The Cost of Freedom

Revelation 21:6-8 (NKJV) And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” What wonderful promises from our Father! If anyone thirsts, He will give us the water of life and for all of those who overcome, we shall receive an inheritance of all things! I feel a hallelujah coming on! But not so fast, just in case you missed that next verse, let's read it again and heed to this warning. For the cowards, unbelievers, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters and all liars, well they will inherit a second death in the lake of fire! Ok this is a little more sobering, right? God is just and He is letting us all know what awaits us if we don't believe in Him and if we are cowards. Did you realize He lists the cowardly first!? This brings me to my next point: in our amazing nation, we have been given many wonderful freedoms thanks to brave men and women who fought for our country and it cost their lives. Today we honor them! And it's because of Jesus we have this amazing nation to call home. Did you know 34% of our founding documents came from the Holy Word of God! Isn't that incredible!? This nation didn't form by chance, it was birthed because of people that chose to be strong and courageous - they were not cowards! If we do not start using our freedoms again they will quickly be taken away. Pastor Josh brilliantly shared today that we reap what we sow and because the Church has sowed silence for so long on Biblical issues that people have termed "political" - we are now reaping being silenced. The condition of America is a report card of the church and the church is currently failing! It only takes 1 glance at a few headlines to see the world has gone mad! When the church loses her voice the world loses her mind! The Lord doesn’t want us to be silent - especially not for the sake of “not offending” someone - Jesus offended every religious person in His day. Because of our silence the enemy has been able to come in like a flood. We cannot be silent - this is a mandate to use your God given rights to speak up and be the light in the darkness! The American church stages have grown at the expense of our altars shrinking - we are called to die to ourselves daily! The scriptures aren’t a buffet line to pick and choose from what you like and toss out the ones that offend you. The offending scriptures are the ones that transform us and make us Christ-like. Twenty-eight million Americans quit reading their Bible over the last 2 years alone. We have become biblically illiterate and look at our nation! You can’t fight the enemy without your sword and that’s the Word! A unified bride can turn the tide of our nation - are you willing to be a voice for Jesus! Do you want a well done good and faithful servant or do you desire everyone on the earth to like you. We aren’t called to be liked! We are called to spread the gospel and that comes with persecution. Take advantage of your freedoms before it's too late! Selah.