MELVIN M. NEWLAND, MINISTER
RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK
(PowerPoints used with this message are available for free. Just email me at mnewland@sstelco.com and request #431)
TEXT: Proverbs 14:34; Deuteronomy 8:6-14
ILL. Tomorrow the United States will be celebrating a crucial moment in the history of our nation - the signing of the Declaration of Independence. And as we look back at that event we need to realize that it was a very dangerous decision for each man who dared to sign it.
In fact, as John Adams signed he said, "Whether we live or die, sink or swim, succeed or fail, I stand behind this Declaration of Independence. And if God wills it, I am ready to die in order that this country might experience freedom."
A. It was that kind of patriotism which led men, armed with little more than hunting rifles, to engage in battle with what was then the most powerful nation in the world.
This decision to declare their independence from England was not easily nor hastily decided. Even though they lived in the colonies they were English citizens & they felt they should enjoy the same rights & privileges that any free-born Englishman enjoyed back in England.
After all, it was their ancestors who, a few centuries earlier, had risen against the unjust & dictatorial rule of King John & forced him to sign the Magna Carta, the "Great Charter" establishing the rights of the common man & limiting the power of the King over them.
But over a period of a few years King George began to ignore all that as far as the American colonies were concerned. And it wasn't long until oppressive taxes & regulations were beginning to make their lives miserable.
When they complained, King George sent troops & declared martial law. Public protests were put down by force & dissenting voices silenced. And more laws which they considered "intolerable" were enacted.
Sometimes things got out of hand - especially in Boston. One day a crowd was yelling at a royal tax collector, & he fired at them - killing an 11-year-old boy.
Another time a squad of soldiers was trying to break up a crowd of tax protestors. Someone gave the command to fire - & 5 of the protestors were killed. The news spread quickly about this "Boston Massacre."
And just 14 months before the Declaration of Independence was written, armed conflict actually broke out in the Battle of Lexington & Concord between colonial Minutemen & British Regular army troops. Casualties for both sides that day totaled 366 either killed or wounded.
B. Emboldened by what they considered a victory, Colonial militias then laid siege to Boston which led, 2 months later, to the Battle of Bunker Hill. The Colonial militia lost 400 men in that battle. And their siege of Boston was lifted.
ILL. Meanwhile, It was during this time of conflict that Patrick Henry, the fiery patriot from Virginia, gave his famous speech before the Virginia Provincial Convention. Here is how he concluded his speech:
"Three million people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, & in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us.
"Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the Destiny of nations, & who will raise up friends to fight our battle for us. The Battle, sir, is not to the strong alone, it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave.
"Besides, sir, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat, but in submission & slavery. Our chains are forged. Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! …
"Gentleman may cry peace, peace, but there is no peace. The war has actually begun! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle?
"What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains & slavery? Forbid it, almighty God!
"I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death."
Many of our forefathers paid a terrible price in the Revolutionary War, but finally they won the victory so that you & I might be citizens of this "land of the free & home of the brave."
PROP. But what we often forget is that in declaring their independence from England, our forefathers made an equally bold “Declaration of Dependence” upon Almighty God.
Yes, that is what I said, in the very beginning of our nation, our forefathers boldly declared their dependence upon God.
I. THEY DECLARED THEIR DEPENDENCE UPON GOD
A. But we weren't the first nation to do that. At another crucial moment in history, as the people of Israel were preparing to enter the land that God had promised to them, Moses told them,
"When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land He has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God..." (Deuteronomy 8:10-11)
And our Founding Fathers were careful to remember God. The 2nd paragraph of the Declaration of Independence begins with these words:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
Again, the closing words of their Declaration solemnly states: "With a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence (that's God), we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes & our sacred Honor."
It is important that we remember this clear declaration of their dependence upon God, for in a time of world turmoil today, it seems that strong efforts are being made not only to ignore, but even to eliminate any acknowledgement of the deep & abiding faith of our Founding Fathers, & of the God who gave this nation its birth & its greatness.
SUM. I love reading about Patrick Henry & George Washington & John Adams & Thomas Jefferson & John Jay & many of the other patriots who gave of themselves so valiantly that we might enjoy the freedoms that are ours. B. But we also need to be reminded of the solemn warning God gave to another nation, Israel, which was experiencing the thrill of independence after centuries of slavery in Egypt.
Although it was written over 3,400 years ago, this warning could very well apply to the United States today.
In the 8th chapter of Deuteronomy, beginning with vs. 7, Moses told the people, "For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land - a land with streams and pools of water… a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing ...
In vs. 10 he said, "When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land He has given you.”
Then continuing on in vs's 11-14 Moses warned them: “Beware. . .lest, when you eat & are satisfied, when you build fine houses & settle down ... & all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud & you will forget the Lord your God..."
II. WATCH OUT THAT WE DON'T FORGET GOD The testimony of history has made it abundantly clear that not only nations, but also individuals, need to heed that warning. The greatness of a nation is not measured by its military power or national wealth. Righteousness & justice are the determining factors.
Solomon, the wisest of men, said: "Righteousness exalts a nation; but sin is a reproach to any people." (Proverbs 14:34)
And what is happening in the United States today? To a great extent, our modern objectives have become success, status, & security. These are followed closely by self-indulgence, comfort & pleasure.
We have sung, "I've gotta be free," but sometimes our proclaimed freedom has become the very thing that enslaves us.
In Titus 3:3, Paul says, "At one time we were foolish, disobedient, deceived & entangled by all kinds of passions & pleasures. We lived in malice & envy, being hated & hating one another."
This is the enslaving & deceiving nature of sin. People who are caught up in sin think they are free, but in reality they are enslaved to sin.
ILL. Go to the wino on the street & say, "I want to set you free from alcoholism." He will say, "I'm not a slave to anything. Give me back my bottle."
The prodigal son came to his father & said, "I want to be free. Give me what is mine." Then he wandered into the far country, saying, "I'm free! I'm free!" But his freedom was brief.
His friends left him when his money ran out, & he found himself enslaved to a Gentile taskmaster & to a group of hogs in the hog wallow.
It was not until he came back to his father that he really found freedom.
III. OUR REAL FREEDOM COMES IN CHRIST
So when we stand back & look at this land of the free we begin to wonder, "Is there any real freedom anywhere?"
But thank God, as Christians, we have a greater freedom than any constitution can grant us. We have the freedom that is offered in Christ Jesus.
There is a word for freedom in the N.T. It is the word, "redemption." "Redemption" means "to be set free." It means that we have been bought with a price, that we have been freed of our bondage, & now we are really free.
In Paul's letter to Titus he tells us that we have been set free from the bondage of sin. "For the grace of God. . .teaches us to say 'No' to ungodliness & worldly passions, & to live self-controlled, upright, Godly lives in this present age. . .
"Jesus Christ. . .gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness, & to purify for Himself a people that are His very own, eager to do what is good." (Titus 2:11-14) CONCL.
If you really are a patriot; if you are truly concerned about America; if you earnestly want God to bless her - then live a life in harmony with the will of God. Only then does one truthfully have the right to sing:
God bless America, land that I love.
Stand beside her, & guide her,
Through the night, with the light from above.
From the mountains, to the prairies,
To the oceans, white with foam;
God bless America, my home, sweet home.
So, as we celebrate again the birth of our nation, pray that our country might have a new birth of freedom; not a freedom from God, but rather a freedom built upon God & His commandments.
Also, may each one of us, as individuals, reaffirm our dependence upon God so that, "looking unto Jesus the author & finisher of our faith," we might experience the freedom He gives not only from worry, doubt & fear, but also from all those sins which do "so easily beset us."
Then, as did the Founding Fathers of our country, we will find in Him our life, liberty, & true happiness.
INVITATION:
