FREE INDEED
Today we celebrate the founding of our nation. It was 228 years ago today, that our founding fathers gathered together, and risking all they owned, all they cared about, and even their very lives, signed the document we know today as the Declaration of Independence. In that document, the founders of our nation stated, We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.—
During the past 228 years, those beliefs, the belief in the equality of men, liberty granted by our Creator, and the pursuit of happiness have driven us to accomplish many things. Children are now granted access to a public education through kindergarten and 12 grades and most can get grants and loans to help with further education if they desire it. Sadly, the Creator mentioned by our founding fathers in the Declaration of Independence can no longer be mentioned in our schools.
Today, a single Sunday edition of the New York Times contains more knowledge than most people accumulated during a lifetime, in the 1700’s. More information can be stored on a single DVD today, than was contained in most libraries 200 years ago, but most in this country now know more about trivia than they do about the Trinity. We can talk of events happening around the world, we can discuss sporting events that happened across our country, but most cannot share a single insight they learned about God, from meeting with Him this morning.
Through the Internet, we now have access to vast amounts of information, and help that our founding fathers could never have dreamed of. Through television, news and weather alerts can be broadcast to every corner of our nation. Those same pipelines, however, now expose our children to immorality adults would not have viewed 200 years ago.
During the life of our nation, we have seen major advances in the field of medicine and many diseases that once took so many lives, are now only memories to our citizens. Sadly, immorality, gluttony, and laziness have introduced new diseases our founders knew nothing of. Many in the medical field now use their expertise to kill our children, instead of saving them.
Today, we have machines and appliances to do much of our work. We can drive in days, what took our ancestors months to cover by wagon. Our air is conditioned, our water is bottled, our food is refrigerated, and our chairs recline. No civilization in history has been offered more gifts and blessings than our country, and never have there been more who are content to live “by bread alone.”
Oh my friend, little do they know, that in their pursuit of happiness, many have given up their liberty. Today, fewer and fewer Christians are allowing their voices to be heard. Increasing numbers of Americans refuse to bend their knees before the Lord. I am afraid that for the time being, we have ceased to be, “The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.” You see, only Jesus gives true freedom.
I. ONLY JESUS GIVES TRUE FREEDOM - Read John 8:31-36
Jesus says, the person who sins is the servant of sin. Oh my friend, think of the number of people in this country, and perhaps some of you in this congregation, who are trapped in sin, who are servants of sin. Some are trapped by their TV. Others are trapped by their food. Others are slaves to pornography. Some are trapped by the pursuit of money and possessions. Some are trapped by their jobs, or are slaves to their looks. Some are slaves to sports, or physical training, or popularity. Many people believe they are free and living it up, while they are truly slaves to their sin.
There are many people in our country today who say that Christians are narrow-minded, and legalists, and don’t know how to have fun. Last week a woman told my wife that she didn’t know how to relax and have fun because she didn’t drink. Excuse me.
Jesus says in John 10:10, I have come that they may have life and have it in abundance. Jesus didn’t say He came to set up a distillery so you can have an abundant life. My friend, you can try transindental meditation, you can try yoga, alcohol, sex, work, marriage money or anything else in the world, but Only Jesus can give you true freedom.
To have that freedom, you have to know my Lord.
II. ONLY TRUE FREEDOM CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE
- vv 31-2 My friend, if you are a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, if you invite Him into your heart to be your Savior, and daily let Him be your Lord, if you are a disciple of His, obeying His word, then He will free you in ways that will change your life.
He will change your life because He will free you from:
1) Freedom from the fear of Dying - 1 John 5:13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. My friend, if Jesus is your Lord, if you obey Him and talk with Him daily and listen for Him to talk to you, He will release you from the fear of dying. If you remember, Paul struggled. He said he didn’t know whether to stay or to go, because what was waiting for him on the other side was so great. Remember Stephen. He looked and saw Jesus Christ standing by His Father’s throne, waiting to welcome him home.
But, to have that freedom, you have to know the Lord. Did you meet with Him this morning?
2) Freedom from feeling Unwanted - Jeremiah 1:5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; My friend, Jesus formed you, He made you in your mother’s belly, just like He wanted you. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. God made you like no other, and He loves you like no one else ever can.
- Psalm 103:11 Proverbs 18:24 says, and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. My friend, if Jesus is your Lord, you will find that He will never leave you nor forsake you.
To have that freedom, you have to know the Savior. Did you talk with Him this morning?
3) Freedom from feeling Unneeded – Ephesians 2:8-10 Oh my friend, God created you with a mission in mind. Each one of His disciples is important. To have that freedom, you have to know the One Who frees. Did you listen to Him this morning?
4) Freedom from Guilt - Psalm 103:9-12 Oh my friend, why feel guilty, why be guilty, when the guilt of the past can be taken away.
To have that freedom, you have to know the One Who forgives. Did you let Him remind you of His forgiveness this morning?
5) Freedom from Worry – Matthew 6:25-32 To have that freedom, you have to know our Lord. Did you place your cares on Him this morning?
6) Freedom from Doubt – Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; think about Him in all your ways and He will guide you on the right paths(HCSB)
To have that freedom, you have to know our Lord. Did you seek His guidance this morning?
III. ONLY DISCIPLES CAN KNOW THAT FREEDOM
- John 8:31-32
My friends, it is not people who attend church that know this freedom. There are as many uptight, stressed out, fearful people sitting in church today as there are sitting at home in front of their TV sets. It isn’t church members who get that freedom. It isn’t Sunday School teachers that get that freedom. It is only disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. You must be a disciple of His. But Jesus doesn’t leave us doubting about what a disciple looks like. In v31 He says, “If you abide in My word, then you are disciples of Mine.
IV. TRUE DISCIPLES SPEND TIME WITH THEIR TEACHER
- v31 Let me ask you my friend, do you have the freedom Jesus promises? Do you know that joy? The only way you will get it is by spending time with Him, by spending time in His Word, and then living out what He convicts you of.
Is it any wonder, so many of our politicians who call themselves Christians can do such ungodly things, when they don’t spend time with Christ? Is it any wonder so many of us struggle when we refuse to go where we know we can get help?
Oh my friend, will you be a disciple of Jesus? Will you know the freedom only He can give?
My friend, I believe God is going to send coming to this land. I see God’s people becoming disciples again. I see them so filled with the Spirit, that they are again turning the world upside down. I see them enjoying freedom in their homes and in their families. I see them boldly standing for Christ in their homes, on their jobs, and in their communities. I see them sharing that news of emancipation with their neighbors. I see this country again becoming “The Land of the Free and the home of the brave.”
The Bible says in 2 Chronicles 7:14, If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
