Kingdom Freedom – Week 1

Kingdom Freedom – Week 1

I want to tell you about a Navy Seal named Michael Monsoor. Michael was serving in Ramadi, Iraq. It was a terrible place then. There were loudspeakers all around the city with men yelling, “Kill the Americans!” and on September 29, 2006, Mike made the ultimate sacrifice for two of his friends.

They were on a roof and a grenade bounced off Mike’s chest. Mike could have escaped, but his friends couldn’t. So, he threw himself on the grenade & absorbed the blast. He died. His friends survived. One of the survivors said:

“Mikey looked death in the face that day and said, ‘You cannot take my brothers. I will go in their stead.'”

I watched the award ceremony where President Bush gave Michael’s Medal of Honor to his family, and it’s the only time I’ve ever seen a president of the United States cry.

The greatest act of love is giving up your life for someone else. It’s what Jesus did for us, and it’s what Michael did for his friends. – So what’s the point? Well, what does freedom require?

• Freedom requires sacrifice.
• Freedom requires responsibility.
• Freedom requires rules.
• Freedom requires surrender.

There is always someone trying to take your freedom from you, and that is true spiritually too. The satan wants to take your freedom. So he will tempt you with sin to make you a slave to sin.

¹² For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. ¹³ Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.

Ephesians 6:12-13

So we fight, but we don’t fight the way we would if we were fighting a physical battle. We don’t use physical weapons. When the church talks about freedom, too often we’re talking about physical freedom. But our freedom is better than physical freedom. God will set our minds & spirits free. It’s eternal, not temporary.

For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

2 Corinthians 3:17

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