David [00:00:02]:
Good morning, everyone. Tomorrow is Memorial Day. It’s the day I will always remember that someone has made a sacrifice, given a sacrificial gift for us to enjoy the freedom we live in today.
David [00:00:39]:
And what we have learned is freedom flows from sacrifice. Throughout the history of our nation, many have made the ultimate sacrifice and given their lives in the service of our country. They’ve sacrificed to defend the freedom we experience every day. Our freedom flows from their sacrifice. We all have family members and those close to us who have given through sacrifice so freedom could flow to us. And I am very grateful for and aware of the gift of sacrifice. Those that my family have given as they have served our country. My grandfather, Henry Wright.
David [00:01:35]:
My father, Eldridge Wright. My uncle, Frank Wright. My cousin Billy Johnson. My brother, Andrew Wright. My nephew, Chris Wright and my other nephew Ryan Wright. Thank you to all of them for the sacrifice you’ve given for all of us. So freedom could flow to us every day. Remembering and honoring those who have given their lives for our nation and for everything our great country stands for also points me back to the greatest sacrifice of all, which was the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for all mankind.
David [00:02:24]:
Jesus himself said in John 1513, there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. There’s no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. This freedom that we enjoy in our nation and as christians comes with a cost. A sacrifice it always has and it always will. It started in the garden of Eden and God our father demonstrated through a sacrifice with Adam and Eve forgiveness so they could walk in freedom of relationship with him. As I said before, Christ Jesus, our Lord and savior, has given the ultimate sacrifice of his life for all mankind. His sacrifice purchased eternal freedom for all those who would profess him and believe in him as their lord and savior. Through his sacrifice, freedom flows to us every day.
David [00:03:46]:
In Isaiah 61, verses one and two, the prophet Isaiah declares and prophesies something that is foretelling of Jesus coming. And he says this, the spirit of the Lord is upon me because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek. He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to them that are bound to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God. To comfort all that mourn. The word liberty there in Isaiah 61 is a hebrew word that means a flowing, free run spontaneity of outflow, a free, abundant flow. Isaiah was prophesying that this is what the savior, the messiah, was coming to give us, that free, abundant flow, to set us free so that we wouldn’t be captives anymore, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, to comfort all who mourn. And what a great, great, great promise this was. And we see this fulfilled in Luke four, when Jesus quotes this verse over himself and declares, in Luke 418 and 19, Jesus declares, the spirit of the Lord is upon me because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor.
David [00:05:36]:
He hath sent me to heal the broken hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised. To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. Jesus declares this, and everybody is sitting in awe as he declares this. And in the Greek, that word liberty there means release from bondage or imprisonment, forgiveness or pardon of sins, letting them go as if they had never been committed, remission of the penalty. Think about all that. Let’s look at that one more time. That word liberty there in the Greek is what Jesus came to do. It says, he came to release us from bondage or imprisonment to set you free.
David [00:06:44]:
He came to forget, bring forgiveness, to pardon your sins. You are forgiven. You are pardoned. He came and let go of all the sin in your life as if it had never been committed. He cleansed you, sanctified you, made you whole. He came and gave us a remission of the penalty. He bore it all for us. This is what Jesus came to give us through his sacrifice.
David [00:07:22]:
True freedom, that spontaneous flow of freedom, of being free. We’re going to see more of this as we move forward. This morning in Galatians five one, Paul declares this. It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. So stand firm then, and do not let yourselves be burdened. That word, freedom, there can also be translated liberty, but it means freedom from the dominion of corrupt desire. So that we do by the free impulse of the soul what the will of God requires, the freedom to do or not do, the power of choice. It is free will, which is the gift God has given all of us.
David [00:08:21]:
This is the freedom to choose. You know, a part of walking in agape, love, which is the highest level of love, which is the love God has for us. A part of walking in agape is choosing to love someone. And this choice goes beyond feelings and emotions, I see you as worthy of the love. The Lord says you were mine, so I choose to love you no matter what. This is what God did for us. He chose to love us. Even though many of us have rejected him, he loves us anyway.
David [00:09:03]:
And then the word free there, so it says, there it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. And so Christ has set us free. And that word free there means set at liberty. From the dominion of sin. We are delivered to set free from another’s control, that we might be possessors of freedom, that we might be exempt. You and I today are possessors of freedom. We’ve been set free so we could walk in freedom, as it says again there in Galatians five one, it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Christ has set us free so that we could enjoy, experience, and embrace and possess freedom every day in our lives.
David [00:09:57]:
And then he goes on to say in Galatians five one, stand fast, to stand firm, to persevere, to persist, to keep one standing, to preserve or persevere in godliness, to stand fast in one’s face. Fellowship with the Lord to maintain your allegiance to freedom. So what Paul is saying there in Galatians five one is stand firm, stand fast, and do not let yourselves be burdened. You know, the enemy comes and tries to rob us of our freedom. All the time. He tries to steal it, take it from us. And so Paul’s going, don’t go back there. Don’t go back and be burdened again.
David [00:10:48]:
Walk and stand firm in your relationship with the Lord and experience his freedom for you each and every day. Second Corinthians 317. This is from the amplified, says this now, the Lord is the spirit. And where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. Emancipation from bondage, freedom. This word liberty, there is the same definition as the Greek, as in Galatians five one that we just read. And the word liberty again means freedom from the dominion of corrupt desires, so that we do by the free impulse of the soul, what the will of God requires. And our soul is our mind.
David [00:11:39]:
It’s our thinking, our feeling, our choosing, our will. What we see in these verses is through his sacrifice, Jesus has made us free. He has given us freedom. And so there are a couple things I want us to see here as we’re talking about this. Number one, along with the idea that freedom flows from sacrifice, freedom is a sacrifice that is continually received. John 836 says, so if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. There’s no question about it. If you’ve accepted Jesus as your savior and your lord and you believe in him, you are free because he has set you free.
David [00:12:29]:
And the word free there, if the Son sets you free, that first word, translated free there, means set at liberty from the dominion of sin. Sin cannot hold you back anymore. You’re set free from it. It has no hold on you. And so you’re set free. You’re set at liberty so you can be free. The second word free there in that verse is the greek word that means freeborn in a civil sense. It means one who is not a slave, one who ceases to be a slave, one who is free, exempt, unrestrained, not bound by an obligation.
David [00:13:13]:
So this verse could be translated this way. If the son sets you at liberty from the dominion of sin, then you are freeborn. One who was not a slave. You were free. You were exempt. You were unrestrained and not bound by obligation. Wow, look what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for us. He has set us free.
David [00:13:42]:
Now the benefits of his sacrifice are to be received by all who accept him and confess him as Lord and savior. All those who have believed before us yesterday and history past, all who believe today and all who will believe in the future, tomorrow. This benefit is there for them. It’s there for all of us. Not only that, but we can receive this freedom every single day, continually. It’s a continual freedom that flows to us. In fact, as believers, this freedom flows to us every moment of every day for eternity. Hallelujah.
David [00:14:34]:
We’re walking in the fullness of freedom today. You can possess it today, receive it. The next thought is this freedom is walked out through continual sacrifice. And so we said, freedom flows from sacrifice. And so it’s sacrifice in this context. Only through sacrifice can freedom endure. And it’s our choice every day. We have the freedom to choose to walk, and true freedom by surrendering to God’s will or not.
David [00:15:15]:
We had the freedom to choose to do or not to do. So, as I think of this, I’m reminded of a song written by Judson van Deventer. And there’s some great stories about Judson. I don’t have time to tell them all today, but Judson wrote a song, a hymn that we all sing. And the lyrics, the opening lyrics, declared this all to Jesus. I surrender all to him I freely give I will ever love and trust him in his presence daily live I surrender all I surrender all all to thee my blessed savior I surrender all Judson captures here the essence of what we’re talking about. True freedom is walking in surrender. The continual sacrifice that we as believers walk out releases the flow of freedom that it’s ours to take each and every day.
David [00:16:32]:
When Jesus died on that cross, he made a deposit into our heavenly account, our spiritual account, that goes far beyond our earthly or political right to live in freedom. He added to us an indestructible, supernatural, eternal right to live in and freedom forever. And so, knowing that, Paul challenges us in Ephesians 422 24, strip yourselves of your former nature and put off and discard your old, unrenewed self, which characterized your previous manner of life and becomes corrupt through lust and desires that spring from delusion and be constantly renewed, constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind, having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude, and put on the new nature, the regenerate self created in God’s image, godlike and true righteousness and holiness. Now we are empowered to live supernaturally in freedom, but this comes with our own level of responsibility. It is walking out a continual sacrifice. So, as it says here in Ephesians four, it is laying down old mindsets that are not life giving, to take up new mindsets that continuously align our new nature to God’s nature, to the word, to his truth. Paul expresses this again in romans twelve, romans twelve two. This is from the amplified.
David [00:18:21]:
But he says this do not be conformed to this world, to this age, fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs, but be transformed and changed by the entire renewal, your mind, by its new ideals and its new attitudes, so that you may prove for yourself what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect in his sight for you. God has the perfect will for you, a plan, a purpose, a place for you. And you can walk in this with a renewed mind, walk in this freedom and be blessed by all that God wants to do in you and through you, with you and for you, each and every day. What is God asking you to lay down? What is God asking you to surrender to him? Let me assure you of this. It is not for your own destruction. It’s for your freedom. He goes, you want more freedom? Then surrender this in your life. Come and walk with me.
David [00:19:42]:
Think like me. Walk in my way. Everything God asks of us is for our good. His heart for us is to be free and walk in his freedom forever. So as we celebrate freedom together and think about it this week, let’s remember to thank God for all that Jesus Christ purchased for us through his sacrifice, the ultimate freedom that he came to give us. So let’s put our gratitude into action by living a life of yieldedness, sacrifice and surrender and obedience to what God has asked you to do. Obedience that leads to sacrifice will always produce a flow of greater freedom. Now, before we close today, there are five things I want to share with you.
David [00:20:48]:
And before I do, let me read this first for Galatians one four. Paul says, Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live. So as christians we are privileged to have liberties that are not provided by any man, government or nation. This freedom flows to us through the sacrifice of redemption of Jesus Christ. So let’s look at these five freedoms I mentioned. Number one, as his followers, we are free from fear, worry and anxiety. John 1427. The amplified translation says, peace I leave with you my own peace I now give and bequeath to you.
David [00:21:45]:
Not as the world gives, do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. Stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed, and do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled. Be at peace. Matthew 1031 the amplified says this fear not then you are a more value than many sparrows. God’s got you. He sees you. He is with you.
David [00:22:20]:
He is for you. Fear not. There’s nothing to fear. Second Timothy one seven says, for God did not give us a spirit of timidity, of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear, fear. But he has given us a spirit of power, of love, and of calm and well balanced mind and discipline and self control. We are free from fear. The second freedom to celebrate is we are free from condemnation. John 316 18 says this.
David [00:22:59]:
This is from the amplified translation again, for God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world, that he even gave up his only begotten, unique son, so that whoever believes in, trusts in, and clings to, relies on him, shall not perish or come to destruction, be lost, but have eternal, everlasting life. For God did not send the son into the world in order to judge, to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through him. He who believes in him, who clings to trust in him, relies on him, is not judged. He who trusts in him never comes up for judgment, for there is no rejection, no condemnation. He encouraged no damnation. But he who does not believe cleave to rely on or trust in Christ. He is judged already. He has already been convicted and has already received his sentence.
David [00:24:10]:
Because he has not believed and entrusted in the name of the only begotten Son of God, he is condemned for refusing to let his trust rest in Christ’s name. And Romans eight one tells us, therefore, there is now no condemnation, no adjudging guilty of wrong for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live and walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the spirit. The third thing that we celebrate, the third freedom, is we are free to come to God and be in his presence. Presence. Hebrews 10 19 22 says this, therefore, brethren, since we have full freedom and confidence to enter into the holy of holies by the power and virtue in the blood of Jesus, by the fresh, new and living way which he initiated and dedicated and opened for us through the separating curtain veil of the holy of holies, that is, through his flesh. And since we have such a great and wonderful and noble priest who rules over the house of God, let us all come forward and draw near with true, honest and sincere hearts, an unqualified assurance, an absolute conviction engendered by faith, by that leaning of the entire human personality on God, an absolute trust and confidence in his power, wisdom and goodness, having our hearts sprinkled and purified from a guilty evil conscience, and our bodies cleansed with pure water, and because of the sacrifice of Jesus, we have pure, unadulterated access, free access to our fathers God each and every day. Matthew 11 28 30 speaks of this. Jesus is saying to the disciples, come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest.
David [00:26:22]:
I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls. I will take in fact, take my yoke upon you and learn of me. For I am gentle, meek and humble, lowly in heart, and you will find rest, relief and ease, and refreshment and recreation, and blessed quiet for your souls. For my yoke is wholesome, useful, good, not harsh, hard, sharp or pressing, but comfortable, gracious and pleasant. And my burden is light and easy to be born. John 637 all whom my father gives, who trusts me, will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will most certainly not cast out. I will never, no, never reject one of them who comes to me. We come to him, and he receives us with open arms.
David [00:27:27]:
This is welcome, my child. Hallelujah. Thank you, Lord. Number four. The freedom we celebrate is we are free to pray and bring our concerns to God. Philippians four six seven. Paul says, do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition, definite request with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God, and God’s peace shall be yours. That tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so, fearing nothing from God, and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace which transcends all understanding, shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
David [00:28:21]:
Mark 1124 for this reason I am telling you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe, trust, and be confident that it is granted to you, and you will get it. Then Romans 826 assures us so too the Holy Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weeping, for we do not know what prayer to offer, nor how to offer it worthily as we ought. But the spirit himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance. We can bring God our request, coming with our questions, and he is there speak to us and give us insight and understanding and revelation the fifth fear that or the fifth not fear, but the fifth freedom that I want us to talk about today is we are free from shame and the guilt of our sins. Isaiah one verse 18 says this, come now, let us reason together, says the Lord, though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, they shall be like wool. One John one nine John the apostle said this if we freely admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, he is faithful and just, true to his own nature and promises, and will forgive our sins, dismiss our lawlessness, and continuously cleanse us from all unrighteousness, everything not in conformity to his will and purpose, thought and action. Hebrews 810 twelve for this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, said the Lord, I will imprint my laws upon their minds, even upon their innermost thoughts and understanding, and engrave them upon their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
David [00:30:36]:
And it will never more be necessary for each one to teach his neighbor and his fellow citizen, or each one his brother, saying, know, perceive, and have knowledge of get acquainted by experience with the Lord. For all will know me, from the smallest to the greatest of them, for I will be merciful and gracious toward their sins, and I will remember their deeds of unrighteousness no more. Jesus came to set us free from all sin. The penalty of sin and to bring us true freedom. Our freedom truly flows from his sacrifice. Let’s bow our heads in prayer. Father God, we are so thankful for the sacrifice others have made to secure and protect the many freedoms that we enjoy as citizens of the United States and the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus made for us who have become citizens of the kingdom of God. We ask that you be with us, that we never take these blessings for granted.
David [00:31:57]:
And we pray that on this memorial day, we will remember all those who have sacrificed their lives for our freedom. Father God, we thank you for them. They showed, perhaps unknowingly, the example of your son when he gave his life for ours. And God, I pray that we never forget that our greatest freedom, it is the freedom from death and sin that you have provided through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Thank you for redeeming our lives. And as Job said in job 1925, for I know that my redeemer lives. Your redeemer lives today, and you can walk in and receive freedom each and every day because of this. Go have a blessed week.
David [00:33:02]:
Pastor Conia is coming with a closing word in prayer.
