|
|
1411 Rim Road Fayetteville, North Carolina 28314 Office Phone: 910-868-5686 |
|  |
The True Freedom
Jeremiah 18:1-11
July 2nd 2006
The Rev. Kong Namkung
Prayer: Lord, it is more than I will ever understand how your hands preserve me. Then there are only two things required of me: to be faithful to you and your gospel, and to have willingness to be used by you. So O Lord, I come to you with willingness to be used by you. Lord, I am willing, Lord, I am willing and the way to see where you lead me. Lord, I am willing Lord, Lead me and I am willing to be used by you.
When I came to this country little over 2o years ago, I was confused. One day I went to Food Lion to buy powdered milk and it said, “Just add water and shake it well.” So I followed the instruction. I saw powdered Gatorade – The instruction says, “Just add water.” Then I saw baby powder – without reading the instruction I just added water. Wow, what a country!
I saw a buffalo first time in America. It was huge and different from that of Korean. Later, I went to a restaurant and found in the menu, “buffalo wings.” I was confused and thought there were buffalos that have wings.
It is a great joy for me to learn English. In Korea I learned greetings in English, “How are you?” One day I met an Afro-American man, who was saying to me, “What’s up?” I looked up the ceiling and said, “Nothing.”
The United States of America is the greatest country. In America, we park on the driveway and drive our cars on the parkway. In America, when we transport something by car, we call it a “shipment.” And when we transport something in a ship we call it “cargo.” In America, we park more than $20,000 cars on the drive way or on the street so that we can store $200 worth of junk in our garages. In America, the #2 pencil is the most popular, but it is still #2. In America, when everyone is driving slowly, we call it “rush hours.” Only in America we buy hot dogs in packages of ten and buns in packages of eight. Mama! But I love this country. I love her. My loving wife loves her American citizenship and out of love for America I will get the American citizenship on November 3rd in Raleigh, NC.
Two days from today we will celebrate 230th birthday of the United States of America. It was 230 years ago that this country was born. Many people celebrate the birthday of the nation in various ways. Some people have a Bar-B-Q with bakes beans, charcoaling Rib Eyes with potatoes and salad while others go to a beach or to visit family members and friends. And others like me work very hard at merchandising some items for the 4th July Special sale.
Whatever we do, we know that this nation is based on freedom, responsibility, liberty, and godliness. The celebration of our nation’s birthday is really a celebration of freedom that we have today and right now because other people paid the price for us. One of the bumper stickers says, “Freedom is not free.” Somebody paid the price. So, freedom is very expensive. It has cost endless people’s energy, efforts, everything, including their lives. Freedom isn’t free, but it is infinitely valuable. Our founding father’s believed freedom is valuable enough to risk everything on such as their future, their families, and their honor, even their very lives.
Today as we worship in security and comfort, we do so because thousands of men women have given their lives for our freedom, and shed their blood for our freedom.
The blood spilled by American service men and women in the past few weeks in Iraq and Afghanistan is not the first time blood was spilled for freedom. The blood spilled by Policemen and women, fire- fighters, and rescuers on 911 was not the first time spilled for freedom. The blood spilled on battlefields called Concord and Charleston and York Town was not the first time blood was spilled for freedom. Over 2,000 years ago, a young man’s blood spilled upon the ground from the cross so that we could all experience the true freedom. Independence Day started long before July 4th 1776. Independence Day did not begin in 1776 in America, but it began in Jesus Christ from Golgotha, Calvary, on a cross and finished when Jesus rose from the dead.
Let us read together Mark 15:33-37, “When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land, until three in the afternoon. At three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabach thani?” which means, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” …. Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last.”
God fulfilled His promise by giving up his Son on the cross so that God might find His children.
The movie "Finding Nemo". The movie was about a little fish named Nemo who swam
too close to a boat. He was captured by a scuba diver and put in a fish tank in
the office of a dentist. The whole movie was about Nemo’s father Marlin,
crossing the ocean seeking and trying to save his Son.
God, the Father, wanted His children to have freedom like Marlin did to his son,
Nemo, who was bounded by the fish tank. Apostle Paul said in Romans 8:2, “For
the law of the Spirit of life of Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of
sin and death.”
This week we will celebrate our independence from bondage to an oppressive
England government won over 230 years ago. We will celebrate an Independence
day, as a nation, that is temporary. But someday will come when we no longer
enjoy the freedoms we have. Nonetheless, at that time we will celebrate our
independence from this world. But should we not daily celebrate our independence
from the bondage of guilt, sin, fear, and death, the independence won over 2,000
years ago? Should we not celebrate and discover the depths of an independence
that will last for all of eternity?
Today we’ll explore just three of the ways that Jesus sets us free if we
will only have the faith to believe him and believe in him.
1. Freedom from Guilt that our past can’t haunt us
1 John 3:4-5, “Everyone who commits sin is guilty of
lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he (Jesus) was revealed to take
away sins, and in Him there is no sin.”
Have you been dragging your past around? You know what I mean. You’ve done
things in the past that have hurt others and have hurt you.
Do you remember “Lion King?” Simba was full of guilty and shame that his father was killed because of him. He could not get out of the guilty.
Like Simba was in guilt some of you’ve failed miserably in the past. You’ve
failed at marriage. You’ve failed at parenting. You’ve failed financially
because of your own irresponsibility. You’ve failed to keep your fidelity to
your spouse. You’ve failed, and failed, and failed, and the guilt of your
failures and poor choices are dragging around behind you. Your past sins are an
anchor that keeps you earthbound when your heart longs to be more, to reach to
the higher level of God’s call in Christ Jesus.
How would you like to be free from that guilt? The key word here is FORGIVEN.
Simba learned the word, “Akonamatata,” which means, “Don’t worry.” All his
guilt and shame are moved away and wanted to begin a new life in the circle and
going back to where he was.
Like Simba had a new understanding of life Paul tells us, “He is so rich in
kindness that he purchased our freedom through the blood of his Son, and our
sins are forgiven. Ephesians 1:7(NLT)
Because of the work Jesus did in winning your freedom, you don’t have to carry
your guilt around with you. You can release it and be free. God sets us free by
offering his Son, Jesus Christ on the cross so that all our sins are forgiven
and so that we may have the true freedom. When we come to Jesus, the Son of God,
and let him set us free, we are free from guilt, shame, fear, and sins.
2. Freedom from consequence of sins because Christ died in our place.
Jeremiah 31:34, “I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.”
We all know, when the law is broken, there are consequences. Sometimes, we
escape the legal consequences of our misdeeds, but there are still consequences.
I like to drive fast, especially, when I am in hurry. So I put myself in hurry all the time. I drove faster than 5 MPH of the speed limit. One day I drove down from Raleigh and a policeman stopped me and told me that I drove much faster than the speed limit. While he was talking to me, I prayed to God to give him the spirit of forgiveness. The policeman said to me, “Mr. Namkung. Slow down and keep the speed limit.”
The ultimate consequence for sin is that of death. Not just physical death, but
eternal spiritual death. “Everyone has to die once, then face the
consequences.” Hebrews 9:27 What is that consequence? “For the wages of sin is
death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans
6:23 Spiritual death is a severe consequence. The ultimate consequence for our
sin is one that we cannot pay and we do not have to. The penalty for our sin has
already been paid 2,000 years ago on the cross. Our account has been credited
and we are no longer guilty.
The key word here is VICARIOUS, which means, “Done by one person substituting
for another.” Christ has dealt with the consequences for our sin. When Jesus
died upon the cross he was receiving the consequences of my sin and of your
sin. When he died, Jesus called out “It is finished,” which means, "It is paid
all. The debt is paid in full!" When Jesus died upon the cross, he paid our
debt in full and thus set us free from the ultimate consequence of our sin.
Now please do not misunderstand me. There are still consequences for our sin
when we keep the speed limit and should not run the red light. If you do it,
you will still get the ticket and you still have to pay. When we cheat on our
taxes, there are still penalties. When we defile our marriage vows and commit
adultery, the trust in our relationship is still broken; the marriage may still
come to an end. That’s a consequence. But when Jesus sets us free, he frees us
from the ultimate consequence. We do not have to pay God for our sins. We are
made right with him. Eternal death and eternal separation from God are
consequences we won’t have to face if Jesus has set us free.
3. Freedom from accusation that we no longer have to live in fear
“But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to
present you holy in his sight, without blemish and sin free from
accusation” Colossians 1:22
How nice is it not to have to run and hide before God like Adam and Eve did
after they disobeyed God in the garden of Eden (Genesis 3:8)? How nice is it not
to have to worry about what someone else will find out about you like Nathan
found out David’s sin with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 121- 14)? How nice would it be to
be free from all accusations and the fear that your sins are going to be
discovered, relief, and release? Would you feel like a heavy weight had been
lifted from your shoulders? Would you feel free? How would you feel to know that
there was no accusation that could be brought against you?
There is a reason that Jesus sets us free from accusation. It is because, when
we surrender to him and let him have control of our lives, he makes us
blameless. That’s the key word here. Key Word: BLAMELESS. Because of what Jesus
did for us upon the cross, we are blameless before God when we know his Son,
Jesus. The word “blameless” means “free of guilt; not subject to blame.”
As I said a minute ago, Jesus took care of the eternal consequences of our sin.
But he did more than that. He also took care of our guilt. He satisfied the
requirements of the law. When the law is broken, a death was required and he
paid that penalty for us. Therefore, not on our own – but through him, we are
found free of guilt and not subject to blame. Thus, we are free from accusation
and when a man is free from accusation, he is free from a great deal of the fear
that this life offers.
We can stand before God and our fellow man and not fear accusation. Now, being
free of accusation does not mean that no accusation will come. We will certainly
face accusations of all sorts in this life. Many are well deserved because of
what we have done in our past. People have seen our sins and our mistakes and
they want to know why we now claim to be different. This shouldn’t threaten us.
It should be an opportunity to share with them the transformation that Jesus
brings to our lives.
But we need not fear accusation. We are now free of guilt. We are no longer
subject to blame. The account has been laid to rest and we can live without fear
of a hidden past being brought to light. It has already been brought to light
and dealt with.
There once was a boy named Billy. His grandfather had a sling shot. One day he
asked his grandfather if he would teach him how to shoot the slingshot. His
grandfather took into the back woods and began to teach the boy. The grandfather
told Billy to go and practice for a while. Billy was in the woods, alone, and
kept missing everything he shot at. Billy, on his way back to the house, saw
his grandfather’s duck and decided to try his aim with the slingshot once more.
Billy took aim and shot at the duck and hit his mark! The duck fell over dead!
Billy took the duck, buried it in the ground. As he looked up, he saw his
sister, Sally standing there watching him attempting to hide his deeds. Sally
and Billy went back into their grandparents’ house. As they did so, Billy told
Sally not to say anything. Sally said, sure, no problem. The kids’ grandfather
told Sally to go into the kitchen and help her grandmother wash the dishes.
Sally said, "Billy is the best dish washer in the family, he would love to wash
the dishes. Remember the duck?’ Billy washed the dishes that night. The next
day Billy’s grandfather said, "Billy, lets go fishing today. Sally, your
grandmother needs your help around the house, so stay here and help her out."
Sally responded," Billy hates fishing but loves housework. Isn’t that right
Billy?" Billy stayed at home that day while Sally went fishing. This went on for
several days. Sally blackmailed Billy into every unpleasant chore around the
farm and out of every enjoyable opportunity. Finally Billy had had enough and he
decided to confess his crime. Much to his surprise, his grandfather said, "I
know you killed the duck. I saw you through the window. I also saw your sister
standing there watching you. I forgave you when it happened because I love you.
I just wanted to know how long you would let yourself be your sisters slave."
You see, when we don’t turn to Jesus and confess our sins and allow him to cleanse us, we are slaves to our past and to our guilt and we are susceptible to accusation. But once we come clean, we are free from accusation. We are no longer slaves.
Old Testament Jeremiah tells us that God is the potter and Israel is clay. As God refined, reformed Israel, God has been doing in you and me and in this country.
This week we have celebrated the freedom of our nation. More than that, we have celebrated the sacrifice necessary to give us the freedom we so deeply love. But there is a greater freedom than that of political freedom. There is a freedom we can have in Jesus Christ if we will place our trust in him, if we will surrender to him. Jesus bled and died; he gave his life, so that you and I could be free. In Him, we have the true freedom. Glory be to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Amen.
18:1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2 "Go down to the
potter's house, and there I will give you my message." 3 So I went down to the
potter's house, and I saw him working at the wheel. 4 But the pot he was shaping
from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot,
shaping it as seemed best to him.
5 Then the word of the LORD came to me: 6 "O house of Israel, can I not do with
you as this potter does?" declares the LORD. "Like clay in the hand of the
potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. 7 If at any time I announce
that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, 8 and if
that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on
it the disaster I had planned. 9 And if at another time I announce that a nation
or kingdom is to be built up and planted, 10 and if it does evil in my sight and
does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.
11 "Now therefore say to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem,
'This is what the LORD says: Look! I am preparing a disaster for you and
devising a plan against you. So turn from your evil ways, each one of you, and
reform your ways and your actions.' NIV
Questions, suggestions and problems concerning the Cornerstone United Methodist Church Website should be directed toward the Cornerstone Webmaster at: webmaster@cornerstoneumconline.com This Website Has
Been Visited
Since Beginning
Operation. 
Print This Page | 
Bookmark This Site! | 
Email a Friend! | 
E-Cards
Thanks for Stopping By!
