GET TOGETHER- TRUE FREEDOM

Joh 8:32-36 “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can you say, ‘You will be made free’?” Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.

“And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever.

“Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

This Thursday we that live in the United States will celebrate our country’s independence from Great Britain. I believe without a doubt that our country was founded on Judeo Christian values. I believe that it is God’s desire that every country have those values. That is why that Jesus said in Mt 28:19,20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”(NKJV)

We cannot force people to become Christians. That is the Holy Spirit’s work. However, we are His agents in taking the Gospel to the nations. And that includes our own communities as well.

Freedom can be temporary in some places. Dictators and different forms of governments rise up and attempt to strip men and women of their freedom. However, there in one freedom that cannot be stripped from any of us. That is the freedom that we experience over the power of sin in our lives through a born-again Spirit filled relationship with Jesus Christ.

In this passage from John’s Gospel Jesus addresses the Pharisees who did not believe in Him. They have already made some false claims. They said that they were Abraham’s descendants and that they had never been in bondage to anyone. They had actually been in bondage to Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, at some time and now they were in bondage to Rome. But Jesus is going deeper than they realize. He is talking about the bondage that all human beings are born into no matter where they live, or their ethnicity. That is the bondage to sin.

The Bible tells us that all have sinned Ro 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”(NKJV) Jesus tells us that sin brings bondage. When we serve sin, we become slaves to sin. But in Him he offers forgiveness from sin and deliverance from the power that sin has had over our lives. Let’s read these words again from Joh 8:36 “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

I remember when I first gave my heart to the Lord that our Pastor at Aldersgate UMC in Dora, AL Mike Irons preached from Romans 8:1-16. He said that was God’s Declaration of Independence for the Christian. Here are a couple of verses from that passage that I believe that will help us to experience what Jesus said when He said that whom the Son sets free is free indeed. Ro 8:1 ¶ There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. The accuser of the brethren no longer has a legal right to taunt us with the shame and condemnation of our past sins. When we come to the cross of Jesus Christ by faith in His precious blood, we are free from the condemnation that our past sinful lifestyles had brought upon us. The power of the Holy Spirit will help us to not go back into the bondage of living in sin.

You can read all of Romans 8:1-16, but here is the other passage that I wanted to share with you: Ro 8:16 “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.” (NKJV) I can remember being a church member and not knowing if I was a child of God. I can remember being a Board Member at the church and not knowing if I was a child of God. But on the first weekend in February 1990 I was born again and I knew that I was a child of God. The Holy Spirit of God confirmed it. That is the kind of freedom that men and woman cannot take away from us. As the Lord Jesus said “ Whom the Son sets free is free indeed!”

Let Us Pray

Lord Jesus we thank you that You came to set the captive free. I pray for all who read this that you have set free. I pray that it will lead them to celebrate their freedom from the power of sin in a greater way! For any that are reading this that still have not been set free I pray today that by the power of the Holy Spirit that you will lead them to make that Declaration of Independence from the power of sin in their lives as You have promised.

In Jesus Name

Amen

Happy 4th of July to all of you who live in the United States. And for our friends in other countries may God bless your country in a very special way.

Your Friend/Kinfolk

Preston

I want to invite all of our friends in Walker County and the surrounding area to come to our service at the Tabernacle in The Wilderness on Johnsey Road just off of Highway 5 Northwest of Jasper July 8th-11. Services start at 7:P.M. Also please be praying for our trip in July to Guatemala.