John 8: 31- 36 (NIV)
To the Jews who believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?” Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family; but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you are free indeed.”
This is the world of the Lord for the people of God. Thanks be to God.
Let us pray.
Spirit of the Living God fall afresh on me. Make me, mold, and bend me to your will. Let theses words be your words Father. Remove me from the equation all together and place me behind the cross. We pray for a mighty word from you today. It is in the name of Christ I ask this of you, Amen.
Freedom in Christ Sermon Series
True Freedom Part 1
Our founding Fathers of this country wrote the Declaration of Independence that was signed July 4, 1776. Thomas Jefferson wrote that all men were created equal and bestowed inaliable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
I beg to differ (pause) because if Thomas Jefferson was here today, I would have to tell him, “I don’t mean to disrespect but by my freedom was given to my by, My Savior, Jesus Christ. The Declaration of Independence just makes the government recognizes these rights.
We live as one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all. This country is not perfect by any means. There was a time in history where our country practiced horrible violations in human rights. African Americans were not only enslaved, but upon emancipation were treated like second class citizens. I know for a fact that people in this congregation know what I am talking about, and you have experienced this first hand.
Jim Crowe Laws kept African Americans from voting, using the front entrances of businesses, in separate bathrooms, and their children were forced to receive books and educational equipment that was second hand. I am not talking about second hand in good shape, but so worn out that the material wasn’t fit to use to teach a dog.
But as sure as there is a God, there was a man that had a dream. And his dream was that people were judged by the content of their character and not based the color of their skin.
Somebody say, “Freedom”. (Repeat if Necessary)
According to dictionary.com freedom is defined as the condition of being free from restraints or Liberation of the person from slavery, detention, or oppression. When we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior we released from the yoke of oppression and sin. We are given the liberty to have a personal relationship with the Father free from restraints.
That was not always the case. Under the old covenant that was passed down through Moses, that freedom was not given to the Israelites, and they were God’s chosen people. In fact, back in those days the Israelites were separated from God despite the miracles that He displayed through the 10 plagues and the parting of the Red Sea.
Under the Old Covenant, people could not have a direct link to God. The priest served as mediators for them. They had to go to the temple and submit a sacrifice to the priest to make atonement for the sin. But the sin was not forgiven, (pause) it was just covered up.
When the High Priest came upon the scene was this situation was rectified. Let’s take a look at Hebrews. Paul says in the 5th chapter of Hebrews that:
Every high priest is selected from among men and is appointed to represent them in matters related to God, and to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is a subject to weakness.
Verse four says no one takes this honor upon himself; he must be called by God, just as Aaron was. So Christ also did not take upon glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him,
“You are my Son; today I have become your Father. And he says in another place, “You are high priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”
Let’s jump down to verse 8, although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and once made perfect, he became a source of eternal salvation for all who obey him and was designated by God to be the high priest in the order of Melchizedek.
You may ask the question, well who is this Melchizedek? Why is this so important for our salvation? Why would Jesus be appointed to such a position? What does this have to do with our freedom in regards to Christ?
Let me answer these questions with another history lesson. Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of the Most High God. He met Abraham after battle. Abraham blessed him and gave him a tenth of everything that he had. For his name means king of righteousness and the king of Salem means king of peace. This man was without genealogy, without father or mother, without beginning and end of days or end of life, like the Son of man he remains a priest forever. Because of the oath that Jesus took, Jesus became the guarantee for a better covenant.
These are not my words but divine scripture and I encourage every one of you to continue to read about this in Hebrews. Paul goes into great detail on the different orders of priesthood and how the priesthood order of Melchizedek puts Jesus on a whole other level compared to other priest.
Out with the old and in with the new. That is what freedom is to me! Because of the sacrifice of Christ, he became the expiation of our sins!
Someone say, “Expiation.”
Expiation means to make atonement. Jesus made everything right with the Father for us by his life, death, and resurrection. The Father gave him all authority in heaven and on earth to take away life and bring it back again. His sacrifice gave us a direct link to God. Jesus has become our advocate in heaven because he has been through what we are going through and upon his resurrection he left us an advocate here on earth. It is a deposit that rests inside of you and inside of me, and it is called the Holy Spirit.
When we can not take this freedom for granted, it comes at a high price. I don’t know about ya’ll, but I have been given a position of entitlement. Not because I deserve it but because God loves us enough to want us to be members of his family.
I have accepted the title of Princess of the Kingdom of the Most High. I am a co-heir to thrown. You are co-heirs to the thrown. But are you ready (pause) to receive your blessing? (Take about my own fear) Sometimes we are not capable to receive the blessings that God wants to give us. We want the benefits, but we don’t want to have to put the work in that comes with the title.
God gives us the opportunity to accept or reject this. This is when we go from being children of God to being sons and daughters of the Most High.
Let take a look at John 8:31-32. Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” Getting set free, in my opinion is the easy part. There are responsibilities that come with freedom. When we are liberated, we are exposed to the truth. There are many people out there that know the truth and refuse to do what is required of our titles of entitlement. The truth is a hard pill to swallow at times, and for many people, they can not handle the truth because it just hits too close to home because it reminds us of our own insecurities and short comings.
Is anybody perfect? Not by a long shot, but we are yearning and striving to reach maturity. And to reach spiritual maturity is to accept our positions of entitlement that we receive by the grace of God and follow his command to love God and to love others.
Saints, do we love the Lord more than anything else?
Then we need to feed his lambs.
Saints, do we truly love the Lord?
Then we need to take care of his sheep.
Saints, do we love the Father and appreciate all that he has done for us?
Then we need to feed his sheep!
When we follow Jesus, we are emancipated. Through that emancipation we are going to experience alleviation from the yoke of sin. Through that alleviation we are going to experience ridicule, suffering, and hatred. But what is the other alternative? Freedom is knowing that when your world is falling apart around you, we have a Father in heaven that provides everything that we will need, we have a Savior in heaven that knows that we can bear, and we have a Holy Advocate that lives within us that keeps and strengthen us.
And when come forth, we will be like pure gold.
When the world turns it back on us, and it will time and time again, it won’t faze us. We will have confidence in knowing that the battle is not ours to fight, but it has already been won at the Cross on Calvary.
God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He is the alpha and omega, the A and the Z, the beginning and the end, from everlasting to everlasting. He’s an on time because He’s an on time God and when He shows up, (pause) He shows out!
And the outcome is you win!
Now that is freedom, and that is Victory in Jesus Christ.
Amen.
May the Lord Bless and Keep you and may His face shine upon you and be gracious and give you peace.
We are going to conclude our Freedom in Christ Series the next time we meet. The sermon title is called Removing the Yoke.
Please stand for the Benediction.
Romans 15:13, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." (NIV)
