“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.
However, it never forgot the pain it suffered, it never forgot that terrible experience, it never forgot that it was not able to break free OH that poor elephant. Now as an adult, whenever the chain was placed around its foot it believed that it was bound and stuck in that very place. It felt that if it pulled on the chain the pain would begin to hurt again, the scars would become tender again, it didn’t realize the strength that it had so it just stayed right there because it felt as though it could never be free. The elephant was imprisoned in his mind because of some pain, scars, and helpless situations in its past.
In our text we find Peter is in prison, Herod had him locked and was going to kill him, but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him. Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison. Kind of sounds a little like the elephant doesn’t it.
WATCH THIS:- 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. Peter although he was free was still imprisoned in his mind because he didn’t know if it was true or not.
The Bible says “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”.
WATCH THIS:- When they were past the first and the second ward – Peter was deep within the prison. This represents being deep in bondage. Remember That! 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.
WATCH THIS:- Peter still didn’t realize that he was free. He had had the chains loosed from him, he dressed himself, he had passed by the guards, came through the 1st and 2nd ward and came to the gate of the city that opened on its own, but in his mind he still didn’t believe that he was free. and forthwith the angel departed from him
WATCH THIS:- And when Peter was come to himself, when he realized in his mind, when the stronghold had been broken in his mind, when he got past the fear, the hurt and the pain, the Bible says 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.
WATCH THIS:- And when he had considered [the thing], when he thought about what God had done, when I think of the goodness of Jesus and all He has done for me. When he thought about it the Bible says he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying.
WATCH THIS:- He came, he was bound anymore, he realized that he was free, he was able to stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made him free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. He came to the house where the saints of God were praying. How did he get there, the Bible doesn’t say specifically, but they didn’t have planes, trains, and automobiles back in that day so it is a good guess to say that he walked.
WHY DO OU SAY THAT ELDR MAUGHMER. Well the song that Donnie McClurkin sang said I’m walking in authority, living in my liberty. When Peter realized in his mind that he was free, I believe he understood that the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. So he began to walk, I like to believe that every step he took he would say “I’m free I’m free no longer bound no more chains holding me my soul is rest it’s just a blessing I’m free I am free”.
No doubt there may be someone here today that is stuck in bondage because of something that has happened in your past. There are the chains of abuse that are holding you back, there are the pegs of disappointment that make you feel why should I even go on any further, the shackles of discouragement have your mind confused, the clamp of loneliness is making you feel like you are all by yourself. You come to church looking to be set free, but a stronghold has been placed on your mind and you remember all the pain you felt and the scars that were left both physically and emotionally so you have given up on fighting anymore. You may even have the Holy Ghost, but in your mind you are still imprisoned; therefore you don’t even realize that greater is He that is within you then he that is in the world. You fail to realize that you can do all things through Christ that strengthens you. You fail to realize that you are more than a conqueror. Although God has delivered you, in your mind you have not comprehended just what has been done.
You got to become like Peter, the Bible says And when Peter was come to himself, you got to come to your right mind. Tell the devil I’m no longer bound I’m free. For whom the Son has set free is free indeed.
I don’t have a doubt that God has set me free.
He picked me up out of that mess that had me bound and placed my feet on solid ground and I’m free.
I used to be, but now I’m free.
I cried but now I’m free.
I was but now I’m free.
There was a time when, but now I’m free.
If you knew me then, but look at me now I’m free.
Devil you thought you had me. You tried to destroy me. Took some of the best years of my life. You placed a stronghold on my mind. But now I’m free.
God has rescued me.
No more chains are holding me down. If the Son has made you free you’re free indeed.
I’m free indeed, I don’t have a doubt. I know that I know, that I know, that I know I’m free.
Martin Luther King said it like this: Free at last free at last thank God almighty I’m free at last.
It might have been a long time in coming. There were many tears that were shed. Many nights you may have cried yourself to sleep. You may have felt like you were going to loose your mind. You may have tried things that you shouldn’t have tried searching for some kind of relief, that was only a trick of the devil. You may have even tried to take your own life, but God came by your situation and turned it around and now you know that your ar3e free indeed.
I dare you to just give God praise for being free.
Martha Muniuzzi has a song called DANCE.
He broke the chains (yeah, yeah)
He set me free (yeah, yeah)
He made a way I am redeemed (yeah, yeah {only first time})2x
If the Lord has redeemed you from the enemy you are free to dance
Come on everybody dance
you don't wanna miss this chance
get up on your feet and dance for freedom dance
Come on everybody dance
you don't wanna miss this chance
get up on your feet and dance, dance, dance
We won’t back down (no, no)
we won’t retreat (no, no)
we won’t stop dance
he’s under our feet. (yeah, yeah)
praise Him with dance
In liberty your praise means authority (yeah, oh)
If the Lord has redeemed you from the enemy you are free to dance
Come on everybody dance
you don't wanna miss this chance
get up on your feet and dance for freedom dance
Come on everybody dance
you don't wanna miss this chance
get up on your feet and dance, dance, dance 2x
If the Lord has redeemed you from the enemy you are free
If you want joy (dance for it)
If you peace (dance for it)
If you want freedom (dance for it)
Everybody, everybody dance (Everybody, everybody get to dancing (only for fourth time)) 4x
singing, jumping, leaping, get to shouting make it loud and dance
Come on everybody dance
you don't wanna miss this chance
get up on your feet and for freedom dance 2x
get up on your feet and dance for freedom
everybody dance for freedom
everybody dance for freedom
dance
Anybody Free Indeed than Dance.
In Closing:- 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”.
Because God has made you free I can stand with surety that I am free. I don’t have to be entangled in bondage anymore.
The yoke that held me in my mind in a state of confusion is broken. I am no longer chained to this certain life. I don’t have to be afraid of stepping forward in what God has done. I’m free and I can dance the dance of freedom.
When I think of His goodness and what He’s done for me, think of His goodness how He made me free I can dance dance dance all night.
Pastor M.L. Maughmer, Jr.
