[0:00] - Welcome
[39:52] - Introduction to Being Unhooked
[41:40] - Romans 6: Understanding Freedom
[43:30] - The Power of Knowing the Truth
[45:20] - Heartfelt Belief and Action
[47:12] - Reckoning Ourselves Dead to Sin
[49:11] - Belief Leading to Action
[50:59] - The Importance of Heart Knowledge
[53:06] - Practical Application of Belief
[55:18] - Legalism vs. Lawlessness
[57:13] - Presenting Our Bodies to God
[59:15] - The Internal Struggle
[01:01:09] - Freedom Through Jesus Christ
[01:02:34] - No Condemnation in Christ
[01:04:28] - Walking by the Spirit
[01:06:19] - The Holy Spirit as a Spam Filter
[01:08:15] - Living a Spirit-Led Life
[01:10:04] - Being Fruitful
[01:11:36] - The Cycle of Learning and Living
[01:13:16] - Proclaiming Our Freedom
[01:15:35] - Praise and Worship
[01:18:15] - Final Encouragement and Dismissal

### Bible Study Discussion Guide

#### Bible Reading
1. Romans 6:3-11
2. Romans 7:15-25
3. Romans 8:1-14

#### Observation Questions
1. According to Romans 6:3-11, what does Paul say about our old self and its relationship to sin?
2. In Romans 7:15-25, how does Paul describe the internal struggle between his sinful nature and his redeemed spirit?
3. What does Romans 8:1-14 say about the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer?

#### Interpretation Questions
1. How does knowing the truth of God's Word set us free from sin, according to the sermon and Romans 6? ([43:30])
2. What does it mean to "reckon" ourselves dead to sin and alive to God, and how does this belief translate into action? ([47:12])
3. How does Paul’s acknowledgment of the internal struggle in Romans 7 help us understand our own battles with sin? ([59:15])
4. What practical steps can we take to live a Spirit-led life as described in Romans 8? ([01:06:19])

#### Application Questions
1. Reflect on a time when you felt enslaved by a particular sin. How did knowing the truth of God's Word help you overcome it? ([43:30])
2. Think about an area in your life where you need to "reckon" yourself dead to sin. What specific actions can you take this week to live out this belief? ([47:12])
3. Paul talks about the internal struggle between our sinful nature and our redeemed spirit. How can you remind yourself daily that you are not obligated to follow sinful desires? ([59:15])
4. Identify one aspect of the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control) that you want to cultivate this month. What specific action can you take to develop this fruit in your interactions with others? ([01:10:04])
5. The sermon mentioned the Holy Spirit acting as a spam filter, warning us against sinful desires. Can you think of a recent situation where you ignored this warning? How can you better heed the Holy Spirit's guidance in the future? ([01:06:19])
6. How can you leave evidence of the Holy Spirit's work in your daily life, as described in the sermon? Share a specific example of how you can be more fruitful in your workplace, family, or community. ([01:10:04])
7. The sermon ended with a call to proclaim our freedom in Christ. How can you share your testimony of being unhooked from sin with someone this week? ([01:13:16])

Day 1: Freedom in Christ
Understanding and internalizing the truth of God's Word is the foundation of our freedom in Christ. This freedom means we are no longer slaves to sin but are free to be used by God in any capacity He chooses. Paul emphasizes in Romans 6 that our freedom begins in the mind, knowing and understanding the truth of God's Word. This knowledge must move from intellectual understanding to heartfelt belief, which then translates into action. When we truly believe in our hearts that we are dead to sin and alive to God, our actions will reflect this belief. This heartfelt conviction leads to a lifestyle that honors God. [39:52]

Romans 6:17-18 (ESV): "But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness."

Reflection: What specific truth from God's Word do you need to internalize today to experience freedom in Christ? How can you begin to live out this truth in your daily actions?


Day 2: Heartfelt Belief
True freedom is not just about intellectual knowledge but also about heartfelt belief. When we truly believe in our hearts that we are dead to sin and alive to God, our actions will reflect this belief. This heartfelt conviction leads to a lifestyle that honors God. Paul teaches that our freedom begins in the mind, knowing and understanding the truth of God's Word. This knowledge must move from intellectual understanding to heartfelt belief, which then translates into action. We must reckon ourselves dead to sin and alive to God, fully trusting in the promises of God as if they were tangible gifts. [47:12]

James 2:17-18 (ESV): "So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, 'You have faith and I have works.' Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works."

Reflection: In what ways can you demonstrate your heartfelt belief in God's promises through your actions today? What steps can you take to ensure your faith is not just intellectual but also practical?


Day 3: Internal Struggle
Paul acknowledges the internal struggle between our sinful nature and our redeemed spirit. While our flesh may still desire sin, we are not obligated to follow those desires. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can overcome the flesh and live a life that pleases God. This internal struggle is a common experience for all believers, but we are called to live by the Spirit, which empowers us to overcome the flesh. The Holy Spirit acts as a spam filter, warning us against sinful desires and guiding us towards righteousness. [59:15]

Galatians 5:16-17 (ESV): "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do."

Reflection: What specific desires of the flesh are you struggling with today? How can you rely on the Holy Spirit to overcome these desires and live a life that pleases God?


Day 4: Spirit-Led Life
Living unhooked means being led by the Spirit in all aspects of life. The Holy Spirit acts as a spam filter, warning us against sinful desires and guiding us towards righteousness. By listening to and obeying the Spirit, we can live a life that is free from sin and full of God's purpose. This Spirit-led life is marked by the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Everywhere we go, we should leave evidence of the Holy Spirit's work in us. [01:06:19]

Ephesians 5:18-21 (ESV): "And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ."

Reflection: How can you be more attentive to the Holy Spirit's guidance in your daily life? What practical steps can you take to ensure you are living a Spirit-led life?


Day 5: Fruitfulness
A Spirit-led life is marked by the fruit of the Spirit. Everywhere we go, we should leave evidence of the Holy Spirit's work in us. This fruitfulness is a testament to our freedom and our commitment to living a life led by the Spirit. It demonstrates that we are truly unhooked from sin and are living for God's glory. Paul teaches that our freedom begins in the mind, knowing and understanding the truth of God's Word. This knowledge must move from intellectual understanding to heartfelt belief, which then translates into action. [01:10:04]

Colossians 1:10 (ESV): "So as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God."

Reflection: What evidence of the Holy Spirit's work can others see in your life today? How can you cultivate more of the fruit of the Spirit in your daily interactions and decisions?

1. "When we are unhooked it means that we are no longer a slave to sin because of what Jesus did. We're not a slave to that and it means that we are no longer a slave to sin it means that I am free for God's use so you have to know that when you're free from something you need to be free for something. Does that make sense?" [39:52] (24 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


2. "Paul is telling the church in Rome and he's telling us that your true freedom starts with you knowing the truth because what you don't know will hurt you and what you do know will hurt you and what you don't know will hurt you and what you do know can free you so you have to know the truth and that knowing starts with the word of God." [43:30] (22 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


3. "What you hide in your heart is what you hide in your heart. What you accept to be true you allow it to motivate you and direct you to what you do. I like Proverbs 4:20-23 says keep thy heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life. In order to be unhooked you have to start to read the word digest it meditate on it because it's the only way to live your life." [50:59] (33 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


4. "There has to be a connection between what we do and what we are reading and saying. Paul addresses this he says listen you have you have to have a no a no with your body too. Romans 6:12 says let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body he's talking about the literal physical body do not present your members to sin but present yourselves to God." [53:06] (32 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


5. "Salvation does not come through our actions or inactions holiness does not come through our actions or inactions we work out our salvation through our actions we display what Christ has done through our actions does that make sense Paul is saying present the same body you used to give to sin hand it over to God this is never about behavior modification you couldn't save yourself and you can't keep yourself." [57:13] (31 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


6. "An unhooked life is a spirit-led life where we listen, we trust, we obey, and then we are full of the Holy Spirit. And not only are we full of the Holy Spirit, he makes us fruitful. That's where we're trying to go. Being unhooked, means we are away from sin. We don't answer that, but then we just want to leave fruit everywhere we go." [01:08:15] (28 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


7. "I want to be fruitful. My hope is that you want to be so unhooked that you are full of the Holy Spirit and full of fruit. So much so that when people encounter you, you're just dropping fruit everywhere. In meetings at work, you're just dropping fruit everywhere. With your friends, you're just dropping fruit. Everywhere. Even when it comes to some tough times, the fruit, one of the fruit of the Spirit is self-control." [01:11:36] (26 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


8. "This is the fruitful life. This is the unhooked life. This is a life where you are no longer a slave to sin, but you are free for God. This is the free life. We can make it more spiritual. We can talk about gifts. We can talk about miracle signs and wonders. And believe me, I love talking about it. But at the end of the day, I want you to be full of this fruit. I want you to be free." [01:13:16] (24 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


9. "God wants us to be free to him. Free from sin. And then all of a sudden, God did something to embarrass me. Well, I ain't embarrassed myself yet, but it's about to come. He gave me a song. Don't worry, the praise team, they're going to come out here and sing it. I'm going to start it. Some of us in this room are dealing with the strongholds. We're dealing with that. And so, the song is, I am free." [01:15:35] (39 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


10. "If you didn't know what you are free from just believe you're trying to wonder what you need to be free from just believe that in the spirit things are being destroyed God is opening up deliverance for you now it's like it's an open heaven all you need to do is declare by faith that I am free from everything that has been holding me down I am free from it that has been holding me back." [01:18:15] (33 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

Good morning, CLC. My name is Jason Parks. I'm one of the pastors here, and it's an honor and privilege, really, to be up here in front of you at any point in time. I appreciate our lead pastors letting me get up here.

For again, those who don't know, this is our first time meeting. I'm a little churchy, okay? And it's just a warning now. This is for all the new folks; the old people, y'all know what that means. But that just means I get a little excited. I might pace here because when the Spirit of God starts talking, I love to dive into it.

So if I say something that's a little bit too churchy, just talk to me in the lobby afterwards, and I'll explain it because sometimes I get caught up. But I want to dive into this because over the last two weeks, we've been talking about being hooked. We've talked about sin and how serious it is, but this week I want to talk about being unhooked.

I want to deal with the life that is Christ-centered, God-focused, and Spirit-led. I know that we've been talking about sin, but we need to know how to be led by the Spirit so we don't fulfill the desires of our flesh. So can we talk about being unhooked? When we are unhooked, it means that we are no longer a slave to sin because of what Jesus did. We're not a slave to that, and it means that we are free for God's use.

So you have to know that when you're free from something, you need to be free for something. Does that make sense? And so what happens is the Spirit of God, when we allow Him to lead us, He will lead us into truth. He will lead us into the will of God for our life. He will lead us to be fruitful.

So the point is, I want to be unhooked. I want to be full of the Holy Spirit, and I want to be fruitful. Does that make sense? Because that's what it really means. The Bible says that Jesus set us free so that we may be free. He wants us to operate in the Spirit of God, to be free to be used in any capacity that He chooses. That's what it means to be unhooked.

And so what I'm gonna do, and we used to have like physical Bibles, if you have your Bibles, open your Bibles right now, or if you have your phones or your tablets, we're just going to take a quick trip through Romans 6, 7, and 8 because Paul does a masterful job of dealing with being unhooked. Now, he called it no longer being a slave to sin, but it's the same because he walks through Romans 6, 7, and 8 and says, "Listen, the destination we're trying to get to is to be Spirit-led." That's the destination.

So let's start in Romans 6, verse 3: "Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death?" Verse 6: "We know that our old self was crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing." Verse 9: "We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again. Death no longer has dominion over Him."

Paul points out a few places, and I accentuated them so that we know he wants us first to be unhooked in our mind. "Do you not know? We know, we know, we know, we know, we know." He keeps talking about what you need to know. And even though we may kind of skip over that, the Greek word for that is very powerful. It means to understand, to learn, to know, to come to know, to get knowledge of, to get the information.

And Paul is telling the church in Rome, and he's telling us that your true freedom starts with you knowing the truth because what you don't know will hurt you, and what you do know can free you. So you have to know the truth, and that knowing starts with the Word of God. It can come through these vehicles of YouTube and social media, and TikTok is on there too. I'm telling you, TikTok is not—we had encyclopedias. Anybody remember encyclopedias? Anyway, people learning from TikTok like it's an encyclopedia.

Okay, anyway, anyway, Scripture is inspired by God. This is what Paul was telling Timothy: it teaches us what is true. It helps us realize what is wrong. It teaches us and corrects us what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip His people. What you don't know will hurt you, but what you know can keep you unhooked.

I'll give you an example. One day I was walking through Target, or Tarjay, excuse me, Tarjay, and someone walked up to me and said, "Sir, can I have a minute of your time? I want to explain and introduce you to Mother God." Anybody ever heard of this new kind of new age thing where God is a woman, and it's Mother God? He began to expound on Mother God, and I said, "Well, do you have your Bible with you? Because we could talk about Father God. Our Father is our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name."

It was a quick conversation because he thought that I wouldn't know the truth, but he knew that the truth set me free already. So when you start talking about Mother God or when you start talking about how Jesus is not the Son of God and how He was maybe the archangel Michael or something like that, which is a denominational belief out here, you have to know this truth. Your freedom starts in what you know, but it's not just about intellectualism because an atheist knows information in the Bible. There are Muslims that can quote to you Scriptures to justify what they believe.

So Paul doesn't leave us just to say, "Hey, memorize Scripture." He's not saying that. Only then he starts to tell us in Romans 6, you have to know in your heart. See, that's different. When you know something in your heart, verse 8 through 11 in Romans, this is what he says: "Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him. We know—there's the know—that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again." Verse 11: "So you may not know that you have died with Him, but you must also consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ."

Now, I think it's pretty straightforward with that word "believe" because when you believe something, you operate in that thing. You understand it to be true. You are persuaded of it. You give credit to it. You place confidence in it. But verse 11 has something very special about it that I have to point out. It says, "You must consider yourself dead." But I like how the King James Version said it. It says, "Reckon yourselves to be dead."

That word "reckon" didn't come from Texas or Oklahoma. I know it sounds like, "Reckon I reckon we go into the store." Paul didn't know about Texas, okay? But that word "reckon" in the Greek means to determine, to purpose, to decide, to take it to the bank that we are dead in sin and alive to God. This is a knowing that reaches the depths of your heart, that you realize and accept it as true for you. It's not just out here, but it is so true that I will operate in that truth.

If a rich man walked up to you, and you know he's rich, you know he has money, and he gave you a $500 gift certificate to Gucci or Bloomingdale's, I don't know where y'all shop—Nordstrom or Ross, I don't know. Some of y'all shopping Ross, TJ Maxx, it doesn't matter. Gucci, based upon who gave it to you, wouldn't go into prayer and say, "Well, you know, I hope the thing works. Oh God, make it work."

No, no, no. You believe it because of who gave it to you. You would walk right up in Gucci wanting to spend $500, including the tax, please. We don't want to go over; we want the $500. Yeah, give me a belt. How much is the tax? The point is, based upon who gave it to you, you will be assured that it's there. And not only would you just be assured it's there, you would operate your life to say, "It's so much that I believe it, so much that I am willing to step out on faith that whoever gave it to me is telling me the truth."

I believe it in my heart. Beliefs lead to actions. I like the psalmist in Psalm 119. He says, "How can a young man cleanse his ways? By taking heed according to Your word. With my whole heart, I have sought You. Don't let me wander. Your word have I hidden in my heart so that I won't sin against You."

What you hide in your heart is what you hide in your heart. What you accept to be true, you allow it to motivate you and direct you to what you do. I like Proverbs 4:20-23. It says, "Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life."

In order to be unhooked, you have to start to read the Word, digest it, meditate on it because it's the only way to live your life. And it's the only way to live your life. Because once it gets to the heart, whatever is in your heart will come out in your life. If you don't like the output of your life, start looking at the input of your life. Everything isn't against you; everyone isn't against you. You have to say, "What am I feeding my heart?" Because out of my heart is coming the things that I experience.

People can go through the same exact situation and have two different experiences. You can be content even in hard times if you are feeding yourself, and your heart tells you to read the Scripture that says, "Whether I abound or abase, whether I'm up or down, I will in this be confident. I will be content in this situation." Knowing in our heart, read the Word, confess, and believe in your heart, accepting it to be true.

Here's what that practice looks like because the reality is life happens to us. What happens is when something comes towards you, whether it's temptation or it's not even sin per se, but weights that come—because it's not always sin—we need to set aside sin and weights. We start to say, "I'm dead to this. I'm alive, and I have everything. I have it all because God has given. I am dead to this. I am a new creation in Christ. Old things, old habits, addictions, issues are passed away. I am brand new. I'm accepting this for myself, and I'm going to operate and walk in it."

And as you begin to process that, you read the Word, and you begin to meditate on that Word, it begins to help you walk it out because now it's part of your heart. But I have to double down on the fact that it has to lead to action. It has to lead to lifestyle changes. I can believe a whole bunch of stuff, but the only way you'll know what I really believe is by what I do.

I'm married. I can read all the books on marriage I want to and meditate on them and call them good, but if y'all see me at the club popping bottles—some of the old people don't know what popping bottles are, okay?—buying drinks and stuff like that, and I have women next to me, and it seems like I'm enjoying myself, you walk up to me and say, "Uh, Pastor Jason," and I'm gonna say, "What you doing here?" But yeah, y'all about to judge me. "Pastor Jason, you said you were married. I saw you walking around with a book about marriage. I saw you studying marriage, but your lifestyle doesn't reflect what you said and what you were reading."

There has to be a connection between what we do and what we are reading and saying. Paul addresses this. He says, "Listen, you have to have a 'no' with your body too." Romans 6:12 says, "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body." He's talking about the literal physical body. "Do not present your members to sin, but present yourselves to God." He says in verse 19, "Present your members as slaves to righteousness."

He says, "Listen, you used to present your members as slaves to impurity and lawlessness. Now do something different. Let's hold each other accountable here. Can we be honest? There are some things you can change in your life right now. You don't need a prayer line. Come on. You don't need to call all the intercessors. You don't have to go on a fast. There are some decisions you can make that can change, again, the output of your life."

He's saying, "Make a 'no' with your body when it comes to sin and addiction and issues, and then say 'yes' to the same body." And I want to point something out here too. I want to be careful because there are two schools of thought when it comes to actions in the believer. The first is legalism; the other is lawlessness. Two ends of the spectrum.

Legalism, I'll explain like this. When I was growing up, when I first got saved, this is how my salvation looked: wake up in the morning, pray, because if I don't, it's a sin. Go to work, be nice, don't look at the ladies, look down because if I don't, I'm a sin. Come home, get in the Bible. You got to read an hour a day because real saved folks read the Bible for an hour a day, and if you don't, sin. After you read the Bible for the day, ignore everybody else, go into prayer, and you got to speak in a whole lot of tongues—deep, rich, eloquent tongues—because if you're really saved, this is how you tell if you don't sin.

That's legalism. I have added to the Bible. I have created laws and rules around salvation to try to keep myself. That's one end of it. The other end of it is, "I'm saved. I'm gonna be in the club popping bottles with you, Jason. I'm gonna do what I want to do. I'm gonna cuss you out if I want to because I'm saved, and what Jesus did for me is enough. I can live lawlessly."

That's the other end of the spectrum. That is not what Paul is talking about. Salvation does not come through our actions or inactions. Holiness does not come through our actions or inactions. We work out our salvation through our actions. We display what Christ has done through our actions. Does that make sense?

Paul is saying, "Present the same body you used to give to sin. Hand it over to God." This is never about behavior modification. You couldn't save yourself, and you can't keep yourself. So how do we do this? How do we do this? Paul helps us with this. We present our bodies as sacrifices to God, and the Holy Spirit sanctifies us. He guides us. He leads us, and it's up to us to do what He wants us to do.

We present our bodies to obey His leading and direction. When you are unhooked, free from sin, the way we walk unhooked and live unhooked is that we walk in the Spirit. We walk by the Spirit's direction. Does that make sense? An unhooked life is saying yes to the Spirit when He gives us direction.

Now, we have read that Scripture has come in our hearts. We have made some decisions to change what we can change. Does that make sense? But then comes Romans 7, where Paul begins to outline this internal struggle. When I was young in my faith, no one really explained this to me. I walked around with so much guilt and shame because of mistakes that no one said, "Actually, this is warfare."

Getting saved, being redeemed does not exclude you from warfare. In Romans 7, Paul starts to talk about, "Listen, the good that I want to do, I can't even do it. I don't even understand myself." He says in Romans 7, "For what I want to do, I want to do what is right, but I don't do it, and I know nothing good lives in me."

And here is the distinction because he's not talking about lawlessness. He says, "In my sinful nature." He's pointing to our flesh, this body that is decaying and dying every day. He is making a distinction for us to say, "Yes, we are in this body." Yes, and he's talking about in first person. He's talking about himself. This body wants to live in this sin. This flesh wants to keep doing what's wrong, even though my spirit man that has been redeemed and saved wants to do what is right.

Verse 20, he says, "But if I do what I don't want to do, I am not really the one that's doing wrong. It is the sin that's in this flesh that does it." I love it when he says, "Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?" And we cannot miss how he turns us around in verse 25. He says, "Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord."

Yes, there is this struggle between your flesh, our flesh, the desires and passions of this body, and our spirit man that we have been feeding with the Word of God. Yes, there is this conflict, but we have been freed from that. Paul is separating sin. Just because your flesh wants to does not mean you have to. That's what Romans 7 is about. He describes the sinful nature, but he says, "Don't focus on that because you're no longer dominated by that."

You don't have to give in to what that sinful nature is talking about. And so when he leaves that and says, "You know what? We are free because of Christ Jesus." This new nature is led by the Spirit of God. He takes this turn from that conflict into chapter 8, and he encourages us. He says, "Listen, I know that the sinful flesh is in all of us, but now there is no condemnation."

That flesh, the enemy, Satan wants to come talking to you about who you used to be, what you used to do, the temptations. Listen, there now is no condemnation for those of us who are in Christ Jesus. If you are in Christ Jesus, no condemnation. Don't allow this flesh, any devil or minion, Satan himself, to tell you that you are who you used to be.

The truth is, we are not our flesh. There is a spirit man in us that desires to be with God, that desires to please our Master, that has been freed from sin. So we are under no obligation. This is Romans 8, verse 12: "Brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. If you live by its dictates, you will die."

But this is living unhooked. Through the power of the Spirit, you can put to death what that sin nature wants to do, and you can live. "For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God." It's different when you're the child. It's a love that you have access to that says, "Now, you don't have to do what the flesh does because you are a child of God."

The Bible says we have been seated in heavenly places. Don't think of the things of this world, of this flesh, but you got to come up a little higher because the Spirit of God wants to use you in a way that you cannot do on your own. In Galatians, he says it a different way. He says, "Listen, walk by the Spirit, and you won't fulfill or gratify the desires of your flesh."

So what is it to walk in the Spirit? I'll put it to you like this. There is this fight, right? We established that flesh, Spirit. Just because the flesh calls doesn't mean you have to answer. What happens is Jesus projects Himself and says, "Let me give you a way out of this. You don't have to answer that call."

Let me give you a practical example. Some of you all may not believe this, but there used to be a time that the only people that would call you on your cell phone are the people that you actually gave your number to. The phone would ring. You would flip it open. "Hello? Hey, girl," whatever. You gave your number to someone.

But then something changed. That someone gave access to a third party and gave your phone number to that third party. So now, the phone rings, and they want to sell you something. They want you to take a survey. They just want to scam you. They want to talk about the prince that's in jail that if you just send them a couple of dollars, they'll send it right back to you.

Something changed there. They want to sell you something. They want to make a survey. They want to do something that they're already in jail for. But then you got called to an outside company for their own gain. They said, "If I give you access, pay me, and I will give you access. I will give you this call list."

Telemarketers, scammers, it's not even live people. I get calls from recordings. They're using A.I. and all this kind of stuff. Okay, bring it back in. They want to get access to our time, our money. Anything they can get from us, they'll take it.

Does anybody have this? They will take it. It doesn't matter, though. It's not this experience? Are you getting more calls than ever before? I got sick of it. And one day, I realized that my cell phone carrier had a spam filter. And once I turned on the spam filter, the calls would still come, but the caller ID would say, "Spam risk."

The caller ID would warn me and say, "Don't answer this call. It's someone that you won't recognize, and we don't want to recognize." And then I got a little smarter. I started blocking the number. So if they did get through, because all of a sudden, the area code was the same as mine, I said, "Well, maybe I do know them."

And every once in a while, I'll trip up. That could be my mama calling from work on another phone line in the basement or something. "Let me answer it." And I would slip up, and all of a sudden, they got access to me again. But then I started blocking the number.

See, Adam and Eve gave the enemy access to us. They sold us out. It's their fault. And ever since then, Satan has been trying to take anything and everything he can from us through scamming in any type of way. But because of the Holy Spirit, we have a spam filter. You got to choose not to answer it, though.

The Holy Spirit will say, "Don't answer that. Do not respond to her. Do not go over to his house. He just does not want to watch Netflix." The Holy Spirit will tell you, "Don't take this bait. You know where you come from, and I'm trying to take you somewhere new." It's a spam filter.

And every once in a while, we answer, if we're being honest. We push past the filter, and we answer it. The Holy Spirit still says, "You're no longer a slave. Even though you answered it, you can block it. Do what you need to do to block it."

An unhooked life is a Spirit-led life where we listen, we trust, we obey, and then we are full of the Holy Spirit. And not only are we full of the Holy Spirit, He makes us fruitful. That's where we're trying to go. Being unhooked means we are away from sin. We don't answer that, but then we just want to leave fruit everywhere we go.

We are so full of the Spirit that over here, we leave some love. Over here, we leave kindness. Over here, we leave gentleness. We are fruitful when we are led by the Spirit. Here is my example of being fruitful. He can't even help it.

Especially when my girls were young. As some of you may know or may not know, I have four children. All of them are girls. And there was a time when there was evidence everywhere I went that I had four daughters. I would be in a business suit in a meeting, and I’d reach into my pocket, and I got a barrette in my pocket. I open up a journal or a workbook, and all of a sudden, I see hearts scribbled in it with some boy's name on the inside of it.

I rebuked him. He's gone now. Don't worry about it. There will be a cheer bag in my backseat. So if I'm transporting someone, I got to move, and I say, "Oh Lord, it's the cheer bag because I got four daughters." That's what it's like being fruitful. Everywhere you go, there is evidence of your life.

Whether you go to work, in your family, with your friends, even with your enemies, there is fruit all over the place that there is something in your life that you can't help. It's just there all the time. You go to work, and you just got to love people. You don't want to, but the Holy Spirit will say, "Now you know you got to love them, right? No, they don't like you, and you still need to love them."

I want to be fruitful. My hope is that you want to be so unhooked that you are full of the Holy Spirit and full of fruit. So much so that when people encounter you, you're just dropping fruit everywhere. In meetings at work, you're just dropping fruit everywhere. With your friends, you're just dropping fruit everywhere.

Even when it comes to some tough times, the fruit—one of the fruits of the Spirit is self-control. All of a sudden, even though you don't want to, you just run. "I just need to take this way of escape," and I run. It's a beautiful cycle where we are learning with our mind. We get so full of this information that we accept it and say, "Lord, let it reach my heart."

And when it gets to your heart, all of a sudden, you start walking it out. And the Holy Spirit begins to say to you more and more each day, "I want you to be full of this fruit. Leave it here. Leave it there." This is the fruitful life. This is the unhooked life. This is a life where you are no longer a slave to sin, but you are free for God.

This is the free life. We can make it more spiritual. We can talk about gifts. We can talk about miracle signs and wonders. And believe me, I love talking about it. But at the end of the day, I want you to be full of this fruit. I want you to be free. I want you to be free. I want you to be free. I want you to be free. I want you to be free.

It's the fruit of the Holy Spirit that demonstrates that we are unhooked. And when I was working on this, I wanted to make it more complicated. I wanted to talk about some deeper things, but the reality is God was letting me know, "Hey, I just want my people to be unhooked. I'm going to take care of some other stuff, but I want them to be free. Free to be able to be used however I deem it. Right now, your only job is to tell them that they are free. That they are unhooked. They don't have to worry about sin. You need to stop turning towards sin and turn towards Me."

God wants us to be free to Him, free from sin. And then all of a sudden, God did something to embarrass me. Well, I ain't embarrassed myself yet, but it's about to come. He gave me a song. Don't worry, the praise team, they're going to come out here and sing it. I'm going to start it.

Some of us in this room are dealing with the strongholds. We're dealing with that. And so, the song is, "I am free. Praise the Lord, I'm free. No longer bound. No more chains holding me. My soul is rested. And it's just a blessing. Praise the Lord. Hallelujah. I'm free."

So, some of you are dealing with some things that this is your song right now. It's not about how you feel. It's about you. Remember, in my heart, I'm going to accept it like it's a $500 gift certificate to Gucci. Because God said it, I'm going to believe it.

I want us to stand up because we're going to sing this song. And listen, I'm churchy. Remember that. And I know the original song was a slow song. We're speeding this up. This is a praise. This is a song. This is a proclamation of our freedom in this house.

So, listen, I want y'all to praise as best as you can. But let me give you, it's on the two and the four, okay? God wants to hear us clapping on the two and the four. That's a joke around clapping sequence and rhythm.

So, some of you, I don't want this just to be about sin. I know that some of you are burdened. You're saved. You're burdened. There is heaviness in your life. So, you're singing this song because God is walking you out of that season of heaviness. That's why it's a praise song. We can't go into this melancholy and hoping. No, no, no, no. We believe that we are free. And we are praising the Lord.

"I'm free." Come on. Start me. Come on, y'all. Come on. I don't want to embarrass myself up there because I'm going to say, "I am free." What's my note? "I am free." There you go.

Know that was the warm-up. Which one were you at? That was the warm-up because you had to know what the two and the four is. So, we're going to do this again. Some of you have not jumped or moved like this in a while. Don't worry. Jesus is a healer. He'll help your knees. He'll help your knees. He'll help your knees. He'll help your knees.

He'll help your hips later. But we are declaring by the Spirit of God that we are free from every chain, every stronghold, but it needs to come from you to God. This is praise for what Jesus has done. Does that make sense?

So, I want you to jump if you can. Don't break your hip. I want you to move, and I want you to put in your mind what you need to be free from. Because this morning, we are declaring freedom in the name of Jesus.

From where I grew up, we used to use our hands and our feet. We would say hand-clapping, foot-stomping type of praise. And so, this is one last appeal. If you didn't know what you are free from, just believe. If you're trying to wonder what you need to be free from, just believe that in the spirit, things are being destroyed.

God is opening up deliverance for you now. It's like it's an open heaven. All you need to do is declare by faith that I am free from everything that has been holding me down. I am free from everything that has been holding me back. But right now, we're gonna do some hand-clapping, foot-stomping one more time, and then we're gonna go ahead and dismiss because I'm tired of it too.