Sermon Notes.

I. FREEDOM OF CHOICE


One of the very fundamental beliefs of Christianity is this idea of freedom of choice. It is as basic as the idea of God. In fact, it is one of the very first characteristics we see of God in the Bible.


In the beginning, God did not create man to be a puppet or slave, but rather to be a friend.

God stooped down into the earth, got muddied with clay -- formed his body
and God breathed down into the mouth of Adam.

He did not simply shout him into being but lovingly and tenderly made him. With thought and consideration.

Before God even Made Eve for Adam, God gave rules to adam-


and with the rules he did something very strange- he gave the option to not follow the rule----- he made a possibility for rules to be broken.


Don’t be so naïve and short sited.

God COULD have kept satan out of the garden, God could have left the tree on the outsides of the gate. God could have acted like the great rebellion never occurred.


But he didn’t.

Forcing us is not in God's character- it's not in his set of rules for himself. No where in the Bible does God force anyone. He forced the sun to stand still for a day-

but he left man with something of a gift- Choice.


He gave us the gift of freedom. There it is from the beginning of time. We, as human beings were given choice. We have freedom of choice.


It is something that is basic in God’s character, and as I see it- as Adventists, it is basic in our character and belief set.

It is the first part of God that humanity saw. It is the first part of His Character that he let Adam see.

I want you to hear this: God is not a control freak- he handed us choice.


1. God's ___________ gift to humanity was ____________ of _____________.




____________________________

2. God’s love is n’t based on our choices:
Luke 6:27-35
John 3:16


It is not our job to love people only if they choose like us. That's no what the scripture said.





I'd like to read this to you again. While I'm reading it-- I want you to imagine the person who is your "enemy" The person you think is wrong. The person whose choices you don't respect or admire. Close your eyes.

Luke 6:27-35

“But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless
those who curse you and all that you stand for, pray for those who abuse you. To one who strikes you on the cheek,
offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic
either. Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods
do not demand them back. And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.

“If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those
who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that
to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect
to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same
amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and
your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the
ungrateful and the evil.

Nor is it our job to judge people only if they choose like us. that we should be like Jesus: Just as Jesus, it is our job to help, heal, love, and nurture people who are far different than us. How do we touch the world when our hands are idly praying in the church? How do we heal people if we only offer our love if they come to church?

The story of the good Samaritan: Jesus didn’t praise the good Samaritan because he followed the rules: but because he could Coexist with those outside of his belief structure—and work towards the common good of man kind.

___________________________________________________________________________________
You can coexist with people whom you don't agree.

On the screen you see


The word “COEXIST” spelled out with symbols from various world religions.

At first glance, you might not think this was an Adventist Christian bumper sticker.


But I think it is.


It doesn’t say “AGREE.” It says “COEXIST.”


It says that every group should have the freedom to express themselves in a free country.


And the amazing part is that when you pay tithe in an Adventist Church, some of it goes to support a Religious Liberty Department that defends the rights of people from various religions from being discriminated against.

Maybe you didn't hear me.

We defend the rights of people from various religions from being discriminated against.


We help those we don’t agree with.

I’m SO proud of that part of our church!

That is something I didn't know until I went to law school. I remember sitting in Constitutional Law II. Starting the first week of second semester starting with the first amendment. Professor Rook-ley. with a bow tie.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; Separation of church and state!

It took my con law 2 professor to tell me that our faith is so tolerant and forward thinking!

I became SO proud of that part of our church in law school. I was proud to say that My church and my fellow church members—were not OK with religious discrimination- regardless of our agreeing or disagreeing with a fellow human-being. We don't hate people because they don't agree with us. We help our enemies.



Our Legal team set many precedents that are taught in law text books to support our own beliefs. as well. One of our church members here at Alpine SDA seeing the benefits.

Last year, a church member was threatened to lose his job if he didn't work on Saturday. When he told his supervisor that he kept the seventh day sabbath- he was handed a warning. Our fellow church member talked to the pastor, and then this was handed off to the team of attorneys who represented him- and thereby represented each and everyone of us. During a time of economic duress in our country, that church member had the confidence to know that his first amendments rights would be represented- and they were. Their family moved to TN- because after all-- who wants to stay in a job where they've been "almost-fired" -- but this happened right here in our church.

I am happy that we have that support system with one another in our church.

But equally, I was proud to tell my friends, that yes, I am Christian and no, I do not think it is right for the U.S. government to neglect the right’s of Muslim women to wear a head covering to work or to miss work to attend religious services on Friday afternoons. I am a Christian who believes in Freedom of Choice. And so does my church. I was proud that we pay for legal representation for those who do not belong to our faith-- to ensure that they can worship in a free country-- and that our rights aren't violated. I was very open about my Adventism in school-- and after Con Law 2, people became more familiar with me as a Christian-- and my belief set. My non-christian intellectual friends were coming to church with me because they saw something tolerant and loving about our faith.. something actually Christ like. They liked that we promoted religious liberty, that we promote a healthy lifestyle- and not like the fat-sos in the Bible belt, they'd comment about how it was interesting that we supported the caring for the environment- because that made sense. We are being stewards. I am proud of our church.

That same semester in school, I was chosen along with 3 other students to go to a moot court competition in Delaware. The competition was to be held Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. The finals were on Saturday, and my team mates knew that I didn't do "work" on Saturday-- as such, I wouldn't compete and I wouldn't practice on Sabbath. About two weeks before the competition and about 4 weeks after knowing one of my team mates, she came to talk to me in the library. "Ashley, you go to church, right? that's why you take Saturdays off." I'm thinking- I really don' wan o be nagged about competing on Sabbath- WHY? I say "yep." And in started a way deeper conversation than I was ever expecting.

She told me how she always knew- even since she was a little girl that she was different than other girls. She told me that since she could remember she'd gone to church with her parents hearing that God loved her. She then told me her secret- that she was and is gay. With a furrowed brow and a wet right eye- her nostrils flared-- and she told me that she had a great emptiness inside of her. A pain from feeling unaccepted by the church-- when that was where she always knew she had love as a child.

She asked me what I thought about that.

MY HEART SANG: that I could tell her that MY CHURCH believes that God loves us JUST the way we are. I told her that my church had a support group for people like her. THAT is the good news. That broken hearted and those battered by the judgement of the world can find acceptance in Christ- God loves us.

I am so proud that we do not forget that first characteristic of God-- freedom of choice. That we do not forget that God loves us just the way we are.



Be humble enough to learn from others:

--------------------------------------------------
Take a good hard look at the man on the screen.
Even though he smiles, he looks guilty like the rest.
He’s Middle Eastern.
He’s Muslim.
He’s a resident of New York City.
And strangely, he disappeared without a trace after the terrorist attacks. He didn’t show up for college classes, He didn’t show up for work. and even the FBI couldn’t find him for questioning.

In the weeks after his disappearance, a newspaper linked Salman Hamdani to the terrorist attacks, and a flier with his picture was circulated among city police officers, saying an FBI-Police Department joint terrorist task force wanted to speak with him. The fliers were unauthorized, and their source was unclear, police later said. But the rumors about his involvement in the attack spread.
Finally on March 20th, his remains were found at ground zero, and the true story emerged at his long-delayed funeral several years later in 2005. All that was found with his remains was his medical bag and his ID—no bombs or weapons.
The Pakistani-born American citizen actually loved America and was studying to become a doctor. Salman was a trained medical technician and a New York City Police Cadet. On Sept. 11, Hamdani left his Queens home in the morning and apparently saw the disaster in lower Manhattan unfold from the elevated tracks of the subway train. He immediately headed toward the scene. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said, "We don't know how many people he helped, how many lives he saved. But if you look at his life, you know he was determined to make a difference -- and he did. ... He was indeed a hero."


I wonder, if like most Christians, I wouldn’t have just stayed where I was in safety and offered up a prayer or two for the suffering. I mean who, in their right mind, would run toward a burning building, let alone two? But this young Muslim was drawn by God to risk his life for others. It sounds like something Jesus would do.


Are we humble enough to learn from a Muslim? Don’t we have a lot to learn from people of other religions? I am sure it was hard for the Jews, In Jesus' day-- to think they had anything to learn from a Samaratin.


A Buddhist friend when I was living in Bangkok as a Student Missionary started to teach me the art of being still, and really becoming a more thoughtful, introspective person. (That’s a tough lesson for someone as hyper-active as me.) Eventually I was still long enough for God to speak to me and teach me that I needed to be more prayerful and thoughtful in all of my actions.


With all the cheap Jewish jokes that float around, it was actually a Jewish friend that taught me to be generous by giving me one of her favorite shirts, during our first week of knowing each other. I told her I thought her shirt was beautiful. About two weeks later, she brought it to school and told me she had gotten it on sale anyway. minimizing her generosity, She sure crashed the stereotype of stinginess in my mind. One generous action neutralized a 1,000 bad Jewish jokes.


We have so much to learn from others.


In fact, that’s one of the radical teachings that Adventists found early on. In the 19th Century, many Christians in America thought that people who had never heard of Christ were going to be lost. They felt like God’s mercy, love, truth and wisdom were confined to our little part of the world and our religion. As a denomination, we’ve made plenty of mistakes, but this is something we got right:


A modern translation of one of our founders says this, “The people Jesus praises in the judgment may not know much theology, but they understand and love His principles. Many who have never heard of Christianity live with a spirit of kindness. Those who worship God without knowing Him, never contacted by Christian missionaries, will not be lost. They may have been ignorant about God’s written laws, but the Holy Spirit has touched their hearts and it shows in their actions. They may be surprised to hear it, but they are God’s children!” (that’s from the Messiah book, which is a modern paraphrase of the Desire of Ages, by Ellen White. (Messiah, p. 343, Desire of Ages, p. 638)


But this truth dates all the way back to 1st Century Christianity.

Romans 2:14-16


“When Gentiles who have not the law do by nature what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that what the law requires is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness…





Even people who haven’t read God’s book and message can be saved if they surrender to His Spirit and accept His grace.

What it’s saying is that you don’t have to know the Lifeguard’s first name in order for Him to save you.

You just have to listen and let him save you. And God saves people all over the world who haven’t heard his story.


But what a blessing for us to be able to hear it. What a blessing it is to know the promises of God, Jesus’ undying love for us—the he loves us even when we don’t choose his way—and he loves us just the way we are-- he washes us clean and let’s us start all over from scratch?



Put your words into Action.


SO What’s next?

We know that God gives us Freedom of Choice
We know that we have religious liberty with God
We know that we can give to the cause of the church to promote this basic principle of Christianity- being freedom of church.

Bus what can we do to bless others on a micro-scale by applying these truths of Religious Freedom?


—John 13:34-35 quotes Jesus saying:

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you,
you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if
you have love for one another.”

God Calls us to love others as he has loved us. He loved us by giving us freedom of choice-- and then he continued to love us even when we didn't choose like he would want us to.. and then he continued to love.

Just like I think that Jesus would have acted, I think it is our job to act in love expecting nothing in return.

I get so sick of people saying, “oh, I’ll pray for you.” How about this—How about you pray and ask god what you can do for him. How about you act to help others.

Helping people know the character of God with one action at a time.

Studies show that people who do something nice for others are happier. This is called experiencing the joy of the christian experience.
So if nothing else!!! how about we take advantage of this gift from god of happiness by helping others in our community.

How does this tie into religious liberty you might be asking? As it stands, the government cannot give money to religious organizations because they cannot support a connection between church and state.

As such, we could receive money from the U.S. government through grants—to do good –Christ-like works, so long as we don’t attempt to use that money to convert people to our beliefs?


Don’t be so closed sighted to think that God’s name cannot be glorified without his name attached.

After all, Jesus’ model for changing lives was to meet people’s needs and then to speak on terms of faith.

How else does it tie into religious liberty?? like this: OUR BASIC BELIEF IS TO GIVE PEOPLE A CHOICE, TO RESPECT THAT CHOICE (EVEN IF WE DONT AGREE WITH IT) and KEEP on loving them. Just like God, and just like Jesus. It's practicing what we preach.


I don’t know the godly answers to all things.

I do believe some things to be self-evident.

God gives us freedom to choose him.
It is our job to love others even if they don’t choose him. And to let them know that they are loved just the way they are. After all- that's the good news.
We can learn a lot from other people-- if we humble ourselves. Don't be so proud, acknowledge that you can learn from someone you don't agree with.
God doesn’t need us to change people’s lives- but he would like to enrich our lives by helping him change lives. That's the joy of the Christian Experience.


The official stance of our church is to support the separation of church and state. As such we agree that the state should not give money to support religious causes. But guess what! Helping the poor, counseling the sad, teaching the illiterate, cooking for the hungry, and playing volleyball with the unholy in my book are all Christ like actions but according to the US government-- do not constitute a nexus between church and state. We can receive funds from the government to help people and meet them where they are. I have spoken with a few people on this subject-- if you would like to get together to work on grant writing to support a good Samaritan action in our community-- to support coexistence-- to reach out a hand in helping your enemy-- to tell people that god loves them just they way they are by offering your services. Please speak to me after church.


As our closing song, I am going to play a song that I would like for you to listen to in silence and I will close with prayer. I ask that you meditate on these words and ask God how he can use you. Ask God where you have been intolerant, and thank god for loving you JUST the way you are.