Happy In Dependence Day

By Jason Lovelace

            

Keys for Today:

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.  Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away; and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.  Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.  Abide in me, and I in you.  As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.  I am the vine, ye are the branches:  He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit:  for without me ye can do nothing.  If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.  If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and I shall be done unto you.  Herein is my father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.  As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you:  continue ye in my love.  If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.  These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.”

– John 15.1~11

 

“And they rose up early in the morning, and gat them up into the top of the mountain, saying, ‘Lo, we be here, and will go up unto the place which the Lord hath promised:  for we have sinned.’  And Moses said, ‘Wherefore now do ye transgress the commandment of the Lord?  But it shall not prosper.  Go not up, for the Lord is not among you; that ye be not smitten before your enemies.  For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and ye shall fall by the sword:  because ye are turned away from the Lord, therefore the Lord will not be with you.’  But they presumed to go up unto the hill top:  nevertheless the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and Moses, departed not out of the camp.  Then the Amalekites came down, and the Canaanites which dwelt in that hill, and smote them, and discomfited them, even unto Hormah.”

– Numbers 14.40~45

 

Today – Sunday, July 4th, 2010 – is the 234th birthday of the United States of America.  It was on this date back in 1776 that the founding fathers of the USA declared their Independence from the United Kingdom of Great Britain.  But did you know that this was also the same day in which our founding father’s declared In Dependence?  Could it be that while the founding fathers of the USA were declaring separation from Britain that they were also declaring the joining of the USA to another, greater kingdom?  Is it possible that we, the citizens of the USA – yea, even the inhabitants of the world – can also join this kingdom?  What does it mean to be In Dependent and to have In Dependence?

 

The USA’s Independence and In Dependence

It was during the American Revolution, after the war had been going on for a year, that the Continental Congress made the decision to declare the then-thirteen colonies’ independence from Great Britain.  By this declaration, the founding fathers were notifying the world and the British Crown that a new day had come:  the British Colonies of Central North America would be placing their future and their dependence in a different area.  Now, most people believe that the founding fathers of the United States of America decided to place their dependence and reliance upon themselves.  But take a good look at the words of the leaders of the American Revolution.  Every one of them stated the true course of the United States, and the resting place of her reliance.  The Founding Father’s declared the USA’s In Dependence on none other than Jesus Christ Himself.  Despite attacks on this truth from those who refuse to believe, the fact of the matter is that men such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, John Marshall, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and their American Contemporaries all declared that without God, without the Bible, and without Jesus Christ, the United States of America cannot stand, and would not last for long in this world., and what was true back in the beginnings for America are still true today!  Without Christ, the USA is doomed to fall.  With him, we will rise on wings like Eagles (Isaiah 40.31).

 

Worth Fighting For?  Worth Dying For?

 

Why do we remember days like July 4th?  What is the importance of recognizing Memorial Day?  Really, what’s the use of celebrating a day like Veteran’s Day in November?  We celebrate these holidays in order to remember the fallen heroes form the past wars of the USA, and to remember the ultimate sacrifice that they gave in order so that we may meet in places, like a church, with freedom and without fear of being carried off to a gulag or a concentration camp.  When we look at history, we can see a lot of reasons for the sacrifice that many men and women gave.  Fifty years ago, it was alright to speak the Name of Jesus Christ in public school.  Seventy-five years ago, it was common to hear preachers freely speaking on a street corner anywhere in the USA.  One hundred years ago, it was part of the core curriculums of every public school and state university to study the Bible and to learn of Christian Ethics.  One hundred and fifty years ago, pastors and preachers were held in such high esteem that their testimony in a court of law would be upheld without question.  Two hundred years ago, Ivy League schools each and every one had seminaries that produced some of the greatest theologians in the world, competing with Oxford and Cambridge in Britain.  This is what the men and women of the United States’ Armed forces were willing to give up their lives for.  They were willing to give such sacrifice because they were fighting for a place in which their sons, daughters, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, and loved ones would be able to not only live in freedom, but also in a place where there was safety.  Nowadays, things have changed dramatically.  Instead of having Ivy League Schools that produce the greatest theological minds in the world, we, instead, have places like Harvard, Yale, and Princeton producing some of the most rabid atheists in the world.  In place of pastors receiving praise, as they did a century and a half ago, we now have a skeptical media ready to tar and feather any act of Christian kindness performed by someone in the clergy.  Instead of teachers giving core instruction in the Bible in public school and state universities, we have the Bible and all things Christian cast aside, and Islam, transcendental Meditation, New Age Thought and Practices, and the fallacy of Safe Sex promoted as not only tolerable, but embraced as wholesome and well-oriented (all the while if a teacher is found reading the Bible during his or her free time, s/he can – and often is – fired).  Instead of preachers being given the freedom to speak the truth of Jesus Christ on street corners in any city in the USA, we now have laws on the books in many places that make it a criminal offense to preach openly the dangers of sin and the eternally lost estate of man.   Whereas fifty years ago, prayer was acceptable and embraced in public school, we have now embraced homosexuality, free condoms, teachers and counselors encouraging abortion without parental notification, and moves like The Waitress, Juno, and the American Pie series which all encourage teens and youth to engage in sex.  When we take all of this in account, is it really a surprise that many American military personnel oppose the current conflicts in the War on Terror in Iraq and Afghanistan?  Whereas our grandfather’s were eager to serve our country and defend such institutions as prayer in public school and Bible courses at local universities, should it be a shock to realize that Americans just don’t want to get into uniform to defend the moral vacuum as found in the music of P. Diddy or the sexually provocative lyrics of Beyonce’?  Is it any wonder that each of the military branches of the United States’ Military has had noticeable drops in recruitment in the last two or three decades, seeing what these men and women are fighting for?

 

Independence or In Dependence?

The inevitable question for us today is, “How is the state of your life?”  Are you living in Independence from God, or are you living In Dependence of and on God?  Far too many people today are living in direct rebellion against God.  Yes, the facts of the USA are known:  76% of Americans claim to be Christians; more than 80% believe in God; Most Americans go to church at least once per week; 54% of Americans identify themselves as being active in church.  Yet these startling facts tell a different story: more and more Americans see no problem with special rights given to homosexuals; marriages in the USA fail at a rate of more than fifty percent; since the “legalization” of abortion on demand, more than 50 million babies have been slaughtered merely for convenience; violent crime is skyrocketing, especially in cities; hostility towards Christian and traditional family values is growing; legislation form the bench in the form of the Supreme Court of the United States and Appellate Courts have made even carrying a Bible into a public school not only a fireable offense, but in some cases a major misdemeanor.  As a country, do we really think that the USA is still a country In Dependence of God, or are we living independent of him?  Even more importantly, how are we doing as individual people?  Are we living in a state of independence from God?  Are we living in a manner that is pleasing in his sight?  Do we really and truly live in a way that people on the outside of the church see something different?  Are friends, coworkers, and family members watching us then scratching their heads, wondering why there is a smile on our faces and a song in our hearts in spite of the bad times?  Or, instead, do we walk about living no differently than the world?  Do we come to church just for show, but every other day between Sundays live like the world in order to impress that friend or this coworker?

 

The Bottom Line:  Independence from God means Death; In Dependence on God means Eternal Life

The truth of the matter is that if we as human beings try to live our lives apart from God, we will suffer eternal death.  The Bible – yea, history itself – is replete with examples for us that show what happens to a person when they try to live a life without Jesus Christ.  The Bible states time and again that to live apart from God is to live in slavery and servitude to sin and to the devil (John 8.34).  We may think that we are living for ourselves, footloose and fancy free, but the truth is that one day the seeds to the flesh that we sow will one day come to fruition (Galatians 6.7~8; Numbers 32.23; Job 4.8; Romans 6.23).  However, if we place our dependence upon God, wholly and entirely, we are free (John 8.32, 36).  Just as the Founding Fathers of the United States of America state time and again both in the written documents of the USA and in their own writings and speeches, true freedom only comes through Jesus Christ.

 

Conclusion – Are You Free?

The question for your today is this:  Are you free?  Have you given Jesus Christ his rightful place in your heart?  Is your life one of enduring freedom and liberty?  Are you free of sin, the devil, and keeping your mind on things above, or are you entangled in sin’s snares (Hebrews 12.1)?  You can live free and live in liberty and freedom.  True freedom first comes form within, and is manifest outwardly.  One cannot live a life of freedom if one is still a slave to his own desires, self, and sin.  You can be free!  Trust in Christ – the True Liberator – today!

 

Prayer

Father in Heaven, we thank you that we live in a country – the United States of America – where we are free to love, live for, and worship you!  Help us, O Lord, to learn and know true freedom, the freedom that only the blood of Jesus Christ can give!  We bless you, today, O lord, and we thank you, in Jesus precious Name, Amen!

 

Verse to Remember:

“If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”

– John 8.36

 

 

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