Are We Truly Free?

I ask the preceeding knowing full well that I am about to state an unpopular opinion. I also state this hoping that you will pray that I will not end up on Homeland Security's terror watch list as I post this. I don't want to have to deal with that kind of screening at the airports on my mission trip, and any other subsequent flights I need to take.

NOTE: If you were at class on Tuesday, this was the chapel that I was going to present before the Spirit changed direction. I was already preparing to post this sermon to elaborate further, as I was unsure of whether I could fully articulate what I was going to speak on in the time allotted.

We, as Americans take great pride in our Constitutional freedoms. But does this truly grant us freedom?

“It’s a free country.” This is often spoken. Usually, this is in defense of whatever vice someone has. This has also been, ironically, referenced by certain atheists in this nation to try to silence public professions of faith, feeling that it violates their rights to not believe.

Our own personal constitutional freedom conflicts with our spiritual, God-given freedoms. While I do not oppose our constitutional freedom, because it has afforded us the right to choose what we believe for ourselves, and to speak for ourselves, it is a double-edged sword. While it can bring us closer to God because of the fact that we choose to believe in him for ourselves, it can also cause us to drift further away from God on the basis of absolute freedom. That is, we often turn to other things before we turn to God.

Even when we come to Christ, so often these things continue to pull us away from God. Sure, we still believe. Sure, we know our sins our forgiven. But we just simply do not walk in the power and authority that Christ has called us to, because we have not fully relinquished control of our own lives fully. Because we are free to do what we please, according to our "certain inalienable rights" granted to us by our Constitution, we often overwork ourselves, become addicted to drugs, alcohol, gambling, sex, pornography, hobbies, collections, and other things that pull our attention away from God, because we have that choice available to us. But why?

In a survey, it was found that only 37% of Americans read the Bible at least once a week, despite 92% of all Americans owning on average three copies of the Bible. On average, Americans read that read their Bibles read them for 52 minutes per week. That averages out to less than 8 minutes daily! And the vast majority of those minutes are spent in perfunctory readings at church.

Let's compare this to China, a nation in which religion is restricted under communist rule. While there are state-controlled Christian bodies within China, they are tightly-controlled and restricted by the Chinese government. Yet the house churches in China spend arguably in prayer and worship than anywhere else.

In other restricted countries, where owning even a Bible is illegal, you will often hear stories of single PAGES from Bibles being distributed among the people. These people will pore over these pages, and memorize the scripture on the page. They know the next page they see may not be there for a while. These places may have the same vices, and more, than we have here. Yet they choose to devote themselves to prayer and reading the Bible.

Let's not forget the Church reformation, where the Catholic church controlled religion. People died to bring freedom of worship and the ability to choose to believe in God and to read His word for ourselves to the masses. And now that we have these freedoms, we take them for granted.

Am I advocating state-run churchs dictatorships? No. Church-run states tend to stagnate churches as well. The Roman Catholic church ran pretty-much all forms of government for centuries. These centuries have been referred to as the dark ages, as this was where the church stagnated. Let’s also not forget that the British control of church is why America was established in the first place.

And while I also don't advocate dictatorships, sometimes I wonder if that is what it will take to send a wake-up call to the American church. In fact, there are times when I straddle the fence between praying for oppression in America, knowing from the models of North Korea, China, and Africa, that this can bring true spiritual revival to the USA, and praying for God to open the eyes of the church peacefully.

Our founding fathers understood this. They not only understood our constitutional rights, but our God-given rights, and our role in using our Constitutional rights to mirror our God-given rights. Over time, the government lost sight of this, and now we, as people, often use our God-given rights to mirror our Constitutional rights.

I am of the belief that our constitutional freedom could be our own worst spiritual enemy. When we exercise these freedoms, we often take it for granted, and use it not to our benefit, but downfall.

Moreover, this type of constitutional freedom and acceptance of Christianity robs us of blessings.

Mark 13:8 “And you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.”

In America, this doesn’t happen. There may be exceptions, but overall, this isn’t the case. This would explain why churches in persecuted countries are more blessed and anointed than churches here, and why they see more signs and wonders than we do.

The New Testament church saw this persecution daily. They were arrested, beaten, killed, forced to flee Jerusalem. And as a result, the church flourished and multiplied exponentially. Our churches have stagnated under no persecution.

Even the South Korean church is generally more blessed than America, with the threat of communism and war sitting just an hour’s drive north of their capital. Even still, their own freedom allows for the same stagnation as the American church. Dare I not mention the thriving North Korean underground church. I had no clue that it even existed, until I was in Seoul last year. This was discussed in great detail on my way back to Church from lunch for the 3rd (Yes, you read correctly, 3rd) service of the day.

9/11 caused a glimpse of what a persecuted American church would look like. But after the immediate threat ceased, people went back to business as usual.

We acknowledge our freedom, but neglect our spiritual freedom. We act on what we can do under the Constitution, federal, and state laws, but don’t act on what God’s freedom implies.

Freedom from God implies:
--Freedom from the penalty of our sin
--Freedom to worship in Spirit & Truth
--Freedom of access to God
--Freedom to live in the likeness of God
--Freedom to speak the Word of God, so that others may believe

We often neglect these Freedoms to fight for “righteous causes.” We are often so blindsided fighting for these causes, that our own spiritual lives falter. Meanwhile, we are still losing these battles. The fact is that a secular government (which is what our government is now) will only stand in the way of abortion rights and homosexual rights for so long, until the moral bankruptcy of the government peaks to the point that these rights will be passed.

Note that I am not advocating a que sera sera stance, nor am I pro-choice, or pro-gay marriage. We should stand up for what is ethically and Biblically right. We should be the voice amidst the morally bankrupt calling for a just nation. America is a strong nation, one that the rest of the world looks up to. And we, as a nation, could be a light to the rest of the world. However, having going so far astray from Biblical principles, can we right the ship now?

We should look at ancient Israel as an example. After Solomon, there was corruption in the nation, causing the rift between Israel and Judah. They continued in corruption, but would eventually see good kings who would transform their respective kingdoms into ones who feared God. However, these would only last for so long before corruption prevailed again, and eventually both kingdoms were overthrown by their adversaries.

So we can right this ship. That is a possibility. We need to pray for it continually as Christians. However, we need to understand the inevitability of these rights passing at the end of the age. We have been told that the world will be at its most corrupt point when the end times begin, as foretold by John, Daniel, and several others. Considering we are only seeing the birthpains as told by Jesus in Matthew, we aren't there yet. And I cannot fathom the moral bankruptcy that will occur at the end of the age if this isn't it.

Instead of focusing on our constitutional rights, we need to be focusing on our God given rights, different from anything a human-instituted government can provide. If we are able to do this, then whether we face immediate persecution or not, we will be prepared for persecution. If we are able to exercise this daily, then we will see the church grow.

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Like what you read? Please, if you can, and God lays it on your heart, donate. As I have mentioned before, I am raising funds for a mission trip to South Korea to work with North Korean refugees, and could certainly use any help I can get financially. As an update (Please note that my Chipin widget does not reflect the full $2500 at this point, or the amount given. It only covers contributors that have donated online, so the rest of my donations have been received offline), I am currently sitting at $1485 donated (including what I am saving for this trip myself, minus, of course, what I'm saving for paying my living expenses Stateside while I'm off work for the month--that I have not included in the amount needed)! This up over $1000 from the $410 that I started Sunday afternoon at. God is faithful, my provider, and works mightily. As such, I will be faithful with what is given to me for this trip, and God will work mightily through me in Korea this summer.

Updates on my mission funds + more!

My current fundraising has reached $410. I should be able, on top of money for rent while I'm away, to save around $600 for this trip. Maybe more or less, but my conservative estimate is $600.

That would bring my fundraising to around $1000. So, if 75 people donated $20 each to my trip, then I would undoubtedly be able to go.

When looking at the "I need $2500," I'm sure a lot of people think that what they are able to give wouldn't put a dent in the fundraising. But trust me, every single cent helps.

So I'm asking and hoping and praying, that I could see 75 people pledge $20 to my trip. Trust me, it would not be a wasted effort. Considering I have 481 friends on Facebook currently, I don't think it's an impossibility to see this happen.

Even if your finances only allow you to give less than that $20, I wouldn't discourage your giving. Remember:

Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. And he said "Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on."

Now, I'm obviously not telling you to give your last cent to my trip. But Jesus made it clear, that what you give will be blessed. So, think about what you can give to my trip.

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On a completely unrelated note, I will be updating this blog with more writings. I have neglected to make regular posts, but I'm feeling the fire to write again. I'm working on my Chapel for class, and I feel like I will need to expound on that through here. So look forward to it.

My upcoming mission trip opportunity

I just recently got accepted to a mission program for this summer! This is something that I've been waiting on for years. I first received my call to missions at the age of 7 at Ridgway First Baptist Church during VBS, but it has taken me so many years to finally see God begin to make this vision realized. Really excited about it, praying it will finally be that break I need. However, it's in Seoul, Korea. And I would be gone for a month. Given my current income and expenses, I cannot make it there on my own.

I've started putting out the call to people to help me out, both with prayer and financially. I'm praying that you can also be able to support me in both areas.

Right now I'm looking at uphill battles with airfare costing an exorbitant amount right now. That is my main concern. Currently, the cheapest I can fly there is around $1800. The program where I will be working says that they will be able to help with housing, so I will not have to pay for any lodging while I'm there.

I will also be responsible for my meals and transportation. I was over there a week last year, and spent around $40-$50 on transportation alone. However, that was with many buses, and mainly doing tourist stuff, and one long trip outside of Seoul, so that could be less weekly than I experienced. I would estimate $20 minimum. So that factors to about $100, or $200 if you take my very liberal first estimate. Food can be expensive over there, but I should honestly be fine with around $500, however, I'm honestly not sure. So all total, I'm needing around $2500 for this trip, and currently only have $250 pledged at this point.

I'm also not even factoring in the $500 I will need for rent on my apartment while I'm away so that I'm not evicted, but I can save that much for at least that. I will be shutting off any utilities I will not need while I'm away, such as cell phone, internet, and etc. to save money.

A little more about the mission I will be doing. I will be working with an organization called Durihana, which is an organization that helps North Korean refugees reach South Korea and obtain refugee status there. Once there, they are helped by the organization to obtain life skills necessary to operate and work in a modern society, and teach them various skills to find work and start a new life in South Korea, as well as teaching them the Gospel. What I will be doing is working with these refugees, teaching them English, teaching them the Gospel, and just reflecting Christ through my service and attitude there.

I will also be looking for various other opportunities to serve once there, but that will be my primary focus while I'm there.

I'm honestly praying that you can find a desire to help me out with this trip, through finances, prayer, advice, and anything else you can give me. How can you help financially? Well, I will be willing to receive cash, check or Paypal, as I am having to book everything on my own. Durihana is taking care of everything once I arrive, but they are not in charge of my fundraising efforts or booking.

So yes, all of the donations will go to me, in which I will use to book and pay for everything on this trip. Anything leftover at the end of trip would be donated to Durihana. If for some reason, I cannot go, all of your donations will be refunded.

You can donate via Paypal via the widget at the top-right side of my blog. This will help me keep track of my funds. If you are viewing this via Facebook, you may visit this link to donate, or you may also, if you cannot get it to load, message me for my Paypal address.

I could also use donated frequent flyer miles if you have them, especially through Delta, as Delta/Korean Air are my cheapest options at this point (and one where I actually already have miles stored). If you have any further questions, please feel free to let me know through here, by sending me messages on Facebook, Myspace, or Twitter, or by catching up with me at church. And also, the organization's website is http://www.durihana.net/, if you would like to know more about them.