By Pastor Matthew
CELEBRATING INDEPENDENCE DAY
As a Believer in Jesus Christ
Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there,
the Lord Jesus Christ. (Philippians 3:20 )
Every year on Independence Day, America celebrates its freedom from British rule. However, as citizens of heaven who
are only also American citizens, we daily have a more significant liberty to celebrate. As we spend time with family and friends this Independence day, I would like to pose a question to every Christian believer that reads this post and have you stop for a brief moment and ponder the truth within the following Scriptures:
What freedom do citizens of heaven have to celebrate?
Freedom from bondage
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed. (Luke 4:18)
Freed by Christ
Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. They answered him, We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free? Jesus replied, I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. (John 8:32-36)
Freedom is universally desired
And free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. (Heb 2:15)
They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity–for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him. (2 Pet 2:19)
Freed from the law of sin and death
Because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. (Rom 8:2)
Freed from the bondage of satisfying God’s law
To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. (1 Cor 9:21)
This matter arose because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. (Gal 2:4)
For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. His son by the slave woman was born in the ordinary way; but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a promise. (Gal 4:22-23)
But what does the Scripture say? “Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman’s son.” 31 Therefore, brothers, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman. 5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. (Gal 4:30)
Freed from the sins committed under the first covenant
For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance–now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant. (Heb 9:15)
Freed from our sins by his blood
And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, (Rev 1:5)
Freed from accusation
But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation (Col 1:22)
Freed from the power of sin
Because anyone who has died has been freed from sin … 18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness … 20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness … 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. (Rom 6:7)
Caution: Do not think your freedom is permission to sin
Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. (1 Pet 2:16)
You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. (Gal 5:13)
Free to approach God with confidence
In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. (Eph 3:12)
Freed from spiritual blindness
But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. (2 Cor 3:16)
Freed from the curse of a decaying body
That the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. (Rom 8:21)
Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:2)
Free to be a slave to others (WHAT YOU SAY?)
Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. (1 Cor 9:19)
The other man’s conscience, I mean, not yours. For why should my freedom be judged by another’s conscience? (1 Cor 10:29)
Caution: Don’t let your freedom from the law lead others to violate their consciences
Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak. (1 Cor 8:9)
Freed by the law of love
But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it–he will be blessed in what he does. (James 1:25)
Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom (James 2:12)
So What Is The Christian’s Declaration Of Independence?
I am free from failure for “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.” (Phil.4:13)
I am free from want for “My God shall supply all my need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (Phil:4:19)
I am free from fear for “God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (2Tim1:7)
I am free from doubt for “God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.” (Rom. 12:3)
I am free from weakness, “the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Ps.27:1)
I am free from the power of Satan “because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” (1Jn.4:4)
I am free from defeat “Now thanks be to God, which always causes us to triumph in Christ.” (2Cor.2:14)
I am free from ignorance, “for Christ Jesus has given to me wisdom from God.” (1Cor.1:30)
I am free from the eternal result from sin “for the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses me from all sin.” (1 Jn.1:7)
I am free from worry “for I am to cast all my cares upon Him.” (1Pet.5:7)
I am free from bondage “for where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” (2Cor.3:17)
I am free from condemnation, “for there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” (Rom. 8:1)
By Joshua
Strength from God
One passage of scripture that God has continually brought to my attention through numerous people, and continues to reveal to me, is 2 Corinthians 12: 9-10:
“And He said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake, For when I am weak, then I am strong”.
I can relate to this passage Paul wrote because in my life’s experiences, when I have encountered very troubling times, which have physically and emotionally drained me, I found myself calling upon Jesus for strength. At which point I felt the Holy Spirit provide me with the necessary strength to press forward and not give up.
Looking back over the last two years when my brother and I were in the process of attaining restraining orders against our former family members who abused us, my brother and I observed our abusers, who lived an hour and a half away, in our neighborhood of residence on numerous occasions. Their goal was to intimidate and use their appearance to threaten us to keep us from attending the trial and testifying in open court about the violence and abuse we had currently lived under. However, both my brother and I, pushed through all of the intimidation and numerous threats by our abusers and testified under oath about the abuse we had sustained growing up, as our abusers sat and listened.
Receiving the 10 month restraining order by the judge was a victory that allowed me to know that I could be my own individual and no longer live as a controlled slave again. During this time of my life, my prayer was “Jesus, I am giving this situation over to you, I ask that your will would be done in this situation and I ask that you would provide me with the necessary strength to press forward and not give up.”
Jesus used this long and difficult time to teach me patience and to trust in Him, which ultimately resulted in the tremendous growth of my faith in Him. For anyone who is currently facing any sort of difficult and/or nearly impossible circumstance, never give up and continue to place your trust in Jesus Christ and allow Him to work in your situation.
By Zechariah
The Building of Strongholds…
I have lived in a constant state of fear and hopelessness for all my life. My earliest memories are not those of a happy childhood, where many remember their parents doting on them with love and affection, building a stable foundation of love, safety and trust. Those years of my life I remember spending in agony. As I would cry myself to sleep at night, I would look up to God with helplessness and ask Him why? Why was I put in this family where everyone around me was hurting me so badly? Why did certain family members find pleasure in hurting me and making me have sex with them? Why did I have to have sex with strange men who would come over to the house? Why was I beaten and forced to hurt other children who were brought over? Why was all of this happening, and why me?
The amount and degree of abuse I have sustained during my life is hard to put into words. If I were to accurately account the physical, psychological, emotional and sexually-perverse nature of my abuse, most would either choose to not believe me, or think that I was sick to even suggest that family members could be so terrible to their own child. My abusers knew this to be true, and combined with my fear of what I was told would happen to me if I were to ever tell anyone, I was forced to deal with the pain and confusion of my abuse all alone.
Even though certain family members were hurting me, I still wanted desperately to please them and receive the acceptance and admiration I wanted so badly. As my nightmare continued, day after day, year after year with no end and no escape I remember finally deciding that love was a lie and even if it did exist, I was obviously un-worthy of it.
As my abusers continued to tell me that I deserved what was happening to me and told me that God could never forgive me for the things they were forcing me to do to others, the weight of guilt, shame and condemnation became suffocating. By my teenage years I absolutely hated myself. I was angry, bitter and hardened– angry at God for putting me in this family and for not hearing my cries for help as a child– angry at myself for deserving such treatment. Self-pity became my only source of comfort. By this time in my life, I was living in complete and total defeat. I had accepted and believed what my abusers had told me all my life– I was nothing but a horrible person, who’s only purpose in life was to be controlled and used by others and to hurt other people. As sick as it was, this became my identity.
I am now in the process of overcoming the pain and mental torment from that nightmare. This process largely includes me continually making a conscious effort to stop thinking of myself as a person in bondage, and to begin thinking as a person who has overcome his abuse and is on the road to becoming all that Jesus created me to be. A scripture that encouraged me to do this is Romans 12:2 which says, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
Now, after ten months of restraining orders, where my brother Joshua and I testified in open court about the abuse we sustained and the current threats to our lives by our abusers, I am finally away from my now ex-family and part of a new family, where I and my brother have been adopted. I will never forget the moment on November 23, 2008, when the judge gave me my new last name– “Manning.” I realized at that moment, that my nightmare of abuse had ended and that Jesus Christ had given me a new life, a new name and most of all a new family that treats me as a human being with my own free will.
I was recently assaulted by one of my abusers as I was getting out of my car one night. He threatened me and told me that I’d better keep quiet about the abuse, or “the secrets” as they call them, or he would kill me. His goal was to cause me to shrink back in fear and return to all the strongholds (mindsets and attitudes) that he knows are there due to his abuse. I have a choice to believe him and those strongholds or to choose to believe Jesus Christ. I am going to choose to believe Jesus Christ.
The road to recovery from abuse like mine is long and arduous. It takes dedication and discipline in God’s word. Whenever you make a decision to undo something the enemy has gone through great lengths to establish in your life, especially strongholds in your mind, you will meet much adversity. During those times of adversity, you may be tempted to give up, saying, “things will never change.” It is times like these that we need to realize that we are actually headed in the right direction. The enemy will do whatever he can to make us believe that our situation is hopeless and unchangeable. If that means sending one of our abusers to try and remind us of our past bondage, he will. As hard as it may be at the time, the correct response needs to be to continue trudging ahead in faith despite whatever emotions or feelings may be triggered by the attack. In my case, my abuser wanted me to remember all the times he controlled and dominated me when I was young and could do nothing about it. He is wanting me to react and return to those thought patterns and attitudes that were built during my many years of abuse. It is not wrong to feel emotions that are triggered. It is wrong, however to dwell on them and believe that nothing has changed just because I felt them and was tempted to shrink back.
So no matter what your circumstance may be, for those of you who can identify with what I am saying, I want to share with you scriptures that will help encourage you as you battle hopelessness in the face of renewing your mind from mindsets and attitudes due to past abuse.
- For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:4-5)
- So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:11)
- And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. (John 1:5)
- And let us not grow weary and faint while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. (Galatians 6:9)
Dwelling on scriptures like these will get us back on track and thinking properly, even if emotions are still there, nagging us to give into them.
If we can figuratively think of a stronghold as a stone wall that separates us from the freedom to think as Jesus thinks, to see people the way Jesus does, and to see ourselves the way Jesus does, it isn’t hard to understand why the devil goes through so much effort to establish them in our minds. Jeremiah 23:29 says, “Is not My word like a fire?” says the LORD, And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?” If walls are made of rocks and the Word of God is like a hammer, we have to be prepared to hammer away at these strongholds for a while before they fall. Even if it takes years, God’s Word says that the rocks will be broken into pieces and the walls will fall. Don’t give into hopelessness, keep hammering away in confidence.
By Pastor Matthew
I wanted to take this time to write a blog that will encourage those that are finding themselves in hard times. I know there are many looking for answers when it comes to their health, their careers, their children, their financial situation, and the list goes on. I want you all to know that there is no easy fix, or simple answer to what you are going through. However, as “Christian Believers” we do have an answer that will help us get through! His name is Jesus Christ. When those in the world live their lives for the sole purpose of power, prestige, and financial riches, when those hard times come, they will see it as a horrific and scary dilemma. As children of the Most High God, we need to see these hard times, whatever they may be, as an opportunity to draw closer to our Savior, and watch Him work out each and every problem we face. Jesus wants a deeper relationship with us, and hard times make for a great opportunity for that to occur. Jesus never desires for us to go through these tough times, but He tells us that we will, and in those times we need to run to Him and allow Him to work in the situation at hand.
Regardless of how strong you are in the scriptures or prayer, at some point in your Christian life you will encounter these hardships. Jesus Himself said that we would suffer tribulation in the world (John 16:33). In some sense most believers realize this; however, when the hard times come our response to the difficulties say otherwise. How should you respond as a Christian when hard situations appear? Here are some practical tips to help keep you on the straight and narrow path.
- Be Still When bad things happen. We have a tendency to get emotional. That is not wrong at all; God gave us emotions for a reason. It is okay to feel angry, sad, disappointed, or whatever other emotions happen to develop. Just realize it is not a good time to react or respond while your emotions are on overdrive. When you react out of your emotions you will usually end up attempting to do things in your own strength, which is exactly the opposite of how things work in the Kingdom of God. The bible says in Psalm 37:7 to “Cease striving and know that He is God.” Let your emotions run their course, but do not act based on how you feel.
- Focus on what you know about God when trouble hits. The problem is not that we do not know how to focus. The problem is that we often focus on the problem, which will do nothing to solve it. The object is to not let anything become bigger in your sight than God.
- Focus on Him and what you know to be true. If you believe that Jesus is good and has your best interest at heart, allow that to give you strength to ask and trust Him for help. Unfortunately, if you fail to focus on what you know, then you will find that your solutions will be few and far in between. It is a trick of Satan to get you to focus on the problem, because then you will not be able to see the way out.
- Even after you have calmed your emotions and you have focused on Jesus, you still have to wait at times to see the answers that you received from the Lord to materialize. This can be an interesting time, and you have to make sure that all voices that compete with the Lord’s in your life are silenced. If there are people around you that are not going to walk in faith with you, limit your conversation with them concerning the issue at hand. Do not allow them to plant thoughts of failure and despair into your life. Proverbs says to watch over your heart, because from your heart flows the issues of life (Proverbs 4:23)
- When words contrary to God’s promises take root in your heart, then you find that your strength and faith will diminish, making it harder for you to see God’s provision. Do not allow this to happen. Make your environment one where the promises of God thrive.
Pastor Matthew
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