{"id":12415,"date":"2021-09-23T13:43:31","date_gmt":"2021-09-23T13:43:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pjhmail.wordpress.com\/?p=12415"},"modified":"2021-09-23T13:43:31","modified_gmt":"2021-09-23T13:43:31","slug":"true-freedom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/12415\/true-freedom\/","title":{"rendered":"True Freedom"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brother John,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I love what you said tonight about liberty \u2014 complete liberty.\u00a0 God’s children have a liberty from many of the things that burden men, including earthly laws that are made to bind a man’s flesh (for his sake and for the sake of others).\u00a0 We are free, not because we have the liberty to do evil or to be lawless, but because God’s children don’t need to be bound to be good.\u00a0 God’s children don’t need restraint against their nature.\u00a0 The saints’ nature isn’t contrary to law; it\u00a0is<\/em>\u00a0the law.\u00a0 Only the spirit of God in a child of God is ever holy.<\/span><\/p>\n

We are that free.\u00a0 God has made us so.<\/span><\/p>\n

But you asked tonight, “Are we free enough to live under the burdens that we are free from?\u00a0 Are we that free?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Are we free to wear shackles that Jesus broke off of us, if it furthers the gospel?<\/span><\/p>\n

Are we free to hurt when we can have relief, if it is good for others?<\/span><\/p>\n

Are we free to suffer wrong to keep godly peace?<\/span><\/p>\n

Are we free to be less successful than we might be?\u00a0 Are\u00a0we free to do without?\u00a0 Are we free to fail?<\/span><\/p>\n

“Free from what, or whom?” Someone might ask.\u00a0 The answer: free from ourselves of course, is\u00a0the answer.\u00a0 Am I free enough from me to do all these things?\u00a0 If I’m not free from me, I’m not free at all; I’m my biggest captor.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is like you said so many years ago on your radio program.\u00a0 You challenged the toughest man listening, “Just try to stop sinning if you can. Try to stop being self-willed.\u00a0 If it is your choice, then stop today; just try it.”\u00a0 It was a plea for people to realize they are not free. They are bound to the will of their flesh, and they need help from the only One who can make them free.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jesus has made us free.\u00a0 I believe we are free enough in our hearts and conscience to walk away from anything in this world we perceive not to be Jesus (so far) \u2014 regardless of how good it\u00a0looks.\u00a0 I believe Jesus broke those kinds of chains off of us, and you have been coaxing us to believe it for at least 20 years.\u00a0 At least.\u00a0 I believe we are free enough to run away from what looks good with no fear at all.\u00a0 But the question you asked, is, “Are we free enough to stay \u2013 if it is pleasing to God?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Another way of saying that might be, “Do you have enough humility to stay?\u00a0 Are you humble enough to stay in\u00a0chains when you don’t have to wear them, if it could do someone else some good?\u00a0\u00a0Do we have the humility\u00a0to be in bondage for other’s sake?”\u00a0 I think is what you were asking tonight.\u00a0 I think you helped us with the answer when you said attitudes toward some current events have indicated the answer is no, at times, and that those attitudes are dangerous to our souls.<\/span><\/p>\n

A couple of years ago, you told us that you had no fear for a man to come in and preach to us if he had a message he wanted to share.\u00a0 You had no fear of us being confused or swept away by a\u00a0man’s ignorance or wrong ideas.\u00a0 You said it wasn’t\u00a0his effect on us<\/em>\u00a0that concerned you, but how\u00a0we<\/em>\u00a0might treat\u00a0him<\/em>.\u00a0 That is what worried you.\u00a0 I’ve never heard you repeat that since that evening, but I feel you were saying that in all of the goodness and liberty Jesus has extended, we could hurt someone with what we have if we lead with the pointed\u00a0end of our blessing.<\/span><\/p>\n

I was in the shower the other day and I feel like Jesus was reinforcing something that\u00a0I think He’s been saying to me for some time now.\u00a0 The same things\u00a0keep coming back around.\u00a0 I felt like He\u00a0told me, “The truth is not a sword, it is your shield.\u00a0 It is to protect you from what others might do to you; it is not for you to attack the defenseless.”\u00a0 I am reminded of that experience when considering all you said tonight about attitude.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There sure are a lot of people out there with some strange behaviors and ideas about God before they end up getting the holy Ghost.\u00a0 Who knows how God communicates to them until they really know something.\u00a0 I guess, in whatever way they understand.\u00a0 Things like that make me consider what you told us about your father.\u00a0 You said that God told him, “Don’t ever speak ill of someone who speaks well of my Son.”\u00a0 This\u00a0last month, I’ve been wondering before the Lord how many people with sincere experiences I might\u00a0have winced at and, perhaps unintentionally, discouraged over the years, just because they didn’t have the blessings I have been given.\u00a0 It has made me want to slow down and wait to hear from Jesus about anything that has to do with the Father or the\u00a0Son.\u00a0 He can surely tell me what is\u00a0Him \u2013 He’s done it before.<\/span><\/p>\n

Thank you for tonight and that excellent question \u2013 “Are we free enough to stay bound?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

I was thinking about how bound Jesus was for us.\u00a0 He was bound by hunger, sleeplessness, loneliness, and the list goes on.\u00a0 Jesus stayed bound inside the flesh of a dying body, to save us, and he bore that death to its dying breath, refusing every moment’s impulse to be set free, knowing God had promised Him countless angels to do it.\u00a0 He wouldn’t have had to turn down that offer just once; He would have had to turn it down with every labored breath he took, until there just weren’t anymore.\u00a0 Jesus had to be free even from living in order to do that.<\/span><\/p>\n

Thank you again for tonight.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jerry<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

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Brother John,\u00a0 I love what you said tonight about liberty \u2014 complete liberty.\u00a0 God’s children have a liberty from many of the things that burden men, including earthly laws that are made to bind a man’s flesh (for his sake and for the sake of others).\u00a0 We are free, not because we have the liberty […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-netmail"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12415"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12415"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12415\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}