Let FREEDOM Reign!
7/5/09
This weekend we are celebrating the the independence of our country. Something many take for granted, for others, they gave their life for it. There are some places in this world today that are not allowed to come together as we are today to freely worship God.
But that is not the freedom I want to speak to you about this morning. This morning I want to talk to you about Spiritual Freedom. The title of my sermon is “Let FREEDOM Reign!” Now while all of us have a pretty good idea about what freedom means, what does it mean to let it REIGN!
Wikipedia defines a reign as the term used to describe the length of a monarch. No time limit exists on reigns, nor is there a term of office. Thus a reign usually lasts for the remainder of the monarch’s life, unless the monarchy itself is abolished.
When I speak of letting Freedom reign, I am talking about having the ability to live the life that Christ intended for us to live. We are to let freedom have control and dominion in our life. We are no longer bound by the Law. We are under grace. We are no longer bound by sin. That’s something we don’t hear a lot of. In fact I don’t think in my 40+ years of attending church I have ever heard a pastor say that you don’t have to live in the bondage of sin. We kind of look at it like we do paying our taxes. It’s just something we have to do. Do we have to sin? Can we live a life that is without sin?
The answer to these questions is what I want to share with you this morning.
In John chapter 8, we begin with the story of the woman who was caught in adultery. The scribes and the Pharisees then brought the woman to the temple where Jesus was teaching. They knew the law and what was to be done to her, “stoned to death”. But in an attempt to test Jesus, they asked Him, “what do you think we should do with her?”
Jesus simply bent down and begin writing on the ground. Some suggest that perhaps He was writing the Ten Commandments. They were persistent in wanting a answer. If Jesus would have said not to stone her, then He would have contradicted the Jewish Law. If He would have said, “Stone her”, He would have been contradictory to the Roman law which did not allow the Jews to carry out their own executions. So we read His response in John 8:7 So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first."
One by one they begin to leave, being convicted of their owns sins. So then we read in John 8:10-11 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?" She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."
Go and sin no more. He did not condemn her, but neither did He condone her sin as well. He FORGAVE her, but then followed that up with “Go and sin NO MORE”. He didn’t say, go and try not to sin, or go and do the best that you can, but He said Go and sin NO MORE! Why would Jesus tell someone to do something that He thought was impossible to do?
We read these words again in Chapter john 5. We read about another man who was laying around by the pool. The pool of Bethesda that is. He was one of many who was waiting for the water to stir. The first one in the pool was healed of what ever was ailing them. Jesus asked him if he wanted to be made well. The man began making excuses about how he was not able to be made well, because someone would always beat him to the pool. Jesus told him to rise, take up his bed and walk. Jesus healed him and later afterward He finds him in the temple. We read in John 5:14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, "See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you."
There it is again, SIN NO MORE!
Then we get to our text this morning. John 8:31-36 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 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.
Now I am not saying by any means that I am perfect. I sin on a daily basis. But I do so by my own choosing. While Satan can tempt you to sin, you have to be the one who makes the decision of whether to fall to that temptation or to stand in Christ. So this morning let me give you some things to break the bondage of our sin nature and let the Spiritual Freedom Reign in our hearts and lives. First of all...
We need to do our PART!
Our text began with Jesus telling these new believers, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." The word Abide here means to remain; to continue. We read the same language again concerning our Spiritual freedom in Galatians 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. Stand fast, don’t fall. The yoke of bondage that is speaks about is the Law of Moses. The legalistic Jewish teachers were urging believers to be circumcised.
So there are things that we need to do on our part to be free from the bondage of sin and laws. Over history, laws were added onto the original laws that Christ gave the Israelites to help keep the original laws.
Abide in MY word. Anyone who abides in the Word of God knows the truth. The truth shall make you free. The word free refers to freedom from the bondage of sin. Obedience to the Lord means fellowship with Him, protection from sin, and experiencing His love.
So how do we abide in His word? There is several ways, but let me give you just a few. One of the easiest ways is to
a. Just read it.
The Bible is not just a decoration for your coffee table. It is not something that you pick up on your way out the door in your way to church. It should be your daily bread. Psalm 119:11 Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.
My boys have recently been testing for their learners permit and I have try to instill in them that they need to study the Drivers Licensing handbook. Every question on that test, the answer is found in that book. Now I understand that some of the questions that are on those test are pretty silly. “How much water does it take till your car floats?” In my mind there would be a lot of different variables to correctly answer that question. But the book states, “As little as six inches”.
The Bible is the greatest, “How to book you will ever find”. But in order to know how to, you need to read the instructions. You need to study the directions in order to learn how to live a life that is pleasing to God. But it is more than reading. You need to...
b. Understand what you are reading.
But in order to fully live that life, you have to understand what you are reading. In Acts 8, we read about Philip being lead by the Lord to leave Jerusalem to the desert. He find a man, a Ethiopian, a eunuch who had just let church. He was sitting in his chariot, reading his bible. And Phillip ask his if he understands what he is reading. His response, Acts 8:31 And he said, "How can I, unless someone guides me?" Not only should you read your Bible, but you also need to understand what you are reading. Pray and ask God for Him to reveal Himself and show you what you need to get out of what you are reading. Get a good study bible. Read the verses before and after.
2 Timothy 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Then the last point I want to make about His word is...
c. Listen to His word.
How do we listen to His word. Do we purchase a CD of the Bible and listen to it? Well that is not a bad idea, but what I wanted to talk to you about listening to it by listening to the words we sing. By listening to the Sunday School or the Sunday or Wednesday services. By listening to me now. Do you hear me? Romans 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
One of the reasons we have Sunday School, Sunday and Wednesday night services is to recharge you. By being feed, you have a better chance of living the life that Christ intended. But it is more than reading and understanding what you are reading. It is more than listening to the words of the songs or the message. The final point is you need to...
d. Apply what you have read and heard.
What good is it to hear and listen to His word, but then never do anything about it. Think of it like this. Let’s say I want to build a birdhouse. I get the plans of how to build the bird house. I get the materials necessary to build the birdhouse. I listen to other people tell me how to build the bird house. I have the things necessary to build it. I have the knowledge to build the bird house. But all of that does not do me any good unless what? I apply what I have learned.
Luke 11:28 But He said, "More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!" James 1:22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
And we need to apply what we have read, and what we have heard as well. The best sermon is not what is said from the pulpit, but the one applied to your life.
So we need to abide in His word, and apply the truth to do your part. Then we need to realize...
It’s not You, it’s Him
Can you live a life that is pleasing to God? Not without the help of the Holy Spirit. If you go out and try to live the right life, then Satan will tear you up. You without the help of the Holy Spirit you can’t do. But with Him, YOU Can live a life that is pleasing to God. Now for those who think you can’t. Remember what it says in 1 John 4:4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
God is greater than Satan. God can and will whip him every time. Despite the words of Flip Wilson, The devil cannot make you do anything. You chose to sin. 1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
God provides a means of escape with EVERY TEMPTATION, A WAY of Escape! You can with His help live a life that is pleasing to Him. But God is omnipotent (all knowing). And just because you become a Christian does not mean that you loose your sin nature. It just means that you receive the Holy Spirit and He enables you to live a life that is pleasing to Him. Which leads me to my final point.
When you fall down, get back up
Remember when you first took the training wheels off your bike. How many times did you lose your balance and fall down. If you never got back on the bike. You would never have learned to ride. Or when you were a baby, learning how to walk. You fall down, then you get back up.
So to bring this all together now. Can we live a life that is without sin? No, or at least not on our own. But that does not mean, just because we have our fire insurance that we have the right to have that attitude, “well, no one can be perfect so it’s no big deal if I sin”. No! We should strive to do the best we can and when we fall, get back up! Ask God to forgive you.
Now I know that some might be thinking of the verse found in 1 John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
Some will say that the book of 1 John was written to Christians. And it is saying that if we as Christians say that we don’t sin then the truth is not in us. But in 1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. I believe the verse that follows is like the one we find in Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. To have no sin would mean no need for a Savior. But God’s desire is that we have no sin. Go and sin know more. But when we fall down, He made a way for us to get back up. 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
One of Jesus disciples came to Jesus and said to Him, “Teach us to pray”. And in Luke 11:4 we read, “And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one." We need to wake up every day and do the best we can. We need to pray and ask God to keep us from our temptations. It’s not the God leads us to sin, but that we must follow Him to not sin and by doing so that we can be FREE!
Maybe you are here today and you are in bondage. Maybe you have never entered into that personal relationship with Jesus Christ. You need to to begin you journey into Spiritual Freedom by doing some today!
