INTRO: As United States citizens we enjoy the blessings of freedom. But freedom can be lost. In the last 20-30 years, religious freedom has come under vicious attack in America. You can no longer pray at graduation ceremonies or high school football games. You can’t witness on the job. You can’t even carry a bible or wear a Christian T-shirt in many places. If we continue down the path we’re on, we are in danger of forfeiting our freedom! You may think, “Pastor, you’re crazy! This is the United States of America! Home of the Free and the Brave. You’re blowing this out of proportion don’t you think?”
Am I? In my short lifetime (39 years) I’ve seen prayer removed from our public schools. Today we hand out condoms, pump pornography into school libraries via the web and have metal detectors at the doors. The only time we pray in school is after students have been gunned down in the halls. I’ve seen abortion legalized in a society whose Declaration of Independence reads, “We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal and are endowed with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” And yet, within the span of my lifetime, over 40 million babies never received their inalienable right to life. Over a million a year! More recently we have allowed the hideous practice of partial birth abortion. With the help of the likes of Dr. Kavorkian and others, infanticide (the killing of the elderly and handicapped) is not far behind.
Christians are no longer respected in many segments of our society. We’ve been dubbed the “religious right” or “conservatives” and painted as mean-spirited, small-minded bigots because we believe in the teachings of the bible. Religious convictions are respected if you’re a Jew or a Muslim, but if you’re a Conservative Christian, you are “prejudiced” because of your beliefs. If you don’t think I’m telling you the truth, interview John Ashcroft, our new Attorney General. Congress tried their best to block his nomination simply because he was a Christian with biblical values. I’m trying to imagine who George Washington “the praying president” would have more in common with; the likes of Ted Kennedy and Tom Daschle or Atty. General Ashcroft?
We’re in a critical stage in American history. I believe God has given us one last chance to turn things around. If we don’t do something with it, we are headed for disaster. Every day we let the power brokers on Capitol Hill slip another one under the table as the few make decisions that do not represent the wishes of the majority. Every day in America, we are forfeiting a little more of our Freedom. In the sports world, if you don’t show up for the game when it’s scheduled, you “forfeit.” It counts as a loss. That’s what’s happening in America.
Good people who know better aren’t showing up to make a difference at the polls, at city council and school board meetings. We’re not getting involved in the political process. We’re not informed. We’re apathetic or discouraged or “too busy” and we are forfeiting our freedom. It’s frightening to think about what America will look like in 20 more years! Let’s spend a few minutes talking about the ramifications and the reasons why we’re losing our freedom. I want to talk about it on both a national/political scale and on a more personal/spiritual scale.
PROP: THERE ARE SIMILARITIES BETWEEN FORFEITING (OR LOSING) YOUR POLITICAL FREEDOM AND FORFEITING YOUR SPIRITUAL FREEDOM.
INTERR. SENTENCE: Are you aware of the symptoms that can rob you of your freedom, both as an American citizen and as spiritual being with an eternal soul?
I. BE UNSURE OF WHAT YOU BELIEVE. This is the first step in forfeiting your freedom. If you don’t know what you believe and why, then you’ll believe things that you are told by those who do know what they believe…even if they’re wrong. And that’s exactly what’s happening in America.
Illustr. – Quotes from Charlton Heston’s speech delivered to the Harvard Law School, February 16, 1999.
If you don’t know what you believe, you’ll believe things that you are told by those who do know what they believe…even if they’re wrong. If you believe all the “politically correct” garbage coming out of Washington and Hollywood and other capitals of liberal thinking without checking the facts, shame on you! Just because they are a famous actor or entertainer or public figure or a politician doesn’t make them right! Be informed. Know what you believe! “Your belief determines your action and your action determines your results, but first you have to believe.” – Mark Victor Hansen
It’s the same spiritually. If you don’t know what you believe, you’ll believe things that you are told by those who do know what they believe…even if they’re wrong.
II Timothy 4:3-4 – “(For) the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”
II Timothy 2:15 – “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workmen who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”
I Peter 3:15 – “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope you have.”
II Timothy 1:12 – “I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.”
Who told you that you could make it to heaven without a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? Who told you that as long as you are a “good person” you’re OK? What makes you believe that practicing your religion makes you righteous in the sight of a holy God? Who told you hell is an old fashioned idea, not a real place? Are you asking the right questions of the right people? Are you looking in the right places for the answers that will determine your eternity? Here’s the question: If you died right now, do you know you’re ready to meet God?
II. BE INTIMIDATED BY THE OPPOSITION. If you don’t have the courage or convictions to stand up for what you believe, then those with opposing viewpoints will intimidate you into silence. This is the second stage of Forfeiting Your Freedom. It’s no longer about who is right. Those with the loudest voices begin to win because those on the side of the truth have become intimidated by the opposition. Let me ask you some questions:
How many of you believe in God?
How many of you believe God approves of abortion?
Now, if you believe in God and you firmly believe God is opposed to abortion, what are you doing to stop it? If it’s morally wrong then you have a moral obligation to stand up and say,
“This is wrong! I’m opposed to this. I have studied the issue both from a scientific and a moral standpoint. Abortion is the murder of an innocent, unborn baby in its mother’s womb. And I will write letters to my local newspaper, send e-mails expressing my displeasure to the local Planned Parenthood organization and call my Congressman/Senators to express my viewpoint and tell them I will not vote for them if they align themselves with those who kill babies.
I will put my money where my convictions are and support Pro-Life causes/organizations. I will educate my friends and neighbors to the truth and I will not be intimidated by those in Washington or City Hall or my neighbor across the street who asks me if I think her daughter should get an abortion. I will let my voice be heard. I will not cower in the shadows or slip out the back door. I will educate myself to know the truth and I will stand up for what I believe in the face of opposition, because that’s what Americans do!”
Just ask George Washington or the Founding Father’s who “mutually pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor” to stand up to an oppressive British government. If they had adopted the “who cares” attitude many Americans have today, we wouldn’t be free. Thank God they didn’t say, “Well, I don’t want to make any waves so we’ll just stay under the control of Great Britain and do whatever they say we have to do.” No, Patrick Henry said, “Give me liberty, or give me death!” And together they carved out a document that said, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness…” And we are free because good men who knew what they believed refused to be pushed around and intimidated by the opposition.
If you believe sexual perversion and pornography are wrong, say so! If you don’t like what’s happening in the public schools, run for the school board. If you believe homosexuality is wrong and that it is damaging our society, messing up homes and lives, let your voice be heard. If you’re tired of corrupt politics and the underhanded methods being used to control our nation, take a stand!
Illustr. – Democrats who have aligned to block President Bush decisions for court justices/judges if the candidates don’t support the pro-choice agenda. “All that is necessary for evil to prosper is for good men to do nothing.” Stop being intimidated! Get involved! Never let an impossible situation intimidate you. Let it motivate you! Henry David Thoreau - “Live your beliefs and you can turn the world around.”
It’s the same spiritually. If you don’t have the courage or convictions to stand up for what you believe, then those with opposing viewpoints will intimidate you into silence.
Romans 1:16 – “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes…”
Ephesians 6:19-20 – “Pray for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.”
Acts 19:8 – “Paul entered the synagogue (Ephesus) and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. But some became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.”
Have you been intimidated into silence? When was the last time you told someone about Jesus? Are you ashamed of the Gospel? Are the things you believe worth sharing even if it brings you personal criticism? Is it fair to say you believe something if you don’t live it? (It’s not really a belief until you believe in it strongly enough to live it.) Do you see people around you who need help with addictive habits, bad marriages and lives that are spinning out of control?
Are you going to let those with opposing viewpoints have the floor? Have you been fitted for a “Gospel Muzzle?” We can talk about anything, no matter how sick or perverted, but when the subject turns to Jesus or Christianity it’s “censored.” This world’s dying to hear about Jesus! He’s the only answer for millions of people in America. If you and I don’t talk about him, who will? If you’re ashamed of Him, how much longer until you forfeit your own spiritual freedom? How much ground have you lost? Does anyone even know that you’re a Christian? Have you made a public stand for Christ?
If you don’t know what you believe and why, then you’ll believe things that you are told by those who do know what they believe…even if they’re wrong.
If you don’t have the courage or convictions to stand up for what you believe, then those with opposing viewpoints will intimidate you into silence.
And finally, when the truth is blurred long enough and there aren’t enough people with the guts to stand up to the intimidation of the opposition, you are only a step away from…
III. BECOME ENSLAVED BY OPPRESSIVE FORCES. When the majority of the people in a nation no longer believe strongly enough in the ideals that made them what they are, they lower their defenses, giving an oppressive enemy the advantage to exploit that nation at its point of weakness. A case in point is the nation of Israel. If you read the Old Testament, you will see in I & II Kings and I & II Chronicles a pattern that plays itself out over and over in Jewish history. God gave in to the people’s desire to have earthly kings like the nations around them and those kings either led God’s people into the ways of the Lord, or into rebellion.
II Chron. 33 – “Manasseh became king…He did evil in the eyes of the Lord…”
II Chron. 34 – “Josiah became king…He did what was right…”
II Chron. 36 – “Jehoiakim became king…He did evil in the eyes of the Lord…” Then Jehoiachin became king…He did evil…Then Zedekiah…He did evil…” And then, after this string of ungodly kings, Jerusalem fell at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar and the Jews were taken into exile as Babylonian slaves.
This Kingdom, under the leadership of Saul, David and Solomon, had once been a large and powerful nation, feared and revered by all its neighbors. They were free; living under the protection of God’s sovereign hand. Nothing and no one could touch them as long as they honored God. But over the years, compromise began to creep in. With each new king the pendulum would swing towards or away from God. One King would do evil, the next would repent, etc.
Finally, after 3 ungodly Kings led them down the wrong path the unthinkable happened. The nation fell. God’s people became slaves. They compromised their beliefs, they silenced the prophets, the leaders, priests and people became more and more unfaithful and the end result was slavery. Could it happen in America? Sure it could! Thank God we have a President who is building up our military might again and attempting to restore some sense of dignity and pride to our country. I firmly believe President Bush is in office because of the prayers of people who finally got desperate before the Lord and literally prayed the man into office. But it was a squeaker and he’s got his work cut out for him. We need to keep praying because it’s “Now or never.”
America was established as “One Nation Under God.” But we have compromised our beliefs. We’re being intimidated into silence. And there are those who are attempting to throw out God. When you turn your back on God, you turn your back on freedom. Slavery has already begun in America. Chains of poverty, abuse, drug and alcohol addiction, sexual perversion, violence in our homes and schools and against the unborn, terrorism. Freedom is the first thing sin steals.
When the majority of the people in a nation no longer believe strongly enough in the ideals that made them what they are, they lower their defenses, giving an oppressive enemy the advantage to exploit that nation at its point of weakness. Don’t kid yourself, there are plenty of leaders like Saddaam Hussein who have their sights aimed at America. God has honored America because America has honored God. But how much longer will he put up with our sin and rebellion before He allows us to become slaves due to our own arrogance?
It’s the same spiritually. If you no longer believe strongly enough in the only God who can save you, you will lower your defenses, giving an oppressive enemy the advantage to exploit you at your point of weakness.
John 8:34 – “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.”
II Peter 2:19 – “… a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him.”
What has you bound in invisible shackles? You don’t know what you believe anymore. The crowd you’ve been running with has long since silenced your voice. It started out as fun and games but now sin has you locked up. You’re addicted. Stuck in a lifestyle you can’t get out of. You hate to wake up and face each new day because you are a slave. You sold out to the devil and he’s got you all chained up.
CONCLUSION: Well I know someone with the keys! He is the “Great Emancipator.” You may have Forfeited your Spiritual Freedom up to this point in your life but Jesus can “spring you” and “…if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” – John 8:36
