Acts 4:19, 5:29

July 4th is Independence Day.  We commemorate, not the day we declared independence from Great Britain. That happened on July 2nd.  John Adams wrote a letter to his wife saying that July 2nd “will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty.”  July 4th is the day the Continental Congress gave the reason for our separation in the Declaration of Independence.  That took place on July 4th.

So we gather here on July 3rd in between the second and the fourth to give solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. I doubt there were many solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty yesterday and doubt that there will be many tomorrow.  So we fulfill John Adam’s prophecy today in coming together to worship God.

Many people lost their lives in fighting for our freedom.  I had relatives that fought in the Revolutionary War as have many of you.  Since that time we have fought a Civil War to keep our country together, two world wars and several other battles that have major impact on our country.  Freedom isn’t free!

As we learned in 1776, so we learn today that we have to fight for freedom.  I spoke recently to a person who classified himself as a pacifist.  I do not like wars.  I have had two many of my relatives including my brother and several nieces and nephews who have been in conflicts that put them in personal danger. I don’t mind people trying to resolve issues through negotiations.  But my Bible tells me and experience shows me that there is a time for war and a time to fight.  If we want to be free, we will have to fight for our freedom.

So what is freedom?  In the United State we have freedom of speech.  At its core, freedom of speech is the freedom to say what you want without interference from others.  We have freedom of assembly.  At its core, freedom of assembly is the right for people to meet together without interference from others. What is freedom of conscience?  Freedom of conscience at its core is the right to think as you want without interference from others.

If freedom is the ability to think and act without interference from others, how free are you? 

The true answer is that none of us are free.  We always have someone telling us what to think, what to do, and who we can do it with. 

I remember as a child asking my parents if I could go to visit a friend on Sunday afternoon.  They said, “No, you can’t.”  They violated my right of assembly! 

I didn’t dare to swear in my house.  I would have been in real trouble.  My parents violated my freedom of speech!

I could go on and on telling you about the abuse I took as a child, but my point is this: I wasn’t free!

Now that I am adult, I find things haven’t changed.  If I were to go play golf on Sunday morning, you folks would punish me by taking away my employment.  How unfair.  If I were to swear from the pulpit or from any other platform, the same consequences would await me.  You violate my freedom of speech.  I am not a free man.  And neither are you.

Some of you are in real trouble because of this.  You feel trapped.  You feel like you can’t please anyone.  You feel discouraged.  You live in a free country, but you are not free.

The problem is that we do not understand what freedom really is.  That is why in a nation with so much to offer, such wealth, such opportunity, such a rich heritage, have so many people who don’t feel free.

I asked this question: “If freedom is the ability to think and act without interference from others, how free are you?”  The answer is, not very free at all.

I would like to give you a different picture of freedom.  Freedom is the ability to do what is right in the eyes of God.

Here is where my reasoning is.  If we were created by God, we find our greatest freedom when we are doing what we were created to do.  When we don’t do what we were created to do, we find the least amount of freedom. 

Bill Bright, the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ once said, “Just as there are natural laws that govern the universe, there are also spiritual laws the govern the spiritual world.”  Both are created by God.  If you exercise the freedom to jump out of a building, you are now subject to the law of gravity on the physical level, and on the spiritual level you are subject to the law that says, “Whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap.”  You might enjoy the flight, but the landing will be another story.

When we live as we were created to live, we find freedom.  When we live different from that, we experience a lack of freedom and all that entails.

This is why so many people use freedom to their own regret.  In the 60’s we had free love.  Everyone had the freedom to use drugs and have sex.  Out of that mix we had many children who grew up in bad home and many adults whose lives were ruined. Why?  We cannot violate what our creator has created us to do without consequences.

That is why I say that true freedom is the freedom to do what is right in the eyes of God.  I can assemble in a church, but I would not assemble in an angry mob.  I can use my freedom of speech to build others up and bless them.  I don’t find freedom in running people down or in swearing or in loose talk.  With my freedom of conscience, I can build my conscience to be in tune with God so that my conscience and his are the same.  I avoid hardening my heart to the prompting of the Holy Spirit.

But freedom isn’t free.  It will involve conflict.  The conflict may be with the world, but more importantly, the conflict will be in the inner man.  I want to look at the apostles who walked with Jesus.  I want to look at their circumstances, then look at their conduct and draw some conclusions.  The story is found in Acts 4

First, let’s look at the circumstances.

A leper had been healed.  It was a miracle.  He had been carried near to the temple gates and was leaping and running away from them.  He went from a beggar to a bouncer, leaping and praising God.

This brought a crowd.  Peter and John spoke to the crowd about Jesus.  They used their freedom of speech to tell others about the Lord. 

Before they could get a response, three groups came up to them. Acts 4:1–22 (NIV84) 4 The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people.

The priests, the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees approached them.  Were they friend or foe?

2 They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.

They were foe.  They were greatly disturbed and I am sure it showed.  When you live for Jesus and try to do what is right, you may find some people who will be greatly disturbed.  When you become an honest businessman, some people you work with may be greatly disturbed.  When you decide that you are going to cut off a relationship that does not have God’s approval, someone may be greatly disturbed.  When you use your American freedoms for the glory of God, some people may be greatly disturbed.  It’s hard to feel freedom when what you have said upsets someone else.

3 They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day.

Not only were they greatly disturbed, but they used their power to shut down what Peter and John were doing.  It’s hard to preach to a crowd in jail.  Their jails were not as good as ours.  It’s hard to feel the freedom when you are behind bars for speaking the truth.

4 But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand.

Outside the jail, the Holy Spirit took the message that Peter and John spoke.  As people saw what happened to them and thought about what Peter and John had said about Jesus, five thousand men believed and gathered there together.  Too bad Peter and John were not there to see it.  But God doesn’t need us present when he harvests spiritual fruit.  We just need to be faithful to share when we have opportunity.

5 The next day the rulers, elders and teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. 6 Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and the other men of the high priest’s family. 7 They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?”

After spending the night in jail, Peter and John now go to court.  The bigwigs were there.  Notice the plurals?  We have rulers, elders and teachers of the law meeting.  There were several in each group.  Then Annas, the high priest was there with more than three members of his family. 

If freedom is the ability to say or do whatever I want without interference from others, then Peter and John are not free.  They are among a group of disturbed people who kept them overnight in jail and now are trying them in a court in order to find some way to inflict pain upon them.

If freedom is the ability to do what is right in the eyes of God, to follow the path our creator laid out for us, then Peter and John are free.

We know they are free by their conduct.

8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people!

Let’s stop here for a second.  In jail, no in court, surrounded by angry people!  If there were any circumstances in which it would be time to be quiet, if there were any time you and I would be intimidated not to speak up, here it is.  So what does Peter do?  He speaks up!  Why?  God is in control of his life.  The Holy Spirit fills him and he speaks.

We either let the world around us intimidate us into disobeying God, or we stand up and do what is right. 

Peter and John will not win friends with his speech.  Pleasing people is not his goal.  His goal is to please God.  Because he is God-centered, he is free. 

You have seven different people telling you what to do.  You are full of stress, boxed into a corner, not wanting to offend anyone.  You cannot win.  If you do this, this person will be offended.  If you do this, this other person will be offended.  So what are you to do?

The answer is clear. Do what is right in the eyes of God.  If people are offended, and I say this with no chip in my shoulder, let them be offended.  Anyone who is offended by you doing what is right is not someone worth pleasing. 

Proverbs tells us this, “That when a man’s ways please the Lord he makes even his enemies to be a peace with him.”  This is not always true.  That is why it is a proverb.  But generally it is true.  When you do what pleases God, people will come around when they see how right it is.

The person who is truly free is the one who seeks to please God.

9 If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, 10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 11 He is

“ ‘the stone you builders rejected,

which has become the capstone.’

12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

Notice what Peter says.  He tells them, “We are being attacked for being kind.” First, they were kind.  Second, they didn’t heal him, Jesus did.

13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. 14 But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say.

Their boldness and the truth of their statements turned the tables.  It is now, not Peter and James who are feeling the heat, it is the group of accusers.  Notice how clearly they illustrate people who are trying to please people and not the Lord.

15 So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. 16 “What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everybody living in Jerusalem knows they have done an outstanding miracle, and we cannot deny it. 17 But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn these men to speak no longer to anyone in this name.”

These are the top religious men, the cream of the crop, the best that Israel had to offer that are meeting together.  I give them credit.  They didn’t know what to do with these men.  Why?  They wanted to hurt them, but everyone living in Jerusalem knows that they did a miracle, that they were practicing kindness.

Why don’t these men act?  It’s not because of a sensitivity to the voice of God, but rather to the will of the people.  Their freedom is curtailed by the reaction those five thousand and more men will have if they go further in their actions against Peter and John.   Being people-pleasers brought them into bondage rather than freedom.

So they decide to let them off with a verbal warning.  These were uneducated men.  After a night in jail and a day in court, a verbal warning should make them go away.

But a man that is freed by the spirit of God will only go away if God calls him to go away.

18 Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. 20 For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

Peter asks a tough question to religious men.  He said to them, “You judge if God would rather have us obey you than obey him.”  As a follower of God, any of us would have to say, “Always obey God.”  You cannot argue with that point.  Any conflict between family and God, work and God, community and God, yourself and God should be won by God.

Peter says, “God told us to speak.  We have to do it.”

21 After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened. 22 For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.

Again we notice the difference between the two apostles and the religious leaders.  The leaders are in bondage to the crowds.  They could not decide what to do because they didn’t want to offend people.  Contrast that with Peter who knew exactly what to do.  God wanted him to speak, so he did.

Who was free?  The people were free who did what was right in the eyes of God.

Let’s look at some conclusions we can draw.

We face a lot of pressure in our lives.  On the national level there are major groups of people who are targeting Christian beliefs and Christian people.  They believe that Christian values are a detriment to society, that we should embrace a variety of cultures and that no one culture is better than another.

We should celebrate our different cultures.  If your ancestors came from England, Ireland, Nigeria or India, don’t cut the cord to the influence these people have had on you.  But if there is anything in our culture, anything in our background that is not pleasing to the Lord, don’t celebrate anything that is not pleasing to the Lord.

The world will tell us, “How can you say that your beliefs are better than anyone else’s?”  My answer is that by faith, I have put my trust in Jesus Christ.  He was with God, knew God and came and told us about God.  He is the world’s leading authority on God.  I trust him.  I don’t trust Muhammad, Joseph Smith, Buddha, Confucius or any other religious person when they disagree with Jesus.  If I want to please God, I need to trust his Son.

Not only do we have troubles with pressures on the national level as often shown in news programs, sitcoms, editorials and the like, but we also have pressure from people on the economic front.  The people we work for want to make money.  That is not a sin.  But some people want to make money even if it hurts people.  Some people want to make money even if it means breaking the law.  Some people want to make money even if it means lying to customer.  If you work in that environment, you feel the pressure.

Many feel the pressure in their families.  You want to live for Jesus, but you have family or friends that give you a hard time when you stand up for what is clearly right. 

You will be in bondage if you try to be politically correct, passively work in a dishonest way, or give in to the demand of family and friends. 

You will be free when you determine that you will please the Lord.  Paul said this: “Those that live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.”  If you don’t want to take the heat, you will find yourself tied up by trying to please others.  You will participate in things that make you feel unclean.  You will be unstable because the Bible says, “An double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.”

If you decide to please the Lord, you will find that you will go to bed at night with a clear conscience.  You will find that you will not say and do things, not because you are giving up your freedom, but because you are living in real freedom, the freedom to do what is right.

Paul puts it this way, Romans 6:19–22 (NIV84) 19 I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness. 20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21 What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 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.

In another place he says these words, Galatians 5:1 (NIV84) 5 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.

Be free.  Live for Jesus.  When we live for what is right we become a blessing to our families, to our community and to our nation. 

This is our country.  What we want more than anything as we celebrate the signing on the Declaration of Independence is for God to bless America.  We become part of the answer to our prayers when we live for Jesus.