Constitunion Day

1 Samuel 8:1–22, NASB95 “And it came about when Samuel was old that he appointed his sons judges over Israel. Now the name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judging in Beersheba. His sons, however, did not walk in his ways, but turned aside after dishonest gain and took bribes and perverted justice. Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah; and they said to him, “Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations.” But the thing was displeasing in the sight of Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to the Lord. The Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them. “Like all the deeds which they have done since the day that I brought them up from Egypt even to this day—in that they have forsaken Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you also. “Now then, listen to their voice; however, you shall solemnly warn them and tell them of the procedure of the king who will reign over them.” So Samuel spoke all the words of the Lord to the people who had asked of him a king. He said, “This will be the procedure of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and place them for himself in his chariots and among his horsemen and they will run before his chariots. “He will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and of fifties, and some to do his plowing and to reap his harvest and to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. “He will also take your daughters for perfumers and cooks and bakers. “He will take the best of your fields and your vineyards and your olive groves and give them to his servants. “He will take a tenth of your seed and of your vineyards and give to his officers and to his servants. “He will also take your male servants and your female servants and your best young men and your donkeys and use them for his work. “He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his servants. “Then you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.” Nevertheless, the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, “No, but there shall be a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.” Now after Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the Lord’s hearing. The Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to their voice and appoint them a king.” So Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Go every man to his city.””

On July 4, 1776, the United States declared its’ independence from England with the action of the Second Continental Congress by a unanimous Declaration of the thirteen colonies United States of America. The instrument they passed is known as the Declaration of Independence.

The Declaration of Independence is divided into three parts. The first part is the intent of the declaration. It is about 200 words long. The second part lists 27 grievances the colonies suffered under King George. It is about 1000 words long. The third part is the actual declaration. It is about 200 words long.

The signer of the declaration did so with the clear knowledge that they could be arrested and charged with treason. And I believe they very well thought that would happen. They put their lives and fortunes on the line.

July 4, 1776 is the birth of our nation.

The United States of America fought a bloody six-year war for their independence. The war actually started in April 1775. A little over a year before the Declaration of Independence. It ended October 19, 1781 with the battle of Yorktown.

From March 1, 1781 to September 17, 1787 the United States was governed by the Articles of Confederation. The Article of Confederation were found to be inadequate for a nation such as ours. So, our founding fathers wrote the Constitution of the United States and it was signed on September 17, 1787.

September 17, 1787 is the birthday of our government. On this coming Thursday we will be celebrating this momentous event.

The Constitution was originally comprised of seven Articles. These Articles address how our governments was to be set up – outlined what power each of the three branches (Congress, Executive, Supreme Court) had and delegated any remaining powers to the States.

Our Founding Fathers, through the guidance of George Mason, had the foresight to recognize that circumstance in our nation could change. So, they provided an avenue in which to amend the constitution when need be. Thus preventing the need to rewrite the whole constitution. This is provided for in Article V.

George Mason also saw that the federal government could become very powerful and he wanted greater limitations on the Federal Government. He thought that the federal government would not remain small and become big and oppressive and take away the rights of the people. He called for amendments to the constitution in known as the Bill of Rights. He is actually known as the “Father of the Bill of Rights.” What he feared has happened over a period of time. Human nature does not change. He understood human nature.

After some intense debate, the first 10 amendments to the Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified These Bill of Rights guarantees us certain rights to protect us from federal government overreach. These rights are also in answer to the grievances listed in the Declaration of Independence. So, you see the two documents work together.

There has been a total of 27 amendments to the Constitution of the course of time. A point of interest: The last amendment, the 27th , was actually part of the proposed Bill of Rights back in 1789.

The proposed congressional pay amendment was largely forgotten until 1982, when Gregory Watson, a 19-year-old sophomore at the University of Texas at Austin, wrote a paper for a government class in which he claimed that the amendment could still be ratified. An unconvinced teaching assistant graded the paper poorly, motivating Watson to launch a nationwide campaign to complete its ratification. The amendment eventually became part of the United States Constitution, effective May 5, 1992, completing a record-setting ratification period of 202 years, 7 months, and 10 days.

This amendment essentially says that any congressional pay raise shall not take effect until after an election of the House of Representatives has taken place. In essence they can not vote for their own pay raise – and election cycle has to take place first.

Our is the longest lasting constitution in the World. It was written with much prayer and guidance by the Holy Spirit. Our Constitution was written on Christian principles.

There you have a thumbnail history of our Constitution.

So, where does this leaves us today? What is our responsibility to the Constitution?

1. Read the Constitution

2. Study the Constitution

3. Teach the Constitution

4. Know the Constitution

5. Defend the Constitution

6. Assert your Constitutional rights

We are living in a time that our Constitution is at its’ greatest test, especially in regard to our individual rights. We need to continually pray for our nation and our leaders. We need to give our country to God. When George Washington was inaugurated the first thing he did was to go to St. John’s church in New York (New York being the capital at the time) and held a private prayer meeting with some of his officials. In that prayer meeting he dedicated this nation to God.

Psalm 22:28 tells us “For the kingdom is the Lord’s And He rules over the nations.”

And Daniel 2:21 tells us ““He removes kings and establishes kings;

These verses tells us that God is always in charge, that the nations and kingdoms are His, but as He told Samuel – “Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them. Like all the deeds which they have done since the day that I brought them up from Egypt even to this day—in that they have forsaken Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you also. Now then, listen to their voice; however, you shall solemnly warn them and tell them of the procedure of the king who will reign over them.”

The Israelites had turned away from God and God allowed them to have what they wanted – and it was not good. They turned away from God and God lifted His blessing from them. This is what is happening in our country today. We have turned away form God.

Psalm 33:12 tells us “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance.” Our nation has been greatly blessed. But we have seen a great turning away from God. We need to bring it back to God.

This upcoming election is probably the most important election in the history of our nation. Now, I am not going to tell you who to vote for. But I will tell you that this is not an election of a person or personality. It is rather an election of ideologies – more so than any other election that I have seen. One ideology could destroy our nation as we know it. The other could save our nation as our Founding Fathers envisioned.

Our very constitution is at stake

I want to leave you with a final thought – a poem that I believe sums it up for where we are in the United States today.

POEM

Know the Constitution. Be ready to defend the Constitution. Be ready to assert your Constitutional rights.

We must continue to pray for our Nation – this is the most powerful tool we have. The next most powerful tool is our vote – be sure to go out and vote. Let you voice be heard.

(If time permit – tell Dad’s story)

Closing prayer