True Freedom
Galatians 5:1
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
In our society, We desperately seek freedom. Freedom of religion, freedom for refugees, freedom to work anywhere that you choose even if your not suited to the job or even to not work at all, freedom to choose to eat or not eat genetically modified food, freedom to go on vacations in safety, freedom to use your vacations when you like, freedom to choose the store you buy you clothes in – Freedom.
In fact in our society the ultimate punishment is taking freedom away through imprisonment.
We like to see ourselves as a land that is free – But that freedom cost some people a great deal - for some it cost them their lives – this is what we observe on Independence Day, Our Freedom.
I wonder though, do we really know what Freedom is?
We had the opportunity to experience true freedom in the past two weeks.
About 14-15 miles east of Cody Wyoming on property that belongs to you and me (It’s BLM public land) my family and I spent 2 days watching the wild mustangs and all the new born babies on what is called the Bad Lands.
Make no mistake about the name. There is nothing bad about this land, as a matter of fact, Shelby asked our guide why something so beautiful had a name like the bad lands.
It got its name from the Native Americans because nothing would grow there, but the land itself is one of the most beautiful places you could ever imagine.
As I was standing above the valley looking out, I realized that what I was looking at was exactly the same thing those Native Americans looked at so many years ago. It has not been touched, no factories, no shopping malls, no gas stations, nothing but God’s creation.
And in the middle of it are these wild mustangs. Exactly the way God had created them, flawless. Sure they had a few scars here and there from each other and probably the land itself but the animals themselves are as close to perfection as you can get.
They look better in the environment they were created to live in than any horse I have ever seen on any farm. Their manes are beautiful, their coats are as shiny as any I have seen, they have great muscle tone and their hooves are perfectly trimmed out, all without the help of any Human being.
They are living in the place God had created for them because their ancestors survived from day one to today. They can go anywhere they choose and yet they stay where they know they belong. Where they have everything they could ever need and ever want.
The only rules they have is what the dominant mare lays down.
It is almost as if the understand 1 Corinthians 10:23
1 Corinthians 10:23
The Believer’s Freedom
23 "Everything is permissible"—but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible"—but not everything is constructive.
That is Freedom.
Just like the mustangs we too have freedom. If we accept Christ we are really, truly, 100% free, but we don’t act like it.
We are free to be alive and to live the way God intended from the very start. But we are scared.
True freedom is freedom that serves one another under the direction and guidance of God.
Wild mustangs follow the direction of the dominant mare. She is the one who watches out for them day and night and she is the one that makes sure no harm comes to the herd.
As we were watching those horses I noticed that the dominant mare always had her head up watching us, especially as we came closer to the herd. The closer we got the more nervous she became. She was making sure that we were not going to hurt any of the group.
God is always watching us too. He not only wants to make sure that we are safe but also that we are doing what we should be doing.
Psalm 145:20
20 The LORD watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.
But Jesus tells us we need to be watching too. We need to be watching to ensure that we do not lose our freedom.
Mark 14:38
38 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."
Luke 12:38
38 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night.
We as Christians should want to follow the direction of God. The more we follow God the better the relationship we have with God and the better the relationship with God, the more prepared we become to live a perfect life with God.
There are 2 ways to become perfect. The first is by living a sinless life – by living perfectly – by having no black marks on your slate at all. It is BEING perfect. By obeying every law there is to obey and living perfectly without one mistake. This is impossible.
But Jesus made another way – instead of trying to never Sin – which is impossible for us, Jesus said – I’ll make you perfect.
This second way is not living perfectly, it is BECOMING perfect in God’s sight. Jesus said, I’ll get rid of your sins – I’ll forgive them – completely erase them and I’ll get rid of the guilt you have also. I’ll free you from any burden you feel. You don’t have to worry about sin any more, I’ll set you free by giving my Life on the Cross and I’ll be willing to forgive you.
The dominant mare in the Wild Mustang herd does the same thing. If one of those horses gets out of line, she very quickly puts them back in. She will bite or kick or whatever it takes to get the job done, but then, it’s as if she forgives them. She will softly nudge them and put her head to theirs in a somewhat comforting sense as if she is saying, it’s o.k. I only did it because I love you.
Just like God with His children She never withholds mercy.
Psalm 40:11
11 Do not withhold your mercy from me, O LORD; may your love and your truth always protect me
The Wild Mustang does three things to ensure their freedom.
1. They Cherish it
2. They avoid selfishness
3. They live by the spirit
We need to live our lives more like the Wild Mustang.
The wild mustang cherishes the freedom they have. You can see it in their eyes and in every movement they make. They are truly happy right where they are. Right where God put them.
We should also CHERISH the freedom we have in Jesus
Paul says in Galatians 5 that Christ has set us free so that we can be free. Too often we don’t appreciate that fact. We don’t have to live with the burden of Sin. When we are forgiven by Christ, he takes away the guilt that we have and we can enjoy a relationship with God because he sees that we are perfect – We have become perfect because our sins have been forgiven.
The Wild Mustang is not selfish. They are continually grouped together in a herd, helping one another as much as they can. They serve one another because they love one another.
We as Christians should also Avoid SELFISHNESS. Instead SERVE One Another in LOVE.
Galatians 5:13
13 You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.
Some of you may think that is a little bit weird. In our society, we place a huge emphasis on our personal freedom. The freedom to do what we want with our time, money, energy and lives. Freedom to do it when we want to and how we want to. If anyone tries to limit our choices we resist. Many people today are flaunting their freedom by being as self centred as they can be.
But this is not the freedom that God designed. God’s freedom is not freedom to INDULGE OURSELVES. Selfishness was never part of God’s vocabulary. That is something that we dreamed up.
He goes on to add that Freedom is not freedom to EXPLOIT OUR NEIGHBOURS.
Galatians 5:14
14 The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself."
This is not the only place we find this.
Matthew 22:38-39
38 his is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: ’Love your neighbor as yourself.
Paul says that when we are truly free, we don’t indulge ourselves, we don’t exploit our neighbours; instead we SERVE ONE ANOTHER IN LOVE and put other’s needs above our own. Serving others is what you do if you want to flaunt true freedom.
Finally in conclusion, the Wild Mustang lives by the spirit.
You can feel it. The spirit of God is everywhere, so much that your soul is refreshed by just being there.
I believe this is why they stay right where they are. Sure there is a fence that the government has put up to help keep them there and out of the road (this is a main road into town) but this fence is not much of a fence. They could easily jump that fence at any moment.
Cody is just 14-15 miles away but these horses don’t head into town because they are happy right where they are at. Somehow they know that across that fence and into town would be trouble for them.
Those Horses are in the place God created for them, each one of them doing what has to be done to help the rest of the herd and totally surrounded by the spirit of God.
We as Christians should also live LIVE by the SPIRIT.
The last thing that Paul says to us about our freedom is to live by the Spirit.
Galatians 5:16
16 So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.
God grants us freedom and then says – use your freedom to build up others and serve them instead of yourself through love. That is not always the EASIEST thing to do is it, because everyone is not always lovable.
Have you ever noticed that your dog is lovable, your horse is lovable (most of the time) your wife and kids are loveable but some folks, well…. They’ve got an issue or two. I mean – how do you love them???
Well Paul gives us the answer in verse 16 – he says – live by the Spirit. We can’t love people in our own strength, we can only do it by being filled with the Holy Spirit.
Lucky for us, the Holy Spirit comes as standard equipment when we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior. When we receive the Holy Spirit he comes and fills us with God’s love.
Look down to vs. 22. This is a whole list of things that the Holy Spirit brings us … Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, gentleness, self control.
But how do we get rid of all those bad feelings that fill up our lives like selfishness and dislike. It is easy …
Imagine an empty glass. That glass is not really empty at all, it’s filled with air. This air will represent all those bad thoughts and feelings. You can’t pour it out, you can’t shake it out and you can’t suck it out because as the air moves out of the glass more air always comes in right behind it to take it’s place. So how do you get the air (all the bad feelings) out of this glass. You fill it up with something else – like water.
Just like that water takes the place of the air in the glass, the Holy Spirit when he comes to reside in us displaces our selfishness and sin nature. Unfortunately we try to hold onto some pieces of our old selfishness and we actually resist the Holy Spirit’s desire to get rid of it.
Paul says, don’t do this, don’t hold onto your old sinful nature. Give up those desires and live by the Spirit.
So There ya have it. When you accept Christ as your savior and join the family of God, you are free, just like the Wild Mustangs that still roam Wyoming. He says that we must recognize and cherish that freedom.
Rather than a whole list of rules and regulations that govern our freedom, Jesus and Paul only give 2 – Love God and love your neighbors. Love is what regulates our freedom.
The dominant mare in the herd of mustangs will stand up and fight anything that threatens that herd even to the point of losing her life if need be.
Service rather than selfishness is what God created us for. It is how He designed us all to live.
Every Head bowed and every eye closed
