Epaggelia

146 years ago today, in Galveston Texas, the call for Slaves to be given freedom was REPEATED. Many States were not observing any recognition of Lincoln’s emancipation given 3 years earlier. The stubborn pride and fear of many white people would not act on the courage of Lincoln to publically express freedom towards their slaves. Freedom came at a price they were not willing to pay, but over time, sacrifices paid off. Patience is such a priceless virtue, and love for our fellow man is even greater than freedom.

In the Old Testament, freedom is most commonly understood in the Exodus, where God rescues, or frees, his people from slavery in Egypt. In Judaism, this episode of freedom is considered the central narrative of faith-a story where God demonstrates his faithfulness to his promise to his people as he sets them free and calls them to set others free. Essentially, Israel is to be for the world, the very gift God is for them. But since Israel does not always embrace their calling, God sends prophets to them in an attempt to correct their course. The prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah are two who get pretty riled up about Israel’s lack of purpose and power to do what is right (read Isaiah 61-65 and Jeremiah 34 for a taste). This is actually a loss of freedom, because their sin, enslaves them to a spiritual Egypt, which binds them from doing what is right.

Hundreds of years after Isaiah and Jeremiah, another prophet appears on the scene, one who a group of Jews considers to be the promised Messiah. His name is one that means “God saves” and in his own description of the purpose for his coming, Jesus says he was sent by God “to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, and to let the oppressed go free” (Luke 4:18). Freedom is at the heart of Jesus’ ministry and if we read the Gospel accounts of his activities while on earth, we find that he did indeed free people from captivity and slavery in a myriad of ways. In this way, Jesus can be seen as ushering in a new Exodus. If anything, Jesus demonstrates that God is a God who loves to set people free.

The Scriptures have much more to say about freedom, particularly in the letters of Paul and Peter. Does living a life of freedom necessarily entail that someone has been enslaved?, If we consider ourselves to be people of freedom, from what have we been freed?

Freedom is not the right to do as one pleases, but the power and capacity both to will and to do as one ought. True freedom is never freedom from responsibility, but responsibility not only for choice, but right choices. Freedom is an inner contentment with who we are in Christ and with what we have. It means we have the ability to covet only heavenly treasure. It means the willingness and ability to allow God to be in control of your life. It means single-mindedness which turns the control of one’s life over to Christ which in turn frees us psychologically to follow the Lord. It means the liberty for self-responsibility to both God and man under the grace of God.

A train is a good illustration because it is only effective when it is on the tracks for which it was designed. Tracks don’t inhibit a train, but enable it to run freely as long as it is running under the power of the steam or fuel of its engines.

Understand that freedom is particularly concerned with human relationships which flow from a right relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit. This is a key point throughout the fifth chapter of Galatians. Five times the apostle uses “one another” in relation to our freedom—once in verse 13, twice in verse 15, and twice in verse 26. Central to each reference is the presence & power of the Holy Spirit.

2 Peter 2 :19. promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved

Galatians 5:1. It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.
13. For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

1 Peter 2 :16. Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God.

We use power to get different jobs done, and without energy, we
are in a world of hurt. We pay lots of money for our electricity and
gas, but what do we pay for the power to do the job God wants us to
do? Have you ever thought of how much it costs to get God’s job
done? Power is important, and the spiritual task of spreading the
word of God to the lost world around us is expensive. God
addresses this problem of the cost of power by teaching us in the
Bible, how we should treat the money He allows us to make. Read
1st Corinthians 16: 1-2. This addresses the physical price we pay to
do God’s work physically, like buying Bibles and paying for gas to
distribute lessons, and paying for electricity to offer preaching in a
chapel. But do we think about the power to do the spiritual jobs God
wants us to do? What about the power to make the right choice?
What about the power to follow through on the right choice? What
about the power to learn how to make the right choice or what
the right choice really is? I don’t know about you, but this seems to
be the hardest for me. Where do we get the power to do what is
right? The answer is in God’s word. The Spirit of Christ is our
teacher and can convict us of sin, righteousness and judgment, see
John 16:8. His presence is powerful and his wisdom is enlightening.
Let Him pour His love into your heart and prayerfully ask Him for
the power to do what is right. Don’t be fooled into thinking that physical
power is more desirable and greater than spiritual power, like love, forgiveness and the power to humbly submit your desires to obey God. It is more glorious to empower a sinner to change into a saint, than it is to make a lame man walk or a blind person see. It takes more power to create a new person than it does to fix a person’s limb. God has this power and the good news is this: It is freely offered to you in Jesus Christ. Enter into His abundant life. Read Romans 6:1-7 to learn more about this great and powerful place!

…To Mary of Magdala & the other Mary, (John 20:1-2, Matthew 28:8-10)

…To the 10 Apostles, (John 20:19-25)

…To Thomas & the 10 Apostles, (John 20:26-29 & Luke 24:33-49 & Mark 16:14-20)

…To Cleopas & the other disciple on the road to Emmaus, (Lk. 24:13-35 & Mark 16:12)

…To the 11 Apostles in Galilee while fishing, (Matthew 28:16-20, John 21:1-24)

…To the 11 Apostles on Mt. Olivet while Ascending, (Luke 24:50-53 & Acts 1:4-12)

…To the 12 Apostles, (1st Corinthians 15:5-7)

…To more than 500 brethren at once, (1st Corinthians 15:6)

…To Stephen during his martyrdom, (Acts 7:55-60)

…To Saul on the road to Damascus, (Acts 9:1-6, 18:9-10, 22:1-8, 26:12-18)

…To Paul in the Roman barracks at Jerusalem, (Acts 23:11)

…To John on the Isle of Patmos, (Revelation 1:9-20)

Jesus said, “Do not be astonished at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will rise, those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment”. John 5:28-29

“…there will certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked”. Acts 24:15

Do you believe that Jesus can be seen as an example in you? The Apostle Paul did, read Galatians 1:16. When we talk about Jesus in a virtuous way, sharing our faith in His presence, love and wisdom. He is there. Even if we have problem that only affects two people. If they come together to prayerfully solve the problem, He, that is Jesus, is there with them, this is His promise. Read Matthew 18:20.

The only problem with churches using buildings, is not money, but windows. There are never enough of them. Why? Because the church has a constant need to stay in touch with His glory and holiness in the earth and heavens around us, (Isa. 6:3) it is healthy and generates praise! Keeping a congregation closed in a building to worship is good in preventing distractions and a harsh environment, but limiting our worship to an auditorium limits our whole view of how big and great God really is. This is why Jesus said that it is hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, because he is constantly following ‘rules’ instead of God Himself. Rich people are bombarded by our own dependency on ‘things’ instead of God. Therefore we are more easily attracted to making our worship to God more materialistic and attractive by the world’s expectations, instead of God’s expectations. Matthew 19:16-26. Rich people are good at making rules about our way of life for God, instead of making sacrifices as a way of life for God. If this is our emphasis and direction, we will experience the ‘awe’ in reverence towards God in worship. Our God is great & worthy of constant praise & prayer. 1Ths. 5:17-18. Tennyson the English poet wrote “Let knowledge grow from more to more, but more of reverence in us dwell, that mind and soul, according well, may make one music as before” (1850). He is observing the truth that when humans replace reverence for the Creator with knowledge of the creation we become uglier.

To help us express reverence in our praise & prayer, we should learn about three contrasts David puts in Psalm 8:1-9. A. The glory of God and the frailty of our humanity, v1-2. See also, Psalm 19:1-2.
B. The vastness of the Universe and the tiny space mankind occupies, Psa.8:3-4. C. The dominion God gave us over His creation in our service, Psa. 8:5-6, and Gen. 1:28. Of course all of these things are magnified in Jesus (Son of Man), and in a smaller way, exemplified in the Christian (siblings of the Son of Man). Jesus proved in the transfiguration that He possessed the glory of God, yet suffered death at humanities horrors inflicted on himself. Jesus was small in this Universe he helped create, in that he was born in poverty, lived homeless and died a pauper, but was raised eternally victorious. Jesus also reflected dominion over creation in many miracles, yet had to work with his own hands with the servants in creation to eek out a physical existence while on earth. It is amazing that scientist with all their knowledge can accept our universe as infinite, but reject an eternal God who created and controls it. Even sceptics and scoffers can not question “a superior power” when they truly consider the conception and birth of a single baby human being, Psa. 8:2, 14:1-2.

Now that we have examined what helps and hinders reverence, let’s define it: Leviticus 25:35-43 is a good example of what it means to reverence God in our lifestyle. Ecclesiastes 12:13 expresses our deepest respect in our heart for God in daily life. Hebrews 12:9, shows a good analogy of Christian reverence towards God in our heart. Boldness is sometimes confused with arrogance, Hebrews 4:16. But when we accept that an Almighty God can listen to a human that can reverence Him, all because of the blood of Christ, we have a position to be BOLD in. Boldness in prayer obviously comes from real faith growing stronger. We must know the power of God, Mt. 22:29 & Mk. 12:24. Boldness in prayer comes from God, Jude v20. This is only true, if we are praying a prayer instead of just saying a prayer. The Apostle Paul knew that if we were united in this faith, that we could “JOIN FERVENTLY” in prayer to get work done. See Romans 15:30-32. This is a military term which actually means to fight alongside one another.

If you were to make a list of priorities, surely somewhere at the top, would be to show devotion to Jesus. Oddly enough, the word ‘devotion’ is not in the King James New Testament, but the phrase “CONTINUED STEADFASTLY” is used. It means to show devotion, be dedicated and keep a priority. The New Testament does not leave us guessing about how we are to show devotion, it is specific and repetitive in telling us that Christians are to be devoted and continue steadfastly in prayer. Prayer is a top priority in showing who we are committed to in this life. Look at the following verses, Acts 1:14, “devoting themselves to prayer”. In Acts 2:42, “devoted themselves to…the prayers”. In Acts 6:4, “devote ourselves to prayer”. In Romans 12:12, “constant in prayer”. Ephesians 6:18, “praying at all times in the Spirit”. Colossians 4:2, “Be devoted to prayer”, and 1st Thessalonians 5:17, “pray always!”. Why all this devotion? Because God never stops loving you more than anything in this world! The world is devoted to making money, looking pretty and dominating power over the next person. Jesus is devoted to loving you, tell Him you love Him, every day!

This is the essence of praising God, by our action, our words and whole lifestyle. Anyone who worships (loves) God and does his will, is heard by God, Jn 9:31. What God does after hearing someone who loves him and does what He wants, is a good question. Cornelius is a great example. His prayer and good deeds went up as a memorial, and God answered him with the good news of his salvation by His Spirit and Peter’s command of baptism, Acts 10:45-48. This empowers us to praise Him. We of course, are not coming into salvation as the first ever Gentile believer, with the purpose of proving God’s work miraculously. But we are just as precious, loved and destined for a divine purpose. The reason we should praise God is best defined by David who wrote in Psalm 40:1-3, “I relied completely on the Lord, and he turned toward me and heard my cry for help, He lifted me out of the watery pit, out of the slimy mud. he placed my feet on a rock and gave me secure footing. He gave me reason to sing a new song, praising our God. May many see what God has done, so that they might swear allegiance to him and trust in the Lord”. This kind of praise that is rooted in recognition of God’s help, is the kind of praise that keeps us devoted to prayer and our Savior Jesus Christ. Do we lack the strength and stamina to keep praising Christ? It may only be because we do not recognize His very real help and work on us and all around us. Look! Read! Believe and live it out!

Saccharin, Stevia or Sugar, which is real? The food industry has studied, tested, proven and promoted all kinds of sugars. But which is really the best for your body? That is a much debated topic. But let no one argue about which kind of sweetness is best for our soul. God says, “and he raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, to demonstrate in the coming ages the surpassing wealth of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:6-8). What could be sweeter than the kindness of God in Christ Jesus. His grace still inspires millions to be kind & gentle, even towards enemies undeserving. This is true love, it is sacrificial love and the most love any one could have, that is, to lay down their life for a friend. It is God’s design for His sacrificial love to inspire our human affections to grow. For most of us, Valentine’s Day is a time to show affection and kindness to those who are close. But if we are called upon to make a real sacrifice for those close and dear to us, could we do it? This reminds me of an anonymous poem my aunt gave me. “God has not promised skies ever blue, flower strewn pathways always for you. God hasn’t promised sun without rain, joy without sorrow, peace without pain. But He has promised strength from above, ongoing comfort, unfailing love”. This truth was long ago expounded upon by the Apostle Paul in Romans 8:35-38.

Some Christians get real upset, when they are told what to do, other Christians, just get on with it. The latter, usually knows the truth about who really rules. Regardless of the request, we all usually want to know ‘who put you in charge?” In the Church, Jesus Christ is in charge, our Lord of lords and King of kings. He is the one who ordained the powers that be. This past week we have heard of two people who didn’t like being told what to do, so they took a gun and killed the ‘ruler’. Robert Butler Jr, was suspended from School for driving on the sports field, so he shot & killed the Assistant Principle Vicki Kaspar on Wednesday, at the same time our 112th Congress took their seat of power. I wonder if any politicians can see the link? Is God making a statement? Our society needs to reassert trust in God, instead of Government, so that peace instead of chaos can reign. Until that is done, we will suffer the malaise of irresponsibility and ignorance that eventually kills our democracy. In the meantime, we must pray for “all that are in high positions” (1st Tim. 2:2) Make sure you’re the type of Christian that does what we are told. Who rules who, or do we think we rule our selves?

We know God’s word claims His control over our care. Peter proclaims that we must cast our cares on Him because He cares of us, (1st Peter 5:7). We often hope a person’s word is good, especially when we are trying to get something fixed, replaced, or when we are signing a contract! But sometimes we find failure. God’s word is different, He never fails us, and even when it feels like He has, look closer at this word and He will shine brighter and truer to His word than you ever imagined. His word is living and active, he never stops helping us and will never forsake us, just as he promises in Hebrews 13:5, “Keep your life free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for he has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you”. Jesus has his Spirit right here in our fellowship and in our hearts! In this new year, it’s going to be alright! Yes we have a bumpy economy and a terrible unemployment problem in our society, but God is at work and His word will empower us to make everything alright. We have His Word and it has been proven good.