A Godly Independence Day
Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 34:25
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· 213 views"A Godly Independence Day". Based on Jeremiah 17:5-10. God's plan for our independence draws us nearer to God and His ordinances while those who worship self and other humans move away from God's blessings. How are we doing as a community and country?
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Opening prayer, dedication
Music ministry
Open the Eyes of My Heart
323 Let Us Break Bread Together on Our Knees
349 Trust and Obey (1,2,4,5)
335 Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus
Word of God
5 Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord.
6 He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.
7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord.
8 He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?
10 “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”
Message: “A Godly Independence Day”
Today, we take a break from our study of the book of Hebrews to recognize “A Godly Independence Day”
Tomorrow is the fourth of July Independence Day
This is America’s birthday
A Celebration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence
56 men signed, at great risk, declaring their divorce if you will from England
I was taught and believe these men to be PATRIOTS
King George considered them traitors
George Washington led farmers and “regular folks” to defeat the great military force of England
If Washington was not successful, these 56 men, and others, would surely have been killed as traitors
They did something truly beautiful, amazing and quite biblical
They declared Independence
At the same time declaring their dependence on God
The Declaration begins like this
In Congress, July 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
I know some read this beginning and fail to see the dependence on God, but it is clear to me
The text starts with the divorce with England
And continues with a LONG list of the reasons for the divorce
It reads like an old-fashioned “at fault” divorce petition
What does this have to do with the Bible and specifically our text from Jeremiah 17?
Jeremiah 17 continues the description of divine judgement from Jeremiah 16.
Jeremiah 17 begins by listing off some of the sins of Judah
But it emphasizes the sin of idolatry
1 “The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron; with a point of diamond it is engraved on the tablet of their heart, and on the horns of their altars,
A pen of iron with a diamond point was used to write on, actually “in”, wood, stone or metal
Engraving like this was as close to permanent as they had
unlike using ink on a scroll
The people of Judah are being described as having a heart with sin deeply etched
This begs the question of us
“How deeply etched is sin in our hearts?”
The hearts of the people are being compared to the hardness of stone or metal
Have we become so entrenched that our hearts are like stone?
Are we so set in our ways that our hearts would have to be destroyed in order to change our heart?
The only time we should be THAT set is when our heart is an accurate reflection of God’s heart
because God never changes
and we should never change in us what God has made us to be
The strong warning about false gods (‘little-g’ gods) which is crucial for us today,
Living for or worshiping power is really bad
Just as King George was focused on his power over the colonies and elsewhere
We, individually and as a culture, can easily worship false idols
political agendas, etc
The penalty for doing so is specifically mentioned in Jeremiah 17:3 (b)
3 on the mountains in the open country. Your wealth and all your treasures I will give for spoil as the price of your high places for sin throughout all your territory.
Everything we value will be given over to the invader because of sin
That certainly gets my attention
Both for the context of our country’s Independence Day and me personally
As if giving up everything we value isn’t penalty enough, Jeremiah 17:4 rubs salt in the wound
4 You shall loosen your hand from your heritage that I gave to you, and I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you do not know, for in my anger a fire is kindled that shall burn forever.”
If we/you don’t want to suffer the fate of THAT judgement
Then we must do something
Silence is NOT an option!
We, just like the signers of the Declaration, must decide
Here is the end of the Declaration
with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
The signers of the Declaration of Independence had to put all their wealth and their very lives on the line
and decide to follow what they believed God wanted instead of following what the safe path
which was to bow to the king of England
Jeremiah, an Old Testament prophet and priest gives God’s perspective on this starting in Jeremiah 17:5
5 Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord.
By this standard, how many people in the news, or in your family are cursed?
How many have actively turned from the Lord?
We are specifically prohibited by God from passing judgement on others
But, each of us need be aware of the financial and political support we give those who turn their back on God
When we have leaders so focused on the culture of death in the abortion industry
That they actually publicize that they are willing to create a “abortion travel destinations”
Even with all the new scientific knowledge that shows all the elements of human life in the womb
This is clearly turning your back on God and His creation
By supporting those who turn our community from godly living, we become part of the sin
By being silent about our community turning from God and godly principles, we become part of the sin
I can almost hear someone thinking that church has no business being involved in politics
Actually, life began by God’s creation WAY before God created the institution of Government
If anything, perhaps government should give back to God what is clearly God’s!
Maybe someone is think, “what about separation of church and state?”
Go back and read the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution for that matter
We separated from England due to “tyrannical governance” without responding to the petitions of the people
There was one national religion, whatever the Church of England demanded
As Christians we stand on the Bible first, so what does it have to say?
Lots, but I’ll just cite 2 Corinthians 6:14
14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?
Believers are called upon to separate themselves from, or divorce themselves from the darkness of sin
If we truly have given ourselves to God
Then we are to be the temple of the LIVING God, not a theoretical God
16 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
17 Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you,
18 and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.”
I would argue that the Declaration of Independence is evidence that
We separated from England because of what was then their worship of their dominance and power
And American patriots specifically wanted to rely on God’s providence instead of the man-held power of the king
While the signers were imperfect, just as ALL men and women are imperfect
They were to the best of their knowledge and ability doing what God called them to do
They certainly were striving for the promise of Jeremiah 17:7
7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord.
“Blessed”
Think of that as “Blessed in time”
But the blessing is not always immediate or obvious
The signers of the Declaration stepped out in faith at great personal risk
risk of financial loss and even loss of life
They wouldn’t have felt “blessed” initially
They would have felt more stressed than blessed
Even now, the culture is “cancelling” many of these men
Removing their names from public buildings
Disparaging their memories and ignoring their accomplishments
All because of current knowledge and standards being applied to people living 250 years ago
Using that logic, most of the parents in this building are guilty of child abuse, neglect or endangerment
For not using child seats or seat belts that didn’t even exist
For making kids drink from garden hoses
For physically disciplining children
Even using WHITE Bread for their kids’ school lunch
Perish the thought
Thankfully, God is always concerned about our heart in the present moment
10 “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”
This Independence Day I will be celebrating the birth of our country
A country where we are free to learn
Where we can learn and do better
A place where we are free to choose and worship God in Heaven
A place where the bold proclamation of God as our creator is not just a memory of our beginning of our country
It is a part of the living of our very lives today
May we all give thanks for our freedom
Both the freedom purchased with the bravery and blood of patriots of yesterday
But mostly, for the blood of Jesus which gives us eternal freedom to choose our eternity
When God searches your heart and looks at the fruit of your deeds
May the result be that God says “Well done my good and faithful servant”
And may we as a country reflect God’s grace, mercy and peace
AMEN
Communion is a reminder that none of us is perfect,
But we are invited to cover ourselves in the righteousness of Christ
Closing Hymn/Invitation:
394 In My Life, Lord, Be Glorified
Communion
“Lord’s Prayer”
Apostle’s Creed
Pastoral prayer/Benediction