33:True Freedom

Freedom

 

In this episode we go over freedom and part of my testimony and how we obtain true freedom through Christ

 

I thought this was going to be different today but as I spent the day working in between rain storms God changed the plans of what I had planned.  I had found articles to read, verses to read, and a quote from the United States forefather Patrick Henry but when God sends the Holy Spirit and says hey nah you’re not doing that then you’re not doing it.  I had freedom all wrong, the beginning and the end and that’s why I scrapped the original recording I did earlier this week that I never uploaded.  So today I wrestled with God and with man, I fought my own nature and remembered this is for God’s glory not mine.  So freedom, what is that, is it real or is it just a premise and a thought?  The definition of freedom is this:

 

Freedom: the condition of not being in prison or captivity

Repentance: remorse or contrition for past conduct or sin

 

True freedom comes through repentance, you have to feel remorse for you actions that have caused sin and allowing the Holy Spirit to change you.  There has to be a change, repentance without change just keeps you enslaved to sin and shackled to this world.

 

For years I longed for freedom, something no one other then close friends and family know is that I started college at East Texas Baptist University to become a pastor.  I went one and a half semesters and fell into the wrong crowd and started worshiping money instead of Yahweh, I wasn’t rooted in the Word knowing the Word is God and Jesus in one.  I went into the wilderness, I threw my Bible on the shelf and let it collect dust and let life control me instead of the Holy Spirit and I suffered because of it; I knew Jesus Christ was the one and only way to salvation but I went so far off the path that  I didn’t even recognize myself anymore.  Years passed on and I started dating women because lets face it in High School and College I was a dork and I really didn’t pursue women and let sexual immorality creep in.  I did things that if  I didn’t come back to Jesus would haunt me with these women such as let them move in with me due to the lack of a good foundation.  I was enslaving myself to sin, soon I found myself doing other things that I knew I shouldn’t do, I did end up getting married and settling down but the foundation still wasn’t there no matter how much I tried I was a slave to sin and my chains were getting tighter and tighter every day.  I’d quit going to church, quit reading my Bible, I’d listen to Christian music and could feel the tug of Holy Spirit at the door to my heart seeing if I’d let Him in but still wouldn’t let Him back in.  As time went on depression set in, anger was knocking at the door, and my hope was lost; I was completely enslaved to sin and couldn’t see the way out until November 2020 when I caught the rona and was quarantined for almost a month.  During this time I got back to my roots and did something I had never done and that was passionately read the Bible, now don’t look at me crazy but I started with the Book of Revelation then went to Isaiah and Jeremiah and the more I read the hungrier I got, the hungrier I got the more I felt Holy Spirit telling me point blank it’s time to fulfill the promise I made to God to minister.  This was difficult for me and I made every excuse in the book just like Moses at the burning bush about how unworthy I am and how can a man like me do the work.  Finally, I said ok God how do I do this, how does a man like me bring people to Christ, what can I do?  I wrestled and wrestled with Him and one morning I was praying and received a word telling me not to hide behind keyboards and screens, to use my breath publicly to spread the name of Jesus.  That the persecution was coming due to a lack of using my breath to do this, so  I asked how?  No answer came immediately that morning so  I went and got in my work van to prepare for the day, hit the random button on the music player and boom “Step Up to the Microphone”, instantly peace and joy hit my soul and here I am speaking spreading the gospel.  Am I always correct, no I’m a man saved by grace and from dust I came and to dust I will return.  Here’s the thing though as long as that solid foundation is kept then I know I have freedom through Jesus Christ and the longing to be with my saviour only increases, the craving for His knowledge only increases, and the little nuggets of truth only increase.  

 

See we will always be enslaved by the systems of the natural, of men, there will never be true freedom in this realm of existence, never has been.  Man has always come up with some sort of device whether it be slavery, drugs, taxes, a corrupt monetary system that does nothing but produce debt, or technology that corrupts your mind and gets you addicted that enslaves you naturally.  Man has always sought power over other men and when they get such power it corrupts them; there are very few men in history that power didn’t corrupt and we should pay attention to the actions of those men.

 

You see the only true freedom you can get is from your creator, God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Freedom comes when you have true peace and joy, when you’d rather serve then be served just as Jesus set the example of on multiple occasion.  Freedom starts with the heart repenting of the past and letting Holy Spirit take the wheel and make the necessary changes needed to bring you closer to the Father through Christ.  Once free you’ll feel sorrow and anguish when looking at this broken world and seeing the state it’s in.  You’ll crave to be a servant to open doors for Holy Spirit to enter to bring people to Christ so they can leave the darkness.  So lets do as Jesus says in John 8 and be a child of God and not a slave to sin.

 

31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

33 They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?”

34 Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. 36 Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

John 8:31-36

 

 

Here’s the article from the Liberty Loft:

 

Millions around the world rally for freedom putting Americans to shame | The Liberty Loft