THE OFFER OF LIBERTY
SCRIPTURE: EZRA 1:1-4, GALATIANS 3:1-9 / Hymn: “To God Be the Glory”
The story is told of a young man who wished to marry the farmer’s beautiful daughter. He went to the farmer to ask his permission. The farmer looked him over and responded, "Son, go stand out in that field, and I’m going to release three bulls, one at a time. If you can catch the tail of any one of the three bulls, you can marry my daughter."
The young man stood in the pasture awaiting the first bull. The barn door opened and out ran the biggest, meanest-looking bull he had ever seen. He reasonably decided that one of the next bulls had to be a better choice than this one, so he ran over to the side and let the bull pass through the pasture out the back gate.
The barn door opened again. Unbelievable! He had never seen anything so big and fierce in his life. It stood - pawing the ground, grunting, slinging slobber - as it eyed him. Whatever the next bull was like, it had to be a better choice than this one. He ran to the fence and let the bull pass through the pasture, out the back gate.
The door opened a third time. A smile came across the man’s face. This was the weakest, scrawniest little bull he had ever seen. This one was HIS bull. As the bull came running by, he positioned himself just right and jumped at just the exact moment. He grabbed . . . . . but the bull had no tail!
Life is full of opportunities. Some will be easy to take advantage of, some will be difficult. But once the opportunities pass, we face the real possibility that they may never come again. Whether or not to accept Jesus Christ as one’s personal Lord and savior is just such an opportunity . . . a choice. It’s an opportunity to experience the freedom that can only be found in God’s love for each of us. The problem that many people face, however, is two fold. First, it is a problem of admitting that we need saving. The second – and often the most difficult – is the problem of admitting that we can’t save ourselves.
During their four-hundred years of bondage in Egypt, the Israelites had no doubt that they were prisoners, slaves to a foreign master. They prayed for deliverance. God heard their prayers and raised up a deliverer in Moses. Moses served God by leading the Israelites out of their captivity. He gave them their freedom from the Egyptians. What he could not do, however, was to free them from their own sinful natures.
The Books of Exodus through Deuteronomy are replete with the stories of how disobedient and unfaithful the Israelites were even after witnessing God’s incredible power and love. At Marah they complained that the water was too bitter to drink, and God made the waters sweet. In the Wilderness of Sin, they complained that they were hungry, and God gave them manna. At Raphidim, they complained that there was no water to drink, and God commanded Moses to strike the rock at Horeb. Moses obeyed, and water came from the stone. Aaron and his wife, Miriam, turned against Moses because he had taken an Ethiopian bride, and God punished Miriam by making her a leper. But Moses prayed for her, and God healed her.
In the Book of Numbers, God led the Israelites to the promised land, but their faith was so poor that they were afraid of the inhabitants. They defied God and refused to go forward. And so they wandered in the wilderness until all the defiant generation had passed away. God declared, “And your sons shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years, and bear the brunt of your infidelity, until your carcasses are consumed in the wilderness.” (Num. 14:33) Yet, Israel continued to sin at Taborah, Masa, and Kibaroth-Patalah (spellings?).
But this is not just the story of the Israelites. This is the story of us all. It is a microcosm of the sinful nature of us all. In Deuteronomy 9, God tells Moses that the other nations were not driven out of Canaan because of the righteousness of the Israelites. God drove them out because of the wickedness of those nations. God declared that the Israelites had no cause to be prideful “for you are a stiff-necked people.” And so are we all, all of us are “stiff-necked people” who cannot achieve our own salvation without God’s divine intervention. So long as we turn our backs on God, we will remain in the prisons of our own sinful natures. But freeing us from our prison, delivering us from the captivity of our sins is what God in Jesus Christ has been doing for generations and continues to do today.
It has always been God’s design and desire that people should be free; free to worship Him; free from the captivity of sin and death. The Bible is a chronicle of those freed by God’s mercy and the opportunity for us all to know His saving grace.
Genesis 39:20
Then Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were confined. And he was there in the prison. But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy . . . .
And we know that, after two full years, Joseph was freed from his prison and became a ruler second only to the Pharaoh of Egypt.
Isaiah 61:1
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound.
Jeremiah 29:11-13
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity . . . .”
Jeremiah 30:10-11
For behold, I will save you from afar, and your seed from the land of their captivity. Jacob shall return, have rest and be quiet, and no one shall make him afraid. For I am with you, says the Lord, to save you . . . .”
John 8:32
And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.
As a one time history teacher and a perpetual student of history, I can witness that one thing is especially true. Those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it. The Word of God is the history of God’s plan for our freedom and salvation.
By the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we have been given the opportunity to be free from sin and death. This freedom was not something we earned, nor could we ever work hard enough to earn it. It was and is a gift from God out of His love for us. Nor did this idea of freedom begin in Nazareth. God’s plan to set us free began the very instant that Adam and Eve bit the apple.
"WHO’LL TAKE THE SON?" (author unknown)
A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael, Rembrandt to Remington. They would often sit together and admire the great works of art. When the Viet Nam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father’s heart was broken, and he grieved constantly for his only son.
About a month later, just before Christmas, there was a knock at the door. A young man dressed in an Army uniform stood at the door with a large package in his hands. He said, "Sir, you don’t know me, but I am the soldier your son died saving. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly. He often talked about you, and your love for art." The young man held out his package. "I know this isn’t much. I’m not really a great artist, but I think your son would have wanted you to have it."
The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted by the man he had saved. The father stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the personality of his son in the painting. He thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the picture.
"Oh, no sir,” the soldier said. “I could never repay what your son did for me. It’s a gift."
The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came to his home he took them to see the portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other great works he had collected.
When the father died, it was announced that there would be an auction of his estate. Many wealthy and influential people gathered, excited over seeing the famous paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one for their own collection. When the auction began, the painting of the son was displayed next to the auctioneer on the stage. The auctioneer struck the gavel and announced, "We will start the bidding with this picture of the son. Who will bid for this picture?"
There was silence. Then a voice in the back of the room shouted. "We want to see the best paintings. Skip this one."
But the auctioneer persisted. "Will someone bid for this painting? Who will start the bidding? $100, $200? What am I bid?”
Another voice shouted angrily. "We didn’t come for this. We came to see the Van Goghs, the Rembrandts. Get on with the real collection!" But still the auctioneer persisted. "The son! The son! Who’ll take the son?"
Finally, a voice called from the very back of the room. It was the longtime gardener of the man’s home. "I’ll give $10 for the painting." Being a poor man, it was all he could afford.
After a pause, the auctioneer continued, "We have $10, who will bid $20?"
"Give it to him,” someone shouted. “Let’s see the masters!"
"$10 is the bid, won’t someone bid $20?"
The crowd was becoming angry. Finally, the auctioneer pounded the gavel. "Going once, twice, SOLD for $10!"
A man sitting on the second row shouted, "Now let’s get on with the collection!"
The auctioneer laid down his gavel. "I’m sorry, the auction is over."
"What about the paintings?"
"I am sorry. When I was called to conduct this auction, I was told of a secret stipulation in the will. I was not allowed to reveal that stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate, including all other paintings. The man who took the son gets everything!"
God gave His son 2,000 years ago to die on a cruel cross. Much like the auctioneer, His message today is, "The son, the son, who’ll take the son?" Because, you see, whoever takes the Son gets everything.
And Isaiah proclaimed:
“This is what God the Lord says – He who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and all that comes out of it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it: I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and make you to be a covenant for the people, and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness. I am the Lord; that is my name!”
. . . . and in Isaiah 43 it is written:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.”
God has summoned us. He has given us the opportunity to know freedom. The question arises then, do we recognize freedom? Do we know what to do with our freedom? Will we throw our freedom away and throw ourselves back into bondage? HAVE WE LEARNED FROM HISTORY?
Paul addressed the Galatians’ confusions; how they sought to return to the bondage of legalism despite having been bought by Christ to be free. They could not believe, or would not believe, that they could not earn their freedom on their own.
Paul wrote in chapter 3:1-3:
“You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes, Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you. Did you receive the Spirit by observing the Law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?”
Do you believe that God’s love is unconditional? The Galatians didn’t believe it. They couldn’t accept unconditional love from God. They were trapped by the idea that they must earn His love thus demeaning the unselfish sacrifice of God in Christ!!!
"Our Dungeons"
(by Terry L. Barnhill)
A story tells of a man who was imprisoned within an ancient stone dungeon. A grey shadowy jailor shook the iron lock on his daily rounds. It was the only sound that reminded the prisoner he was not alone in all the hopeless, dim and dying world of his solitary cell. The crime of which he was charged was unforgivable, and the verdict was death and irrevocable, but still he secretly harbored the defiant belief that he would, one day and by the cleverness of his own wits, find a way of escape. But despite all his tunnels, his schemes and his plans, he remained as always within the dungeon walls.
Years beyond number had passed from consciousness as he sat and plotted how he would set himself free. Then one day an unfamiliar figure appeared at his prison door. This was not his jailor who always rattled the lock. Instead, this person stood silently staring with his hands upon the bars. An air of sorrow emanated from his silhouette.
“What do you want?” growled the prisoner nervously. He wondered if the king had finally commanded his execution. “Have you come to kill me?”
The heavy silence broke with these gentle words, “I have come to set you free.”
Momentarily stunned, the inmate hesitated before spitting back, “No one can do that except the hangman or me. Are you the hangman?”
“No,” replied the stranger. “I am the one who will take your place that you may go free.”
“Don’t mock me!” the prisoner fumed. “Only death or my own devices can liberate me! And since, as you can see, I am still here, then you can bet I’ll get out of this prison someday.”
“No one can break free from these walls,” the strangers motioned around him. “But I can and I will set you free. You do not know me, but I have known you and loved you all your life.” The stranger turned slightly away, “I am going now to the king to purchase your freedom. In three days, your cell door will be unlocked. On that day, you will be free. You will have only to believe what I have told you. You have only to open the door and leave . . . on the third day.”
“Do you think I’m crazy?” shouted the prisoner, but the stranger made no reply. “The king would never forgive my crime no matter who you are or think you are!” his words trailed after the vanishing silhouette. “I’m the only one who can set me free,” he cried, “and someday I’ll find the way out! ME, I . . . I can do it!” But there was no further reply and the stranger was gone.
That same day the jailor came again to rattle the lock, and the next day he did the same. Nothing was different. The prison was still dark and damp. The lonely emptiness still dripped from the stone cold walls. The prisoner still sat arrogantly and plotted and schemed.
But on the third day . . . on the third day the prisoner felt the floor begin to rise as though the earth were sucking in a deep breath. The walls trembled and the iron bars rattled and rang out in a deafening clanging. Stone blocks cracked and fragments shattered on the floor. The very rocks roared. For an instant, it seemed like the ancient dungeon would split asunder . . . but then it stopped as suddenly as it had begun. The silence was deafening. The prisoner sat shaking in a fearful sweat – huddled in the farthest corner from the door.
“Is this the third day?” the thought flashed through his mind. The calm had been restored; dark silence returned; it was all normal again. No guard appeared to rattle the lock, but after all, he could still see the lock in the dim light.
“A false hope,” muttered the prisoner. “Nothing has changed; nothing will ever change unless I change it.” And the prisoner resumed his squatting, thoughtful pose in the dank darkness of his dungeon. Meanwhile, down the distant corridor, other prisoners pushed wide their creaking cell doors and danced into the light of their liberty.
This story is our story. All who sit within the sound of my voice are either free in Christ or still prisoners by their own choice. If you have not, yet, known the freedom of Christ’s love, then know this . . . Jesus Christ died to set you free from sin and death. He is the only one in history who ever rose from the grave. He did so for you. He conquered death so that you will never have to know death. He purchased your freedom with His blood. You have only to believe this and, by faith, push open your prison doors.
God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are one God. He is the author of all liberty, and our liberty was made manifest through faith in Jesus Christ.
"But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions -- it is by grace you have been saved." -- Ephesians 2:4-5
Someone once wrote:
"We have no claim to bring to God! We have no right to demand salvation! We have no power within us that can hold on to life! Only God’s love can bring us life, hope, and grace. Only God’s mercy can bring us salvation. Only God’s gift of Christ can awaken us from the death-slumber of sin."
This is the opportunity that God offers to us and to the world. He is the author of all liberty, and He offers it to you. Without Him, there is only bondage and despair.
C. S. Lewis wrote:
"Jesus has forced open a door that had been locked since the death of the first man. He has met, fought and beaten the King of Death. Everything is different because he has done so."
PLEASE JOIN ME IN PRAYER:
Heavenly Father, on this day we reflect on the countless blessings you’ve granted us, but mostly we remember the ultimate blessing given by your Son Jesus. By His stripes, we are healed, and by His resurrection, we are each freed from our death sentence. By His sacrifice, we have learned what is meant by Your UNCONDITIONAL love. Teach us, Heavenly Father, to make that same love shine in our own lives so that the whole world might know we are Christians. Teach us to love each other, as members of Your Holy Church, and to emanate the power of your love into a weeping world. As you have set us free, Lord, teach us and empower us to share freedom with the world around us.
In the name of your Son Jesus Christ. Amen
