Program No: 1541
For Broadcast: 11th October 2015
FREEDOM
Pastor Richard Fox
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be truly free?
Years ago there was the well televised incident of miners trapped under ground in Tasmania.
The miners were trapped for a long time and the rescue effort went on for days. The joy when
they had finally been rescued was incredible and very infectious and many people celebrated
with them.
When I was pastor of a congregation I remember visiting a prison regularly to support the inmates and
help them. I couldn’t help but reflect on their lack of freedom and rights and what it might be like to live
with no freedom. Their daily routine was obeying exactly what the wardens wanted and they did not
have the freedom to go beyond the jail walls. The restrictions that they were placed under were
enormous as they were doing time for the crimes that they were convicted of. As I reflected on their
life in jail it made me want freedom even more.
Like prisoners and trapped miners, freedom is something that we are all after. We may not be locked
up in a real prison, but there may be things locking us up as a person - things that stop us from being
truly free. Maybe we are locked up in an addiction like gambling, alcohol, or drugs. Our conscience
may be locked up in guilt or shame. Maybe from something we did to hurt someone or what someone
did to us or from an accident.
Maybe we are locked up as a result of unresolved conflict. We might feel bitterness, anger or rage
towards someone and we want to get our revenge. Or maybe unresolved memories of incidents in our
lives are locking us up because of embarrassment.
These prisons can be very painful, especially if we are left to remain in them with no hope.
So what is it that keeps us locked up? I think Fear is one of the main things that prevent us from being
set free. We can be afraid of facing the things that imprison us. Or we are afraid of the consequences
of being found out. Maybe we kind of like being in prison. Maybe we don’t know any different so we’re
content to stay locked up. It might seem safer that way.
Fear is like the icing on the cake for these types of prisons. Fear keeps us locked up so that we never
face up to and deal with them.
Is there any way to break through this fear and find freedom? One way that I heard recently was at a
public speaking course in a poem called Risk by Hugh Prather.
1
To laugh, is to risk playing the fool
To weep, is to risk appearing sentimental
To reach out for another, is to risk involvement
To expose feelings, is to risk exposing our true selves
To put your ideas, your dreams, before the crowd is to risk loss
To love, is to risk not being loved in return
To live, is to risk dying
To hope, is to risk despair
To try at all, is to risk failure
But risk must be taken
Because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing
The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing
They may avoid suffering and sorrow,
but they simply cannot learn, change, feel, grow, love, live…
Chained by their attitudes they are slaves
Only the person who risks is free!
There are many famous people who took risks so that they could be free. You may be able to think of
some that you know. Some that come to my mind are William Wallace who was played by Mel Gibson
from the movie Braveheart, Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King who both fought against racism,
or Martin Luther who reformed the church in the 1500s.
There are also numerous stories about how people broke out of jail so that they could be free. And
there are some fascinating stories about how people successfully crossed the Berlin Wall.
Another famous person who took risks was Jesus Christ. He risked everything he had to set people
free. He risked his own freedom. He risked rejection and imprisonment. He risked his status as God
and his place in heaven. He risked all of this and became a person. He was born into this world as
one of us. He suffered and hurt as one of us. He was locked up, beaten, and treated unfairly as one of
us. And he was rejected and crucified on the cross as one of us. He risked everything and he did it for
us. Jesus didn’t need to be set free, he was already free, but he took on the limitations of being
human to set us free from things that lock us up. He risked this so that we could be free to access his
great love and freedom.
But for him, it wasn’t a risk; it was his rescue plan to set us free. Jesus knew that the only way to set
us free was to take the sentences, imprisonments, and punishments that we have on himself.
Like in a hostage situation where we are held captive, Jesus calmly and purposefully enters the
situation and takes our place as the hostage so that we can be set free. Jesus sacrifices himself to be
the hostage and we are free to go.
2
Jesus does all this out of love - a love that breaks through fear and gives freedom, hope, and life.
Jesus says numerous times in the bible, “Do not be afraid”. The angels even said this to the
shepherds when Jesus was born. The angels tell the shepherds to not be afraid because they bring
good news of a saviour who has been born who is going to set them free.
Jesus tells his followers numerous times to not be afraid. An example is when Jesus walks on the
water, the disciples look at him and Jesus says to not be afraid. Even though there is roaring wind
and wild waves, his words calm the disciple’s fear.
Jesus greets the disciples after his resurrection with these words too. They are not a sympathetic
wish or insensitive plea, but a ‘doing’. When God says these words, these words are doing what they
say. They are taking the fear away. Jesus is taking the fear upon himself and he gives us his freedom
and peace. That freedom and peace is yours too! For when he says it to the disciples, he is saying it
to you.
Because of what Jesus has done we are free to work through what has happened, is happening, and
what will happen in the future. We can bring our fears and things that are locking us up to him in
prayer. We can ask him to help and heal us and guide us to work through our prisons. By trusting in
Jesus Christ, he gives us his freedom to live. He clears our consciences, gives us hope, and shows
us the way through.
This may seem risky to you but I would encourage you that Jesus has taken all of the risk. Jesus has
taken the risk to come to you – that was his plan – so that we can receive his freedom. We don’t
need to work for it, Jesus gives it to us. Because of Jesus we have freedom now and for ever. As he
says, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
The freedom Jesus gives is an eternal freedom and peace. He gives us forgiveness and a restored
relationship with God.
When I think of the freedom that Jesus gives, I cannot help to thank him. I want to keep bringing him
the things that lock me up, so that he can free me to live. This is a daily exercise of freedom. I don’t
want to go back into the things that lock me up I want what Jesus Christ gives and to share that with
others so we can all be set free. Thank you Jesus.
If you would like help with being set free, a first step can be to speak to someone at a church near
you, or contact us for resources to support you. Most importantly cry out to Jesus, who will walk with
you and lead you into a life of freedom.
3