Longing For Freedom!

Sermon Notes

July 6, 2008

Rev. Jim O’Neal, Senior Pastor

Sun Lakes United Methodist Church

9248 E. Riggs Road, Sun Lakes, Arizona 85248

(480) 895-8766

 

John 8:31-36 NRSV

31Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; 32and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”  33They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone.  What do you mean by saying, ‘You will be made free’?”  34Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.  35The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever.  36So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.

 

A.  Introduction

    1.  Statue of Liberty

        a.  In his book TALKING STRAIGHT Lee Iacocca shares some interesting stories about raising funds for the 100th birthday celebration in 1986 of the Statue of Liberty.  There was a man from Poland who sent $2 for this “beautiful symbol.”  He never expected to see the statue himself, but at least he could dream about it.  Then there was a money order from a refugee camp in Thailand.  Seventy-eight homeless Vietnamese people had passed the hat and raised $114.19 as “our humble share for the rehabilitation of her hundredth birthday.”  “That one floored me,” said Iacocca.  “These were people who had lost everything—everything but hope.  And the Lady was the symbol of that hope.  They simply were pleading with us to ‘keep the torch lit.’”

        b.  The Statue of Liberty is a universal symbol of freedom.  People gladly helped refurbish the statue, because inside every human being there is a longing for freedom.  People hope to be free.

    2.  Today’s Scripture:  John 8:31-36

        a.    And of course I will remind us that the greatest symbol of freedom is Jesus Christ.  On the cross He bought us freedom from sin.

        b.  As Jesus says in today’s Scripture:  “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.  Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever.  So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:34-36 NIV)  This morning we shall talk about three of the freedoms we long for:

 

B.  Political Freedom

    1.  The Russian Wolfhound and the French Poodle

        a.  Some years ago during the height of the Cold War this story circulated.  A Russian wolfhound and a French poodle met on a Paris street.  “How are things in Russia?” the poodle asked.  “Could not be better,” the Russian wolfhound said.  “I sleep in a solid gold dog house on a silk carpet, and all day long they feed me caviar.”  The poodle asked, “If things are so great, why do you come to Paris?”  The Russian wolfhound looked around and then whispered, “Because sometimes I like to bark!”

        b.  People long for the right to have an opinion, and to be able to speak up about it.  People long to have a say in their government.

    2.  Fall of the Berlin Wall

        a.  Ever since I was a child, there was a Berlin Wall.  There was this awful wall dividing the nation of Germany in two.  To the west was a free Germany, and to the east a Germany under the oppression of Soviet Russia.  To many of us it looked like this wall would never come down.  Soviet Russia seemed too powerful.

        b.  However, the people of Germany longed to be free.  It was their desire and prayer.  And the rest is history!  Soviet Russia collapsed.  The people of Germany rose up and tore the wall down! 

    3.  Tiananmen Square.

        a.  Remember Tiananmen Square?  Even against impossible odds, people hope against hope for freedom.  The students and others in China rose up.  They wanted democracy.  The communist government would ultimately mow down the protestors, but they have not killed the hope in China for liberty and justice.

        b.  How do I know this?  Remember the one lone student staring down a tank there in Tiananmen Square?  This is how strong the longing is for freedom.

 

C.  Personal Freedom

    1.  Devil’s Island

        a.  Devil’s Island is one of three islands off the coast of what was French Guiana.  People called it the closest thing to hell on earth.  The penal colonies there were established in 1852 when Napoleon closed two prisons in France and sent the convicts to Devil’s Island.  There the men would serve out their sentences, and then be freed to establish a new French colony in that part of the world.  The colony was a failure.  A former prisoner said the men fought two things:  the climate and each other.

        b.  The heat, the insects, and the confinement cells were all very uncomfortable, but the worst part was that there was no escape from the island.  A man would serve his sentence and then be freed onto the island itself.  However, no former prisoner was allowed to use a government boat to be taken anywhere!  He could attempt the swim to the mainland, but then the waters were filled with sharks and the currents were treacherous.  There was no escape.  In theory they were free, but not really.  In effect they were still prisoners.

        c.  Sadly there are people here today, who are trapped in their own personal Devil’s Island.  No one is actually imprisoning them, but they are not free.  Fear and doubt keep them from being what God made them to be.  Negative “tapes” in the mind keep tearing them down. 

 

    2.  Raynald III

        a.  Sadly too many of us like Raynald III are enslaved by our own weakness.  Raynald was a fourteenth century duke and the ruler of a province in what is today Belgium.  Raynald was extremely overweight.  He was taken prisoner by his younger brother in a revolt, and imprisoned in a room that was literally built around him.  The room had no bars on the windows, and no lock on the door.  The door and the windows were roughly one third the size of a normal door or window.  But small enough that poor overweight Raynald could not go through them!  Still there was hope.  All he had to do to be a free man was to go on a diet.  His brother even offered to restore his title and wealth.  All Raynald had to do was leave the room and sit upon the throne of the fiefdom.

        b.  However, the brother knew Raynald’s weakness and each day had a chef supply Raynald with a huge variety of delicious foods.  Instead of growing thinner, he got fatter.  He was a prisoner not of locks or bars, or even of an oppressive government.  He was a prisoner of his own appetite.  Are there habits or attitudes imprisoning you?  Is there a failure you just cannot let go of?  Is your mind or the words of someone else putting you down and emotionally beating you up?

    3.  Paul

        a.  The Apostle Paul knew what it was to be imprisoned.  Some of his greatest letters were written while he was behind bars.  Paul knew what it was to be denied political liberty.  Paul, also, knew that there are freedoms more important than political freedom.  One is the freedom within.  The only kind of freedom that really matters is freedom within.  It is the kind of freedom that comes from having the Spirit of Jesus inside of you.  It is the kind of freedom that even in the face of difficulties trusts in God.  It is, also, a freedom born of knowing that Jesus has washed away your sins and opened Paradise for you.

        b.  Paul had this freedom.  Paul would write:  “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Galatians 6:14 KJV)  Do you know the freedom from within?  Know Jesus and you will know freedom.

 

D.  Perfect Freedom

    1.  Sir Roger Boulter

        a.  Over two centuries ago, a wealthy English landowner, Sir Roger Boulter, visited the traveling fair at Colchester.  As he went around the booths and sideshows, he suddenly heard the market square clock begin to chime.  Like a child he counted, but could not believe his ears:  The clock chimed thirteen!  Thinking he had miscounted he turned toward a small man who was standing near to him.  The man smiled and verified the count.  “The clock struck thirteen.” Sir Roger wrote in his diary that evening.

        b.  Two months later Sir Roger woke up with a strong urge.  An inner voice seemed to say, “Go to York.”  He tried to disregard this compelling voice, but could not, and he rode his horse to York.  When he arrived there was a large crowd outside the courthouse.  It was the last day of a murder trial.  He walked in to hear the guilty verdict being read. The defendant spoke, “I am innocent.  I was more than one hundred miles from the crime on the day it took place.  I was in Colchester.  Another man and myself heard a clock strike thirteen.  If only I could find him, he could vouch for my innocence.”  Immediately Sir Roger stood up and explained whom he was.  He showed the judge his diary that he always carried with him.  The accused was then declared innocent and released.  On the way out he said to Sir Roger Boulter, “You are the only man in all the world who could have save me.” 

        c.  You and I have anguish and turmoil, and are filled with defeat, because of our estrangement from God.  And there is only one man who can help us, and that is Jesus Christ.  He is the only one who can truly set us free.

    2.  Old Man Kline

        a.  Mr. Kline, or “Old Man Kline”, as everybody called him, was the town “scrooge.”  He was a self-centered and mean miser.  No one particularly liked Old Man Kline.  Sometimes the children would even tease with rhymes they had heard from the adults.  One day Mr. Kline was very depressed.  His greedy life had brought him no happiness.  He decided to jump into the river and kill himself.  As he walked he passed a Church.  It was Sunday and the people were singing:  “Saved by grace alone, this is my plea.  Jesus died for all mankind and Jesus died for me.”  Mr. Kline was hard of hearing and he heard the people singing that Jesus had died for “Old Man Kline.” 

        b.  Mr. Kline went into that Church building.  He thanked them for caring for him; he poured out his heart, and received Jesus as his Lord and Savior.  And this blessed little congregation never did tell him they weren’t singing “Old Man Kline.”  They were just glad that a man was saved from his sins.  However, there is a truth that I hope none of us miss.  Jesus did die specifically for you, and he calls out your name to come to Him.

    3.  Slave freed by the Mississippi River

        a.  Mark Twain told a tale of a weary and abused slave who was the “property” of a big Missouri landowner.  The plantation sat along the banks of the Mississippi River.  The owner’s house was on a hill.  The slave lived in a little shack on a swampy peninsula of land right by the river.  One night the mighty Mississippi changed its course and cut through the narrow neck of land where the slave’s home was.  That night the man went to sleep as a slave in Missouri.  The next morning he awoke to discover that because of the river’s change, he was now in Illinois, and he was a free man!

        b.  Such a change took place on Calvary 2,000 years ago.  Jesus died upon the cross there.  With Him died the sins of the world.  You and I are free!  The brokenness between God and us is no more.  We can live here and now in fellowship with God.  And we can live someday in Heaven forever with our Lord!

 

E.  Conclusion

    1.  Recap:  People have a longing for:

        a.  Political Freedom

        b.  Personal Freedom

        c.  Perfect Freedom

    2.  Distinguished Foreigner

        a.  The 5th grade class had been studying American history.  The teacher asked, “Name a distinguished foreigner who helped the colonists during the Revolutionary War?”  Billy replied, “Was that Jesus Christ?”

        b.  Teacher was probably thinking of Lafayette, but Billy’s answer certainly is not wrong.  Is anyone here not thankful for our God given freedom as Americans?  And above all I hope that everyone here knows the perfect freedom that only Jesus Christ can give.

 

John 8:31-36 NRSV

31Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; 32and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”  33They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone.  What do you mean by saying, ‘You will be made free’?” 

34Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.  35The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever.  36So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.

 

Longing For Freedom!

People have a longing for:

 

1.  Political Freedom

 

2.  Personal Freedom

 

3.  Perfect Freedom

“If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

John 8:36 NIV