Awakening Comes with Freedom As People Accept Jesus as Lord
Pray – (1/2 minutes)
Read – (2 1/2 minutes) – “Jesus replied, ‘I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So it the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:34-36)
Passage: Romans 6:19-23
There is only one way to have true freedom in life. It is through faith in Jesus Christ. When you confessed that Jesus is Lord and received Him as your Savior, you were set free. First, from the penalty of sin since you are forgiven. Second, from the power of sin, since the Holy Spirit enables you to say no to the flesh and yes to God. Third, from the presence of sin, which will occur in heaven where sin nature will be no more. The freedom Jesus gives changes everything in life and it changed our nation as thousands accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior during the Great Awakening.
During the Great Awakening, there were so many new believers that churches began growing and new churches were started. Most of those churches were outside of the established churches of England. For example, there were only 9 Baptist churches in America in 1734. By 1740, there were 96 and by 1780, there were 457. Other denominations saw similar growth. Ben Franklin in his autobiography commented, “It was wonderful to see the change soon made in the manners of our inhabitants. From being thoughtless or indifferent about religion, it seem’d as if all the world were growing religious, so that one could not walk thro’ the town in an evening without hearing psalms sung in different families of every street. Jesus set people free spiritually and that laid the groundwork for people in America to want to be free politically from England as well.
Apply - (2 1/2 minutes)
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Pray - (1 1/2 minutes)