Saturday, June 30, 2012

July 1, 2012

"Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, “Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.” The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. He rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, “I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain. I will proclaim the Lord’s decree. He said to me, “You are my son; today I have become your father. Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will break them with a rod of iron; you will dash them to pieces like pottery. "Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling. Kiss his son, or he will be angry and your way will lead to your destruction, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him." Psalm 2

My last post I shared what freedom isn't. Freedom isn't a matter of having total control. Those who are driven by a desire to have absolute control usually end up out of control.

According to verses 4-6, freedom is found in God Who IS in total control! He is freedom and He instructed the Founders in establishing a free nation and protecting it.

God stands above the rule of man and is not threatened by men who build great armies or possess great power. He chuckles at them. Their arrogance amuses Him.

Romans 13 reminds us that God sets all rulers in place to accomplish His purposes. So, those who vainly challenge Him or curse Him are no threat to Him. They usually end up as victims of their own attempts to oppose Him.

Beginning with Lucifer, and then Adam and Eve, then the Pharaoh and down to the Hitlers, Stalins, Moas, and Castros of the world - many have tried to eliminate God from the earth only to be brought down by their own evil designs.

To find freedom is to lose yourself in God because freedom is primarily a spiritual matter.

Presidents or kings or prime ministers don't give you freedom, because freedom doesn't come from political parties or governments. None of them can rescue you from your spiritual bondange. Only God can do that.

The truth is, there are millions of people in the freest nation in the world who are bound up in sin. And there are those in China and Russia and North Korea who know the freedom of being children of God.

That brings us to the third important fact about freedom found in verses 7-12, freedom happens when you give control to God!

The fundamental freedom when have is this - the freedom to choose who we will serve!

Jesus gave up His freedom and took your bondage in order to make that freedom of choice possible for you!

God, Who is in charge of time and eternity, gave His Son in order to purchase your spiritual freedom. He chose to pay a HUGE price in order to allow you to that choice.

If you are yet to make that choice, think about this. Think about what it is like when God has absolute control over everyone and everything. What would that place be like?

Does the word "Eden" mean anything to you? How about the word "Heaven"?

And then think about another place where God is not allowed and there is continual rebellion against Him. How would a place like that be?

Maybe, "Hell"?

Freedom isn't free and it isn't easy. It will cost you something and it cost Him EVERYTHING! But think about your other option. Think about spending the rest of this life in the spiritual bondage of rebellion against God and then going to eternal bondage when you die.

The Psalmist knew and the Founders knew what freedom isn't - being in total control. They knew what freedom is, a spiritual matter. And they knew when freedom happens, when you give control to God.

Have you found freedom or are you still bound up in tyring to control everything?



June 30, 2012

"Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, “Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.” The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. He rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, “I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain. I will proclaim the Lord’s decree. He said to me, “You are my son; today I have become your father. Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will break them with a rod of iron; you will dash them to pieces like pottery. "Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling. Kiss his son, or he will be angry and your way will lead to your destruction, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him."  Psalm 2

Psalm 2 gives great insights into freedom, that is why I titled my message for this Sunday "Freedom 101".

First, in verses 1-3, we see what freedom isn't.

Freedom isn't being in total control.
 
Reading the Founders makes it clear they understood one of the greatest obstactles to freedom is the false notions of freedom that arise from the corrupted heart and clouded minds of humans.

The Founding Fathers understood the fallen nature of man and the rebellion that led to that fall. They were very aware they would have to build a system of checks and balances as safeguards against the lust for power and control.

Ingeniously, they came up with three co-equal branches of government and a written Constitution to which they were to constrain themselves. They also designed a republic rather than a pure democracy. It was safer to have have 535 elected officials deciding policy rather than a simple majority of individual citizens. In a democracy, if there are 100,000,000 voters and 50,000,001 of them decide that homosexual marriage should be the law of the land, it would become the law of the land.

Also, they had the foresight to limit the terms of service for elected officials. Presidents serve 4 years, senators who serve 6 years, and representatives who have a 2 year term.

Guided by Divine wisdom, our Founders knew what the Psalmist declares in this Second Psalm, those who are driven by a lust for power and control will end up abusing power and out of control.

As you take time to reflect on your blessings as an American, be sure and thank God for the Founders who so carefully and humbly built this great government.

And, while you are searching your heart, ask the Spirit to reveal any area that is not under His control and surrender it to Him.