Broadway Christian Church · Columbia, Missouri

Morning Worship · July 5, 2009

Fifth Sunday after Pentecost

Prayer of the Day

God of Love and God of Power, grant us the courage to trust you to completely transform our lives. God, you are the one who knows all about us, and you are the one who forgives us and empowers us to live in freedom. Teach us the truth so that we can be truly free. Direct our attention to that still, small voice within that provides our daily instruction for life, liberty, and happiness. Amen.

Scripture

John 8:31-39

Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” They 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’?”

Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are descendants of Abraham; yet you look for an opportunity to kill me, because there is no place in you for my word. I declare what I have seen in the Father’s presence; as for you, you should do what you have heard from the Father.”

They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing what Abraham did…”

Message

The Truth Will Make You Free

Larry Gallamore

There is a tremendous power in all of God’s creatures that yearns for freedom.  Let me illustrate this with the humble caterpillar that starts out with a very restricted life.  As his life progresses, something wonderful happens, and he emerges as a butterfly, free and unrestricted, to live out the rest of his existence.

How does all this happen?  How does he evolve?  The truth is there is a wonderful inner power that he has absolutely no control over that sets him free.  Here is how it all happens.  The butterfly’s life unfolds into four stages.  At each stage this inner power is very apparent.  Life for the butterfly starts as an egg, very small, oval or cylindrical in shape.  As the egg hatches, a larva mysteriously emerges.  When the larva matures, it becomes a pupa (chrysalis).  As one can see inside this tiny creature some very powerful and mysterious things are happening.  As the pupa molts one last time, a beautiful butterfly emerges free at last to fly the friendly skies.

The divine plan for all of life is freedom.  It is the birthright of every living creature including man.  Who could deny that the inherent nature of mankind is forever expressing itself toward freedom?  Freedom is our divine destiny.  This is what Jesus meant when he said to his disciples and to us, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.”

Mankind is so privileged.  As far as we know, no other creature has the knowledge of this inner power that causes life to evolve.  Unfortunately, only a few humans have discovered this truth and how it works.  Unaware of this inner power, we struggle and succumb to fear and hopelessness, living a life that is often less than human.  The truth is until we discover this inner power, our lives are restricted.  We’re in bondage.  We are not free.  No matter how much we proudly proclaim our freedom or celebrate our independence, we are not free from sin, apathy, hopelessness, and indifference; not until we discover the truth of what Jesus is proclaiming.  

Unlike the descendants of Abraham, we have never been slaves.  No one has ever owned us.  Outwardly we are free, but inwardly we struggle with all kinds of problems that can only be overcome by an inner power.  We are slaves to our own desires; slaves to worry, slaves to anxiety, slaves to our own fears.  We struggle in bondage until we discover the truth that God’s purpose in creating us was to create a creature that could mature to be fully human.

The ancient philosopher Socrates said, “The highest virtue of a human is to be fully human.”  To be fully human is to have a permanent place in God’s household forever.  The slave does not have a permanent place in the household.  The one who knows the truth is the one who is free and the one who can claim his or her place in God’s household.  

Don’t misunderstand me, everyone has a place in God’s household but some have never claimed it.  Others have claimed their place but, like the Jews in our Scripture, they have lost their place somewhere along life’s journey.  They took great pride in being descendants of Abraham – as they should – but Abraham had replaced God.  Their past had become more important to them than their present.

You are not free when you are chained to the past.  We’ve all seen people whose past failures, miseries, despair, sins or whatever have held them back.  The truth is when God forgives you of sin, God doesn’t remember the sin anymore.  Why would anyone want to live in the past?  While the good that you’ve done in the past is great to remember, you can’t allow it to keep you from living in the present.  We’ve all known people who have gotten stuck in the past.  All they talk about is the past.  They fail to realize life is to be enjoyed every day.  The Bible says, “Today is the day of salvation, now is the accepted time.”

We celebrate the past, but we don’t live in it.  Life is forward.  Every day in every way we should be getting better and better.  The inner power of Christ moves us forward.

Have you ever tried to go back in time?  A few months ago, my wife and I went back to our old neighborhoods where we grew up.  We were shocked! The neighborhoods had gotten smaller.  My elementary school was smaller than I remembered and they’ve built on to it.  Every time we go back it gets smaller.  We visited Jan’s town.  I say Jan’s town, because her father was a contractor.  He built the bank, the schools, the funeral home, and about half the homes in her town.  It, too, was smaller than we remembered.  It’s wonderful to go back once in a while, to pay your respects to those who are still living and those who have died.  But none of us should live in the past.  There is an inner power in each of us directing us forward.

I’m not suggesting we rush forward.  Life is to be lived one day at a time.  Don’t hurry!  Spiritually, you are going to live forever.  As Jesus said in today’s Scripture, you have a place in the household.  You are going to live forever.  In fact, you are in eternity now.  So why rush?  Enjoy life!  Whatever you are worried about will not matter so much in 20 years.  You belong to God.  Why fret?

Recognize and trust this inner power within you.  It will free you.  When you start dwelling on the presence of this inner power (Christ), you’ll stop worrying and your outer circumstances will start to improve.  You’ll become optimistic about the future.  Some of you will change so dramatically you’ll say, “Thank God Almighty, I’m free at last.”  Your friends may not recognize you.  You’ll discover that Christianity is a way of life not just a set of intellectual theories to be accepted.

Jesus was trying to tell his disciples that people recognize the power of God within.  Following God becomes a way of life.  It’s a way of thinking, a way of acting, a way of living every day, not just something you do occasionally.

Do you want a better life?  Do you want to see improvement in your relationship?  Do you want to find happiness?  I challenge you to live your religion every day.

Years ago, a famous strong man in London, England told of people coming to him and giving him a blank check saying, “I’ll pay you any fee if you’ll help me to have a strong body like yours.” He said, in every case, when he told them that it would take long hours in the gym lifting weights and exercising, eating properly, and getting a good night’s sleep, they would say, “I can’t do it!”  Of course they couldn’t do it, not unless they followed a day-to-day schedule of living properly.  We are inundated with people telling us what to do to have a wonderful life.  Most of the things we just don’t want to do.

Jesus finally told these disciples in our lesson for today, “If you were really Abraham’s children, you would be doing what Abraham did.”  

Abraham had discovered this inner power.  Abraham knew the truth, and he lived it as best he could.  Let me put it this way: Abraham played the hand he was dealt wisely.

Let me explain.  In any card game you have to play the hand you are dealt as you see fit.  Some people receive an excellent hand but play their cards foolishly and lose the game.  Others receive a poor hand and play wisely winning the game again and again against all odds.

So it is with the game of life.  Some people start out with every advantage in the world but play so badly they end up in failure.  Others appear to have been dealt the poorest hand, but by using wisdom, common sense, and trusting in an inner power they play their hand so successfully that when the game is over they walk away with all the “chips.”

No matter what you’ve been dealt, if you recognize the inner power of Christ and follow him, you’ll be a winner.  This is what Abraham did.  He played the hand he was dealt.  He discovered the truth and became the father of many nations.

Don’t you think you should give this inner power a try?  It is the only power that sets you free.  I’m telling you what Jesus said.  You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.  Some of you are skeptical.  You are saying that a lot of religious people are telling us a lot of religious things.  How do you know Jesus is the Way?

Years ago older miners used to tell young, inexperienced prospectors about “fool’s gold.” They would tell the tenderfoot, “When you think you’ve found gold, you probably have not, but when you do find it, you’ll know for certain.”

So it is with all of us who are prospectors on the mountain range of life.  You’ll find all kinds of “fool’s gold,” but when you meet the genuine article, you’ll have no doubt in your mind.  The true gold will give you a sense of freedom, peace of mind, a sense of calm because you will no longer be in bondage to passing things.

“Fool’s gold” takes the form of social prominence, power over others, physical enjoyment, etc. The true gold is a sense of knowing the truth and allowing it to set you free.  When you find the real gold, you’ll know you’ve found it.

So be it. Amen.

Benediction

Almighty God,

       you have given us this good land as our heritage.

Make us always remember your generosity and constantly do your will.

Bless our land with honest industry, truthful education,

       and an honorable way of life.

Save us from the violence, discord, and confusion;

       from pride and arrogance and from every evil course of action.

Make us who came from many nations with many different languages

       a united people.

Defend our liberties and give those

       whom we have entrusted with the authority of government

       the spirit of wisdom, that there might be justice and peace in our land.

When times are prosperous, let our hearts be thankful;

       and in troubled times, do not let our trust in you fail.

We ask all this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.