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weekly sermon 7-5-09 Freedom
This weekend, being the fourth of July, is the time we celebrate our freedom. Our countrymen have fought over the years to keep this country free and allow us, as citizens of this country, to possess freedoms that other countries can not even fathom. One of the greatest freedoms we have is the freedom to think.
This freedom to think does not only come from our Nation's ability to keep us free from foreign lands, but also from our most Heavenly Father.
We, as Americans, should be looking at this weekend as a time our forefathers have given their everything, including their lives, to give us so many freedoms that, I feel, many of us take for granted. I know many Americans feel that, this being our country, it should be truly America. What I mean is, if you listen to the true Americans you will hear things like, why do they not learn to speak English, why do they want to allow other flags to fly, or why should we curb our beliefs because of others beliefs? These are just a few of the questions asked by many "hardcore" Americans.
I want us to take a look at something really quick that should show us something about our freedom. 1. There will be no special bilingual programs in the schools. 2. All ballots will be in this nation's language. 3. All government business will be conducted in our language. 4. Non-residents will NOT have the right to vote no matter how long they are here. 5. Non-citizens will NEVER be able to hold political office. 6. Foreigners will not be a burden to the taxpayers. No welfare, no food stamps, no health care, or other government assistance programs. Any burden will be deported. 7. Foreigners can invest in this country, but it must be an amount at least equal to 40,000 times the daily minimum wage. 8. If foreigners come here and buy land, options will be restricted. Certain parcels, including waterfront property, are reserved for citizens naturally born into this country. 9. Foreigners may have no protests; no demonstrations, no waving of a foreign flag, no political organizing, no bad-mouthing our president or his policies. These will lead to deportation. 10. If you do come to this country illegally, you will be actively hunted, when caught, sent to jail until your deportation can be arranged. All assets will be taken from you.
Do you think you would like to live with this set of laws? Many countries have laws very similar to these or even worse. I am not saying these are terrible laws, but they really leave very little room for many of the freedoms we possess. These are the laws of the country of Mexico. As you can see, we hold so many more freedoms in our great land.
This now brings us to the true meat of this message, our freedom to think. As I stated earlier, this freedom not only comes from what our military have fought and died for, but also from our Most High God. Also as I stated we, as Americans, take many of our freedoms for granted because we live with it daily and can not see the forest for the trees.
We, as Christians, take many of our beliefs and freedoms for granted. One freedom that we really take for granted is that of free thinking. We have the freedom to choose whether we want salvation, or we do not want it, whether we want to walk with God, or walk alone, or whether we even believe what the Bibles says or not. This is all part of our ability to think on our own.
To think on our own also comes with consequences. This is something we do not think about but there are consequences to every action. To quote something NOT from the Bible, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction; Sir Isaac Newton.
Once a person becomes a Christian and completely turns their lives over to Christ, there will be one of the consequences that I was talking about, freedom to think. If you choose to keep your freedom to think on your own, then you will opt for the consequence of being on your own. If you decide to come to Christ, then you will opt for the consequence of being like Christ.
Turn with me if you will to Philippians 2:5, "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:" If this mind that is in Christ is now in you, then you will also think as Christ thinks. The Greek verb "φρονείσθω" is the present voice, which tells us that we are commanded to always have on the mind of Christ. This tells me that our freedom to think on our own has now been taken away and a new mind has been put on us, a mind that is far greater than our old mind. We know that this mind is a better mind if we read in 2 Timothy 1:7, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." As you can see, once you became a Christian, God gave you power, love, and a "sound mind". Before we were Christians, our minds were obviously not sound, according to this statement.
Our freedom to think, with the mind of Christ, also means freedom of choice. As we saw from our free thinking to put on the mind of Christ, we "chose" that free way of thinking. We chose to give up our worldly bodies and ways to follow Christ, but if we think about what was just said in a different light, we will also see other choices, of more significance, that were made.
Christ was, and has always been, in the form of God. John 10:30, "I and my Father are one." Christ made a choice like no other choice that has ever, before or now, been made by any other. Philippians 2:6-9, "Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: (7)But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: (8)And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. (9)Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:"
As we can see from the passages above, Christ, who was sitting in Heaven as one with Almighty God, used His freedom of choice, to come to earth in the form of man and give His body as a sacrifice, to die on the cross, that all man could have the free choice to live. 1 Peter 2:24, "who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness--by whose stripes you were healed." As you can see here, Christ chose to die on the cross that we may have life.
Christ chose a degrading death for our sakes, that our sins could be forgiven. If you notice in Philippians 2:9, you will see that because Christ chose to endure this degrading death, His Father exalted Him above all others. God rewarded Christ by giving Him a name that is above every name. When the end of time comes, Christ will rule over all and every person will call on His name, Romans 14:11, "For it is written: "[As] I live, says the LORD, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God." As you can see, because of Christ' obedience then, God gave Him dominion over all and will cause Him to rule over all in His time.
This last paragraph tells me something about our own obedience. If we kill our own minds, kill our own flesh daily, and live only for Christ, then when our time comes, we will be rewarded for our obedience now. John 14:2, "In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you." As you can see here, Christ goes to prepare a place for those who follow and obey Him here, when it comes time for them to go to their final home.
When we honor this day for the freedoms we have, let us remember our own lives as Christians and be thankful for the many freedoms we have through our Lord and Saviour.
Our countrymen have fought and died for our freedoms in this country, but our Saviour fought and died for our very souls in this world. If you do not know about how this Saviour, called Christ, died for your soul, please take this time to get to know Him as your personal Saviour. If you would like to come to Christ and receive Him as your personal Saviour, all you have to do is say a simple prayer with me.
Say this simple prayer with me, Dear Lord, I want you to be the Lord over my life, forgive me of my sins, and give me the gift of everlasting life. Amen.
If you have said this simple prayer, then we believe that you have received salvation. We would love to rejoice with you, so please drop us a note, in our link, to let us know and confess Jesus before man, so that we may send you a few things that we hope will help you in your new Christian walk.
With Love in Christ, Pastor Stone
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