Freedom creates courage
Jn 15:9 �As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.
Jn 15:10 If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father�s commands and remain in his love.
Jn 15:11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
Jn 15:12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.
Jn 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
Jn 15:14 You are my friends if you do what I command.
Jn 15:15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master�s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.
Elizabeth Griscom
On January 1, 1752, Samuel and Rebecca Griscom gave birth to a baby girl they named Elizabeth. Elizabeth grew up a Quaker in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. After completing her formal education, Elizabeth went on to work as an apprentice to John Webster, a talented and popular Philadelphia upholsterer.
After she spent several years apprenticing, Elizabeth fell in love with a fellow apprentice named John Ross, an Anglican. Being devout Quakers, Elizabeth�s family did not approve of her relationship with John. Marrying outside of the faith was an offense worthy of expulsion from the Quaker community. Nevertheless, on November 4, 1773, Elizabeth and John cross the Delaware River to New Jersey, where they married without the blessing of her family and fellow Quakers. Despite that, the newlyweds prospered, soon opening their own upholstery business.
Two years into their marriage, John, a member of the local militia, was guarding munitions near the Delaware River when an explosion of gunpowder killed him, leaving Elizabeth a childless widow at the age of 24. Elizabeth continued to run the upholstery business, making extra income by mending uniforms and making tents, and blankets.
The young widow worked and lived in a 2 story "bandbox" style house, with one room on each floor and a winding staircase stretching from the cellar to the attic. The building�s first floor had a large window to display merchandise, and its proximity to the Delaware River, made it an ideal location for a business. The first floor front room was used as the workshop and showroom. Elizabeth lived in the rest of the house.
On June 15, 1777, two years after John�s death, Elizabeth married her second husband, Joseph Ashburn. Joseph was a mariner and was often at sea, leaving Elizabeh, a new mother, alone in Philadelphia. The sea was a dangerous place during the Revolution; in 1780 the British captured Joseph�s ship. The crew was charged with treason and taken to prison. Ashburn died in that prison. Elizabeth, at the age of 30, was widowed for the second time.
In 1783, Elizabeth married a third time, her new husband John Claypoole was a Quaker and Elizabeth�s relationship with her family was restored. Their marriage lasted 34 years until John�s death. The last 20 of those years, Elizabeth cared for her disabled husband, who suffered from wounds he had received in the same war that claimed her first two husbands. The Revolutionary War took a lot from this simple Quaker upholster, she died in her sleep on January 30 1836, she was 84.
40 years later her grandson, William Canby, told the Historical Society of Pennsylvania the story of Elizabeth�s life. That�s when Elizabeth received the honor due her patriotism. We remember her life, not because of the sacrifices she made for America�s independence, but because of a day in 1777 when her deceased husband�s uncle George Ross entered Elizabeth�s upholstery shop with two other men. One of those men, George Washington reached into his coat pocket, handed Elizabeth a piece of paper, and asked if she could sew what was drawn on the paper. Elizabeth responded: "I do not know, but I will try."
The 25-year-old widow, who went by her nickname, �Betsy�, took out three bolts of bright colored cloth. She cut, clipped and sewed, 13 white stars on a blue background, then added alternating strips of red and white. The red representing the blood shed in the war for independence and the white, the bandages that bound the wounds of the soldiers. Betsy must have longed that those bandages could have held in the life of her young husband, John Ross who had died in that war.
Source: www.betsyrosshouse.org
Heritage of blood
As much as we may hate to admit it, bloodshed is an enormous part of our history and American heritage. Betsy Ross is not the only person who lost her spouse in an American war. One estimate says over 1,346,000 men and women have given their lives to protect the freedoms and interests of United States of America. The bravery and selfless courage of American citizens is a source of pride for America.
As our ancestors once stood against Brittan, so a mob recently flooded onto the streets of Tehran. Our forefathers continued and overcame. Time will tell what will happen in Iran. Last week the civil protests were ended with force. The same has been true in China, Uganda, Russia, Thailand, Kosovo, Indonesia, North Korea, and more. One thing all these nations have in common; they are all resistant to the message of the freedom found of Jesus Christ.
The source of Freedom
According to the Voice of the Martyrs, 52 nations on our planet currently do not want the unbridled truth of the gospel released to their people. They are afraid their people will hear verses like,
Psalm 118:5
In my anguish I cried to the LORD, and he answered by setting me free.
Psalm 119:32
I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free.
Psalm 119:45
I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts.
Luke 4:18-19
The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord�s favor.
John 8:32
Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
John 8:36
So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
2 Corinthians 3:17
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
Galatians 5:1
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
and
Ephesians 3:12
In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.
Fear of Freedom
Nations all over this world, and one nation under this world, are afraid of the message of freedom because they know that freedom equals the loss of their control. They are like an abusive person who uses fear to control their victims. They bully, push, and punish. But these oppressive people are also trapped by fear; the fear of losing control and losing their power and losing their identity. Freedom trumps fear. Freedom creates courage and resists all types of bondage.
Christ-less nations shut out foreign reporters and have state controlled news media, because they don�t want to be exposed. These nations block or restrict true Bible teaching because it will expose the ugly truth and the evil motives that are used to control their people.
Oppressive people and nations have always been afraid of Bible passages like, John 3:19-21,
Jn 3:19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.
Jn 3:20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.
Jn 3:21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.�
Bible passages like John 8:12, �When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, �I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life,�� oppressive, controlling people and nations are afraid of verses like this and do everything they can to quiet those verses.
Not every person and nation stops the spread of the gospel because they are seeking wealth or power. Some are simply under the control of the underworld and the forces God has expelled from His realm.
Eph 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
But no matter what or who attempts to control our freedom, the only true freedom is spiritual freedom. The type of freedom that prompted Patrick Henry to proclaim, �Give me liberty or give me death!� But his boldness was not rooted in vanity or baseless courage, but in the Lord. Let me share a little more of Patrick Henry�s famous speech,
�Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us.
The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave....
Is life so dear, or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God!
I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!
Source of Courage
Nations, kingdoms, and oppressive people can chain human arms, but they cannot chain a human�s will. We can only do that to ourselves. If you lack the courage you need to face your battles; the courage to face cancer; heart disease; the loss of a loved one; a child or parent that abandons you; a marriage that stink: a spouse that abandons you; or the person in the mirror that you cannot control; whatever your battle my be; you can face it with courage. Where does this type of courage come from? It comes from knowing God�s opinions on such things as Life and death.
Ro 14:8 If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.
Ro 14:9 For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that He might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.
If you feel trapped or dead, Christ knows how you feel and He knows how to leave that place behind. Christ also knows how it feels to be loved, accepted and how to guide you there.
Unwavering Courage
Unwavering Courage in the face of adversity comes from the awareness of God�s presence and God�s approval. Romans chapter 8 beginning with verse 35,
Ro 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
Ro 8:36 As it is written:
�For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.�
Ro 8:37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
Ro 8:38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,
Ro 8:39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Foundation of our Courage
But some people have the misconception that God�s love just floats around out there and is available for all people; it doesn�t and it isn�t. This past Wednesday God granted me the privilege of helping the Lunsford family by officiating Mr. Lunsford�s memorial service. In that service, I described an area where Christianity has faltered.
Christianity can be guilty of wondering away from the details and focusing only on the big picture. The big picture tells us that God loves us and has a plan for our life. The big picture shows the God who seeks us out whether we are in the best place or the worst place. Whether people admire us or have abandoned us, the God of the big picture supports us, leads us and holds us. When we are in our darkest moments, God is able to find us and restore us. This is the big picture of God, the picture taken with a wide-angle lens and from a long distance back. With this view, it seems that God accepts a variety of people for a variety of reasons: the rich and poor, weak or strong, the faithful and the marginal, are all approaching God and receiving His love.
But when we zoom in, when we begin to see how the pieces are scribed and fit neatly together, we see that the big loving God is also a just and powerful God. We see God in not only His mercy, but also in His holiness. We see that God is approachable, but not everyone can approach Him. Our sins have placed a blight on us and left us unusable to God.
God�s only provision to restore our souls is the blood of Jesus Christ. God is perfect; we are not. Perfection that includes failure is no longer perfect. Therefore no person can enter God�s kingdom; except by the provision God made for us.
Divine trade
God sent His Son, His perfect Son, to be punished for our imperfect actions, thoughts and intentions. Jesus Christ was nailed to the cross and held accountable for the sins of man so that we wouldn�t have to be. It was a divine trade, planned and administered by God. One perfect Savior, traded for all those who would receive Him as Lord and Savior.
Do you know Jesus? Does He hold the strings to your heart? Are you willing to die for Him if He asks you too? Are you willing to live for Him, because He has asked you to do that?
Communion
Today we will share in Communion. The bread represents the body of the Lord Jesus. Luke 22:19 says, �And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, �This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.��
A substation, an exchange; His holiness for our sinfulness. Our debt to God was paid by Christ. God�s love has a foundation, God�s love rests upon the cross.
Luke 22:20 says, �In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, �This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.�
In Genesis 4 Cain kills Abel,
Ge 4:9 Then the LORD said to Cain, �Where is your brother Abel?�
�I don�t know,� he replied. �Am I my brother�s keeper?�
Ge 4:10 The LORD said, �What have you done? Listen! Your brother�s blood cries out to me from the ground.
Christ�s blood was poured out, for us and when we receive communion, the blood of God�s Son cries out from within us. We have a heritage of blood not to condemn us, but to set us free, that we might have life and hope and freedom. No longer bound by any chain except the bond of love by which God has united Himself to us?
Do you know Jesus? Is He your Savior? Do you know and are you experiencing the freedom He has promised?
Freedom Creates Courage
John 15:9-15
Elizabeth Griscom
Heritage of blood
The source of Freedom
Psalm 118:5, 119:32, 45, Luke 4:18-19, John 8:32, 36, 2 Cor. 3:17, Galatians 5:1, Ephesians 3:12
Fear of Freedom
John 3:19-21, 8:12, Eph 6:12
Source of Courage
Romans 14:8,9
Unwavering Courage
Romans 8:35-39,
Base of our Courage
Divine trade
Communion
Luke 22:19, Luke 22:20, Genesis 4:9,10
