Understanding True Freedom

From the Mecca of Mormonism, Salt Lake City, Utah – this is Heart of the MatterTGNN’s original show where Shawn McCraney deconstructed religion and developed fulfilled theology. – where we are working together to understand this sacred faith in the age of fulfillment.

And I’m your host Shawn McCraneyFounder of TGNN and developer of the fulfilled perspective—calling people to faith outside of religion..

Tonight (Monday) is our Short Show and tomorrow night (Tuesday will be our longer show). Your comments on tonight’s short show will be read and addressed tomorrow night!

The Illusion of Freedom

Show 9s The Absolute and Only True Liberty November 29th, 2020

Prior to knowing Jesus Christ and God through Him, I had fanciful imaginations of what it meant to be free. In Huntington Beach, circa the early 1970’s right on the corner of PCH and Main stood a building with Jack’s surf shop on the street level and total rat hole apartments above. I used to tell my mom, even as little kid, that I wanted to live in the corner room of that squalid motel and do nothing but look at the waves. I think this terrified her. But to me it symbolized freedom and liberty.

As a teenager, we had a squadron of homeless guys that roamed the city and a number of them lived in the thick brush of an empty field near my house. One day my friends and I came upon one of their hovels while they were out panhandling (we guessed). And I’ll never forget finding empty liquor bottles, used hypodermic needles and porn magazines amidst their fetid belongings and I realized then and there that these men were not free; in fact, they were some of the most imprisoned souls around.

For a time I thought that pilots were free, until I learned all that they had to mandatorily do to properly fly a plane. And then of course, I looked to the entertainment industry – they are truly free, I supposed. Actors, musicians – our movie and rock stars, right? They are free!

And then I gained insight into what is actually required of such souls – actors are restricted to the approved script, blocking of scenes, the direction of directors and producers, make-up artists, and the collective of the films they make. But rock-stars are free, aren’t they? Stupidly, I never considered what they have to do to play their songs! They have to follow the chord progressions, the beat, tempo, the drum patterns, and the signals of others. Even when they are just jamming, there are rules that they must abide by in order to remain in harmony, in rhythm with the others.

The Reality of Liberty

So while Jazz musicians and single artists may get closer to the reality of true freedom and liberty, they too are inherently required to follow the rules – rules that dominate over them as much as rules dominate over teachers of math, heart surgeons, accountants, and attorneys.

Watching the recent short series called, The Queens Gambit on Netflix brought another disillusion to the forefront of my mind in my lifelong search of true freedom when I learned that the best Chess players in the world simply memorize plays and strategies of other great players and implement them in response to the strategies of their opponent – that what I saw as the freedom of a champion chess player to go and move as they wished from pure intelligence, I saw, in the end, was simply mental regimentation and memory, and that the move of an opponent often forces the best players to respond in very restricted, and therefore unliberated, ways. I was so dumb as to believe that the best chess players were merely operating by instinct and intelligence with every move – not so – just more and more elaborate sets of rules.

And it hit me – and I went back to four separate phrases in scripture:

First phrase from the Lord when he said: “I am the way, the truth and the life.”

Second phrase from the Lord: “You shall know the truth and the truth will make you free.”

The third phrase from the Lord to his disciples:
John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

And forth and finally (2nd Corinthians 3:17)

Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

And the light switched on! The freest, the most liberty a human being can ever experience in this life – ever – is by and through

The Spirit of Freedom and Liberty

The Spirit of God given to us by God through belief on His Son.

Nothing on earth, no occupation, hobbie, drug, or relationship can produce anything close to the freedom and liberty one can have through God by His Spirit. Nothing.

To me there are a few reasons for this.

First, when the Spirit speaks, we are free to listen or not. It is a two-lane highway, this relationship with God, and the instructions from him are always, always, always – optional. Secondly, when we choose to embrace the Spirits leadings, the ultimate results for us will be more liberty and not less. So, while the Spirit will certainly offer directions, and we all have to choose to serve somebody, choosing to serve God by the Spirit winds up providing us with more liberty not less.

Results of Choosing the Spirit

Finally, the results of choosing to follow the directives of the spirit culminates in high and higher level of emancipation – from our flesh, from this world, from the chains of mortality and toward higher and higher levels of existence, instead of lower.

Agape Love

This is the result of the fruit of the Spirit being Agape LoveSelfless love marked by patience, mercy, and humility—central to living in spiritual liberty. – which is the ultimate driver behind true liberation – His unconditional LOVE. The more we imbibe in the Spirit and its fruit of Love, the more love we embrace, the more freedom and liberty we will actually, literally possess.

(beat)

Write your comments below, we will get to them every tueday night on our long shows, here on Heart of the Matter!