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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy
word.
If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
John 8:36
I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s
dwelling place is now among the people, and He will dwell with them. They will
be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will
wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or
crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making
everything new!” Then He said, “Write this down, for these words are
trustworthy and true.”
Revelation 21:3-5
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be
to God.
Today, Independence Day (also known as the 4th of July),
millions of people will celebrate their freedom in the United States. They will
gather for picnics and cookouts, attend parades, and culminate the day with
watching glorious fireworks displays. It’s a holiday where most people are off,
a day filled with fun and enjoyment.
But here’s the thing.
There’s a large segment of those millions of people who
are not really free because they have not yet accepted the true source of their
freedom.
You see, people in America are entangled in their national
history and pride so much that they believe freedom is grounded in a day 241
years ago when the nation’s founding fathers signed the Declaration of
Independence, establishing the first thirteen American colonies as a nation
liberated from British rule and tyranny. And although a democracy was born that
day, a democracy we still enjoy today, it only set people free for the here and
now. It hasn’t guaranteed anyone a future freedom nor will it.
This is because there is only one way to ensure that you
are free now and forever, a truth that has existed since we started counting
years AD. Maybe you have never thought about that but why do we use a marker
that separates BC and AD anyways? I know you have seen this used all the time
but most people fail to understand that the demarcation point is the birth of
Jesus.
Thus, BC stands for Before Christ and AD, short for Anno
Domini, means “in the year of the Lord”, the time that Jesus came into the
world to bring salvation, and yes, freedom. Not just salvation and freedom for
the short term but salvation and freedom eternally.
We base the way we look at time and years, the way we
look at our history off of Jesus and yet as mentioned earlier, there are
millions upon millions of people who don’t even acknowledge belief in Him, a
number that reached roughly one third of America’s population in a survey taken
three years ago. That’s a lot of people who think they are free, free to choose
not to believe in Jesus, and yet they are actually imprisoned within their
views of liberty and as far from free as they could be.
This isn’t just my opinion. The word of God from the
Gospel of John tells us this:
If the Son sets
you free, you will be free indeed. John
8:36
True freedom is only found in Jesus, the One who God sent
to save all mankind from their sins.
Yes, you can proclaim democracy all you want to. But
democracy is a system of government. Nothing more, nothing less. It hasn’t, won’t,
nor will it ever bring you or anyone else salvation. Ever. Only Jesus, the Son,
can set you free.
Free from what you may ask?
Look at these verses from Revelation 21 and the promise
of a new earth and heaven after Jesus returns to judge the earth and take with
Him those who believed and trusted in Him as Savior, those who are counted
among the free indeed:
I heard a loud
voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the
people, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself
will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes.
There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order
of things has passed away.”
He who was seated
on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then He said, “Write this
down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Revelation 21:3-5
Here we find the promise and assurance of some of the
things a Christ believer will be free from as soon as they accept Him as
Savior.
1. Free from death.
Jesus conquered death and the grave after bearing the
sins of us all on Calvary’s cross. His resurrection and ascension paved the way
for us to follow once we place our belief in Him.
2. Free from mourning.
There will be no more need for grief for we will not lose
anything or anybody ever again. We will live forever with God and Jesus, in the
company of the other saints who gained their salvation.
3. Free from crying.
There will be no need for sadness as you enter eternity
free from all the afflictions and hardships that your worldly life brought upon
you. You will only experience elation and joy over having made it across the
finish line to claim your part of eternity’s inheritance.
4. Free from pain.
This could mean a lot of things. Pain from the guilt and
penalty of sin. Pain from illness or injury. Emotional pain from any number of
life events that may have left you hurt.
One thing is certain. There will be no pain in heaven.
None. And I don’t know about you but I am looking forward to that.
Indeed, the Lord will one day make all things new in a
world that is free from every difficulty we’ve experienced in the past, are
experiencing today, or will experience in the future during this temporary life.
So what does true freedom look like?
Look to Jesus, believe in Him, receive Him as Savior, and
you will find out.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
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