Redeemed

There is a passage in the second chapter of Titus that illustrates for us what we have been redeemed from because of the work of Jesus Christ, as well as what we have been redeemed to.  Let's consider this:
11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men,
12 teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age,
13 looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,
14 who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.

We have been redeemed from sinfulness, from worldliness, from the power of the flesh.  We have been brought into salvation through Christ and we have been redeemed to righteousness and godliness.  We are now capable, by the Holy Spirit to consider the works of the flesh, the old person, dead, and we live in the wonder of the new creation - we can walk in the Spirit and produce fruit for His glory, enjoying the fruit of the Spirit, which Galatians teaches us supersedes the deeds of the sinful flesh.

+++++

We are people who have been redeemed because of what Christ has done through His death and resurrection. Ephesians chapter 1 tells us:
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace
8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence,
9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself...

Last week, I sat down with Big Daddy Weave lead singer Mike Weaver in a hotel conference room in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.  You'll be hearing that conversation coming up on The Meeting House.  Little did I know at the time that just a few days before that, a young man charged with murder had made a stunning confession about a crime he committed in that same city and how a song co-written by Weaver had played a part in God's work in His life.

Christianity Today reported on August 28 that:

In a murder trial last Friday, defendant Danny Holmes opened with a 20-minute testimony where he confessed to killing a man three years ago and then he recounted his spiritual transformation in prison since then, the Murfreesboro Daily News Journal reported.

Instrumental to his confession was the song “Redeemed” by Christian rock band Big Daddy Weave. He brought the lyrics in a notebook to court.

The News Journal article said that Holmes "...said over a year ago, God changed his life. He felt as if God was putting pressure on him to tell the truth and confess to the murder." The article continues:

"I knew the Lord was just on me, weighing on me over and over," Holmes said Friday.

"I’m 30-years-old, and I’ve been fighting for nothing all my life. I’ve been fighting for gangs. … I ain’t never fought for anything that made sense. But I knew the Lord was telling me to fight for him this time. I just knew he was stirring on my spirit."

The News Journal reports that:

After reading the lyrics, “Then You look at this prisoner and say to me, 'Son, stop fighting a fight that's already been won,'" he made up his mind: he was going to tell the truth. He was going to confess to a murder.

The redemption tale struck a chord with those in the courtroom. As Holmes spoke, the room filled as people wandered in to hear the confession. His family sobbed during his statement.

"Momma, you know I love you," Holmes said to his mother. "But Momma, I promise you, your baby boy, he’s going to serve the Lord forever."

Holmes recounted his flashy lifestyle to the court. He had money — lots of it — designer goods and expensive cars. Now he plans to tell all the young people he meets in prison about finding salvation through religion, not cash or luxuries.

Mike Weaver, the co-writer and singer of that song, was "blown away," according to Christianity Today.  He is quoted as saying:

“Over the last handful of years, so many stories have come from God using that song,” said Weaver, who lives north of Nashville in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, just 33 miles from the site of Holmes’ crime in Murfreesboro. “It is a message that is so dear to [God’s] heart.”

That message resonated with a musician a few years ago, who was touring with a band in Spain, according to Christianity Today, which says that he "heard a portion of 'Redeemed' as the bus driver flipped through radio stations.  The young man related, “The Holy Spirit spoke to me in that moment, saying, ‘You need to quit doing what you’re doing and turn your life around...' That was a turning point for me. I called my wife and told her I was coming home.”

He did just that - the story says he "canceled all his scheduled tour dates, abandoned the destructive habits that had hijacked his life on the road, and reconciled with his wife." After that transformation, spurred on by the song, Redeemed, Zach Williams wrote the Dove- and Grammy-award winning song, Chain Breaker. Later on, according to CCM Magazine, he wrote a song called, Alive, which he shared with the band while on tour, and it is the latest song released by Big Daddy Weave.

Big Daddy Weave will be at Eastmont Baptist Church in Montgomery on Wednesday, September 18 at 7:00 p.m. You can learn more through the Faith Radio website. Also, the band has a new album, When the Light Comes, arriving soon. Plus, Mike Weaver has co-written the book, I Am Redeemed: Learning to Live in Grace. You can learn more at www.bigdaddyweave.com.

We have access to the Holy Spirit, and that gives us the power to change. He also gives us the power to obey, to please our Heavenly Father.

And, while we are saved when we accept Christ into our hearts by faith, we also recognize that is the beginning of a process. The power of redemption enables us to live outside what God has done inside.

Our redemption experience can be used of the Lord to touch others, as well. We can be challenged to share the redemptive work of Jesus.

We can consider this sentence, "Because I am redeemed..." There are many ways to complete that sentence. For one thing, we know that we are brand new in Christ Jesus - we have new life, the life of Christ, residing in and flowing through us.