July 4, 2013 Freedom is Misunderstood Freedom such a dangerous thing because it is so Widely Misunderstood. If we go back into the history of Babylon and see what Daniel 5 tells us about King Belshazzar. We see he clearly misunderstood freedom. Do you remember the story? Belshazzar, son of Nebuchadnezzar, inherited his father’s kingdom and all of his affluence and all of his power. So he brought together the nobles of the land to lavish them with a great banquet. As they were eating and drinking and enjoying the banquet, Belshazzar sent for the goblets that his father had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, the holy goblets that were used to worship sovereign God. And Belshazzar used these holy goblets for the unholy revelry of that feast. He was the King of Babylon, after all he had the freedom to do as he pleased. He didn’t have to answer to anyone. But a strange sight interrupted that night of revelry. A human hand appeared - unconnected to any body — and this hand wrote something on the wall of the banquet hall: “Mene, Mene, Tekel, Parsin.” So frightened was the king that the Bible says, “His knees knocked together and his legs gave way” (Daniel 5:6). He called on his wise men to translate the handwriting on the wall, but none of them could, which increased the king’s discomfort. Finally, his wife told him about Daniel and Daniel the spokesman for the Sovereign God, was brought in to translate what the mysterious hand had written on the wall in the presence of the king and all who were present. Let me summarize what Daniel said, “Belshazzar, your father, King Neduchadnezzar, was given glorious things by almighty God so that he might use those things wisely. But when he became arrogant and forgot his accountability to God, all of that was taken away. And now, you have repeated his mistake. You thought you were not accountable to anyone. But you were dead wrong. As a result, this is the judgment pronounced by the handwriting on the wall: ‘you have been weighed on the scales of God and you have come up short.” And as that judgment reverberated through the halls of the Babylonian palace, Belshazzar discovered freedom is a dangerous thing because it is so widely misunderstood. Belshazzar’s father Nebuchadnezzar was driven out from men into the field to eat grass like a wild beast and at the end of God’s judgment he was returned to his position as king in his palace. Now, Belshazzar his son is slain that very night & his kingdom is taken from him & given to the Medes & Persians. He misunderstood his freedom. We’ve been given so much in America. We have been given the freedom to worship God (Jehovah the creator) according to the dictates of our hearts in conjunction and the Bible. Our founding fathers were distinctly Christian and they sought to past on a godly heritage in the writings of our founding documents. We have the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights and the Constitution to govern us. As such they stand as a vital reminder that freedom is a danger thing if misunderstood. God has blessed this country make no mistake about it. And He has intended for this country to be a blessing to others. It was founded and established as a tool to bring salvation to a lost and dying world that needs to hear the good news of Jesus Christ. Yet this country has often forgotten and or misunderstood its right to freedom. “God Bless America” is a song that we’ve song and its touched our hearts for years. God has blessed America, but why should He continue to bless her in the way she has turned away from Him? We have now been in debate for 40 years over the rights of the unborn to life. For 40 years we have murdered untold millions. It is obvious that freedom is a dangerous thing that is misunderstood. You see something is wrong when we slaughter the innocent unborn babies in the womb and whales, spotted owls, and kangaroo rats have priority. We stand reminded as of September 11, 2001 that many of our freedoms have been encroached upon and stripped from us. We know longer feel safe when we travel. The threat of terrorist and terrorism is very real. Bin Laden, Al-Quita, Anthrax, and who knows what has made us aware that our freedom is a dangerous thing and we have misunderstood that fact. We had better make no mistake about it, God is looking and sees what is going on and He will balance the books for those who have misunderstood. In God’s economy no one will be able to hide or escape His judgment. Just like Belshazzar and his father before him there will be a day of reckoning for all who think they can live as they please without any fear of judgment. When we return to Galatians we see it was written to the believers or the Christians in that day and time as well as to us as believers. In essence God says, “Make no mistake about it your freedom in Christ calls for you to live a responsible life.” We are to live in relationship with Christ not in relationship to the world or a standard of laws. He said, in Gal. 5:1, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” In verse 13 we read, “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty (freedom); only use not liberty (freedom) for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.” As Christians, we must deal with and face the danger of misunderstanding our freedom. We’re responsible to live the Christian life according to the teaching of the Bible not the teachings of the world or of the culture. We are not free to live like the world. We cannot live or adopt that kind of lifestyle. If we do those things, then we go against or find ourselves living in contradiction to the Bible. That is misunderstanding our freedom. And that is a dangerous place in which to be. We should be motivated to live our lives by our love relationship to Christ.
Posted on: Thu, 04 Jul 2013 04:59:18 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015