Stand Firm In Liberty And Freedom

0:00 Real Life presents the Jack Hibbs Podcast, with intention and boldness to proclaim truth, equip the saints, and impact our culture. For now, God has allowed you and I to live in this nation right now that grants us the freedom, at least for now, to proclaim the gospel. We're running out of time. We've got the greatest message in the world, and God help us and have mercy upon us if we sleep on it, because we have something that the world longs for. Today, if this podcast lifts you up and encourages you to live a more fulfilled life in Christ, then make sure you leave us one of those five-star ratings.

0:42 To us, that's like saying amen or yes. Then that rating will encourage others to listen. Now open your hearts to what God's Word has to say to you. Here is Jack Hibbs. Tonight we exercise our rights and our liberty to gather together as a free people. We have become so accustomed to these freedoms that we rarely often think as to where they come from. And we celebrate America's birthday. It is a birthday that still to this very day causes those around the world who are in tyrannical settings to still wanna come here, to seek shelter. And as I mentioned a few weeks ago, the United States every year sees more immigrants applying for their citizenship to be in America than all other nations of the world combined every year.

1:38 Because though this country is not perfect, it is still the best place to be free. And we need, we need to remember that But it was wisely said that these liberties sometimes have to be defended even at the expense of war. There are such things as righteous wars. And the peril that brought this nation into birth, I encourage all of you to study it and to read it. I commend you. Read the books by David McCullough titled 1776. Please. Make it your summer reading.

2:18 It will change your life regarding the nation that you have, that God gave you. Read the book Samuel Adams, A Life by Ira Stoll. It will change your life to see what kind of a founding father, the very spirit of the revolution Jefferson called Sam Adams as he was the only one they said that began the conversation of understanding liberty. The Bible tells us in John chapter 8 verse 36, Jesus speaks to us and announces, Therefore, if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. That verse is not only, of course, joyfully, preeminently, about our salvation from sin and death, the grave and hell.

3:07 But if such a liberty takes hold of you, it will demand that it be the very thing that holds your life captive to that truth. Such liberty will cause you to be liberated and free in every area of your life. You will tell others, you will tell the world, and you'll conduct yourself in freedom. And our founding fathers were shaped by the pulpits of colonial America. from the 1620s all the way to 1775. It was the pulpits that gave the truth about liberty and freedom. The ultimate is having our sins forgiven in the Lord Jesus Christ.

3:51 After that happens to you, such freedom has gotta be shared. It's incumbent upon us to share it. It would be equal to us in the midst of a famine, finding great amounts of food, Imagine, can you imagine finding a stack of Krispy Kreme, In-N-Out, fish tacos, all together, and you're the only one that's enjoying it while you know that your countrymen are starving. Maybe after the second or third bite, it's no longer satisfying because you are partaking of something that every human soul needs.

4:34 And we need to remember that. So somebody might say, yeah, yeah, all of this for a country's birthday. No, no, no. Not all of this for a country's birthday. I'm sorry to tell you, maybe you already know this, but very few nations, if any, really celebrate their birthdays like we do. In all the world. So I want you to see what Thomas Jefferson... had to say, God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God, that they are not to be violated, but with his wrath?

5:19 Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just and, That is justice cannot sleep forever. Thomas Jefferson said that. The man who universities proclaim to be a deist or an atheist. Would to God more deist or atheist spoke like that? He speaks more clear than most Christians who should be thankful for their country. And I do believe in what he said. We should tremble at the mismanagement of freedom. Again, Thomas Jefferson said this. He says, the reason that Christianity is the best friend of government is because Christianity is the only religion that changes the heart.

6:01 Thomas Jefferson. I stress again. What about the words of John Adams, the cousin of Sam Adams? John Adams said, said, and may that being who is supreme over all, the patron of order, the fountain of justice, and the protector in all ages of the world of virtuous liberty, continue his blessing upon this nation and its government and give it all possible success and duration consistent with the ends of his providence. John Adams said that in his inaugural address when he was elected as president.

6:41 We also know this from our remarkable Christian American history. The son of John Adams, John Quincy Adams. He said, the hope of a Christian is inseparable from his faith. Whoever believes in the divine inspiration of the Holy Scriptures must hope that the religion of Jesus shall prevail throughout the earth. Never since the foundation of the world have the prospects of mankind been more encouraging to that hope than they appear to be at the present time. And may the associated distribution of the Bible proceed and prosper till the Lord shall have made, bear his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations.

7:30 And all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of God. John Quincy Adams. That's crystal clear, folks. Remember this in your holiday celebrations. Let people know it. Benjamin Rush, America's first Surgeon General. The gospel of Jesus Christ prescribes the wisest rules for just conduct in every situation of life. who are enabled to obey them in all situations. If moral precepts alone, listen to this, could have reformed mankind, the mission of the Son of God into all the world would have been unnecessary.

8:14 In other words, your good works matter nothing to God. The perfect morality of the gospel rests upon the doctrine which, though often controverted, has never been refuted. I mean the vicarious life and death of the Son of God. Wouldn't you like to have one of the ratifiers of the U.S. Constitution, the Surgeon General of the United States, be as bold today? Now, I don't know the sincerity of this comment recently, but you saw it in the news. I certainly have never heard it from the lips of any president in my lifetime. And we'll let God be the judge as to the depth of it.

8:54 It's very possible, I pray and hope, as you do, that God is not done with America. He could be, maybe he should be, the way that we've treated him. But when you see even a president saying, go to the podium on a historical moment and say like a child, God, we love you, God, was in some way, shape or form a little bit of an infusion of encouragement to me. He didn't have to say it, but he said it. And our friend, Patrick Henry, Patrick Henry said this, it cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists, but by Christians, not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ.

9:43 For this very reason, peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here. And I want you to look at that for a moment. People, everybody, especially young people. This is an absolute, I know of no other country in the history of man, any nation, that has ever had the spirit of its revolution bring forth a government that is somehow applies to all people within that country, no matter what their faith is. Many countries of the world demanded either worship of the despot or the tyrant, like what's going on in many countries today.

10:30 Think, for example, Xi Jinping of China is worshiped as an emperor. What about Kim Jong-un? Worshiped. What about in Japan's history? The emperors were worshiped as gods. What about Adolf Hitler? Did he not seek the worship of man? Obviously. Our founding fathers, in that statement that Patrick Henry gives, basically says this. Because we're Christians and we have founded this country, God is true. We're not threatened by any atheist or any other religion. Let them be false. They are.

11:10 But for somebody to worship a different God or not God at all, that's their liberty or freedom. That's written within them, given to them by the God they don't even believe in. Think of that. And our founding fathers said, that's okay. They'll stand before God someday on their own. But they should have the freedom to not believe in God at all. No nation in the history of man has ever afforded such a thing. These Christian values that make this country great allow for the atheist to have the exact same representation as the Christian. Why? Because this government was established for equal protection, rights, and freedoms under this Constitution.

11:53 No wonder why people want to immigrate here to America. They get it. We need to stop apologizing for America. That is a very sick... That is a very sick insult. And I'm not talking politics. I'm talking about that's a sick insult to the God that gave us America. We're throwing it back in his face. Maybe you grew up in a home like this. When we complained at home, my dad said, do you want to live in the Soviet Union? I will mail you to the Soviet Union. And my dad may or may not have been joking. You didn't know.

12:33 You never would have wanted to play poker with my dad. But one thing was certain, that you were to be thankful for what this nation affords you. And it's still true to this very day. And what about my good friend? I love this guy. I feel like I know him. Samuel Adams. He says, I recommend my soul to that almighty being who gave it. And my body I commit to the dust, relying upon the merits of Jesus Christ for the pardon of all my sins. Boy, that's pretty clear, isn't it? Samuel Adams, father of the American Revolution, signer of the Declaration of Independence.

13:16 From his last will and testament, John Adams, his cousin, said, poor Sam Adams, he was born a rebel. He tried to preach a sermon, graduated from Harvard University, tried to preach his first sermon. His father said the sermon was so terrible, he said, Sam, you've got to do something else than ever occupy a pulpit. Little did he know that God had him to be... really the birth founder of this nation in many ways. Sam Adams again went on to say this. We have appealed to heaven. Remember the flags earlier this year? Remember the banners and the stickers? We have appealed to heaven for the justice of our cause.

14:00 And in heaven we have placed our trust. Numerous have been the manifestations of God's providence in sustaining us. We have been reduced to distress and, And the arm of omnipotence has raised us up. Let us still rely in humble confidence on him who is mighty to save. Good tidings will soon arrive. We shall never be abandoned by heaven while we act worthy of its aid and protection. Sam Adams. Remarkable. Because I'm on a roll with Sam Adams. Sam Adams said this.

14:41 His biggest concern was that Americans, this is Iris Stoll writing about Sam Adams, his biggest concern was that Americans would fall prey to immorality. and lose that which made their cause righteous. Next quote, it goes on. I have long been convinced that our enemies have made it an object to eradicate from the minds of the people in general a sense of true religion and virtue, in hopes thereby, listen to this, to more easily carry their point of enslaving them. Indeed, my friend, this is a subject so important in my mind that I know not how to leave it.

15:26 Revelation assures us that righteousness exalts a nation. Communities are dealt within the world by the wise and just ruler of the universe. He rewards or punishes them according to their general character. The diminution of public liberty will not long survive the total extinction of morals. In other words, he's saying live out your faith. Be bold about that. Back to Patrick Henry. When Patrick Henry said, This is all the inheritance I can give to my dear family.

16:07 The religion of Christ can give them an inheritance which will make them rich indeed. You know, those were his last words. Patrick Henry died upon saying that. Friends, tonight, Jesus Christ, he is not only the fulfillment of all liberty and freedom. Sam Adams isn't the originator of the American Revolution. John Adams stated... He said, but what do you mean revolution? You mean revolution the war? Nay, revolution was in the hearts and the minds of the people.

16:52 When we speak of revolution, right now with our liberty and freedoms that we enjoy, I'm talking about the revolution of revolution. Pulling souls, men and women and boys and girls from the grip of Satan. You want a revolution? You and I belong to a kingdom that will reside forever. And for now, God has allowed you and I to live in this nation right now that grants us the freedom, at least for now, to proclaim the gospel. We're running out of time. We've got the greatest message in the world. And God help us and have mercy upon us if we sleep on it. because we have something that the world longs for.

17:34 They might think they're coming here to maybe live in safety, but where is our safety? They may be thinking they're coming here for opportunity, but where is our opportunity? They might be coming here because they wanna get rich, but what are our riches, really? The God of heaven has provided us the opportunity in this country to be a free people. And these things about riches, what we acquire here in this life, we should keep a light touch on them.

18:18 They should cause us to thank God the more if we have two pairs of shoes. And whatever your heart desires to make a life, you can do that. It's my commitment, it always has been my commitment, even before I was a Christian, that it made sense to me. That God placed me in the United States, even though I didn't even know God. I later put that together. I was taught to love my country, to sacrifice for my country, and to even die for my country, to even afford the atheist or the man who might hate us, or the woman who might scorn us, because the cause is greater.

19:01 I have been so spoiled in my life to have enjoyed a cause greater than anything this world can give me. We are so rich. We are so blessed. We are a nation of laws, but if our laws are not upheld and if our leaders are less than worthy, that our nation will soon decline in the peril. We need to pray. We're encouraging you to celebrate him who is mighty to save. Amen? Amen.

19:44 This Jack Hibbs podcast, as well as all the broadcast outreach opportunities, are listener supported. Will you consider partnering with us through a special gift? Go to jackhibbs.com to learn more and stay connected.