Freedom
Text: John 8:34-36, II Timothy 3:1-5
-Historical Background: On Thursday this week we will be celebrating Independence Day, known as the Fourth of July. July 4th is a national holiday in the United States commemorating the Declaration of Independence, which was approved by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing the United States of America.
-On July 2, 1776 the Founding Fathers of the Second Continental Congress voted to approve their independence by passing a resolution made by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia. They declared together that the Thirteen Colonies were no longer subject to or under the rule of King George III of Britain, and were now united, free, and independent states. Two days later, on July 4th, they adopted the actual document called The Declaration of Independence.
-July 4,1776 was the birthday of the United States of America and July 4, 2024 will be our 248th Birthday! It’s a day of joyful celebration of our freedom and a remembrance of the God who gave it to us.
-The 4th of July is a holiday for the whole nation and is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, family reunions, political speeches, and ceremonies.
-July 4th is meant to be a peaceful celebration of the freedoms we’ve been blessed with as a nation. And yet July 4, 2024 our nation seems to be filled with civil unrest and polarization. This morning I want us to think about true freedom and how we can come back to enjoying this God given gift to us.
Show Video: “4th of July”
-In Psalm 32:12 the Bible says: “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” -More than ever we need to be a people of prayer that our nation would turn back to God so that we might be blessed by Him again.
Pray: Dear Father in Heaven,
-Thank you for establishing and making us a great nation. More than ever in these days of turmoil and strife we realize how much we need you and how we cannot survive without you.
-Forgive us for how far we’ve strayed from the intentions of our Founding Fathers who put their hope and trust in You. We’ve sinned greatly and have gone astray. For this we beg Your forgiveness.
-In Jeremiah 29:13 You said: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Give us that “heart after God” we’ve been so lacking these days! Holy Spirit speak to us this morning in ways that we can understand. Motivate us and put new hunger and desire in us, I ask in Jesus’ mighty name, Amen!
-This morning I want to talk about:
-What Freedom is and What Freedom is not
-I also want to talk about independence we can only achieve through dependence upon God.
I. What Freedom is and What Freedom is not.
-Freedom meaning in the Dictionary:
a. The condition of not being in prison or captivity.
b. The condition of being free of restraints, especially the ability to act without control or interference by
another or by circumstance.
c. The condition of not being a slave
-And yet, true freedom -the freedom we have in this nation and with God is more like a paradox. Here’s what I mean by that:
-It’s true that we are a free nation, but it’s also true that we’re a nation of laws and rules that must be kept. The truth is: our freedom cannot endure unless we obey the rules and laws of our land.
-Our nation and it’s laws were founded on Biblical principles. As we follow those principles we are blessed. But when we choose to go our own way, our world begins to fall apart. This is what we see happening in the world today.
-a. What Freedom is Not:
Freedom doesn’t come from having no boundaries, rules, or guidelines. Freedom comes from restraining our impulses and choosing to obey the rules God established for humanity.
Illustration: As a kid you might have heard the story of the beautiful kite who wanted to fly higher and higher but felt it was being restrained by the kite string. “Let me go! Let me go!” the little kite shouted in the wind. I want to fly higher and you’re holding me back!”
-Meanwhile the little boy, holding the spool of string down on the ground, continued to let out more and more string as his beautiful kite flew higher and higher -until finally, there was no string left to let out.
-“Let me go! Let me go!” the kite still shouted, pulling with all his might. Suddenly the string snapped and the kite saw he was finally free of any restraint. “Hurray!” shouted the happy kite! “Now I’m going to go higher than any kite has ever gone before!”
-But much to the kite’s dismay, instead of climbing higher, it began to spin erratically and then to spiral downward at an amazing speed. The mysterious force that had propelled him high into the sky had suddenly vanished. The sad little kite crashed into the ground and broke into many pieces. The tragic result of a life without restraint.
-Moral of the story? We are free…. But there are strings attached.
-Today we live in a society where every man does what seems right in his own heart. (Judges 21:25) No one seems to follow rules anymore, especially those in the highest echelons of our government who disregard the nations Biblical foundations and make laws to suit their own desires and fatten their own pockets.
-This is a me first generation and we’re supposed to honor and respect people’s choices no matter how wrong or bizarre they might be. But it’s exactly the removing of all restraints that is causing our nation to crash.
-Our world has become perverted, distorted, corrupted, dangerous, and violent. Simply because we’ve taken away any personal responsibility to obey rules and laws.
-Why? Because freedom without boundaries results in chaos, violence, and destruction.
-That’s exactly what we see in the news every day. Chaos, violence, destruction, disrespect, rebellion.
-It’s also what we’re experiencing here at PICK with a new generation of kids who don’t understand or respect rules or authority.
-But this is why what we’re doing is so difficult but also so necessary. Someone has to teach this generation the truth! What is truth?
John 14:6
-Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the father but by me.”
-Did you ever wonder how we will know we’re in the last days? We know by comparing our generation to God’s Word…..
II Timothy 3:1-5 -Paul, speaking to Timothy
-But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God-having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.
-True freedom is not doing whatever you want. As the song goes: “I Did It My Way!” That kind of freedom will lead to death. Do you realize that every sin, if unrestrained, will end in death?
-Look at our world today. Alcohol, drugs, sexual perversion…. And people are dropping like flies. No restraints on our border and violence increases, and on and on.
b. What Freedom Is
-Did you know that free or not, we are all slaves to the thing we love the most? But God wants us to be subservient to Him!
-Becoming a slave to the right thing? I can be free by being a slave? That’s a paradox if I ever heard one! It doesn’t sound like it makes sense, but it does.
Matthew 6:24 -Jesus said:
-No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.
-The truth is: The Bible tells us we become slaves to whatever masters us!
-How to obtain freedom? We gain freedom when we become slaves to Christ!
Galatians 5:1
-It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
Romans 6:22
But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life (freedom).
What Freedom Is:
1. Freedom is (comes from): Serving the Lord and obeying Him.
John 8:34-36. Jesus talking to the Jews
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 will be free indeed.
2. Freedom is: Being filled with God’s Spirit
II Corinthians 3:17
-Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
3. Freedom is: Hiding God’s Word in your heart!
Psalm 119:45
-I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts.
4. Freedom is spending time with God in prayer and intercession
Ephesians 3:12
In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.
II. Independence Vs God Dependence
Independent definition:
1. Not governed by a foreign power; self-governing
2. Free from the influence, guidance, or control of another or others
-Becoming independent is a good thing! That’s what growing up is all about…. Gaining our independence and making wise decisions and good choices.
-Independence Day was all about our nation taking a stand for its own Sovereignty -Standing up for our right to govern ourselves.
-That kind of responsible growth is good. However, the Bible teaches that we are not supposed to be completely self-sufficient, we’re supposed to be God sufficient!
-Remember the parable Jesus told about a man who planned to build bigger barns to store his wealth?
Luke 12:16
-And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
-“Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink, and be merry.”’
-“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?”
-“This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”
-We should not be Independent but God dependent! (i.e. America’s motto: In God We Trust)
Proverbs 3:5-6*
-“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
-Dependence on God requires us to trust Him with our whole heart and not rely on our own understanding. When we submit our ways to Him, He will guide and direct our paths, making them straight and filling us with His wisdom.
Isaiah 40:31*
-“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
Dependence on God means placing our hope and trust in Him. As we do so, He will renew our strength and enable us to overcome weariness and faint-heartedness. We will soar like eagles, empowered and refreshed by His presence.
Isaiah 26:4*
-“Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.”
-We can depend on God because He is our everlasting and unchanging Rock. His faithfulness and strength will never fail us, and we can trust in Him without hesitation.
Psalm 55:22*
-“Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.”
-When we depend on God, we can cast all our burdens, worries, and cares upon Him. He will sustain and uphold us, and He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.
Psalm 46:1*
-“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”
-When we depend on God, He becomes our refuge and source of strength. In times of trouble, He is always with us, offering help and support.
* https://scripturesavvy.com/bible-verses-about-depending-on-god/
