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[ Silence ] [ Music ] We've come to stand up and be a witness, 'cause we know the Lord has been good.

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We've come to stand up and be a witness, 'cause we know the Lord has been good. We've come to stand up and be a witness, 'cause we know the Lord has been good.

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We give Him the praise, we give Him the highest praise. We've come to stand up and be a witness, 'cause we know the Lord is with you. We've come to stand up and be a witness, 'cause we know the Lord is with you. We've come to spread hope and be a witness

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'Cause we know the Lord is good We give Him the praise We give Him the highest praise He woke me up this morning

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And He started me on my way ♪ We give you the world, oh my people ♪ ♪ And I never have been able to say ♪ ♪ Thank you Lord for blessing us ♪

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♪ You must have heard all our pleas ♪ ♪ We give you the praise ♪ ♪ We give you the highest praise ♪ ♪ Oh to say ♪

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♪ You have had a good life ♪ ♪ If you know the Lord has been good ♪ ♪ You ought to pray ♪ ♪ You better give me a witness ♪

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♪ If you know the Lord has been good ♪ ♪ You ought to pray ♪ ♪ You better give me a witness ♪ ♪ 'Cause you know the Lord has been good ♪

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♪ We give Him the praise ♪ ♪ We give Him the highest praise ♪ ♪ He protects me from all dangers ♪ ♪ When I'm lost, he leads the way ♪

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♪ When I'm strong, life will make me new ♪ ♪ He holds both my hands and my feet ♪ ♪ Thank you, Lord, for blessing all of me ♪ ♪ Thank you for all your grace, we need no pain ♪

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♪ We give Him the highest praise ♪ ♪ Oh, to stand up and be a witness ♪ ♪ 'Cause you know the Lord has been good ♪ ♪ You ought to stand up and be a witness ♪

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♪ 'Cause you know the Lord has been good ♪ ♪ You ought to stand up and be a witness ♪ ♪ 'Cause you know the Lord has been good ♪ ♪ We give Him the praise ♪

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♪ We give Him the highest praise ♪ ♪ You ought to wave your hands and be a witness ♪ ♪ If you know the Lord has been good ♪ ♪ You ought to wave your hands and shout for joy ♪

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♪ If you know the Lord has been good ♪ ♪ You ought to wave your hands and shout for joy ♪ ♪ If you know the Lord has been good ♪ ♪ We give Him the praise ♪

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♪ We give Him the highest praise ♪ ♪ We give Him the praise ♪ ♪ We give Him the highest praise ♪ ♪ We give Him the praise ♪

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♪ We give Him the highest praise ♪ Let us lift up this word which is recorded in Paul's letter to the Galatians, the fifth chapter and the first verse. "Stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again

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with the yoke of bondage." subject of the message, the discipline of freedom, the discipline of freedom. The number one item on the agenda of the development of the early Christian church was the issue of freedom.

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Would the new believers be free to live their lives, or would the new faith be an additional burden for them to carry? A crisis developed around inclusion and exclusion. The Judaizers and the Gentiles, legalism or liberation.

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Would the new members from the Greek-speaking community be free to live their lives according to the freedom promised by the new faith, or would they be expected to conform to the traditional practices of Judaism. This is the number one item in our nation.

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Discipline. The discipline of freedom. For some time we have all been aware of the fact that a disproportionate percentage of black children

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discipline in our school system. A considerable percentage of crime is committed in neighborhoods that are predominantly black. When I was on the school board I remember quite well where one student cursed the teacher and when I did not agree with that as a board member they asked that I be removed from

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the school board. This is what we are up against but we cannot as some are are inclined to do, put all of our discipline problems at the feet of our teachers. Neither can we put those problems at the feet of the police in our communities. So in this problem, this issue of discipline, my pastor, when I was a boy, often said, "Discipline,

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order, is the first law of heaven." Discipline. So in many ways, Judaism is the mother of Christianity, Jesus was a Jew, and observed the basic tenets of Judaism. Would the new members joining the church be expected to do the same thing? So a crisis arose over this issue. There were two groups, those who championed the law

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around which Judaism was woven and those who championed freedom. There were two strong personalities that emerged. Peter who championed the cause of the Judaizers and Paul who championed the liberty of the Christian faith. Paul confronted Peter over the issue because Peter was acting as a hypocrite when he

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was with the Jewish speaking Christians, the Judaizers. He agreed with them, broke bread with them and when he was with the liberal group, the Gentiles who championed the cause of freedom, he broke bread with them. So he sought to sort of straddle the fence over this issue. And Paul reprimands him saying, "Look, you need to make up your mind. You

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You need to take a stand. You need to stand firm for one thing or the other. And so we have this word that comes to us through the letter which he addressed to Christians in Galatia, "Stand fast."

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Don't waver. Don't waver, stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Freedom, very precious possession.

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Henry cried, "Give me liberty or give me death." Freedom. Freedom. It is said that there were those African-Americans who were set free and they returned to the plantation they re-enslaved themselves because they were not prepared to deal with the problems of freedom they were not prepared to embrace the discipline

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freedom. So we have today those who for one reason or another are not prepared to deal with the discipline of freedom. It requires strength, determination, and And so we seek to avoid it by just saying, "Well, go with the flow and you can be safe. Go with the flow."

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So Peter ate with the Jews and it was acceptable. He refrained at times from eating with the Gentiles when it was to his advantage. That's what it meant to him to go with the flow. When caught in the storm amidst howling winds and roaring waters and being tossed about

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like a leaf. He walks on the sea for a while then he cries, "Lord, save me." But when the opposition to Jesus was strong, he says, "I don't know this stuff." He denies it. And then when it's popular, when he is in trouble, he cries, "Lord, save me." That's the way we are.

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We can't be hard on Peter. He illustrates the way we are because we would like to go with the flow. You see, the flesh is vacillating. We put our trust in things that are temporary,

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so often we do that, rather than those things that are eternal. And so Paul in this epistle lifts up what it really means

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to be a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ by comparing the flesh with the Spirit. Those champions of freedom in our history, both for this nation and for our race, were

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those who were willing to take certain risks, who were willing to follow this admonition of the Apostle. fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has set us free and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. We have a window here in our church we call it the

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freedom window. It commemorates the courage, the steadfast determination, the faithfulness of our ancestors in the cause of freedom. This cause is a cause for which Christ gave his life and he reprimands the Galatians. He says, "Oh you foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?" So often we find ourselves being bewitched

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by our surroundings. I remember there was a young lady in our church in Waco who found herself favored by her parents to go out for a social evening and they They called the young man into the room with the young lady and said, "Now you know you're supposed to be back here at a certain time.

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See young man that he gets back." So they got to the affair and the time came and the young man reminded the young lady that it was time for them to be on their way to be back home. And she said, "Oh no, I'm having a good time.

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I don't want to go back home." So the young man insisted and finally took her to the telephone to tell the parents that he wanted to bring her home

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according to the promise, the commitment that was made and the order that was given. But she didn't want to come home. And so she argued with her parents.

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And some parents say, "Well, if my child wants to do this, "no order, no discipline, it's just left up to him." If he wants to come to Sunday school, and we have some parents like that,

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they're not all back there in the first century with Peter and Paul. Some of them have made their way to the 21st century. If he wants to come,

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Or we would have a much stronger youth movement, much stronger Sunday school, much stronger discipleship training, much stronger church if we somehow recognized and addressed what Paul is talking about here that we have entitled in this message the discipline of freedom. you see freedom, if it's real freedom it has some restraints. We emphasize so

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often that part where we just free as a wandering breeze, do whatever you want to do, but real freedom has some restraints. There are some things that you don't do not because someone is standing over you with some kind of weapon, but because there's this inner spirit that says to you, "No, you can't do that. You must not

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do that. That's not the right thing to do." And that holds you. When the winds are blowing and the waves are roaring there is that something that says no I'm not gonna do that that's the right thing to do yes some restraints and the song we sing that our ancestors pilgrims beat a path through the wilderness in other

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words the discipline of freedom involves going many times when no one has gone before. So well we haven't done it that way before. The discipline of freedom means that often we must take a new course. Here Paul is blazing a new path. He's going where committed worshipers of God have not gone before. Sitting down

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eating with Gentiles, accepting them into the church on an equal plane. Not saying though, one group is saying well if you join church here, if you be with us it It means that you must do as we do. You must see to it that you're circumcised if you're a man.

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All men must be circumcised. And you must eat certain food. And that's the only basis on which we will accept, you Gentiles.

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Paul says no, that's flesh, eating, drinking, all of those sort of things. Those things are of the flesh. But the real freedom that the Christian faith espouses is the freedom of the Spirit. And if one is free in your heart, it doesn't matter where you are, it doesn't matter what

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comes your way, if you're free, free in Jesus Christ, you can stand fast. of Nelson Mandela out there on an island where he's in prison. Kept in prison I think around 27 years and he so embraced his punishment because he had that inner freedom that he made his captors ashamed and finally he was set

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free not because he had gone but because he had the discipline of freedom even even the jailer that was with him became a great friend of him because he embrace the discipline of freedom. And Jesus sets the example for Paul says what I want to point you to is the cross. Cross. If we would embrace the discipline

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of freedom we must go to the cross on a hill far away. Stands an old rugged cross there are many hills but just one cross and that cross represents the contradictions in our lives. If we would embrace the discipline of freedom we must be willing to embrace the contradiction. Those things you'd like to

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get rid of, but you can't. Sometimes it's in the family, sometimes you're the main one everybody points to when they get in a crisis. The others have resources, but you the one. And it's embracing those contradictions that make us disciples, faithful disciples, growing disciples of Jesus Christ, embracing. So the message of

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the cross is that of Christ crucified and it means that we must carry the cross, not just wear it, we carry it, carry the cross. And to carry the cross is to do that which enables us to embrace the contradictions of our history. Not circumcision. We Protestants have made a circumcision of baptism. Jews made a

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circumcision of the flesh. But to be guided by one's own free spirit. Any Any employee would like to have a worker that just does what he's supposed to do when you're not there looking at him, not watching the clock, but being willing to do what is expected and even to go beyond if one is required to go one mile to go to.

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So embracing the contradictions of our history. And there is no better way to peace than the cross. So God makes for us a highway that enables us to embrace the shame, the humiliation, the burden, all of it, somehow to embrace it.

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I'm so glad that he comes in the midst of us with the cross and enables us to carry that cross. Heaven, although it may be, but to carry it, that's good news for us in a world of bad news, to embrace the cross. Some say, "Come down, come down from the cross." But there is a world that says, "Stand fast, winds may blow, opposition may be strong, but stand fast, stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free."

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And be not entangled again, the yoke of Bind. I'm going to stand. And I encourage you today to stand. Sure you'll be buffeted about by contrary winds,

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but stand fast in the liberty of Christ. Free, so free that when they commanded him to come down, he stayed on the cross. so free that when they wailed and criticized him,

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he stood firm by the cross. So it pays. It pays. It pays to serve Jesus.

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It pays every day. It pays every step of the way. So as we sing the hymn of invitation, we invite you to come. A letter by Christian experience on professional faith to come.

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Accepting Jesus Christ as your Savior and as your Lord. Door of the church is open. [ Music ] [MUSIC]

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♪ In Him there is joy ♪ ♪ Without an hour ♪ ♪ Deserving to trust Him ♪ ♪ And rest on His words ♪

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♪ In faith to serve Jesus ♪ ♪ Each day ♪ ♪ In faith to serve Jesus ♪ ♪ It fades every day ♪

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♪ It fades every step ♪ ♪ Down the way of the world ♪ ♪ The road that way to glory ♪ ♪ May sometimes be drear ♪

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♪ You'll be happy ♪ [Music] ♪ Give praise to serve Jesus ♪ ♪ While the day is nigh ♪

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♪ Give praise to His truth ♪ ♪ While the air is vague ♪ ♪ Give praise to love mercy ♪ ♪ In His rule abide ♪

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♪ Give praise to serve Jesus ♪ [music] ♪ We must be brave every day ♪ ♪ Be brave and be strong ♪

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♪ And we'll make our way ♪ ♪ On that way to glory ♪ ♪ May sometimes be dreary ♪ ♪ To be happy is seldom on the way ♪

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[Music] ♪ O pray, pray for the rain ♪ ♪ That sorrows may come ♪ ♪ To gather us all ♪

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♪ Our precious Redeemer ♪ ♪ Each storm will be free ♪ ♪ In praise to serve Jesus ♪ ♪ In praise of Jesus ♪

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♪ In praise of everything ♪ ♪ In praise of every step ♪ ♪ From the day of the world ♪ ♪ From that way to glory ♪

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♪ May sometimes be praised ♪ [music] Those who stood celebrating birthdays and anniversaries, would you join me here please at the rear of the sanctuary at this time? To the vicissitudes of life, may there always be an angel at your side to guide you, to

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comfort you and to strengthen you as you seek to practice the discipline of freedom. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord cause his face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up the countenance upon you and give you peace.

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Amen. [Music] [ Silence ]