The Cost of Freedom

Name: The Cost of Freedom
Uploaded: 2026-07-05
Channel: Willie Cole
Description: Speaker Willie Cole explores the parallel between national liberty and spiritual redemption, emphasizing that both require sacrifice, vigilance, and a steadfast

Willie Cole Preached on 7/5/2026

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59:21

Summary

Speaker Willie Cole explores the parallel between national liberty and spiritual redemption, emphasizing that both require sacrifice, vigilance, and a steadfast commitment to God to maintain.

Key points

•Freedom is never free; it is a gift purchased through the sacrifices of others, both in the military and through Jesus Christ.
•A nation's greatness is tied to its God-consciousness, and forgetting God leads to spiritual and national decline.
•Prosperity often causes people to forget the source of their blessings, leading to the creation of modern idols like careers, sports, and material wealth.
•True spiritual freedom (redemption) is available only through Jesus Christ, who liberates the soul from the bondage of sin.
•The church must return to the foundation of prayer to prevent the things of God from being betrayed into the hands of the enemy.

Scripture

Purpose

Spiritual Growth

Salvation

Life application

Identify one 'idol' in your life-something you prioritize over your relationship with God-and intentionally set it aside this week to spend that time in prayer and reading Scripture.

Reflection questions

In what ways have we as a culture become less God-conscious, and how can you personally reverse that trend in your own home?
Why is it so easy to take for granted the freedoms we have in America and the freedom we have in Christ?
What 'chains' or spiritual bondages are you still carrying, and how does the promise of John 8:36 offer you hope today?
How can you actively defend the 'fragile thing' called freedom for the next generation?

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Full transcript

0:00>> [music]

0:00>> Hallelujah.

0:01There is freedom in the Lord

0:05where the spirit of the Lord is. There

0:08is liberty.

0:10There is joy.

0:13There is peace [music]

0:15in the Holy Ghost. [snorts]

0:18Hallelujah.

0:18>> Hallelujah.

0:21Oh, praise the Lord.

0:23I'm excited

0:27about the Church of Pentecost.

0:29I'm excited about what God is doing

0:33at COP.

0:37Amen. And I you may be seated for a few

0:41minutes, but I'm so thankful

0:47that I'm born again.

0:49I'm so thankful that I have the freedom

0:51of worship.

0:54Thank God that I [music] was born in

0:56America.

1:00Praise God. Thank you, Jesus,

1:04for the freedom that we have.

1:07Thank you, God, that you give us the

1:08freedom.

1:10Amen. Praise the Lord. I feel his

1:13presence in this place today.

1:15Amen. He's [music] with us. He's among

1:17us today. Amen. And uh I just want to

1:21say again to all [music] of our guests.

1:23We're so honored and we're so privileged

1:26on behalf of our pastor, Brother Olsen,

1:28for you to be here with us this morning

1:31to to worship with us today. We [music]

1:33we understand that you could have went

1:34any anywhere else, any place, but you

1:36decided to come to COP and be with us

1:39today and we're so thankful for that and

1:42we're excited about that. Also, I want

1:44to give honor to our Lord and Savior

1:46Jesus Christ. Also, I want to give honor

1:48to our founding pastor, brother Olsen.

1:51Him and Sister Olsen was the one that

1:54laid the foundation for COP. And so we

1:57want to continue to build upon the

1:59foundation that Pastor Sistosen laid and

2:02and the things that they gave to us. We

2:04want to continue to keep those things.

2:07Amen. We don't want to let them go.

2:10Amen. We want to continue to build on

2:12those things and keep those things

2:14today. Praise God. And uh so glad you're

2:18here and uh so glad that you here to

2:22worship the Lord. Amen. Won't you stand

2:25with me? I got one scripture that I'm

2:27going to read. It's Romans chapter 5

2:31verse 8. And uh and it says that in

2:35Romans 5 and 8 says, "But God commanded

2:38his love toward us

2:41and that while while we were yet

2:43sinners,

2:45Christ died for us." God commended his

2:49love toward us and that while we were

2:51yet sinners, Christ died for us. for

2:55this morning for a few moments with the

2:57help of the Lord I want to teach on this

2:59or preach how God lead me on this

3:01subject the cost of freedom. The cost of

3:06freedom. Let us pray together. Lord

3:08Jesus, we thank you this morning,

3:09Father, for your presence in this place.

3:12We feel you. We know you're here, God,

3:14to to touch, to encourage, to to to lift

3:18up, God, to direct, to guide, and Lord

3:21to save. And Father, we thank you,

3:23Father, for just being able to come to

3:26the house of God and have the freedom to

3:28be able to worship you, Lord, freely,

3:31Lord, not worried about being carried

3:33off to jail or locked up because that's

3:36the freedom that we have in America,

3:38God. And we're thankful for that. And

3:39we're thankful for your people, and

3:41we're thankful, God, for our pastors,

3:43and we're thankful for America. So, God,

3:46we just want to give you all the praise

3:47and the glory today. In Jesus name we

3:50pray. Amen. You may be seated. Thank you

3:53for standing today.

3:56Uh you know, America was was founded

3:59upon

4:00the principle of freedom. Our nation was

4:03founded upon the principle of freedom.

4:07Uh the principle of freedom to worship.

4:11Uh the principle of freedom to assemble

4:15ourselves together. Uh freedom of

4:19speech. freedom to bear arms,

4:22uh you know, freedom to buy property,

4:26you know, America was built upon the

4:29principle of freedom.

4:32And uh one of the most uh you know,

4:36yesterday we celebrated

4:39uh our nation's 250th birthday. 250

4:44years. And and you know, America is is

4:46the youngest nation in the world.

4:49I mean, when you think about some of the

4:52countries that have been established for

4:53thousands of years, has been around for

4:55thousands of years, but America, it's

4:57only been here as a nation for 250

5:01years. And one of the uh most principal

5:04documents of of of America was it's the

5:08Declaration of Independence,

5:10which was uh created by our founding

5:13fathers.

5:15And uh history says that when John Adams

5:19signed the Declaration of Independent,

5:22he said that this is what he said and I

5:24quote, he said, "Whether we live or die,

5:27sink or swim,

5:29succeed or fail," he said, "I stand

5:32behind this Declaration of Independence,

5:35and if God's will,

5:38I am ready to die in order that this

5:41country might experience freedom.

5:45That's that was uh pinned by John Adams,

5:50our second president,

5:52you know, and and these men, it shows

5:55you the kind of courage and bravery and

5:58patriotism

6:00that these men had,

6:03you know, they were they they had

6:05courage. They was brave because, you

6:08know, freedom is they had freedom. You

6:10have to fight for freedom.

6:13You have to fight for freedom. You have

6:14to fight to stay free.

6:17You know, just like you have to fight to

6:20stay saved.

6:22You know, you get saved. Well, once you

6:25get saved, the devil is not going to

6:27leave you alone.

6:30He going to he going to continue to come

6:31after you because he want to get you

6:33back. And so, in order to survive and

6:37overcome the devil, you got to fight.

6:39So, it's the same thing about freedom,

6:42you know, and the decision that these

6:45men uh made, it wasn't an easy decision.

6:51It was not easy at all,

6:53you know, because they was breaking away

6:56from their motherland, from from

6:58England, from the from the from their

7:00country.

7:02But they came these colonies that we

7:05started out with 13 colonies. But these

7:08colonies that was formed, these people

7:11uh they was English citizens,

7:14but in England they wasn't free. They

7:17wasn't free to worship and and and they

7:19wasn't free to to have freedom of speech

7:20and do the things that we did here in

7:23that we have in America. So that's why

7:25they came to America

7:27because they wanted to be free.

7:31And we also must understand as I said

7:33earlier that we must not forget the

7:36price that these men paid to forge our

7:38freedom.

7:41Let's not forget

7:44what these people did

7:47to forge our freedom. Just like we must

7:49not forget the price that Jesus paid

7:51also to free us from the bondage of sin

7:54and death.

7:57We must never forget. That's why we

7:59celebrate the 4th of July because we

8:02want to remember these men

8:06that paid the price and forced the way

8:09for us. You know, these these these men,

8:12the our founding fathers, they they

8:15depended upon God's help.

8:19They depended upon God's help. You know,

8:23uh some people say they wasn't all

8:25Christians. Maybe they wasn't. I mean,

8:28history. We don't know that. But I know

8:30one thing that they had a reverence for

8:32God.

8:34They they acknowledged God.

8:38You see, even though they might some of

8:39them might HAVE NOT BEEN CHRISTIANS, BUT

8:40THEY ACKNOWLEDGED THAT THERE WAS a God.

8:44And when they formed and and created the

8:47declaration and independence, it was

8:49created with the from the scriptures

8:53from the Bible.

8:55You see

8:57the second paragraph of the Declaration

8:59of Independence begin with these words.

9:01It says, "We hold these truths to be

9:04self-evident that all men are created

9:08equal,

9:10that they are endowed by their creator

9:12with certain unalable rights, that among

9:15these are life, liberty, and the pursuit

9:19of happiness."

9:23You see these men they depended upon the

9:26wisdom and and and knowledge of the

9:27Bible.

9:31You see,

9:33I remember in in the early in our early

9:35generations of our nation when our

9:37nation was, you know, in the early

9:39generations when this nation was formed,

9:44America was because God was always

9:46lifted up and I and because God was

9:50always edified.

9:53This nation was God conscious.

9:57Yes, this was a God conscious nation.

10:00in our early generations because these

10:02people edified God and they believed in

10:04God and they lifted up God.

10:07You know, you could I remember the times

10:09when

10:11you go to school,

10:14you could pray in in classrooms.

10:18I remember the times because this nation

10:20was God conscious in our early

10:21generation. You could you could you

10:23could sing hymns or sing a song in the

10:26classroom.

10:29You could read the Bible in the

10:31classroom

10:34and you could pray.

10:37And these things was they were they was

10:40encouraged

10:43because our nation was God conscious

10:49because they understood that this nation

10:51was founded

10:53on the principles of God and his word.

10:58Even even though there were people who

11:02was not even Christians,

11:05but they had A RESPECT FOR THE church

11:08and THEY HAD A RESPECT FOR THOSE THAT

11:10WERE Christians

11:12because this nation was God conscious.

11:18You can even GO INTO PUBLIC PLACES IN

11:21THE courthouse and they had the ten

11:24commandments

11:26was plastered on the wall

11:29because this nation was God conscious

11:33and on Sundays

11:35BECAUSE PEOPLE RESPECTED THE SABBATH day

11:39all the stores was closed

11:43because at that time in our early

11:45generation America was God conscious.

11:50But somewhere down the line, we have

11:54began to push that out now

11:57because most of our leaders and most of

12:00the people in our nation think they know

12:03more. They know they know what's better

12:05for this nation than God does.

12:10Our

12:14founding fathers incorporated God into

12:16all of their public affairs.

12:21They acknowledge and they reverence God

12:23at every cost.

12:27You see, America is not great because of

12:30our brilliant minds

12:33and our education system and our

12:35universities. It's not great because of

12:37that. America is not great because of

12:39our diverse culture

12:42or our prosperity.

12:45But America is great because of God.

12:50America is great because of God.

12:56Deuteronomy chapter 8

13:00starting with verse 7-4 says this. It

13:03says, "For the Lord thy God bringeth

13:06thee into a good land, a land of brooks,

13:09of water, of fountains

13:12and depths that spring out of valleys

13:15and hills. A land of wheat and barley

13:21and vines and fig trees and

13:24pomegranates.

13:26A land of oil, olives, and honey. A land

13:30wherein thou shalt eat bread with

13:33scarceness,

13:35and thou shalt not like anything in it,

13:38a land whose stones are earned, and out

13:42of whose heels you may dig brass.

13:45And then verse 10, the Lord tells he's

13:48talking to the children of Israel, but I

13:50believe he's also talking to us today.

13:52He says, "When thou have eaten

13:55and are full,

13:58then thou shalt bless the Lord thy God

14:00for the good land which he has given

14:03thee." And then in verse 11, he says, he

14:06give a warning. He says, "Beware,

14:10beware what? that thou forget not the

14:12Lord thy God in keeping his commandments

14:16and his judgments and his statutes which

14:19I command thee this day. And then in

14:23verse 12 he said, "Lest when thou hast

14:26eat eat eat eat eat eat eat eat eat eat

14:26eaten in a full and has built goodly

14:30houses and dwell therein and when thy

14:33hearts th her and thy flocks are

14:35multiplied and thy silver and thy gold

14:39is multiplied and all that thy has is

14:42multiplied.

14:44Then thine heart be lifted up, and thy

14:47forget the Lord thy God, which brought

14:49thee out forth out of the land of Egypt

14:51from the house of bondage. God is

14:54saying, look, when you BECOME

14:56PROSPEROUS, WHEN I BLESS YOU WITH ALL OF

14:57THESE material things that you have

14:59today, don't forget THE LORD THY GOD WHO

15:03brought you out of bondage.

15:07>> Amen. You know, THE THING ABOUT

15:08PROSPERITY IS IT CAUSES TO FORGET THE

15:11GOD WHO BLESSED US. And God is telling

15:14the children of Israel, which I believe

15:16today is revalent to this great nation,

15:19don't forget the Lord thy God that

15:21brought you out.

15:25>> Amen. Don't don't forget the Lord. God

15:28said, "Thou shall be no other God before

15:30me." Amen. Thou shall have, you know,

15:33idols. An idol is anything that you put

15:35before God. If there's something in your

15:38life that you that you put before God

15:40that you feel THAT IS MORE IMPORTANT

15:42THAN GOD, then is an idol in your life.

15:48IF YOU FEEL THAT FISHING on Sunday

15:50MORNING IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN COMING TO

15:52THE HOUSE OF GOD IS AN IDOL IN your

15:54life. IF YOU FEEL THAT GOING DOWN to the

15:57TIAA BANK FIELD AND WATCHING THE JAGUAR

16:00PLAY IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE CHURCH,

16:02IT'S AN IDOL IN YOUR LIFE. Anything that

16:06YOU PUT BEFORE GOD IS AN IDOL.

16:11AMERICA, we have many idols.

16:14Many idols. WE WORSHIP OUR HOUSES. WE

16:18WORSHIP OUR CARS. We worship our

16:20entertainers. WE WORSHIP OUR ATHLETES.

16:24We look We worship people.

16:26BUT WE SHOULD WORSHIP THE LORD OUR GOD.

16:31Don't forget the Lord who brought you

16:34out. WE MUST WATCH OUT THAT WE DON'T

16:37forget God.

16:42Psalm 19 and 7 says states and says that

16:45the wicked shall be turned into hell and

16:47all nations

16:50that forget God.

16:53America, WE DON'T WANT TO FORGET GOD.

16:56We do not want to forget God.

17:00I remember

17:02brother Mark Morgan

17:04when fueling the fight conference prayer

17:06conference was first started in in

17:09Florida and I remember I still remember

17:12this today we was we wasn't we were

17:14still in the little in the in the in the

17:16church not the auditorium wasn't even

17:18built they was working on it but it

17:20wasn't even built that we used to have

17:21it started out in the the the sanctuary

17:24the chapel

17:25and brother brother brother Morgan made

17:28this statement which I never forget. He

17:29said, "God raised up America for three

17:32reasons.

17:34One was

17:36to support the nation of Israel.

17:41Two was to

17:43put missionaries

17:46around the world.

17:48And number three was to stamp out the

17:51Antichrist spirit."

17:54Yes. Stamp out the Antichrist spirit.

17:58You see, God

18:01raised up America for that for for that

18:03purpose.

18:06Solomon, the wisest man

18:09that ever lived besides Jesus, said this

18:11in Proverbs

18:1314 and 34. He says

18:18that righteousness

18:21exalts a nation,

18:24but sin is a reproach to any people.

18:29Righteousness is what exalts a nation.

18:34So, we got to as a nation, we got to

18:36continue to pursue righteousness.

18:40We got to continue to pursue the things

18:43of God. If we're going to survive

18:46as a nation,

18:49we got to continue to put God first

18:53in our life.

18:57You know, when you think about and I

18:59mentioned this to at the prayer Tuesday

19:01night when I was when the Bible says

19:03that will be in the last days, then that

19:05will be a great fall away.

19:08And a lot of times that's true that

19:10people are leaving church, people are

19:13moving, walking out of the house of God

19:15and the house attendance is down and in

19:17and a lot of places and a lot of

19:19churches

19:20because people are just filling their

19:23lives with things of the world and

19:27things you know other than God. So

19:29there's a great fall away and then

19:31that's not just mean that people leave

19:33church but there's a great fall away

19:35when it comes to uh praying and

19:39building a prayer life. There's a great

19:40fall away when it comes to reading the

19:42scriptures.

19:45There's a great fall away from the

19:47things of God.

19:49You know, we we it's it's you have to I

19:51understand the Bible says that we fight

19:54not against our fight is not against

19:56flesh and blood but against

19:57principalities and powers and spirit

19:59spiritual wickedness in high places. So

20:02it's a struggle

20:04a lot of times and one of the hardest

20:06struggles that I I notice even for

20:07myself

20:10is the struggle of prayer.

20:15The devil don't mind you reading your

20:17Bible.

20:18Sometime he don't even mind you coming

20:20to church. But when you

20:23try to pray,

20:25put that flesh under suggestion to the

20:27spirit of God that there's a struggle.

20:31Yeah. There's a struggle.

20:35And you know, and even and I'm I'm

20:37saying this because this is important

20:39and I mentioned that last week about

20:41prayer.

20:43I'm gonna get back TO MY MESSAGE, BUT

20:45PRAYER IS SO important

20:48and what God want to do in the lives of

20:50his people and in the lives of his

20:51church. He said, "My house shall be

20:54called the house of prayer."

20:59You know things that we that a lot of

21:02things that we have going on in our

21:04lives,

21:06a lot of issues that we have going on in

21:08our life can be solved if we if God

21:11people will learn how to pray.

21:15Yes, if we can learn how to pray and

21:18seek the face of God, a lot of our

21:21issues will be solved.

21:25And so we got to come back

21:28to that old foundation

21:30that was laid

21:32and that was prayer. And I don't KNOW

21:35WHY I GOT I'M ON THIS. I'm still going

21:36to talk about freedom.

21:39But I remember and I read this scripture

21:41and I said this when Jesus was in the

21:42garden of Gethsemane three times he

21:46compelled

21:48his disciples to tear with him for one

21:50hour. And he will go and pray and HE'LL

21:53COME BACK. HE'LL go and pray and and

21:55he'll come back and they'll sleep. And

21:58the last TIME JESUS SAYS, "SLEEP ON." HE

22:01SAID, "WHY ARE YOU SLEEPING?" NOW, THE

22:03SON OF man is being betrayed into the

22:06hands of the enemy. AND SO, WHAT THE

22:08CHURCH GOT TO DO BECAUSE WE AS A CHURCH

22:11people is refusing IS FAILING TO PRAY.

22:14WHAT IS HAPPENING IS THAT THE THINGS OF

22:17GOD IS being betrayed into the hands of

22:19the enemy because OF THE LACK OF PRAYER

22:22of the church.

22:28because of the lack of prayer.

22:32So it takes prayer our freedom because

22:36our freedom come from Christ.

22:40SO WHEN WE STAND BACK AND LOOK AT THIS

22:42LAND OF FREE freedom

22:46sometime we wonder is that is really

22:48freedom anywhere.

22:54I was reading a book and I quote the

22:57writer that said he said this. He says

22:59if there were ever a desperate need to

23:02lay hold of God and to find wisdom for

23:04the days ahead it is now.

23:08He said, "America in many respects could

23:11be likened to the prodical son who had

23:14taken a glorious inheritance and seemly

23:17has squandered it. Or we could be like

23:20the older son who got lost in the house

23:23of the younger son who has wandered off

23:27from far off.

23:30But thank God

23:32that there is a father

23:35in heaven who is daily looking and

23:37hoping for our return.

23:40AND I BELIEVE THAT IS HOW GOD FEELS

23:42ABOUT AMERICA. Every day GOD IS LOOKING

23:45AND hoping for America's return back to

23:49him.

23:51God hasn't given up on America, but God

23:54is looking for America to return back to

23:57God.

23:59If we ever going to GO BEYOND WHERE WE

24:01ARE today as a nation, WE GOT TO turn

24:05back to God.

24:10Thank God as Christians, we have the

24:12freedom

24:14to worship. We have the freedom to

24:17assemble. We have a freedom of speech.

24:21We thank GOD FOR THAT. AND THE WORD

24:24FREEDOM IN THE NEW TESTAMENT is the word

24:26redemption.

24:28Redemption means to be set free. It

24:32means that we have been bought with a

24:33price.

24:35But we have BEEN FREED BY THE BLOOD OF

24:37JESUS out of bondage and from the wages

24:40of sin which is death.

24:44Thank God for the freedom.

24:47John 8:36 says this. If the son, brother

24:51Mike said it, if the son therefore shall

24:53make you free, you shall be free indeed.

24:57Jesus is the liberator of all bondage

25:01both physical and spiritual. The freedom

25:04that Jesus offers us is not temporary

25:08but it's a lasting freedom if we trust

25:11in him.

25:14Yes, if we trust in the Lord.

25:17True freedom lies in God and his word.

25:24true freedom.

25:26You know, you can be in bondage. You can

25:29be in a jail cell, but if you full of

25:32the Holy Ghost and you love the Lord,

25:36you're free.

25:39Paul was treated in 2 Timothy chapter

25:422:9.

25:44Paul says this. He said, "Wherein I

25:46suffer trouble as an evildoer,

25:51even unto bonds,

25:54but he said the word of God is not

25:56bound."

25:58The word of God is not bound. Even

26:00though he was suffered trouble, you

26:03know, as an evido for preaching the

26:05gospel,

26:07you know, people treat you, you know,

26:08when you preach the gospel, it's it's

26:10like you're a criminal.

26:13But Paul was put in prison because he

26:15was preaching the gospel of Jesus

26:18Christ.

26:20He was uh he was put in chains.

26:24But but Paul said, "But when it comes to

26:26the word of God, there is no chains or

26:28bars strong enough to contain it." You

26:32see, because why? Because the word of

26:34God brings freedom to those who receive

26:36it.

26:40To those that receive it. If you receive

26:41the word of God in your life, it brings

26:43freedom.

26:46But there are so many people who wants

26:48to remain in bondage of their sin. So

26:52they ignore the word of God. They ignore

26:56the preaching of God. They ignore the

26:59teaching of God because they want to

27:01what? Remain in bundance. They love what

27:04they're doing. They they think it's

27:06freedom, but it's abundance. Sins

27:08bounds. And then the price of sin is

27:11death. But God has come to set us free.

27:16You see, God offers freedom to every

27:18person that wants it.

27:21If you want to be free from whatever is

27:25bound in you, if it's addiction or

27:27alcoholism or pornography or whatever it

27:30might be,

27:33God want to set you free from that.

27:37He offer freedom to you.

27:40Titus chapter 2 11-14 says, "For the

27:42grace of God that bringeth salvation has

27:45appeared to all men,

27:47teaching us that denying ungodliness and

27:50worldly lust, we should live what?

27:52Soberly, righteously, and godly, that's

27:57freedom. in this present world looking

28:00for that blessed hope and the glorious

28:03appearing of the great God and our

28:06savior Jesus Christ who gave himself for

28:09for us that he might redeem us from all

28:12iniquity and purify us unto a peculiar

28:17people zealous of good works

28:21the grace of God that brings us

28:22salvation to everyone God unmmerited

28:25favor

28:27We can't we can't earn it. We don't do

28:29we don't have to do anything for it is

28:31given to us. It has appeared to everyone

28:34because God wants to set you free.

28:40Teaching us that denying ungodliness and

28:42worldly lust,

28:45you know, the world today,

28:48you know, shows very little reverence

28:50for God. And that's why the Bible tells

28:52us not to love the world nor the things

28:55of the world.

28:58Don't be enticed. We we are not to be

29:00enticed to live like the world live.

29:03Don't let the world entice you to do the

29:05things that it's doing. Don't get caught

29:07up into the world worldly pledges of

29:10life. Try to avoid all of those those

29:13those things.

29:15And you do that by what? Obeying the

29:17word of God. Walking by the word of God.

29:20trying to apply the word of God to your

29:21life.

29:24You know, as apostolics, we believe in

29:25holiness.

29:27Yeah. We believe in in holiness because

29:30the Bible says without holiness, no man

29:33should should see the Lord. And I know a

29:34lot of people believe that holiness

29:36starts on the inside. And I understand

29:38that. But once it start in the inside,

29:41but it works its way on the outside,

29:43too.

29:45Yes, it does. It starts on the inside,

29:48but it's worked its way to the outside.

29:53As Christians, we should denounce all

29:55ungodly behavior. We should not support

29:59uh it at all. We we can't we can't

30:01support any ungodly behavior.

30:05Not any. We don't we we don't go along

30:06with it. We don't go along with uh uh

30:09you know, any anything that you do that

30:11is against the word of God. So you got

30:14as with Christians we have to deny that

30:17that's freedom

30:19because if you get caught up in that as

30:21a Christian and you agree with that even

30:25though you may you may not be doing it

30:26yourself but you agree with it then that

30:28mean you know you might you justifying

30:31it as being right

30:34but as Christians we try we don't we

30:36don't believe in ungodly behavior we try

30:39to avoid it at all costs

30:41as Christians we don't we don't believe

30:43in as young people there's things that

30:44we don't do

30:48we don't do.

30:50You try to you try to avoid that. You

30:52don't get caught up into the ways of the

30:54world.

30:58One of the things that that young people

31:00and that most people deal with as men is

31:03the lust of the flesh.

31:07They deal with that. I heard uh

31:11one time I remember brother Paul Welch

31:14said one time when I was living in

31:16Pensacola station in NAS he said this to

31:19the men he said listen he said he said

31:22lust will always be around

31:25but what he said is this

31:28you don't let it control you you control

31:30it.

31:32Yes, it's it's going to always be

31:33around, but he said don't let it control

31:37you. You control it. And you do that by

31:40things that you put your eyes upon.

31:44You know, yes, you don't put your eyes

31:46on certain things. I mean, I'm, you

31:49know, stuff is out here, but you don't

31:50dwell on it. You you look at it and then

31:52you turn away and you and you and you go

31:54another way or you say, "God, take that

31:55out of my mind."

31:59Because if you dwell on it long enough,

32:01it gets in your heart and then it gets

32:04into your actions and into your

32:06behavior.

32:08So pattering oursel after the world and

32:10it standards and doing doing those

32:12things that are not in line with the

32:14word of God.

32:16But when we live like the world and act

32:18like the world, these things take away

32:20the freedom that we have in Christ.

32:23Yes. And we if we act like the world and

32:25we live like the world then it takes

32:28away the freedom that we have in Christ.

32:31That is the freedom to live right and

32:34the freedom to do what is right.

32:38Yeah.

32:41To do what is right. Talking about

32:43freedom.

32:45There's a price

32:47for freedom. You know freedom is

32:50extremely costly.

32:53extremely costly.

32:56Sometime we forget that freedom comes

32:57with the cost.

33:00Jesus said this in John chapter 15 verse

33:0313.

33:06He says, "Greater love has no man than

33:08this that a man lay down his life

33:11for his friends."

33:14We are talking about a love that is

33:16sacrificial. That's what we're talking

33:18about here. Greater love there's greater

33:21love has no man than this that a man lay

33:23down his life for his friend is talking

33:27about unconditional gopy love.

33:31There's no love in the world greater

33:33than the love of God.

33:36Yeah. But there is also other people who

33:41have and are willing to sacrifice their

33:43life for this nation so that we as a

33:47people can continue to have freedom.

33:50many people.

33:53I was watching uh last night when

33:55President Trump was giving a speech at

33:58the in Washington at the mall and how he

34:04had all of those military veterans and

34:07World War II and

34:10you know veterans from the various wars

34:12and then some of the gold star families

34:15who have lost their loved ones uh you

34:18know in in in in the war. how he was

34:21just honoring those people

34:23because see as Americans we cherish

34:26freedom

34:28and because we understand that freedom

34:31is not free. We heard that said freedom

34:33is not free. Freedom comes with a price.

34:38I looked this up on Google yes yesterday

34:41and it's it is estimated that between

34:441.2 2 million to 1.3 million US military

34:48personnel have died in wars and

34:52conflicts protecting America's freedom

34:55and interests around the world.

34:58Yeah.

35:001.2

35:02to uh 1.35 million people

35:07have given their life for the freedom of

35:09this nation because freedom comes with a

35:12cost.

35:15You know, in America, we have many

35:16rights and we have many freedoms that

35:18many other people around the world do

35:20not have. And because we have these

35:23freedoms, it's so easy for us to take

35:26them for granted.

35:30But I'm thankful to God for the freedoms

35:31that we have here in America.

35:36But one of the dangers of living in a

35:38free world is forgetting what it cost.

35:42When something is handed over to you and

35:46you never had to pay for it, you tend to

35:48ignore the cost.

35:51And that's what I feel about

35:55some of our some of our young generation

35:58today. Not all, but there are some who

36:01have forgotten about the cost

36:05of what it took

36:07to have freedom. Because freedom always

36:09come with the cost. It is purchased

36:12through sacrifice.

36:15And throughout every generation,

36:18countless Americans, both men and women,

36:20have willingly stepped into harm's way

36:23for you and for me and for the people

36:25they would never know or meet.

36:30Their courage

36:32has carried them,

36:35carried the weight of our liberty and

36:36freedom so that others could live in

36:39safety and hope.

36:41You're in the Navy. We have a saying

36:42that I'm on watch.

36:47I assume the watch

36:50so that you can sleep. So that you can

36:54have the peace

36:56and the freedom.

36:59So it comes

37:02with the cost.

37:06We can live in a free country like

37:09America and still be bound.

37:12A nation can be free. A nation can free

37:15your body, but they cannot free your

37:16soul.

37:20Yes, you can be free in body. And that's

37:22maybe some of you here this morning.

37:24You're free physically,

37:26but your soul is bound.

37:31So, you're still not free.

37:35But Jesus came from heaven to earth to

37:37set you free.

37:43Galatians chapter 5 verse one says,

37:46"Stand fast therefore in the liberty

37:51wherewith Christ has made us free."

37:53Stand fast in the liberty

37:56which Christ has made us free. And be

37:58not entangled again

38:00with the yoke abundance.

38:04You see, if you

38:07are not living your life for Christ or

38:09you're not living for the Lord or you

38:11doing things that is contrary

38:14to what the word of God says, then you

38:16are still in bondage.

38:19You're physically free, but you're

38:20spiritually bound.

38:26When you think about America,

38:31it's one of the greatest countries that

38:32was ever formed by God.

38:40As America, we're not a perfect country.

38:45We're not a perfect perfect country. Why

38:48Why is America not a perfect country?

38:52America's not a perfect country. Because

38:53we're not a perfect people.

38:56Yeah. You see, it's people that makes up

38:59America.

39:00And because we are not perfect, America

39:03is not going to be perfect. You know,

39:05some people expect America to be

39:07perfect. Oh, America shouldn't do this.

39:10America should do that. Well, what are

39:11you doing?

39:14You you you make up America. You're not

39:16perfect. So, how do you expect a country

39:18to be perfect?

39:23Romans says it is says here Romans

39:253:10-12 says as it is written there's

39:29none righteous know not one.

39:31There's none righteous know not one.

39:34Verse 11 says there is none that

39:36understand it. There is none that

39:37seeketh after God. They're all going out

39:40of the way. They are all together become

39:42unprofitable. There's none that doeth

39:44good. No, not one.

39:49All of us,

39:51all of humanity has a sinful nature

39:54about us. We're all flawed people.

39:59We're all flawed. We're not perfect.

40:03Yes, we're striving to be, but we're

40:05not. And the only way we can be of of

40:10any good to society is that we have to

40:13really have a connection with Jesus

40:15Christ.

40:18Because you see, Jesus helps us and his

40:22spirit gives us the power to do the

40:23things that are right and do the things

40:26that we know we're supposed to do. So

40:29you can't really live for God without

40:31his spirit. So we need a spirit to help

40:33us to do the things that are right.

40:37And he says also there is none who

40:39understandeth.

40:41There are many people all over the world

40:42who do not understand that they need

40:44God. That's people don't they don't need

40:47God. They don't feel they need God. They

40:50have no understanding. They try to do

40:52everything on their own power, their own

40:54ability. They think that the gifts and

40:57talents that they have that they created

40:59that not knowing that everything we

41:02have, God is given to us by God.

41:05So they have no understanding.

41:08But I can tell you and I'm going to

41:09share with you the greatest

41:10understanding that any one person can

41:12ever have in their life is to realize

41:14that you need God.

41:17Because when you come to an

41:18understanding that you need God, then

41:19God can do something for you and God can

41:22help you to be the person that he has

41:25called and designed for you to be. But

41:28you have to have an understanding that I

41:30need God. Amen. I don't know about you,

41:33but I need God every day in my life.

41:37Amen. I talk, you know, I'll be my wife,

41:40I'd be in the house, walking around the

41:41house, but I'd be talking to the Lord

41:43and she'll say, "Are you talking to me?"

41:44I said, "No, I'm talking to God."

41:48Yeah. I try to stay that because I want

41:50that connection with God.

41:52I try to keep him on my mind at all

41:54times.

41:56I try to acknowledge him in all of my

41:58ways because I don't always know what's

42:00good for me. I don't always know what's

42:02right for me. I don't always know what

42:05to do. I don't always know the right

42:07thing to do. So I'm always asking God

42:10and trying to you know relate to the

42:11Lord to help me because God I need his

42:13help in all things in every phase of my

42:15life because I come to realize that

42:18without him I'm nothing and without him

42:20I can be nothing. I can do nothing and I

42:22need God. I'm not too proud to say that

42:24I need God. You know it takes a man to

42:27live for God. It takes a strong woman to

42:30live for God. You know anybody can go

42:32out to the club. Anybody can get high.

42:34Anybody can smoke cigarettes. Anybody

42:36can drink beer. But to refrain them from

42:38those things, it takes strength and

42:40power that I don't have within myself.

42:42Only Jesus can help me.

42:45So you're not weak people. You're not

42:48weak when you're a Christian. That mean

42:49you're strong when you're a Christian.

42:52BECAUSE IT TAKES POWER AND STRENGTH TO

42:54REFRAIN FROM THE THINGS of this world

42:56which are constantly PULLING AT YOU

42:57EVERY DAY ON THE INTERNET, on TV, OUT IN

43:01THE WORLD WHERE YOU WALK AND where you

43:03live. If you see all this ungodliness

43:04and all this immoral immoral actions AND

43:07BEHAVIOR, BUT NOT TO PARTICIPATE IN THAT

43:09AND not to DO THAT TAKES THE POWER OF

43:12ALMIGHTY GOD.

43:14So it TAKES STRENGTH. SO YOU'RE NOT A

43:16WEAKLING BEING A CHRISTIAN. You're a

43:18weakling when you live in THE WORLD

43:19BECAUSE WHAT YOU'RE DOING, YOU'RE

43:21FOLLOWING THE WAYS of the world.

43:24You it takes a strong man and a strong

43:26woman to live for God

43:32because there's freedom in living for

43:34God. That mean you're not following the

43:37ways of the world. YOU'RE NOT PATTERNING

43:40YOUR LIFE AFTER THE WAYS of the world.

43:43You're patterning your life after the

43:45word of God and AFTER THE THINGS OF GOD.

43:51I'm talking about freedom.

43:53that God gives

43:58freedom.

44:00And he says in that verse continued, he

44:02says, "There is none that seeketh after

44:05the God."

44:08You know, it's our sinful nature that

44:11causes us

44:13to run away from God and to try to hide

44:15from God.

44:17You know when you have sin in your life,

44:21you don't want to be in the presence of

44:23God. You know, you want to hide.

44:26And that's what happens. The spirit will

44:27move on you, convict you, and so you

44:30feel that conviction. So, you want to

44:32get away. But that's the love of God.

44:34And that's the grace of God that is

44:36drawing you.

44:38In Genesis 3:8, I'm I'm hurrying up,

44:41almost finished. Adam and Eve had eaten

44:44of the forbidden fruit. And it says

44:46this. It said, "They heard the voice of

44:48the Lord God walking in the garden in

44:51the cool of the day. And Adam and his

44:53wife hid themselves

44:55from the presence of the Lord God

44:57amongst the trees of the garden."

45:01You see, because when they realized

45:04now, they didn't know they was naked.

45:07You see, it's not that God did not want

45:09them, you know, he didn't want them, he

45:11not that he didn't want them to have

45:12knowledge.

45:14He didn't want them to have the

45:15knowledge of sin.

45:18Yeah. He didn't want them to have the

45:20knowledge of sin. So when they ate of

45:21the forbidden fruit, they became aware

45:23of sin.

45:26And then that's when they realized they

45:27was naked. So they wanted to hide

45:28themselves from God.

45:32You see, that's why a lot of times

45:33people don't want to come to church.

45:34They're trying to hide from God because

45:35of what they're doing in their life and

45:37the things that they have going on in

45:38their life. They know they're not right.

45:40You see, because they have the knowledge

45:42of sin. Everybody have, you know, when

45:43you're doing wrong.

45:46You know when you're not living right.

45:47You know when you're doing things that

45:48is against the word of God

45:51because that's the knowledge OF SIN. BUT

45:53GOD didn't want you to have that. He

45:54wanted you to have the knowledge of

45:55righteousness.

45:58But when Adam and Eve ate of the

45:59forbidden fruit, then they became aware

46:02of sin.

46:05So we as a nation that is we are truly

46:08blessed by God.

46:11So when you go back and you read and

46:13study the history of our founding

46:15fathers, you see and understand that

46:17this nation, the United States of

46:19America was founded upon godly

46:22principles.

46:25You see, America, the greatest America

46:28is a great nation, but America is not

46:30self-made.

46:33America is God made.

46:38And so in Psalm 33, 33 and 12 says,

46:41"Blessed is the nation whose God is the

46:43Lord and the people whom he has chosen

46:45for his own inheritance."

46:51As a nation, America has God has used

46:55America to do a lot of good things in

46:57the world.

46:59In World War II,

47:03God used America to help defeat

47:06Nazism, Germany, and Japan. imperialism.

47:12God used America. America was not going

47:14to even get involved in the war. We was

47:16going to sit out. We was helping We was

47:18going to We was helping Europe, Britain.

47:20We was giving them supplies and and

47:22stuff, but we wasn't going to get

47:23involved in the war. But God said,

47:24"Uh-uh,

47:26I'mma use you." So, Pearl Harbor was was

47:30bombed and then we got involved in the

47:32war. And God used America

47:35to defeat Germany and Japan. And you

47:38think about that. This is only some

47:3980ome years ago. How quick it is that

47:42people forget history.

47:4480ome years ago is not a long time.

47:50Because if God hadn't used us to win,

47:54to beat and defeat Germany and Japan,

47:58America wouldn't be here today as we

48:00know it. Yeah.

48:04You see, some something is always trying

48:06to take away your freedom. People are

48:08always trying to defeat America because

48:10they want to take away the freedom that

48:12God has given to this nation. Just like

48:14the devil want to take away the freedom

48:15that God has given you. He's constantly

48:18trying to infiltrate it, trying to move

48:20in and trying to undermine and do

48:22whatever they can. So they they, you

48:23know, they're trying to destroy the

48:25freedom of America. They're trying to

48:26destroy destroy the right that we have

48:28to worship God and and and they trying

48:30to do all these things. They're trying

48:31to take away the Bible. You can't read

48:33the Bible. You can't talk about God in

48:35the public places. You can't do all

48:37these things. Why? Because the devil is

48:38trying steadily trying to undermine and

48:40to destroy this country. But it was God

48:42who built America. And I believe that

48:44America will never be destroyed until

48:47because God is going to use America in

48:48the last days. Let's stand.

48:58The musician can come.

49:02America has

49:04also helped

49:06established Israel as a nation. God used

49:08America to help establish Israel as a

49:11nation. In 1948,

49:14God has used America to send more

49:15missionaries around the world than any

49:17other nation.

49:20God has used America to send food as

49:22well as health care to many deprived

49:24nations around the world. God has

49:26blessed

49:28America.

49:35You know, God

49:37has always

49:39wanted his people to be free.

49:42That is why he wrapped himself in human

49:45flesh and came down to earth as a man to

49:48take upon himself our sin and down the

49:51cross and was risen from the dead so

49:53that we can be free from the bondage of

49:55sin and death.

49:58America

50:00has a great history. America is a great

50:03nation.

50:05Yes, America's not perfect,

50:08but it's a great nation.

50:14President Ronald Reagan, as I get ready

50:16to close and open up the altar here

50:18today,

50:20President Ronald Reagan

50:22says that freedom is a fragile is fra is

50:25a fragile thing. It's fragile thing.

50:28And he and I quote, he says, "Perhaps we

50:31have lived with this miracle too long to

50:33be properly appreciative."

50:35He said, "Freedom is fragile. It's a

50:38fragile thing and it's never more than

50:40one generation away from extension.

50:44It is not ours by inheritance."

50:47He said, "It must be fought for for and

50:49defended constantly by each generation.

50:53For it comes only once to a people.

50:57Those who have known freedom and when

50:59you lose it

51:02have never known it again.

51:05Freedom is priceless. Freedom is costly.

51:10And I'm here today. If you're here today

51:16and you don't know Jesus Christ,

51:20you have not given your life to the

51:22Lord. Maybe you're just on the fence.

51:24Maybe you got one foot on this side of

51:25the fence and one's feet on that side of

51:28the fence and you're unsure about what

51:31what you want to do with your life and

51:33which direction you want to go. But I

51:35want to encourage you that Jesus is here

51:36today to set you free

51:39from the things that have bound you, the

51:41things that cause you to be bound

51:44spiritually, the things that you deal

51:45with and wrestle with on a daily basis.

51:49You see those those strongholds that you

51:52have in your life, God want to break

51:54those strongholds today.

51:58>> And so how you do that? Well, you do

52:01that by repentance.

52:03By saying, God, I I I know that I have

52:06not lived my life according to what your

52:07word says. I have not done the right

52:09things. I have not lived right.

52:12So you come up and you repent of your

52:14[music] sins. you confess your sins to

52:15God because the Bible says in John 19 he

52:18said if I confess my sins then God is

52:21faithful and he is just to forgive you

52:23for your sins and to cleanse you from

52:24all unrighteousness and then you take

52:27then those sins you take those sins and

52:29then you bury those sins how do you bury

52:31those sins well you bury those sins

52:32through water baptism in Jesus name that

52:37mean those sins are buried

52:39no matter what you done in your life no

52:41matter how bad it was no matter how many

52:43times names that you done that those

52:46sins those same sins but if you take

52:50those sins and you bury them in in that

52:53watery grave in the name of Jesus those

52:55sins [music] are buried and then God

52:58doesn't see your past your past is gone

53:01you got a new beginning and that's what

53:02God want to do he want to give everybody

53:04a new beginning in life and then he want

53:07to raise you back to he want to raise

53:09you up and give you the power to be able

53:12to live right Because without the spirit

53:14of God, you cannot live right and do the

53:18things that you know is right without

53:19his spirit. You can perform, but it

53:23takes the power of God to help us to do

53:26the right things. So this altar is open

53:28today. Somebody need the Holy Ghost and

53:30somebody want to get baptized.

53:33We got water, we got clothes,

53:36freedom. I thank God for

53:40allowing me to be

53:42an American, to be born in this nation.

53:46And so God is here today to help you, to

53:48free you.

53:51He here to set you free. He here to help

53:53you.

53:58Come and just reach out to him.

54:02>> I [singing] am free.

54:06I am free. No [music] matter how I feel,

54:10God is here to help me.

54:11>> No matter what [singing] I see,

54:14your word [music] is my authority.

54:17In every season of [singing] life.

54:21So [music] as for me and my house, we're

54:24going to be free.

54:28So I will stand [music and singing] up

54:30and fight for my freom.

54:35I will stand [singing and music] up and

54:38take what belongs to me.

54:42Yes, I will worship

54:45in my situation.

54:47[music and singing]

54:50I will lift my hand, lift my voice,

54:53declare [music and singing] I am free.

54:58As for me [singing] and my house, pass

55:02for [music] me and my house. As for me

55:06and [singing] my house, we're going to

55:09be [music] free.

55:12As for me [singing] and my house, as

55:16[music] for me and my house, as for

55:20[singing] me and my house, we're going

55:22to be [music]

55:24free.

55:26I am free because [singing] you said I

55:29am free. [music]

55:33I am [singing] free no matter how I

55:36feel. No matter [music] what I speak,

55:40your word is my authority [singing]

55:43in every season of life.

55:47So as [music] for me [singing] and my

55:49house, we're going to be free. [music]

55:54So I will stand up and fight [singing]

55:56for my freom.

56:01I will [music] stand up and take what

56:03[singing] belongs to me.

56:07[music] I will worship in my [singing]

56:10situation.

56:14I will lift my hands,

56:16[music and singing]

56:16lift my voice, declare I am free.

56:23As for me and my [music] house, pass for

56:26[singing] me and my house. As [music]

56:30for me and my house, we're going to

56:33[singing] be free.

56:36As for [music] me and my house, as for

56:40[singing] me and my house, as for me and

56:45my house, we're going to be

56:47[music and singing] free.

56:50I declare freedom for my friend. I

56:53declare freedom [singing and music] for

56:55my home. I declare freedom for my

56:59daughters. I declare freedom [music] for

57:02my sons. [singing]

57:03I declare what your word has spoken. No

57:07matter what I feel or what I see. I

57:10declare [music and singing] every chain

57:12is broken. We're going to be free.

57:17I declare [music] freedom for my family.

57:20I declare [singing] freedom for my home.

57:24I declare [music] freedom for my

57:26daughters. I declare freedom [singing]

57:28for my sons. [music] I declare what your

57:32word has spoken. No matter [singing]

57:34what I feel or what I see. I declare

57:38every chain is [music and singing]

57:39broken. We're going to be free.

57:44I declare freedom for my [music] family.

57:47I declare freedom for my [singing] home.

57:50I declare [music] freedom for my

57:52daughters. I declare freedom for my son.

57:55[music]

57:56I declare what your word has spoken. No

58:00matter what I feel or what

58:01[music and singing] I see, I declare

58:04every chain is broken. We're going to be

58:08free. [music]

58:12[music] We're going to be free.

58:14[singing]

58:19We're going to be [music and singing]

58:21free.

58:23I declare freedom for my men. I declare

58:27[music and singing] freedom for my home.

58:29I declare freedom for my daughters. I

58:33declare freedom for my [music] sons. I

58:36declare what your word has [singing]

58:38spoken. No matter what I feel or what I

58:41see, I declare every train is

58:45[music and singing] broken. We're going

58:46to be free.

58:49I declare [music] freedom for my

58:51[singing] family. I declare freedom for

58:54my home. I declare freedom for my

58:58[music and singing] daughters. I declare

59:00freedom for my sons. I declare what

59:03[music] your word has spoken. [singing]

59:05No matter what I feel or what I seek, I

59:09declare every chain is broken. We're

59:12going to be free. [music and singing]

59:18We're going to be free.