FREEDOM: Freedom and Bondage 7-28-24

FREEDOM: Freedom and Bondage 7-28-24

 

INTRODUCTION

 

Bondage

Freedom

 

Prayer in schools - “As long as there are tests, there will be prayer in school.”

 

According to Mark Parsec, Independence Day "celebrates America’s Declaration of Independence from the tyranny of England under King George." The Declaration of Independence of 1776, he says, was not intended to declare war with England, nor did it actually establish our country’s independence. The Revolutionary War which was fought for our country’s freedom did not end "until a treaty was signed seven years later on September 3, 1783."

 

Parsec says the purpose of the Declaration of Independence for the colonists was to declare "to the world their belief in a personal, infinite God - their Creator - who endowed them with certain ’inalienable’ or absolute rights...To the men of that time it was self-evident...that if the inalienable rights they were urging were not seen in the context of Christianity, then they were without content - illusions, and nothing but dreams. To have absolute rights our forefathers had to acknowledge the Absolute Authority of God."

 

You see, there is no true freedom without God and His authority to determine the morality upon which the laws of our land are based. In God we find the basis for physical freedom; however we also find in the Lord the basis for our spiritual freedom. God’s provision for our spiritual freedom is found in His one and only Son, Jesus Christ.

           Damian Phillips, "Freedom in Christ", 7/1/2009.

 

“The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.””

           John 10:17-18 NIV

 

I.  BONDAGE AND FREEDOM

 

“Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, 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.”

           John 8:34-36 NIV

 

           A.           Bondage

                 1.  Slavery

             2.  Voluntary servitude

   B.  Freedom

                      1.  A new reality

                      2.  A new attitude

                      3.  A new way of living

 

II.  FREEDOM IN BONDAGE

 

“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.”

        Galatians 5:1 NIV

 

Harry Houdini had a problem. The famed escape artist found himself in a jail cell that he couldn’t get out of. His mind began to wander back to the challenge he made…any jail cell, he claimed, couldn’t hold him, that is until now.

 

Thirty minutes had gone by since the heavy, metal doors swung shut behind him. After an hour, he was still working with the concealed piece of metal that he had hidden in his belt. Bathed in sweat and panting in exasperation, he could not get the tumblers to move. There was something different about this lock. Something he had never experienced before.

 

Finally, after laboring for two hours, Houdini collapsed to the floor in frustration and failure. He couldn’t figure it out! He had never been beaten before! All he could do is wait for his ultimate embarrassment. He hung his head in shame.

 

But as he did something miraculous happened. When he hung his head, he instinctively leaned against the heavy, metal door…and it swung open. The door was never locked, just closed. The door had been open the whole time.

 

For Houdini, his mind overruled the physical. His mind was locked, and that was all it took to keep him from opening the door and walking out of that jail cell.

 

From that point on, Houdini always checked the door first. 

   Illustrations Unlimited

 

           A.  Free but bound

 

“See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.”

     Colossians 2:8 NIV

 

“Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.”

      Colossians 2:20-23 NIV

 

       B.  Bound but free

 

“Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. For we live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.”

           2 Corinthians 5:6-10 NIV

 

           C.  Free

 

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.”

        Galatians 5:1a NIV

 

“Freedom is having a pure and dauntless heart; all else is slavery and hidden in darkness.”

       Unknown          

 

III.  FREEDOM 

 

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

           John 8:36 NIV

 

   A.  Freedom

 

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”

           2 Corinthians 3:17 NIV

 

           B.  True freedom

 

“To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.””

           John 8:31-32 NIV

 

John Newton was a man who knew both the bondage of sin and the liberating power of the Holy Spirit. He was nurtured by a devout Christian mother who prayed that her only son would become a preacher. But she died when John was very young, and he became a sailor, after the example of his sea-captain father. He eventually sailed for places where he believed he could “sin freely,” as he put it. He ended up on the western coast of Africa, working for a slave trader who mistreated him, but after more than a year of abuse he managed to escape from the island in 1747. The following year his ship was battered by a severe storm. Newton was reading The Imitation of Christ at the time, and became a Christian. However, he then served as captain of a slave ship for six years. He hated his sin and turned to God for help and deliverance from life that made him as much of a slave as those he had captured. As he surrendered to God’s control, God delivered him from his life of shame. He grew to the place where he became an outspoken opponent of slavery. He became known as the “old converted sea captain.” He began to preach, and also began writing hymns that told the story of his spiritual journey. One day he sat down and wrote the words of the great hymn “Amazing Grace!” which say,

 

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me!

I once was lost, but now am found;

Was blind, but now I see.

’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,

And grace my fears relieved;

How precious did that grace appear

The hour I first believed!

 

Near the end of his life, Newton suffered from bad health and failing memory, but he said: “My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things: That I am a great sinner and that Christ is a great Savior!” He found liberation from the sin that had bound him for so long — and so can you.

 

CONCLUSION

 

Bondage and freedom.  Freedom in bondage.  True freedom.

 

Freedom is not free.

 

Fifty-six men signed the Declaration of Independence. Their conviction resulted in untold sufferings for themselves and their families. Of the 56 men, five were captured by the British and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons in the Revolutionary Army. Another had two sons captured. Nine of the fifty-six fought and died from wounds or hardships of the war. Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships sunk by the British navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts and died in poverty.

 

At the battle of Yorktown, the British General Cornwallis had taken over Thomas Nelson's home for his headquarters. Nelson quietly ordered General George Washington to open fire on the Nelson home. The home was destroyed and Nelson died bankrupt. John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their thirteen children fled for their lives. His fields and mill were destroyed. For over a year, he lived in forest and caves, returning home only to find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks later, he died from exhaustion.

 

INVITATION

 

It is our custom to offer an "invitation" following the preaching of the Word.  You may want to follow Jesus.  You may want to proclaim your faith.  You may want to repent (stop doing ungodly things and start doing Godly things).  Perhaps you want to be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins     and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Possibly, if you have already responded to God’s call in these ways, you would like to become a member of Kenwood Church.  If you have been moved by the Holy Spirit to make a decision in your life, you can come forward now.  If you would like, I would be honored to speak with you following the service about what God is doing in your life.