Sermon Central
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Freedom's Walk
Contributed by Jerry Flury on Jul 2, 2002 (message contributor)
Summary: As believers, we are called to walk in the freedom that is ours through the Spirit of God and to remember the cost of that freedom.
FREEDOM’S WALK
INTRODUCTION: In a few days, our nation will celebrate Independence Day. It is a day set aside to celebrate our freedom as Americans and to reflect upon what it means and what it cost for us to be free men and women. Those of us who have trusted in Jesus Christ have a greater freedom to celebrate - freedom from bondage to sin, its tyranny, and from a debt that we could never pay. As believers, we are called to walk in the freedom that is ours through the Spirit of God and to remember the cost of that freedom.
I. The Price of Freedom
A. Our national liberty did not come cheap.
1. Just over 643,000 American soldiers have given their lives in various wars since the birth of our nation in the pursuit and defense of freedom.
2. Perhaps best expressed in a tribute entitled "The Price of Freedom" concerning those who fought in distant lands defending our freedom... "Some were ready and prepared, Others were so young and so naive. Some of them chose to serve our country, Others had no choice, they were called to serve. As they hugged and kissed their loved ones bye, Their hearts were heavy and tears filled in their eyes. Not knowing if they would be coming back home, Or if they would die, it was all so unknown. As they prepared to fight for our freedom, We prayed to God for their safety. They all left their loved ones, And their lives that they had known. They departed to an unfamiliar land, risking their lives and making so many sacrifices. Being away from family and friends, Giving up what most can’t even comprehend. The horrors and atrocities that Our Veterans faced and endured. You may not ever know or totally understand. They protected our rights, our freedom, and the rights of others, So that we could have and enjoy freedom in our land. Some came home to a Hero’s welcome, Others didn’t come home at all, they made the ultimate sacrifice. Some came home and were disgracefully shunned; others have been so shamefully forgotten. All of our Veterans served our country, With great pride and true honor. There is a price for freedom, which they ALL so graciously paid. They ALL greatly deserve to be remembered and honored, After all.... They are truly America’s Heroes!" (Written by ~ HTxRose)
B. Our spiritual liberty was most costly
1. We had a debt of bondage that we could not pay.
2. Romans 5:6-8 "For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. [7] For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. [8] But God commended his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
3. 1 Peter 1:18-19 "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:"
II. The Walk of Freedom
A. We are called to walk as freemen in the Spirit.
Colossians 2:6-7 “Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” — HCSB™
B. Walking as freemen is only possible through the Spirit.
C. To fail to walk in the freedom of the Spirit is to become enslaved again.
D. When we fail to walk as freemen and stand up for the liberty our forefathers fought for we forget the price that was paid and we lose the rights and privileges of that liberty.
1. Kruschev said that America would be conquered from within.
2. In 1863, President Lincoln designated April 30th as a day of national humiliation, fasting, and prayer. National humiliation, fasting, and prayer. Let me read a portion of his proclamation on that occasion: "It is the duty of nations, as well as of men, who owe their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon, and to recognize the sublime truth announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by a history that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord. The awful calamity of civil war which now desolates the land may be but a punishment inflicted upon us for our presumptuous sins, to the needful end of our national reformation as a whole people. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us. We have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other nation has grown, but we have forgotten God."
