Today is Memorial Day. Have you ever noticed we don’t say“Happy Memorial Day”? During Christmas time we might say, “Merry Christmas” or “happyholidays” and so forth as we celebrate the season. But we don’t celebrate MemorialDay. Memorial Day is not a day to be happy; it’s a day to remember the greatsacrifice many made so that we might live in a free country.

Itrust today that you’ll take time to remember that freedom is not free. Overone million people in our country paid the price of giving their own lives.They made the ultimate sacrifice. “Greater love has no man than this, than aman lay down his life for his friends.” These people laid down their lives fortheir friends, their family, their country, and their God.

Americais a great place to live. With all the problems, difficulties, divisions, andstrife we might have, it’s still the greatest place on planet Earth that Godhas blessed us with to be citizens in and live in. The freedom we enjoy is notfree; a great price was paid for it. We need to remember that today. Today takethe time to go to a memorial service. I’ll be going to one this morning withsome local veterans and active military guys right here in my own neighborhood.There are other services in your community that you can choose to attend. Please,in some way today, remember and take time to honor those who died for ourfreedom. If you know someone or a family that gave a son or daughter to serviceand maybe sacrificed their life, give them a call. You can let them know you’rethinking about them today. You can pray for them, and take that time toremember.

It’sinteresting to note how this ties in to what we are studying here we are inLuke chapter 19. Jesus has already told us that He has come to seek and to savethat which was lost. For Jesus to seek and to save that which was lost, He hadto die. He had to die on an old rugged cross. He had to pay the ultimatesacrifice. He had to lay down His life for His friends, and He did that for youand for me.

Oh,my friend, what a great sacrifice Jesus made. Did you ever think of thedifference between the sacrifice Jesus made, and the soldiers and those in ourmilitary made as they laid down their lives for our country. Yes they made theultimate sacrifice for our freedom. But what kind of freedom is that? Thefreedom to live in homes we want to live in, work jobs we want to work, gowhere we want to go, travel as we like to travel. We’re free to choose ourvocations. There are so many things we are free to do.

ButJesus didn’t die to set us free to do what we want to do. Jesus died to set usfree to be able to do what we ought to do!  And that is to live a life that honors,glorifies, and pleases Him and to enjoy the fullness of life—eternal life, Godliving within us. Oh, my friend, Jesus paid that sacrifice so we could be freefrom the guilt, the shame, the penalty, and the power of sin over us! We areset free by His sacrifice to do what is right and good. We are free to forgive othersbecause we have been forgiven!

We’re looking at Luke 19, the very last verses of the chapter.

Thisis interesting, and we’ll talk more about this tomorrow, but I believe this istaking place on Monday morning. Remember, on Sunday morning, Jesus rode intoJerusalem on a colt, a donkey, and as He rode in, the people celebrated, cheeredand yelled, “Hosanna in the Highest.” Jesus wept over the city. And then Jesusgoes back to Bethany where He spends the night. The next morning, Mondaymorning, Jesus goes into the temple to cleanse it. Just like we have ourproblems in America today, they had their problems in Jerusalem in those days.Jesus denounced the wickedness and the evil of the religious leaders who wereusing the temple to make money. Oh, my friend, not much has changed over theyears. We will talk more about this tomorrow.