R1591 Free Indeed

God has an encouraging word for you and me today through the Bible-based preaching of Dr. Don Wilton and a message called Free Indeed.

It's a word that's tossed around a great deal, the concept of freedom, but in a moment Dr. Don's going to take us straight to Scripture to give us some insight that will help us live out our day in a more free way. As we do this, you need to know Dr. Don is not just a well-known author, evangelist, seminary professor, and pastor, but in his pastoral mode more than anything else, he wants you to know we're here for you. We'd love to pray with you right now at 866-899-WORD. That's 866-899-9673. Or we'd love to encourage your email box every single day. Dr. Don sends out an email you can sign up for at TEWONLINE.ORG. Sign up for the daily encouraging word email today.

And now, Dr. Don Wilton. I'm going to ask a question of you, a rhetorical question, because we always talk about it. It finds its way into our politics, into our classrooms. It's in our books, our history books. It's a hallmark of who we are. And it's simply the values that our freedoms give to us out of the freedom that we have as Americans. We receive and we stand upon deep and abiding values. We value. All right, well, let's complete that just for a moment.

What exactly is that? What do we value? So, I've done a lot of research. These are not just my thoughts. I'm sharing what I consider to be perhaps the top 13 values.

You ready? This is what we stand on. This is what we believe as a people. So, I'm just going to give them to you. Number one, personal control.

That's a value. I am personally in control of my own life. Personal control. I'm not a collective version of communism. That's why I overtly reject any form of socialism, because it's not American.

It's not American. Personal control, there's a value. Number two, mobility.

That's a value. Mobility, what does that mean? The ability to move about, to go, to be. To come into a park, to go to church, to go to the beach, to go to a ball game.

Mobility, to move, to move. Number three, time. Time is a value. Time is a value because we value the time that we have. We believe that time is a value to be redeemed.

It's that which is used for the good, not only personally of our own lives, but for all lives. Number four, equality. We believe that all people are created equal.

There is no discrepancy, not male, female. That's why we reject slavery. That's why we reject oppression in any kind. That's why we reject any forms of racism. That's why we reject abuse. That's why we take a stand against the way people treat each other.

That's why we stand upon justice. Equality, all people are created equal. Number five, individualism.

There's a value for you, individualism. Just go and talk to all the moms and dads today about this great freedom which expresses itself in individualism. Do you know that in communist countries, mostly children when they are born, they all get sent at a certain age to the same schools where they become indoctrinated. An indoctrination under a communist or socialistic system, which I'm very familiar with, is designed overtly and intentionally to remove any form of individualism.

It's a DNA extractor. They stick a big syringe into our children. They suck out all the individualism and they make everybody the same. Number six, self-help. There's a value that is derived from our freedom. What is self-help? Self-help means that we value taking pride in our own success. We value taking pride in our own success.

That's what self-help means as a value. Number seven, competition. We value competition.

Let me give you the fancy word, free enterprise. As Americans, we value that. We value that.

I was speaking to a young man this morning at eight o'clock that I value. I value him. I value him as a man. I value him as a person.

What do I value about it? I value free enterprise, competition. I value the fact that he individually as an individual on an equal basis can go and find and succeed and live and soar to the skies. Number eight, we value optimism. In America, what is optimism? Have you ever met an optimistic person?

Why do we value that as Americans? Because optimism always believes in a better future. Optimism always. Optimism. We believe. I believe. I know that today in our country, we're going through difficult times, but I'm optimistic.

That is an American value. I believe in a better future and what that does for you and me as a nation. It causes us to stand up as one and say, we can do it. It's going to change. We're going to overcome. We're going to do better.

That's what optimism. Number nine, work. You didn't think I'd mentioned that as a value. Did you know that value is a work? Work is a value because we believe that it is morally right. That value translates itself into the fabric of our bone marrow because we believe that the right to work is a value that derives from our freedom and it carries with it an expectation that all American citizens will at some or other level seek after, find, and go to work. We believe that that is a moral right.

Number 10. I love this one. It has a value informality. My fellow Americans, informality. Now, I identify with that because I came out of a British background. Have you ever noticed that in America, in a very positive way, everything seems to be other than the great British empire?

We even drive on the other side of the road for crying in a bucket. I tell you, we even, you do, I need to revise what I'm saying. You still ruin a jolly good cup of tea and you put ice in it and who knows what else and everything else in it, but the thing is about the American person. The American person values informality.

Every time the President of the United States goes to visit the Queen of England, that issue as a value comes to the forefront. Do I touch her? Do I shake her hand? Do I bow down?

Do I sit down before her? That's British formality. The Americans value informality, not disrespect, but informality. We get together and we high five and we say, what up, man? And if we can say it in the right way, how y'all doing? Instead of, I say, old chap, how are you?

We are very informal in America. Number 11, honesty. That's the 11th value. We value honesty. Honesty can roughly be translated as truth. Just give me the truth.

Say it like it is. We got a battle on that value in America today. Honesty. Number 12, practicality. We value practicality.

That's an American value. What is practicality? Practicality means that we value applying everything in our head through our hearts into the practical reality of our daily living. If it doesn't work in practice, we don't place as much value just simply on honing thoughts and sharpening minds.

We want to see it placed in the practical reality and the way in which it's going to benefit us. And then one more, number 13, we value materialism. Materialism. Now, to some people, that's a bad word.

I'm not using that in a bad word sense. The word materialism as an American value really means that we firmly believe and are convicted that because of the freedoms that we have that rewards are just. In other words, when you work hard and you earn hard, the reward you receive for your work that translates into the materialism of what you have is fully and completely justified.

That's very good. Work hard and you will be rewarded and we value that reward system. Which means we overtly reject that what you do is take away everything from those who have everything and just evenly distribute it. That's what they did in the Soviet Union. That's what they do in China.

That's what they do in Korea. We reject that because of our value system. But I'm a Christian. I want to speak to you for a few minutes on what being free indeed means. Forgive the interruption, but Dr. Don will be back with the rest of today's message.

Trust and obey in just a moment and we will gain more insight on what it means to be free indeed. While we're break, Dr. Don wants us to remind you that we're here to pray with you. Our phone number is 866-899-WORD.

Jot it down, store it in your cell, 866-899-9673 or we can connect online at tewonline.org where you'll find great resources like this. Losing a spouse can be very devastating and life-altering. How do you move forward? Joyce Rogers, widow of renowned pastor Adrian Rogers, has walked the path of widowhood since 2005 after being married for 54 years. In Grace for the Widow, a journey through the fog of loss, Joyce recounts her grief in touching detail on how she called on the Lord and his promises from Scripture for strength. This book is filled with encouragement to readers recognizing God's continuing plan for those who have lost their spouse. Grace for the Widow, a journey through the fog of loss is available for your gift of $16 in support to the encouraging word. Call us at 866-899-WORD and request your copy today.

Limited quantities are available. The encouraging word is a viewer and listener supported ministry. Thank you for listening today. I hope you'll contact us about that and other great resources, but know that we're always ready to pray for you at 866-899-9673.

Now back to today's message with Dr. Ty. And as a background, I want to use David. King David. King David was an incredible man. Bible says he was a man after the heart of God. But he was a man who had available to him all of these freedoms even though he lived back then because he was king. He was not subject to any other. I'm not even for one minute suggesting King David was an American. But if you went to the king back in David's day, there's not a single one of these 13 values that would not have applied to him because he was king. He was top of the chain.

There was nobody over him. But there were some things that David had to understand that not even his freedom as king could bring. I want to just read this to you, and I'm going to be in 2 Samuel chapter 7 beginning at verse 18. Then King David went in and he sat before the Lord and he said, Who am I, O sovereign Lord? And what is my family that you have brought me thus far? And as if this were not enough in your sight, O sovereign Lord, you've spoken about the future of the house of your servant.

Is this your usual way of dealing with man? O sovereign Lord, what more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O sovereign Lord, for the sake of your word and according to your will, you have done this great thing. You have made this known to your servant. How great you are, O sovereign Lord.

There's no one like you. And there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. And who is like your people, Israel, the one nation on earth that God went out to redeem as a people for himself and to make a name for himself and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before your people whom you redeemed from Egypt. You have established your people as your very own forever. And you, O Lord, have become their God. And now, Lord God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house.

Do as you promised so that your name will be great forever. Then men will say the Lord Almighty is God over Israel and the house of your servant David will be established before you. O Lord Almighty, God of Israel, you have revealed this to your servant.

You have said, I will build a house for you. So your servant has found courage to offer this prayer. O sovereign Lord, you are God. Your words are trustworthy. You have promised these good things. Now be pleased to bless the house of your servant that it may continue forever in your sight.

For you, O sovereign Lord, have spoken and your blessing the house of your servant will be blessed forever. David was king. He was free in his day. His people weren't free.

I would not apply this to the rest of the nation. But David was king. David was so powerful he could do anything that he wanted.

David could order the execution of any person he wanted. He could go anywhere he wanted. He could buy any condo he wanted. He could spend all the time at the lake he wanted. He could eat all the finest foods he wanted.

He was free to move around wherever he wanted to go. He valued everything and he made all the laws and yet David found himself in the presence of a holy and a righteous God. The greatest need in America today is not who we elect as president of the United States.

The greatest need we have in America is that we who are free and are being set free by the Son of Man would come before a holy and a righteous God and we would cast ourselves before him because without God, we are nothing. In John chapter 8 and verse 36, Jesus put it like this. He said, so if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. Let's take a look at the life of David in brief. What was it about David as a spiritually free person and yet within the context of the value system that all belonged to him, that was in the palm of his hand, this man who had more money than you could shake a stick at, this man who had every power, this man who had all the authority, this man that no one dared to question. What was it about David's life? Well, a spiritually free person like David, number one, thinks little of themselves. David had to get to the point at which he had to recognize in the presence of this sovereign God that he actually was nothing. A person has to think absolutely nothing of themselves in order for God as sovereign Lord to establish himself as God over all the earth. Now why? Because there are four things that no person will ever solve.

I'm making an announcement to you today on the authority of God's word. There are four things not one American will ever be able to find a solution to. It doesn't matter who sits in the White House. It doesn't matter who is elected to the Supreme Court. It doesn't matter what values we hold. It doesn't matter how much we appreciate. It doesn't matter how much we even love each other. It doesn't matter how hard we work. There's not a single person on the face of the earth. David couldn't do it.

I cannot do it. President Trump will never do it. No politician will ever provide for it.

No amount of money will ever pay for it. These four things we will never solve. Number one, the forgiveness problem. Number two, the peace problem. Number three, the heart problem.

Number four, the life after death problem. We will never solve that problem. You and I will never solve the forgiveness problem because man and his heart is full of sin and man left to his own devices that pushes God out, that pays no attention to the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ is rendered incapable of knowing what it means to truly forgive one another. And Jesus demonstrated that upon the cross when he looked out across and he said, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.

And I'm so grateful that today we know that when we think little of ourselves, we see Jesus on the cross. And when we see Jesus on the cross, we come to an understanding as we confess our sin that as he is faithful to forgive us for our sin, so it is that we are able to forgive others the peace problem. We have no peace. You really believe that we're gonna have peace in November?

No matter who wins. You really believe that, America? Do we really believe that we're gonna have peace when our ball games go back to playing ball? Do we really believe that we're going to find peace when we're finally able to go back inside and enjoy air conditioning? Do we really believe that we're going to find peace? The Bible says peace, peace when there is no peace. Because only God can give us peace. And today you have no peace. There's a war going on, the Bible says, in your heart and in mine.

And when the Prince of Peace enters our heart and he sets us free, he gives us peace. We're never gonna be able to solve the heart problem. We've got a deep heart problem. Our hearts are far from God. Your heart is far from God. My heart is far from God. And God is calling us back.

And God is saying to us, I love you. Jesus died for you. Come and give your heart and life to me. And when you give your heart and life, I'm gonna change you from inside out, not from outside in. You better believe I'm gonna vote in November. You better believe I'm going to take a stand on the values. You better believe I'm gonna fight for the freedoms of this nation. You better believe I'm gonna wave the flag of the United States. You better believe I'm gonna support our police officers and our men and women in uniform. You better believe that I'm gonna get behind our teachers. You better believe I'm gonna do everything I can as a citizen, but I want you to know that I ask God to change my heart because when my heart is changed, I am set free.

I'm set free. And of course, we'll never solve the life after death problem, never. Death is an ever-present reality in our lives. David knew this. Go and read his final prayer before he died. He had peace with God. He told Solomon, he said, I'm going where everyone else is gone, and he spoke with such peace and such assurance, and his peace and his assurance was spoken out of a heart that was in tune with God. This is David, thought little of himself. Can you imagine that? I wouldn't have thought so if I'd come into his presence. I would have bowed and scraped, and I would have been in fear and trepidation because he's king, but not so David.

How are we doing, America? Spiritually free person not only thinks little of themselves but thinks everything of God, everything of God. Verses 8 and 20 and 22, we find four characteristic features of the everything God. Do you know that in 18, 20, and 22, here's David, David who was in the eyes of his people sovereign Lord, he's crying out, and he's saying, you almighty God, oh sovereign Lord, who am I?

Woe am I? And what does God tell us about himself? Why does the spiritually free person think everything of God? Because God speaks the future, folks.

Did you notice that in these verses? He's the one. By the way, can I let you into something today? God's already in tomorrow.

He is tomorrow. He knows the future. God, number two, deals with mankind. David said, would you deal with us? He deals with us. Can you imagine that, that God loves us, that he deals with us?

That little word deal in the Hebrew text means he gets involved in our affairs because he loves us so much. Do you know that God loves you so much? He hears you, he sees you, he understands you, he knows you. He even understands the struggle of your sin and of your pain. Number three, God knows people.

Verse 20 tells us, you know your people. He knows me. He knows the things that fire me up. He knows all about my ball games and my favorite teams. He knows all about my propensities, my gravitational pull. He knows about my short fuse, my long fuse. He knows about my need for patience and endurance. He knows about my pain, my hurt, my diagnosis. He knows about the struggle of my marriage. He knows about my business that is in trouble. He knows that I'm having to close the doors, open the doors. He knows that I'm really worried about all the things that are going on in our world. He knows that.

He knows people. And number four, he acts accordingly. I love that. He acts accordingly, and verse 21 says, he acts according to his word and his will. Isn't that wonderful? God acts, sovereign God acts according to his word and his will.

That is just fantastic. Pursuing God's will. Our time is gone for today, but there's more online with Dr. Don Wilton at TEWonline.org. And before we get away, on behalf of Dr. Don, let me pray for you. Father, I thank you for your word today, for the way Dr. Don has shared it, but more importantly, how you have stirred our hearts to your word and to your will. I pray, Lord, you'd give us opportunities this week to draw closer to you, and in turn, draw closer to those that might be far from God in our life. I pray specifically, Lord, as you bring people to our mind that we would be loving, caring, and that we would actually live out our faith in such a way that it would help change their lives as it changes ours. We love you, Jesus. In your precious name we pray, amen. Remember, if you'd like to have someone pray with you, we'd love to connect online at TEWonline.org.