Burdens & Freedom (7/23/12)

Shalom,

Please begin by reading 1 John 5:1-5.

The fundamental conflict in our world today is between those committed to an external moral authority based in Yahweh's Word and those who define moral authority by the spirit of the modern age, a spirit of humanistic rationalism and relativism. To put it in simpler terms, the liberal voices of our day take their direction from what is most current, trendy, or politically correct. For many of them, personal experience and preference is always a primary source of authority. There is no God and man is on his own to come up with solutions to the myriad problems that face our world. The greatest problem is that people have rejected their Creator and his directions for right living.

Truly biblically-based Christians believe in moral and ethical absolutes grounded in the Bible. They affirm the truth of a divine revelation as their authority. They trust that our Creator has given us his Word which includes instructions for right living, and that all human beings can live well by following these basic rules. A problem within the Body of Christ is that we've tried to blend other philosophies and religions into Yahweh's Word. Whenever we do that we weaken our hold on his absolute truth, and make it more difficult for others to follow him, too.

When Christians talk about how hard it is to live the Christian life, they're being humanistic. The Christian life isn't hard to live, at least not when we truly trust and obey our Designer's plan. It's immature and childish for us to complain that our Father's way is too hard for us. He offers all the help we'll need, actually giving us a piece of himself to help us. With the Holy Spirit residing within us, we always have access to everything we need. We can't let our doubts and insecurities keep us from a constantly improving walk of faith.

Our heavenly Father says, "His commands are not burdensome." This means they aren't too heavy and weighty for us to manage. It also means they aren't oppressive and bothersome, keeping us from having any fun in life. If we really love our Lord and obediently follow him, we'll find it's not too hard to do what he expects of us. The burden we bear is any sin we carry in spite of his plea for us to confess all sin and allow him to remove the weight. By our faith in Jesus we've gained victory over our sin. A true believer has already conquered the world system of deception and selfishness. Any burden we carry is one we refuse to let go of.

Sometimes we carry burdens we have no business carrying. Think of a man driving his pickup truck down the road when he sees a hitchhiker carrying an extremely large backpack. He pulls over and offers a ride, which the hitchhiker gladly accepts. A little way down the road the driver looks in the rear view mirror and notices that the hitchhiker is hunched over in the bed of the truck, still wearing his backpack. So he stops and asks, "Why don't you put down your pack and rest?" The hitchhiker responds, "That's okay, I don't want to bother you. I can handle the load."

Isn't that ridiculous? But this is the attitude of far too many Christians. They happily jump on Yahweh's "salvation wagon," but they continue to shoulder their burden instead of laying it down. 1 Pet 5:7 advises us to "Cast all your anxiety on Yahweh because he cares for you." We're not supposed to carry our own burdens. We're not sparing our Father from unnecessary pain by carrying our own burdens. When the Father, Son, and Spirit accept our confession and sin and willingness to follow them, they really mean that we don't have to carry our own burdens anymore. It's immature and foolish to think we can do a better job at anything and hold on to something so we don't burden them.

We're not talking about the times the Spirit burdens our hearts with concerns to pray for or individuals to minister to. The burdens we don't need to carry are attached to sin. We don't need to selfishly carry a burden for our children or our past or our future or anything. We need to be trusting our Lord to help us overcome difficulties and help us deal with adversity. We won't disappoint him by telling him of our deep and dark secret sins. He'll be excited that we trusted him enough to let go of them.

A problem we have as humans is that we're free to do these foolish things like holding on to the guilt and pain of our sin. Yahweh will try to get us to let go of these unnecessary burdens, but he won't force us to let go of them. Sometimes our free will keeps us from doing what is most healthy and beneficial to our souls. Sometimes we don't allow our new life in Christ to help us be overcomers and mighty warriors. It's very arrogant of the creation to tell the Creator that we can do a better job with anything. It's very foolish to listen to the devil's claims that our loving Father would refuse to set us free from our sin.

One of our greatest weaknesses is the burden of unforgiveness. This can be baggage we carry into our Christian life, or more recent and current issues. It just seems too easy for us to resist forgiving someone, then hanging on to it until it turns into bitterness. We have no right to carry this burden and allow it to begin to affect more and more areas of our lives. Please don't forget that unforgiveness is a major subject in the Lord's Prayer and many are condemning themselves each time they pray it. "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." We can't be forgiven if we refuse to forgive others. Jesus spoke this several times so we should pay attention to his words.

Most Americans, even churchgoers, have a bad understanding of what freedom truly is. In Yahweh's Kingdom freedom includes his protection. By following his rules, his commands for right living, we gain divine protection. Too many people believe that freedom is loose and unrestrained personal liberty. Most humans believe that freedom is about lack of restraint. We're actually most free when we obediently remain within the boundaries set by Yahweh's standards of right living. To step outside those boundaries is to make ourselves vulnerable to the dangers our Father's boundaries protect us from.

The problem with our misguided understanding of freedom is that it causes us to place ourselves in many dangerous positions. Speeding in our cars can lead to a fatal accident, as can alcohol and drug-induced intoxication. This kind of freedom isn't about being safe and secure. It's about being sold out to the devil and his way of self-determination. Living outside our heavenly Father's boundaries will place us in constant danger. We may feel free, but we're actually offering ourselves up to many forms of bondage.

Yahweh has a blessing for his people, victory over sin and the world. This comes when we possess faith, not just when we claim to have faith. The Bible says the one with faith can chase a thousand. We see it in the lives of the early disciples. The religious and civil authorities were unable to stop them from spreading the Good News of Jesus throughout their society. We see it in strong Christian men and women throughout history. Many have been more than a match for misguided church leaders and civil authorities. Many have stood in the face of howling mobs who were trying to stop their message from being proclaimed. They weren't silenced. They kept speaking up for real truth and righteousness.

Similar victories are being won today. All around the world individuals filled with the Holy Spirit's fire are facing up to bothersome demons and humans who allow these evil spirits to work in and through them. We can rely on Yahweh's help when we do his will. The tasks he gives to us are never too much for us to handle. The tasks he gives to each of us are perfectly matched to our abilities. We can trust that he'll work in and through us to accomplish his will. If we're rightly aligned with our Lord and Master, if we're filled with the Spirit's insight and power, nothing will stand in our way.

So our choice is to be set free "in Christ," or to be burdened with our own personal liberty. Would you rather have the Omnipotent Creator responsible for your safety, or to be on your own? Isn't it a much better idea to allow the Great God Almighty to be in charge of our security? What is it that you can do better than him? If you know he's the only real source of eternal safety and security, remain in that absolutely protected place.

In Gal 5:1 we find our Lord's purpose and plan for our freedom. "It is for freedom that our Messiah has set us free." Jesus set us free, he liberated us from bondage, he opened the doors of our prison and removed us from our captivity. So any freedom we have outside of his isn't really freedom, but it's bondage. We can remain in captivity, being held back from experiencing true freedom in Christ, by thinking or believing that we can somehow do it on our own. But our Father's plan is that we trust him completely to hold our souls in his hands for the eventual day of our death. Then we can be certain that no burden will keep us from living forever at his side.

The word freedom in Gal 5:1 means "not enslaved." It's specifically speaking about no longer being a slave to our sin. Most people believe becoming a Christian places us under bondage to commands and rules. The opposite is true. We only have freedom when we offer ourselves as indentured servants to our heavenly Father. Placing ourselves within the embrace of Yahweh's rules for right living is what removes us from bondage, bondage to our sinful nature and the lust for all that's wrong.

If another Bible were being written today, it would read the same as our current Bibles. Yahweh would be seen as busy pulling down strongholds, setting up his Kingdom, overthrowing the lofty ideals of men, and destroying demons. You're free to be a part of this liberation, working with your Lord and Master to help set others free. Otherwise you're one in need of liberation. 1 John 1:5, "Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God." Be an overcomer and live in the freedom your Father has given to his redeemed children.

Blessings & Peace, Mike