The theme of our trip is Freedom. When you think of the word freedom, what comes to mind? If you're like most people, you might define freedom in strictly negative terms- as the absence of confinement and constraint. But freedom can’t be limited to this definition. If you were to take a fish from the water and throw him on the shore saying "You're free!" he would not exactly be excited about his new found freedom. In fact, this "freedom" would be the cause of his death. So, freedom is not so much the absence of restrictions as finding the right ones, the ones that most line up with the way we were designed to be. A fish was designed to live within the confinements of water because it is through the water that it is able to receive its oxygen.
The same is true in our spiritual lives. When we were created, we were given certain boundaries in which we are to live our lives. Genesis 1:26, 27 says- Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness....So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female he created them.”
We were designed to be like God and to have a relationship with Him. But something happened in the fall of man. Man decided that he wanted to be free from God. He decided to be the fish that wanted to escape from the restraints of the fish bowl, or the plant that escaped the confinement of the soil. Basically he pulled out from his life source. When you pull out from your life source, you die.
Romans 1 tells us that man decided to no longer worship God, the Creator, but instead worshipped himself and other created things. Because they decided to follow their own way, Romans says that "they were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them."
This is one of the longest lists of sins in the Bible. This is what happens when man tried to become “free.” He traded the rule of God for the rule of his flesh and became enslaved to his desires which lead to spiritual death. But God knows how we were designed to be. And he has given us guidelines to follow Him. But, in order to experience these things, we must learn to live under His rule. But we’ll realize that when we do, we are actually freer than ever before.
Scripture says in Romans 6:20-23: “When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from those things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit that you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
So, I guess freedom is not really the issue- it’s learning service under a new master. Yes, there is a freedom involved: freedom from sin, but only to become enslaved to God. But how do we change masters?
1) We first admit the fact that when we try to live “freely” on our own, we screw everything up. We “fall short of the glory of God.” We fall short of the way we were created to be.
2) We recognize that God saw that we were completely incapable of living a life like he created us to before the fall and therefore sent His Son to do so without sin. “He Himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” 1 Peter 2:24-25. So we must accept the forgiveness that comes through Christ alone. For there is nothing in us that was able to make us acceptable to God.
3) We decide to let God be the ruler of our lives- the “Shepherd and Overseer of our souls.” We follow what He has told us to do through His word- love Him and love others.
Has there been a time in your life when you have learned that you can no longer rule yourself because it only leads you to more and more grief and personal destruction? Hopefully you now realize that God loves you, has a plan for you and wants you to have a relationship with Him. He has given you guidelines to follow that will allow you to live your best life. All you have to do is ask for his forgiveness for doing life your own way, believe that Jesus, in His perfect life, became the only sacrifice that would satisfy God for all the wrong we've done in your life, and that He rose from the grave- conquering sin and death. Once you've done this, follow after Him and live like He has called you to in His word: the Bible.
This afternoon we sang for a Youth Encouragement Center (http://www.youthencouragement.org/). This center is a place for children to come during the summer to do constructive activities and have positive influences on their lives. Here we were able to perform for the kids and play games with them.
disadvantaged in the nearby neighborhoods. Here we fed, performed and prayed for nearly 100 people. We've found that the less fortunate are often more thankful for what they have than those who have it all. More than anything, they appreciated prayer. This was an encouraging time of worship for our students as we all became acutely aware of what truly matters in life.
Today we performed no concerts. We sent our team to the Safe Haven Family Shelter where we divided our group to do a variety of service projects. Some 
stayed at the main site to clean the ministry's property, wash their vans, sort and stock donatoin items, and play with kids that were on site. Another group was sent to a house that is set up to be a transition home for those who at one point were homeless and are now trying to get on their feet by getting off the streets and finding a job. We worked on the inside of the house by painting the walls and the doors and on the outside by completely re-landscaping their backyard. It was hard work but it paid off.
