I Am Free
Scripture: John 8:36; Galatians 5:1; Proverbs 3:5-6; Galatians 2:20
John 8:36 says, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.”
Galatians 5:1 says, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty with which Christ has made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”
We are living in a time in the United States that is very disconcerting. I am not talking about the rise in unbelief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God among those who reject Him, but a rise in unbelief of His Word by those who say they are Christians. We are witnessing a time of unrest based on how Christians interpret the Bible and this unrest is fueling the spread of a gospel that is different from what is told in the Bible. It is no wonder that many people are confused about their relationship with Christ and what His death and resurrection means to all of those who accept Him as Lord and Savior. The title of my message this morning is “I Am Free.” Say it with me, “I am free!!!” Freedom is defined as “a state in which somebody is able to act and live as he or she chooses, without being subject to any undue restraints or restrictions.” The key words in this definition are “able to act and live as he or she chooses.”
I want you to think about something. In the United States we live in a state of freedom that we sometimes take for granted because we have experienced freedom all of our lives. We do not think about it, we just live as we choose and do whatever we want, when we want and however we want. But what if….
• We had to get special permission to visit another state?
• We were told by the government what our job would be?
• We were told who to marry and how many children we could have?
• We had only one choice on the ballot at election time?
• We were not allowed to disagree with the government?
• We could only live where assigned and could not relocate?
• We could not worship God freely and openly?
What if we lived in a nation where all of these “what ifs” were the way of life. We would say that we lived in bondage. We cannot discuss being free without discussing the fact that at one time we were in bondage. Bondage is defined as “the condition of being enslaved or forced into servitude; the condition of being controlled by something that limits freedom.” Often we think of bondage as a physical restraint, but it is much more than that. A person can be in bondage physically with restraints or due to a sickness or disease. A person can be in bondage mentally due to shame, fear, lack of knowledge, and guilt just to name a few. Everyone experiences spiritual bondage until they are set free by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. My point to this is that there can be no experience of freedom without first understanding and/or experiencing what it is like to be in bondage. It is only the person who has experienced true bondage who can fully appreciate true freedom.
Tomorrow we celebrate our nation’s Independence Day and some of the “what ifs” I mentioned earlier are the reason we can celebrate. The Fourth of July, also known as Independence Day or July 4th, has been a federal holiday in the United States since 1941. But the tradition of Independence Day celebrations goes back to the 18th century and the American Revolution. On July 2nd, 1776, the Continental Congress voted in favor of independence, and two days later delegates from the 13 colonies adopted the Declaration of Independence, a historic document drafted by Thomas Jefferson. The Declaration of Independence officially broke all political ties between the American colonies and Great Britain and set forth the ideas and principles behind a just and fair government. When the Declaration of Independence document was created, they wanted liberty from oppressive taxes, unjust military action, and many other cruel things that were being placed on and done to ultimately keep them in bondage.
When this nation was established, it chose to break away from Great Britain and become independent – to become free. In breaking away from Great Britain, they chose to establish a way of life that would guarantee everyone the freedom to choose. They would no longer be in bondage to unjust taxation, unjust military action, and the many other demands that had been placed upon them. They chose to be free of these restraints. Their desire for freedom is why we are able to be here today. I shared this brief history with you because tomorrow’s celebration is a reminder for all of us of what it means to live in a free nation. But I also wanted to set the stage for this message. You see, before we accepted Christ all of us were in bondage. We did not understand that we were in bondage because no one had told us about being made free. Once we had an idea of being made free in Christ, we chose freedom.
This morning I also want to remind you that you have been made free in Christ. This freedom is not dependent upon what nation you live in. It is not dependent upon what government rules your nation. It is dependent only on the decision you have made to accept Christ as your personal Savior and your follow-up decisions to live by His word. You see, it’s living by His Word that makes us free. John 8:36 says, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.” What has He made us free from? He freed us from all bondage – spiritual, mental and physical. Remember the definition I shared for bondage? I told you that bondage is “the condition of being enslaved or forced into servitude; the condition of being controlled by something that limits freedom.” It can be physical with restraints or due to sickness or disease. It can be mental due to such things as shame, fear, lack of knowledge, and guilt. And it is spiritual for all who have yet to accept Christ as their personal Savior. Galatians 5:1 says, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty (freedom) with which Christ has made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”
Jesus has freed us from everything that would keep us in bondage – even those things we continue to struggle with. The resources are available to us to be free but it requires that we access the Word – what Jesus said to us about who we are in Him and what we have access to. Hosea 4:6 says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…...” There are many people who have been given access to freedom but continue to live as if they are still bound. They are living with restraints on their life because they do not understand that they have been made free. They accepted Christ and love Him, but they have not taken the step to apply the Word to their life and/or situation. We all understand that through Christ’s death and resurrection we have been freed from sin and the final destination for those who choose to live a life of sin – the lake of fire. Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life.” (John 6:47) He also said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he will never see death.” (John 8:51) When we were saved the first thing we knew was that our sins had been forgiven and we were no longer destined to live an eternity in the lake of fire. For many Christians that’s where they stopped. They have not moved beyond their sins being forgiven. They know with certainty that when Christ rose from the dead He opened the door for those who accepted Him to be delivered from sin and receive forgiveness. With this deliverance and forgiveness came the opportunity to be called the sons (daughters) of God and be able to spend an eternity with Him. This is by far the greatest freedom that we received through Christ. But there is more. There are other ways that we have been made free as sons and daughters of God. This morning, as you see on your handout, I will share with you a few areas where we have been made free. For those of you watching the live stream and are not on my sermon distribution list, I recommend that you get your pen and paper ready because my goal is to allow the Word to speak on its own this morning. The first area I will speak to is sickness and disease.
I am free from sickness and disease: Some of you are probably looking at me and thinking “Yeah right – we know you get sick.” The Bible never says I will not get sick, but it does promise me healing – whether on this side or the next. Isaiah 53:4-5 says, “4. Surely He has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.” Peter confirmed this of Jesus when he wrote in First Peter 2:24, “Who His own self bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by Whose stripes you were healed.” Healing (miraculous and natural) has been made available for us thus freeing us from the bondage of sickness and disease. And I want to point out that when Peter made his statement He used “past tense”. He said, “…by Whose stripes you were healed.” It’s already done!
I am free of a corrupt mind: Many people struggle with what some refer to as “stinking thinking.” It’s the way our minds worked before we were saved. Paul told us in Romans 12:2, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” When Paul wrote to Timothy he told him in Second Timothy 2:25-26, “In meekness instructing those that oppose them; if God perhaps will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth. 26. And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.” Paul instructed Timothy on how to deal with people who refused to hear the gospel and acknowledge the truth. In verse twenty-six he tells us that the reason they were refusing to hear was because their minds were held captive by the devil. This verse lets us know that some people will not be able to hear the truth of God’s word because their minds are held captive by Satan. We find other examples of this in Romans chapter one.
I am free of Satan’s authority: I am no longer under Satan’s authority – he does not control me. I am not a sinner saved by grace. Sin has no control over my life anymore! The devil tries and tries to trip me up and sometimes I might fall, but I am no longer his servant or under his authority. James 4:7 tells us to, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” Our jobs are to resist and we have been empowered to do it! Peter wrote that we should “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour. 9. Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.” (First Peter 5:8-9) I also want you to hear what Colossians 1:13-14 says about our freedom. “Who has delivered us from the power of darkness, and has translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son. 14. In whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins.” Through Christ we are empowered to resist the devil and win!
I am free from fear: I no longer live in a state of fear! It does not mean I might not experience this emotion from time to time, but it does mean that when I sense it coming on I have a controlled reaction to it. I immediately turn to my Father! We have been made free from fear – fear of the second death and fear of the things of this world. Romans 8:15 says, “For you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but you have received the Spirit of adoption, by which we cry, Abba, Father.” Second Timothy 1:7 says, “For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” Also, we find in First John 4:18 that, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear: because fear has to do with punishment. He that fears is not made perfect in love.” Finally Isaiah 41:10 says, “Fear not; for I am with you: be not dismayed; for I am your God: I will strengthen you; yea, I will help you; yea, I will uphold you with the right hand of My righteousness.” We all experience fear from time to time, but our response to it demonstrates if we are walking in the freedom we have through Christ.
I am free of worry: I know that fear and worry have some things in common, but I separated them because there are many things that we worry about without having the “fear” factor associated with it. We can worry without necessarily being afraid. We often worry about the things of this world, but through Christ we have been given the opportunity to be free from those worries. When Jesus taught about those of the world worrying about what they would eat or the clothes they would wear, he told them in Matthew 6:33-34, “But seek you first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34. Take therefore no thought for tomorrow: for tomorrow shall take thought of the things for itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” Also, Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Be anxious for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” We do not have to be crippled with worry. I choose to walk in the knowledge that Jesus has made me free.
I am free to be strong: Many are those who live their lives as if they are but weaklings with nothing to offer the world. They fail to realize that when they accepted Christ, they gained access to power and strength that before had been unavailable to them. Paul said in Ephesians 6:10, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.” David wrote that, “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1) Finally, Isaiah 40:31 says, “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” I can choose to be weak and see myself as weak or I can choose to walk in the strength that was given to me when I was made free. The choice is mine.
There are so many things, ways of life we have been made free from because we accepted Christ as our personal Savior. We have been given deliverance from everything that bounds us that is not in Christ. Truly, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.” (John 8:36) We can truly celebrate freedom, not just tomorrow, but every day. We are free because Christ chose to die on a cross for our sins and was raised again on the third day. Paul wrote in Galatians 2:20, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.” We are free because Christ lives within us. Not the devil, Christ! Not our friends, Christ! As we celebrate our independence tomorrow, I hope you reflect on how you have been made free through Jesus Christ. You are no longer in bondage on this earth.
Until next time, “The Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance on you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
(We are once again conducting live services on Sunday morning beginning at 9:15 a.m. We will continue to broadcast live on Facebook Live at 10:00 a.m.. Please tune in to "New Light Christian Fellowship Church" and like our page if you wish to watch our broadcast and be notified when we go live. If you are ever in the Kansas City, KS area, please come and worship with us at New Light Christian Fellowship, 15 N. 14th Street, Kansas City, KS 66102. We also have Thursday night Bible study at 7 p.m. via Zoom that you are also welcome to attend – please email me for the link. Also, for use of our social media, you can find us at newlightchristianfellowship on FB. To get our live stream services, please make sure you “like” and turn on notifications for our page so you can be notified when we are live streaming. We also have a church website and New Light Christian Fellowship YouTube channel for more of our content. If you would like to donate to our ministry you may do so through our website: newlightchristianfellowship.org by clicking on the PayPal or Cash App buttons. May God bless and keep you.)
