AA Declaration of Dependence@
How much do you know about July 4th?
I found out that there are thousands of web sites where you can get information about the history and meaning of the fourth - and you know what? Just about every one of those sites have a link to a place to buy illegal fireworks! Now that=s what I call freedom!!!
We celebrate July 4 because that was the day the Declaration of Independence was signed. Thirteen colonies - New Englanders - Kris Brake=s people - wanted freedom from Great Britain. They were tired of the heavy ruling hand of the King and all the bureaucrats. They didn=t want anyone telling them how to live, how to spend their money and how they were to serve God. They wanted freedom. They wanted liberty. They wanted to be independent. But what did that freedom cost them?
Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army, another had two sons captured. Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War. They signed, and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. What kind of men were they?Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners, men of means, well-educated. But they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags. Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward.Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt. Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.John Hart was driven from his wife’s bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks later he died from exhaustion and a broken heart. Norris and Livingston suffered similar fates.Such were the stories and sacrifices of the American Revolution. These were not wild-eyed, rabble-rousing ruffians. They were soft-spoken men of means and education. They had security, but they valued liberty more. Standing tall, straight, and unwavering, they pledged: "For the support of this declaration, with firm reliance on the protection of the divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."They gave you and me a free and independent America.
Wow! What a story! How dedicated they were!
We owe our freedom in America to men like that. We owe our freedom in America to our servicemen and women that have died on the fields and to the ones who put their lives on the line even today. Many of you this morning have friends and family that have loved ones stationed in Iraq or preparing to deploy - we need to pray for our servicemen and be thankful for them.
But today=s message isn=t just a patriotic one. While I=m thankful for what these men did in signing this Declaration of Independence, I want to look at what motivated them to do it.
1. They were tired of not feeling free.
2. They wanted to be free in their worship.
3. They wanted a better life.
4. They wanted hope and a future for their children.
5. They just didn=t want to live like they were living anymore. - They wanted to be free.
I can see why they were willing to fight. They didn=t want it anymore - they wanted to be free.
Who does that sound like? Spiritually speaking, does that sound like you today?
You=re tired of never feeling free - sin has it=s ugly grip on your life.
You can remember the last time you were free in worship - so many burdens drag you down.
You want a better life - and you keep trying to make it happen - but it never does.
You want hope - You want a future for you families - but you=re not sure you have anything to offer.
You just don=t want to live like this anymore - You want to be free - But you=re not sure how.
Well, then, I have great news for you!!!
Many of you have declared a Declaration of Independence from your sins, your burdens, your problems - AI will not live like this anymore - I AM FREE!!!@ But time after time, you have been defeated because you realize that you willpower is not as strong as your ambition. In theory, you=re ready to be free. In practice, you just can=t do it.
And that=s the key. YOU CAN=T DO IT!!!
But praise God, I know someone who can!!!
Listen to these scriptures:
Isaiah 44:22
I have swept away your sins like the morning mists. I have scattered your offenses like the clouds. Oh, return to me, for I have paid the price to set you free."
Isaiah 48:20
Yet even now, be free from your captivity! Leave Babylon and the Babylonians, singing as you go! Shout to the ends of the earth that the Lord has redeemed his servants.
John 8:36
So if the Son sets you free, you will indeed be free.
Romans 6:7
For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin.
1 Tim. 2:6
He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message that God gave to the world!
GET IT? We don=t need a DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE! But rather, A DECLARATION OF DEPENDENCE!!!
Dependence on Jesus! And that=s it!
Remember, in this great nation we live today, we are free because someone fought our battles for us! You can go to Arlington Cemetery or a National Cemetery and see row after row of men and women that gave their lives so we could be free.
But if you want to be free internally - you have to go to a CROSS AT CALVARY!
And yes, there was a cemetery - BUT THE GRAVE IS EMPTY!!!
OUR BATTLE IS ALREADY WON!!! AGreater is HE THAT IS IN ME!@
You see,
He=s not just a saving God - but He=s also a sanctifying God.
He=s not just a healing God - but He=s also a holy God.
He=s not just a redeeming God - but He=s also a righteous God.
He=s not just a loving God - but He=s also a liberating God.
He=s not just a forgiving God - but He=s also a freeing God.
He=s not just an eternal God - but He=s also an equipping God.
He=s not just a gracious God - but He=s also a grace-giving God.
He=s not just an everlasting God - but He=s also an empowering God.
AJesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so,
Little ones to Him belong, We are weak, but He is strong!@
Praise the Lord! HE IS STRONG! WE ARE WEAK AND HE IS STRONG!
So what about it? What is it that has a hold on you? What is it that you=ve been struggling with so long? What has chained you down, kept you in bondage, won=t let you free? Are you ready to have freedom in your life? Remember, it=s not by claiming our independence - We ARE WEAK. But it=s in claiming our dependence - HE IS STRONG!!! HE IS STRONG!!!! HE IS STRONG!!!!!
I=m thinking this morning of some of the great hymns that we sing:
ALong my imprisoned spirit lay, fast bound in sin and nature=s night,
Thine eye diffused a quickning ray, I woke, the dungeon flamed with light!
My chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose went forth and followed Thee.
My chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose went forth and followed Thee.
Amazing love, how can it be, that Thou my God shouldst die for me.@
AI remember when my burdens rolled away - I had carried them for years night and day
When I sought the blessed Lord - And I took Him at His word
Then at once all my burdens rolled away.
I remember when my burdens rolled away - That I feared would never leave night or day
Jesus show to me the loss - So I left them at the Cross
I was glad when my burdens rolled away.
I remember when my burdens rolled away - That had hindered me for years night and day
As I sought the throne of grace, Just a glimpse of Jesus= face
And I knew that my burdens could not stay.
I am singing since my burdens rolled away - There=s a song within my heart night and day,
I am living for my King, and with joy I shout and sing
Hallelujah all my burdens rolled away!@
AOnce I was bound by sin=s galling fetters, chained like a slave I struggled in vain,
But I received a glorious freedom when JESUS broke my fetters in twain.
Glorious freedom, Wonderful freedom, No more in chains of sin I repine,
Jesus the glorious Emancipator, Now and forever, He shall be mine.@
Some of you who don=t come from Nazarene or holiness backgrounds sometimes wonder if you fully understand what Sanctification is - well this is it! Get rid of all of you - Get filled with ALL OF HIM and live in victory! You can be a Christian and still be struggling with this stuff. You could have been saved, but still feel like there are some things that are keeping you in bondage. And you want to break free! Well YOU CAN=T! BUT HE CAN! Jesus CAN break your fetters in twain! Jesus can set you free. If you want to be free - come today - declare your dependence on Him!
Closing Song - Page 505 - Glorious Freedom - vs. 1 and chorus
