Sermon Tone Analysis

OH FREEDOM!!

 

John 8:31-36

31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.

32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

33 They answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone.

How can you say, 'You will be made free'?" 34 Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.

35 And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever.

36 Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

NKJV

 

     The title of my sermon this morning Oh Freedom!! Some of you may be wondering just what type of sermon this is gonna be.

In the light that it is Black History month.

And some folk try to hide Black History under a bushel.

Afraid that it may offend someone.

But if you are a Black person today you need to remember your roots.

For it is in looking back at moments of the past that we can fully appreciate what we have at the present time.

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     For sure I believe where it not for the sacrifice of certain individuals we would not have perhaps some of the privileges and opportunities we now experience and so often take for granted.

People have suffered much and have been hard pressed, many lost their lives for rights that we now enjoy

 

We would not think twice about having our rights denied.

(bathroom’s, served food)

    

     There is need in relating to ones heritage.

There is self - esteem, and self - worth, for all of us are made different no matter what color, culture or creed no two people are the same.

The trouble is when one begins to find himself looking down on someone else because of these differences.

And the foolishness of sin has propelled and enpowered this kind of mentally through the ages of time.

Where cultures and whole nations feel superiority over others  even to the point of persecuting others for that difference.

Whether the person be black or white, yellow or red, if that culture causes you to think or act in a way that others are inferior to you or it causes you to hate others because of who they are then you are a carcinogen to yourself.

History should cause us ALL to reflect upon our mistakes and learn from them.

It should help us live more in harmony with each other.It should lead us not only to appreciate our own selves and our own accomplishments and how far we've come as a people but it should help us to appreciate others also.

History should help us live more in harmony with each other inspite of our differences.

Why?

because History is His - story.

Remember that cause that's what the sermon is about!!

 

     The Afro-American is not the only culture to suffer from injustices of man to man.

And there are others of race and nation who have suffered of the injustices of slavery.

The Jews look back, not only a part of their religion but their very fiber of being is their heritage.

From Ahasuerus to the holocaust and this nation looks back with them.

And they learn!!

 

     God has blessed many nations living under oppressed conditions as well as the black man.

Today if you can marry, read and write, live and eat in homes and restaurants with any body else.

If you can vote.

If you can believe that you are somebody and on an equal par with any man on this planet,   Then thank God today that somebody had the God given inspiration to stand up and be counted.

The negro as a slave had no self - esteem, he was not considered as any equal.

He was thought to be inferior only and the reason of his existence was to be a servant.

And unfortunately there are individuals on this planet who still think that way.

But thank God for the Frederick Douglases, and William W. Brown's, the Biddy Mason's,the James Weldon Johnson's, the Sojourner Truths (Isabella Baumfree's), the Megar Evanses, the Malcolm X’s and the Martin Luther Kings.

Young people if we take all of these opportunities for granted and not be the best that we can be.

We actually are disclaiming all that these people died and fought for.

It's like we spit on their graves.

But you know because of these people mentalities were changed, and at least some ought to know that if it a man is dumb it's because he wants to be.

God has wrought in all the ability to be the best that they can be.

And so we have a host of biographers, wrapped up in the cry for freedom.

Out of the pain of existence came the negro spirituals but in their cry they discovered the one who came to solve the problem of bondage that is Jesus.

They cried Oh Freedom!! Oh Freedom!! over me and before I be a slave I be buried in the grave and go home to my Lord and be free.

You see even though they never understood it in its totality they recognized Jesus as the one with whom true freedom is associated.

And this morning I suggest to you brethren that True Freedom is only found in a relationship that allows Jesus to control our lives and thinking facilities.

I would also suggest that the problem is in the mentality.

Which is the seat of our very being.

Ideas form attitudes, attitudes form habits, habits form character.

And character is a way of life.

I suggest to you this morning that the way we think and live actually threatens our existence.

There are ideas that are planted by the adversary garbed in the robe of decency.

There are attitudes that stink and rot away at our brains like bad apples in a closed box.

There are characters that need the light of heaven to diffuse the bacteria of hell.

What we need is the emancipation proclamation of calvary  Behold I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

Our scripture reading is the basis for the solution to the problem of mentality (Ideas,attitudes,habits,character)

 

John 8:31-36 31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.

32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

"33 They answered him, "We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone.

How can you say that we shall be set free?" 34 Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.

35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever.

36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

(NIV)

 

 

     Know the truth about life, the truth about how to enjoy life, the truth about how to live life without needlessly heartaches.The truth about how to endure and hold out.

The truth about how to live life to the fullest now.

The truth about how to receive eternal life beyond time.

Truth is the Word of God, Sin is the transgression (deviance,divergence) of the word.

And so the slaves cried Oh Freedom and through years of toil and struggle freedom was a hard fought fight, But what was it that the negro and so many other nations fought for, What kind of freedom.

Was it the freedom to do what is right?

or the freedom to do what I please?

We have to learn to learn to learn brethren that the freedom to do what we please is not freedom at all but abject slavery.

It's my life!!

I'm grown I can sit in the back of his chevy and nothing won't happen.

I can look at HBO It's just a movie, I can listen to the reggae and disco music it's part of my heritage.

I can go out with him~/her even though he's not a SDA Christian He's a great guy.

When are we gonna learn that there ain't no such thing as doing as I please!!

 

 

Romans 6:16 Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey-- whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? (NIV)

 

     Among Blacks fact that

     High School Dropouts

     Teenage Pregnancy

     Juvenile Delinquency

     Juvenile imprisonment

     Adult imprisonment   1 out of 4

     single parenthood

     Sexual transmitted diease

     Crime\ Drugs

     Threat of Aids of STD

     Liquor Liver just fails you

 

 

You’re driving up in the BMW or Lexus that 4X4 and you know it’s not because you graduated from College or graduate school you are not free you are enslaved.

Those are not the result of doing as you please.

but being under wraps by the adversary.

People who will look at your first name not necessarily your last name just to determine what color you are whether they will call you for a job.