Latest / Get The Hell Out of Your Life with Ron Meyers / The Flag, The Cross, And The Empty Tomb

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The Flag, The Cross, And The Empty Tomb · Get The Hell Out of Your Life with Ron Meyers

• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: Today's program is dedicated to every man and woman who has worn the uniform of the United States of America.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for standing watch while the rest of us slept.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for your courage.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for your sacrifice.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: And above all, this message is dedicated to Jesus Christ, the one who wore the crown of thorns so that every one of us could experience a freedom no government could ever give.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: Now let's join the host of today's show, Ron Myers, with our special edition of Get the Hell Out of Your Life.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: The flag, the cross, and the empty tomb.
• 0:47
  Ron Meyers: Hello, my friends.
• 0:48
  Ron Meyers: It is so good to be with you today.
• 0:51
  Ron Meyers: I'm Ron Myers.
• 0:52
  Ron Meyers: I'm your host, and I don't know where you're listening from.
• 0:56
  Ron Meyers: Maybe you're driving home from work.
• 0:59
  Ron Meyers: Maybe you're sitting on your back porch with a cup of coffee.
• 1:02
  Ron Meyers: Maybe you're taking a walk, or maybe you're doing what I often do.
• 1:07
  Ron Meyers: Just trying to catch your breath after another busy week.
• 1:12
  Ron Meyers: Wherever you are, I'm glad you're here.
• 1:16
  Ron Meyers: You know, every year about this time something happens to me.
• 1:19
  Ron Meyers: I'll drive through town along the beach and notice American flags appearing everywhere.
• 1:26
  Ron Meyers: Front porches, schools, churches, businesses.
• 1:29
  Ron Meyers: Then the grocery stores fill up with charcoal, watermelon, hot dogs, and red, white, and blue decorations.
• 1:36
  Ron Meyers: Children get excited about fireworks.
• 1:39
  Ron Meyers: Families begin making plans.
• 1:42
  Ron Meyers: And for a few days, it seems like the whole country pauses to celebrate one word, freedom.
• 1:50
  Ron Meyers: I love that.
• 1:51
  Ron Meyers: I really do.
• 1:52
  Ron Meyers: I still get emotional when I hear the national anthem.
• 1:56
  Ron Meyers: I still stand a little taller when old glory passes by in a parade.
• 2:01
  Ron Meyers: Because I know as a veteran, freedom isn't free.
• 2:05
  Ron Meyers: Somebody paid for it, somebody always does.
• 2:08
  Ron Meyers: Before we go any further, I want to say something.
• 2:12
  Ron Meyers: If you served in our country, thank you.
• 2:15
  Ron Meyers: Whether you spent four years or thirty, whether people know your name or never will, thank you.
• 2:22
  Ron Meyers: Your willingness to serve has given millions of Americans opportunities they may never fully appreciate.
• 2:30
  Ron Meyers: So thank you.
• 2:32
  Ron Meyers: But this week, as I was thinking about Independence Day, another question kept coming to mind.
• 2:39
  Ron Meyers: It's a simple question, but I think it's one of the most important questions we'll ever ask ourselves.
• 2:45
  Ron Meyers: Are we really free?
• 2:47
  Ron Meyers: Do we live in a free country?
• 2:49
  Ron Meyers: We do.
• 2:51
  Ron Meyers: I'm asking something much deeper, my friend.
• 2:54
  Ron Meyers: Are we free inside?
• 2:56
  Ron Meyers: Because I've met people who have every freedom America offers.
• 3:01
  Ron Meyers: Yet they're prisoners, not behind bars, behind fear, behind shame, behind addiction, behind anxiety, behind regret, behind the exhausting feeling that they'll never quite measure up.
• 3:19
  Ron Meyers: Maybe you know what that's like.
• 3:22
  Ron Meyers: Maybe nobody around you knows the battle you're fighting.
• 3:26
  Ron Meyers: You smile, you go to work, you attend church, you laugh with friends, but inside you're tired.
• 3:34
  Ron Meyers: You're carrying something heavy.
• 3:36
  Ron Meyers: Friend, that's not freedom.
• 3:39
  Ron Meyers: And that's exactly why I wanted to spend this time with you.
• 3:44
  Ron Meyers: Not to talk politics, not to debate history, not to convince you to vote one way or another.
• 3:52
  Ron Meyers: I want to brag on Jesus because I believe America has given us one of history's greatest blessings.
• 4:01
  Ron Meyers: But Jesus offers something even greater.
• 4:05
  Ron Meyers: America gives us political freedom.
• 4:08
  Ron Meyers: Jesus gives us spiritual freedom.
• 4:12
  Ron Meyers: One protects our rights, the other transforms our hearts.
• 4:17
  Ron Meyers: One changes where we live, the other changes how we live.
• 4:22
  Ron Meyers: So today I want to tell you three stories the story of a nation, the story of a savior, and somewhere in between your story.
• 4:34
  Ron Meyers: Because I have a feeling they're more connected than you might think.
• 4:38
  Ron Meyers: Every heart longs to be free.
• 4:40
  Ron Meyers: Have you ever noticed that every stage of life is a search for freedom?
• 4:45
  Ron Meyers: Children can't wait until they're old enough to make their own decisions.
• 4:50
  Ron Meyers: Teenagers count the days until they can drive.
• 4:54
  Ron Meyers: Yet adults dream about financial freedom.
• 4:58
  Ron Meyers: Parents dream about a free weekend.
• 5:01
  Ron Meyers: Retirees dream about freedom from schedules.
• 5:05
  Ron Meyers: Everybody is chasing freedom, but here's what I've discovered.
• 5:09
  Ron Meyers: Most of us are chasing the wrong kind.
• 5:11
  Ron Meyers: We spend years trying to fix what's outside us.
• 5:15
  Ron Meyers: When the real battle is happening inside of us, you can live in a beautiful house and still not have peace.
• 5:22
  Ron Meyers: You can have money in the bank and still be anxious.
• 5:26
  Ron Meyers: You can have thousands of followers online and still feel lonely.
• 5:31
  Ron Meyers: You can sit in church every Sunday and still wonder if God is disappointed in you.
• 5:39
  Ron Meyers: I've talked with people who've built successful businesses, people who have won awards, people who have accomplished things they never dreamed possible.
• 5:50
  Ron Meyers: And do you know what surprises me?
• 5:53
  Ron Meyers: Many of them quietly ask the question Is this all there is?
• 6:00
  Ron Meyers: Why?
• 6:01
  Ron Meyers: Because success was never meant to be your savior.
• 6:04
  Ron Meyers: Only Jesus can carry that weight.
• 6:06
  Ron Meyers: The apostle Paul understood this.
• 6:09
  Ron Meyers: That's why he wrote these words in Galatians.
• 6:12
  Ron Meyers: It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.
• 6:16
  Ron Meyers: Stand firm then, stand firm then, and do not let yourselves be burdened by a yoke of slavery.
• 6:26
  Ron Meyers: I absolutely love that verse.
• 6:29
  Ron Meyers: Notice what Paul didn't write.
• 6:31
  Ron Meyers: He didn't say it is for religion.
• 6:34
  Ron Meyers: He didn't say it is for rule keeping.
• 6:37
  Ron Meyers: He didn't say it is for trying harder.
• 6:40
  Ron Meyers: No, he said freedom.
• 6:43
  Ron Meyers: Think about that.
• 6:45
  Ron Meyers: Jesus didn't die so you could spend the rest of your life wondering whether you've done enough.
• 6:53
  Ron Meyers: He didn't rescue you just so you could trade one prison for another.
• 6:58
  Ron Meyers: Grace isn't another burden.
• 7:02
  Ron Meyers: Grace is the removal of the burden.
• 7:05
  Ron Meyers: Friend, if your Christianity feels heavier every year, maybe somewhere along the way you've picked up a backpack Jesus never asked you to carry.
• 7:17
  Ron Meyers: America's story officially began with a remarkable document, the Declaration of Independence.
• 7:26
  Ron Meyers: One sentence in particular has echoed throughout history.
• 7:30
  Ron Meyers: We hold these truths to be self-evident.
• 7:34
  Ron Meyers: That's all people are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights.
• 7:41
  Ron Meyers: I've always loved that phrase.
• 7:43
  Ron Meyers: Their creator, not their government, not a king, not a president, not a Congress, their creator.
• 7:51
  Ron Meyers: Think about what that means.
• 7:53
  Ron Meyers: Before you ever accomplished anything, God already declared your value.
• 7:59
  Ron Meyers: Before you ever succeeded, he loved you.
• 8:03
  Ron Meyers: Before you ever failed, he knew you.
• 8:06
  Ron Meyers: Before you ever sinned, he already knew the cross was coming.
• 8:11
  Ron Meyers: Friend, that's grace.
• 8:14
  Ron Meyers: Our nation's early leaders understood something that still matters today.
• 8:20
  Ron Meyers: Freedom works best when people recognize there is a moral authority greater than themselves.
• 8:26
  Ron Meyers: Laws can restrain evil, but they cannot create goodness.
• 8:31
  Ron Meyers: A constitution can protect liberty, but it can't transform the human heart.
• 8:36
  Ron Meyers: That's where Jesus changes everything.
• 8:39
  Ron Meyers: He didn't come merely to improve behavior.
• 8:43
  Ron Meyers: He came to create new hearts.
• 8:46
  Ron Meyers: Governments can pass legislation, but only God can bring transformation.
• 8:53
  Ron Meyers: Governments can defend liberty, but only Jesus can remove guilt.
• 8:59
  Ron Meyers: Governments can punish crime, but only Jesus can erase sin.
• 9:04
  Ron Meyers: That's why America is such a remarkable nation.
• 9:08
  Ron Meyers: But it was never meant to replace the kingdom of God.
• 9:12
  Ron Meyers: It points us towards something greater.
• 9:15
  Ron Meyers: Let's talk about Valley Forge.
• 9:17
  Ron Meyers: Close your eyes for just a moment.
• 9:19
  Ron Meyers: Picture Pennsylvania in the winter of 1777.
• 9:23
  Ron Meyers: Not Mississippi cold, not a chilly morning.
• 9:26
  Ron Meyers: I'm talking about bone deep winter.
• 9:30
  Ron Meyers: Snow, ice, wind.
• 9:32
  Ron Meyers: Now picture hungry soldiers.
• 9:34
  Ron Meyers: Some have no shoes, some wrap rags around bleeding feet.
• 9:39
  Ron Meyers: Disease is spreading, food is running out, men are wondering if they'll ever see home again.
• 9:46
  Ron Meyers: That's Valley Forge.
• 9:47
  Ron Meyers: History books tell us about battles, but they don't always tell us about discouragement.
• 9:54
  Ron Meyers: Can you imagine being George Washington?
• 9:57
  Ron Meyers: Responsible for an army that looked like it might disappear before spring?
• 10:03
  Ron Meyers: Responsible for a dream that seemed to be slipping away.
• 10:07
  Ron Meyers: Many historical accounts describe Washington as turning to God during those difficult months, seeking wisdom and strength when human resources weren't enough.
• 10:18
  Ron Meyers: I love that picture.
• 10:20
  Ron Meyers: Because every one of us eventually reaches a place where talent isn't enough.
• 10:27
  Ron Meyers: Money isn't enough.
• 10:29
  Ron Meyers: Experience isn't enough.
• 10:31
  Ron Meyers: We're left with one choice.
• 10:33
  Ron Meyers: Trust God.
• 10:35
  Ron Meyers: Maybe you've had a valley forage, a season where everything felt frozen.
• 10:41
  Ron Meyers: Maybe it was sitting in a hospital room waiting.
• 10:45
  Ron Meyers: Maybe it was watching your marriage struggle.
• 10:49
  Ron Meyers: Maybe it was losing someone you loved.
• 10:52
  Ron Meyers: Maybe it was wondering how you were going to pay the bills.
• 10:57
  Ron Meyers: Maybe it was quietly asking, Lord, where are you?
• 11:03
  Ron Meyers: Friends, I've had those seasons.
• 11:06
  Ron Meyers: There were times in my life when I thought another accomplishment would finally satisfy me, another event, another promotion, another opportunity.
• 11:17
  Ron Meyers: But every mountain I climbed simply revealed another mountain.
• 11:23
  Ron Meyers: Success kept moving the finish line.
• 11:26
  Ron Meyers: It wasn't until I stopped trying to build my identity around what I did and started resting in who Jesus says I am.
• 11:38
  Ron Meyers: That is how I experienced real freedom.
• 11:43
  Ron Meyers: Friend, God often does his deepest work in our hardest winters, not because he enjoys our pain, but because winter teaches us something success never can dependence.
• 11:56
  Ron Meyers: Valley Forge wasn't the end of America's story.
• 12:00
  Ron Meyers: It's where perseverance was forged.
• 12:03
  Ron Meyers: And maybe the winter you're walking through right now isn't the end of your story either.
• 12:10
  Ron Meyers: America teaches us that freedom is worth fighting for.
• 12:15
  Ron Meyers: Jesus teaches us that freedom was worth dying for.
• 12:18
  Ron Meyers: There's an enormous difference.
• 12:21
  Ron Meyers: George Washington asked ordinary men to sacrifice for a greater cause than themselves.
• 12:27
  Ron Meyers: Jesus became the sacrifice.
• 12:29
  Ron Meyers: Washington endured winner.
• 12:31
  Ron Meyers: Jesus endured the cross.
• 12:33
  Ron Meyers: Washington helped establish a nation.
• 12:36
  Ron Meyers: Jesus established a kingdom that will never end.
• 12:40
  Ron Meyers: Friend, that's why I love America, but I worship Jesus.
• 12:45
  Ron Meyers: One deserves my gratitude, the other deserves my life.
• 12:50
  Ron Meyers: And that's where we're headed next.
• 12:53
  Ron Meyers: Because in our next conversation, we're going to meet three markable men.
• 12:58
  Ron Meyers: Patrick Henry, John Adams, Ben Franklin.
• 13:02
  Ron Meyers: Each understood something profound about liberty.
• 13:06
  Ron Meyers: But each one also points us toward a greater truth, a freedom they could protect, but only Jesus could provide.
• 13:31
  Ron Meyers: We stood beside George Washington and watched a nation fight for its freedom.
• 13:36
  Ron Meyers: But now I want to move to the conversation from the battlefield to the human heart.
• 13:41
  Ron Meyers: Because if we're honest, the greatest battle you'll ever fight won't be against another nation.
• 13:46
  Ron Meyers: It won't even be against another person.
• 13:48
  Ron Meyers: The greatest battle you'll ever fight is the one inside of you.
• 13:51
  Ron Meyers: The battle between guilt and grace, fear and faith, performance and peace, trying harder or trusting deeper.
• 14:00
  Ron Meyers: You know, one of the reasons I love history is because history reminds us that people have always wrestled with the same questions.
• 14:08
  Ron Meyers: They wore different clothes, they rode horses instead of cars, they didn't have smartphones, but they did worry.
• 14:14
  Ron Meyers: They doubted, they hoped, they wondered if tomorrow would be better than today, just like we do.
• 14:20
  Ron Meyers: And that's why I think that the next three men have something to teach us.
• 14:24
  Ron Meyers: Not because they were perfect, they weren't.
• 14:27
  Ron Meyers: Not because they had all the answers, because they didn't.
• 14:30
  Ron Meyers: But because they understood that freedom is precious.
• 14:35
  Ron Meyers: And every one of them, in his own way, points us toward a greater freedom found only in Jesus Christ.
• 14:43
  Ron Meyers: Patrick Henry.
• 14:44
  Ron Meyers: If I begin this sentence, most Americans can finish it.
• 14:48
  Ron Meyers: Give me liberty or give me death.
• 14:53
  Ron Meyers: Patrick Henry spoke those words in 1775 long before America declared its independence.
• 15:00
  Ron Meyers: He wasn't trying to become famous.
• 15:02
  Ron Meyers: He wasn't looking for applause.
• 15:04
  Ron Meyers: He believed that living without liberty wasn't really living at all.
• 15:09
  Ron Meyers: Those words stirred ordinary people to extraordinary courage.
• 15:13
  Ron Meyers: I've often wondered what it must have been like to sit in that room to hear a man speak with such conviction, to realize history was changing right before your eyes.
• 15:26
  Ron Meyers: But every time I think about Patrick Henry, my mind goes somewhere else.
• 15:31
  Ron Meyers: It goes to another man standing before another crowd.
• 15:36
  Ron Meyers: Jesus.
• 15:37
  Ron Meyers: Unlike Patrick Henry, Jesus didn't ask others to die for freedom.
• 15:42
  Ron Meyers: He chose to die himself.
• 15:45
  Ron Meyers: Think about that.
• 15:46
  Ron Meyers: When they arrested him in the Garden of Gethsemane, he could have walked away.
• 15:51
  Ron Meyers: He could have called angels.
• 15:53
  Ron Meyers: He could have ended it all in an instant.
• 15:56
  Ron Meyers: Instead, he stayed.
• 15:58
  Ron Meyers: Because he saw you.
• 15:59
  Ron Meyers: He saw your fears, your failures, your regrets, your addictions, your shame.
• 16:04
  Ron Meyers: And he loved you enough to keep walking toward the cross.
• 16:09
  Ron Meyers: America teaches us that freedom is worth fighting for.
• 16:14
  Ron Meyers: Jesus teaches us that freedom was worth dying for.
• 16:19
  Ron Meyers: That's why Galatians chapter 5, verse 1 has become one of my favorite verses.
• 16:25
  Ron Meyers: It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.
• 16:29
  Ron Meyers: Not so we could become religious, not so we'd spend every day wondering if God is pleased with us, not so we would trade one kind of slavery for another.
• 16:42
  Ron Meyers: Jesus came to set us free.
• 16:45
  Ron Meyers: Friend, if your relationship with God feels heavy, if you're constantly wondering whether you have done enough, can I gently suggest something?
• 16:56
  Ron Meyers: Maybe you've picked up a burden Jesus never asked you to carry.
• 17:02
  Ron Meyers: Grace was never meant to weigh you down.
• 17:05
  Ron Meyers: Grace was meant to lift you up.
• 17:08
  Ron Meyers: Let's talk about John Adams.
• 17:10
  Ron Meyers: One of America's founders, John Adams, understood something we desperately need to remember today.
• 17:18
  Ron Meyers: A free nation depends upon people who govern themselves.
• 17:22
  Ron Meyers: Think about that for a minute.
• 17:23
  Ron Meyers: Government can write laws, but government cannot write character.
• 17:28
  Ron Meyers: Government can punish crime, but it cannot create compassion.
• 17:34
  Ron Meyers: Government can build prisons, but it cannot set hearts free.
• 17:39
  Ron Meyers: Only Jesus does that.
• 17:40
  Ron Meyers: That's why I believe America's greatest need has never simply been better politics.
• 17:46
  Ron Meyers: Our greatest need has always been transformed people.
• 17:51
  Ron Meyers: Because transformed people build transformed lives.
• 17:55
  Ron Meyers: Transformed families build transformed neighborhoods.
• 17:59
  Ron Meyers: Transformed neighborhoods build transformed communities.
• 18:03
  Ron Meyers: And transformed communities change nations.
• 18:06
  Ron Meyers: That's exactly how Jesus worked.
• 18:09
  Ron Meyers: He never started at Caesar's palace.
• 18:11
  Ron Meyers: He started beside fishing boats, around dinner tables, walking dusty roads, looking ordinary people in the eye and saying, Come, follow me.
• 18:22
  Ron Meyers: One heart at a time.
• 18:24
  Ron Meyers: I have often asked myself, what if Christians became known more for introducing people to Jesus than winning arguments?
• 18:33
  Ron Meyers: Can you imagine that?
• 18:35
  Ron Meyers: Less shouting, more serving, less condemning, more loving, less pointing fingers, more extending grace.
• 18:42
  Ron Meyers: I think the world would notice because that's exactly what Jesus did.
• 18:48
  Ron Meyers: He loved people before they cleaned themselves up.
• 18:52
  Ron Meyers: In fact, that's how they got cleaned up.
• 18:55
  Ron Meyers: Love changes people.
• 18:57
  Ron Meyers: Condemnation rarely does.
• 19:00
  Ron Meyers: Now let's talk about Ben Franklin.
• 19:03
  Ron Meyers: Benjamin Franklin may have been one of the smartest men America ever produced.
• 19:08
  Ron Meyers: He was a scientist, inventor, writer, diplomat, printer, statesman.
• 19:14
  Ron Meyers: And if intelligence alone could solve humanity's problems, Franklin would have solved most of them.
• 19:21
  Ron Meyers: But one of my favorite moments in his life had nothing to do with electricity or inventions.
• 19:28
  Ron Meyers: It happened during the Constitutional Convention.
• 19:32
  Ron Meyers: The delegates have been arguing for weeks.
• 19:35
  Ron Meyers: Nothing seemed to be working.
• 19:37
  Ron Meyers: Tempers were rising, progress had stalled, then the elderly Franklin slowly stood.
• 19:43
  Ron Meyers: He reminded everyone that during the Revolutionary War they had often prayed for God's help.
• 19:50
  Ron Meyers: Then he asked a question that stopped the room.
• 19:54
  Ron Meyers: If we needed God's help to win our independence, why would we think we could build a nation without him?
• 20:03
  Ron Meyers: Don't you love that?
• 20:05
  Ron Meyers: One of the brightest minds in America admitted, I still need God.
• 20:11
  Ron Meyers: Friend, that's wisdom.
• 20:13
  Ron Meyers: Real wisdom isn't pretending you've got life figured out.
• 20:17
  Ron Meyers: Real wisdom says, Lord, I don't know what to do.
• 20:21
  Ron Meyers: I need you.
• 20:22
  Ron Meyers: And the older I get, the less impressed I become with my own abilities.
• 20:28
  Ron Meyers: And the more amazed I become by God's grace.
• 20:33
  Ron Meyers: When I was younger, I thought confidence meant having all the answers.
• 20:36
  Ron Meyers: Now I think confidence means knowing the one who does.
• 20:41
  Ron Meyers: Jesus never said, figure it out.
• 20:44
  Ron Meyers: He never said, come back after you're all fixed up.
• 20:47
  Ron Meyers: He simply said, Come to me.
• 20:50
  Ron Meyers: I don't know about you, my friend, but I am thankful he didn't wait until I had my life together because I'd still be waiting.
• 20:59
  Ron Meyers: Can I tell you something personal?
• 21:01
  Ron Meyers: For years I misunderstood freedom.
• 21:04
  Ron Meyers: I thought freedom meant success.
• 21:06
  Ron Meyers: I thought if I could just build another business, promote another event, earn a little more money, gain a little more recognition, then I'd finally be satisfied.
• 21:18
  Ron Meyers: Maybe you have chased something like that.
• 21:21
  Ron Meyers: A bigger house, another promotion, another accomplishment, thinking when I get there, I'll finally be happy.
• 21:30
  Ron Meyers: But every mountain led to another mountain.
• 21:33
  Ron Meyers: The applause faded, the excitement faded, the feeling of accomplishment faded.
• 21:39
  Ron Meyers: Success makes a wonderful servant, but it makes a terrible savior.
• 21:45
  Ron Meyers: It always asks for more, more work, more achievement, more applause.
• 21:50
  Ron Meyers: It never whispers, You've done enough.
• 21:54
  Ron Meyers: Then Jesus began teaching me something that changed everything, my friend.
• 21:58
  Ron Meyers: My identity.
• 22:00
  Ron Meyers: Wasn't in what I produced.
• 22:02
  Ron Meyers: It wasn't in what people thought of me.
• 22:04
  Ron Meyers: It wasn't in my accomplishments.
• 22:07
  Ron Meyers: It wasn't even in ministry.
• 22:09
  Ron Meyers: My identity was in Christ.
• 22:12
  Ron Meyers: Friend, that realization set me free.
• 22:14
  Ron Meyers: I still work hard.
• 22:16
  Ron Meyers: I still love what I do.
• 22:17
  Ron Meyers: I still dream big dreams, but I am no longer working for God's approval.
• 22:22
  Ron Meyers: I'm working because I already have it.
• 22:25
  Ron Meyers: There's a huge difference.
• 22:27
  Ron Meyers: One produces exhaustion, the other produces joy.
• 22:31
  Ron Meyers: One creates anxiety, the other creates peace.
• 22:35
  Ron Meyers: That's grace.
• 22:37
  Ron Meyers: So let me ask you: who are you trying to impress?
• 22:42
  Ron Meyers: Your parents, your boss, people on social media, the people at church, or maybe if you're really honest, you're still trying to impress God.
• 22:53
  Ron Meyers: Friend, you don't have to.
• 22:55
  Ron Meyers: The cross settled that forever.
• 22:57
  Ron Meyers: When Jesus cried, it is finished, he wasn't saying, I'm finished.
• 23:03
  Ron Meyers: He was saying the work is finished, paid in full, nothing left to earn, nothing left to prove.
• 23:10
  Ron Meyers: That's why Jesus could say in John chapter 8, verse 36, So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
• 23:19
  Ron Meyers: Notice what he didn't say.
• 23:21
  Ron Meyers: He didn't say religion would set you free.
• 23:23
  Ron Meyers: He didn't say success would set you free.
• 23:26
  Ron Meyers: He didn't say politics would set you free.
• 23:29
  Ron Meyers: He pointed to himself.
• 23:31
  Ron Meyers: Because freedom has a name, and his name is Jesus.
• 23:45
  Ron Meyers: Now I want to tell you one of the most inspiring stories in American history.
• 23:50
  Ron Meyers: It's a story behind a song, a lawyer, a flag, a terrifying night, a sunrise, and a hope that refused to die.
• 23:58
  Ron Meyers: But as incredible as that story is, it only points to another morning.
• 24:03
  Ron Meyers: A morning outside a borrowed tomb.
• 24:06
  Ron Meyers: A morning that changed not only the nation, but every nation.
• 24:11
  Ron Meyers: We'll walk there together.
• 24:13
  Ron Meyers: So let me kind of recap.
• 24:14
  Ron Meyers: We've walked through Valley Forge, we've stood beside Patrick Henry, we've listened to John Adams, and we've learned from Benjamin Franklin.
• 24:22
  Ron Meyers: And we've discovered that America's founders understood something important.
• 24:27
  Ron Meyers: Freedom is precious.
• 24:29
  Ron Meyers: But now I want to tell you my favorite story in American history: the story behind a song.
• 24:35
  Ron Meyers: A song we all have sung, a song we all have heard before football games, baseball games, graduations, and countless community events.
• 24:45
  Ron Meyers: Most of us know the words.
• 24:47
  Ron Meyers: Few of us know the story.
• 24:49
  Ron Meyers: The year was 1814.
• 24:51
  Ron Meyers: America was once again at war with Great Britain.
• 24:54
  Ron Meyers: A young attorney named Francis Scott Key had boarded a British ship to negotiate the release of an American prisoner.
• 25:01
  Ron Meyers: The negotiations were successful, but because he had overheard the British plans to attack Baltimore, he wasn't allowed to leave.
• 25:11
  Ron Meyers: He and the others with him had to remain aboard the ship until the battle ended.
• 25:16
  Ron Meyers: Imagine that, my friend.
• 25:18
  Ron Meyers: You can't fight, you can't help, you can't leave, all you can do is watch.
• 25:23
  Ron Meyers: Throughout the night, the British Navy bombarded Fort McHenry.
• 25:27
  Ron Meyers: Cannons roared, bombs exploded, rockets streaked across the dark sky.
• 25:32
  Ron Meyers: The air filled with smoke, the harbor echoed with thunder, every explosion briefly lit the sky.
• 25:39
  Ron Meyers: And every time it did, Francis Scott Key searched for one thing, the flag.
• 25:45
  Ron Meyers: Was it still there?
• 25:46
  Ron Meyers: The darkness, another explosion, another glimpse, darkness again.
• 25:50
  Ron Meyers: Hour after hour, hope appeared, then disappeared, then appeared again.
• 25:57
  Ron Meyers: Can I tell you something?
• 25:58
  Ron Meyers: I think that's exactly how life feels sometimes.
• 26:01
  Ron Meyers: You get a glimpse of hope, then another setback.
• 26:04
  Ron Meyers: You receive good news, then another disappointment.
• 26:07
  Ron Meyers: You pray, then you wait.
• 26:09
  Ron Meyers: You wonder if God is still working when all you can see is smoke.
• 26:13
  Ron Meyers: I've learned something over the years.
• 26:15
  Ron Meyers: Sometimes faith isn't fighting.
• 26:18
  Ron Meyers: Sometimes faith is waiting, waiting for the doctor's report, waiting for your marriage to heal, waiting for your child to come home, waiting for the breakthrough, waiting for God to answer.
• 26:30
  Ron Meyers: Waiting has never been easy, but here's what I have learned.
• 26:35
  Ron Meyers: God has never once been late.
• 26:38
  Ron Meyers: Morning eventually came.
• 26:40
  Ron Meyers: The smoke slowly drifted away.
• 26:42
  Ron Meyers: The first rays of sunlight broke across the harbor, and there, still standing, was the American flag.
• 26:51
  Ron Meyers: Hope had survived the night.
• 26:54
  Ron Meyers: Francis Scott Key would later write those unforgettable words O say can you see?
• 27:03
  Ron Meyers: He wasn't simply writing poetry, he was celebrating hope.
• 27:09
  Ron Meyers: Because hope was still flying.
• 27:12
  Ron Meyers: As beautiful as that story is, it reminds us of another long night, one that took place nearly 2,000 years ago.
• 27:21
  Ron Meyers: Jesus had been arrested, beaten, mocked, whipped, crucified.
• 27:25
  Ron Meyers: The disciples watched the one they believed to be the Messiah breathe his last breath.
• 27:31
  Ron Meyers: Can you imagine what they must have been thinking?
• 27:33
  Ron Meyers: We gave him everything.
• 27:35
  Ron Meyers: We left our jobs, we left our homes, we believed, and now he was gone.
• 27:39
  Ron Meyers: Friday looked like defeat.
• 27:41
  Ron Meyers: Saturday sounded like silence.
• 27:44
  Ron Meyers: Friend, have you ever lived through a Saturday?
• 27:47
  Ron Meyers: Those seasons when you've prayed but haven't seemed quiet, when you've believed, but nothing changed, when you cried and all you heard was silence.
• 27:57
  Ron Meyers: We've all had Saturdays.
• 27:59
  Ron Meyers: Those moments when we quietly whisper, God, where are you?
• 28:05
  Ron Meyers: But here's the beautiful truth, my friend.
• 28:07
  Ron Meyers: Just because God is silent doesn't mean God is absent.
• 28:10
  Ron Meyers: While the disciples thought the story was over, God was writing the greatest ending in history.
• 28:16
  Ron Meyers: Before sunrise on Sunday morning, a few women made their way to the borrowed tomb.
• 28:22
  Ron Meyers: They weren't expecting a miracle.
• 28:24
  Ron Meyers: They were bringing spices to anoint a body.
• 28:27
  Ron Meyers: Instead, they found an empty grave.
• 28:29
  Ron Meyers: The stone had been rolled away, death had been defeated, sin had been conquered, hope wasn't buried, hope was alive.
• 28:37
  Ron Meyers: Do you see it?
• 28:38
  Ron Meyers: Francis Scott Key spent the night wondering whether the flag was still standing.
• 28:43
  Ron Meyers: The followers of Jesus spent the darkest weekend in history only to discover that their Savior was standing.
• 28:51
  Ron Meyers: The flag over Fort McHenry declared that a nation had survived.
• 28:56
  Ron Meyers: The empty tomb declared that death itself had been defeated.
• 29:00
  Ron Meyers: The Declaration of Independence changed history.
• 29:04
  Ron Meyers: The resurrection changed eternity.
• 29:07
  Ron Meyers: One gave us a free nation.
• 29:09
  Ron Meyers: The other offers a new creation.
• 29:12
  Ron Meyers: Can I share something that's been on my heart for a long time?
• 29:17
  Ron Meyers: I honestly believe Jesus wants his reputation back.
• 29:21
  Ron Meyers: So many people think Christianity is about guilt, rules, religion, trying harder, being good enough, keeping God happy.
• 29:28
  Ron Meyers: Friend, that's not the Jesus I know.
• 29:31
  Ron Meyers: The Jesus I know walked towards broken people.
• 29:35
  Ron Meyers: He touched lepers.
• 29:37
  Ron Meyers: He forgave adulterers.
• 29:38
  Ron Meyers: He ate with the tax collectors.
• 29:40
  Ron Meyers: He welcomed sinners.
• 29:42
  Ron Meyers: He defended the outcast.
• 29:44
  Ron Meyers: He restored failures.
• 29:46
  Ron Meyers: He didn't lower God's standard.
• 29:48
  Ron Meyers: He fulfilled it.
• 29:50
  Ron Meyers: Then he invited ordinary people, people just like you, like me, to stop striving and start trusting.
• 29:59
  Ron Meyers: Religion says work harder, but Jesus says come to me.
• 30:03
  Ron Meyers: Religion says clean up yourself, but Jesus says, come just as you are.
• 30:08
  Ron Meyers: Religion says maybe someday you'll be good enough.
• 30:12
  Ron Meyers: Grace says Jesus already is.
• 30:15
  Ron Meyers: That's why I spend so much of my life bragging on Jesus.
• 30:20
  Ron Meyers: Because he isn't merely the founder of Christianity.
• 30:23
  Ron Meyers: He is the savior of the world.
• 30:25
  Ron Meyers: And he has never stopped changing lives.
• 30:29
  Ron Meyers: So what does freedom actually look like?
• 30:33
  Ron Meyers: It isn't perfection.
• 30:34
  Ron Meyers: It isn't pretending you've never struggled.
• 30:37
  Ron Meyers: It isn't acting like you've got everything together.
• 30:41
  Ron Meyers: Freedom looks like waking up every morning knowing I am loved.
• 30:46
  Ron Meyers: Freedom says, my past doesn't own me.
• 30:49
  Ron Meyers: Freedom says, my failures don't define me.
• 30:53
  Ron Meyers: Freedom says, I don't have to earn what Jesus already purchased.
• 30:59
  Ron Meyers: Freedom says, there is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
• 31:05
  Ron Meyers: Think about those words.
• 31:07
  Ron Meyers: No condemnation.
• 31:09
  Ron Meyers: Not less condemnation, none.
• 31:12
  Ron Meyers: The enemy loves to remind us of yesterday.
• 31:15
  Ron Meyers: Jesus reminds us of forever.
• 31:18
  Ron Meyers: Friend, if God has forgiven you, why are you still carrying it?
• 31:23
  Ron Meyers: Lay it down.
• 31:24
  Ron Meyers: That's what the cross is for.
• 31:26
  Ron Meyers: You know, I've met people in almost every walk of life.
• 31:30
  Ron Meyers: Millionaires, people who live paycheck to paycheck, professional athletes, musicians, business owners, pastors, former addicts, people just beginning their journey, people near the end of theirs.
• 31:44
  Ron Meyers: And I've discovered something.
• 31:45
  Ron Meyers: The human heart longs for exactly the same thing.
• 31:50
  Ron Meyers: Peace.
• 31:50
  Ron Meyers: Not another possession, not another promotion, but peace.
• 31:55
  Ron Meyers: The kind Jesus talked about when he said, My peace I give to you.
• 31:59
  Ron Meyers: Not the kind the world gives, his peace.
• 32:02
  Ron Meyers: The kind that lets you sleep at night, the kind that allows you to forgive, the kind that whispers, it's going to be okay.
• 32:11
  Ron Meyers: That's what I want for you, my friend.
• 32:13
  Ron Meyers: Not more religion, more Jesus.
• 32:15
  Ron Meyers: Because when Jesus captures your heart, everything changes.
• 32:20
  Ron Meyers: Before we say goodbye, I'd like to ask you one question.
• 32:23
  Ron Meyers: It's the same question we started with.
• 32:26
  Ron Meyers: Are you really free?
• 32:27
  Ron Meyers: Not politically, but spiritually.
• 32:30
  Ron Meyers: Have you accepted the freedom Jesus already purchased?
• 32:33
  Ron Meyers: Or are you already trying to earn something he's already given?
• 32:38
  Ron Meyers: Friend, you don't have to impress God.
• 32:40
  Ron Meyers: Jesus already did.
• 32:42
  Ron Meyers: You don't have to carry yesterday.
• 32:44
  Ron Meyers: Jesus already carried it to the cross.
• 32:47
  Ron Meyers: You don't have to wonder whether God loves you.
• 32:49
  Ron Meyers: The cross answered that forever.
• 32:52
  Ron Meyers: If you've never simply trusted him, today is a wonderful day to begin.
• 32:57
  Ron Meyers: Not with a list, not with a promise to do better, just with an honest conversation.
• 33:04
  Ron Meyers: Jesus, I need you.
• 33:06
  Ron Meyers: That's enough.
• 33:08
  Ron Meyers: Because he's been waiting for you for a long time.
• 33:11
  Ron Meyers: Many of us will gather with family, smell hamburgers on the grill, children will chase lightning bugs, neighbors will laugh together, fireworks will light up the sky.
• 33:21
  Ron Meyers: We'll place our hands over our hearts as the star spangled banner is played.
• 33:26
  Ron Meyers: When you do, remember Francis Scott Key.
• 33:29
  Ron Meyers: Remember one man who waited through a terrifying night until morning revealed hope.
• 33:35
  Ron Meyers: But then remember another morning, a garden, an empty tomb, a folded burial cloth, an angel saying, He is not here, he has risen.
• 33:46
  Ron Meyers: Every fourth of July reminds us that freedom has a price.
• 33:50
  Ron Meyers: Every Easter reminds us that grace has a price.
• 33:53
  Ron Meyers: America teaches us that freedom is worth fighting for.
• 33:57
  Ron Meyers: Jesus teaches us that freedom was worth dying for.
• 34:01
  Ron Meyers: And because he did and because he lives, you don't have to spend another day wondering if you're enough.
• 34:08
  Ron Meyers: You aren't.
• 34:09
  Ron Meyers: Neither am I.
• 34:10
  Ron Meyers: Jesus is enough.
• 34:11
  Ron Meyers: The Declaration of Independence declared that all people are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.
• 34:19
  Ron Meyers: The gospel goes even deeper.
• 34:21
  Ron Meyers: It declares that although we have fallen short, we are so deeply loved by our Creator that He sent His Son to rescue us.
• 34:29
  Ron Meyers: One gave us a free nation, the other makes us a new creation.
• 34:34
  Ron Meyers: Friend, celebrate America.
• 34:36
  Ron Meyers: Be grateful, pray for our nation, honor those who have served, wave the flag proudly, but never forget the greatest victory wasn't one at Yorktown.
• 34:47
  Ron Meyers: It wasn't one at Fort McHenry.
• 34:49
  Ron Meyers: It wasn't signed in Philadelphia.
• 34:52
  Ron Meyers: The greatest victory in history was all won on a hill called Calvary and forever proven at an empty tomb.
• 35:00
  Ron Meyers: Thanks for spending this time with me.
• 35:02
  Ron Meyers: If today's message encouraged you, would you share it with someone who needs hope?
• 35:07
  Ron Meyers: And please like our Facebook page.
• 35:11
  Ron Meyers: And if God has written a redemption story in your life, I would love to hear it.
• 35:16
  Ron Meyers: Visit my website, thepromoter.org, and click share your story.
• 35:21
  Ron Meyers: Until next time, remember, I love you.
• 35:25
  Ron Meyers: Jesus loves you.
• 35:26
  Ron Meyers: And when you give Jesus your heart, he will know that he already won the battle.
• 35:33
  Ron Meyers: So you can live free, love boldly, rest deeply, and never forget, Jesus didn't come to make bad people good.
• 35:40
  Ron Meyers: He came to make dead people alive.
• 35:43
  Ron Meyers: And that's how you get and keep the health out of your life.
• 35:48
  Ron Meyers: God bless you, my friend.
• 36:01
  Announcer: Today's show was produced by Ron Myers Ministries, a listener-supported ministry.
• 36:06
  Announcer: For a copy of today's broadcast, please visit our website, thepromoter.org.
• 36:12
  Announcer: And would you prayerfully consider making a tax-deductible donation so that we may continue to share stories of God's amazing grace with the world?
• 36:19
  Announcer: And join us next week for another broadcast of Get the Hell Out of Your Life.
• 36:24
  Announcer: Real people, sharing real struggles, and offering real hope.
• 36:29
  Announcer: From save the date, the 43rd Annual Christmas City Gift Show, November 13th through the 15th at the Coast Coliseum Convention Center.
• 36:58
  SPEAKER_02: Visit Christmas City Gift Show.com for more.