True Sons of Liberty

July 4th today. You know, July 4th is probably one of the most important, truly American holidays of the year, you know, for the some 300 million people of this country. But what do we associate, rather than with the 4th of July? What do we think about on the 4th of July? What do you think about today on the 4th of July? Usually what people are thinking about today, and you can see that probably in the market where you went yesterday, they were thinking about food, they were thinking about family gatherings, barbecues, picnics.

They were thinking about bottle rockets, firecrackers, sparklers, and displays of one kind or another. But most people don't seem to reflect and think about the events of 239 years ago of 1776. But what happened then? What occurred then? And you know, one of the things that should make us different than the rest of the world, brethren, is we should reflect on these things. And what of a miracle it was that the United States of America came into being and rose to such preeminence in the world?

We know the answer to that is much more complicated than what men did in 1776. I'm not here to necessarily talk about the providence that God worked out in that way, because we know Abraham's blessing upon this country was a major part of it, was a great part of it. But the people who were there at the time, who brought it about, were important too. They were very important for the fulfillment of what God desired for this nation.

Brethren, do you know what the Declaration of Independence actually is? Have you read it through? Have you gone through the Declaration of Independence of 1776? You know, brethren, let me give you a little scenario of what happened. In the 1700s, New England had been settled by British immigrants. And people had been coming over, in fact, to settle here in what became the United States for many years, in fact, prior to that.

Until there were 13 original colonies that were established in this what became, again, the United States of America. And they were established for the first, in the beginning, for the purpose of commerce and business. A lot of it was based upon that. It was based upon business, and it was based upon commerce. But it grew, again, larger than that. And those people at that time were very loyal to the British crown, and King George, who was the king at the time, and they paid taxes to Britain. All of those, of course, remember the story of the Tea Party, and the rebellion that took place with regard to taxes. Because there was a desire, by the way, on the part of Britain for people in this country not to have representation.

And hence, you have the expression, no taxation without representation. But that's, again, another part of the story. But with the taxation and the commerce that was done and so forth, they enjoyed the protection of Britain. But eventually, that protection became oppressive. It became tyranny. At that time, they called tyranny the tyranny of the British Empire upon the peoples of the United States of America. Now, interestingly, concerning the Declaration of Independence, those that signed it realized that they were taking their lives in their own hands. I want to read to you some of the things about the Declaration of Independence. But at the top, it says, the Declaration of Independence in Congress, July 4, 1776.

And it says, the unanimous declaration of the thirteen U.S. United States of America, colonies. There were thirteen colonies again. And they say, when in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands, which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, it says, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and nature's God entitle them.

So they felt that there was a God entitled a place that the colonies had in the world, at least at a particular point they came to that. A decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to separation. So basically, they spelled out the grievances they had against Britain. And I encourage you to, again, get the Declaration of Independence out and read through all of the grievances they had with regard, you know, to the crown in Britain.

But it says, we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they're endowed by their Creator with certain and able rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. So liberty is a part of this, that men are entitled to be liberated. They're entitled to be free and to pursue happiness, that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers, and such form as to them shall seem more likely to affect their safety and happiness.

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for life and transient causes. And accordingly, all experience has shown that mankind was more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing forms in which they are custom. But when a long train of abuses and use of patience pursuing invariably the same object events is designed to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to show off or to throw off such government and to provide new guards for their future security.

And so that's in, again, the Declaration of Independence. And it says, such has been the patient suffrage of these colonies, and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter the former systems of government. The history of President King of Britain is a history of repeated injuries and use of patience. All in direct object, the establishment of absolute tyranny over these states to prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.

And so this is what the Declaration of Independence was, going through all of the grievances against the British Empire. And in 1776, this document was signed by 56 very well endowed men in terms of their wealth, their position, their status. You know, in the world, 24 of the signers were lawyers and jurists, 11 were merchants, 9 were farmers and large plantation owners, men of means, well-educated.

But they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that penalty would be death if they were captured. They knew this when they signed their names on the dotted line. Five signers were captured by the British as traitors and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned to the ground. Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army. Another had two sons captured. Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds of hardships during the Revolutionary War. And they signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes and their honor for the purpose of establishing this nation, this country.

For the many thousands of Americans felt that they were enslaved and taken advantage of by Britain by a system that they felt was wrong in what they were doing. If there had been peace, again, between Britain, if, in fact, they had been treated with respect and love, this Declaration would have never happened. But they felt enslaved, they felt like they were under tyranny and that the system was wrong. You know, it's interesting that in the United States that we do have an aversion to royalty. Even though it seems like, on the other hand, it's kind of a strange dichotomy that we worship them. On the other hand, you know, we worship William and Kate almost, Princess Diana before that, and I don't know so much about Charles, but others of royalty, it seems that we're enamored by that. But rather, due to the foresight and courage of these 56 people, rather, these men, what I like to call the sons of liberty, the sons of freedom, and their love for freedom, and their love for liberty, and some of them paid with their lives, this nation was able to go on and prosper with God's blessings. And we have prospered as a nation. We're the most powerful nation on earth, even still, even though we've lost ground with regard to that as a country. And we are probably, yet, the freest country in the world in many respects. But, you know, freedom is a fragile thing, which can come as it came for us, and it can go. And some would argue, in fact, it's going now. We're losing those freedoms now solely as this nation. You know, most people keep July 4th, but they're oblivious to this history. They don't think about this history. They don't think about the meaning behind it.

But, you know what, brethren, it boils down to a love of freedom and liberty. It boils down to that, of being free. You know, the word liberty, by the way, is defined this way. Freedom, or released from slavery, or imprisonment, captivity, or any form of arbitrary control. I want you to think about this. Let's switch now to sort of a spiritual concept with regard to this. Does this definition have anything in common with Christians? To throw off, you know, slavery? To throw off imprisonment? You know, it used to be the church had a booklet, and some of you may remember this in the old days. And it had bars on the front of it, and it had the earth behind it. That this world, this earth, was a world held captive and enslaved.

I submit, brethren, that God has called you and me, He's called us in this time, to be the true sons of liberty. We are to be the true sons of liberty. We're what liberty is all about.

What man did, you know, in 1977, you know, in 1777, you know, was certainly a great thing. But, brethren, what we're doing today is so much more important. We are the sons and daughters of liberty. We are what's going to, in fact, God is going to use to set the whole world free in the future. Because this whole world is not free, even though men somehow think that they are free. And so I submit to you, brethren, we, the church, all of you here, are like those 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence. And we are the true sons of liberty. So, brethren, let's look at the subject of liberty, and let's reflect on it the importance of liberty and freedom in the life of a Christian. Now, I'm not talking about the human liberties our forefathers wanted, but the liberty that is promised by our God. That promised liberty that God wants to give to us.

You know, early in the ministry of Jesus Christ, He talked about liberty. Right at the very beginning, in fact, of His ministry, He talked about the job that the church had of preaching, the commission of going forth and preaching the gospel of the world. And the very reason that Jesus Christ came on the scene was for the purpose of liberating, for the purpose of freedom. Let's go over here to Luke 4, Luke 4 over here.

Luke 4, verse 16, it says, So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up, and as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read. And, you know, here He was about to present, you know, what He was all about, what His purpose was, what His drive was. And it was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives. In recovery of sight to the blind, in other words, to recover so that those who are blind could receive their sight, and those who are captive could be freed. In the set of liberty, those who are oppressed to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. And so this shows, again, Christ's purpose and mission and why He came. He came as a liberator to liberate men. But in what way did the work of the Christ came to do, in what way did it liberate? In what way did it give liberty? How did it deliver people? You know, for a person to be liberated, or be made free, or given liberty, they need to know what they're held captive by. And in that time, by the way, many of the Pharisees, the scribes, didn't think they were held captive by anything. It's like you talk to the average person out here in the United States of America, they don't think that they're in captivity. They don't think they're under bondage. Their lives may be upside down and topsy-turvy. They may have miserable lives, but they don't feel like they need to be liberated. What do you mean, you're going to liberate me? You're going to give me liberty. In what way did the work that Christ came to do liberate? Our colonial forefathers knew they needed to be freed. They needed to get out of the bondage that they were under. And when they wrote the Declaration of Independence, they clearly expressed it. It's there! All the grievances, they were under bondage. Many of the people who came to this country, by the way, who embark to this country, many of them from the Netherlands over here, were running for religious freedom to be free, to be liberated. And you know what? It's interesting that the people who came to this country wanted this country to be a light set on a hill for the whole world, a beacon to the world. And it's not become that, has it? They wanted to throw off, or the colonians wanted to throw off the shackles of Britain. Let's go to Titus chapter 3 over here. Titus chapter 3. Titus 3 and verse 3.

We're talking about our former state. You know, to show us again what our former state was, as those who were part of this world and society, and there's none of us that are an exception to that, to one degree or another, even if you were born in the church. And we're even never a part of the world in that sense. But it says, we ourselves were also once foolish. You know, prior to our baptism, prior to our calling, we were at one time foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice, in envy, hatred, or hateful, and hating one another. This is the way we were. Now, we probably didn't think of ourselves that way, but to one degree, another, all of us were this way.

Some people considered themselves very religious, and they wouldn't harm a fly. You know, sometimes a little old lady, you know, has a green felt hat. She didn't think of herself as being violent with carnal nature, does she? But, you know, if you press a little old lady like that too much, she'll take a person slapped up against the head. Where'd that come from? Where'd that come from? Carnality, it is within. And so, Titus really here tells us like it is. Paul wrote this and tells it like it is. All of us were this way to one degree or another. We've got that human nature, don't we? Ephesians. Let's go to Ephesians again to show us where we were. Ephesians 2. Ephesians 2 and verses 1-4 here. And you, he made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins. You know, before we were like the zombies of the world, weren't we? Just going about doing our own thing and we didn't realize we were dead. But God made us alive. We were dead because of the trespasses and because of the sins. In which you once walked according to the course of this world that you, brethren, me. We walked according to the world. I don't care how religious you may have thought you were, you walked according to the world. According to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience. Among whom also we all once conduct ourselves in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ, and it says, by grace you've been saved. God showed us His incredible grace and we have the opportunity to live. And so we were, again, in bondage of this world and society. You know, if you've been in the church a long time, brethren, we forget about those things, don't we? We forget how much we've been forgiven, how much God has laid aside and covered with the blood of His Son. Let's go to Romans 6 now. Romans 6 to be, again, reminded of the bondage we were once under as God's people. But Romans 6 over here, in verse 16, You do not know that to whom you present yourself slaves to obey, you are the ones slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death or of obedience leading to righteousness. So whatever you're submitting to, you become a slave to it. And so the world is under slavery. But God be thankful, though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart the form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And so we are delivered by the form of doctrine that God gives to us. The truth, in other words, the truth of God, the truth about the law that the world, again, oftentimes says is terrible, is bondage. It's horrible. It's like a shackles around your legs, you know.

You know, the word, by the way, in the Greek for doulos, for servant, signifies bondage like a slave, the Greek word. Down in verse 20, verse 20, For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.

What fruit did you have, then, in the things of which you were now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. Again, we're like the zombies of the world. And we're walking to death. We are dead, in fact. And here he's talking about eternal death, by the way, as opposed to physical death alone.

So, brethren, we didn't really, frankly, know when we were a part of the world that we had a ball of the chain around our leg, our ankles.

You know, I don't know about you, but I knew there were, at times, I felt miserable. I felt a hole in my life. I felt that something was missing, but I didn't realize I had a ball and a chain around my ankle. But God sent His Son, the Father sent His Son, to free us from that ball and chain, that yoke that is around us. Have you ever seen a, you know, like an oxen with a yoke over it? It's usually pretty heavy duty. Picture that yoke, you know, on the shoulders of you and me, and having to carry that around all your life. Well, Christ came that that yoke could be taken away, and you could be liberated. And it is refreshing when that happens. When you walk up out of the baptismal pool and the sins have been forgiven, you no longer, you know, have that death penalty hanging over you, but you've been liberated. Now, that sort of damnically is hanging over your head of eternal death that is constantly there, is taken away. And you've been given the opportunity for life, tremendous life. And Christ said, I haven't come that you would have, you know, tribulation, necessarily. But He said, I've come that you would have life and have it more abundantly. Now, there will be tribulation in the world, but the tribulation is not caused by God. The tribulation is going to be caused by the world, and we see these things shaping up in the world today. Let's notice here 2 Corinthians chapter 4. Second Corinthians chapter 4. It's been a while since we've gone to 2 Corinthians 4. What is there, brethren? What does it say there? Do you know what it is immediately? Second Corinthians 4.4. We'll start in 3, though. But it says, but if our gospel is veiled, I think, you know, if it's hid, it may say in the King James, it is hidden or veiled to those who are perishing, those who are dead or dying in the world, whose minds the God of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. The world is blinded. It has a veil over its head. I get, you know, the truth can't penetrate it. There's a barrier that is there. Now, imagine this. We used to do this when I was in the speakers' club. And, you know, back in the old days, folks in the club, sometimes as a director, I'd bring paper sacks to the club, and I'd ask the men to put the sacks over their head during the topics. And their desire, by the way, was to get the men on their feet. And the ones who commented took the sack off.

Though, I found that didn't always work, by the way. Some men actually sat there with the sack on the whole time.

But it's interesting. But imagine, again, if the whole world had a sack on their head, except you didn't have a sack on your head. Then we'd know whose mind was open, who was blinded, and who was blind.

But the world has a sack on its head, and it cannot see. It's blinded! It doesn't even see that!

So, we were out there, brother, and we were like that in our lives before God called us, before God opened our mind. Before, as even the Scripture says, we were enlightened. God enlightened us. He took the sack off of our head, or veil off of our head, and we could see. You know, there was a movie a number of years ago where, I can't remember, in fact, the name of the movie, but it was one of these late-night, grade B, might have been a C. But it was about a man who, you know, he woke up, you know, what was going on, and the movie was about aliens taking over the world. And anyway, he happened on to this gentleman who had already discovered that the aliens were taking over the world. And they developed these glasses. How many of you remember this movie? They developed these glasses, and then you put them on, and you could see the aliens, what they really looked like. And the aliens infiltrated, you know, all parts of government infiltrated the television industry and all the rest. And they were basically the high-ups. They were the wealthy. But when he put these glasses on, he found that the shirts people were wearing, it said, Obey, Submit. And I think the message was there that we should not obey and submit to government. But that was the message that the movie was trying to have. But the message the aliens were basically trying to convey to the people then was that they should submit to the aliens, basically. The powers that existed at that particular time. But the glasses enabled people to see that these were aliens that were taking over the planet. And anyway, you think about this fact that when God takes the blinders off of us, it's almost like He gives us a magic pair of glasses. And you're all aliens. I didn't realize that. No, I'm just kidding, brethren. But God takes the glasses off and He gives us glasses we can see. We can understand, we can perceive. It goes beyond just seeing. It is perception as well. Let's go to Galatians chapter 3. But we were once again a part of the world out there. And God took the veil away and we began to see.

Like the song that says, I was once blind now I see. Once blind now I see.

In Galatians 3 verse 22 it says, It says, All in the world are under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. And you're a believer, brethren. You're a son of liberty. You want to see the world put on the glasses that they're able to see and not be blinded anymore. And you're an advocate of that. Are you an advocate of that, brethren? You want to see your neighbor liberated?

You want to see people free and have freedom?

You know, we need the freedom again the Bible talks about in the Word of God. Let's go to Romans 8, Romans chapter 8. Well, that liberation is coming, brethren. And I think we're going to have to probably think of that more and more as things get worse, as the tribulation comes upon this nation and the world. I think we're going to have to think about the future more, what God promises for the future. And when we have on the right glasses, we see that future. It's clear for us. Frankly, I don't think anybody who knows the truth of the Gospel, I mean, really does know it in their heart. I don't think they can ever turn back and go back into the world. I'd venture to you that when I was called, I had a dream that I was standing between two bridges. And one bridge led back into the world, and the other bridge led to the kingdom of God. And I knew being carnal like I was, because I was 17 at the time. I was very young. I realized that if I didn't burn that bridge going back to the world, I'd go back over that bridge. If it got tough, I'd be heading back over that bridge. But I don't know how things happen this way. I'm not even saying this is what God made me dream. Maybe He did, maybe He didn't. But in my dream, I burned the bridge to the world.

And every year, brethren, I have built on the dream that heads to the kingdom of God. I wouldn't want to go back to that world out there, and the society that is out there, not for anything.

And, brethren, I am an advocate. You know, I am an advocate of liberation, of being liberated, people really being liberated, spiritually speaking from the falsehoods and the lies of this world and society. Romans 8, though in verse 15, verse 15, now I found out by the way when I repented what my misery was about, what the emptiness was about. Because I didn't understand God's truth. I didn't understand God's purpose for human existence. But as time has gone on, I understand it more and more, why God created us, what our purpose is, and where we're heading as God's people. But verse 15, it says, You did not receive the Spirit of God, or the Spirit of bondage again to fear, but You've received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, Abba, Father. In some scriptures, some translations translate this sonship. That we will be sons and daughters. And we have an Abba-Father relationship, not just a Father relationship. You know, when you talk to someone, I never call my dad Father, I don't think, at any time in my life. I always call him Dad. And I'm sure many of you the same way. The word Abba means Daddy-Father. Close personal relationship, in other words. Far from it, we haven't been called the bondage to fear, to be afraid.

Going on, it says, The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God, the Spirit of God in us. Shows us this, brethren, how different we are, how our minds have been changed and transformed. And if children and heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. This is those 56 signers who signed up, realized they might have to pay a very high price, and many of them did. When you and I, brethren, sign on, when we're called, we may have to pay a big price that we are not aware of right now. We don't know where the road will lead in terms of what we may suffer on the way. But we do know this, brethren, that no suffering in this world can be compared to what God is going to reveal for us in the future, what we will have in the future. But we have to sign on the dotted line anyway. And we have to put everything again in God's hands that God will strengthen us. He won't put up on us anything we cannot bear and, you know, not escape. But it says, for I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory, which will be revealed in us. And verse 22, for we know that the whole creation, the whole world, brethren, groans and labors with birth pains together until now. Now look at the world right now. It's going through almost the convulsive problems out there, of strife, of difficulty. The world is in great pain and agony and suffering all over.

It's amazing that, you know, a sort of an offshoot of Isis down in Nigeria, you know, they're having some of these captured teenage girls slip the throats of Christians, making them do that. Isis is actually putting little kids, young boys, into cages and making them fight. And all of a sudden, the one soldier pilot, I think, was from Jordan, who was put in a cage and burned to death. Cruelty! Well, brethren, this is what the Bible says is coming, a time when men are not averse to chopping people's heads off. A time when it's going to be a time as the Bible such as the world has never seen before.

And, brethren, we need to be prepared for what is coming. But, brethren, since we have been set free from the shackles of sin, the bondage of sin in the world that is out there, brethren, we must be the servants of righteousness as God's people. We have to be different. We have to be servants of righteousness, as we read in Romans 6. Before, we were the servants of sin. But now, we need to be the servants of obedience to God's way of life, His laws, His commandments, and His statutes. And, brethren, let's not take for granted what God has pulled us out of in this world. We can, and we often do, take that for granted. But, brethren, we could yet be out there, wallowing in our own lives, whatever they were, again, having the emptiness inside, not knowing why, trying to fill it in every way possible. Some people try to fill it by materialism. Some fill it by being a part of some church, where they don't get the answers to their questions. They don't learn the truth, and they feel that something still is missing. It's amazing the amount of variety we have in the world of people trying to fill this great hole that is in the middle of their lives, frankly, that cannot be filled except by the truth. They're going to be under bondage, and they cannot be liberated unless they come to see the truth. You know, God wants us to be liberated, brethren. He wants us to be the servants of righteousness. He doesn't want us to take for granted what we've been forgiven. And we need to reflect, brethren, on the awesome blessing of the liberty and freedom that God has given to us. Like Americans right now, they should be thinking about the freedom that they have had that is going to slowly ebb away.

In James chapter 1, you know, in Germany, by the way, back prior to World War II, the freedoms in Germany didn't disappear right away like that. It was a slow ebb toward that, over the Weimar Republic and, you know, the rise of Hitler over there. We didn't, again, do not know what's coming in the future.

But oftentimes, God gives men what they want. I don't know. It seems like to me we have more and more people that want the government telling them what to do, what to eat, what to drink, how much time you should sleep. You know, just tell you about everything if you're like, how do you raise your children? You know, what, you should be teaching your children? You know, you don't teach your kids, it's okay to have two moms and two dads, something wrong with you, according to our government. Someday you may be put on the spot. You know, you don't have a right to decide for yourself whether your children even get vaccinated.

You know, how's that going to be? You got a real, oh yeah, you can do what you want, just homeschool your kids. You know, you can't do it. You can't do it. You can't do it. You can't do it. You know, it is amazing what is happening now in this country. And I have to say, California leads the way, leads the path. As goes California, so goes the nation. It'll be everywhere before all is said and done. We spoke, in fact, by the way, of this SCOTUS decision long ago when it was going to come, and it has. It's here now.

And, brethren, we've been talking about many other things that are going to come for the future, and it will. It will. Let's go to James chapter 1. James chapter 1 in verse 25. Let me show you something, brethren. The world actually looks upon the law of God as bondage. Basically, they compare the law of God to Israel being in Egypt as slaves.

It's amazing how Satan has, again, turned the world upside down and made it the opposite. And the world, again, from that teaches that Israel left the bondage of the law of God. Well, let's notice here in James chapter 1, verse 25, that he who looks into the perfect law of liberty. You look at the law of God as a liberating law. You can't be free without the law of God. You can't have, you know, freedom in your life and liberty in your life without the law of God.

James goes on to say, But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, who lives by, in other words, and time and again in the book of Acts, we see that Christianity is a way of life, who continues in it, in other words, lives in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work. This one will be blessed in what he does. We want God's blessing. Brethren, it comes again by the perfect law of liberty. We cannot, again, have liberty without the law of God.

The law of God is not bondage, but it is freedom. You know, the world looks upon the law of God as a curse.

The law is a liberator, freeing us from the curses of disobedience.

It is freedom, a freedom not to be deceived by the falsehoods of men and to know the real truth, not living in ignorance and delusion as a people.

There is nothing worse than seeing somebody delusional. I don't know if you've ever seen somebody that has a delusion. I was pulling up to McDonald's the other day over here in Antioch. And there was a man standing right in front of the restaurant, and I don't know what he was doing. He was doing this kind of thing, like he was screwing a jar off. I guess he saw things in his hands, but there was nothing there. And I kind of looked at him a little bit as to what he was doing. It's like in his mind he saw things, but he was delusional. I don't know, maybe he has alcohol or drug-related problems. But rather than the world, it is delusional. The world, again, is ignorant as well. It doesn't see the truth. No, brethren, we have freedom in the truth of God. One of the greatest things that you understand when you come into the church, brethren, and you finally get this was a big, a hallmark decision that I came to in my own life, is when I came to realize that Satan the devil had deceived the whole world. That was the biggest hallmark decision. Before that time, I thought, well, he hasn't deceived everybody. I mean, after all, there are a lot of Christians in the world, aren't there? They can't all be wrong. But that was the biggest thing, and I realized, and it says the carnal mind, you know, is not subject. The gospel of God neither indeed can be in Romans 8-7. That was another hallmark. I realized I had to repent because the carnal mind cannot obey God's law of liberty. You can't be liberated unless you repent. Get rid of that carnal nature, that resistance. But, brethren, we have freedom in the truth. Let's go to John 8, John 8 over here. John 8.

In John 8, in verse 31, the words of Jesus Christ and what He said. Again, He came as the great liberator to give liberty to the captives of this world, a world, whole captive, and bondage to sin. And He came for the purpose of allowing men to have forgiveness, to be shown the great mercy of God, and as we understand the gospel, to be a part of the family of God for the future. But in John 8, in verse 31, And then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.

And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. It will make you free. And by the way, these were Jews that knew the law of God, were aware of the law of God, but they were things that they did not see.

Of course, they didn't have very good examples of the Pharisees, did they? Who only ostensibly obeyed God on the outside because in their heart they were not obeying God, which was God's intent. You shall know the truth. You'll be free from the falsehoods, the lies of this world and society, that bondage, and you will be free. And they answered, We are Abraham's descendants that have never been in bondage to anyone. That's a strange comment coming from the Jews, by the way, who were in slavery in Egypt, and who were paying tribute to the Romans.

They were under bondage of the Romans. We've never been under bondage to anybody. And go back, brethren, and look at the history of Israel, from its establishment. You know, when in fact they came over into the Promised Land, it wasn't long afterwards, you know, after David and Solomon and others, that they were paying tribute to other nations, other empires, like the Assyrian Empire, the Babylonian Empire, particularly for the Jews, the Babylonian Empire.

And, you know, they said they were never in bondage to anyone.

How can you say, they're saying to Christ, You will be made free? And Jesus answered them, Most assuredly I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And they were sinners. They were sinners. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. If the son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. And so Christ has come again, brethren, to make you free, to liberate you, and to liberate all of us, brethren. And, brethren, it's the truth of God's plan that frees us. It is the truth, again, of the falsehoods of the world that frees us. It's the truth of the Sabbath. It's the truth of the Holy Days. It is the truth of all that we read within the laws of God that sets us free. And Jesus Christ's own sacrifice frees us from the penalty of sin and death. And God's plan of salvation gives us peace of mind for the future. Our consciousness is purged. We have peace of mind for the future. If we lived according to God's way of life and strived to walk in it, you know, the world, by the way, only thinks it is free. Just thinks it is free. You should know you're free. Free from the world. You know, one of the things that is quite refreshing to me is if I ever go, as I have, to appear to be a juror, you know, in a case, I know what I'm going to say. And you know, I really don't care what they do to me. I really don't. Because I'm going to say it even though they don't like what I'm going to say.

Right now, though, they give us a pass, don't they? The time may come where that may not be the case. So get used to it. Get used to, brethren, speaking the truth. It will give you peace of mind for the future. You'll know what you're going to say and what you're going to do.

Again, the world only thinks it's free. But, you know, a false liberty that they have, the fake liberty that they have, is a curse that leads to death in the end result. You know, that's the carnal mind. That's what happens to people.

You know, we have to resist, brethren, being lured back into the trap of this world. Satan would love to convince you, and he's convinced some who have been called out of this world and been set free. He'd love to convince you that, you know, that the world is freer than you are. They can do what they want. One of the things he leaves out, though, is the pain and suffering that that so-called liberation, you know, leads to. The troubles, the pain, the suffering, and the agony that this world goes through, and the emptiness that comes through that way of life. Satan would love, brethren, to bring down one of God's servants, one of God's people. So beware, once you've been liberated. Take advantage, brethren. Take advantage of the freedom that you have.

Let's go to 1 Peter 2. 1 Peter 2.

You know, God, the Bible gives us the principle to whom much is given, much is required. And if we are free men and women, that God has given us that great blessing, in a time where all are under bondage in the world, there comes great responsibility. It's a grave responsibility. You know, Apostle Paul, when he was called, he said, whoa, if I don't preach!

Well, if I don't! And he had a mission, of course, of preaching. Our mission might be different than Paul's, but what was if we are not taking responsibility for what we know? 1 Peter 2.13. It says, Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man, for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to the governor as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, or for the praise of those who do good, as free, as free men.

Yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, no, in other words, to do wrong, no, we should not sin to take advantage of the grace of God. We should not sin and say, well, God will forgive me of that later. So he's saying here, don't use your freedom for vice as a cloak for vice or as bondservant, but as bondservants and slaves of God. Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, and honor the king.

So, brethren, with our freedom comes responsibility. You and I have responsibility, and we must be responsible, brethren, as lights. Remember Christ said, your whole life is set on a hill. You don't hide it. You don't put it under a bushel basket. But you let your light shine.

You represent God's way of life. You are an ambassador of God's way of life. Live it, brethren. Set an example of it. God's people are very, very balanced. And, you know, we are normal, ordinary human beings. I think oftentimes with people, they find out where the churches, they wonder what we're like, you know.

I used to conduct tours at Ambassador College in Big Sandy, by the way. And in Big Sandy, we had a giant, you know, pavilion, you know, a building. I don't know how many people that building seated. I think about 15,000 people. And we'd have these little trolleys that would go around people. We'd be packed with people coming to see Ambassador College in Big Sandy. And I remember when I would go, we'd go by the building there in Big Sandy, the Tabernacle Building, I'd say, over here is where we have the blood ditches for the sacrifices. And then I'd, you know, I'd chuckle and say, no, we don't do that.

You know, we believe in the sacrifice of Christ and the blood of Jesus Christ. But people have these imaginations, don't they, of what we're like, you know, and I think a lot of times that sort of set people, you know, maybe at ease and they realize, hey, these are just normal people. You know, we live over here in glade water, and we've heard all kinds of things about that church over there. And they go and check it out, and they find out we're just normal people. Well, brethren, we have a responsibility to be lights.

We have a responsibility to be givers and not getters. God's way is a way of give, of outgoing concern, of loving others, of caring for others, and not get, not in going all the time, thinking about yourself and what's good for me, but what's good for others, brethren? The look on, the need of others.

And, brethren, we have a responsibility to appreciate God's grace, God's mercy, and His forgiveness for each of us individually. What has God done for you? What has God done for you? I'll tell you what, if you really reflect on that, and I have many, many times, I realize what He's done for me. And I want to be in God's kingdom.

And yet, when we fall down, we make mistakes, but God understands our flesh, brethren, and the only loser for the future is the person that doesn't get up and keep going. Dust yourself off and you go on. You ask God's forgiveness, you go on. Because God is a loving God. He's gracious to us. But we have a responsibility to appreciate that grace that God has given us.

Don't turn it into vice again, and what God has done for us. You know, the sons of liberty who signed on the dotted line for the Declaration of Independence were looking at their citizenship in what became the United States of America.

It was called the United States then as well, but not as it's become. A nation from the sea to shining sea as the song goes. But they were looking to their future citizenship in the United States of America. But, brethren, once we have been liberated from the world, we look to our citizenship in heaven. The citizenship of God is going to eventually bring His kingdom to this earth. But our allegiance is to heaven, where, in fact, the King of Kings and Lord of Wards dwells. Our future ruler is coming with great power for the future. You know, all the piquer acts, by the way, in their lives, they were called soldiers. And they soldier. They went from pillar to post, almost, in their lives, and they sought a city whose builder and maker was God. And we seek, brethren, a kingdom that God is creating, His building. And we know ultimately it's going to lead to the New Jerusalem that's coming down into heaven, brethren. So, as this nation celebrates a day of human independence for this nation, that went on to prosper, to become a great nation, and received the great blessings of Abraham as the descendants of Abraham, please, brethren, please let us appreciate the liberty, the truth of God gives to you and to me. Appreciate that liberty that God has given to all of us, brethren. If we do, brethren, if we see the great liberty that God has given to us, then indeed we are set free from the world. And we are, brethren, the true pioneering sons of liberty of a new way of life, a new world, that is coming ahead of us. And so, brethren, we are the sons of liberty, all of us, sons and daughters of liberty. Let's appreciate that fact because we're aware of the truth, and the truth has made us free. It is set us free from the world, the shackles of this world, and we have liberty.