The Precious Gift Of Freedom

The Precious Gift Of Freedom

John 8:31-36

31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; 32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. 33 They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? 34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth

sin is the servant of sin. 35 And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. 36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

Introduction:

If you study the character of mankind over the centuries, you will find that there is one passion that transcends all languages, cultures, and barriers. Man has an in born desire and drive to be free. We were created with this God given drive. In the spring of every year, Jewish families gather every year for one of their

most solemn holidays, the feast of the Passover. Do you know what is so special about that feast? It celebrates their deliverance out of Egypt's slavery! It celebrates their freedom!

In Some churches once a month, some once a week, Christians celebrate a solemn memorial service. The bread is broken, the grape juice poured, and the Lord's Table is served. These symbols draw to remember the price that was paid for us by Jesus Christ on the cross. This is a service intended to remind us

and help us celebrate our freedom from sin.

As a boy, I have vivid memories of an Holiday that fell on a monday in late May. My dad would wake us early, make sure that we were dressed well before we left. We would go to the local parade, and then to the grave side ceremony. We would see old men with solemn faces, some with tears in their eyes, standing ridged at attention, looking with awesome respect at the flag when the National Anthem was played. Dad would walk us kids past the section of the cemetery that had the little flags sticking out of the brass face plates. Every year

he would tell us with wet eyes, "Never forget the price that was paid for your freedom! Never, never take the freedom that you enjoy for granted!"

I am bothered right down to the very core of my soul as I reflect on the things that are happening both in our religious community and our nation as a whole. I have been seeing the gift of freedom laughed at, mocked, abused, and squandered. At first I thought this to be merely a political problem, but upon reflection, I have found that the problem is much deeper. Freedom is the passion that lifts man above the animals. Freedom is the gift given to the people of Israel when they were delivered from Egypt. Freedom is the gift given to everyone who

places their trust in the shed blood of the Lamb of God. Freedom then, is a precious gift that God has granted to our great nation and must not be taken lightly! Today I want to take a few serious and reflective moments and ponder the precious gift of our freedom.

I. Freedom Was Given To The Nation Of Israel.

Exodus 1:8-11

8 Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph. 9 And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we: 10 Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land. 11 Therefore

they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses.

God had to deliver His chosen nation because their existed a condition of bondage. Think about this awful condition! The design of the slavery was to render a mighty people helpless, defenseless, and unwilling and unable to fight for their freedom. They were afflicted with heavy burdens. They would eat if they were lucky. If they died in building the cities, that was no great loss. The Egyptians took the credit and the slaves did the work. The life of a slave was bitter and short. What a shameful was to treat another human! What an awful way to exist on planet Earth!

God was not going to allow this treatment of His people to continue. It had been over 400 years and that was long enough. We all know the story. Moses, the miracle baby was born and raised for the specific purpose of leading God's people to freedom. After God called Moses through the burning bush, He used the