11/06/2021 – “Accept God’s invitation: ‘Your heart is free. Have the courage to follow it.’ /from “What’s Next?” by Chris Hodges
Our church has a “What’s Next” Wednesday worship followed by Christian warrior fellowship sessions. I am sharing with you this morning much of Section 2: Find Freedom from the book. Since Chris uses the metaphor of the William Wallace motivational speech in the Braveheart movie, I will give you the link here up front to the movie scene:
“Home, the English are too many!” Well, indeed , our Christian remnant is out-numbered too. But, our call is to fight for our Lord, to His glory. For history buffs, soon after William Wallace’s death, the Scots won their freedom at the battle of Bannockburn in 1314, despite once again being vastly out-numbered by the English. Engage! My siblings and I presented a video tribute to our father, William Wallace Bruce, just prior to his return home to his Lord. We used this scene at the front end with the “Braveheart” scene from the Battle of Bannockburn at the back end. It was a metaphor for how Dad’s faithful and courageous Christian walk would carry on through future generations by the grace of God. We are a mess but we are a redeemed mess by His grace!
And politics is not our savior, but with regard to fighting in “defiance of tyranny”: TEXIT!, so that we can reestablish an independent state that honors God at it’s very core, with recognition of the 1st amendment to all its citizens. There is no direction we walk in life that God does not speak to!
And with that I turn it over to Chris Hodges, an excerpt starting from page #59:
“Freedom.
The word makes me think of William Wallace and Braveheart, the award-winning film based on Wallace’s epic stand against King Edward I of England in the First War of Scottish Independence at the end of the thirteenth century. When I think about freedom, I recall the unforgetable scene where Wallace tries to rouse his fellow Scots to battle.
He asked the large crowd, ‘What will you do?’
They look up and consider the daunting size of the English army and shout, ‘We will run!’
It’s funny for us today, at least for the briefest of moments, but then Wallace responds with a profound truth that’s no laughing matter. He says, ‘Run and you’ll live — at least for a while. And dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days from this day to that for one chance, just one chance, to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take iour lives, but they’ll never take our freedom!’
I’m convinced that every human being wants to be free, to enjoy the ability to choose for themselves where and how they live out their lives. This inherent longing for freedom motivated the patriots who formed our nation and the many men and women who have died defending our country’s freedom ever since.
It’s in us to be free — God put the longing there. But the enemy of our souls wants us to run, to hide from the conflict, and to avoid fighting for whom we were made to be. Yet once we have a relationship with God, we have his power in us. We don’t have to face life’s challenges along. Our fears, anxieties, and worries cannot enslave us. The enemy’s snares no longer leave us trapped, victims of circumstances beyond our control.
Once we begin our relationship with God, once we start getting to know him and walking with him daily, the next step in our journey is allowing his power to transform and heal us, to set us free. The power of our relationship with our loving Father changes us, providing us with the courage, strength, and resilience we need to face old wounds, ongoing hang-ups and destructive attitudes.
The theological term for this step is deliverance, which can sound dramatic and scary but is usually subtler and more gradual. We may think we’ll experience some spectacular moment, like a scene out of the Exorcist, when we’re instantly healed and unburdened from all our struggles; that can and does happen sometimes, but typically that’s not how it works.
Instead, we often must face the painful scars of our past and invite God to heal us in those areas. We have to take responsibility for our habits and behaviors and the sinful ways we may get our personal needs met. For most people, deliverance comes down to a specific, challenging area of their lives that continues to have a grip on them.
This struggle is not a heaven-or-hell-issue – the blood of Jesus has already taken care of that. No, this battle is a quality of-life issue, a matter of how we will live out our earthly lives until we get to heaven. The enemy would love to keep us distracted, distressed, and depressed over this struggle so that we never grow and reach our full potential, doing all that God has called us to do.
Chances are good you know exactly what I’m talking about.
It’s that one area that keeps holding you back. The same request that’s almost always in your prayers. The constant goal that shows up each year in your resolutions. The secret you’re afraid to share.
The place where you most need freedom.
…….
This is how the devil operates. He has power in this world but no authority. So, he keeps talking to us until we believe him. (Jimmy note: Coincidence? The mantra of the Nazis and present day cultural marxists: “Tell them lies over and over again, and they will eventually believe it…”) We end up accepting his lies as truth, letting them into our thoughts so that they poison our emotions and influence our actions. Satan pretends that he has authority over us — but this is not true. We have been given authority through the power of Jesus Christ and his Spirit who dwells in us….
We all experience these strongholds and their impact on our lives…. Soon, this stronghold becomes a part of our identity….
I want you to be strong, equipped, empowered In the words of William Wallace, I want to accept God’s invitation: ‘Your heart is free. Have the courage to follow it.'”
Semper Fi!: Soli Deo Gloria!!
Love,
Your brother in Christ,
Jimmy
note – book ISBN reference:
978-0-7180-9157-6 (eBook)
978-0-7180-9136-9 (hardcopy)
p.s. – Recalling the expression: “You are what you eat.” Well, in like-manner, “you are what you read or view”. God’s Word at the foundation, bringing his Word into all Christian worldview books. How about: “If you want to know what a man values, observe where he spends his time.” How about prayer? Do we really believe what we say we believe is really real? Follow the warrior messengers that have preceded us. A single example: I received a lasting motivation just by watching a documentary on the stories of medal of honor winners. (an element of “common” grace , it is all from God. Always aim higher than you think you can go, until you are comfortable with “uncomfortable” , and then ramp it up further.)