Sermon Tone Analysis

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

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

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)

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

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

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

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

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

“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