Free Indeed

“Free Indeed”

By

Pastor M.L. Maughmer, Jr.

Acts 12:1-12 “Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth [his] hands to vex certain of the church. And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.) And when he had apprehended him, he put [him] in prison, and delivered [him] to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people. Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him. And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison. And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon [him], and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from [his] hands. And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me. And he went out, and followed him; and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision. When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him. And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and [from] all the expectation of the people of the Jews. And when he had considered [the thing], he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying”.

John 8:36” If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed”.

Galatians 5:1 “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage”.

MY VERSION: “And when he had considered [the thing], he said Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me, for if the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed; therefore, I will stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage”

Now there are some people that say I shouldn’t do that, but in-order for you to get the concept and point of this message I don’t believe that it is that serious of a thing.

Free:- enjoying personal rights or liberty, as a person who is not in slavery: exempt from external authority, interference, restriction, etc., as a person or one's will, thought, choice, action, etc.; independent; unrestricted.

Indeed = with certainty, without a doubt, truly

STONGHOLD:- A mindset that is impregnated with helplessness, hopelessness, anxiety, discouragement, despair, and loneliness that cause a person to accept as unchangeable something in their life eventhough they know it goes contrary to the will of God.

John 8:36” If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed”. If Jesus Christ has made you to be able to enjoy personal rights and liberty and you are no longer bound in slavery from the external authority of sin, and you know without a doubt that you have the victory you ought to give God praise.

The problem is that although Christ has made you free there are those that are still bound because they have what is called the circus elephant mentality.

WHAT IS A CIRCUS ELEPHANT MENTALITY?

Well have you ever seen a circus elephant anchored to the ground? A small chain fastens to a metal collar tied around the elephant’s leg. And the chain is attached to a small wooden peg driven into the ground.

Sounds like a good way to keep the animal in place, right? Wrong! Why? Because as easily as you or I could snap a popsicle stick, that 8 ton mighty elephant could yank that wooden peg right out of the ground or break that little chain in two. But the elephant doesn't do that. Why not? Because in his mind he doesn’t realize the strength that lie within him, there is something that has caused the elephant to believe that he must remain bound.

WATCH THIS:- When the elephant was a baby, its trainers used the same collar/peg/chain method to keep the young elephant from getting loose. At that young age, the chain was indeed strong enough to prevent the elephant from breaking away. He struggled to get free from the chain that held him bound, but because of his young age, his lack of strength he was unable to break free. But the elephant kept on trying to break the chain that held him. Every day the elephant pulled and tugged, struggled and wrestled with the chain. The constant pulling at that chain every day caused a cut to appear on the poor elephant’s leg, forming a deep wound. It hurt so bad that, the young elephant began to believe in its mind that the effort was fruitless. Because the elephant felt that all the struggling was fruitless, it developed a stronghold in its mind and because of this stronghold of hopelessness, the baby elephant stopped trying to escape.