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Tuesday, February 21, 2023

The Cost of Freedom – Purity 972


The Cost of Freedom –– Purity 972                            

Purity 972 02/21/2023 Purity 972 Podcast

Purity 972 on YouTube: 



Good morning,

Today’s photo of a view of the York River at twilight time comes to us from yours truly as me and the Mrs. pulled over to capture this scene along the Colonial National Historical Parkway somewhere north of the Yorktown Battlefield after spending a day going to the places where history happened while on vacation in Virginia. 

Well, It’s Tuesday and even though our time in Williamsburg Virginia is coming to an end I would have to report that it was time well spent as we used the day yesterday to see the actual places that played a part in the formation and the freedom of our country, as we visited Historic Jamestowne, aka the Jamestown National Historical Site – not to be confused with the Jamestown Settlement, as well as the Yorktown Battlefield.  So in one day we not only visited what was the first English Settlement in America, we also visited the site of what was the defining battle of the American Revolution that eventually led to the freedom of our country.  I am somewhat humbled this morning by all I learned about Jamestown and Yorktown this morning as I really gained a sense of the cost of our freedom.   

History is not just the study of facts and figures. It’s a story about the lives of men and, if you know Him, about God’s shaping the course of human events.  I am by no means a history buff but even with my limited knowledge I can think of a few instances where the outcomes of wars or battles are reported to be affected by “fortunate circumstances”.  I generally recall mention of favorable weather conditions for the Allied Invasion of Normandy on D-Day, that lead to the freedom of the people under Nazi rule in world war 2, and yesterday I learned of a “fortunate storm” that played a part in the events of the victory at Yorktown, as the British attempted retreat were impacted by the weather.    In these two examples, our country benefited by “acts of God”.

However, I also learned that sometimes history and life is also about enduring when things don’t seem to go our way.

Yesterday, I learned about how the majority of the colonists at Jamestown died during the winter of 1609-1610 due to disease, violence, drought, and famine after a meager harvest and it reminded me how although the times have changed the suffering and death we face as men and women can cause us to have empathy and compassion for others when we hear about their pain. 

Jamestown and Yorktown were replete with stories of the people who lives played a part in the establishment and freedom in our country and my meager blog entry really can’t give you a sense of all that I saw and felt at these two historical sites. The day was a mix of wonder, amazement, joy, and sorrow as I considered the people who lived and died and the things that took place on the ground I walked on yesterday. 

It is often said that freedom isn’t free and after yesterday’s walk through history I can tell you that the cost of freedom is life.   Men and women died in their attempts to forge a life in the new world and people have been dying in wars to establish and maintain our freedom ever since.   The cost of freedom is life.  I don’t think I can say that enough.  

While we are not necessarily called to make the ultimate sacrifice, yesterday’s walk through history made me realize that in order to be free you have to be willing to die. You have to make the hard choices, be willing to do the hard things, and actually do the things that may lead to your death to be free.

This was impressed upon me in a major way when I contemplated the takings of Redouts 9 & 10 at the battle of Yorktown.  A redoubt is a temporary fortification and at Yorktown, the British positions known as Redouts 9 &10 needed to be taken to guarantee success.  So French and American troops made the hard decision to do the hard thing – to storm the enemy positions – knowing that it could cost them their lives.  While charging on an enemy position is a common concept in war, the thing that impressed me about the story of Redoubt 10, which the Americans took, was that the soldiers were asked to charge into battle with unloaded weapons!  Bayonets only. Charge. Talk about hardcore!

With my concepts of modern warfare, this seemed positively insane to me but when I considered the times in my life when I had to do hard things to get what I was called to do done or to win the freedom I wanted, I know that we simply do what we have to do, even if it costs us our lives.  

When I was at the Yorktown battlefield, I was overcome by emotion for a moment because even though I was never in the military I understood the spirit of abandoned determinism that those men must have felt when they decided to charge into enemy lines with nothing but what they held in their hands and the desire to live. 

While we won’t be doing anything as dramatic as running into enemy lines  today, I recognize that when we decide to follow the Lord toward the freedom that He has for us  it will cost us our lives and the same willingness of abandoned determinism is necessary for us to have success in achieving it.  

Scripture bears this out.   The Apostle Paul described our life surrendered to God as the word says in:

1 Corinthians 15:31 (NKJV)
31  I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

Galatians 2:20 (NKJV)
20  I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

And Christ said

Matthew 16:24-25 (NKJV)
24  Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
25  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

The freedom we have in Christ, cost Jesus His life and it should be no surprise that when we decided to follow Him that we will be called to make the hard decisions to do the hard things and actually do them to be free,   

So, if you are an American, appreciate the freedom that you have in our country because countless people have sacrificed and died to establish our country and to keep it free.  

If you are a Christian, thank Jesus for giving you eternal life and entrance into His kingdom, but if there are areas in your life where you don’t feel free or where you don’t experience peace and joy,  recognize that you may have to fight to win your freedom and trust the Lord to come along side you in your battles.   

In Christ, our future victory is guaranteed but if we want to experience our freedom in the world of the living we have to do our part to secure it.  So keep walking and talking with God and ask Him to lead you into the battles you can win and to give you the strength and courage to overcome.   

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Today’s Bible verse comes to us from “The NLT Bible Promise Book for Men”.

This morning’s meditation verses are:

Romans 8:5-6 (NKJV)
5  For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
6  For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Today’s Bible verses warn us of the dangers of what we set our minds to, as a life that considers the things of the flesh is said to lead to death, where as a life that spiritually minded is life and peace.   

As I have tried to point out before, our lives in Christ are not merely a matter of naming Christ as Lord and Savior. It’s not just about saying “I believe”. 

Passages of scripture like today’s verses indicate that we are not only to change our outward behaviors, we are called to change the way we think.  We have to turn our thoughts to the things of God in order to experience the life and peace that He has for us.  

So study the word and think about it. The ways of the Spirit are life and peace and to experience all that God has for us requires we change our minds and change what we think about.

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As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.org where I always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk.

Today we continue sharing from A.W. Pink’s “The Sovereignty of God.”

As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage all to purchase A.W. Pink’s books for your own private study and to support his work.  This resource is available on many websites for less than $20.00.

THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD

By  ARTHUR W. PINK

CHAPTER SEVEN

GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY AND THE HUMAN WILL

1. The Nature of the Human Will - continues

Human philosophy insists that it is the will which governs the man, but the Word of God teaches that it is the heart which is the dominating center of our being. Many scriptures might be quoted in substantiation of this. “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” (Prov. 4:23). “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,” etc. (Mark 7:21). Here our Lord traces these sinful acts back to their source and declares that their fountain is the “heart” and not the will! Again; “This people draweth nigh unto Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me” (Matt. 15:8). If further proof were required we might call attention to the fact that the word “heart” is found in the Bible more than three times oftener than is the word “will,” even though nearly half of the references to the latter refer to God’s will!

When we affirm that it is the heart and not the will which governs the man, we are not merely striving about words, but insisting on a distinction that is of vital importance. Here is an individual before whom two alternatives are placed; which will he choose? We answer, the one which is most agreeable to himself, i.e., his “heart”—the innermost core of his being? Before the sinner is set a life of virtue and piety, and a life of sinful indulgence; which will he follow? The latter. Why? Because that is his choice. But does that prove the will is sovereign? Not at all. Go back from effect to cause. Why does the sinner choose a life of sinful indulgence? Because he prefers it—and he does prefer it, all arguments to the contrary notwithstanding, though of course he does not enjoy the effects of such a course. And why does he prefer it? Because his heart is sinful. The same alternatives, in like manner, confront the Christian, and he chooses and strives after a life of piety and virtue. Why? Because God has given him a new heart or nature. Hence we say it is not the will which makes the sinner impervious to all appeals to “forsake his way,” but his corrupt and evil heart. He will not come to Christ because he does not want to, and he does not want to because his heart hates Him and loves sin: see Jer. 17:9!

In defining the will we have said above, that “the will is the faculty of choice, the immediate cause of all action.” We say the immediate cause, for the will is not the primary cause of any action.” We say the immediate cause, for the will is not the primary cause of any action any more than the hand is. Just as the hand is controlled by the muscles and nerves of the arm, and the arm by the brain; so the will is the servant of the mind, and the mind, in turn, is affected by various influences and motives which are brought to bear upon it. But, it may be asked, Does not Scripture make its appeal to man’s will? Is it not written, “And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” (Rev. 22:17)? And did not our Lord say, “ye will not come to Me that ye might have life” (John 5:40)? We answer; the appeal of Scripture is not always made to man’s “will”; other of his faculties are also addressed. For example: “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.” “Hear and your soul shall live.” “Look unto Me and be ye saved.” “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.” “Come now and let us reason together,” “with the heart man believeth unto righteousness,” etc., etc.[1]

 

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Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship


[1] Arthur W. Pink, The Sovereignty of God (Swengel, PA: Bible Truth Depot, 1949), 141–142.


 

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