Verse 24 and following goes on to list the rest of the “Mighty Men.”
Do you wonder why the Spirit of God moved the writers of Scripture to include the names and exploits of the freedom fighters of Israel in this book? Could it be to give honor where honor is due? Could it be that He wanted you and me, many hundreds, even thousands of years later to know them and respect them for their efforts to preserve His plan for the ages?
A long time ago a woman named Moina Michael wrote this short poem:
“We cherish…the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies.”
This morning we are here to honor and somberly celebrate the “blood of heroes”. We should never forget that:
It is the soldier, not the reporter,
Who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the soldier, not the poet,
Who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the soldier, not the campus organizer,
Who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.
It is the soldier,
Who salutes the flag,
Who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag,
Who allows the protester to burn the flag.
Our freedom today is because of soldiers, men and women who have fought and died for the freedom we enjoy today.
Memorial Day is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation’s service. It traces its roots back to 1868 when General John Logan, of the Grand Army of the Republic, declared May 30th as a day of remembrance. Flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. The day was originally called “Decoration Day.” It is sometimes called “Poppy Day” because artificial red poppies, which were made by disabled veterans, are sold. The money is used to benefit servicemen in need. In December of 2000, Congress passed a resolution which asks all Americans “to voluntarily and informally observe a Moment of Remembrance and respect,” at 3:00 local time.
Tomorrow is the official Memorial Holiday. Many people see it as just a 3-day weekend. But for those who have lost someone because of war or military action, it means much more than a day off. In fact, every American ought to recognize this day in honor of those who spilled their blood to make America what she is today—free, strong, and a nation worth fighting for.
As we prepare to enter into a day to remember those who died for liberty, it is fitting to remember the one who died to set us free from spiritual tyranny.
Jesus fought the armies of Hell that we might have liberty in his holy name.
We celebrate Memorial Day once a year to remember those who died for freedom, but every week, on Sunday, we celebrate the Memorial of Christ and a reflection of what He has done for us. We can’t walk into a church service without remembering the sacrifice He {Jesus} made for us.
For the Christian every Sunday is a Memorial Day.
All the heroic acts on battlefields throughout history have made our country what it is today. We enjoy freedom and wealth that are un-equaled. But our freedom and our luxuries have come at a great price. We enjoy freedom in America because men/women have died for our country. The cost of freedom is blood. We never need to forget that.
In a similar way, Jesus gave his life to set us free from the slavery of sin and death. For this we must be eternally thankful.
Galatians 3:13 – “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"),”
On January 1, 1863 during the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln issued a famous document called the Emancipation Proclamation. It declared freedom for slaves in all areas of the confederacy that were still in rebellion against the Union.
Part of it reads this way: “That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slave within any state, or designated part of a state, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be thenceforward, and forever free…”
This eventually led to the 13th amendment to the Constitution. This amendment, which became law on December 18, 1865, ended slavery in all parts of the United States.
In Galatians 3:13 the Bible declares in bold letters that an Emancipation Proclamation has been issued for all mankind that has set us free from bondage.
You and I can enjoy freedom from sin; freedom from the bondage of satan because Jesus paid a price for our freedom. Jesus paid with His own blood.
Usually there is a price for freedom. Not only has that price been paid in dollars and cents but most importantly the price of freedom has cost in lives.
• In the Revolutionary War (1775-1783), it is estimated that 25,324 deaths occurred.
• During the Civil War it is estimated that in the Union 364,511 lost their lives & 164,821 lost their lives in the Confederate states, for a total of 529,331 deaths.
• World War I – U.S. deaths – 116,516
• World War II – U.S. deaths – 405,399
• Vietnam War – 58,000 U.S. deaths are estimated.
• Iraqi War – U.S. deaths – 3,431
The giving of life is a higher price for freedom than any dollars and cents cost.
Where would we, who are citizens of the U.S. of America, be today if there had not been those who counted the cost of freedom and willingly paid for it?
Almost 2,000 years ago there was another war going on for your freedom and my freedom. Life and death were involved in this war. One man’s life was taken and the enemy thought the battle was over until that third day when he came forth out of the grave and dealt a death blow to the enemy.
Yes, it was Jesus who fought satan and his evil forces for our freedom. It was Calvary and the resurrection that secured our freedom from the bondage of sin.
Man does not have to live in bondage to sin. Man does not have to be a slave to such things as: lust, nicotine, alcohol, drugs, hatred pornography, dishonesty hypocrisy, homosexuality, etc.
Why? Because Jesus paid the ultimate price for freedom. He gave His own life so that you and I could be set free from the bondage and slavery of sin.
Not only that but as Christians we are free from anything satan would try to put on us. Don’t let Satan put on you any bondage. Remind him of an empty cross and an empty tomb.
He paid the price for our redemption from sin. He has wiped out our past debts and has now given us full citizenship to heaven with all the privileges that go with it.
We are free, purchased by His blood. We do not have to be in bondage to any other ruler or kingdom in our lives.
Adam and Eve sold us into slavery to the devil and put us in bondage to his power, under his jurisdiction. But Christ has redeemed us. He has bought us back.
He had purchased our freedom with the price of His blood. 1 Corinthians 6:20 – “For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
At Calvary, our Emancipation Proclamation was issued for our freedom.
It’s time we started confessing our freedom instead of accepting our bondage. Christians, you are free. Don’t let yourself be bound by any kind of sin. You have been set free. Sin does not have to reign over you any longer.
When the slaves in the U.S. received the Proclamation, they were still living in slave quarters. They still looked like slaves. They still felt like slaves. But when they heard the Proclamation read, they then had a legal right to say, “I am free,” and to act on that liberty.
Believe in your proclamation of freedom: “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage” (Galatians 5:1).
Repeat with me “I am free!”
Romans 6:11 – “Likewise you also, reckon [consider, count] yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord."
There are many symbols that represent our freedom as Americans. Such things as: the flag, the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Liberty Bell, The statue of Liberty, etc.
But in all of these symbols one represents what freedom is all about. Without it we as Americans wouldn’t be able to enjoy the freedom we have. That symbol is the CROSS. No other symbol captures the true meaning of freedom like the cross does.
Are you free from sin today? Jesus paid the ultimate price for you to be free today.
“In New York harbor stands a lady,
With a torch raised to the sky.
And all who see her, know she stands for
Liberty for you and I.
I’m so proud to be called an American
To be named with the brave and the free.
I will honor our flag and our trust in God,
And the Statue of Liberty.”
“On lonely Golgotha, stood a cross,
With our Lord raised to the sky.
And all who kneel there live forever,
As all the saved can testify.
I’m so glad to be called a Christian,
To be named with the ransomed and whole.
As the statue liberates the citizen,
So the cross liberates the soul.”
