Declare Your Independence
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Freedom in Jesus
Freedom in Jesus
Welcome to our freedom service/Block party:
Back from Durango Co visiting my in laws
Had a great trip
We were gone for a week and when we miss one Sunday here I feel like i’ve been gone for a month
Happy to be back
My wife said something to me yesterday that I’ve never heard her say
We were listening to worship music
I often start conversations in my head then say out loud the end of the conversation and my wife has no idea what i’m talk ing about
I had one of those yesterday
“Be quiet I’m vibing”
I want to talk to you about your freedom this morning
We live in the freest country that has ever existed
The reason for that is one what we were willing to fight for and
And two what the country was founded upon
One of the most important documents that we have in our country is the:
Declaration of Independence:
“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.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”
The Declaration of Independence states the principles on which our government, and our identity as Americans, are based.
Abraham Lincoln called it “a rebuke and a stumbling-block to tyranny and oppression.” It continues to inspire people around the world to fight for freedom and equality.
A thing I would like to point out
Unalienable Rights:
These are rights that, no matter what happens, may never be taken away from an individual.
They are given by God not by men
Speaking candidly because we are not live streaming lol
The government might think that they are the ones that an give and take away liberties
But our liberties and our freedoms are not given to us by man they are given to us from our divine creator
There might be different spheres that we operate within but WE THE PEOPLE render unto God what is God’s first and foremost
Our founding Fathers understood what happens when power goes into the wrong hands
They created safeguards against tyranny and oppression
For as long as people are willing to fight for their freedoms
Freedom will remain
Theres a caveat here:
Its not the freedoms you’re allowed
It’s the freedom you are willing to fight for
The Declaration of Independence set a declarative tone for America and still echos through the pages of History
Another important document is one that is to guarantee those liberties and freedoms is
The US Constitution:
Within the Constitution We have the Bill of Rights that offers us guaranteed freedoms if we choose to fight for them:
Freedom of speech, religion and the press
The right to bear arms
The right to refuse quarter to soldiers
Freedom against unlawful search and seizures
And so on and the U.S constitution lays out 27 amendments that guarantees certain freedoms:
These freedoms are very important
And we need to fight for them more than ever
BUT:
Many people think they have liberty and freedom because of what the constitution offers us
As I said before Went to Colorado:
My wife and I took our kids to Durango Co where my in laws live
We decided to get in our car, on the day that we decided made our plans
And just drove
We didn’t have to ask permission
We didn’t have to check in with Inslee or Joe Biden and ask them if it was ok
We just drove
We have the freedom to do so
For a lot of people because no one hinders their travel or question their activities they believe they are free
Yet for so many people they are still enslaved by: Anger, stress, fear, lust, unforgiveness, bitterness, addiction, pride, idolatry even false religion
Living in the freest country in the world people are still walking around enslaved
What Kind of slavery still exist today?
To understand slavery you have to understand freedom first:
Websters definition of Freedom:
The condition of not being in prison or captivity.
"gave the prisoners their freedom."
The condition of being free of restraints, especially the ability to act without control or interference by another or by circumstance.
What most people if you ask them what freedom is, is doing whatever you want
The freedom to choose
Most people are bound with the Deception of freedom
when the only choice they have is to choose which sin they commit
Just because something is legal doesn’t mean it brings freedom
IN High School:
question my relationship with God
I thought that bondage looked like not being able to do what I wanted
So I did
And about 10 years later I understand what true bondage looked like
Being a slave to addiction and lust and pride
Sin looks enticing for a moment but in the end it will cost you your life
Doing whatever you want with a death penalty looming overhead is not freedom
18 And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. 19 I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.
20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
36 Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.
The only thing that can bring true freedom in our lives is Christ
The book of Galatians has been known as the Christian’s declaration of independence:
Paul lays out what true freedom looks like to the Christian believer
Most to the book of Galatians is Paul dealing with false ideas
Judiazers were trying to put the tradition and laws back on the church
They wanted people to try and earn their salvation
Wanted them to have religion instead of a relationship with God
Paul literally says: let them be accursed, let them be damned if they try to teach any other Gospel that we have said to you
He even tells the ones who are pushing circumcision to the adult males in the church
He wishes they would castrate themselves
Real talk
KEYS:
1 Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all, 2 but is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father. 3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world. 4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.
6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” 7 Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
We are heirs to true freedom in Christ:
Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom
There’s nothing we can do to earn our salvation or freedom
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
But once we’re saved we have to do our part:
1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.
“Stand fast” is an expression of the Greek word “STEKO.”
STEKO means “to stand firm...persevere...to hold one’s ground” (Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon).
Just as countries must persevere to maintain freedom and protection of their rights, so also must we stand fast in protecting our spiritual freedom.
Paul’s admonition to “stand fast” also reveals that our freedom in Christ doesn’t function automatically.
We have a part to play. Our adversary, the devil, is always seeking whom he may devour
Legalism is one of his greatest weapons, and we must resist every attempt he makes to draw us back into self-effort
We must not go back to the sin that used to keep us in bondage
Should we continue in sin so that Grace may abound
Certainly NOT!
Much like we must keep fighting for our freedoms today in America
We have to Stand Fast in the liberty which Christ has made us free
Stand Fast!
Let me ask this morning:
Are you in bondage this morning
Are you living in sin this morning
Do you have a weight on you this morning
God is offering you freedom this morning
Today you can declare your Independence from sin this morning
It’s a free Gift from God all you have to do is receive it:
Alter Call:
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Sinners Prayer:
"God, I know that I am a sinner.
I know that I deserve the consequences of my sin.
I am trusting in Jesus Christ as my Savior.
I believe that His death and resurrection provided for my forgiveness.
I trust in Jesus and Jesus alone as my personal Lord and Savior.
Thank you Lord, for saving me and forgiving me! Amen!"
Freedom Always Comes at a price:
Our forefathers fought and died to give us a freed country that we live in
They abandoned prestige, comfort, stability and for a lot them their lives in order for us to be in this great nation
They learned that sacrifice from a Man that set that example almost 2000 years before them:
1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Holy Eucharist (communion):
27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. 30 For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. 31 For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.
23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.