Free Indeed

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered Independence Day weekend, on Sunday, the 3rd of July, 2022, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Our YouTube streaming channel is: 

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg.]

A young shepherd boy stood ready to do battle with the enemy’s greatest warrior.  The giant Goliath, armed with shield and sword, laughed as he faced David, carrying only a sling and a few smooth stones.  David had no chance in this world against Goliath, but by the hand of God he prevailed and triumphed.

I’d bet that King George III laughed as his mighty army and navy, the most powerful in the world at the time, faced off against a poorly organized and more poorly equipped band of shopkeepers and farmers.  These colonists had no chance in this world against the British crown, but by the hand of God they prevailed and triumphed.  These people put all their faith in the Lord and refused to listen to “popular wisdom” of the day.  Perhaps they had read, understood, and heeded the words of an unknown psalmist.

Please listen and follow along to what was written by one whose name has been lost to time, this song of praise, the 146th Psalm, and I’ll be reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible this morning…

1 Praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord, O my soul!

2 While I live I will praise the Lord;

I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

3 Do not put your trust in princes,

Nor in a human being, in whom there is no salvation.

4 His spirit departs, he returns to his earth;

In that very day his plans perish.

5 Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help,

Whose hope is in the Lord his God,

6 Who made heaven and earth,

The sea, and all that is in them;

Who keeps truth forever,

7 Who executes justice for the oppressed,

Who gives food to the hungry.

The Lord gives freedom to the prisoners.

8 The Lord opens the eyes of the blind;

The Lord raises those who are bowed down;

The Lord loves the righteous.

9 The Lord watches over the strangers;

He relieves the fatherless and widow;

But the way of the wicked He turns upside down.

10 The Lord shall reign forever—

Your God, O Zion, to all generations.

Praise the Lord!

--Psalm 146 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for standing with us as we sought the freedom to govern ourselves.  Thank You for being with us through so many struggles we have endured as a nation, as a people, and as individuals.  And thank You for blessing this great land and placing us here.  Forgive us, please Father, when we forget that we can accomplish little or nothing on our own.  Forgive us when we don’t recognize Your hand at work in our lives.  Please help us ignore what the world would pass off as wisdom, seeking only Your great and righteous truth.  Help us put all our trust in You and not in princes or any human being.  Remind us that salvation comes only from You through the blood of Your Son Jesus.  Remind us to be happy, for all our hope is in You.  And Father, please protect us from Satan and from those who carry out his evil deeds.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and one purpose in our love, worship, and service, and healthy and safe through these trying times.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand the message You have for us this day.  Teach us the true meaning of freedom.  Show us the path that keeps us free.  This we pray in the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

On the base of the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor is a bronze plaque on which is inscribed a poem by Emma Lazarus.  The poem reads, in part:

“Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

Lady Liberty holds a torch lighting the way to a land where people can be free.  Of course, it took too many years for all people to be able to realize freedom, or even self-governance.  And there are many in these United States who will say we still aren’t all free.  But it’s that promise of freedom that people yearn for, in a nation unlike any on earth.

And don’t you think that “Lazarus” is an appropriate name for the author of this poem that offers new life to the oppressed of the world, given by the hand of God, just as her namesake was given life anew by the hand of God’s Son?

Our Founding Fathers were very much aware of God’s hand at work.  As did the psalmist, they praised the Lord, knowing that He executed justice for the oppressed, gave freedom to the prisoners – prisoners of tyranny, and prisoners to sin.  These were Christian men, believers in the one true God and in His Son Jesus.  They felt the Holy Spirit actively working within them, guiding them, helping them.

The great patriot Patrick Henry, who once stood up in the Second Virginia Convention and shouted, “Give me liberty or give me death!”, also noted that, “It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians, not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ!”

There are many in this great land who would beg to differ.  They say that Jesus was just a man, that there is no God, and even if there is then He loves everyone the same.  They say that religion has no place in government, that the church has no place in politics.  President Thomas Jefferson, in an 1802 New Year’s Day speech to the Danbury Baptists, corrected this wayward thinking by explaining that, “The First Amendment has erected a wall of separation between church and state, but that wall is a one directional wall; it keeps the government from running the church, but it makes sure that Christian principles will always stay in government.”  And our first president, George Washington, in his farewell address to the nation added: “Do not let anyone claim the tribute of American patriotism if they ever attempt to remove religion from politics.”

Sadly, we have shifted far from these ideals over the last decades.  Maybe we’ve just forgotten that we have not always been free - neither free from tyranny nor free from the bonds of sin.  We know that not everyone believes in Jesus, not everyone accepts Him as Lord.  But even among those who do, so many have accepted the world’s wisdom, what the world passes on for truth, disregarding the words of Jesus.

Listen to an exchange between Jesus and some Jewish believers as recorded by the Apostle John in the 8th chapter of his Gospel account, verses 31 through 36…

31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

33 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’?”

34 Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. 36 Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”

--John 8:31-36 (NKJV)

The truth of God makes us free, truly free.  We can wage wars and pay terrible costs in lives and materials to gain freedom from man’s tyranny and evilness.  But we can only truly be set free from sin and from death by God’s Truth, God’s Son: Jesus.

And the only thing we have to do to gain this freedom is believe in the Son and accept Him as our Lord and Master.  Jesus has already fought the greatest war and won.  We may have to still do battle with Satan in this life, but the war is won and we will share in the victory.  Victory over sin, freedom from death, salvation from everlasting punishment and pain.  The Son makes us free.  And we are free indeed!

Our nation’s Founders knew that it was only by God's hand that we won our fight for freedom from tyranny and the right to govern ourselves.  But there is so much more to freedom than this.

The psalmist proclaimed that it is only by God's hand that we are saved and sustained.  God gives freedom to the prisoners, no matter what the prison might be.  Freedom from enemies, freedom from tyranny, freedom from the chains of sin.  And to paraphrase poet Emma Lazarus, it is Jesus who stands by the golden door, holding high the torch of truth, welcoming the tired and poor, the wretched refuse, the homeless and tempest-tossed, the huddled masses yearning to breathe free.

Our Lord loves the righteous.  He opens the eyes of the blind to the truth.  He lifts up those who are bowed down and oppressed.  He watches over us all.  And while nations rise and fall and crumble in time, our Lord shall reign for ever and ever.

Through Christ Jesus and Jesus alone, we are free indeed.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for blessing us with the freedom from tyranny so that we can govern ourselves.  And thank You for giving of Your Son, who freed us from the chains of sin and death.  All You ask is that we believe in Him as Your Christ, sent to redeem us, and that we accept Him as our Lord.  And thanks to You, we are free to make that choice.  Thank You, God, for blessing us so much.  Father, sometimes we seem to forget what freedom really means.  Sometimes we think it is by our own efforts that we are a free people.  Forgive us, Father, when we fail to recognize Your hand at work in our lives.  Forgive us when we listen to the so-called wisdom of others rather than turning to Your word for guidance.  Please, loving Father, continue to smile upon us as a people.  Remind us that You are still sovereign, no matter what the non-believing world proclaims.  And Father, please help us remain strong, faithful, and true through all that we face in this age.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, as the Son, You abide forever in our Father’s house.  And You promise that we too can live there forever if we just believe in You and accept You as our Lord.  By Your blood You washed us clean and freed us from the chains of sin.  Thank You, Jesus, for freeing us.  Because of You, we are free indeed.  Thank You for loving us so much.  Please, Lord, help us stay on the path of righteousness so we do not return to slavery to sin.  Forgive us when we allow the world to sway our thinking and lead us back to the ways of wickedness.  Help us remember our true freedom comes only through You by our faith and belief.  Remind us that God is still sovereign over all.  And Lord Jesus, please heal the hurts that separate and divide us one from another.  Help us remain trusting and obedient no matter what we go through.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on what this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.