“Trapped in Freedom”
A couple of years ago, I told a children’s story about a certain fox that one day, found himself caught in a trap. But today I want to use that same illustration for us adults.. Now the type of trap that caught him is known as a “steel-jaw” trap, and it’s called by this name because that is essentially what it is--a steel jaw. As you can imagine just from the name of this contraption, this is NOT a very humane trap in fact it is far from humane. It will many times spring shut with such force that it will not only trap it’s victim, but also break it’s bones.
Now as the story went; our friend Mr. Fox was walking through the forest one crisp winter’s morning, and as foxes usually are, he was probably very alert, always looking for any signs of food or enemies. But what he didn’t know was that there--just ahead of him was eminent danger. And without realizing it, he takes a very wrong step....
As his foot engages the trigger device, those cold steel jaws spring to life and crunch tightly into his leg. No doubt a piercing bolt of pain shot through his entire being, and for a moment anyway, he was in total shock. He had to be wondering; “what kind of monster was this that sprang up from out of nowhere to inflict such pain on him--and why?
And to add insult to injury, not only was he badly hurt, he couldn’t even run because this thing that had hold of him was securely chained to a stake driven deep into the ground....What could he do?
Now we, as intelligent human beings a lot of times have the tendency to think that animals are “dumb”---but are they? You see THIS particular fox could teach US a thing or two. Because after the initial shock wore off, this little guy started to evaluate the situation. Oh he saw that his foot was definitely caught the trap and all the yanking and pulling that he could muster was not going to change that. And somehow he knew that if he stayed there for very long..., he would surely die. So, he is faced with a dilima; You see, even though he was very fond
of having all four of his feet, he had to prioritize his life as it stood at that moment. It would be either; keep all four feet and die......or, lose one and live. He, of course opted for life by knawing
off his own foot.
Now, why in the world am I telling you this seemingly gruesome story? Well, because it’s one that we can all learn from. Jesus uses a similar illustration in the gospel of Mark 9:43-47
“43 If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. 45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. 47 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into
hell...”
You see, just as the fox had to separate himself from a part of his physical body because it stood between him and life, we too have to separate ourselves from things in our life that hold us captive to this sinful world.
You know, the steel-jaw trap that we’re talking about is designed to “latch on” to an animal’s foot........the traps that Satan sets for us are designed to “latch on” to certain parts of us as well; parts like greed, envy, hatred, pride, and prejudice--just to name a few. We were all born into a sinful world and thus inherited a sinful nature as a result, now all of these things are a part of that sinful nature--part of us, but we-like the fox have to make a decision to sever these things from our lives.
But guess what; we can never even begin to do that until we realize that they exist and that they are indeed holding us captive. Now the steel jaw trap is but one type of trap that I want to talk about today. The second type is even more simple in design--but just as effective- if not more so.
I was watching either the discovery channel or public television one night, and there was a documentary on a certain tribe that was native to some rein forest region. Now it seems that these “very primitive” people were trying to catch monkeys for some reason or another. Anyway, by observing their behavior for some time, these people devised a very simple yet very ingenious trap; First of all, they would acuire a hollowed-out log, then they would bore a small hole in it about two inches or so. Then they would place a tempting piece of fruit inside the
log......that was it!--that was the trap.
Now I know what you’re thinking; you don’t see how in the world that this contraption could possibly catch a monkey---after all their intelligence level is very high compared to the rest of the animal kingdom. And the truth is you are right--this alone can NOT catch a crafty little monkey... You see, in this case the monkey brings with him the most lethal part of the trap....
What happens is...., the monkey knows that the fruit is inside, in fact he probably saw the man placing it there! So when the “coast is clear” the monkey cautiously come down from the trees and approaches the trap. He carefully inspects the log, sees that there are no barbs or anything like that in the hole to latch onto his hand.....and when he sees that it’s safe, he reaches in to retrieve his loot. But, because the hole is just big enough to allow his hand access, he is unable to get both his hand AND the fruit out of the log! And, while the poor critter is trying frantically to free himself, the tribesman have plenty of time to approach and capture the struggling victim.
I know, you’re thinking; OK the fox was pretty smart, but THIS is no doubt a DUMB animal--right? I mean a monkey could very easily escape from such a trap, all he has to do is ....what? “Let go”. But, if it’s so easy, why are so many caught this way?
Now, this trap and the steel jaw trap that we discussed earlier are both very effective, but they are very different in their approach. See, with the steel jaw trap, the victim is held captive primarily by the trap, but with the monkey trap, the victim is held captive primarily by himself, and even after he realizes that is his obsession with the bait that is holding him prisoner---he still refuses to “let go!” And there in lie the teeth to this trap.
Do you know where I’m going with this? How many of us are caught up in such a trap right now? Is there some certain sin in our life the we refuse to let go of even though our obsession with it is holding us captive to this sinful world? I think we’re all beginning to sympathize a lot more with that stupid little monkey aren’t we? Don’t we now see somewhat more clearly how he was weak enough to the point that he would hold on to something even though IT was holding HIM prisoner?
And after all, weakness is what we attribute these “cherished sins” of ours to -- right? Oh, we ask the Lord to take these things from us time and time again--we tell Him how much we long to be free... but we end up just like that little monkey-- struggling and fighting trying desperately to get free without letting go!
But friends, God is not going to take these things away from us unless we make that decision to “let go.” Again, I do understand that --yes, we are weak, but Jesus says in 2Corinthians 12:9 ; “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
Now Jesus isn’t telling us here to continue in this sin because “His grace will cover it”, no He’s saying that we have to realize that we ARE weak and totally unable to conquer our sin alone. And once we do finally surrender ourselves to Him, we have to have faith that He can and will set us free from all the traps that hold us captive.
You see, that’s what Jesus does....if He had a business card, it would say; “specializing in freeing the captive.” In fact, this very purpose is set forth in His mission statement. Have you read
it? You’re saying; oh, I didn’t know that Jesus had a mission statement! Sure He does and He quotes it from one of His favorite prophets, Isaiah. Turn with me to Luke 4:18,19
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”
Now it was the custom with the Jews to always stand while reading the daily passage of scripture in the synagogue. And after the scripture was read, the teacher or Rabbi for that portion of the service, would sit down together with the others and began to teach or interpret what was read. The bible says that after Jesus finished reading this passage, He rolled the scroll back up and sat down. Every eye in the synagogue was fastened on Him because of the passion and authority with which He read these words of Isaiah. And while He had everyone’s undivided attention, He slowly looked around the room and said; “Today, this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
What a mission statement! Here, Jesus was telling them and is telling us what He intends to do with His ministry on earth--He outlines the very purpose for His coming in the flesh...the reason that He became Immanuel (God with us). His mission statement is one of deliverance from bondage-- freedom from the traps that Satan sets for us. His mission is a mission of reconciliation and restoration. Let’s take a closer look at this unique mission statement:
He says; “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor...” Here, Jesus is telling them plainly that He is the “anointed one”the Messiah. And further more, He says that He has been sent to the poor. As you know, the Jews of His time basically believed that the rich and powerful were the chosen of God--that they
were given these material things as a reward for their righteousness and good standing with Him. The poor on the other hand were thought to be despised by God and the lack of wealth and prosperity were the result of God’s disfavor towards them. But Jesus said, I have been sent to the poor--not necessarily the financially poor but the spiritually poor. He also said that He had come to “...heal the broken hearted and set the captives free, to give sight to the blind and set at liberty those that are bruised...”
You see, He’s saying that He came to free those that realize that they are hopelessly entangled in many different traps and snares--some set by Satan and others created by their own sinful nature. He came to save those who realize that they can’t save themselves--those who are broken up by their sin and realize that it is separating them from the God Who loves them so much.
Jesus also said that He came “to preach the Acceptable Year of the Lord.” No doubt He was alluding to the year of Jubilee. Every fiftieth year for the Jews was deemed by God; a jubilee. Listen to how the year of Jubilee was described in Leviticus 25:10
“Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; each one of you is to return to his family property and each to his own clan.” Debts were canceled, family land that had been sold was returned to the owners, and those who had been forced into slavery were released and restored to their own property.......the Year of Jubilee was a great renewal and in proclaiming the “year or the Lord’s favor” Jesus was ushering in the great spiritual Jubilee; the Age of Grace. A time when even the worst of sinners is offered a pardon-- an opportunity to be released from bondage, to be forgiven his sin s and reconciled to God. But this freedom that is simply overlooked by the perishing
and sometimes taken for granted by the saints, has been made available to us at a great cost......
Have you heard in the news about what happened at the Vietnam Memorial in Durham on a Tuesday morning about three weeks ago? It seems that someone drove a front-end loader (a big bull-dozer type tractor) into the park and totally destroyed the granite wall with all the names of the local men and women that made the supreme sacrifice for our freedom. It’s hard for us to imagine how anyone could commit such a heartless and disrespectful crime. But there are people out there that give very little thought or consideration to the incomprehensible cost of their freedom. The blood that has been shed and the lives laid down just so they can live in the land of liberty.
It was Patrick Henry that said; “Give me liberty, or give me death.” And it’s safe to say that he knew the value of freedom and cherished it immensely. But how many of us truly comprehend and fully appreciate the freedom that is available to us through and in Jesus Christ?
Let’s go back to that fox we talked about earlier; remember what happened to him? He was walking along minding his own business....and all of a sudden he stumbles into the deadly trap. Spiritually speaking, when we were born into this world, we too stepped into a deadly trap called sin. And, like that fox we have two choices: we can either stay in this trap and ultimately die...or we can choose to leave only part of ourselves in the trap to die and escape with our lives. Now if we choose life, then the part of us that has to die is our sinful nature because that is the part of us that is bound to the trap. And by accepting the sacrifice of Christ in our behalf, we leave that part of us to die there with Him on that cross. You see, even though He never sinned, He loved us enough to take our place in that trap so that you and I can go free. The bible says that “...by His stripes we are healed and on Him was laid the iniquity of us all..”
But friends, I know many people who have made themselves content to stay in the steel-jaw trap we call sin. Even though God Himself made the supreme sacrifice that enables us to cut the tie that binds us to this trap, so many are in no hurry to escape. Somehow, they feel that there is no rush...they don’t hear the footsteps of the hunter coming with his rifle
to check the trap and collect his quarry. They can’t see that eternal death will ultimately be their fate.
But brothers and sisters, I’m not saying that we should give our lives to the Lord only so we can escape death and have eternal life.....you see, in accepting Christ and His sacrifice on our behalf, we are freed from all of those things that come from being trapped; we are freed from fear of what the future holds for us because we rest comfortable in the fact that He is always with us and that “all things work for the good of them that love God.” We are also freed from the limitations that the chain of sin places on us because the bible says that “I can
do all things through Christ which strengthens me..” And last but not least, we are freed from the guilt that comes from a life of sin and apostasy from a God Who wants little more than to save us.
Living in this, the freest country in the world, most of us don’t truly understand the real value of this liberty that we have been blessed with and so we take it for granted and place little value on it. Yet billions of people in other parts of the world would give their right arm just to be a citizen of this country because they realize the bondage that they are in and yearn for freedom. And for those few very fortunate immigrants who made it to our friendly shores, their first impression of our country was the colossal 306 foot high statue that is known all over
the world as the Statue of Liberty. And you may not even know this, but at her feet are chains which represent the broken chains of tyranny. Listen to the familiar words that are inscribe on this famous monument:
“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
I guess that’s why the gospel message is being accepted and cherished in the mission field at a much greater rate than it is being accepted here in the land of freedom--because these people living in physical oppression can really appreciate what freedom means........ and when they are offered spiritual freedom.... they jump at the opportunity to obtain it.
As you know, this is Religious Liberty month--a time when we should especially think about the religious freedoms that we enjoy in this country. A time in which we should be most thankful that we can worship our God in any way that we feel led to do so. Thankful that we can assemble here this and every Sabbath morning in God’s house to worship and praise
His holy name; where we can be encouraged by one another’s faith and find refuge here in the Presence of the Almighty.
But brothers and sisters, the bible tells us that there will come a time when these freedoms that we now enjoy will no longer exist. Taken away will be the freedom to worship in the way that He has set forth. Gone will be the time when we can witness to the Truth without fear of punishment by law. In this time of desperation, Satan will be extremely
active---spiritual traps will loom at almost every step. Friends, how you come out of these troublesome times will be largely determined by how you make use of this time of freedom that you now enjoy.
So I urge you....to accept the gift of salvation and the call to freedom. Make wise use of the gifts and abilities that God has given you to serve Him, and make the mission statement of the Lord, YOUR mission because He has promised to be with you by way of His Holy Spirit.
And one day very soon, the final “Great Jubilee” will take place, and there we will see our Savior “face to face”. May God bless you as you continue to seek Him through His word.
