July 4th, 2004, Sunday Morning

"True Freedom"
It's about knowing the truths of the Bible--not the freedom of expressing yourself

OPENING: John 8:31-32


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INTRODUCTION:

• During World War II, Ernest Gordon, a British Army officer, was captured at sea by the Japanese when he was 24
  (movie reference: "To End all Wars")

  He was sent to work the Burma-Siam railway, in which 80,000 men died building (393 per mile)

  Within the prison camp, prisoners fought and struggled with each other

  One day, the Japanese guards threatened to kill a man over a missing shovel

  One man stepped forward and said he took it; As a result, the Japanese guards beat him to death

  Subsequently, the Japanese discovered no shovels were missing

  Later, the prisoners discovered John 15:13, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."

  Prisoner attitudes began to change and they began to work together to stay alive

  Men started regularly meeting; conversations changed from death and ethics to faith in Jesus Christ

  A tiny church was built and regular prayer sessions were held

  "Jungle University" was started where courses were offered in history, math, philosophy, economics and foreign languages

  Prisoners wrote their own textbooks with paper they could find

  They started a medicinal garden, made musical instruments and soon the camp was having its own concerts

  Upon liberation, the prisoners treated the guards with kindness--not revenge

  Ernest Gordon, retired dean of the chapel at Princeton University, died January 16th, 2002, at the age of 85

THE TRUE TEST OF SERVING CHRIST IS NOT TAKING THAT FIRST STEP INTO RELIGION BUT CONTINUED PERSEVERANCE

• To make a beginning in religious life is comparatively easy
  
  
  • Universal excitement of starting something new
  • Initial motivation of following through on so many fresh ideas on making that good first impression
  • The secret satisfaction of truly feeling good about yourself on the inside
  
  
• It is the beginning that all kinds of resolutions are initiated
  
  
  • Laying aside "bad habits"
  • Starting new "good habits"
  • A comfortable feeling about life
  
  
• But then the newness of the position is past and gone
  
  
  • When the pleasures of the world and Satan's calling begin to pull again
  • When the weakness of the heart begins to reappear and tempt/test
  • The desire to go back to the old, bad habits--"just a little bit won't hurt"
  
  
• And now the real difficulty of Christianity is realized
  
  
• John 8:31: Jesus said, "If ye continue in my word, then ye are my disciples indeed;"
  
  
  • Therefore, to begin is not as difficult as to continue what's begun
    
    
  • We can also conclude from this that patient continuance in well-doing is the only sure evidence of grace (God's allowance of strength and undeserved forgiveness upon you)
  
  
• Genesis 21:5 & 22:2-17: Abraham's greatest test of faith in God is when God commanded him to sacrifice his only son on the altar
  
  
  • Abraham yearned to have a son and finally did so at the age of 100
    
    
  • God knows what it's like to love an only son (because His is Jesus) and tested Abraham's obedience with Abraham's greatest gift--his son
    
    
  • In Abraham's time in the world, the word "resurrection" was not yet thought of; Yet Abraham--because of faith--believed God had the power to somehow bring his son Isaac back to him even if sacrificed
    
    
  • Abraham's constant faith (belief) in obeying God resulted not only in reward but his true freedom

NOTICE THE WORD "CONTINUANCE" HAS TO DO WITH THE WORD OF GOD

• John 15:7: The condition of being granted the desires of your heart by God is that you continuously obey God's Word (the Bible)
  
  
  • Faithfulness to God is not measured in your attendance record at church
  • It is not measured in "trying to be good" (in which God finds no good within our entire life, without Him, per Isaiah 64:6)
  • It is not measured in how many doors you knock on as a "Jehovah's witness" (because, again, no amount of work in this world amounts to earning salvation, per Isaiah 64:6)
  
  
• It is simply faithfulness in the Word of Christ (the Bible)
  
  
  • 2 John 1:9: Very simply, if you do not know and obey Christ, you are lost; If you know and CONTINUOUSLY obey ("abide") then you have both God and Jesus and are saved
    
    
  • Romans 10:17: You gain faith by reading God's Word (the Bible)
  
  
• Colossians 3:16: Let the Words of the Bible dwell within you by not only reading but also teaching and correcting others--both lost and saved
  
  
• 2 Timothy 2:15: "Study to show thyself approved unto God" is spoken in a present (neverending) tense
  
  
  • The word "Study" is specifically directed at the Bible because it is the only book on earth where you can pass to others the "word of truth"
    
    
  • No other book on earth has the power to eternally save men's souls--to set them free
  
  
• Psalm 119:10: The psalmist asks God that now he has found God, that he would not wander from God's commandments

SUCH WORK IS WELL REWARDED

• Romans 8:28: In God's economy, all good and bad things that happen to you work out for an ultimate good, in the end; EXAMPLES:
  
  
  • You do not know God and sin most of your life; when you become saved, God clears you of all sin
    
    
  • People live so safe and comfortably (i.e., the United States) that sometimes it takes "bad things" such as natural disasters, danger and tragedies (i.e., "9/11") before man will consider turning to God to be set free (saved)
  
  
• If you read the Bible daily and know it in your heart, you will know "the truth" (if you're saved)
  
  
  • Matthew 7:7: The truth that if you ask, it shall be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened
    
    
  • Matthew 7:8: If your request is Biblically sound then God will grant your prayer request (i.e., praying for the right spouse [Genesis 2:18] or for wisdom [Proverbs 4:5; 1 Kings 3:9-10] vs. money [1 Timothy 6:10] and revenge [Matthew 5:44])
  
  
• Truth is revealed only by God through the Holy Spirit
  
  
  • 1 Corinthians 2:12: We can only know from God (the Bible)--not the world (any book not the Bible--not even non-Bibles in the Christian bookstores)--the free things God gives us
    
    
  • Ephesians 1:17: And only God can bestow upon you the wisdom of knowing Him and knowing how to conquer the evils of this world
  
  
• The truth will set you free (not in a physical sense)
  
  
  • The power of knowing God's Word (the Bible) not only sets you free (by becoming saved) but helps you overcome the power of sin, in this world
    
    
  • Romans 8:2:
    
    
    • Some believe they have to earn their way to Heaven (Catholic sacraments or Jehovah's witnesses)
    • Some believe they have to give away all they have to the poor
    • Some believe they are too worthless to be saved
    • But to be saved by simply having faith in Christ--not working for it--clears you of sin's eternal condemnation at Judgment Day and saves your soul forever--truly setting you free
    
    
  • Galatians 5:13; 1 Peter 2:16: And now, being saved (set free) doesn't give you a "license to sin" even though you can't lose your salvation; use your liberty to serve and pass the truth to others
    
    
  • Matthew 11:29-30; John 17:24: Jesus is the only One who wants you to pour your fears and tears and prayers out to, every waking moment of your life; He loved and knew you before the world was even formed!

CLOSER

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Real freedom is NOT:

The liberation of a country from its enemy

The release of a prisoner by his captor

Liberally expressing yourself in the United States of America

Real freedom is:

• When you become saved
  
  
• It's when you know the truth of the Bible and continue living your life according to its commandments
  
  
• Being free from the constraints of the world (sin's effects, worrying about money, job performance, boss, etc.) because you know God will take care of your every need (Matthew 6:30-32)

NAME: John Merrick (1862-1890) His disfiguring disease began when he was 2 years old His mother died when he was 11; When his dad re-married, John's new step-mom said to his dad, "Joseph or me," to which Joseph was cast out Nicknamed "the elephant man" and the ugliest man in the world, he was abused, made fun of and a slave in a carnival freak show most of his life He sold shoe polish on the street and the money he earned (200 pounds) as a carnival freak was stolen by an Austrian showman But Dr. Frederick Treves took him in and cared for him; declared him to be the most gentle of men Merrick studied the Bible, the book of Common Prayers, Jane Austen and Shakespeare and considered a remarkably intelligent, friendly and gentle soul To the world and his own mother, he is considered trapped in the ugliest body in the world; To God, John Merrick is among the world's minority of having inner beauty and being set free (being saved) REFERENCE: David Lynch's 1980 film "the elephant man"