This week we will celebrate Independence Day, a celebration of The Declaration of Independence. The Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies, then at war with Great Britain, regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire.
There were 27 complaints against King George 111 wrapped around the basic statement “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.”
Seventy two years later, the first Woman's Rights Convention was held in Seneca Falls, New York. . In their "Declaration of Sentiments," patterned on the Declaration of Independence, the convention members demanded social and political equality for women. Their motto was that "All men and women are created equal" and the convention demanded “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness” for women. It would be 1920 before they would be granted the basic right of voting.
And for 100 years these “rights” applied to white men only.
In his October 1854 Peoria speech, Lincoln said:
“Nearly eighty years ago we began by declaring that all men are created equal; but now from that beginning we have run down to the other declaration, that for some men to enslave others is a "sacred right of self-government." ... Our republican robe is soiled and trailed in the dust. Let us re-purify it. ... Let us re-adopt the Declaration of Independence, and with it, the practices, and policy, which harmonize with it. ... If we do this, we shall not only have saved the Union: but we shall have saved it, as to make, and keep it, forever worthy of the saving“.
The meaning of the Declaration was a recurring topic in the famed debates between Lincoln and Stephen Douglas in 1858. Douglas argued that "all men are created equal" in the Declaration referred to white men only. The purpose of the Declaration, he said, had simply been to justify the independence of the United States, and not to proclaim the equality of any "inferior or degraded race". It would be after a bloody civil war that, in 1865, these rights would be extended to a black man.
We, as Americans, take great pride in those rights. The right to “Life” means we can choose how we want to live. The right to “Liberty” means we have the freedom to live that life we choose. The right to “Happiness” means we can do what ever makes us happy as long as no one else is harmed.
But the truth is we have no rights.
"And yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are the potter. We all are formed by your hand." (Isaiah 64:8)
Then the Word continues to say;
"What sorrow awaits those who try to hide their plans from the Lord, who do their evil deeds in the dark! “The Lord can’t see us,” they say. “He doesn’t know what’s going on!”
How foolish can you be? He is the Potter, and he is certainly greater than you, the clay! Should the created thing say of the one who made it, “He didn’t make me”?
Does a jar ever say, “The potter who made me is stupid”? (Isaiah 29:15-16)
When we fail to recognize God’s influence in our lives we dishonor him. When we think we have the right to live our lives independent of God we are acting foolishly. When our “Pursuit of Happiness” involves us allowing ourselves to wallow in our own problems and circumstances we deny him. When we question his will we devalue his wisdom. And sorrow awaits us.
But God gave us a provision to escape that sorrow and that provision is his Son, Jesus.
John 3:35-36 "The Father loves his Son and has put everything into his hands. And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.”
Everything has been put into his hands. Everything means everything; your life, your liberty, your pursuit of happiness.
Jesus puts it this way; “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)
He uses the example of a vine, perhaps a grape vine. He compares himself to the main vine, the rootstock. It is through the rootstock that all nutrients flow. When the rootstock is healthy the branches will be healthy and a good crop of grapes will be harvested. But cut the branches away from the rootstock and no fruit can be produced. In fact the branch will wither, die, and it’s only use will be kindling. Apart from Jesus your life, liberty, and happiness will be unfruitful. We are dependent on him.
Remember we are in the hands of the potter. It is He who decides our life, liberty, and happiness. And Romans 11 portrays a beautiful picture of how God makes it possible for us to be a branch on his vine.
"But some of these branches from Abraham’s tree—some of the people of Israel—have been broken off. And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in. So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God’s special olive tree." (Romans 11:17)
Because some of the people of Israel (that is the Jews) rejected Jesus, they were broken off to make room for us, the Gentiles. We were not God’s special olive tree that is the chosen people, but rather a wild bunch in need of a savior. So he grafted us in.
Grafting is when you take a branch (a scion) that is not attached to a rootstock and join the two. If you have the skill and expertise to produce successful joins you can have a citrus tree that can grow lemons, limes, oranges and tangerines at the same time. However you can’t grow apples or plums because the rootstock and scions must be compatible. So we must be compatible to Jesus in order for the graft to succeed. And we become compatible by surrendering our lives to him.
Also the scion must be in a dormant stage. We must be in a dormant stage. No longer is it my will but his will. I must desire to allow him to be my provision for life, liberty, and happiness.
And once we are grafted we have the promise of “sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God’s special olive tree.” (Romans 11:17) That means we also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children.
You want to know one of the reasons the Old Testament is important? It’s because there are over 300 promises of God to his people found there and we are entitled to each one.
Promises like; "then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes. He will have mercy on you and gather you back from all the nations where he has scattered you." (Deut 30:3)
"I will be your God throughout your lifetime—
until your hair is white with age.
I made you, and I will care for you.
I will carry you along and save you." (Isaiah 46:4)
"Everyone will live in peace and prosperity,
enjoying their own grapevines and fig trees,
for there will be nothing to fear.
The Lord of Heaven’s Armies
has made this promise!" (Micah 4:4)
We need to search out these promises and declare them to be true and to be ours. We need to take these promises and use them to ensure our rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Then we can be assured that we will succeed where so many have failed.
We live in a time of great testing of our faith. In the book of Judges we are reminded that they lived in a time where “all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.” (Judges 17:6) We also live in such a time. In the name of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness we have watched the United States fall into a state of corruption. Sins that would have broken the heart of the early church are now acceptable in the pews and pulpits of our nation.
But god has given us this promise. “Because you have obeyed my command to persevere, I will protect you from the great time of testing that will come upon the whole world to test those who belong to this world. (Rev 3:10)
God says “Because you have made a choice to persevere, to be dependent upon me in spite of difficulty, obstacles or discouragement, I will protect you from the influence of this world.”
Today I make this day my Dependence Day by making this declaration;
Declaration of Dependence
"When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for an individual to dissolve the sinful bond which has connected them to a sinful ruler; they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold this truth to be self-evident, that all men are created equal in sin, that through grace, they have been endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights that among these are Abundant Life, Liberty in Christ, and the Pursuit of Peace beyond understanding. --- that to secure these rights, our Savior died and rose again-- so that we would no longer walk the path of destruction.
We can no longer tolerate a cruel task maker who has been declared the Prince of this World. He has gone about like a roaring lion causing havoc in our lives, robbing us our life, liberty, and peace.
So it is on this day that we declare our total Dependence on God, The Father; God, The Son; and God, The Holy Spirit. And let it be known that no longer are we held in bondage but are now a free people."
Let freedom ring!
