1 00:00:04,800 --> 00:00:05,520 Amen. Amen. 2 00:00:05,600 --> 00:00:08,760 Amen. I'm glad to be in the House of 3 00:00:08,760 --> 00:00:11,600 the Lord today, Amen, with you folks. 4 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:14,800 I know we were here Wednesday, but it's good to be here on a 5 00:00:14,800 --> 00:00:17,840 Sunday, Amen. With each one of you here this 6 00:00:17,840 --> 00:00:20,680 morning. And, and we're already 12 days 7 00:00:20,680 --> 00:00:23,520 in and it's the first time I can tell you happy New Year and 8 00:00:23,520 --> 00:00:25,600 which is peculiar even within itself. 9 00:00:26,040 --> 00:00:28,360 Amen. But we'll get started and get 10 00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:31,000 the wheels are rolling on this new year. 11 00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:33,560 I'm sure most of you already have, Amen. 12 00:00:33,560 --> 00:00:37,200 But it's good to be together Amen this morning and see you. 13 00:00:37,200 --> 00:00:39,680 As a matter of fact, right before I got up, I was thinking, 14 00:00:40,360 --> 00:00:43,880 since it's been 3 weeks since we've had a, a Sunday service 15 00:00:44,280 --> 00:00:47,520 And, and I said in the back this morning, I don't know any time 16 00:00:47,520 --> 00:00:50,320 in the history of the church really that that may have ever 17 00:00:50,320 --> 00:00:52,360 occurred where we went that long. 18 00:00:52,360 --> 00:00:56,280 And then I start thinking about my own life of, of, of ministry. 19 00:00:56,520 --> 00:00:59,400 And I couldn't tell you the last time, maybe I haven't preached 20 00:00:59,680 --> 00:01:02,080 or something like that in three weeks. 21 00:01:03,400 --> 00:01:07,280 And so this is just kind of all, I don't know if I can even do 22 00:01:07,280 --> 00:01:08,960 this one. Y'all just have to bear with me 23 00:01:08,960 --> 00:01:13,040 and put the training wheels back on and try to find my balance 24 00:01:13,040 --> 00:01:15,960 and so on and so forth. If you'll stand with me though, 25 00:01:15,960 --> 00:01:18,560 in the House of the Lord today, we'll turn to the book of 26 00:01:18,560 --> 00:01:22,000 Galatians, the book of Galatians. 27 00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:25,000 I'm going to start in chapter 4 and then in chapter 5. 28 00:01:25,320 --> 00:01:28,800 I know that might seem just a little weird, but you know, 29 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:32,720 chapter divisions and burst divisions are really the product 30 00:01:32,720 --> 00:01:35,400 of man. There was no such thing when the 31 00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:37,400 manuscripts all this was originally done. 32 00:01:37,400 --> 00:01:39,480 So we kind of put those in there. 33 00:01:39,640 --> 00:01:42,320 So a lot of times if you ever read like the first few verses 1 34 00:01:42,320 --> 00:01:44,800 chapter thing, man that all that fits really good with what was 35 00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:47,440 before. Well, it probably does because 36 00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:50,640 we kind of invented those chapter divisions and and so on, 37 00:01:50,640 --> 00:01:51,880 so forth. Amen. 38 00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:55,640 Galatians chapter #4 and I'm going to start reading with 39 00:01:55,640 --> 00:02:00,280 verse #30 today. The Apostle Paul's writing to 40 00:02:00,280 --> 00:02:03,800 the churches of Galatia. And he says this. 41 00:02:03,800 --> 00:02:09,479 He says, nevertheless, what say if the Scripture cast out the 42 00:02:09,479 --> 00:02:14,680 bondwoman and her son with the son of the bondwoman shall not 43 00:02:14,680 --> 00:02:17,480 be heir with the son of the free woman? 44 00:02:18,200 --> 00:02:22,680 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but 45 00:02:22,760 --> 00:02:25,320 of the three. Chapter 5, verse 1. 46 00:02:25,680 --> 00:02:31,280 Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty wherewith Christ hath 47 00:02:31,280 --> 00:02:37,680 made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of 48 00:02:37,680 --> 00:02:39,320 bondage. Amen. 49 00:02:39,320 --> 00:02:42,560 For a little while this morning when a minister simply this 50 00:02:42,880 --> 00:02:51,560 chains down heads high chains down heads high Amen. 51 00:02:51,560 --> 00:02:53,320 Can we pray the debt together today. 52 00:02:53,320 --> 00:02:56,160 Father we're thankful Lord for this opportunity. 53 00:02:56,160 --> 00:02:59,520 We do not take it lightly Lord, to be able to be here today and 54 00:02:59,840 --> 00:03:01,760 we don't want to squander our time. 55 00:03:01,760 --> 00:03:05,200 Lord Jesus that we have here this morning, I pray God, you 56 00:03:05,200 --> 00:03:08,640 touch every mind, every heart. Lord, let your word God find 57 00:03:08,640 --> 00:03:11,320 where we are. Let it be, Lord, a tool of hope 58 00:03:11,320 --> 00:03:14,000 and encouragement and direction. God for us. 59 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:17,320 Lord, in the next little while, God, I pray Jesus and those that 60 00:03:17,320 --> 00:03:20,680 are listening, Lord, online, God likewise would be impacted, 61 00:03:20,960 --> 00:03:24,040 Lord, by the word of God. It is a life, God for each one 62 00:03:24,040 --> 00:03:26,440 of us. Lord, if we accepted as such, in 63 00:03:26,440 --> 00:03:30,640 the lovely name of the Lord Jesus Christ that I pray Amen 64 00:03:30,640 --> 00:03:35,560 and Amen the church say Amen and you may be seated this morning. 65 00:03:37,800 --> 00:03:48,080 From from 1892 to 1954, Ellis Island processed over 12 million 66 00:03:48,080 --> 00:03:53,160 immigrants, making it the busiest immigration station that 67 00:03:53,160 --> 00:03:57,960 was in the United States. It's estimated that 40% of 68 00:03:57,960 --> 00:04:02,840 Americans can trace their ancestry to someone who came 69 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:07,440 through Ellis Island. Most of those who arrived there 70 00:04:07,440 --> 00:04:10,800 were seeking a new life or a new leash on life. 71 00:04:10,800 --> 00:04:15,280 They they fled from poverty. They fled many of them from a 72 00:04:15,280 --> 00:04:18,959 system of persecution. Some of them political unrest 73 00:04:18,959 --> 00:04:21,440 had totally taken over their landscape. 74 00:04:21,440 --> 00:04:25,160 And so they were hoping for a better future, a better 75 00:04:25,160 --> 00:04:29,040 tomorrow. But adjacent to Ellis Island is 76 00:04:29,040 --> 00:04:31,760 another island called Liberty Island. 77 00:04:32,040 --> 00:04:36,240 It's the home to the Statue of Liberty that's oftimes referred 78 00:04:36,240 --> 00:04:40,840 to as Lady Liberty. She stands alone as the 79 00:04:40,840 --> 00:04:45,400 welcoming figure for the immigrants that were arriving in 80 00:04:45,400 --> 00:04:50,120 New York Arbor. Her crown there adorned with 81 00:04:50,400 --> 00:04:54,720 seven spikes symbolizing the seven continents and the seven 82 00:04:54,720 --> 00:05:00,160 seas a a representation of the universal ideal of liberty. 83 00:05:00,560 --> 00:05:04,480 Her tablet in her other hand is inscribed with some Roman 84 00:05:04,480 --> 00:05:10,440 numerals that commemorates July the 4th of 1776, which marks our 85 00:05:10,440 --> 00:05:14,120 Declaration of Independence in America. 86 00:05:14,400 --> 00:05:19,640 Her pedestal is inscribed with lines from a poem called The New 87 00:05:19,640 --> 00:05:24,720 Colossus by Emma Lazarus, who some of those words state Give 88 00:05:24,720 --> 00:05:31,440 me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to 89 00:05:31,480 --> 00:05:35,440 breathe free. Many that were crossing over the 90 00:05:35,440 --> 00:05:40,600 sea were emotional as they witnessed this first sign of 91 00:05:40,600 --> 00:05:45,400 hope for a new future and a better tomorrow, the beginning 92 00:05:45,400 --> 00:05:48,840 of a new life. It was the light that 93 00:05:49,040 --> 00:05:51,600 enlightened the path, if you will, to freedom. 94 00:05:51,840 --> 00:05:55,400 As a matter of fact, I did a little bit of a study and on a 95 00:05:55,400 --> 00:06:01,640 clear day, immigrants could see Lady Liberty and that torch from 96 00:06:01,920 --> 00:06:07,240 the deck of the ship that they were selling on at 15 to 20 97 00:06:07,240 --> 00:06:10,080 miles away with the curvature of the earth. 98 00:06:10,320 --> 00:06:12,560 On a clear day, they could stand there. 99 00:06:12,560 --> 00:06:15,960 And the first sign of that New Hope would be that torch that 100 00:06:15,960 --> 00:06:19,720 would start to Crest over the horizon that their eyes could 101 00:06:19,720 --> 00:06:22,040 see. And so she's Lady Liberty, 102 00:06:22,040 --> 00:06:25,840 though then here in this very, very moment that they could 103 00:06:25,840 --> 00:06:29,040 catch their eyes that may be of a glimmer of what they would 104 00:06:29,040 --> 00:06:31,600 have tomorrow. And so the Statue of Liberty is 105 00:06:31,600 --> 00:06:35,400 iconic. People every year flow into the 106 00:06:35,400 --> 00:06:38,720 Statue of Liberty and around it to just get pictures. 107 00:06:38,720 --> 00:06:42,840 It's iconic for for liberty, for what our nation stands for. 108 00:06:42,840 --> 00:06:46,720 The torch she holds in her hand, everything about it they look to 109 00:06:46,720 --> 00:06:50,280 as as if you will a welcoming mat for the United States of 110 00:06:50,280 --> 00:06:53,760 America. But equally if not more moving 111 00:06:53,760 --> 00:06:59,800 than what is there in her hand is ofttimes overlooked aspect of 112 00:06:59,800 --> 00:07:02,320 her and it's what lies at her feet. 113 00:07:02,800 --> 00:07:07,200 Because at the feet of the Statue of Liberty is a broken 114 00:07:07,200 --> 00:07:09,960 chain. And it is the torch that's 115 00:07:09,960 --> 00:07:13,720 raised high that many times gets all the acclaim and, and, and 116 00:07:13,720 --> 00:07:17,800 and the tablets in her arms that get a lot of attention. 117 00:07:18,120 --> 00:07:21,600 But those that look upon her and looked upon her from a distance 118 00:07:21,600 --> 00:07:26,520 must realize that as they look at the torch, it would never be 119 00:07:26,520 --> 00:07:31,080 found in her hand if there was not a chain at her feet that 120 00:07:31,080 --> 00:07:35,200 have been broken. She's Lady Liberty, not for the 121 00:07:35,200 --> 00:07:39,680 torch, but for the unfettered hands, the unfettered life. 122 00:07:39,880 --> 00:07:41,720 She's a testimony to her liberty. 123 00:07:41,720 --> 00:07:44,440 She's a testimony to every lit torch. 124 00:07:44,440 --> 00:07:49,520 Torch, because she has broken shackles at her feet and as the 125 00:07:49,520 --> 00:07:53,080 immigrants today would see maybe that particular picture, they 126 00:07:53,080 --> 00:07:56,720 would be able to identify better with her than others. 127 00:07:56,920 --> 00:07:59,560 But as they would come from their other countries, I say 128 00:07:59,560 --> 00:08:03,040 this morning that there are still yet people that come 129 00:08:03,040 --> 00:08:07,760 sometimes, if you will, even to the Church house or the place of 130 00:08:07,760 --> 00:08:10,840 worship. And they likewise have come from 131 00:08:10,840 --> 00:08:14,760 various backgrounds. And they likewise are hopeful 132 00:08:14,760 --> 00:08:19,720 for a new beginning or a better tomorrow or perhaps a better 133 00:08:19,720 --> 00:08:23,440 future in a different way. Because they've come to the 134 00:08:23,440 --> 00:08:26,520 church or they've come to that place, that arc of safety, if 135 00:08:26,520 --> 00:08:29,240 you will. And they carry some things as 136 00:08:29,240 --> 00:08:31,800 well. They, they carry some invisible 137 00:08:31,800 --> 00:08:35,720 weights of hardships that they've had to endure in life. 138 00:08:35,720 --> 00:08:39,120 They carry some dreams that they've had to defer and some 139 00:08:39,120 --> 00:08:41,679 promises that have been left unfulfilled. 140 00:08:41,679 --> 00:08:45,040 And they have all of their possessions, but the possessions 141 00:08:45,040 --> 00:08:48,000 even that they've had in this life have left them 142 00:08:48,000 --> 00:08:50,600 discontented. Their relationships that they 143 00:08:50,600 --> 00:08:53,960 have had up to this moment that's hindered their trust just 144 00:08:53,960 --> 00:08:57,600 even in simple mankind. And so they are on a journey to 145 00:08:57,600 --> 00:08:59,280 discover, if you will, many people. 146 00:08:59,280 --> 00:09:02,760 It's the thing that philosophers have entertained for centuries. 147 00:09:02,760 --> 00:09:06,000 What is the meaning of life? And there's still yet people 148 00:09:06,000 --> 00:09:08,440 today that searching, why am I here? 149 00:09:08,600 --> 00:09:11,400 What is my purpose? What is the plan? 150 00:09:11,600 --> 00:09:13,200 Why am I living? Amen. 151 00:09:13,200 --> 00:09:15,920 Because everything up to the moment that they have met, 152 00:09:15,920 --> 00:09:20,680 perhaps even the Lord Amen, seem somewhat very empty and somewhat 153 00:09:20,680 --> 00:09:23,360 meaningless. Amen. 154 00:09:23,360 --> 00:09:27,160 They, they mirror, if you will, the voice of Solomon, Amen 155 00:09:27,160 --> 00:09:30,280 throughout the book of Ecclesiastes, who the Bible said 156 00:09:30,280 --> 00:09:35,680 searched for life under the sun, life in this, this real world in 157 00:09:35,680 --> 00:09:37,880 which we live. He was just looking and 158 00:09:37,880 --> 00:09:41,360 searching for life under the sun, mainly and predominantly 159 00:09:41,600 --> 00:09:45,000 apart from God. And as he began to investigate 160 00:09:45,000 --> 00:09:48,600 and you read the book of Ecclesiastes pasties, the Bible 161 00:09:48,600 --> 00:09:52,000 says, here he is. He's looking at everything that 162 00:09:52,000 --> 00:09:55,800 is secular, everything that is distant from God. 163 00:09:55,960 --> 00:09:59,840 And the, the preacher Solomon raises up his voice and just 164 00:09:59,840 --> 00:10:03,480 declares it all. It all is vanity. 165 00:10:03,760 --> 00:10:08,360 In other words, it all is meaninglessness, it all is 166 00:10:08,880 --> 00:10:10,040 empty. Amen. 167 00:10:10,040 --> 00:10:12,800 He even says, I, I, I increased knowledge. 168 00:10:12,800 --> 00:10:15,640 I was a man of knowledge. I knew many things and I was 169 00:10:15,640 --> 00:10:18,640 increasing my knowledge. But I understood as I increased 170 00:10:18,640 --> 00:10:22,000 knowledge, there was greater sorrow than that came along with 171 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:24,920 that knowledge, he said. I begin to look at everything 172 00:10:24,920 --> 00:10:27,920 that the water departs and it comes back in where it once 173 00:10:27,920 --> 00:10:30,000 exited. And I looked at the winds and 174 00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:32,840 they swirl around and go back to the same place that they were 175 00:10:32,840 --> 00:10:35,240 before. And I beheld the seasons and 176 00:10:35,400 --> 00:10:38,240 it's like they die off. And then everything is in a 177 00:10:38,240 --> 00:10:40,160 pattern. Everything is in a cycle, 178 00:10:40,160 --> 00:10:43,520 everything is in a routine. And so there's seemingly nothing 179 00:10:43,520 --> 00:10:46,720 new under the sun. That was Solomon's declaration. 180 00:10:47,200 --> 00:10:49,240 He said, I even built. And you read about Solomon. 181 00:10:49,240 --> 00:10:51,840 He's building gardens, he's building buildings, he's 182 00:10:52,080 --> 00:10:54,880 expanding this and that. He amassed wealth. 183 00:10:55,080 --> 00:10:58,360 And he says, but you know what, Whatever I desired, even with my 184 00:10:58,360 --> 00:11:02,040 eyes, he said, I obtained it. It didn't matter what it was, I 185 00:11:02,040 --> 00:11:05,040 got a hold of it. He said I labored hard. 186 00:11:05,200 --> 00:11:09,720 He said, but I understand even in man's laborers, it's all but 187 00:11:09,960 --> 00:11:12,840 vanity. And he said riches, they fade 188 00:11:12,840 --> 00:11:15,840 away. This is Solomon looking at life 189 00:11:15,880 --> 00:11:18,040 under the sun. And his conclusion of the whole 190 00:11:18,040 --> 00:11:22,520 matter was this. He said there is no profit under 191 00:11:22,520 --> 00:11:26,360 the sun. There is no gain under the sun 192 00:11:26,560 --> 00:11:28,880 today. Sometimes the life feels like 193 00:11:28,880 --> 00:11:32,920 that endless search, Amen. Through a deserted land, Amen of 194 00:11:32,920 --> 00:11:37,000 meanness, lessness, Amen. We're wonders often time in this 195 00:11:37,000 --> 00:11:39,240 world. And every step that we take 196 00:11:39,240 --> 00:11:43,120 forward, we're hoping, Amen, to discover something real, 197 00:11:43,280 --> 00:11:47,160 something genuine, something that would propel us onward. 198 00:11:47,400 --> 00:11:50,920 We live in an hour still today. The people are looking for a 199 00:11:50,920 --> 00:11:56,240 beacon of hope, a truth that transcends their brokenness, a 200 00:11:56,240 --> 00:12:00,360 light that will shine in the darkness in which they live. 201 00:12:00,640 --> 00:12:04,520 And so like immigrants were looking for Lady Liberty herself 202 00:12:04,760 --> 00:12:08,320 as a promise of a new beginning. There are souls. 203 00:12:08,320 --> 00:12:12,800 There are people be on the walls of this assembly today that are 204 00:12:12,800 --> 00:12:16,920 looking for something that like wise of hope and a new beginning 205 00:12:16,920 --> 00:12:20,800 and a significance and a healing and a place of belonging. 206 00:12:22,600 --> 00:12:27,840 The Apostle Paul wrote then to the churches of Galatians, the 207 00:12:27,840 --> 00:12:31,560 book of Galatians. He wrote to predominantly a 208 00:12:31,560 --> 00:12:36,360 Gentile Christian Church who were a part of these Galatian 209 00:12:36,360 --> 00:12:39,560 churches, and they lived during an era where there were a lot of 210 00:12:39,560 --> 00:12:43,920 Jews that basically we're trying to convince the Gentiles that to 211 00:12:43,920 --> 00:12:47,280 be Christian was to be Jew. That wasn't the matter. 212 00:12:47,800 --> 00:12:50,840 Jews had a lot of different things from the Old Testament, 213 00:12:50,840 --> 00:12:53,840 ceremonial things, even circumcision and things of that 214 00:12:53,840 --> 00:12:57,440 matter that a Gentile didn't have to do in order to be 215 00:12:57,440 --> 00:13:02,000 Christian, all right, Didn't have to do in order to be 216 00:13:02,200 --> 00:13:05,400 Christian. A lot of traditional practices 217 00:13:05,640 --> 00:13:09,840 and such that Christ in his earthly ministry fulfilled all 218 00:13:09,840 --> 00:13:13,040 those things, right? He fulfilled all the ceremonial 219 00:13:13,040 --> 00:13:15,360 law through his life and ministry. 220 00:13:15,720 --> 00:13:19,520 And so he was insisting to the Galatian churches and those 221 00:13:19,520 --> 00:13:23,120 Gentiles don't, don't get entangled again. 222 00:13:23,960 --> 00:13:27,360 The Bible tells us there in that first verse of chapter 5, don't 223 00:13:27,360 --> 00:13:31,280 get entangled again or your lives wrapped up with that yoke 224 00:13:31,280 --> 00:13:34,800 of bondage, right? That yoke that could have just 225 00:13:34,800 --> 00:13:38,480 as easily represented some of those ceremonial traditions, but 226 00:13:38,480 --> 00:13:41,760 also could have easily represented the power and the 227 00:13:41,760 --> 00:13:46,520 guilt that comes with sin, with a life that's lived apart from 228 00:13:46,520 --> 00:13:48,800 God. He said don't get entangled in 229 00:13:48,800 --> 00:13:51,360 that again. Don't get fettered or in 230 00:13:51,360 --> 00:13:54,480 bondage. A man to sin or those type of 231 00:13:54,480 --> 00:13:58,760 things again, which denotes that somewhere in their life they had 232 00:13:58,760 --> 00:14:02,360 been bound, which denotes that somewhere in their life they had 233 00:14:02,360 --> 00:14:05,720 been fettered, so to speak. As a matter of fact, the Bible 234 00:14:05,720 --> 00:14:10,440 mentions various physical means of binding a person throughout 235 00:14:10,440 --> 00:14:12,920 Scripture. That includes such things like 236 00:14:12,920 --> 00:14:17,080 people were bound with chains, they were bound with fetters. 237 00:14:17,240 --> 00:14:21,240 Sometimes they are called bands. Hey, man, we're not talking 238 00:14:21,240 --> 00:14:23,640 about the tuba and the, you know, the Trump. 239 00:14:24,200 --> 00:14:27,000 They were bound with bands. They were bound, the Bible says 240 00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:32,560 also with chains or with yolks. Psalm 68 and six says this. 241 00:14:33,280 --> 00:14:37,640 He bringeth out those which are bound with chains. 242 00:14:37,960 --> 00:14:40,080 Chains were used to buying people. 243 00:14:40,080 --> 00:14:44,160 Those that were carried away captive were all time spoken of 244 00:14:44,400 --> 00:14:48,200 being bound with chains. Some are even said to be put in 245 00:14:48,200 --> 00:14:51,440 ward or like in a cell with chains. 246 00:14:51,440 --> 00:14:55,920 Chains and fetters all times are used interchangeably throughout 247 00:14:55,920 --> 00:14:58,160 the scripture. However chains is more of a 248 00:14:58,160 --> 00:15:00,880 general binding. You can bind any part Amen with 249 00:15:00,880 --> 00:15:04,760 chains, but fetters usually referred to the restraints that 250 00:15:04,760 --> 00:15:09,360 were on the feet or the ankles. Psalms 105 in verse 18 states 251 00:15:09,640 --> 00:15:14,640 whose feet they hurt with fetters regarding a man from the 252 00:15:14,640 --> 00:15:17,760 Old Testament who who died. His name was Abner. 253 00:15:17,960 --> 00:15:21,960 David was Speaking of him and remarked nor thy feet put in 254 00:15:21,960 --> 00:15:23,840 fetters. He said Abner, he died but his 255 00:15:23,840 --> 00:15:26,800 feet weren't put in fetters. So again, fetters all times 256 00:15:26,800 --> 00:15:30,240 associated with the feet, Amen. But so there's hands that are 257 00:15:30,240 --> 00:15:31,880 changed. There's there's fetters that are 258 00:15:31,880 --> 00:15:34,240 up on the feet. It was was even prophesied 259 00:15:34,240 --> 00:15:37,400 concerning the Apostle Paul. He was going to go around on 260 00:15:37,400 --> 00:15:39,960 this missionary trips and journeys and he was going to 261 00:15:39,960 --> 00:15:43,080 minister. And there came, excuse me, there 262 00:15:43,080 --> 00:15:47,280 came down a prophet Agabus, a man who took Paul's girdle and 263 00:15:47,400 --> 00:15:49,440 bound his own hands and his feet. 264 00:15:49,760 --> 00:15:53,080 And he said this, this I'm prophesying that who's ever 265 00:15:53,080 --> 00:15:56,520 girdle this belongs to that I'm binding my hands and feet with 266 00:15:56,720 --> 00:16:01,520 his hands and his feet will be bound with chains or with 267 00:16:01,520 --> 00:16:03,520 fetters. You'll remember that the 268 00:16:03,520 --> 00:16:07,360 demoniac in the Gospels, the Bible says they tried to bind 269 00:16:07,360 --> 00:16:11,720 him with chains and they tried to bind him with fetters. 270 00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:15,960 The the bottom line of all of that is this bondage throughout 271 00:16:15,960 --> 00:16:20,840 Scripture oftimes involve chains or some type of bonds. 272 00:16:21,280 --> 00:16:26,480 Freedom, then, that we see in Scripture is akin to the absence 273 00:16:27,800 --> 00:16:31,240 of said bonds, the absence of said chains. 274 00:16:31,440 --> 00:16:34,680 Let's just investigate this a little closer this morning in 275 00:16:34,680 --> 00:16:38,160 Acts chapter #12 and a few verses of Scripture. 276 00:16:38,160 --> 00:16:42,840 We'll get to the verse #6 the Bible stages the story that the 277 00:16:42,840 --> 00:16:47,560 apostle James had been captured and he had been killed already. 278 00:16:47,880 --> 00:16:51,960 And then they likewise imprisoned the apostle Peter. 279 00:16:52,200 --> 00:16:55,160 Hey, man, that there was a festive day that was coming. 280 00:16:55,160 --> 00:16:57,080 So they didn't execute him right away. 281 00:16:57,080 --> 00:17:02,040 They put him into a cell or a jail awaiting execution. 282 00:17:02,160 --> 00:17:04,760 He was put quite deeply within that cell. 283 00:17:04,760 --> 00:17:07,400 We later learned from Scripture. Amen. 284 00:17:07,400 --> 00:17:10,480 Because on his way out, the Bible talks about he passed the 285 00:17:10,560 --> 00:17:14,000 the first ward and then the second ward, and then came to 286 00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:16,119 the iron gate that led into the city. 287 00:17:16,119 --> 00:17:20,040 So he was quite deep within that particular cell. 288 00:17:20,240 --> 00:17:23,920 But verse #6 says this. And when Herod would have 289 00:17:23,920 --> 00:17:28,600 brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between 290 00:17:28,600 --> 00:17:35,200 two soldiers bound with two chains, and the keepers before 291 00:17:35,200 --> 00:17:40,840 the door kept the prison. Verse 7 And behold, the Angel of 292 00:17:40,840 --> 00:17:45,520 the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison, and 293 00:17:45,520 --> 00:17:52,600 he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, arise up 294 00:17:52,720 --> 00:17:57,960 quickly, and his chains fell from off his hands. 295 00:17:58,280 --> 00:18:02,920 Now, no, his chains fell from off his hands. 296 00:18:03,320 --> 00:18:06,880 The Bible doesn't tell us where the two chains were that were 297 00:18:06,880 --> 00:18:11,440 put on him in verse #6 but it's my assumption that if chains 298 00:18:11,440 --> 00:18:16,560 fell off his hands that they were probably then placed on his 299 00:18:16,560 --> 00:18:18,000 hands. Hey man. 300 00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:22,000 And the Angel of the Lord written here in scripture helps 301 00:18:22,160 --> 00:18:25,720 Peter up. Notice the Bible says he raised 302 00:18:25,920 --> 00:18:32,760 him up and Peter's chains fell away. 303 00:18:33,560 --> 00:18:39,960 That means that we envision now here in this jail cell, a man 304 00:18:39,960 --> 00:18:47,200 that is upright but with chains that were once binding him at 305 00:18:47,200 --> 00:18:51,840 his feet. Don't overlook his chains at his 306 00:18:51,840 --> 00:18:56,320 feet because his current position of being able to be as 307 00:18:56,320 --> 00:19:01,080 he is upright and visible. It's because the chains are now 308 00:19:01,080 --> 00:19:05,760 laying at his feet. As a matter of fact, the story 309 00:19:05,760 --> 00:19:07,480 goes on. You can read it in next chapter 310 00:19:07,480 --> 00:19:12,040 #12 Soon he'll be standing outside of the prison. 311 00:19:12,400 --> 00:19:16,080 Soon he'll be standing in the middle of the city and the Angel 312 00:19:16,080 --> 00:19:19,520 will have departed. Soon he'll be standing at the 313 00:19:19,520 --> 00:19:23,400 door of a household that whenever he was incarcerated, 314 00:19:23,400 --> 00:19:26,600 they went to a prayer meeting, praying for his release. 315 00:19:26,600 --> 00:19:29,560 Soon he'll be knocking on that door. 316 00:19:29,680 --> 00:19:34,000 Soon a girl named Rhoda is going to open, almost like a pico, a 317 00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:37,040 door within the door. And she's going to look out and 318 00:19:37,040 --> 00:19:41,120 catch a glimpse, if you will, of freedom, because Peter's going 319 00:19:41,120 --> 00:19:43,880 to be standing on the opposite side of the door. 320 00:19:44,160 --> 00:19:48,120 And she's going to be so overwhelmed by what she sees and 321 00:19:48,120 --> 00:19:51,960 what she hears, She's going to go back into the house and begin 322 00:19:51,960 --> 00:19:56,320 to tell others Amen about the liberty that Peter is on the 323 00:19:56,360 --> 00:20:00,000 other side of that door. But can I tell you today, as 324 00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:04,040 they celebrate and as they appreciate Peter being on the 325 00:20:04,040 --> 00:20:08,200 opposite side, delivered, they should appreciate the change 326 00:20:08,200 --> 00:20:11,400 that had been. In at his feet, in that prison, 327 00:20:11,640 --> 00:20:16,000 more even than the knock on the door, because it's that liberty, 328 00:20:16,240 --> 00:20:20,640 that setting free that enabled him to be where he was that day. 329 00:20:22,640 --> 00:20:27,720 Yes, with great regard. Peter points this out in verse 330 00:20:27,720 --> 00:20:31,680 #17 the Bible says. But he's Speaking of Peter. 331 00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:34,720 Because they're overwhelmed by what has they're overwhelmed. 332 00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:40,800 We've been praying for this and here he is here we thought he 333 00:20:40,800 --> 00:20:43,960 was good as written off. The mourn was going to come, 334 00:20:43,960 --> 00:20:45,960 execution was going to take place. 335 00:20:46,280 --> 00:20:50,600 But notice the Bible says, but he Peter beckoning unto them 336 00:20:50,600 --> 00:20:53,320 with the hand to hold their peace. 337 00:20:53,960 --> 00:20:56,200 He's like, wait a minute, be still here for a moment, 338 00:20:56,560 --> 00:21:04,000 declared unto them how the Lord had brought him out of the 339 00:21:04,000 --> 00:21:05,800 prison. Do you notice? 340 00:21:06,040 --> 00:21:09,640 Peter wanted to take a moment in all of the celebration and all 341 00:21:09,640 --> 00:21:12,320 of the rejoice and said, wait a moment, there's something that 342 00:21:12,320 --> 00:21:14,360 you must know. The Lord. 343 00:21:15,080 --> 00:21:20,280 I was bound. I was incarcerated, I was in 344 00:21:20,280 --> 00:21:26,320 chains, I was in shackles, but the Lord has caused me to stand 345 00:21:26,320 --> 00:21:29,040 here before you this day as I stand. 346 00:21:29,280 --> 00:21:32,920 Can I tell you this morning if you walk into a church, you're 347 00:21:32,920 --> 00:21:37,040 going to see people celebrating their liberty, celebrating their 348 00:21:37,040 --> 00:21:40,480 freedom, but don't get all up in arms over that. 349 00:21:40,720 --> 00:21:45,520 They were bound, they were incarcerated, they were in 350 00:21:45,520 --> 00:21:48,720 prison, but had it not been for the Lord? 351 00:21:54,840 --> 00:21:58,320 If you see a high head, if you see a torch in the sky, you 352 00:21:58,320 --> 00:22:01,960 better look at their feet because there's broken chains 353 00:22:02,160 --> 00:22:10,960 that are laying there, he said. Calm down for a moment. 354 00:22:10,960 --> 00:22:15,240 I got to tell you that the Lord has brought me out of prison. 355 00:22:17,120 --> 00:22:19,880 I'm saying he's saying don't get too excited about the torch. 356 00:22:19,880 --> 00:22:23,160 If I can put it in most terms, don't get too excited about the 357 00:22:23,160 --> 00:22:25,080 torch. He says, let me share something 358 00:22:25,080 --> 00:22:27,840 with you. You might not notice there was a 359 00:22:27,840 --> 00:22:35,880 chain. I mean, he he's he's 33 levels. 360 00:22:35,880 --> 00:22:41,680 It almost seems deep soldiers. Actually as you read that the 361 00:22:41,680 --> 00:22:49,680 the culture chain to him deep in this, but he standing where he 362 00:22:49,680 --> 00:22:55,440 was standing, he stood where he stood because something fell 363 00:22:55,440 --> 00:23:03,400 over there. Someone say man, folks, our 364 00:23:03,400 --> 00:23:06,520 chain may not be resting at our feet, so to speak, as Lady 365 00:23:06,520 --> 00:23:09,240 Liberty has it, a man at her feet. 366 00:23:09,440 --> 00:23:12,000 But perhaps your chain, it's laying somewhere. 367 00:23:12,240 --> 00:23:14,080 It might be laying at some altar. 368 00:23:14,360 --> 00:23:17,120 It might be laying at some bedroom closet where you prayed 369 00:23:17,120 --> 00:23:19,400 through and found God and God found you. 370 00:23:19,880 --> 00:23:22,640 It might be laying at some camp meeting Pew, or it might be 371 00:23:22,640 --> 00:23:25,000 laying at some conference auditorium. 372 00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:29,880 But somewhere the mark in your path is a chain that once was on 373 00:23:29,880 --> 00:23:31,920 you. It's now no longer there, and 374 00:23:31,920 --> 00:23:34,600 you are who you are. You are because you're no longer 375 00:23:34,600 --> 00:23:37,320 bound. You are standing fast in the 376 00:23:37,320 --> 00:23:42,600 liberty that Christ Jesus has offered and extended to you. 377 00:23:47,360 --> 00:23:52,880 It's somewhere and it's absence is what empowers me even now 378 00:23:54,800 --> 00:23:59,160 because it's broken somewhere. Our text warns them too. 379 00:24:00,440 --> 00:24:03,160 We warned them to avoid the burden of the yoke. 380 00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:10,000 Again. Leviticus 613 states this. 381 00:24:10,560 --> 00:24:13,720 God said to Israel, He said, I have broken the bands of your 382 00:24:13,720 --> 00:24:20,200 yoke and made you go upright. Don't forget that I was the God 383 00:24:20,200 --> 00:24:23,600 that delivered you out of Egypt was the God that delivered you 384 00:24:23,600 --> 00:24:26,560 from slavery and hard taskmasters. 385 00:24:27,040 --> 00:24:30,560 So I've broken the band so that you could go up, right. 386 00:24:31,120 --> 00:24:33,960 This is really some imagery that's here in the Old 387 00:24:33,960 --> 00:24:36,760 Testament. Likewise in the new Galatians 51 388 00:24:37,120 --> 00:24:42,000 talking about a yoke, a bondage referring to that that pole or 389 00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:46,040 that bar that goes across a literal yoke that are on 390 00:24:46,040 --> 00:24:47,880 animals. All right. 391 00:24:48,200 --> 00:24:51,600 That that, that, that yoke, that that pole or that bar that would 392 00:24:51,600 --> 00:24:55,160 latch in the animal within the yoke. 393 00:24:55,600 --> 00:24:59,160 And ofttimes one of the purposes of that bar going across their 394 00:24:59,160 --> 00:25:04,200 necks and yoking them in, so to speak, is so that that animal 395 00:25:04,200 --> 00:25:09,160 can't raise its head up as high as it could without that yoke 396 00:25:09,160 --> 00:25:11,800 being on it. Because the purpose is for, to 397 00:25:11,800 --> 00:25:16,200 keep that head and that neck built bit down for the purpose 398 00:25:16,200 --> 00:25:19,920 of, of plowing the field or for whatever work, Amen, That the 399 00:25:19,920 --> 00:25:22,680 one that has the harness wants them to do. 400 00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:26,960 And so their head would be bowed down by that yoke or that pole, 401 00:25:26,960 --> 00:25:29,600 that bar that latched in. Amen. 402 00:25:29,760 --> 00:25:34,400 So once God was telling them, he said, I removed, I broke the 403 00:25:34,400 --> 00:25:38,640 bands, I broke the bar, I broke, if you will, the PO of that 404 00:25:38,640 --> 00:25:41,400 yoke, and now you're able to be upright. 405 00:25:41,400 --> 00:25:45,640 Your neck, your head's not bowed over low, but now it's stretched 406 00:25:45,640 --> 00:25:49,640 up high because I've removed that, that yoke off you. 407 00:25:49,920 --> 00:25:52,320 In other words, he said, Israel, you can walk upright. 408 00:25:52,320 --> 00:25:55,400 As a matter of fact, the Bible says when Israel left Egypt, 409 00:25:55,640 --> 00:25:57,520 they walked out with a high hand. 410 00:25:59,520 --> 00:26:02,280 Hallelujah, they walked out with a high hand. 411 00:26:02,280 --> 00:26:05,680 How could they do that? Because some bands were broken 412 00:26:05,680 --> 00:26:08,520 off them in order for them to exit. 413 00:26:08,760 --> 00:26:11,480 Who broke them? God broke them. 414 00:26:11,800 --> 00:26:15,240 The Lord broke them. Can I tell you this morning that 415 00:26:15,240 --> 00:26:19,080 He's still willing and He's still able to break some yokes 416 00:26:19,080 --> 00:26:21,480 today? You might be an immigrant from a 417 00:26:21,520 --> 00:26:24,920 background of another world, so to speak, and you're looking for 418 00:26:24,920 --> 00:26:26,760 the hope. I'm talking about today. 419 00:26:27,040 --> 00:26:28,400 You're looking for the new beginning. 420 00:26:28,400 --> 00:26:32,200 I'm talking about today. He's still a chain breaker. 421 00:26:32,480 --> 00:26:36,000 He's still a Poe and a bar Buster. 422 00:26:37,200 --> 00:26:40,000 He's a Liberator of men and women's lives. 423 00:26:44,400 --> 00:26:47,560 Again, we understand all these things here or if you didn't, I 424 00:26:47,560 --> 00:26:49,720 hope you do now. But these these chapters, these 425 00:26:49,720 --> 00:26:52,760 first divisions, they're they're in they're the inventions of 426 00:26:52,760 --> 00:26:59,640 mankind. All right, so many don't even 427 00:26:59,640 --> 00:27:03,920 consider verse #1 of chapter 5. It's grouping possibility with 428 00:27:03,920 --> 00:27:09,400 chapter #4 But when you look at the context of Galatians chapter 429 00:27:09,400 --> 00:27:16,520 #4 Paul had just been talking about Hagar, which was a servant 430 00:27:16,520 --> 00:27:23,120 made to Abraham and Sarah, and he was talking about Sarah. 431 00:27:23,680 --> 00:27:25,440 He's talking about these two women, right? 432 00:27:26,200 --> 00:27:30,840 Hagar being the handmaid Sarah had given to Abraham to have a 433 00:27:30,840 --> 00:27:34,600 son, because Sarah was barren, could not have any children. 434 00:27:34,600 --> 00:27:37,880 She says, take my handmaiden, go into her, have a child. 435 00:27:38,240 --> 00:27:41,600 We'll count that as our child. But God already had a purpose. 436 00:27:42,240 --> 00:27:44,400 Sarah, I'm going to give you a child, right? 437 00:27:45,280 --> 00:27:49,480 They, Abraham and Sarah, in their waiting, they got, they 438 00:27:49,480 --> 00:27:53,520 got anxious all right, they got impatient. 439 00:27:54,400 --> 00:27:57,280 And so they make provisions. They have a son whose name is 440 00:27:57,280 --> 00:28:00,520 Ishmael. And then later Sarah would 441 00:28:00,520 --> 00:28:03,280 indeed have a son according to the word of the Lord, the son of 442 00:28:03,280 --> 00:28:05,440 promise, as it would be called Isaac. 443 00:28:05,880 --> 00:28:09,640 He would come from what was once a barren womb. 444 00:28:10,200 --> 00:28:13,960 And so the apostle was talking to these two women of Haggar and 445 00:28:13,960 --> 00:28:19,040 Sarah, and he talks to them as being the bondwoman being Haggar 446 00:28:19,360 --> 00:28:22,920 and Sarah being the free woman, Amen. 447 00:28:22,920 --> 00:28:26,600 He talks to them about how Hagar, what she had, Ishmael, 448 00:28:26,600 --> 00:28:29,960 was born after the flesh, meaning, meaning mainly this, 449 00:28:30,200 --> 00:28:33,960 that it was the invention, if you will, the ideas of Sarah, 450 00:28:34,400 --> 00:28:37,920 Amen, and Abraham to follow this path, Amen, in order to have a 451 00:28:37,920 --> 00:28:40,000 son. But he also talked then about 452 00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:43,160 the son of Sarah, how she was one of promise because it 453 00:28:43,160 --> 00:28:45,760 happened, Amen, because they could have done everything they 454 00:28:45,760 --> 00:28:48,360 could have done. But had God not open the womb, 455 00:28:48,640 --> 00:28:50,920 there would been no son of promise on that side. 456 00:28:51,160 --> 00:28:53,760 And so how Isaac was the son of promise. 457 00:28:53,960 --> 00:28:57,360 And so he pits these two things in on the canvas before us. 458 00:28:57,520 --> 00:29:00,120 Sarah is the free woman, all right. 459 00:29:00,240 --> 00:29:04,200 But there is Hagar, who is the bond woman. 460 00:29:04,360 --> 00:29:06,360 Let me just read it to you because I don't want anything to 461 00:29:06,360 --> 00:29:08,080 be missed and I asked them to include it. 462 00:29:08,080 --> 00:29:10,840 I don't know if it's up there, brother Mason Galatians chapter 463 00:29:10,840 --> 00:29:15,320 #4 in verse #22 Let me just read a little bit of scripture here 464 00:29:15,320 --> 00:29:18,680 if that's okay. For it is written that Abraham 465 00:29:18,680 --> 00:29:23,160 had two sons, the one by a bond made, and the other by a free 466 00:29:23,160 --> 00:29:25,920 woman. But he who was of the bond woman 467 00:29:25,920 --> 00:29:29,800 was born after the flesh, but he of the free woman was by 468 00:29:29,800 --> 00:29:32,800 promise. Which things are an allegory or 469 00:29:32,800 --> 00:29:35,960 an analogy? For these are the two covenants, 470 00:29:36,120 --> 00:29:39,720 the one from Mount Sinai, which gendered to bondage, which is a 471 00:29:39,720 --> 00:29:42,240 guard. Whenever they left Egypt, God 472 00:29:42,240 --> 00:29:46,360 had them go to Sinai, and Sinai is where the law was given 473 00:29:48,200 --> 00:29:50,360 Sinai. He delivered his people and then 474 00:29:50,360 --> 00:29:54,040 he took them to the Mount Sinai to tell them about the ways that 475 00:29:54,040 --> 00:29:55,760 they ought to conduct their life. 476 00:29:57,240 --> 00:30:00,320 Number one, and this is kind of a little tangent here, I'm 477 00:30:00,320 --> 00:30:03,760 trying to get not get very tangented here, but number one, 478 00:30:03,760 --> 00:30:07,920 it's important, I think to note that the law of how to live came 479 00:30:07,920 --> 00:30:14,120 after they were delivered. Mount Sinai did not predate 480 00:30:14,120 --> 00:30:28,880 their deliverance. Right, so he's talking about 481 00:30:28,880 --> 00:30:31,600 Sinai here. So this is where the law Amen is 482 00:30:31,600 --> 00:30:32,920 given. Let me look back where I'm at 483 00:30:32,920 --> 00:30:36,680 here. Amen verse #25 for this Agar or 484 00:30:36,680 --> 00:30:40,760 Haggar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, an answer to Jerusalem, which 485 00:30:40,760 --> 00:30:44,320 now is and is the bondage with her children. 486 00:30:44,320 --> 00:30:47,240 So he's talking about the literal place of even Jerusalem 487 00:30:47,240 --> 00:30:50,240 of that day. He said that Jerusalem, which is 488 00:30:50,280 --> 00:30:53,000 above, right? John spoke in the Book of 489 00:30:53,000 --> 00:30:56,080 Revelations that there would be a new Jerusalem coming down from 490 00:30:56,080 --> 00:30:58,000 heaven. So now we're talking about 491 00:30:58,000 --> 00:31:00,720 something very natural and then something spiritual. 492 00:31:00,960 --> 00:31:04,560 He said, But then the Jerusalem which is above is free, which is 493 00:31:04,560 --> 00:31:07,520 the mother of of us all. For it is written, Rejoice, thou 494 00:31:07,520 --> 00:31:11,240 barren, that bearest not Amen. Break forth and cry thou that 495 00:31:11,240 --> 00:31:15,280 travail is not, for the desolate hath many more children than she 496 00:31:15,400 --> 00:31:18,560 that hath an husband. He says, Now we brethren as 497 00:31:18,560 --> 00:31:23,520 Isaac was, are the children of promise. 498 00:31:24,120 --> 00:31:27,240 And that's wonderful. And I'm thankful to be a part of 499 00:31:27,240 --> 00:31:30,760 that line of Sarah, so to speak, or at least born into that 500 00:31:30,760 --> 00:31:34,920 family by new birth, to be a part of the children to promise. 501 00:31:35,200 --> 00:31:37,280 So thank goodness Sarah's a free woman. 502 00:31:37,280 --> 00:31:42,480 But listen, Sarah's origins was a Pagan origin. 503 00:31:45,240 --> 00:31:48,640 Sarah, Abraham, Tara, all of the Bible speaks. 504 00:31:48,640 --> 00:31:52,120 You can look in the Old Testament they were Pagan 505 00:31:52,120 --> 00:31:56,320 worshippers. But if that's the case and she's 506 00:31:56,320 --> 00:32:00,480 a free woman, then that means I need to be looking for a change 507 00:32:00,480 --> 00:32:08,320 somewhere because you can't be have been bound and now free 508 00:32:08,520 --> 00:32:10,760 according to all the Old Testament stories. 509 00:32:10,880 --> 00:32:13,720 If there's not a change somewhere in your past that's no 510 00:32:13,720 --> 00:32:20,280 longer there, someone say, Amen, we are children of the three. 511 00:32:20,280 --> 00:32:22,840 He says we are children of the promise. 512 00:32:22,840 --> 00:32:25,280 We are children. If I could say it like this, we 513 00:32:25,280 --> 00:32:28,000 are children of Lady Liberty, and I'm not talking about the 514 00:32:28,000 --> 00:32:31,920 Statue of Liberty right now. We are children of Lady Liberty. 515 00:32:32,040 --> 00:32:36,280 We stand fast in that liberty. That's what the apostle said in 516 00:32:36,280 --> 00:32:40,320 the first verse of Galatians 5. He said stand fast, therefore, 517 00:32:40,320 --> 00:32:44,800 in the liberty that Christ hath made us free. 518 00:32:45,040 --> 00:32:55,320 The word stand fast means to stand upright stand upright Amen 519 00:32:55,560 --> 00:33:01,320 and that standing upright is a testament of a broken chain 520 00:33:01,320 --> 00:33:05,840 somewhere, an upright. Apostle Peter of Acts 12 521 00:33:06,080 --> 00:33:10,240 standing at the door that Rhoda answered was because chains fell 522 00:33:10,240 --> 00:33:14,880 at his feet in the prison. An upright animal that has its 523 00:33:14,880 --> 00:33:17,600 ability to look around other places. 524 00:33:17,960 --> 00:33:22,400 It's because the yoke that was on its neck has been destroyed, 525 00:33:22,600 --> 00:33:26,000 has been. So what are you saying then, 526 00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:28,120 Pastor McGee? I'm saying this when I read 527 00:33:28,120 --> 00:33:33,160 Galatians 51I envision an individual that's standing 528 00:33:33,160 --> 00:33:36,720 upright in their liberty. Amen. 529 00:33:36,720 --> 00:33:41,400 The chains or the bonds of their past bondage and yoke, if you 530 00:33:41,400 --> 00:33:46,680 will, are lying at their feet. I picture a person that has the 531 00:33:46,680 --> 00:33:52,040 quote UN quote lady of liberty type of status, a torch held 532 00:33:52,040 --> 00:33:57,200 high, documents in her hand about her day of independence 533 00:33:57,560 --> 00:34:01,240 but don't overlook the chain that is at her feet. 534 00:34:01,240 --> 00:34:05,840 Can someone say, man, I'm here to tell you today, I believe 535 00:34:05,840 --> 00:34:09,600 many times whenever people look at the church with longing eyes 536 00:34:09,880 --> 00:34:12,360 that they notice her torch, Amen. 537 00:34:12,360 --> 00:34:16,040 They notice that light that's gleaming from her in the midst 538 00:34:16,040 --> 00:34:19,480 of darkness and despair, Amen. And that's great. 539 00:34:19,719 --> 00:34:23,639 It's impossible to overlook the light, if you will, and the 540 00:34:23,639 --> 00:34:28,440 brilliance of the hope, Amen, that's found in the Church of 541 00:34:28,440 --> 00:34:30,400 times. Whenever people come to a 542 00:34:30,480 --> 00:34:35,920 church, Amen, they witnessed the raised hands in worship, Amen. 543 00:34:36,120 --> 00:34:39,679 They understand those are not empty gestures, Amen, But 544 00:34:39,679 --> 00:34:43,239 they're symbols of victory. They're symbols of surrender, 545 00:34:43,520 --> 00:34:47,199 Amen to something greater. They're captivated off times 546 00:34:47,520 --> 00:34:52,120 concerning the church, Amen of her unmatched love, a love 547 00:34:52,120 --> 00:34:56,800 that's not limited to conditions or qualifications, but that 548 00:34:56,800 --> 00:35:01,120 flows deeply and freely. They are overwhelmed off times 549 00:35:01,400 --> 00:35:04,680 when they come and sit on the Pew to hear the the exuberant 550 00:35:04,680 --> 00:35:08,120 shouts or the other tongues that are spoken. 551 00:35:08,400 --> 00:35:12,680 It astonishes them but they feel a sense of authenticity in it 552 00:35:12,680 --> 00:35:18,560 all and passionate it all. Someone say man, but can I tell 553 00:35:18,560 --> 00:35:23,400 you this morning if there is and where there is the atmosphere of 554 00:35:23,400 --> 00:35:29,520 freedom, there have been chains broken, burdens lifted, Amen. 555 00:35:29,520 --> 00:35:33,760 But broken have been made whole in the church because we've been 556 00:35:33,760 --> 00:35:45,800 set at liberty by Christ Jesus. The churches says light, 557 00:35:45,840 --> 00:35:51,160 promise, the promises that they have gives us more than just 558 00:35:51,160 --> 00:35:54,560 comfort because it speaks of a transformation. 559 00:35:55,560 --> 00:35:59,720 It speaks of, it seems, the wrongs being made right. 560 00:36:05,480 --> 00:36:08,560 You'd said sometimes I've been in churches, I've been a lot of 561 00:36:08,560 --> 00:36:13,080 different places. Even here person might run 562 00:36:13,080 --> 00:36:21,320 around the Pew of like some type of zeal of a new found freedom. 563 00:36:24,480 --> 00:36:28,760 Somebody else over in the corners crying, groaning almost, 564 00:36:29,400 --> 00:36:35,080 moaning almost, and they're overwhelmed by the grace that 565 00:36:35,080 --> 00:36:38,720 they feel. They're overwhelmed by the 566 00:36:38,720 --> 00:36:41,120 redemption that has come to them. 567 00:36:41,680 --> 00:36:43,760 Another one's lifting up their voice. 568 00:36:44,520 --> 00:36:47,040 Loud, like my voice is loud right now. 569 00:36:47,600 --> 00:36:49,520 They're lifting up their voice. Why? 570 00:36:50,000 --> 00:36:54,640 It's swelling from their mouth. A heart of gratitude, unable to 571 00:36:54,640 --> 00:37:00,640 contain the joy, unable to be silent, unable just to be normal 572 00:37:01,000 --> 00:37:04,520 or normalized by what they've experienced. 573 00:37:05,800 --> 00:37:08,720 Someone say, man, what are you saying, Brother McGee? 574 00:37:08,880 --> 00:37:13,320 That person running, that person crying, that person shouting, 575 00:37:13,480 --> 00:37:16,880 that person lifting their voice. That's not a performance. 576 00:37:17,160 --> 00:37:20,040 It's the language of those that have tasted liberty. 577 00:37:20,280 --> 00:37:24,240 It's the language of those that have experienced, if you will, a 578 00:37:24,240 --> 00:37:36,400 setting free from the barn. It's the language of liberty. 579 00:37:36,560 --> 00:37:40,120 If you've ever stood outside of a prison or a jail, of somebody 580 00:37:40,120 --> 00:37:43,920 that's ever finished a sentence that can come out to their loved 581 00:37:43,920 --> 00:37:46,760 ones, if you're looking for something that's just all prim 582 00:37:46,760 --> 00:37:48,760 and proper, you might as well forget it. 583 00:37:49,000 --> 00:37:51,160 Tears are going to be going down some faces. 584 00:37:51,440 --> 00:37:53,160 There's going to be joy that's going to be over. 585 00:37:53,240 --> 00:37:55,920 Why? Because it is the language of no 586 00:37:55,920 --> 00:37:59,760 longer being behind bars. It's the language of no longer 587 00:37:59,760 --> 00:38:02,280 being told what to do, when to do. 588 00:38:02,480 --> 00:38:14,400 It's the language of liberty. Yes, Hallelujah, Hallelujah. 589 00:38:17,640 --> 00:38:21,400 This is not just a building. This is not just a gathering. 590 00:38:22,240 --> 00:38:25,240 I'm hoping for some immigrant, if you will, from another land 591 00:38:25,440 --> 00:38:29,120 or culture, so to speak, that this will feel like home. 592 00:38:29,360 --> 00:38:36,800 It'll be a place that their soul has been seeking for, and all 593 00:38:36,800 --> 00:38:38,720 the shout and the crying and everything else, you know what 594 00:38:38,720 --> 00:38:40,480 they've done. They've caught the glimpse of 595 00:38:40,480 --> 00:38:45,480 the torch. There's an irresistible pool 596 00:38:46,200 --> 00:38:50,640 with the glimpse of the torch. Before they can embrace the 597 00:38:50,640 --> 00:38:57,920 brilliance of the torch, they got to recognize that that's 598 00:38:57,920 --> 00:39:04,160 only possible because of closer investigation reveals the chains 599 00:39:04,160 --> 00:39:09,440 that are broken at the feet. Someone say Amen. 600 00:39:14,510 --> 00:39:19,830 Testimony of the Church, of her liberty and freedom is what 601 00:39:19,830 --> 00:39:25,270 she's been freed from, what she's been set at liberty from. 602 00:39:27,070 --> 00:39:32,030 Every hand that raised in worship was once shackled in 603 00:39:32,030 --> 00:39:38,200 despair. Every shout of joy that comes 604 00:39:38,200 --> 00:39:42,160 from those that are on a Pew emerge from some place in the 605 00:39:42,160 --> 00:39:50,440 past of sorrow. The Church's freedom is not a 606 00:39:50,440 --> 00:39:54,440 revolt, a result of her effort or her traits or her gift or her 607 00:39:54,440 --> 00:39:57,200 ability. No, no, it was. 608 00:39:57,320 --> 00:39:59,600 It was secured by a divine deliverance. 609 00:40:00,440 --> 00:40:02,840 The chains at her feet that are not signs of weakness. 610 00:40:02,840 --> 00:40:04,880 No, they're a symbol of her victory. 611 00:40:05,040 --> 00:40:08,160 They're reminders of all of the battles that were fought and the 612 00:40:08,160 --> 00:40:13,720 grace, more importantly, that secured her release from them. 613 00:40:18,280 --> 00:40:21,680 This is the paradox of the church and her torch. 614 00:40:23,560 --> 00:40:29,080 Flames burning bright. We don't understand that that 615 00:40:29,080 --> 00:40:31,720 flame was ignited by a past of brokenness. 616 00:40:33,960 --> 00:40:37,800 But her light yet still draws others in, right? 617 00:40:39,080 --> 00:40:41,600 It's kind of, I guess in some ways we're all just kind of like 618 00:40:41,600 --> 00:40:43,320 a bunch of bugs. We're just kind of drawn by the 619 00:40:43,320 --> 00:40:47,120 light. I just want someone to be 620 00:40:47,120 --> 00:40:56,070 encouraged today as you leave here, that torch is talking to 621 00:40:56,070 --> 00:40:59,990 me about freedom. That torch is really talking to 622 00:40:59,990 --> 00:41:05,800 me about the price of that freedom that torches talk to me. 623 00:41:06,080 --> 00:41:10,640 It's not boasting about its own strength, but in reality it's 624 00:41:10,640 --> 00:41:15,120 point to the one who shattered the chain, freed the captive 625 00:41:15,600 --> 00:41:18,960 again. Leviticus 2613 told us, God 626 00:41:18,960 --> 00:41:23,000 said, I have broken the bands of your yoke. 627 00:41:24,000 --> 00:41:28,160 I made you go upright. Jesus even said, said it was on 628 00:41:28,160 --> 00:41:30,760 one of those days that he all times he would go to the 629 00:41:31,200 --> 00:41:34,680 synagogue and it came upon the time that it was his time to 630 00:41:34,680 --> 00:41:35,720 read. They would read from the 631 00:41:35,720 --> 00:41:37,640 scriptures and it came upon his time. 632 00:41:38,120 --> 00:41:41,120 What a great opportunity to read and they so happened to be at 633 00:41:41,120 --> 00:41:44,440 the place not coincidental, absolutely divine from the 634 00:41:44,440 --> 00:41:48,080 Scriptures of Isaiah and Jesus would say, and the whole 635 00:41:48,080 --> 00:41:49,480 Scriptures, I don't know if I got it up there. 636 00:41:49,480 --> 00:41:52,840 Luke 418, Amen. But nonetheless, the Scripture 637 00:41:52,840 --> 00:41:55,920 would say that Jesus said I am anointed. 638 00:41:56,720 --> 00:41:58,800 There were two particular things in that passage of Scripture 639 00:41:58,800 --> 00:42:00,800 that He said He was anointed for or to do. 640 00:42:01,200 --> 00:42:07,280 He said I'm anointed to preach deliverance to the captives and 641 00:42:07,280 --> 00:42:14,240 to set at liberty them that are bruised. 642 00:42:16,440 --> 00:42:18,480 If you can stand for me this morning, I won't hold you much 643 00:42:18,480 --> 00:42:33,120 longer. So still today, Lady Liberty 644 00:42:33,120 --> 00:42:38,680 stands, the original metal tarnished in that greenish color 645 00:42:38,680 --> 00:42:43,120 that is upon her. That torch is still there as a 646 00:42:43,120 --> 00:42:44,960 beacon of hope for many who come. 647 00:42:47,600 --> 00:42:51,720 But the invitation. The invitation is clear though. 648 00:42:53,280 --> 00:43:00,120 The lights not just for her. It's not exclusive just to her. 649 00:43:02,400 --> 00:43:06,160 It's meant for the drawing and the hope for all that would see 650 00:43:06,160 --> 00:43:11,520 it. And this morning, the experience 651 00:43:11,520 --> 00:43:14,720 of what happens in the church is not just for the church. 652 00:43:16,800 --> 00:43:22,240 It's not exclusive to her, but it is to be a drawing power for 653 00:43:22,240 --> 00:43:30,320 all those that would witness it. Stand fast, Paul says in the 654 00:43:30,320 --> 00:43:37,520 liberty that Christ has given. Because each one of us and us 655 00:43:37,520 --> 00:43:41,680 collectively, The torch that is in our hand and our uprightness 656 00:43:41,720 --> 00:43:47,320 of head is because somewhere, I don't know where the location 657 00:43:47,320 --> 00:43:53,440 is, we left the chain. Your chain may not look like my 658 00:43:53,440 --> 00:43:58,120 chain, might not have had the same number of links, the same 659 00:43:58,360 --> 00:44:03,640 color or configuration, but you had one or you have one. 660 00:44:08,970 --> 00:44:10,050 Could be someone here this morning. 661 00:44:10,050 --> 00:44:12,170 If we can just close our eyes that it could be someone here 662 00:44:12,170 --> 00:44:14,810 today. There are maybe even in that 663 00:44:14,810 --> 00:44:20,770 contemplation mode, maybe like Solomon trying to figure out, 664 00:44:22,090 --> 00:44:24,650 trying to figure out this. What is the meaning? 665 00:44:25,370 --> 00:44:29,010 What's the meaning of life? Maybe you're caught in that, 666 00:44:29,520 --> 00:44:35,160 that very routine that that he observed and even told of. 667 00:44:36,440 --> 00:44:38,280 It's the passing away of the seasons. 668 00:44:38,280 --> 00:44:41,720 They come and they go. It's the cold in the heat 669 00:44:41,720 --> 00:44:44,160 extremes. It's it's the water being 670 00:44:44,160 --> 00:44:49,160 collected in the clouds of being dispersed and mountain heads 671 00:44:49,160 --> 00:44:52,240 going into creeks and creeks into rivers and rivers into 672 00:44:52,520 --> 00:44:55,280 other streams that lead to the ocean and circle back around to 673 00:44:55,280 --> 00:44:58,000 start all over. And perhaps your life just feels 674 00:44:58,000 --> 00:45:02,680 like one of those cycles. I get up, I do XYZI, go to work, 675 00:45:02,680 --> 00:45:08,600 I work, I come home. And what's really the purpose of 676 00:45:08,600 --> 00:45:13,160 all of this? Someone might be looking for a 677 00:45:13,160 --> 00:45:16,440 new life, a New Hope, new meaning, a new leash on 678 00:45:16,440 --> 00:45:20,080 something that is so routine why everything else seems 679 00:45:20,080 --> 00:45:23,080 meaningless and everything else seems void and vacant and empty. 680 00:45:23,080 --> 00:45:26,200 Off times and even happiness is fleeting. 681 00:45:26,200 --> 00:45:28,880 It's like only you there for a moment, don't really know true 682 00:45:28,880 --> 00:45:36,200 joy because it can't be found. I urge you today to look to the 683 00:45:36,200 --> 00:45:42,720 church because her hair, her head is held high and her torch 684 00:45:43,160 --> 00:45:47,600 is in her hand. But as you noticed that probably 685 00:45:47,600 --> 00:45:55,480 first cast your eyes down at her feet because she stands fast or 686 00:45:55,480 --> 00:46:02,360 she stands upright in the liberty that Christ has made her 687 00:46:02,360 --> 00:46:09,080 free and he desires to do the same for you today. 688 00:46:09,880 --> 00:46:13,000 That light is to be a drawing power upon your soul. 689 00:46:13,920 --> 00:46:16,800 That light is to be a drawing power upon your life. 690 00:46:19,480 --> 00:46:23,840 His invitation is clear through Scripture, whether it's in John 691 00:46:23,840 --> 00:46:26,640 7 or whether it's in the last chapter of Revelation. 692 00:46:27,600 --> 00:46:32,440 The Spirit and the bride says come the last day of the feast 693 00:46:32,440 --> 00:46:36,080 of John 7. He said if any man purse, let 694 00:46:36,080 --> 00:46:40,800 him come. Yes, the invitation that's still 695 00:46:40,800 --> 00:46:43,760 relevant today. He's calling others to come. 696 00:46:44,280 --> 00:46:46,000 He's calling you to a place of freedom. 697 00:46:46,000 --> 00:46:47,480 He's calling you to a place of hope. 698 00:46:47,680 --> 00:46:49,880 He's calling you to a place of new life. 699 00:46:51,520 --> 00:46:57,200 Let let 1121 Cedar St. today be the place where your chains 700 00:46:57,200 --> 00:47:01,200 left. Let it be where your chain 701 00:47:01,200 --> 00:47:07,040 remains as you leave upright in your life, standing fast in the 702 00:47:07,040 --> 00:47:09,680 liberty that He has made you free. 703 00:47:10,080 --> 00:47:13,120 This altar is open today for those that would come. 704 00:47:13,120 --> 00:47:15,800 And if you say, Brother McGee, I am at liberty and thank God, 705 00:47:15,800 --> 00:47:18,120 then you need to come with a heart of gratitude. 706 00:47:18,480 --> 00:47:20,440 You need to come with a heart of Thanksgiving. 707 00:47:20,680 --> 00:47:23,320 If you don't know the liberty that I'm talking about today, 708 00:47:24,960 --> 00:47:28,160 I've never felt that that compelling of lifting my voice 709 00:47:28,160 --> 00:47:30,960 or my hand or some of these things that you described. 710 00:47:30,960 --> 00:47:33,920 Well, listen, those are just the languages of freedom. 711 00:47:34,400 --> 00:47:36,600 Those are just the languages of freedom. 712 00:47:37,160 --> 00:47:40,520 Hey man, even in the Psalms or talks about clap your hands, all 713 00:47:40,520 --> 00:47:43,840 you people, hey man. And shouting to God with a voice 714 00:47:43,840 --> 00:47:47,200 of triumph. The old histories even say that 715 00:47:47,200 --> 00:47:51,840 it was the clapping of the hands that sounded to the to the 716 00:47:51,880 --> 00:47:57,000 Israelites like the chains that they used to be incarcerated by, 717 00:47:57,400 --> 00:48:00,720 the jangling and the clanking of the chains against each other. 718 00:48:00,920 --> 00:48:03,360 And so when they would clap their hands, it gave them that 719 00:48:03,360 --> 00:48:07,520 similar sound, reminded them of where they used to be and what 720 00:48:07,520 --> 00:48:12,040 they used to be and bonds to. But that hand clap now took on a 721 00:48:12,040 --> 00:48:14,760 different form. It's the language of their 722 00:48:14,760 --> 00:48:17,040 liberty. It's the language of the 723 00:48:17,040 --> 00:48:19,080 freedom. Hallelujah. 724 00:48:19,280 --> 00:48:23,320 You can leave today with your head high and your chains. 725 00:48:23,720 --> 00:48:29,120 Amen low, Amen at your feet. This altar is open for whosoever 726 00:48:29,120 --> 00:48:32,600 will let them come. You don't have to be a child of 727 00:48:32,600 --> 00:48:35,720 the bondwoman. You can be a child of the three 728 00:48:36,000 --> 00:48:39,960 because of Christ, because of what he does, because of what he 729 00:48:39,960 --> 00:48:45,320 accomplishes, and he still yet desires to do the same day after 730 00:48:45,320 --> 00:48:48,960 day, year after year, for whosoever will, Hallelujah. 731 00:48:48,960 --> 00:48:52,800 This is an opportunity for us. Be drawn by the light, yes, but 732 00:48:52,800 --> 00:48:55,440 recognize the freedom because of the broken chain. 733 00:48:55,560 --> 00:49:00,040 That's the Lord, that's his doings, That's God's doings. 734 00:49:00,040 --> 00:49:00,720 Hallelujah.