Greetings in the Name of Jesus and welcome to the PLN Sunday Night Bible Fellowship!
The following article is part of a series on FREEDOM in America that appeared in the Hood County Newspaper during the four weeks leading up to Memorial Day. Since most of our readers are either outside Hood County, Texas or have chosen not to take the local newspaper, we decided to run these articles as part of our summer program for this newsletter leading up to July 4. We pray that these articles will bless you and cause you to be thankful for our God-given FREEDOM.
FOUR: THE DEFENSE OF FREEDOM
This is the fourth article in a series about FREEDOM in America. In the first one, we saw that according to the Bible, ALL Freedom comes from God and its very existence requires His presence (2 Corinthians 3:17). So we concluded that God's intention for all people is that we live in FREEDOM. The truth of history is that the people and the nations that've been the most FREE are the ones that were able to develop and hold onto a close relationship with God.
FREEDOM is a condition that all people naturally desire, so much so that sometimes we're willing to put at risk the things that are most important to us in order to obtain and hold onto it. During the Revolutionary War, there were more than 50,000 American casualties from 1776 to 1783 as our forefathers fought against the then mightiest military force in the world in pursuit of an opportunity to try a system of governance based on the principles of Bible-based FREEDOM. The odds were against them. Tens of thousands of colonists faced the loss of their estates and widespread imprisonment or execution as traitors if England had prevailed. But for them just the possibility of such FREEDOM was worth the risk.
Once real FREEDOM has been obtained though, it has to be DEFENDED or it will deteriorate and eventually be lost. There are always people who want to control other people because that's our nature. Many of those same folks don't like God very much and resent FREEDOM because it's God-given. Out of this comes the same question America faced in 1776: is FREEDOM important enough to risk everything for?
If our answer is yes, then it's vital to understand what has to be done in DEFENSE of something so desirable yet so fragile:
1. Because we have FREEDOM God allows us to participate in the process of establishing our own leadership. So, we have the vital responsibility of voting. Yet half of professing Christians in America aren't even registered to vote. And on average half of registered Christians don't turn out to vote.
2. Not only should Christians vote, but we should also do whatever is necessary to be INFORMED voters. Then we should vote according to what's best for the Kingdom of God, not our personal agendas or the agendas of our political affiliations, but the Kingdom's agenda.
3. What's best for the Kingdom of God is what the Bible says is best, so to be a defender of freedom we need to study our Bibles so we know what God's priorities are. Sometimes Christians vote with values in mind that haven't come from a righteous source and if we don't vote with God in mind then the consequence will eventually be loss of freedom.
4. And finally, a successful DEFENSE requires that we stand for Truth as defined by God. When people try to take away our freedom, we have to RESIST the loss of such a valuable possession. If we don't RESIST, if we don't take a stand for Truth, if we won't DEFEND our FREEDOM even in the face of suffering personal loss, we'll gradually lose this wonderful, special gift from God.
Jesus said to seek first the Kingdom of God in all things. Thus what's best for the Kingdom should be what guides us in all things. We'll either do our part with God's help to DEFEND our FREEDOM or gradually lose a precious gift God intends for us to possess and enjoy forever.
NEXT WEEK: THE FRAGILITY OF FREEDOM
Thanks for joining our discussion tonight. We'll be looking for you again NEXT Sunday night on July 3. In the meantime may the Lord bless you with every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3), pushing you to VICTORY in every area of life!
Sinners' Prayer
If you've never invited Jesus to be your Lord, you can do so today by believing and saying out loud the following simple prayer:
Jesus, I declare today with all my heart that I believe in you and I believe that God raised you from the dead. I acknowledge that my sins have been forgiven for all time and I ask you to come into my life today and be my Lord and Savior. Thank you for salvation and eternal life.
If you were sincere as you prayed, God has already come into your life and you're a new creation, a totally new species recreated in His image. Now ask the Lord to lead you to a good faith-based, bible-teaching church where you can be equipped to fulfill your potential in the Kingdom of God.
When you get a moment have someone help you look up the following scriptures because they confirm what you've done by saying this prayer and believing what you said:
Romans 10:9
2 Corinthians 5:17
Ephesians 2:8
Donations
If you've been edified by Prosperous Life Newsletter, please consider a LOVE offering to support the Ministry (Galatians 6:6-7). PLN is a nonprofit gift to the Body of Christ so your financial support should be tax deductible. Please send your donation to: PO Box 1164, Granbury, TX 76048. You'll be sowing into good ground and God will surely bless you for it.
Prayer Requests
If you have a Prayer Request, please connect to the Link below and follow the promptings. The PLN staff members pray over Prayer Requests every Tuesday morning at 10:00 AM central time. Agree with us for God to answer your petitions.
About Prosperous Life Newsletter
PLN is an outreach of Make A Way Ministries, published continuously since January 1998. It's a FREE e-publication about life in the Kingdom of God and is sent to our email list of MEMBERS. If you're reading this and aren't on our list, please click on the MINISTRY WEBSITE link at the top of this article to find the PLN enrollment link.
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