Freedom!

I’VE GOTTA BE FREE!

Dt 8:6-14

Deuteronomy 8:6–14 NKJV

6 “Therefore you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him. 7 For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills; 8 a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; 9 a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing; a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper. 10 When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you. 11 “Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, 12 lest—when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; 13 and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; 14 when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage;

ILL. Today we’re celebrating the birthday of our nation & the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.

It was a momentous decision for each one who placed his name upon it. 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." It was that kind of patriotism which led men, armed with little more than hunting rifles, to engage in battle with what was the most powerful nation in the world. PROP. But what we often forget is that in declaring their independence from England, our forefathers made an equally strong declaration of dependenceupon Almighty God.

When understood in it’s own time the American Revolution was first and foremost a religious event. – Historian Harry Stout

It’s only by understanding the religious situation off colonials that we can fully account for how many ordinary Americans were drawn into the resistance to Britain and then committed to the cause of rebellion and republicanism. – Historian Christine Leigh Heyrman

The members of the revolutionary generation had faced, as individuals, important choices about their fundamental religious beliefs and loyalties, and that experience may have prepared them to make equally crucial and basic decisions about their political beliefs and loyalties. - Historian Christine Leigh Heyrman

More important, [many] of those men and women who converted during the First Great Awakening had defied traditional authoritis to uphold their new religious convictions. - Historian Christine Leigh Heyrman

Some had criticized and ultimately rejected their former ministers or churches for not being sufficiently evangelical, while others had challenged the legitimacy of state-supported churches, which they deemed enemies to individual religious freedom…

…[They had] been schooled [during their youth] in the importance of self-determination and even rebellion against the existing hierarchies of deference and privilege.

They had encountered dead churches and then had a direct experience with God that warmed their hearts and changed their religious affections (in Edwards’s language, and then they went on and pushed back against this religious establishment in order to sustain this new experiential religion.

Many historians have portrayed the Great Awakening as a kind of dress rehearsel for the Revolution.

Religious Arguments for the Revolution:

The principle that Only God, not a king, could rule all areas of life.

The 1766 Delaritive Act in England did in fact claim that right on th part of the king.

i. The revolution was seen as a resistance driven by Divine imperative against idolity.

ii. The religiously unacceptable tyranny of a king who sat himself up in an almost God-like position.

1. As someone to whom all honor and obedience was due.

iii. Almost like a resistance to an anti-christ.

What historians call “the first Great Awakening” can best be described as a revitalization of religious piety that swept through the American colonies between the 1730s and the 1770s.

I. THEY DECLARED THEIR DEPENDENCE UPON GOD A. The second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence says: "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." The closing words of their Declaration solemnly states: "With a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes & our sacred Honor."

ILL. Patrick Henry

I know that most of you who are older recognize the name of Patrick Henry. But I’m afraid that many of our school children do not. Patrick Henry was a famous statesman & orator of colonial Virginia. In 1764 he was elected to the House of Burgesses where he became a champion of the frontier people, supporting their rights against the arrogant exercise of power by the aristocracy. In 1774 he was a delegate to the First Continental Congress. In 1775, before the Virginia Provincial Convention, which was deeply divided between those who supported England& those who desired freedom, he uttered his most famous words, "Give me liberty or give me death!" During the Revolutionary War he became commander-in-chief of Virginia’s military forces, a member of the Second Continental Congress, helped draw up the first constitution of the Commonwealth of Virginia, & was largely responsible for drawing up the amendments to our Constitution known as the Bill of Rights. He became Virginia’s first governor, & was re-elected 4 times. Then he retired from public life, but despite his strong objections the people went ahead & re-elected him Governor for the 5th time. But he meant what he said, so he refused to take the office. He was offered a seat in the U.S. Senate, & posts as ambassador to Spain & to France. President George Washington asked him to join his cabinet & become Secretary of State, & later wanted to appoint him the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. But he refused all such honors & recognitions. APPL. Now why do I mention these things about Patrick Henry? It is because I want you to realize that he was an important & respected leader & patriot in those days when our nation came into being. Now listen to these words from him. "It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists, but by Christians - not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ." His Last Will & Testament was filed in the Brookneal County courthouse in Virginia. You read his Will & you’ll see that he bequeathed everything to his children, just as most people do. But the last paragraph in his Will is especially interesting. He wrote, "I have now given everything I own to my children. There is one more thing I wish I could give them & that is Christ. Because if they have everything I gave them & don’t have Christ, they have nothing." 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 need to be reminded of the solemn warning that God gave to another nation which was experiencing the thrill of independence after centuries of slavery in Egypt. Although it was written over 3,000 years ago, this warning could very well apply to the United Statestoday. In Deuteronomy 8:7-14 Moses tells the people, "For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land. . .where you shall eat food without scarcity. . . When you have eaten & are satisfied, you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you. Beware. . .lest, when you have eaten & are satisfied, & have built good houses & lived in them. . .& your silver & your gold multiply, & all that you have multiplies, then your heart becomes proud, & you 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 does not rest in its military power, technological advancement, or its 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 Statestoday? To a great extent, our modern objectives have become success, status, & security. These are followed closely by self-indulgence, comfort & pleasure. Our permissive society turns:

Freedom into license;

Rights into riots;

Pornography into profit.

Concerned about a higher standard of living, some fail to live by any standard. Riches are elevated above righteousness, &

science above the Savior. We abandon the moral law & then shake our heads in disbelief as crime increases. III. DON’T LET OUR FREEDOM GET OUT OF HAND 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." ILL. 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 home & submitted to the father that he really found freedom. IV. OUR REAL FREEDOM COMES IN CHRIST 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, which always leads to license & ultimate slavery, but rather a freedom built upon God & His commandments. Then, as did the founding Fathers of our country, we will find in Him our life, liberty, & true happiness.