← ArchiveSunday, July 3, 2016DateJuly 3, 2016Speaker—Text—Passages in this sermonJeremiah 10:272 Corinthians 3:175:12Galatians 2:45:34Jeremiah 347:50Romans 819:24Romans 8:2119:30Romans 725:09Isaiah 6126:11TranscriptMachine transcribed. Click any line to jump there.0:01Well, I've always wanted to preach to the choir behind me, so today I get my chance. If anyone goes to sleep, please let me know.0:14If you have your Bibles with you today, I know you are disadvantaged because your Bibles are probably here. If you have them, we're going to look at three portions of Scripture today. One in Jeremiah first, and then we're going to look at Romans, and then we're going to go to look at Isaiah. So we are somewhat discontinuing or pausing our series in wisdom today through the Proverbs to look at freedom, what true freedom is. And Gabriella, we didn't plan this, but what a phenomenal testimony that true freedom is0:43what we have in Jesus Christ, which is exactly what my sermon is going to point us towards today. So the title of my sermon this morning is Finding Freedom. Finding Freedom. If you don't know this, today is July 3rd, which tomorrow means it is July 4th. I told you guys we're sharp here at Bethel.1:11But it's not just a day of the year. It's the day that we spend time. Most of you are off of work. Thank you, Lord, for that. And then we spend time with our family or spend time with our friends, and we celebrate the freedom that we have. July 4th, 1776, the pending of the Declaration of Independence, which our forefathers, our founders, established that to order our freedom.1:39So we're going to look not at necessarily America's freedom, but the greater freedom we have in Jesus Christ. But I do not want us to neglect the idea that we have freedom because of where we live. But before there was the ordering of freedom on July 4th, a year prior, there was the winning of freedom through the Revolutionary War, which, by the way, took eight years. So seven years after the Declaration of Independence, men and women were still fighting for freedom.2:09They felt that God had given them. And then on July 4th, they penned this document. And our framers had to order freedom, which says this. 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 the2:36pursuit 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 a new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form as to3:05them shall seem most likely to affect their safety and happiness. This Constitution is designed to order our freedom. And it is not accidental that our framers put this language in it. We are endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights. Unalienable means it's impossible to take away.3:35So why is that important? Because here's what our framers are trying to tell us, whether they were theists or Christians. Now, we're not going to get into an argument of whether everyone who penned the Declaration of Independence believed in Jesus Christ as the only Son of God. But it's very clear they pointed us to something greater than ourselves, the Creator. Because here's the truth. Without the Creator, without us appealing to the Creator, we do not have unalienable rights.4:00So if we say, I do not believe in God, then we also are saying in the same breath, I do not believe in freedom. Because if I only believe in something that you give me, then man can give and take away. But if God has given us something, who are you and I to take it away? Thomas Jefferson said it this way. The greatest danger to American freedom is a government that ignores the Constitution.4:28Well, why would he say that? Because of this idea that our rights come from our Creator. Not the Constitution. The Constitution is pointing us to a greater freedom, and that is freedom found in Jesus Christ. And then our framers attempted to sustain freedom for us. They had to win freedom, they had to order freedom, and then the attempt to sustain freedom.4:57So the question we're going to ask this morning is, is it possible for us to sustain freedom? This is not a uniquely American idea. Actually, long, long before America was even a thought in our minds, 2 Corinthians 3.17 says this. Now the Lord is spirit, and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. There is freedom.5:26Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. There is freedom. Galatians 2.4, Paul writes, this occurred because false brethren secretly brought in, who came by to spy out our liberty, which we have in Jesus Christ, that they might bring us into bondage. Paul is saying that we have freedom in Christ, and there are people that are coming in to spy out our freedom and take back that.5:50May we be people who champion freedom. And so as we look at freedom this morning, I'm going to ask you three questions, thoughts. Are you proclaiming freedom like you should be? As a Christian, we are people who proclaim freedom. Are you teaching people what true freedom is? As Gabriella pointed out, that true freedom is found not in your citizenship here on earth, but our citizenship there in heaven.6:21And then lastly, are you pointing people to the source of freedom, the source of freedom. It is found in Jesus Christ. Let's pray. Father, as we read your word, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing to you, O God. And Father, it feels like that we sit at a crossroads.6:52Only you know that. But Lord, we know that we are to daily take up our cross and follow you. So Lord, if today is that crossroads, I pray that we will choose to pick up our cross. Lord, as a country, we know that if we as Christians rise up and proclaim freedom to the captives, that we show that where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. Lord, we know that you will heal.7:20You are here from heaven and you will heal our land. And you will abundantly pour out your grace upon us. So Lord, we desire to rest in Jesus Christ because it truly is by grace we have been saved. Lord, may we enjoy and celebrate freedom today. And I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. And amen. Let's look at what the Bible says about our freedom. Jeremiah 34.7:50Jeremiah 34. Jeremiah 34, verse 8. Jeremiah is in the Old Testament. One of the more lengthy prophets we have. Jeremiah 34, verse 8. Choir, how are we doing back there? Okay. Good job. Jeremiah 34, verse 8. This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord.8:15After King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people who were at Jerusalem to proclaim liberty to them. That every man should set free his male and female slave, a Hebrew man or woman. That no one should keep a Jewish brother in bondage. And men, if you came to the men's breakfast this morning, God shared with us just what the Lord is doing in his life.8:40And every 50 years, the Bible tells us that Israel was to celebrate the year of Jubilee. So that if you held a bond of someone who owed you a debt, if you held a bond servant of someone who owed you a debt and they were your slave, you were to turn them loose. But we also know, and we didn't plan this, what a great introduction, that every seven years, if you sold yourself into slavery because you owed a debt, you were to be released.9:01Now let me just say this, slavery in the biblical times was not as we see it now. And can you imagine if you owed a debt, if you had to sell yourself as an indentured servant till you paid that debt off, how little debt we would have here. I mean, let's just, so let's think about debt biblically.9:30So may we be people who are wise with our finances that we may glorify God. And sometimes debt, we feel like slaves because the borrower is slave to the lender, as we've already seen in Proverbs. So that's the background of what's going on. The king is going to pronounce freedom, liberty to the captives. Thousands of years ago, God reminded his king and his people and his prophets, that the people of God are intrinsically people who proclaim freedom.10:00That God's people are intrinsically people who proclaim freedom. And actually, if you believe and follow Jesus Christ, you, a Christian, is the most free person in the world. Not because we live in America, but because we know who our king is. So we can look, as Paul says and said, and say, to die is gain, to live is Christ.10:29World, I'm going to proclaim the kingdom of Jesus. What are you going to do? Kill me? That's from my gain. And even if you did, I know that we do not grieve as those who have no hope. But we grieve in those that have hope in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. So if you kill me because I proclaim Jesus, I'm just going to say thank you because I get to see my Savior face to face sooner.10:53And if you don't, may we proclaim freedom every chance we get. A lifetime of servitude of the Hebrew was prohibited by law. Do you know why a lifetime of servitude was prohibited in God's law here in Jeremiah? Because God has not designed us to be slaves. God has not designed us.11:23He's designed us to value and to desire freedom. And letting the slave free every seven years was God's way of saying, you're not born a slave. But yet you are a slave because of our sin. Because of our sin. And so there's something in you that's wrestling. You're saying, I don't feel like I belong here. I feel like I'm a slave. I feel like my body's breaking down. I feel like I'm just worn out. I feel like the world we're living in is not ideal.11:51It's not because we're slaves to sin. Because we live in a world where yesterday I go to the funeral of a 36-year-old healthy young woman last year who had never even had a cavity in her life and goes to the doctor because of headaches and finds out she has terminal cancer. And yet through those dark days she remained faithful because she said, even though this cancer enslaves me, my Savior has set me free.12:15And what a wonderful day of celebration it was yesterday for us to say, God, we're jealous because this wonderful young woman is not here and she's worshiping. She's getting a head start on us and seeing her father face to face. We are created as people who desire freedom because we are created free and yet our sin enslaves us.12:39That's why as Christians we are to proclaim freedom. And if we don't, look at verse 16. The king was to proclaim liberty to them. Verse 16, that you turned around and you profaned my name. Jeremiah says, every one of you brought back his male and female slaves. Whom you had set at liberty at their pleasure and had brought them back into subject, into subjection to be male and female slaves.13:09So what's going on here is God had told the king and the prophet, look, you are, you are created as people who should be free. You're created as people who proclaim freedom and you have not done it. And you know what happens for the Christ follower when we do not proclaim freedom? Then we proclaim darkness.13:38That's exactly what's going on here. We live in disobedience if we do not share the hope that is within us. And you say, well, pastor, I don't have any slaves at home. This is a different time. This is irrelevant. No, it's not. Here's how we enslave people. When we tell them that you don't need Jesus Christ, you don't need a relationship, you just need the church. As if the theater we do sometimes at church could even come close to giving us freedom.14:05So if we ever tell someone, don't worry about your sins. Don't worry about what you do. Just come to church and God will clean you up. No, no, no. It is through the precious shed blood of our Savior that we have freedom. May we not enslave people. When we ignore others' sin, we help enslave them.14:34Because people of God are called to seek truth and to call out truth. And you say, well, I don't want to offend them. I would rather someone be mad at me today than lose them for eternity. May we not be people who help enslave others. When we chase the American dream or my desires rather than the kingdom of the Lord. When I'm so busy, worried about my little kingdom, my house, my cars, my family, my bills, my retirement.15:03And I forget to do the Lord's work. I am helping to enslave my neighbors who are saying this. Well, if you are a Christian and you do that, you're not worshiping regularly. You're not giving your efforts and talents to the Lord. Then why do I have to? I am helping enslave them slowly and surely.15:30May we proclaim freedom. May we proclaim freedom. When we fail to speak up and speak out for freedom, we will lose our freedom. When we fail to speak up and speak out of our freedom, we will lose it. And I think we're seeing some of this in the world we live in. Partly because the world we live in, the nation we live in, is no longer culturally Christian.15:56We're shifting. I guess you could say our true colors are showing. Because we fooled ourselves to thinking, well, if we live in Mayberry, then everyone's saved. No, there's just as many lost people in Mayberry than there are today. And we just say, well, if we can just get back to the good old days. Well, the good old days were in the Garden of Eden before sin. And those days will come again when God will send his son back and there will be a new heavens and a new earth.16:23But if we do not stick up for our freedom, we will lose freedom. If we do not say we are fighting for the rights of children who are not yet born. If we do not stand up for the orphans and for the widows and for those that can't speak for themselves. If we are not proclaiming the virtues of God's word, who will? And we have many school teachers here. And I thank God for Christian school teachers. But we should not expect our schools to train our children in righteousness.16:52Parents, it is your job. And I'm speaking as a parent, not as a pastor. Parents of teenagers, it is not Brad's job as our youth pastor to teach your kid about the Lord. It is his job to help. It is his job to assist. It is his job to courage. It is your job as a parent of a teenager. And that requires a lot of prayer and a lot of effort. But if we do not speak up for our freedom, we will lose it.17:21We will lose it. Charles Kingsley said this. There are two freedoms. The false freedom, where a man is free to do what he likes. And there is true freedom, where a man is free to do what he ought. Does that not sound like where we live today? There is false freedom, where a man is free to do what he likes. And we live in the me-like generation. I like it. I want it. I'm going to buy it.17:50It makes me feel good. So I'm going to do it. That is not freedom. That is selfishness. Because true freedom, as someone who's married, is now I get the freedom to say, what do I do that can bring glory and honor to my wife? Not just me. Because now what I do in freedom that honors me honors my wife and honors my family. And you say, well, that sounds like a bummer. That's being enslaved. No, it is so freeing to know I have a godly wife that looks at me and trusts me and says,18:16I know you're praying and watering us with your words. True freedom is us saying we can do what we ought to, because God has commanded us to do that. Do you have true freedom? And as Christians, are we proclaiming true freedom? You have such a great open door tomorrow on July 4th to proclaim freedom. Because we're celebrating freedom.18:46What a great open door. Go to the fireworks and find someone that you don't know and say, hey, why are you here today? Because it's July 4th. Do you know what that's about? We're celebrating our freedom. Aha, let me tell you about true freedom. I mean, how much clearer can God give us? He's given us fireworks from the sky. Here you go, Josh. Meet your neighbors. Here's a firework. It's bringing people outside. It did. May we proclaim freedom, true freedom.19:15True freedom is found in Jesus Christ. Turn to Romans chapter 8. May we proclaim freedom as Christians. Romans chapter 8, verse 21. Romans chapter 8. New Testament. Right after Acts and the Gospels. Romans chapter 8.19:45Romans chapter 8.19:51True freedom. May we proclaim freedom. May we inform on true freedom. Verse 21 says this, because the creation itself will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. It's as if Paul was setting up an Independence Day sermon for us. Creation is in bondage and we have liberty in Jesus Christ. Verse 22. For we ought to know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pains together until now.20:17And you might say, well, how does creation groan? You know what a thunderstorm is? It's creation groaning. You know what a tornado is? And an earthquake? And a hurricane? It is creation groaning, saying, Lord, come back quickly. Verse 23. Not only that, but we also, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves,20:43eagerly waiting for the adoption and the redemption of our body. That creation groans for us, waiting for the liberty of the children of God. Now, I ask you this question, as we Americans who proclaim freedom, why do we need freedom unless we're slaves?21:12Have you ever thought about that? Why would we need freedom unless we're slaves? If we're all free already, why celebrate it? Because the biblical worldview very clearly states that creation is in bondage. And you are in bondage. And I am in bondage. And it's not, for me, it's not your fault. And for you, it's not my fault.21:42For me, when I look in the mirror and see my sin, God looks at me and says, Josh, you are a slave to the sin that you have freely walked into. And creation groans because of you. May we teach people on true freedom. True freedom that we have to seek freedom because we're slaved. That's why the Declaration of Independence says this again. When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands.22:10Now, don't get too excited. I'm not going to, we're not going to rise up and have another revolution today. That's what you're hoping for. I'm sorry. When it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another. Again, the ordering of our independence of this country is pointing us back to a greater freedom.22:33And it's the one that our God gives us. It's the one now we struggle with because creation groans.23:02Creation is groaning for the day that we have liberty in Jesus Christ fully. We need to get back to what God has for us. I'm reminded by God's word. If we are hoping in Washington, you will not find true freedom. If you're hoping in the next presidential election to fix it, you won't find freedom. And by the way, I don't know how many elections I've experienced now.23:32We've said that for the last so many elections. Well, if we just get the right man, we'll have freedom again. We have the right man. His name is Jesus Christ. And the world we live in is enslaved to sin. That is the Christian mindset. So we have people that say, I'm going to do what I like. That's freedom. No, you don't know true freedom because we have not experienced true freedom.23:58Only Adam and Eve did. And God gave us ultimate freedom to say, Josh, I'm going to create you a free moral being. And in that freedom, you have the freedom to choose right. And you have the freedom to choose wrong. And everyone in here has chosen wrong. And we become slaves to that. And God sent his son to set the captive free. Are we showing the world what true freedom is?24:27Not only are we showing the world, I think we should also do this. Verse 21, creation groans that one day it will be delivered from the bondage of corruption and to the glorious liberty of the children of God. We as Christians should celebrate freedom. And I really believe that Christians should be the most joyous people in the world. We should be the most joyous people.24:58We're the only ones that are free. I mean, really. And you say, well, what I want to do, I do not do. And what I do not do, I want to do. The Romans 7 struggling with sin. Yes, but there is still freedom in Christ to know you have the freedom not to sin because Christ broke those chains. And we must be people who celebrate. And I don't think we do that enough and well enough. I think when we see videos of ladies that are past retirement age that say,25:25I can't walk well and I can't swim well, but I've given my life to Christ and I want to get baptized, that we stand up and we celebrate because the freedom that is found in Jesus Christ. That we set up fireworks in this building and we rumble this city and this county when people give their life to Christ because we know that they found true freedom. Because we know what true freedom is.25:54We proclaim freedom as Christians. We show what true freedom is. And then lastly, in Isaiah, we point people to the source of freedom. We point people to the source of freedom. In Isaiah 61, this is a passage Jesus Christ uses.26:22And he says this in Isaiah 61, verse 1. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me. The word anointed in the Hebrew is messiach. Sound familiar? Messiah. He is the Messiah. What is the Messiah? It is the one who is anointed. Anointed by who? The heavenly Father anointed his only son to save the world. And he anointed him this way, to preach good tidings to the poor.26:54You say, well, I don't want to be poor. But also Jesus Christ says in the Sermon on the Mount, blessed are the poor in spirit. That if we do not humble ourselves, we will never find salvation. If we walk around saying, I'm not too bad. I'm a good person. I have a good work ethic. I do a good job. You know, I'm a good moral citizen. I pay my taxes sometimes.27:22You know, I do good things. And that's the culture we live in. I've heard people tell me this. Pastor, I'm a good person. I keep my nose out of others' business. And then I say, well, we're not talking about them. How about your business? How about my business? How about the business of my sin? How about being proud and not seeking the Lord? And Jesus says, I have come to preach good tidings to the poor.27:49He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted and to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of prison to those who are bound. There is only one source of freedom and hope, and his name is Jesus Christ. This is exactly what Isaiah thousands of years ago points us to. And I think Isaiah would scream at us as Americans, hey, guys, you're celebrating freedom.28:19Celebrate Jesus Christ. Celebrate Christ. There's nothing wrong to celebrate tomorrow, July 4th. But remember that in that celebration of freedom, that the reason we can celebrate freedom is because we know freedom. Because without Jesus, there really is no celebration. Are you pointing people to the source of freedom? Acts says it this way. There is only one name under heaven by which men can be saved.28:45And that name is Jesus Christ. Jesus says, enter through the narrow gate that leads to the narrow way. He says, you'll know my disciples if you abide in my word. Are we pointing people to the true source of freedom? If we do not, we are leading them back into chains, into bondage. Oh, God, help us find freedom.29:13Help us point people to this passage that says, Jesus Christ has come to proclaim liberty to the captives. When you embrace freedom, when you embrace Christ, you embrace the source of freedom. You say, well, pastor, what is that? What does freedom look like in Jesus Christ? You find deliverance from sin. And you say, well, I believe in Jesus, but I still struggle.29:42Yes, but you have freedom to now struggle. Without Christ, there's no freedom to struggle. You don't have a chance. You're hopeless. I know because I was that person, and I grew up in church. I sat right in about that area. So when I got old enough, my parents couldn't see me acting up. And before I was old enough to sit back there, I sat right there. My mom played the piano, and I had cowboy boots on the hardwood floor. So I would keep time. Click, click, click.30:11And yet, I realized that growing up in church, and being a good boy, and slowly becoming a young man, that if I died in my sin, I did not have freedom in Christ. Because I was playing a game that led to hell. Because I was playing a game that led to hell. And it was the church game. And yet, Jesus Christ graciously delivered me from those chains. That now I get to come to church. Jesus delivered me from the game of playing church to become part of the church.30:39To free me up to do that. So now I don't come to church because I have to. I get to come because I want to. I get to. That I enjoy worshiping because I can worship in spirit and in truth. He sets us free from sin. In Jesus Christ, we have freedom from death. Going to funerals and being a pastor, being a part of funerals and watching funerals.31:07I love that God's word can tell me one day that when I look death face to face, I can look and say, you've already been defeated. All I have to do is die, and I get to see my Savior. Death, where is your sting? Where is your victory? It is gone because, as we've already sung, in the cross, it is finished. It is done, has shouted the cross.31:36Christ has paid redemption's cost for us. We have freedom over death. May we be people who proclaim freedom. And may we rise up tomorrow, and whether you're at the lake, whether you're in the backyard, whether you're grilling out, that you stand up and you say, this is a great day. For freedom, because Christ has died for me. That I know what true freedom is. I'm going to share that with you.32:05I'm going to proclaim that. I'm going to inform you. I'm going to point you to the source. And people say, I don't believe you. I live in America. I have freedom. You say, no, actually, look at the Declaration of Independence. We are endowed by our Creator. Without belief in the Creator, there are no rights. And then we say, let me tell you about the Creator, who sent His one and only Son. He loves you so much. That He sent His Son to die on the cross for you.32:35That whoever believes in Him may not perish or die, but have everlasting life. That is how much God loves you. That He looked at my sin and said, Josh, you deserve to die. So I'm going to tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to let my Son die for you. It doesn't make sense to me. It doesn't. As someone who has a child, a son, the fact that I would let my Son die for someone doesn't make sense.33:03And the fact that God let His Son die for someone who's living in rebellion doesn't make sense. But He did that for you and for me to give us freedom. That when we looked at God and we spit in His face and we rebelled against Him in our sin eternally, that's what our sin does. God said, I'm going to send my Son to die for you. That where there is sin, I will give you salvation.33:31Where there is shame, I will give you forgiveness. Where there are the fatherless, I will adopt you into a new family. Where there are brokenness and oldness and ugliness, I will make you a new creation. The old has gone, the new has passed. And the Bible says that Jesus Christ took the handwriting of the sins that are against you. And by the way, the handwriting of the sins against me fills up a long list. And the Bible says He took that and He wiped it away and He nailed it to the cross.34:02There is true freedom in Jesus. And if you have never experienced a salvation, well, how do I do that? How can I find Jesus? I can't pray for you, I can't pray for you, no one else can. This church can't save you, your parents can't save you. I wish I could. If I could, I would. If I could, I would. But salvation begins with you dealing with the Lord and saying, God, I have sinned against you.34:27If you only sinned once, you're a sinner. And I imagine you sinned more than once. And to say, but God, I know you sent your son, Jesus, to die for me. And Lord, I don't understand it. I don't know why, but I believe. And I believe that you sent your son to die for me. And three days later, he rose again. As if the grave spit him out and couldn't contain him. Because Christ didn't deserve to die because he never sinned. He was sinless.34:57Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. If you have not trusted Christ as your personal Savior, I pray that this July 4th will mean something special to you. Because I pray that today you will give your life to Jesus and find true freedom. And when we do, the Bible says that fireworks shoot in heaven. And that there is a party when one sinner finds repentance and turns back. May we proclaim freedom.35:25May we know the source of freedom in his name is Jesus Christ. Let's pray together. Father.
