Liberty And Jesus For All: The Ingredients Of Freedom Series

Perhaps you’ve heard the story about our national bird; the eagle.

Initially, Benjamin Franklin struggled with the idea of the eagle being our national bird. He wrote his daughter criticizing the selection of the eagle being the representative symbol of our national freedom; instead, he preferred the turkey.

In a letter to his daughter he wrote: The “Bald Eagle...is a Bird of bad moral Character. He does not get his Living honestly…[he] is too lazy to fish for himself...”the turkey is “a much more respectable Bird, and withal a true original Native of America...He is besides, though a little vain and silly, (He is) a Bird of Courage.”

Today, I must admit, I am glad that Franklin did not select our national bird, otherwise, as Americans we might be referred to as a bunch of turkeys.

Yet, the reason why the eagle was selected was because the eagle is a perfect symbol of freedom. We boast of how the eagle soars, flies to new heights, seems limitless, and seems boundless.

Transition:

As we venture into the Book of Genesis again today and take a look at Joseph’s life, instead of reading a story about “freedom” we read a story about one of his brothers being bound. We read a story about Simeon being bound before his brothers eyes (vs. 24)

It is often said that people don’t appreciate their blessings until those blessings are absent and no longer present in their lives. This seems to be the case with Joseph’s brothers.

As they return home to their father they bring the bad report of concern for the welfare of not only their brother but their family as a whole. Simeon had lost his freedom.

Freedom is not a political word; it is a personal word. It’s not just a national word; it is a Biblical word. God loves, created, and perpetuates freedom.

It is a word that should bring us together into one cohesive unit as it is reflected in our identity as the “United” States of America. It should cause us to pursue it and fight for it as one, because of the depth of its value.

Freedom reminds us of the God who gave it, and the importance of preserving it. Freedom is one of the greatest blessings a person can hold dear on earth.

From Joseph’s binding of Simeon and his brothers reaction; what do we learn about freedom?

Transitional Sentence: What are the essential ingredients for freedom as defined by God? These ingredients are put on display through Joseph and his brothers. Let’s take a look:

I. Ingredient #1- Lordship

vs. 29-30- “When they came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they told him all that happened to them, saying, The man, the lord of the land, spoke harshly to us, and took us for spies of the country.”

Explanation:

As we are introduced to Joseph today, his brothers call him by a title that have not seen before. Twice the brothers refer to Joseph as “the lord of the land.”

The word “lord” is an interesting word. The Hebrew word is the word “adone” from which we get God’s title; Adonai from. The word means: “master.” The idea is that Joseph was their master. He was the “lord” little “L” over his brothers.

Interesting enough, whoever was “lord” over them was the master of them. Because Joseph was “lord” little “l” their brother was bound. Joseph’s demeanor directly impacted their brothers condition. Therefore, they communicated that demeanor by saying: “the lord of the land spoke harshly to us.”

Have you ever thought about God’s demeanor toward us? Have you ever considered how blessed we are to have a demeanor of grace? His grace is the foundation of freedom.

Because God is a God of grace; he loves freedom. God is a freedom loving God.

God’s grace is seen immediately in the way he governs the world that He created. In Genesis we learn that when He created the world that God created freedom.

We read this in Genesis 2:15-17: “Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it. The Lord (Captial L) God commanded the man saying, From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”

There was no human government set up yet. Therefore, God gives us the model of what he wanted for human government. He wanted freedom.

God wanted us to have the liberty to make choices on how we live our lives. He wanted us to have choices on who we would serve. Because He loves freedom he gave us options: 1) We can live under his governmental Lordship 2) We can live life our own way.