Independence

Isa 61:1-4 NLT - The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. 2 He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the Lord’s favor has come, and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies. 3 To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for his own glory. 4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins, repairing cities destroyed long ago. They will revive them, though they have been deserted for many generations.

The title of today’s message is “Independence”.

Yesterday was Independence Day, the day this nation celebrates its separation, its sovereignty from British rule. They wanted to be free to self-govern. They fought for their freedom. The American Revolution lasted from 1765 - 1783. They were fighting because of taxation without representation. Kind of sounds like Washington DC today. Hmm…

Independence represents freedom and when I looked up the definition of the word freedom, there were 17 definitions. Don’t fret I won’t name them all. But here are just a few

• the state of being free or at liberty rather than in confinement or under physical restraint:

• exemption from external control, interference, regulation, etc.

• the power to determine action without restraint.

• political or national independence.

• personal liberty, as opposed to bondage or slavery:

• ease or facility of movement or action: to enjoy the freedom of living in the country.

And the last one I’ll highlight; this one is a biggie. In this time of the “Black Lives Matter” marches and “Say Her Name”, movements; when there are those asking, “Why are ‘they’ so upset?” In the wake of the injustices that have plagued the Black people of this nation from the time we were forcibly brought here in chains, where only the strongest survived the trip in the bellies of the ships, enduring conditions no person should have to endure.

Brought to a country stolen from its original inhabitants, to be put on auction blocks, sold as property, to work for free. To have their families split apart in an effort to destroy the unity of the Black family.

To force them to build a nation, a nation that would deny them the very basic right to be paid for their labor, to be treated as human beings and not as something to be bought and sold as a piece of property.

“Why are ‘they’ so upset?” To be born into a country where when the history of this nation is taught in school, the Constitution is proudly displayed and even children are taught its preamble,

“We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

And then there is the pledge of allegiance, in which we recite a pledge to a symbol that represents the freedoms we who were born in this country, fought and died for; a pledge which says

“I pledge allegiance, to the flag, of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one Nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

That last definition for the word freedom says this

• the right to enjoy all the privileges or special rights of citizenship, membership, etc., in a community or the like.

“Why are ‘they’ so upset. We’re upset because the decades of injustices suffered by the Black people and ignored by some of the White people and promoted by other White people of this nation has reached the point where IT — IS — ENOUGH! We have had enough, in fact, we have had more than enough of those thinking that because of the color of their skin and the color of ours, they have a right to treat us as less than, to treat our children as unequal, to treat our men as subordinate, to treat our women as unbefitting of the right to exists without being disparaged, discouraged and dismissed as if we don’t matter. Black lives matter.

• We have the right to not be challenged by some random white woman when our children are swimming in a hotel pool

• We have the right to walk to the store

• We have the right to work out at a gym

• We have the right to campaign door to door

• We have the right to move into an apartment

• We have the right to mow our lawn

• We have the right to shop for prom clothes

• We have the right to not wave at you when we’re leaving an Airbnb

We have a right to do the same everyday things that you do without suffering the embarrassment, harassment and indignities of having the police called on us as we attempt to live our lives in peace.

Why are they so upset? Because we have the right to not be the one questioned, thrown to the ground, handcuffed, taken away in the police car, shot and/or killed, when in fact we were the one who was harassed, attacked, falsely accused and who called the police in the first place.

Why are they so upset and wanting all confederate monuments taken down? Perhaps if there were more monuments which represented the contributions of the Blacks in this nation, a nation which has done its level best to discard, avoid, discount, fail to include, forget, neglect, overlook and reject the accomplishments and contributions that other races have had and continue to have on and in this country, there wouldn’t be such a push.

I don’t necessarily believe the answer is to tear them down, instead let’s campaign to rewrite the history books, and include the contributions of the Blacks, the Hispanics, the Asians, and all those who have truly made this country what it is, let’s have history books that tell the truth about how this nation was really built.

From childhood I have wondered why it was that when the White people killed hundreds of “Indians” and they were not Indians, they were the indigenous people of this country, it is recorded in the history books as a great victory, yet when the Native Americans killed many White people it was a massacre. Were the lives of the Native Americans not important? Was the successful defense of their land, their people, and their children, not a great victory for them?

Let’s rewrite the history books and make the celebration of Juneteenth as prominent as the celebration of Independence Day, because independence for my people, didn’t come on the 4th of July, in fact we’re still waiting for our true independence.

Why are they so upset? We’re upset because the plague disproportionately affecting, infecting and killing Black people in this country didn’t start with the Corona virus. Blacks have endured the plague of systemic racism for decades. A plague that targets our Black boys and men and marks them for annihilation, a plague that incarcerates them in disproportionate numbers and levies disproportionate sentences. A plague that continues to bolster the narrative that your life is worth less because you’re Black.

But I’ve got Good News, The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed.

I’ve got a message for you today, for the poor, for those afflicted with calamity, for those poor in circumstances and in spirit, God sees you, He knows about your situation and He has not turned a blind eye. He’s heard your cries and your prayers, and He will deliver you out of all your troubles in due time.

It may not happen when you think it’s supposed to, there may be more turmoil, more death, more destruction, more marches to come. Some walls will need to be torn down...

• The wall of bigotry

• The wall of disparity

• The wall of fear

• The wall of greed

• The wall of hate

• The wall of inequity

• The wall of inequality

• The wall of injustice

• The wall of jealousy

• The wall of mistrust

• The wall of privilege

• The wall of poverty

• The wall of racism

• The wall of separation

• The wall of supremacy

There are some walls that will need to be torn down. These walls have been built for hundreds of years and they won’t come down overnight. But we can take them down brick by brick, person by person, generation by generation. It starts with a conversation; but it must extend to the voting booth and the result will be change.

It’s time to send a message to those sitting in those seats who are supposed to be representing the people they’ve been elected to serve, if they’re not going to do what’s best for you, go home.

• When the politics of economics becomes more important than the lives of the people, it’s time for them to go home.

• When the aim and desire is to win instead of to help others, it’s time for them to go home.

You send them home, by not staying home when it’s election time.

To the brokenhearted; to the mother who has lost a child to the malpractice of the justice system from the misinformed police, to the inadequate lawyers, to the unfair judges, God is with your child even in prison.

To the brokenhearted; to the wife who has lost a husband to the years of oppression he has had to endure that has affected his mental stability and hampered his ability to be the mighty man of valor God called him to be—I say to you wife,

• you lift him up,

• you stand by his side,

• you cover him with prayer, for the prayers of a righteous man and woman avails much.

• You remind him of the king God called him to be,

• of all that God has promised in His Word.

• You encourage and comfort him, you make your home a sanctuary where he can take his place as the spiritual head of the household.

Now ladies, I’m not saying you be subservient to him, but what I am saying is God designed the family and in the family he gave an order, the husband is the head of the wife and he is to love her as Christ loved the church and the wife is to respect her husband.

And men before you get all puffed up you have a responsibility too, when you love your wife as Christ loved the church, the rest of that verse says and gave his life for it.

• Does your wife feel like you would give your life for her?

• Are you taking care of her?

• Are you covering your wife with prayer?

• Are you loving her and honoring her as the weaker vessel?

God has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, and prisoners will be set free. As a result of the Corona virus, thousands of inmates have been released and set free in an effort to stop the spread of the virus in the jails. This has happened to the outrage of some and to joy of others. For some COVID-19 represents loss while to others it represents freedom.

The video of Ahmad Arberry being chased down and murdered on the street by armed citizens while taking a jog, the murder of George Floyd by a police officer and the video of a nine year old Black boy being accused of sexual assault by a White woman, when the truth of the matter was it was a backpack that brushed against a her as he walked through a crowded store, has freed Black people to not only state the truth of their lives but to show it to you live and in living color. As the evidence is recorded through cell phone cameras it has opened the blinded eyes of the world to witness the injustices Blacks have been suffering for centuries. The atrocities are not new, the brutality did not begin recently, it’s just being recorded and the means to release it to the world is now available.

God has sent me to tell those who are mourning that the time of the Lord’s favor has come, and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies. Those videos are coming with an outcry and demand that justice be given, when murders were being swept under the rug, pushed aside by those in authority who refused to do the jobs for which they were hired, elected and charged to do.

The favor of the Lord is upon the obedient, His favor is upon the pure of heart, the downtrodden, the victimized; He is our Defender. Vengeance belongs to God and He said, He will repay evil for evil, so the days of those who think they can put on a badge and it gives them license to kill Black people at will… those days are over. I came to tell you this morning that God is watching and He is not pleased. I came to tell that His anger is here. I came to tell the world is watching and we are not going to stand for it anymore.

For those who would say of the fallen, but they didn’t deserve…you fill in the blank, I would say to you, For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, He is the judge and not man. His will and His plans are perfect, his judgments without error and His grace, more than we deserve.

I’m here to tell all who are morning, wait on God and He will give you a crown of beauty for ashes and a joyous blessing instead of mourning. The blessing of the Lord makes a person rich, and he adds no sorrow with it.

I came to tell you if you wait on God, he will give you festive praise instead of despair. Take off your garments of mourning and put on your garments of praise, cast off your sins, lay them at the feet of Jesus, repent and ask God to forgive you and He will plant you and raise you up like the mighty oak tree…and it will all be for His glory.

Whatever your situation,

• give God praise, because He can and He will deliver you out of all your worries, all your cares, all your troubles

• give God praise because He is worthy to be praised

• give God praise because He sent His only begotten Son so that you could not only have life, but have it more abundantly - as my husband so joyfully declared as he ate his big hunk of red velvet cake at our virtual dinner fellowship this past Thursday

• give God praise because you were bought with a price and you have access to eternal life

• give God praise because he is God and He deserves it

I’m here to tell you, to encourage you, to implore you, keep marching, exercise your right to vote and know that in due time, in God’s time our nation can heal, our cities can be repaired and rebuilt, but it’s going to take all of us to turn the tide.

Black people we can’t do it alone, White people, it’s not a Black problem, it’s not a “if you had just done what the police ask you to do” problem. It’s a systemic problem that began

• when one race of people thought it was ok to kidnap another race of people,

• chain them,

• take them away from their families and their homeland,

• place them in stocks in the cargo hold of ships, auction them off to the highest bidder,

• rape and beat their women,

• beat and emasculate their men,

• take away their children

And then when someone exercises a bit of humanity and recognizes the inhumaneness of what was occurring and says, you know slavery isn’t right, we should give these people their freedom…

• but with that freedom gives them no resources,

• no pay for all the years of their work,

• no reparations for what they had taken,

• then enacts laws making it impossible for them to succeed,

• and when those laws were overturned and struck down,

• they hung them from trees

• they put up barriers, walls up if you will, keeping them from exercising their right to vote - back then it was a reading test, or money or some impossible task that would keep them from the rights they had fought and marched and protested to get. Today its gerrymandering, and broken voting machines, and untrained poll workers, and lines that cause you to have to wait 3 to 6 hours to vote and purging the voting records, all in the hopes that you’ll just give up and stay home.

I’ve come to tell you today don’t fall for it, stay the course, keep marching, keep protesting, keep recording videos and posting them on Facebook and twitter and YouTube, keep praying, keep trusting that God will do, what He said He will do, when it’s time for Him to do it.

Looting and burning and tearing down doesn’t help our cause, so when you see it happening, call them out. White dissenters don’t come in the midst of the peaceful protesters to attempt to sow discord and incite the crowd, if you’re not coming to help our cause, stay home.

But for those concerned about the damage and destruction, they have insurance, they can rebuild, they will repair but the lives that have been taken, the husbands and fathers and sons and uncles and cousins and nephew’s lives who have been taken by the few bad apples that are spoiling the barrel, those lives can never be replaced, returned or repaired. The hole in the family left by those individuals will never be filled.

It’s time for real change, it’s time to be honest about our nation, it’s time to be anti-racist, to call out racists comments and behaviors when you see it. It’s time to root out hate and its core, it’s time to make the words of the US Constitution and Declaration of Independence truly mean what they say…

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.

Like it or not, believe it or not, accept it or not, the beliefs this country was founded upon by its settlers was based on the Word of God and God said, yes you’ve heard it before but it bears repeating because it is a never ending process, If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Are you ready to see the land healed? Start by allowing God to heal the brokenness in your life and the hurt in your heart. Allow Him to make you whole and replace the hurt with love, for love, covers a multitude of faults; and we all have them.

If you’ve never received Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, what a day to do so, pray this prayer with me, Lord I know I’m a sinner, I believe that Jesus is Your Son and that he came to save me from my Son. Jesus please forgive me and come into my heart, in your name I pray, amen.

If you prayed that prayer for the first time, congratulations and welcome to the family of God. And if you reside in the Douglasville area and would like to join our family or if you’d like to become a part of our online family please send us an email letting us know to [e-mail] and we’ll gladly be in touch to pray with you and welcome into the family of Love Christian Center, the church where the love of Christ is at the center of all we do.